SEMI, Ch 2 – With Friends Like These
Eamon began to acquaint himself with the Grey Warden and some of her companions. The Warden herself was a mage, Solona Amell. The young woman revealed connection with Kirkwall nobility, though she never met them. She was from Lothering, where her aunt and cousins still lived. Their father was an apostate as was one of her cousins, the younger of two twins. Her connections were interesting, but not useful.
Youth and beauty were equals in the mage, Eamon noticed Alistair's interest in her, an interest beyond his admiration for her leadership. It was good to see Alistair again, as well. The last several times he saw him, the lad resentfully ignored him in the chantry. It pained him to let the boy go, he was like an only son since Connor was not born until many years later. All bitterness was gone, replaced by a keen hatred for Loghain and grief for his fallen comrades, including his half-brother. It was a feeling they shared, Eamon was alarmed that the ice queen Anora remained on the throne, and her even more ruthless father was the regent. The Theirin line was precious, to himself and any true Ferelden. It had to return to the throne, but Eamon wasn't sure how to begin to overthrow the Mac Tir tyranny. Not yet.
He also connected with the older mage; Wynne had a dislike for Loghain before Ostagar. Eamon noticed she was a sharp, perceptive woman and a skilled healer, a definite ally. The opposite could be said of the witch that traveled with them. She was young, as young as Solona, but malice seeped from her every pore. Perhaps she was some long lost child of Loghain's, she shared the hair black as night and the cold, hard heart that was a Mac Tir trademark. He would expect someone like her to be the general's daughter before the fair queen.
The longer he observed the witch, the higher his goosebumps rose. He barely suppressed a shudder when he turned away from her, he didn't dare converse with her, or the mountain-like qunari that stood against the wall. Their people were savages, seemingly demonic with their red eyes. The oversized brute was likely to crush his head if they spoke, so Eamon passed him as well.
The most interesting people to him were the bard and the assassin. The latter was an Antivan elf, more likely to be found in a back alley with some harlot than in a castle. His wide, full lips and heavy lidded eyes made his entire persona reek of sleaziness. He was another of Loghain's incompetent assassins, it gave Eamon a spiteful satisfaction that the general seemed to be prone to ineffectual schemes when it came to anything not mapped out for him or on a battlefield. The seedy elf was still as arrogant as ever.
The bard, on the other hand, impressed Eamon. She had all the fair, enchanting, and graceful qualities of an Orlesian woman, much like Isolde before her beauty started to fade with age. He heard she was Ferelden born, but raised in Orlais so she followed their traditions and had little in common with a Ferelden. The bard was just as deadly as she was elegant, he heard - a most skilled archer and equally dangerous with just two daggers. The lovely red haired woman was Orlesian mystique personified. It was she who Eamon finally approached.
"Greetings, Arl Eamon. It is good to see that you are well and strong again. The Maker must favor you highly." Leliana had a noticeable lisp that he found it attractive. Her accent was less muddled than Isolde's was becoming.
"Thank you, my dear, it is the Maker's will and the talent of yourself and your fellows that saved my life. Though relieved, I cannot help but be concerned about this war and what other measures Loghain will take to quell the opposition."
"What is it that set the two of you against each other, your Grace?"
"Loghain thinks I will betray this country, that I am secretly allied with Orlais because of my wife." While he was a traditional Ferelden, he did admire Orlais. The occupation was a thing of the past, as Cailan believed and Fereldens could learn much from their sophisticated neighboring country.
"He seems to be a very cautious man, paranoid even. An allegiance with Orlais would be beneficial in this time of crisis." Perceptive and beautiful, it seemed.
"I most certainly agree. Such failure with these hired assassins is highly uncharacteristic of him. He is normally most efficient. He was almost successful with me, however. The poison Jowan created was effective."
"I am not familiar with the type of poison he used."
"It was a creation of his, I am led to believe. It would probably be quite useful if used against darkspawn. I know maiming them is not the goal, that they should be executed swiftly, but the poison, in its proper dose, acts as a paralyzing agent." Leliana was obviously calculating as he spoke.
"So if the poison coated arrows, even shots that did not strike a vital point would be deadly. That would certainly help us. I understand we are going to the Deep Roads sometime soon. Perhaps we should acquire some."
"Perhaps we should, but for now let us think no more if it."
"Are you sure, your Grace? I am sure we could track some down." There were numerous reasons behind her offer, to be sure. She would get her hands on it in due time. He was pleased she responded so well to the idea in the first place.
"Oh, that's quite alright. I can handle it, for now it would please me if you did not discuss this with anyone else. This idea only struck me minutes ago."
They parted, Eamon was feeling more optimistic now that he had potential clients. He would eventually have to degrade himself by talking to the Antivan Crow. Hopefully he had more competent master assassins nearby.
