Author's note - as you'll see this is a slightly confusing chapter, switching viewpoints several times. Bear with it :) It is set roughly a week before Loghain and Muirnara's wedding.
The idea that Wade was allowed an equal weight of the Archdemon's dragonhide and dragonbone to do as he liked with I initially believed was my own thought and now I have a nasty feeling that I've read something similar in another fanfic - this is always the problem with reading fan fiction, there comes a time when you lose track of what is and is not your own idea! So if you're reading this and you came up with the idea first then please accept a homage to your own writing here :)
Denerim - Docks
"You know, Loghain, my friend, most people when looking for a present for their bride to be would consider jewellery..." Zevran's voice tailed off as he studied the other man's face. "But of course there is little harm in being original."
Loghain clearly was not in the mood for debate. He stalked through the milling crowds in the docks, eyes flickering from ship to ship. Denerim's port was once again a hive of activity with merchant vessels tied up at every wharf, and more visible at moorings out in the harbour, waiting for their turn to dock. Both wardens leapt backwards as a flock of bleating goats were driven towards the gate leading to the Market District. The nearest ship appeared to have already cleared out its cargo and was loading bales of heavy fleeces, she flew Rivaini colours at her mast.
Zevran pointed. "The Antivan ships come in at the far end of the dock, they have shallower keels so they always get the end spaces. If anyone has brought what you want, they will be there.
Denerim - Market District
"You know, Muirnara, most people when looking for a present for their husband to be would be considering something a little more...romantic?" Leliana teased as they walked through the Market District. Then she looked at Muirnara's face. "But of course, your Loghain, while possessed of many stirling qualities, is not exactly a romantic soul much of the time. I am sure you are making a good decision."
The Market District was once again humming with activity. Few of the shops were intact, but the intrepid storeholders had set up awnings outside the damaged buildings and were loudly hawking their wares. Muirnara bought two meat pies from a vendor and they stood eating them and studying the Chantry, covered with a makeshift scaffolding of timbers lashed together with ropes. Workmen were swarming over the scaffolding, blocks of stone were being hoisted up on pulleys to those working at the tops of the walls. The foreman spotted Muirnara and respectfully saluted her. "We'll be done before your wedding, Warden Commander. Never fear." He jumped sideways as some broken slates cascaded to the ground and his attention turned to his hapless underling. Muirnara and Leliana moved tactfully away as the recriminations began.
Wade's Emporium was surprisingly still intact, the sign still hung above the door. Muirnara squared her shoulders. "Last time I came here, Herren threw me out of the shop. If he slams the door in my face this time, I'm going to kick it in, and you're going to plant an arrow in his backside. Not lethally, just painfully. Got that?"
Leliana laughed. "I don't think he's going to throw you out of the shop, cherie. Trust me."
Denerim - Docks
They found the merchant in the very last wharf. Three horses were tied to the railing beside the gangplank, a fourth was being led off the ship, and they could see two more waiting to disembark. The merchant spotted Zevran first, his eyebrows raised almost into his hairline. "Zevran?" He then launched into a flood of Antivan, gesticulating wildly with his hands. Zevran responded in kind, but the exchange seemed relatively amicable. Loghain turned his attention to the horses.
The big grey at the end of the rail was far larger than he wanted, and the scars at the corners of its lips told him volumes about the way it had been ridden in the past. The chestnut mare beside it was the right size and build, but there was something about the way she was standing that made him cautious. He ran a hand gently down the back of one of her forelegs, talking softly to her, and found what he was expecting - heat at the base of the tendon and a thickening that suggested this was an old injury which had a habit of recurring. A pity. The third horse, another grey, was clearly an unbroken youngster, it was wild eyed and jerking its head against the rope that secured it.
Zevran had managed to talk the Antivan horse dealer to a standstill and turned to Loghain. "As you might have gathered, Carlo and I are old...acquaintances."
Loghain raised an eyebrow. "Not friends?"
"Associates. You could call him a former employer."
"So who did he pay you to kill?"
"The other man who dealt horses to Ferelden from Antiva City."
"I see. How well does he speak the King's Tongue?"
"Well enough to understand you if you speak slowly. I will translate his replies, he understands more than he speaks."
Loghain nodded. "Ser, what I am looking for is a mount for a lady. Well mannered, light mouthed, sound, and between six and twelve years old." He gestured to the chestnut. "That mare would have been perfect...had she been sound. Do you have what I am looking for?"
The man smiled and nodded. He asked Zevran a question to which Zevran seemed to reply in the affirmative. Then he beckoned to the groom who was tying a rangy bay gelding beside the young horse and pointed to the hold on the ship, the man disappeared below decks again.
"What did he ask you, Zevran?"
"Loghain, my friend, he asked me if the lady involved was your wife to be. I told him it was. He said that in that case, he had a mare in the hold that he had not planned to sell in Denerim, but since it was for the Hero of Ferelden he would make an exception." The elf seemed a little embarrassed. "He said that most Fereldans cannot tell a good horse from a poor one, and he does not usually waste his better stock on those who cannot appreciate it. But he gave you credit for spotting that the chestnut was not sound, and thinks you must have had an Antivan grandmother."
That got a bark of laughter from Loghain. "Very well then, ser. Let us see this equine paragon."
Denerim - Market District
"Warden Commander, what a pleasure to see you again."
Whatever Muirnara has been expecting, it was not this. Herren seemed genuinely pleased to see her. He had bowed the two ladies into the shop, provided chairs, offered goblets of wine. Muirnara was so surprised she accepted. Leliana had a smile on her face that suggested she had anticipated something like this. Herren bowed again. "If you will excuse me, ladies, I will just fetch Master Wade for you, he is out the back in the storeroom."
Herren disappeared. Muirnara looked at Leliana. "Does Blight sickness cause insanity before the Taint is perceptible? He isn't tainted, he just seems to have had a complete change of personality."
Leliana giggled. "No, for this change of heart you have to thank Loghain. While you were unconscious he gave the orders to harvest the scales, wings, hide and bone of the Archdemon and to transport it to the Warden compound in Denerim. Then he came to an agreement with Master Wade that whatever he made for the Wardens with that material, he could have an equal weight of the raw materials to make items of his own choice for sale. Herren was ecstatic, you can't imagine what prices these items are fetching. So you - and any other Fereldan warden - are probably the most welcome customers on Thedas."
Muirnara laughed. "I see."
Denerim - Docks
The mare that was being held on the dock for Loghain's inspection was truly a beautiful example of the Antivan breeding program. She looked small to Loghain's eyes, compared to the Fereldan riding horses which tended to have a fair percentage of draft or carriage blood, but from her perfectly rounded quarters to her finely carved head and huge, lustrous eyes, she was indeed the perfection the dealer had described. She stood politely while Loghain felt down her legs, examined her teeth, ran a hand over her silken coat. When walked and trotted in hand to demonstrate her paces, she moved with a long swinging walk that suggested a good turn of speed when pressed, and a straight, level trot. She was a strawberry roan, again an unusual colour in Ferelden, with a much paler mane and tail, her broad forehead had a small star and her hind legs had two short white socks.
Loghain could find no fault with her, and her temperament seemed level and kind considering the noise and bustle of the docks but he asked anyway. "And she is quiet and well mannered to ride?"
"Ser," Carlo replied through Zevran, " she has a mouth as light as a feather, paces as smooth as silk, and she will gallop on a touch of the heel and stop on a touch of the rein. She will ride astride or with a lady's side saddle, she has hunted with a lady on her and displayed impeccable manners." He added something to Zevran that made the Antivan laugh.
"What was that he just said?" Loghain gave the mare a final pat.
"My friend, he said if this mare was a woman, he would have taken her to bed long ago."
Loghain laughed and reached for his purse. "Very well. Zevran, you had better find out just how much I am going to be robbed of."
Denerim - Market District
"So what can I do for you this time, Warden?" Wade was beaming all over his face.
She laid Loghain's worn scabbard and sword belt on the table. "I want a dragonskin copy made of this, from the Archdemon's hide, as a wedding gift for my husband. But there are certain things I want in the design."
"Go on." Master Wade had taken a sheet of vellum out and was tracing the scabbard onto it, making small illegible notes in the margin.
She touched the buckle. "I want the belt and the scabbard itself plain. But the belt buckle will be tricky. I want one half of it to be the Gwaren wyvern, the other half to be the Grey Warden griffin." She traced the two shapes with a finger. "And the two interlocked figures to be surrounded by the Highever laurel wreath. This would be difficult enough to do when forged of metal, but I want the buckle to be dragonbone. Can you do it?"
"A challenge indeed." Wade was roughly sketching the two heraldic figures and looking at them. "Dragonbone indeed does not lend itself to this work, but yes, I believe that I can do what you ask. Do you want any ornamentation on the sheath at all?"
"Only this." She claimed the pencil from him and wrote a single sentence on the bottom of the sheet of paper, in Old Tevinter. "I want these letters inlaid into the dragonskin down the sheath, in a dark metal. Not an obvious ornament, but with a degree of stylization to the letters, so they might be mistaken just for a fancy trim to the scabbard unless someone studied it closely."
"That should not be difficult. If you can allow me about two days, I shall close up the shop and start work on this now. Come back for it in the evening of the day after tomorrow." Wade already had that light in his eye that said he was working out another challenge. Herren sighed, but it was a very gentle protest by comparison to his previous complaints, and the size of the payment that Muirnara was counting out on the shop counter put an end to the sighs. Leliana presented Wade with a large bundle bearing the Grey Warden seals on the strings, and the glint in Herren's eye suggested he was already working out just how much could be made from the left over materials from this project. The two women drained their wine goblets, made polite excuses and walked out.
Leliana looked at Muirnara as they made their way back towards the gates. "I do not speak Old Tevinter. What was the sentence that you asked him to inlay into the scabbard?"
Muirnara told her. Leliana raised her eyebrows. "What do you think Loghain will say to that?"
Muirnara's voice was soft. "I think that he will understand."
Denerim - Docks
The deal had been struck, and Loghain's money belt was a lot lighter than it had been. Arrangements had been made to deliver the mare to the Palace stables in two days time, and a local saddler had been called in to make a saddle and bridle to fit her. The Antivan merchant had seemed slightly shocked that it was not a sidesaddle. Zevran had tactfully explained that most Fereldan women did indeed ride astride other than on formal occasions. Carlo's eyes had rolled, but he seemed disinclined to argue with a good customer.
"You know, Loghain," Zevran commented as they walked away, "the only thing you might wish to change about that beautiful mare is her name."
"What is she called anyway?"
Zevran told him. Loghain frowned. "Why should I wish to change that?"
"Because for your lovely Warden, it might have some...history?" Zevran paused, and then explained in a few terse sentences.
Loghain looked thoughtful for a minute, and then shook his head. "A name is just a name."
Zevran nodded. "So be it, my friend."
Author's note (again)
And for anyone wondering just what is on the scabbard, or what the mare is called, I'm afraid you will have to wait for a one-shot which will be out in a few days time, entitled Gifts. You get a double cliffhanger this time :)