My thanks to all my reviewers and Jinx1983, whose continuous help is greatly appreciated! I also want to thank PheonRen for her fantastic reviews. She is also an awesome writer, and I urge you to visit her profile page to read her stories! :D My deepest thanks to LadyCallia, Raven Jadewolfe, auradorina, ArcturasB, rebelgoddess19 (your two words made me giggle), megglesnake, fifespice and Saga Svanhildr.
Well, here it is...the Landsmeet chapter. I would say enjoy, but that would be cruel, lol.
Bioware owns! :D
Chapter 36 - Chaos at the Landsmeet
In the end, they killed Caladrius, who had been in charge of the Tevinter slave market in the Alienage. Both Loghain and Howe had contributed to this. It was profitable and as times were hard with a Blight upon them, they took advantage of the situation. Jinx pocketed the slaver documents she found on Caladrius's body while Kallia embraced her father. They returned to the alienage and had dinner with Cyrion.
By the time they left it was getting dark and as they trudged wearily back to the estate, Alistair took off his gauntlets and put an arm around Jinx, as he gave her a quick kiss on the crown of her head. She smiled up to him, looking very contended. As a matter of fact, they all noticed that Jinx was happier, and more relaxed and this put them all in a cheerful mood as they made their way back to the estate.
Upon arrival, the arl called them into their study.
"What news do you bring?" He asked anxiously. The truth was that the arl was in high spirits. His men had succeeded in capturing Howe only a few minutes ago and not a moment too soon, as Howe was about to enter the palace, seeking audience with Loghain.
"We have proof that Loghain collaborated in a slave trading market. He was shipping elves to the Tevinters, in return for money."
"Maker forgive me that I should feel so relieved at the news. But this is wonderful for us. It puts us at a direct advantage at the Landsmeet. The rest of my allies have arrived. I will call for the Landsmeet to convene immediately. Please come to the palace as soon as you can." And with those words, Eamon left to change and the rest went to wash up and change as well.
To say that Alistair was nervous was an understatement. He fidgeted while Jinx helped him don his armor again, and was grateful that she was there.
"You don't suppose Eamon will want me to make a speech, do you? Maker, he probably does, doesn't he? Awww..." He groaned and Jinx had to pinch the insides of her cheeks in order to stop herself from giggling.
"Now, love, you will be fine. Just be yourself," she said lovingly and he bent down to kiss her.
"That's what I'm afraid of," he sighed as he pulled away from the kiss.
They left the room hand in hand, dressed in their shining runic Warden armor and made their way down the stairs to meet the rest.
...
Arl Eamon was already addressing the people gathered in the throne room when they arrived. Alistair, Jinx, Marcus and Zevran made their way to the front, directly opposite Loghain who stood there scowling at them. The rest had stayed at the estate.
"Ah! Here we have the puppet. And the puppeteer!" He glanced at Alistair and Jinx respectively. "Tell us. What did the Orlesians offer you?"
Marcus stepped forward.
"You allowed slavery. I have proof here that you were behind this operation, along with Howe. You took the elves and sold them to the Tevinters," he passed the papers to the nobles gathered.
"What's this? There is no slavery in Ferelden!" Bann Sighard said angrily, "Explain yourself!"
"There is no saving the alienage. The poverty and illness there are...appalling. I did what I had to do for the good of Ferelden," Loghain said sadly.
"Was sending an apostate to poison Arl Eamon also for the good of Ferelden?" Jinx sneered at him.
"I assure you, if I wanted to do something like that, I would not hire -" Loghain began but was interrupted by Bann Alfstanna.
"This is true! My brother has told me the tale of how you captured him and what you did to him! He was the Templar in charge of taking the apostate to Denerim!" Bann Alfstanna said.
"The Chantry will not overlook this Loghain! Interfering with a Templar's sacred duty is an offense to the Maker Himself!" The Grand Cleric called out angrily.
Loghain saw that he was losing and clutched at straws.
"Where is my daughter? What have you done to her? Is she even alive?" He yelled.
"I believe I can speak for myself," Anora said as she calmly walked up to where they were all standing. "Lords and Ladies hear me. My father is not the man you once knew. He is no longer the Hero of River Dane. My father turned his troops aside and refused to aid your king, leaving him to die at Ostagar. He then took me away, before I could reveal his treachery. I would have already been killed, if not for the Grey Wardens."
They all voted: six votes in favor of the wardens, one in favor of Loghain.
"The Landsmeet is against you, Loghain. Step down gracefully," Marcus said softly.
"Traitors! You go against me, when I defended your wives and children from the Orlesians?"
"Call off your men, and we'll settle this reasonably," Marcus again spoke.
"Enough. Let the Landsmeet decide the terms of the duel," Loghain said.
"It shall be fought according to tradition: a test of arms, in single combat, until one party yields. And we who are assembled will abide by the outcome," Bann Alfstanna called out.
"Will you face me yourself, or do you have a champion?" Loghain asked Marcus.
"I will fight you myself," Marcus said.
Loghain smiled, thinking it would be an easy fight. He did not know that Marcus had mastered the Crushing Prison spell, which he cast immediately as soon as the duel began.
Loghain was crushed, and totally defeated in mere minutes.
"I yield," he said. "You are a formidable opponent."
"Wait!" Riordan's voice rang out, and he stepped close to Loghain, who stood up and blinked at him. "There is another option. Loghain is a worthy warrior and champion, the Hero of River Dane. There is a Bight before us and there are only three of us in Ferelden. Let him go through the Joining. We need to focus on the Blight."
Jinx found herself silently agreeing with Riordan. The Blight was truly the only thing that mattered.
"What!" Alistair exclaimed, his anger clearly taking control. "I can't believe you are suggesting this Riordan! This man had you put in prison and tortured! He abandoned Duncan and the rest of the Wardens on the field, leaving them to be massacred. You can't be serious!"
"The Joining is sometimes fatal, is it not? If my father dies, then you'll get your revenge, if he doesn't you'll gain a warden to aid you in the Blight," said Anora hopefully.
"We must put all that aside if we are to defeat the Blight. We need more wardens," Riordan said to Alistair sadly. "It does not matter if we were pickpockets, kinslayers, murderers or apostates, we must do what we must in order to defeat the Blight."
"I agree," Jinx spoke up. Alistair turned to her, his face a mask of anger. "I think we should put him through the Joining."
"I cannot believe this! You are going against me? YOU of all people?" He shouted.
"All I'm saying is that it is a Blight, and there are thousands upon thousands of darkspawn, we need -"
"Enough! I will not listen to this! He will corrupt what a Grey Warden means! I will NOT serve the wardens with him! I will not! I will not accept him into the order! I'm leaving!" Alistair shouted his face redder by the minute.
"You will not leave so easily, Alistair. I cannot rule knowing you are out there, and may take the throne. I will call for your execution," Anora said quietly. Jinx gasped when she heard this.
"Your Highness, I call upon the boon you offered when I agreed to support you for the throne," Marcus said quickly. "The boon is that you let Alistair go."
"He will have to relinquish all claims to the throne -" Anora began, but was interrupted by Alistair's yell.
"I don't want nor need your bloody throne! I'm leaving Ferelden!" He bellowed, his anger now completely controlling him.
"Alistair, think for a moment, please, Loghain could help us greatly -" Jinx began, putting her arms around him.
But Alistair growled and hit her arms away, pushing her back forcibly. She looked up at him with heartbreak in her eyes.
"You will NOT convince me, Jinx. I will not be here to see this man vilify the Warden's honor! I'll not have anything to do with this! NOR with Ferelden anymore. You want him a warden? Fine! Take him! You want to become a warden also? Fine! Do whatever you want, I don't care anymore! Save Ferelden yourselves! I'm leaving!" He snarled at her, and turned around, slamming the doors to the throne room with such force, the pigeons in the rafters took flight.
"So, you are Queen after all, Your Majesty," Marcus said softly to Anora, inclining his head.
Eamon knelt and declared his fealty to Anora immediately and everyone applauded.
Jinx did not even hear what was happening, but ran out, hurrying to the estate. She had to get to Alistair before he left. She had to -
But when she arrived to their room, he was gone. On their bed, she saw Duncan's shield and the rest of the gifts she had given him.
Letting out a wail, she fell to the floor, crying miserably. She continued to cry till her companions returned, and one by one they came into the room, trying to comfort her.
But Jinx would not be comforted. Her love was gone, and so was her life.
...
The following morning, Jinx called them all to the main hall. Riordan had to perform a Joining.
"Tell me, will you become a Grey Warden as well?" Riordan said softly. He was feeling very sorry for what had happened. Jinx's swollen red eyes regarded him, no emotion in them whatsoever.
"No. I can't," her lower lip trembled. The rest stood around, looking at her sadly. "I can't become a Grey Warden even if I wanted to. I am - with child," Jinx whispered.
The rest were in shock. They looked at her dead eyes, and Wynne stepped up and squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Jowan and Kallia, you want to become Grey Wardens, don't you?" Marcus spoke up, while Jinx let Wynne lead her into the dining room.
"Yes, we do," they answered in unison.
"Very well," Riordan said.
Just then Loghain arrived, the rest glared at him and walked into the dining room, leaving Marcus, Kallia, Jowan and Loghain with Riordan. Riordan called them all into the library.
The Joining began. Marcus said the words Alistair had said during his Joining. Kallia took the cup and drank first. She fainted, but Riordan quickly felt and found a pulse.
"She will live," Riordan said and smiled. Marcus cast a rejuvenating spell, and within minutes, Kallia was on her feet again.
It was Jowan's turn. He squeezed Kallia's hand and took the cup and drank. He also fainted, and Riordan did the same with him and was relieved to see him survive as well.
Then it was Loghain's turn. He sneered and practically snatched the cup away rudely from Riordan's hands. Both Kallia and Jowan glared at him, while Marcus looked sadly on.
Loghain swallowed the darkspawn blood and coughed. He then clutched at his throat, and cried out in pain, falling to the floor. Riordan did not have to check for a pulse, Marcus already knew before he hit the floor.
Loghain was dead.
...
Jinx was crying quietly, while Leliana and Wynne were doing the best to comfort her. Zevran looked on sadly.
"We will find him, bello tesoro," Zevran said gently. "Leliana and I will look for him. He must return to you, once he knows you are with child."
"What am I to do?" Jinx sobbed. "He was my life, my family. Castle Cousland is gone, thanks to Howe. My brother is dead. I have no one."
"You have your child, and us. We will take care of you, Jinx." Wynne said quietly, as she smoothed a lock of hair away from her forehead.
"Yes. We are your family now. We will find Alistair. How dare he leave you during a Blight in your condition?" Leliana said angrily.
"He was angry and he didn't know. I was going to tell him after the Landsmeet. I didn't want him to know before, because I didn't want him to be distracted. He had a Blight to focus on," Jinx said miserably.
"You must be strong now for the bambino, yes?" Zevran said, taking one of her hands in his. "We will all watch out for you, bello tesoro."
"Sodding, nughumper," Oghren growled from the corner. "If he returns, I'll kill him myself!"
"No Oghren. He is the father of my child, you can't!" Jinx cried, "Besides, I still love him. I want him back. Oh, dear Maker, please!"
At that moment, the door opened and Marcus walked in with Kallia and Jowan who were smiling at each other, followed by Riordan.
"It is done. Both Kallia and Jowan are now Grey Wardens," Riordan said, smiling gently at them all.
"Where is Loghain?" Zevran asked quickly.
"He did not make it," Riordan said quietly.
Everyone was startled when Jinx burst out laughing. She laughed and laughed, unable to control herself.
Lifting her eyes up, she gazed at the ceiling, still laughing so hard, that tears ran down her cheeks.
The Maker sure did have a sense of humor.
...
Morrigan walked into Jinx's room. She had not gotten a response when she knocked, and knew why. Jinx's depression was the only concern amongst all the companions. Personally she thought Jinx was better off without that fool of an ex-Templar.
They had arrived at Redcliffe only this afternoon, battling through a lot of darkspawn, all of them intent on defending Jinx from the evil creatures. Jinx had fought like one possessed, and afterwards had been so tired, she had welcomed a hot bath and lay on the bed, her eyes on the ceiling.
This was the way Morrigan found her.
"I knocked but there was no reply," the witch said.
"Oh. Normally when that happens, you go away, not intrude," Jinx deadpanned.
Morrigan ignored her comment, and closed the door behind her, approaching the bed.
"I have come with a proposal," she started, and Jinx's eyes momentarily left the ceiling to regard Morrigan for a moment. Yes. She was serious. Jinx sighed and her eyes returned to the ceiling.
"I have to reveal that I know one Grey Warden secret that you probably would have known as well, if that fool Alistair had stayed." Morrigan continued talking, and though she called Alistair a fool, hoping to get a reaction from Jinx, she got none. She frowned.
"In order to kill an archdemon, a Grey Warden needs to deal the killing blow. If not, the essence of the Archdemon will inhabit the nearest darkspawn, the Blight will continue and everything will be lost. But if the Grey Warden deals the killing blow, the Archdemon's essence is destroyed, and so is the Grey Warden's." She paused waiting to see if this, at least, had an effect on her. It did not.
Morrigan's frown deepened. "This means that whoever deals the killing blow -"
"Dies," came Jinx's voice. She sounded extremely weary as she spoke that one word, as if saying it was taking all the strength from her.
"That is correct. Now, I know you are a very practical person. And I know how much you want to see this Bight ended. I also know that you do not wish any of your Grey Wardens to perish. This is why I am coming to you tonight. You will probably be able to convince Marcus or Jowan to participate in a ritual. Your persuasion skills are admirable after all. This ritual will ensure that the Grey Warden who deals the killing blow survives. One of them will have to lay with me tonight. From this union a child will be conceived. The child will bear the taint, and the archdemon's essence will find the child's like a beacon. The child will be born with the soul of the Old God. It will not be harmed."
Jinx grinned as she stared at the ceiling. She did nothing else, and Morrigan began to feel it was useless to talk to her at all. She would go to Marcus then.
The witch turned to leave, but Jinx's voice stopped her, just before she reached the door.
"You foul, evil witch," she said with venom. "You knew this all along. I'm glad Alistair isn't here to convince him to do this. You deserve to die, just like your mother did."
Morrigan did not react to this. She did not have time nor care about starting a discussion with Jinx. Instead, she turned to open the door. She left the room and closed the door behind her. Then, she walked the short distance to Marcus's room. She knocked and went inside when she heard Marcus's voice bidding her to enter.
...
Alistair was on a ship for Orlais, and grasped the railing as he looked into the turbulent waters below him. He was so angry, he did not care if they ran into bad weather. As far as he was concerned, the Maker could throw the ship onto some rocks. Death was certainly preferable to the pain he was feeling.
As it turned out, the ship arrived safely to port ten days later, and Alistair made his way directly to the first inn he saw. He could not get the Landsmeet out of his tortured mind. He could not get her out of his mind. He sat on a stool at the counter, and asked for a big tankard of ale.
Voices reached him. He made out the word 'Ferelden' in the conversation and asked the innkeeper. He told him in Ferelden that the Blight had been defeated. The wardens had been victorious. His anger boiled over as he drank.
He drank, as her face swam up before him, her eyes full of heartbreak as they regarded him before he left the throne room.
He drank, as he remembered her choosing Loghain over him. He drank as he remembered her again, in his arms; her face, her smile, her lovely body under his.
He drank and drank, till he was thrown outside, for he had grown belligerent. The innkeeper would not put up with that, and Alistair landed in a mud hole. It was raining.
Lifting his head up to the heavens, the rain poured over him as he bellowed.
"Damn you! I curse the day I met you!"
And then he passed out.
...
A/N: What? No Eamon in this chapter? All in good time, my friends. All in good time!