Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm
"-. I so like being a Grey Warden .-"
"Are they still at it?" Alistair asked Faren in absolute disbelief as he walked up to him.
The new Grey Warden was leaning against a tree, chewing on an apple he had picked up immediately after they had finally arrived at the Grey Wardens' actual encampment. As recruits, they hadn't been allowed to enter the main army camp, where the few Grey Wardens had set up their special barracks. Still, he found it quite intriguing, though the multitude of tall people made him feel slightly uneasy. Now, he was watching a particular scene most intently and had his entire face covered in a grin as wide as the Waking Sea. "Yep."
Alistair was utterly aggravated. "Unbelievable. They've been going at it for an hour and a half without stopping even a second..." he noted, in as low a voice he could, knowing that Duncan would probably scold him for freaking out again. "What is it with that guy anyway?"
Faren glanced to the side, where Raonar's shield and weapons, except Gorim's Sword, were lying. "What do you mean 'What is it with that guy'?" he asked, feigning confusion as obviously as he could, if only to see the poor Templar get even more impatient. "I mean, which of his odd quirks are you referring to exactly?"
Alistair mumbled something as he scratched his forehead. "Are all you dwarves so impossible?" He was incredibly frustrated, even though he hid it well. His templar discipline wasn't completely wasted at least. When he saw himself ignored, however, he couldn't help but ask what he actually wanted to know. "Do all people end up acting completely out of character around that creepy guy?"
The redhead covered his chuckle with another bite from his apple, after which he threw the leftovers to the side and took out one of his throwing knives. "Yeah." He didn't elaborate, resolving, instead, to start picking his teeth with the blade.
The human almost groaned. "You don't talk much, do you?" His tone clearly transmitted his frustration.
Faren spit out an apple seed and smirked. "Not when I'm watching a duel."
For the most part, Alistair was frustrated because Duncan was acting particularly odd lately, or so it seemed to him. Until recently, the 'old' man had been mostly serious and quite careful in his dealing with anyone. That, and he had made a point of making sure Alistair was as clear as he could be on "staying out of trouble and getting along with everyone". Then, after he got back from his last trip with the two elves and two dwarves, he began to show a different side of himself that the almost templar had never seen or, indeed, known about.
The bit about being pro recruiting a Blood Mage was the most scandalous, and it took Alistair a long time to finally submit to Duncan's judgment. The man even had to insinuate that his templar training was showing a bit too strongly. That, however, was not all that Alistair didn't understand or outright disapproved of. For one, the Commander had gracefully covered for Kallian and Faren as they practically ran rampant through the entire army camp, picking everyone's pockets and robbing them blind. The two even had the audacity of engaging in a contest of who could pick more in the shortest time (Kallian apparently won, since men seemed quite eager to become enraptured at her slightest wink).
Then, of course, there was that business with Theron so slyly sneaking about where the trees were thickest and making strange animal noises, startling the sentries on duty out of their minds. Apparently, he decided he would make the best of being confined with shemlen on every side, and playing pranks on them was at once rewarding and relaxing, or so he had said when Kallian asked him about it.
After the Joining business was over, Raonar had slammed them all by giving them an explanation that was at once revelatory and completely bewildering. "The Spirit of Honor pulled me into the Fade and took care of my body while it dealt with the stress of the Joining and the taint I already had inside, after which he helped me come back. And while that happened, he, Alim and I had some tea and told stories," was all he had said. He even made a point of acting as though what he had just uttered wasn't complete and absolute lunacy.
Alim did, of course, offer to explain a bit of what had happened to that guy's body, but Alistair still didn't trust him. Thus, he refused to stick around as the mage started to so scientifically elaborate upon Raonar's nature to Gwen, Theron and the city elf, after they last two had finished their respective crime sprees of course. Later, the human remembered Faren mentioning how the other dwarf and Duncan had had a very long chat one night in Lothering, and figured he may actually know what it all was about. The problem, however, was that Duncan was... preoccupied.
What Alistair really couldn't understand was why, in the name of the Maker, Duncan was still dueling that white-haired dwarf. For some reason, that individual asked, more like challenged Duncan again immediately after they arrived at the Grey Wardens barracks, and the latter actually accepted. Duncan accepted a duel just like that, even though it was already getting late and all the other Wardens were having dinner or preparing to rest, in anticipation of the battle that was going to take place the next day. And it had been half past an hour and they were still at it, each with one blade in their hand and striking so quickly and precisely that Alistair actually had trouble following.
"Up for a bet?" a particularly huge human asked the two as he drew close. He was, by far, the tallest individual in the entire army and had an incredibly muscular build. His eyes were, oddly enough, grey, though they didn't seem to glow like Raonar's sometimes did when he was meditating with his eyes open, and that happened rarely. His hair was shaved short, though he wasn't actually bald, and looked like he was about 40. His most noteworthy feature, however, seemed to be the large pint that never seemed to leave his grasp.
"Well?" he pushed, emptying his pint of the last drop of beer that was in it. "Up for a bet or not?"
"I'll pass Solveig," Alistair flatly answered, drawing a raised eyebrow as a response.
"You're always so weary of these things, like a chaste cloistered sister," the large one answered back, following with a loud laughter when he noticed the templar's face get as red as a tomato. "And what about you?" he followed up, looking down at the short redhead. "Want to bet on who'll win?"
Faren leaned back against the tree and looked up at the incredibly tall man. The dwarf just smiled slyly from the corner of this mouth, though, and answered him with a question of his own. "And what'll you bet with?"
"AHA!" Solveig let out, glad to have finally found someone willing to gamble. "Finally! Some real stones on this one!"
Alistair blushed even more intensely and looked away, though he failed to come up with a line meant to help him extricate himself from that embarrassing situation. His attention was at once drawn back to Solveig, however, as he noticed that he seemed to be searching his own body for something but could not find it.
"Are you looking for this?" Faren coyly asked the giant as he held up a pouch of sovereigns which the latter immediately recognized as his own.
The no longer junior Warden couldn't stop himself from looking at the two as they engaged in a staredown. Solveig looked peeved and had a rather unhinged look on his face, while Faren did not seem to back down and just grinned at him. After a while, the huge one reached down, grabbed the dwarf by the back of his collar and shamelessly lifted him up until his face was at the same height as his own (his feet hung about a meter above the ground). The redhead dwarf didn't blink even once and, in fact, adopted a fairly cold face himself.
"Maybe you should learn to keep your hands to yourself," the man flatly advised as his free arm took a hold of the dwarf's shoulder and started to tighten its grip ever so slowly. "You may end up losing them..."
Faren narrowed his eyes, and the light given out by the fire that blazed some feet away cast shadows over his brand and made his hazel eyes look incredibly menacing. "And maybe you should get your head out of the clouds every so often, or you may lose track of what's happening below your eye level." At that, Solveig felt a rather sharp object pressing against his abdomen, just below his sternum, and when he looked down, he saw that the dwarf's hand was just a small flick away from driving a silverite dagger straight into him. "Really," Faren continued, just as coldly, as the electricity in the knife sent a shiver through the human's entire body. "Don't take it personally. You're not the only one I robbed blind today."
Alistair thought of intervening, but he didn't exactly have a very good track record at putting a stop to serious situations and thought that, maybe, he should ask the still dueling Duncan to intervene. Fortunately, there was no need, as both Wardens decided to indulge in a heartfelt laughter.
"Ha! You're definitely not as green as some of the soldier here," the huge man uttered as he quaintly placed the other back on the ground.
"Here," the other one let out as he tossed the tall one his pouch back. "Next time, tie it closer to your front."
"That bet is still, up by the by" Solveig decided to enforce.
Solveig was a Grey Warden that had come to Ferelden all the way from the Anderfels and was best known amongst his peers as a very heavy drinker, though he somehow managed never to get drunk somehow. Unfortunately, his bet would not come to pass, as the sound of heavy armored footsteps started to be heard, even over the noises made by Duncan and Raonar as metal struck against metal.
The two duelists, each wielding a single blade and nothing else, continued their hour and a half-long fight, even as the many onlookers who had formed a very wide circle around them, wardens and soldiers alike, kept staring with great interest. After all, it was not often that two Grey Warden got into such a duel and none of them could dispute the fact that it was a magnificent sight. Unfortunately, some of the viewers had to step aside and make room for an armored man and his two escorts to approach.
Duncan side-stepped, a quick spin of his blade deflecting an ascending thrust that the dwarf had keenly placed, only to see him spin on his heels himself and evade the descending strike that followed immediately. Thrust, parry, evade, block, deflect, parry again, side-step and envelop, both held their ground perfectly, even as neither seemed at all inclined to leave the other enough time for a breather. Block, parry and sidestep again, and Duncan managed to slip around Raonar and hit him in the back of his head with his elbow. The latter lost his balance, but let himself fall to the ground in order to avoid a horizontal slash, after which he followed up with a swift kick to the ankles that caused Duncan to slip off his feet himself.
Metal on metal was heard one last time only an instant after they both jumped back to their feet, and they were caught in a deadlock that did not seem like it would be broken any time soon.
His entire body was coursing with adrenaline and he felt a few drops of cold sweat tickle down his cheeks and lose themselves in his thick, black beard. "I must say you are holding your ground quite well, My Lord Aeducan, far better than what your ailing body allowed you to show earlier" the Warden Commander assessed, though he made sure not to loosen his stance in the slightest.
"You're not too bad yourself, especially for an arguably old man," the other retorted, just as exhilarated, and letting a pleased smile show on his face.
"Well!" a familiar voice was suddenly heard from the side.
Both fighters looked surprised at the fact that they had been so caught up in their duel that not only had they failed to notice that the Sun had almost disappeared from the sky, but also that the king of Ferelden had meanwhile arrived on the site. They broke their stances and bowed at each other.
"I initially planned to send a messenger to summon the Commander of the Grey to the strategy meeting," Cailan started, quite intrigued, though he still shot the dwarf prince a strange glance. "But when I heard the mighty Duncan had engaged in an hour-long duel with another Grey Warden, I just had to see it for myself. Still, I admit, I did not expect it to be one of the newer recruits."
Duncan accepted a handkerchief from one of the nearest Wardens and wiped the sweat off his brow. "We only accept the best, Your Majesty."
Raonar considered telling him how the duel had actually lasted longer and that he owed them one for interrupting, but figured it would not be a good idea to put on a defiant and sarcastic attitude towards the King on the eve of battle, not in front of the soldiers. Everyone was already tense as it was without them having reasons to question the King's ability to keep the men in line, Grey Wardens though they may be. So he just put his hands behind his back and waited, though he didn't shy away from looking at the young monarch.
Cailan looked a bit uncomfortable but didn't seem ready to leave after Duncan excused himself (saying he would go freshen up before attending the meeting), and met the dwarf's gaze easily enough. "You look like you'd want to say something and I admit I am rather surprised you didn't do it yet," the tall man stated, though he couldn't exactly conceal his slight desire to avoid any further verbal clashes.
"I said nothing because it was the Commander you came here to see, not I, Your Majesty" he answered quite directly and with absolutely no sort of irony or sarcasm or any other type of unruly emotion in the tone of his voice.
The King looked somewhat surprised at that. "I see..."
"Regardless," the dwarf prince uttered, "I ask that you excuse me while I also go freshen up. Keeping an equal footing with that old man was taxing, to say the least, even though neither of us was actually going all out." He then gave a short bow and almost turned around, but the king stopped him.
"Wait." Cailan then whispered something to his two guards.
"Alright! Show's over, nothing to see here anymore," one of them shouted, notifying the troops that they would now have to get back to their own posts and duties.
"Come on! Move along!" the other one enforced, somewhat gruffly.
Eventually, the soldiers dispersed and the rest of the Wardens took their places besides the fairly large campfire that their peers were keeping. Finally, the king dismissed his guards and was left more or less alone with the dwarf. The latter, however, didn't say anything, and the silence dragged on until the human finally decided to speak up. "Seeing how there is a battle tomorrow I wouldn't want that unfortunate run-in we had this morning to lead t-"
"My apologies," the other one cut him off, taking him completely off guard as he bowed deeply.
Cailan was a bit taken aback and he even frowned in slight confusion. "I... did not expect you to do that..."
"Forgive me for turning that situation awkward but I just couldn't help myself."
The human king was quite curious. "What do you mean, you couldn't help yourself?"
"Well, mostly it was because you seemed to resemble my older brother too much and, unlike him, you have no siblings in a position to keep your own manner from getting you killed, so I was at once worried and utterly annoyed."
Cailan had absolutely no idea what the short one had meant by that statement but decided he may be better off not knowing, at least until the time came for him and Faren to regale him with their story. "I suppose I do not have siblings in such a position, true..." he mused, rather neutrally.
As the two royal personas appeared to engage in a friendly conversation for once, Faren finished picking his teeth and Alistair made himself scarce, no doubt to go pester Duncan about one thing or another. The only other person left there, Solveig that is, was quite disheartened at seeing that the opportunity for placing a good bet had suddenly disappeared.
"Andraste's ass, I'll never get a chance to place such a good bet again," he fumed, though he sounded inexplicably hopeless and looked quite stricken as he stared into the depths of his now empty pint.
"Come on, surely there's something else you can have a bet on..." the red-haired dwarf suggested, unexpectedly sympathetically.
"The only other thing I'd be willing to do right now is have a drink-off," he responded, but he immediately got a glint in his eye that looked like he had gotten an idea. "Wait, actually, that's not a bad idea. Hey!" he shouted, drawing the attention of all the other Wardens that were now sitting around the fire. "How about it? I'll have a pint for every half pint you guys have."
All of them laughed to their hearts content. "Sorry Solveig," one of the more robust human women began, "but you know how that ended last time. Duncan walked in on us and found you still drinking and all of us passed out on the floor."
"You're all just scared little lady elves," he berated, at once bored and annoyed, though he would soon learn the gravity of having said that line.
"My my!" a graceful female voice like the tinkle of a silver bell was heard from behind him. "A racist and a sexist! How charming!"
Faren didn't budge, allowing himself to, instead, indulge in an incredibly wide grin. Solveig, however, was quite surprised at not having realized when that person had come up from behind. He turned around, only to be met by what he judged as a very eye-pleasing view.
"Aren't you the big, strong man!" Kallian joked in her incredibly seductive voice, letting her fingertips stroke the man's chin as she quaintly passed him by, shooting him a sideway glance that only transmitted an unmistakable air of "you're all bluster". "Though a bit coarse and biased," she added. "Truly, the dream of any woman."
Solveig caught her hand before she had a chance to withdraw it, stopping her in her tracks. "And who might you be, fair maiden?" he asked in a surprisingly chivalrous manner.
A flutter of golden hair and a flash of a pair of entrancing dark blue eyes later, the elven lass drew close to him and let her free hand draw his face lower and closer by its chin. "Someone who can drink you under the table."
She spoke those words in a suave but loud enough voice for everyone to hear, and the other wardens were especially surprised. They immediately burst in a rain of laughter that again drew the attention of the soldiers camped close to the Grey Warden barracks. Solveig, however, narrowed his eyes quite mischievously and drew even closer, until he could speak what he wanted to say directly into her ear. "Is that a bet, you pretty thing?"
She closed her eyes quite slyly and took her own turn at speaking in his ear, making sure to let the fingertips of her free hand come between her neck and his voracious lips. "Last one sanding gets all the other one's gold and the right to give him one order that he will absolutely have to obey."
"You hear that fellas!" the Ander shouted. "You're witnesses! Last man standing gets to order the other one around!"
"That's last one standing, sexist one," the slender elf corrected him as she effortlessly slipped her hand out of his grasp, firm though it was. Then, she turned around, her hair gliding in the shadows of the eve as the light from the fire seemed to emphasize her features as she walked away.
"I so like being a Grey Warden," Faren happily thought to himself as he bit on another apple and followed to see what would happen, resolving to make sure his special rope was ready to tie Solveig up in case he got any 'unfortunate' ideas. The other Wardens will definitely help in stopping that huge man from doing anything weird, right?
"-. Tacticians and Politicians .-"
"Hey... Duncan?"
"Yes, Lord Aeducan?"
"Thanks."
"Truly, the pleasure was all mine," the Commander curtly replied.
"Might one of you bother telling me what you two are going on about?" Gwenith Cousland intervened, slightly impatient, as she let herself walk in the same pace as the other two.
"What?" Raonar actually looked a bit confused as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't Alim give you the general idea? He was practically talking to you, Theron and Kallian for about the whole time Duncan and I were dueling."
"He only explained that part about you and the old Archdemon lair and the demons and, frankly, I'm having trouble believing any of it, but that's not the point. What are you two talking about?"
"The duel of course..." the dwarf simply replied, as if it were obvious.
"Yes, well why did you insist on it? I admit that you actually do strike me as someone who would enjoy the attention, and you definitely got attention, not just from the army but from the King of all people, but it didn't really seem like that was all there was to it." Gwen's tone was akin to that of an interrogator but it didn't seem like there was anything besides curiosity behind her desire to know.
The ex-prince paused and, for a time, only the three Grey Wardens' heavy footsteps could be heard as they walked in silence. After a while, the dwarf put his hands behind his back and finally answered, taking the human lady by surprise with his frankness. "That... trip to the Fade stirred some... old memories and I asked Duncan to duel me so that I could get them off my mind. Really, it's not much different from how you vented your obvious anger at those darkspawn in the Wilds. Don't worry, I won't try to pry it out of you."
Gwen looked away for a while, the soft breeze causing her overflowing dark brown hair to dance in the moonlight and her deep brown eyes to come into stark contrast with the ivory walls and columns that they passed along the way to the higher levels of the ancient fortress. She was again wearing her Royal Silverite Plate, no doubt knowing that the King and Teyrn Loghain would try to put on the same type of lordly countenance. Duncan was, of course, dressed in his intricate but highly practical suit of armor, and the prince was once again clad in his own set of veridium plate mail.
"It's... a long story," she finally uttered, though her eyes narrowed under her frown as she looked straight ahead.
"Painful tales always are..." the short one agreed, melancholically, causing the lady to wonder just what kind of memories the dwarf had revived if it took an hour and a half of fighting Duncan, of all people, to chase them off, if they had even gone away at all.
"We should be there shortly," Duncan said, drawing their attention.
"I know you brushed the subject aside before, but why is it that the two of us were summoned to the strategy meeting?" The lady was quite curious, in fact. She could, of course, understand that, being the last of the Cousland line and, thus, practically the highest rank of nobility herself, on par with Loghain Mac Tir if such ranks were to be abided by, her presence at the pre-battle strategy meeting would not exactly be looked upon as unusual. Granted, she was quite young, only 21, but Loghain and Maric were actually very young themselves during the Rebellion, and she was a Grey Warden now, which was definitely no small accomplishment, though maybe not as great as their own.
What she didn't understand was why Raonar had been summoned as well. Of course, she had not yet found out about the exchanges that Cailan and the former had had that day. Still, even knowing about those, it would have still struck her as odd that a fresh recruit with absolutely no prior involvement in Ferelden affairs whatsoever, not to mention the fact he wasn't even human, would actually have much business there.
"The King insisted," the Commander neutrally answered as they climbed the last steps and finally arrived back at the Ostagar inner and uppermost fortress. "I am not sure why he has requested your presence."
Yes, royalty and their whims. Really, she was not at all intent on passing up on the opportunity to attend such a gathering, but she would at least like to know what the others were thinking instead of potentially not knowing what to actually do or say when she got there. And what was worse was that that white-haired dwarf didn't look concerned at all. Sometimes, she wished her parents hadn't sheltered her so much and just let her attend more Landsmeet gatherings. Still, it was also her own fault for being more inclined to joust and beat down every possible knight she came across instead of seeing to protocol.
At least she had done most of her homework when it came to politics, though she had recently learned that they can be much more bitter and easy to exploit to one's own ends that she would have thought. She wondered just how aware her diminutive companion was of that and if it would really matter. However, this was going to be a war meeting, not a political debate.
It was getting quite late. The moon was already quite high in the sky and the battle was supposedly going to occur in the afternoon of the following day. Scouts had reported that the bulk of the horde would show itself all at once. The King and his generals were supposedly optimistic about the fight and no one was really convinced this was a true Blight actually. Duncan, however, was sure there was an Archdemon behind it, and Gwenith knew just how aggravated he was with the fact that neither Orlesian nor Redcliffe reinforcements had been summoned or, in the case of the former, allowed to come.
As far as Orlais went, the lady could well understand. No one wants to accept people who used to rape their wives and daughters back into their country, regardless of reason. What irked her was that Cailan had refused Eamon's help. She couldn't help but wonder just what that man was thinking, if he was thinking at all. Regardless, she would have to leave thinking about that for later, as they had finally reached the site of the gathering, where King Cailan Theirin and Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir had already arrived.
"Loghain, my decision is final!" the young King declared as the three Grey Wardens finally moved up to their spots around the table covered in maps and tactical sketches. "I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault."
"You risk too much, Cailan!" Loghain protested, somewhat aggravated. "The darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines."
Gwenith definitely agreed with that statement, though the king was not at all pleased with it, if the way he frowned was any indication.
"If that's the case," he replied, "Perhaps we should wait for the Orlesians to join us after all."
Now it was Mac Tir's turn to be outraged. "I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need the Orlesians to defend ourselves."
"It is not a 'fool notion'" the young king sharply shot back. "Our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past."
"Marvelous, so are we to start speaking politics on the eve of battle now?"Gwen thought to herself in annoyance. She crossed her hands and started tapping the ground with her heavy metal boot in an effort to shake away impatience.
"How fortunate that Maric could not live to see his son ready to hand Ferelden over to those who enslaved us for a century!" Loghain let out as he turned around and started to scratch his forehead in a last effort to stop himself from saying anything particularly vexing.
"Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" Cailan assessed, quite peeved himself. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"
"They are, Your Majesty." The Commander did his best to make it sound as courteous and proper as possible, but Gwenith could still catch a semblance of worry in his tone.
"Ah, and these are the Lady from Highever and the Prince of Orzammar that I met earlier on the road. I would like to congratulate both of you on becoming Grey Wardens!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty," the lady responded, deciding that it was easier to just follow protocol instead of somehow causing that meeting to draw out even longer.
"Though we are hardly the only ones to become Grey Wardens today," the dwarf pointed out as he leaned on one foot.
"Ah, and that is very fortunate," Cailan praised. "Every Grey Warden is needed now more than ever."
Mac Tir looked like he had enough, so deeply his brow scowled. "Your fascination with the Grey Wardens will be your undoing Cailan! We must attend to reality!"
The gold armor-wearing monarch groaned, but relented. "Fine! Speak your strategies then."
Gwen would have expected something sophisticated, some delaying tactics, perhaps even diversions, maybe having the Mages set parts of the forests on fire in order to wilt down the number of enemies. Turns out that the plan was actually going to be much more straightforward. The King's men and the Wardens would have to goad the darkspawn into charging their lines, after which the beacon on top of the largest of Ostagar's towers would have to be lit, signaling Loghain's own men to charge from cover.
"To flank the darkspawn! I remember," The son of Maric uttered. "This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins yes? Well who shall light this beacon?"
"I have a few men stationed there," the Teyrn explained. "It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital."
"Then we should send our best," Cailan solemnly proclaimed. "Send Alistair and the two new Grey Wardens to make sure this is done."
Gwen and Raonar each raised an eyebrow.
"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much, is that truly wise?" the master tactician asked, seeming somewhat mistrustful of the idea.
"Enough Loghain! Grey Wardens battle the Blight no matter where they're from."
"Not to be a prude or anything," the white-haired dwarf unexpectedly uttered. "But I refuse."
Four very stupefied heads turned towards the short warrior. It was one thing to disagree with a plan, but to blurt it out so suddenly was another thing entirely, especially when the decision belonged to someone else.
"Pardon?" the king let out, unsure that he had heard it correctly, as he let his hands rest on the table.
"You hardly need two Wardens up there, much less three. And while I'm not exactly sure why you specifically asked for Alistair to be the one to go..." he noticed Cailan narrowing his eyes slightly. "... Gwen here is more than capable of handling the task by herself if need be. After all, she practically finished off almost half of all the darkspawn we encountered in the Korcari Wilds all on her own."
Strangely enough, there wasn't a shred of sarcasm in that statement and Gwen was quite surprised at hearing that new brother in arms of her say something like that so suddenly. After the duel incident, she would have thought he would jump at any opportunity to stand out, but now he had practically said she was better than him at killing darkspawn. Was she hearing this right?
"I see..." Cailan looked a bit uncertain for a moment. "Duncan, what do you think?"
Duncan and Raonar exchanged glances and the human scratched his chin for a while before finally drawing his gaze away and looking back at the king. "I'm afraid I'm with Lord Aeducan on this one, Your Majesty. Lady Cousland and Alistair should have no trouble with their task and I'd prefer to have as many Grey Wardens on hand during the battle as possible. After all, we should also consider the possibility of the Archdemon appearing."
Both Cailan and Loghain straightened up, then the latter voiced his opinion. "There have been no sightings of dragons in the wilds."
"Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?" Cailan asked.
"I... yes, Your Majesty."
Gwenith almost scoffed at that. How in Thedas could those two act so completely unimpressed with the prospect of an Archdemon? The King she could understand, but Loghain? He was supposed to be the tactician, the voice of reason, and yet he had so easily dismissed the prospect of a dragon showing up. On the other hand, after that horrible business with almost her entire family getting killed, and the rest unaccounted for, she admitted to herself that she may be a bit biased and prone to consider the worst possible scenarios.
She would immediately discover that what she saw as the worst may, in fact, not be the worst after all.
The dwarf prince massaged his eyes in frustration. "The degree of obliviousness you two human lords choose to indulge in astounds me."
Cailan almost drew back in surprise, and even Loghain looked to be at a loss for words for a moment. "Excuse me?" the Teryn protested.
"Are you two serious? I mean, really?" his face was covered in a complete combination of astonishment and utmost disapproval.
"Is there a problem?" Cailan asked, somewhat irked.
Duncan tried to intervene. "No, your maj-"
"Yes there is, by the Ancestors!" Raonar cut him off in a louder voice than all the others had heard him use before. "Are you two for real?" he bent forward and leaned against the table with both hands. "I mean, you have the Commander of the Grey, the Commander of the Grey, telling you there is an Archdemon behind this, and you don't believe him? So much for respecting the Grey Wardens!"
"This isn't a guessing game," the Teyrn retorted, quite patronizingly. "We cannot base our fighting tactics on the 'feeling' of one man, Grey Warden or no."
"Pfah! Right, as if your great tactics are all that extraordinary! To think you actually believe this force you amassed here is enough for you to not even consider accepting reinforcements from Redcliffe!"
Cailan narrowed his eyes slightly, but it was Mac Tir who, again, took the word. "Oh? And what is that supposed to mean? I suggest you weigh your words carefully, young man-"
"Bah!" He frowned, drawing away from the table and crossing his arms as he looked up at the two from underneath his bright eyebrows. His white eyes reflected the moonlight and gave him an eerie appearance. "Don't patronize me as if you think your age gives you the right! This isn't war, this is a damned Blight! And you actually think you can stop it with a little feint? Didn't history teach you anything at all?"
"Stand down, that's enough," Duncan commanded with a harsh glare that only got a peeved glance in response.
"The sod I will!" he shouted back, surprising everyone present yet again. Then, he turned back to the other two heavily armored men. "Darkspawn aren't just something you can outmaneuver! They aren't an army or even a coherent force, they are a disease. They'll break upon you like death itself, a swarm of beasts that never ends, and the very ground will turn black and rotten at their touch! Ostagar is a choke point, a dead end and you have no cavalry! And the beasts will have the high ground. If the main force gets overwhelmed, what then? And you actually think this plan will suffice?"
Gwen was astounded at seeing the normally candid and detached dwarf get so agitated, though he looked more like he was annoyed and disappointed than anything else, at least to her, even though he had performed heartfelt facepalm already. What worried her most, however, was that he actually made some good points.
"That's enough," the Commander enforced in a strong voice.
"Hmpf!" The prince scoffed, then glared most disapprovingly at everyone except Gwen in turn. "Whatever! I'm done here. I guess I'll just have to kill every single one of those things myself if anyone is going to get out of this place alive after the battle tomorrow night. Ancestors catch you if the Archdemon does appear, though he probably won't see the reason to bother."
The exiled Prince of Orzammar didn't even wait for anyone to reply and simply walked off, giving a dismissive wave to the others before they had a chance to address him directly. At least the soldiers weren't there to hear and morale wouldn't suffer from that outburst. Then again, though the others didn't know, that outburst was actually forced, and the goal behind it was quite different than what the humans may have suspected.
Loghain was a master tactician, so it was definitely odd that his battle plan would be so very simple. There was something else in play here, and his mistrust of the Grey Wardens was definitely going to be a problem, if it hadn't become one already.
Mixing politics with military affairs was never a good sign.
"Enough," the exile barely heard the Teyrn say as he left. "This plan will suffice, the two Grey Wardens will light the beacon."
Yes, Raonar would definitely have his hands full with killing darkspawn tomorrow.
"-. Just how good is it to get utterly drunk on the eve of battle anyway? .-"
That contest had gone on for too long.
"Just how much can Kal drink?" Faren asked himself (again) as he realized that he had lost count of how many pints she and Solveig had already emptied. Even the other Wardens were staring at them with gaping maws and so were a drove of soldiers that had again formed a circle around the camp. What was worse, however, was that the two contestants had been openly and shamelessly flirting for quite a while and the redhead wasn't sure the city elf was bluffing it anymore.
Solveig drank down another large part of the beer that his large pint carried and belched. "Well, you're more resilient than you look."
"Truly?" she drew close to him, which was quite easy since they were now seated on the same log. "I daresay that almost sounded like a compliment, to a woman and an elf no less!"
He let his free arm slip around her waist and practically hoisted her up on his knee. "I can show you some real compliments if you like," he suggested in a totally unrestrained manner.
Faren took a hold of his special rope, though the other Wardens didn't look like they were about to jump in any time soon. He only got an extra reason to be stupefied, however.
She leaned closer and practically let her head rest on his shoulder. The two were now cuddled together, facepalm-inducing though it may seem. "Forgive me ser," she began, quite innocently, "but I don't believe I've had enough drinks to properly engage in such a conversation." She then let her light touch slide down his forearm, then across his hand, until they stroked the fingers that held onto the handle of the pint.
Faren let go of his rope.
"Ha! Then we should best make sure we catch up!" Solveig declared as he took the pint to his mouth and didn't lower it until he had completely emptied it of every last drop. "bring on the next one!" he then demanded, but was cut off when Kallian's soft touch was felt on his cheek and she turned his face towards her own. He met her eyes, and the look on her face was quite devious.
"Are you certain you're feeling up to the task, ser?" she coyly asked, pursing her lips as she drew her face closer. "I dare say you are feeling quite feverish, and your eyes look ever so tired..."
Solveig looked as though he tried to shake off some unexpected dizziness for a moment, but let his empty pint fall to the floor as he took her by the waist with both of his large, strong hands. "Are you forfeiting perhaps?" he half-joked, though his voice was a bit irregular. "You know that means you'll have to... obey one of my orders."
She took hold of his face with both her hands and slowly drew ever closer, until it looked as though their lips were about to connect. Then, her own slipped past and whispered in his ear. "Maybe some other time."
The others couldn't believe their eyes as the huge man's eyes rolled aimlessly and he lost his balance, finally falling off the log he was sitting on and ending up collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Grey Wardens and soldier alike stared at the scene in stunned silence as the graceful elf simply straightened up and finished her own beer.
"Ah! Another one falls to the elves' adaptive physiology!" she declared in triumph, even as she looked as though the alcohol hadn't grazed her even in the least.
Whatever men or women were present exploded in a rain of laughter so loud that no one could ever think this was the eve of an uncertain battle against monsters from fairy tales. The Wardens were especially astounded, as the human giant from the Anderfels, renowned for his seemingly endless drinking ability, had just been out-drunk by a fresh recruit, and a elf lady at that.
But as she walked off, now the subject of adulation for practically everyone there, her eyes met Faren's, and the look on his face bore an unmistakable tint of "I know what you just did." He shook his head at her, telling to follow him, and they put some distance between them and the camp, until it was only the two of them in the shadow that a tree cast under the moonlight.
"You, Kal, are insane," he told her, grinning from ear to ear. "You played the seductress and spiked his last drink, didn't you?"
Kallian indulged in a wide grin of her own as she leaned forward, with her hands leaning against her kneecaps. "I only said I'd drink him under the table. It's his own fault for not setting up any rules." She then poked the dwarf's head again and gave him a last, playful glance as she walked off.
"Yes, I definitely like being a Grey Warden," Faren decided.
"-. Between cheese and impending doom .-"
The sun was finally up in the sky and the armies had gotten ready for battle. The King and Loghain decided to stick to their initial plan after all, and the latter had already taken his men to their positions. The bulk of the king's men were now waiting at the base of the fortress for the horde to show itself, and all the Wardens, save but Gwen and Alistair, were to be on the frontlines with them. Alistair was especially put off when he heard he wasn't going to be in the battle, though he did look pleased that it was Gwen he had been paired with. They had just finished having some last pre-battle words with the other members of the order and were getting ready to leave for the Tower of ishal.
Faren was a bit nervous as he looked in the distance and saw the Blight clouds nearing, a huge, wretched phenomenon that darkened the sky above where the horde had amassed. He looked behind him and noticed his fellows getting their final preparations done. Some were sharpening their blades with whetstones, others were just having some last minute chats. He saw Alim putting some things in order in his pack, and the disgruntled look on Solveig's face as Kallian was no doubt teasing him for losing a drink-off with a female elf.
Then, of course, there was Theron, who looked quite annoyed, most likely because he didn't think he had any business there and resented not having had a choice in becoming a Warden in the first place. He still hated humans after all.
He noticed that Raonar was nowhere in sight, but he looked around and saw him talking with the king again, oddly enough. They were quite far and he couldn't tell what they were saying. Eventually, Cailan seemed to pass the other one something, a small package that the dwarf stared at for a while before placing it inside one of his armor's hidden pockets. After that, they ex-prince just bowed at him and they took each other's leave.
"Nervous?" the white-haired one asked his companion as he eventually walked up to him.
"What do you think? Just look at those clouds. They're unnatural..."
"That they are," he agreed, though he just gave him a reassuring smile and put his arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry. You're a survivor."
Again with the praises. That guy definitely knew what to say, didn't he? "Thanks man," the rogue let out as he smiled back.
"Is Duncan in his tent right now?" the prince unexpectedly asked.
Faren was a bit surprised. "Actually, I think I saw him leave just a while ago..."
"Hmm... I'll be back later." With that, Raonar just left. Still, Faren couldn't help himself and let his eyes follow him as he entered the commander's tent and came back just a short time later. Then, he just walked off in the direction that Alistair and Gwen were waiting.
"Alistair, did you eat all of the cheese again?" the former Aeducan joked as he reached the couple, instantly causing the templar to blush under Gwen's inquisitive gaze. "Anyway, you should probably go see Duncan in case there's anything you missed. I understand you'll be leaving shortly."
"Right! I guess I'll do that. Don't run off without me Gwen," he jokingly begged with his pair of deep, brown puppy eyes.
"Shoo! I'll be right here," she assured him with a wink.
The former templar gave her a last glance and walked off, unsure of what Duncan was going to say to him when he found him. He never even considered that the dwarf had ulterior motives for suggesting he meet the commander.
"Right," Raonar began, with a serious look on his face whose gravity was not lessened by how tactfully he stroked his silver-white beard. "Now that he's gone, we can finally talk."
The human lady raised one of her eyebrows and leaned on one foot. "And why, might I ask, should Alistair not be here for this?"
The short one looked straight at her and spoke as flatly and seriously as he could. "Gwen, I want you to listen to me, and I want you to do it very carefully."
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Yes, this was a transitory chapter, more or less. The next one will show the battle of Ostagar. And yes, everyone except Gwen and Alistair will be in the main fight.
