Chapter 29: A Queen, a Noble and a Grey Warden walk into a Pub...
Lyssa and Alistair spent the afternoon hanging out at The Gnawed Noble Tavern. As is typical with most nobles, their support was generally easily bought with favors of one kind or another. But as it turned out, most were already in support of Alistair because he had Lyssa's favor. Some of the nobles had been good friends with Lyssa's father, and they were most unhappy that Loghain had chosen Howe as his advisor, a man whose rise to power was threatening to them.
"I heard he came in and imprisoned the Arl of Denerim, taking over his estate. And now he is demanding we pay tribute to him while in the city," said one noble. "Next thing you know he'll have his eyes on my estate as well. Bryce was a good man, my Lady Cousland. You have my sympathy and my support. You will always have a friend in the Waking Sea."
As they left the tavern and headed back to the Arl's estate, Lyssa remarked, "Loghain certainly has made his share of enemies already. It doesn't seem as if we'll have much trouble getting the support of the Landsmeet."
"Well, we must remember that while Loghain may be reviled, his daughter is beloved by the people. The Nobles would have a hard time deciding who to believe if she comes out saying Loghain does not lie, that we did kill her husband. It is too bad we will not have her support at the Landsmeet as well. That would cinch it for us," Alistair said climbing the steps to the Arl's Estate.
"Who says we can't have her support," Lyssa said suddenly.
"We're going to depose her, I don't think she'll support that," Alistair said sarcastically.
"No...but what if she should think you aren't interested in the throne. If we could get her to come out and say her father is a traitor, before we declare our intentions to the throne, then it might make things easier for us," Lyssa said turning to Alistair before they entered the Arl's study.
"As good as an idea as that sounds, I don't know how we'll get to talk to Anora before the Landsmeet."
"Well, it was a thought anyway," she said walking into the room.
The Arl was standing with a young elf woman.
"Ah, there you two are... I trust everything went well at the tavern then," he said cryptically.
Lyssa took the hint and looked at the young woman and smiled, "Yes, everything was wonderful. We managed to get out a rousing chorus of Dane and the Werewolf. It was most enjoyable. Everyone joined in by the end."
"Good, good," said the Arl laughing, "I should have like to have been there. This is Queen Anora's handmaiden. It seems Queen Anora would like our assistance in a delicate matter."
"Imagine that!" Alistair said a funny look on his face as he turned to Lyssa.
"Ah. Hello good lady, what is it the Queen wishes of the Grey Wardens," Lyssa said trying not to laugh.
"My queen, she would like you to know she is not with her father when it comes to the Grey Wardens. She does not believe they would ever have harmed King Cailan," the handmaiden said twisting her hands.
"Yes?" Lyssa prompted.
"She told as much to Howe, and he called her a number of names most fowl," the handmaiden continued.
"That does not surprise me, Howe is a disgusting pig," Lyssa said angrily.
"Yes!" the handmaiden said feeling some camaraderie, "He also locked the queen up in his estate. She cannot get out. She fears it may be possible that her father might take Howe's advice and have her killed... and blame it on you."
Lyssa raised her eyebrows and looked at the Arl. "Would Loghain do this, to his own daughter?"
"I do not know. But I do not think we could take the chance. Anora is much loved by the people. It would not take many people to believe it for it to ruin everything we've worked for," the Arl said.
"What is the plan? Surely we cannot waltz into Howe's estate and remove Anora?" Lyssa asked the handmaiden.
"Howe has only recently acquired the Estate of the Arl of Denerim. Most of the old guards were killed or imprisoned in Fort Drakon. There are so many new guards, it would be easy to slip in wearing the guard uniforms unnoticed. I can take you to the servant's entrance. If we go now we can free my Queen before nightfall."
Lyssa sighed and nodded.
"I will meet you at Howe's estate. Find me there," said the handmaiden.
After she left Lyssa looked from the Arl to Alistair and said, "Why do I get the feeling this will not go as planned?"
"Be careful," the Arl said, "we are very close to ending all this. If this is not a trap, then we may even manage to gain the favor of the Queen. That would be a very good thing indeed."
**
Lyssa and Alistair were standing just inside Howe's estate wearing the bulky coat of arms of Howe's guards.
"Stop that," Lyssa said poking Alistair.
"It itches! What do they make these out of? Tree bark?" Alistair said itching his arm.
"Come on you two! This way," the handmaiden hissed.
So far everything had gone as planned. They had managed to sneak past several guards without drawing any suspicion. Lyssa felt that everything was going a little too well until they got to a large door that was clearly magically charged.
"What now?" Alistair grumbled.
"Hello?" a voice from inside the room said. "Can you hear me?"
"Queen Anora?" Lyssa said as quietly as she could while still being heard through the door.
"Yes! Is it the Grey Warden? I'm so sorry! Howe felt that it wasn't good enough to simply lock me in here. He had a mage put a spell on the door as well. Please, you must hurry! I don't know when Howe is coming back!" Queen Anora said through the door.
"Right... so to get rid of the enchantment, we need to...." Lyssa prompted.
"Find the house mage. I believe I overheard that he was headed to the dungeon," Queen Anora said. "Please hurry!"
"Wait here," Lyssa said the handmaiden who nodded her assent.
Lyssa motioned to Alistair and they tried to blend in as they walked to the dungeon.
"I don't know how much longer we're going to fit in here," Lyssa said as they got closer to the dungeon. "I noticed some funny looks."
"They've just never seen a guard as beautiful as you before," Alistair said grinning.
"I was going to say the same thing about you. I'm sure that one back there winked at you."
"You're having me on," Alistair said glancing around.
"I'll never tell, but you're hair does look lovely today," Lyssa said smiling impishly.
They turned the corner and headed down into the dungeon. They opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and a guard stood up and approached them.
"Hey, you're not..."
The guard never finished his sentence. A man in a cell behind him reached out and pulled him to the bars, swiftly breaking his neck. The man reached down and grabbed the keys from around the guard's waist and unlocked his door, stepping out and looking at Lyssa and Alistair as if he planned to fight, but then realized it wasn't necessary.
"You're not Howe's guards. I can see that pretty clearly. Thanks for this though. I've been waiting for my chance for three days now. The blighter has been very wary of me," the man said pulling the guard's armor off his body.
"I know you," Alistair said trying to jog his memory. "You were at my joining. You are from Orlais, Ree... something" he said snapping his fingers trying to get the name right.
"Alistair! I thought I recognized you. Yes, I was at your joining. Riordan," he said stepping toward them. "And you, are you a Grey Warden as well?" he asked Lyssa.
"Yes," Lyssa said. "It is good to meet you."
"I did not know Grey Wardens could be so lovely," he said taking her hand and giving it a light kiss. "I'm sorry, I have been in the dungeon far too long. I was on my way to the Arl of Denerim when Loghain's men took me. I heard about Ostagar. I am so sorry. Duncan was a good man. Truly."
"You knew Duncan?" Lyssa asked.
"Yes, we go way back," and then he suddenly grabbed his side wincing in pain. "I apologize. They have been torturing me. They believe I am the advance guard of an Orlesian invasion I'm afraid. I tried to explain to them that Grey Wardens do not take part in border disputes, but to no avail. I don't suppose you are here to rescue me?"
"No, but it is certainly a happy coincidence nonetheless," Lyssa said smiling taking off her coat of arms and handing it to Riordan. "Wear this. It should get you to the back door easily enough. Can you get to Arl Eamon's estate in the Market District on your own? If not, you can wait for us. There is a row of bushes just beyond the servant's entrance."
Riordan carefully put on the coat of arms over his pilfered armor, "I think I can manage. Besides, if you are headed down there," Riordan gestured to the dungeon, "You'll be creating quite the stir. I should think the distraction will be enough to keep an old Warden like me out of the line of sight of a few guards."
"Right then. Good luck to you. Hopefully we'll see you at the Arl's Estate soon," Lyssa said.
After Riordan left Alistair pulled at his own coat of Arms, "Can I take mine off too? It's bunching funny under the arms, and it clashes with my hair."
Lyssa smiled, "I suspect once they see this guard here, they'll be on the alert. Probably won't do us much good to keep our disguises anyway."
They crept into the dungeon and walked past several cells. They used the guard's key they had picked up to open each one, letting the prisoners out as they went. Lyssa figured not only would the ensuing escape help distract the guards, but that any men Howe felt the need to imprison were likely to be innocent of any crime.
As they approached the end of the hall, Lyssa's skin crawled as she heard Howe's voice from the other side of the door.
"The queen isn't the only one who can play on both sides of the aisle," she heard Howe say. "If she thinks she can get rid of Loghain and then me so she can have all the power to herself..."
Lyssa opened the door and stepped in, her blades already in her hand. Howe was talking to a mage who was sitting in a chair, his legs crossed and nodding his head while Howe paced back and forth ranting. At the sound of the door Howe turned around and his eyes narrowed.
"You!" he yelled, pointing his finger at Lyssa while the mage slowly made his way to his staff.
"Don't even think about it!" Alistair said angrily to the mage, his sword drawn and pointed at him.
"Why?" Lyssa seethed with anger, the word spitting from her mouth. "My father trusted you!"
"Why not?" the Arl asked angrily. "He took everything that should have been mine. I fought beside him at the battle of White River and yet he took the lion's share of the glory! I met a woman of remarkable loveliness, and he stole her from me even after I told him of my intentions. Every time I look at you I see what was stolen from me. My only regret is that I didn't have the chance to cut your throat before his eyes!"
"How dare you speak of him that way!" Lyssa said angrily. "He was ten times the man you'll ever be!"
Howe laughed and sneered at Lyssa. "That wasn't what your mother said when I took her as your father lay dying. She begged me not to...,"
Lyssa lunged at Howe so viciously the strike knocked him off her dagger as he flew backward into the wall behind him, blood spraying outward. His head smacked into the wall and the breath was knocked out of him as he slid slowly to the floor unable to move his legs. Lyssa had severed his spinal cord at the waist and he looked up at her helplessly as she walked to him, casually slitting the throat of the mage as she walked by.
Lyssa's eyes were burning coals of hatred and rage as she pulled Howe's body up and over a wood bench. She held out her hand and Alistair handed her the sword of Highever. She leaned close to Arl Howe and whispered in his ear.
"You know, my mother spoke of your attentions once. She said you tried to kiss her and the feeling reminded her of licking a toad. In fact, I remember a funny story she told me, of coming upon you and father after bathing in a lake. She said it was the strangest thing, but she wasn't really sure if you were a man or not, for despite her disgust at seeing your naked body, she had to do a double take because she had never in all her life seen a man so poorly endowed. We had quite a good chuckle over that, mother and I," Lyssa said using the sword to force Arl Howe to look into her eyes.
Howe choked and shook his head as Lyssa stepped back and raised her sword high into the air, bringing it down with a mighty slash, decapitating Howe in one motion. She stood up and watched as blood poured from Howe's neck, spilling onto his head, staring up from the floor. She stepped back as the blood pooled ever closer to her feet, feeling a huge release within her heart. She looked at the ground and clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into the palm of her hands causing them to bleed.
Lyssa moved back toward the body, carefully stepping over the blood.
"Lyssa, you don't have to, not for him," Alistair said softly as he moved toward her.
"It isn't for him," she said quietly and placed her hand on Howe's body.
"Farewell, Arl Rendon Howe, destroyer of the Cousland house. Your deeds will no longer touch the people of Ferelden and the task my father set before me is done. My only regret is that I killed you with anger in my heart. And with that, I acknowledge the gift you have given me. Forever after this day, shall my head remain even, and my heart remain pure. Today, was truly not your day."
Lyssa stood and Alistair came forward and took her hand, "are you alright?"
"Yes, I will be," and Lyssa turned and left the small room, Alistair close behind her.
**
When they got back to the Queen's room she was already standing outside in guard's armor waiting for them.
"They locked you in the room with a disguise? Really?" Alistair said suspiciously.
"No, of course not, What are you implying?" Anora asked hastily. "We need to go. I thought I heard Howe's men sounding the alarm."
"Right. Through here," Lyssa said pointing as she moved into the entrance room and ran right into a contingent of soldiers and the young female knight she had seen earlier.
"Oh dear," Lyssa said quietly.
"Stop, in the name of his Regency Loghain. You are hereby charged with the death of Arl Howe and his men. Come with me peacefully and no one will be harmed."
"Look, you're a knight, probably just following orders. I'm going to hope that you're a sensible person and don't have all the information, right? You see the Queen...," Lyssa began hoping to talk her way out of a fight.
"Oh thank the Maker you've finally arrived, Ser Cauthrien. These Wardens tried to kidnap me!" Queen Anora said stepping out from behind them.
"What!?" both Alistair and Lyssa said at the same time.
"Seize them," Ser Cauthrien said as Anora darted off with her handmaiden in the opposite direction.
"You know," said Lyssa as she cut through a couple of guards, "I'm really rather beginning to hate that woman." She cut through several more as she continued, "'Come rescue me from the Arl! He's locked me in a room!'" More soldiers fell as Lyssa continued in a mocking voice, "'did I forget to tell you? You'll need to kill a mage now too!'" Alistair started laughing as they both cut down a few more guards, "'Oh, thank you ever so much for rescuing me, now could you be a dear and distract these soldiers that I'm about to throw you in front of? I'd really rather not have to explain myself just in case I've chosen the wrong side. You understand, right? A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! Toodles!'"
All the guards had fallen and Ser Cauthrien was the only one left standing. Alistair bashed her with his shield while Lyssa jumped on top of her, pinning her down and driving her daggers downward. Ser Cauthrien dropped her blade and grabbed Lyssa's wrists holding her back as best she could.
"You know, I tried to talk to you. I didn't want to do this," Lyssa said bearing down on the knight.
"There would be no Ferelden without Loghain!" she screamed up at Lyssa.
"Why do you people keep saying stuff like that like it matters? Where do you get these rules of morality? Do enough good and you can get away with murder, is that it?" Lyssa said gaining a little ground as her blades inched ever closer.
Ser Cauthrien gave a loud grunt and pushed Lyssa off of her as she reached around to grab her sword, Alistair's blade slid home in her side, right through her heavy plate armor. She fell to her knees and dropped to the floor.
"Have I ever told you how much I like this sword? I really love this sword. Now I understand why Cailan was so entranced by them," Alistair said as he stared in wonder at the blade that had just pierced through plate mail like it was butter.
"Come on, let's get to Arl Eamon's and find out what story that wacky queen is spinning," Lyssa said.
