I gotta remember to upload these, honestly. I get so forgetful! Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 47:
Why Are There Always Detours?
I felt so much sodding better being out in the open again. I never would have sodding believed that I'd feel better out with the open sky than in Orzammar, but I did. Orzammar didn't feel the same anymore – and the constant feeling of darkspawn everywhere didn't help.
We'd been walking for a few days now. We were headed back to Redcliffe. Wynne had asked that we make a brief stop at the Circle so she could check in with Irving, so we were headed there first. I was walking behind Alistair and Leliana as they led the way to the Circle. Zev was walking beside me, keeping a light-hearted conversation as his eyes stayed plastered on Leliana's rear. It was a little sickening.
Leliana grinned as she looked at Alistair. "There are many great tales of lost kings who return to their lands to reign glory…"
I heard Alistair groan. "I am not lost," he said. "Nor, for that matter, a king. And there is nothing glorious about me." I couldn't help but snigger and Alistair shot me a glare.
"You are Maric's son; you are the rightful king of Ferelden."
"I am the son of a star-struck maid and an indiscreet man who just happened to be king," he sighed and shook his head. "Look, I can't be king. Some days I have trouble figuring out which boot goes on which foot."
"Antiva has a long tradition of royal bastards," interjected Zevran, finally tearing his eyes from Leliana's ass. "They've led wars to claim the throne. Some of them have become kings. In fact, I'd say the current royal line in Antiva stems from bastard blood several times over."
"Well aren't you just chock full of useless trivia today," moaned Alistair. He looked so uncomfortable.
"I doubt it would go well for those royal bastards when they make themselves known," said Leliana.
"Let me guess: they get assassinated," muttered Alistair.
Zevran grinned wickedly. "Only the very popular ones."
"What of the unpopular ones?" asked Leliana, her eyes wide with fascination.
Zevran laughed. "Well, they get by somehow, I'm sure. There was one fellow who did quite well working as a prostitute based on his uncanny resemblance to the king. Charged a fortune."
Leliana's eyes widened with shock and her face turned three shades of crimson. "You couldn't afford him; I take it?" drawled Alistair.
Zevran grinned wider. "That cynicism will serve you well, my friend. Hold onto it."
Alistair groaned. "I'm not going to declare myself king. I can't be king. I'm a complete fool."
Leliana smiled gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Complete fools are made leaders of kingdoms all the time, and you're not a complete fool."
Alistair rolled his eyes. "What an utter relief."
"And don't worry about the boots. Kings don't need to dress themselves. that's what advisors are for, isn't it?"
"And star-struck maids, apparently."
I giggled and Alistair shot me another glare before slowing his pace to meet up with me. "You're looking better," he said softly.
I shrugged. "I don't feel the darkspawn everywhere anymore," I muttered. "Doesn't feel so suffocating up here."
He grinned. "I still remember when you were terrified that you'd fall into the sky."
"Oh, that still sodding scares me sometimes," I said, glancing upwards. "But it feels more… comforting now. I feel more like I have a place and a purpose up here."
"Feels more like a home?"
"Very much so." I felt a hot flush creep across my face as I looked up at him. "The company is really nice up here."
Alistair's grin grew larger. "I'm glad you feel that way," he said, gently stroking my cheek.
"It's getting dark." Morrigan's blunt statement next to my ear made me jump. She had a habit of sneaking up on me when Alistair and I were chatting.
I cleared my throat. "I guess it is," I muttered. "Let's find a place to make camp."
She nodded in approval and with her eyes still half-trained on me, she walked ahead of the group to scout a decent place to make camp.
oOo
I sighed as I kicked a rock through the nearby woods. I was getting coddled a bit after catching a cold in Orzammar and everyone refused to let me do anything to help set up camp. I felt sodding useless.
I heard heavy footsteps behind me, and a distinct smell of ale hit my nose. "There you are. Wanted to talk to you."
I spun around to face the drunken dwarf. "What about?"
"I was thinking… I do know some people out here on the surface," he said gruffly. "A person, actually. Girl I knew in Orzammar."
I cleared my throat. "Just a girl you knew… or a girl you were sleeping with?"
"Aye we were rutting," he said with a grin. "After Branka left for the Deep Roads. Name's Felsi, and she was a fiery one. I'm sure she's forgiven me by now. Thought maybe I'd track her down. See how she's been living."
"Forgiven you? What did you do to the girl Oghren?"
He threw his hands in the air. "It's in the past!" he exclaimed. "But I'd like to find her. Last I heard she was going to live with her mother on the surface. Near some… lake. Cleanbad Lake was it?" He scratched his head and frowned. "Ah, sod it. I don't remember."
Cleanbad Lake? What the sod was this dwarf on about? I frowned at him for a moment before a thought suddenly popped into my head. "Do you mean Lake Calenhad?"
"Nah," he grumbled. "I think it was Cleanbad. I remember because I thought yeah, that's right. Dirty good, clean bad." He chuckled. "Do you know where it is?"
I nodded. "It's not too far from here. We're headed there anyway – the Circle is just off Lake Calenhad and Wynne wanted to check in on the mages there."
Oghren grinned. "Thanks for that," he said. "You're a good friend, Warden."
He slapped me on the back, and I couldn't help but smile. It felt good to have another dwarf around. "Got any ale you feel like sharing?" I asked. "I'm feeling like it's a drinking kind of night."
"It's always a drinking kind of night."
oOo
The next morning Oghren and I made our way into Lake Calenhad village. I was nursing one hell of a sodding headache from the drinks last night. My first sodding mistake was suggesting drinking with Oghren. The next sodding mistake was trying to match his drinks.
We slowly made our way through the town and asked a few locals if they knew where Felsi was. It didn't take long to get an answer – she worked at the tavern.
Oghren let out a gasp as we entered the tavern. "There she is!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Look, you gotta back me up here, got it?"
"I'm not exactly savvy with romancing people," I grumbled. "Just be yourself. She's not a genlock."
Oghren snorted. "You haven't met her, I take it."
"Just go talk to her."
"Just be ready to pry her off when she throws herself at me," he said with a grin. "We don't want to make a scene here. Well, don't pry her off me roo soon. I mean, a little scene's all right."
I rolled my eyes and kicked him towards the dwarven woman. He stumbled a little and slowly approached her. "Are you sure you're not a baker? Cause you've got a sodding nice set of buns."
Felsi turned slightly and the empty mug she was holding clattered to the ground. "Oghren? Is that you?"
"Yeah, in the flesh, baby."
She frowned. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "
"Just trying to kick back with a pint. Fighting darkspawn's a lot of sodding work, you know?"
I think if her jaw could have dropped anymore it would have been on the floor. "You're fighting darkspawn?" she said in disbelief. "You?"
I could see Oghren stuttering a little – my turn to raise the stakes for him, I guess. I grinned and clapped him on the back. "This man took on an army of golems almost single-handed," I said.
He shot me a brief grin. "It was a bit of a pain, but… it was a personal favour for the king of Orzammar," he said confidently.
She stared at him for another moment, a brief flicker of awe passing through her expression. She picked up the mug she'd dropped, and a scowl appeared on her face before she turned her back on Oghren. "The whole surface to choose from, and you just happened to come to my tavern?"
"Just tell her it's fate or something," I whispered to him.
"What?" he grumbled before realisation dawned on him. "Oh, right." He cleared his throat. "It's fate, Felsi. What can I say?"
She snorted. "Fate? The ancestors must have a sense of humour, then." She turned back to Oghren and narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Nothin'. Just thought I'd see how you were doing, is all. Well, maybe that and grease up the bronto, if you know what I mean."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, you've seen me. You'll have to go back to Orzammar for the bronto."
He sighed and shrugged. "Ah well, it's been fun, Felsi, but I better go."
She stammered for a moment and took a step forward. "Wait! You're leaving?" she exclaimed. "You just got here. I haven't called you a shaft-rat yet…"
He grinned. "Oh, you can't keep the archdemon waiting. You hurt its feelings, it might turn the whole Blight around and go home. Nobody wants that."
She shuffled a little and ran a hand through her hair. "Well… you don't need to fight it right now, do you? I mean, you could have a pint first." She cleared her throat. "You could call me a surly bronto, I could tell you that you smell like nug droppings…" She smiled a little and I couldn't help but stare at her in shock. Was she actually wanting Oghren? What in the sod was going on?
Oghren grinned. "I tell you what, I've got some things I gotta do, but I'll come back for that pint when things are settled. You frigid deepstalker."
She smiled. "Fine, but you'd better not keep me waiting, you worthless copper-plated sword caste."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Oghren hurriedly pushed me out of the tavern, a wide grin on his face. "I still got it!" he said.
I blinked. "Wait… was that a success?"
He laughed and slapped my back. "Weren't you watching? She could barely restrain herself!"
I frowned. "If… you're sure… that's great then."
He laughed again. "Aye! Now let's get back to camp. It's time for a celebratory drink!"
I groaned as he dragged me back to camp. I didn't think I could sodding handle any more sodding ale. Maybe it wasn't a good thing to have another dwarf along for the ride.
We walked into the camp and Oghren ran straight for his ale stash. I sighed and glanced around to see where Alistair was – finally spotting him on the outskirts of camp with a strange man beside him
I slowly waltzed up to them. "Who are you?" I asked.
The man flinched slightly and looked me up and down. "You're a hard woman to find!"
I narrowed my eyes at the man. "That's slightly intentional," I said. "Can't have Loghain sending more assassins to try to kill me."
The man stared at me for a second before running a hand through his hair. "Where are my manners? The name is Levi, Levi Dryden. Did Duncan ever mention me? Levi of the Coins? Levi the Trader?"
I cleared my throat. "I've never heard of you," I said. "My name is Kaela."
Levi's expression dropped, and he let out a sigh. "Really? He never told you of old Levi? We've known each other for years."
I glanced at Alistair and he shrugged in return. He obviously had no idea who this man was either.
"Duncan passed before he could really tell me much," I said softly.
Levi nodded. "A tragedy it is, at that," he said. "But, you see, Duncan promised that together we'd look into something important for the Wardens. And for me."
"What promise is that?" asked Alistair.
"My family… well, our past is a bit checkered, you see? Nobles look at us with disdain. My great-great-grandmother, Sophia Dryden, was the last Warden-Commandee of Ferelden, back when the Wardens were known as freeloaders. So King Arland banished the Wardens and he took House Dryden's land and titles."
I bit my lip and frowned. "What does this have to do with us?" I asked.
Levi took a deep breath. "Duncan wanted to reclaim the old Grey Warden base, Soldier's Peak. And perhaps we'll unconver evidence to restore my famiy's honour along the way. They say it's haunted and it's certainly dangerous. Will you help me?"
I felt faint at the word haunted. "I… ah… I don't… ah… I don't do well… with… with… dead stuff. Coming alive. I don't do that. No, no, no."
"Please help me!" exclaimed Levi. "I want to restore my family's honour!"
"We'd also be able to have a Warden base in Ferelden again," muttered Alistair.
I glared at him. Whose sodding side was he on anyway. "I don't do haunted."
"It'll be fine," said Alistair. "I'll be with you."
I growled. "Fine," I said, glaring harder at him. "But I swear if sodding corpses come to life I will hold it over you for all of sodding eternity."
Alistair smiled. "That's fair," he said. He turned to Levi and nodded. "We'll help you, Levi."
"A thousand blessings on you!" exclaimed the man. "I'll lead the way there!"
