Not So Bloody Denerim

It was way after normal suppertime by the time the Templars concluded their investigation of Elle's room in Highever House. Now, everyone in the estate knew about her secret compartments. That made Elle sad, but it was a relief that no other questionable artifacts were found.

Aggilana looked through the now-cooled fireplace, but found nothing but a few melted and twisted bits of gold from the amulet. "It would appear that no other questionable artifacts remain, my lady. If you come across another, just send word to the Chantry."

Elle had just finished replacing all her secret boxes but one. "Do you have a few minutes, Ser Aggilana?" she asked.

The Templar told the others with her that she would be along shortly. After they all left, Ser Aggilana closed the door and came to sit on the bed next to Elle. "Of course, my lady. How may I serve?"

"You can start by calling me 'Elle'," she said with a smile.

"And, you may call me 'Lana' when we are alone, Elle." Lana was a woman most likely twice Elle's age. She had long, blonde hair that was twisted and twirled into a bun at the nape of her neck. But, most striking about her were her eyes of deep blue ... the kind of eyes that could see into someone's soul and heal what needed healing.

"I just ..." Elle had to stop and collect her thoughts. Lana sat there patiently. "I just don't know how to feel about all this," she finally said quietly.

"Is there a specific situation that troubles you?" Lana asked.

"Nathaniel's suicide," Elle said. She told Lana the entire story about what had happened that afternoon and finished with, "For several days before his funeral, I just stayed up here and didn't speak to anyone. I didn't really even think about anything. I just ... was." She opened the box on her lap. "Then, I opened this box and found the betrothal ring Nathaniel had given me. That's when I had the notion that something else was going on and came to the Chantry earlier today." She turned toward Lana. "I believe that he loved me. It was real." Tears welled up. "Wasn't it? I don't think I could have done anything to stop him ... but should I have tried harder?"

Lana collected her thoughts and then asked, "Given the situation you were in and the time it all occurred, what could you have possibly done differently?"

Elle wiped her eyes. "Well, I could have walked to the Palace and declined the carriage."

"How would you feel about declining what looked to be a kind and sincere gesture?" Lana noticed a kerchief on the nightstand and handed it to Elle.

"You're trying to tell me not to rewrite the past," Elle said with a small smile.

"No, not entirely. I'm trying to point out that we are who we are, Elle. For just the short time I've known you, I've seen that your actions and responses are nothing if not grateful and considerate." She smiled. "Could you ever see yourself refusing such a gesture?"

"Probably not," Elle replied.

After a few more quiet moments, Lana said, "Instead of asking yourself what you could have done differently, think about Nathaniel's choices. They were his choices. They were not yours to change. If you had changed his mind, no one really knows what may have been the result." She took Elle's hand. "You reacted the way you would have reacted because of the way you are, the way you were raised, the experiences you've had and the consequences you've suffered." She patted Elle's knee. "And, that is not something to question, Elle."

Elle wasn't completely relieved by that, but had a feeling that Lana was more interested in giving her an alternate way to think about it rather than offering answers or relief. "Thank you, Lana. I appreciate your counsel and I'll think more about it over the upcoming days and weeks."

The Templar stood and bowed. "Maker guide you, Elle," she said quietly before she left.

Elle looked back down at the ring and sighed ... thanking the Maker that her betrothal was over years earlier. It still hurt ... a lot ... but it wasn't the fatal pain she might have felt if all this had happened then. She put the ring back, closed the box and put it into the compartment behind her nightstand, now empty of any blood magic paraphernalia.

Then, she joined her father, Zevran and Gorim for a very late dinner. She thought about just going to bed, but she needed some normalcy for now.

Word had been sent to her father about the success with the Templars, so he hadn't been beside himself with worry. Another small delay earlier was that they had also taken the time to drop off the troubling information with Cailan and Anora. To Anora's relief, dealing with this situation delayed Cailan's recruitment tour of the south for a brief time.

As the meal was wrapping up, Bryce said, "So, Gorim, my daughter has retained you and your sword might for this circuit of Ferelden."

"Yes, Your Lordship, it sounded like a much more interesting way to spend my time that standing by Salas all day and looking menacing," Gorim said.

"Was the coin I gave you enough to pacify Salas?" Elle asked as she got up to refill everyone's wine glass.

"It was enough to buy my shield back from the bastard," Gorim mumbled.

"Your shield?" Zev asked.

"He took it as collateral on a loan so I could get a room here," Gorim explained. "Fortunately, your generous retainer was enough, my lady."

"I should say it should have been!" Elle said. "I have a mind to go speak to him." She smiled at Gorim, "But, I suspect you'd prefer that I keep out of it. And, please call me Elle."

That made Gorim laugh. "Yes ... Elle ... I'm just glad to be away from him." Then, he stood and bowed. "But, now I'm going to head to bed. There are a few other things that I would like to do tomorrow in preparation."

Bryce looked at Elle. "Have you paid him already, Pup?"

"Not really, Father," she replied. "He should be paid a bodyguard wage ... in advance."

"Gorim, stop by my office across the foyer in the morning and I'll take care of that. I'll introduce you to our traveling quartermaster who will take care of salaries from here on," Bryce raised his wine glass. "To a successful trip with few obstacles."

Gorim raised his wine and said, "A good goal, Your Lordship."

"It won't happen ... but, a good goal, nonetheless," Elle replied with a wink.

Zev raised his glass, "I always prefer an optimistic outlook, Teyrn Cousland."

Gorim bowed again and stepped out of the room.

"Maker's Breath, I already feel better. Don't you, Pup?" her father asked as he poured out the last of the bottle of wine after they had finished the very late meal.

"In some ways, yes. In some ways, no." Elle gave a sad smile to both men sharing the table.

Zev held up his glass. "Lord Nathaniel was vindicated, my lady. His honor restored."

Elle decided that she didn't want to get into discussions about Nathaniel at that moment. So, she changed the subject. She narrowed her eyes and said, "You did notice that neither Rendon Howe nor Vaughan Kendells was on the list of names on the vials, Father. Is everyone certain Urien died of natural causes?"

"No, we're not, actually." Her father sighed and sat back in his chair. "Cauthrien is scouring the Arl of Denerim's estate, Pup. We'll soon find out if he's had any dealings with Tevinter."

"Perhaps tomorrow I should offer my not inconsequential skills to the guerriero temibile Ser Cauthrien!" Zev grinned.

Elle frowned. "The elves had a theory that the Kendells were poisoning the Denerim water supply. I guess that's not as important to investigate after what we found in that tenement." Then, she laughed at Zev's statement. "I dare you to call Cauthrien that to her face! However, your skills would likely be appreciated. If you have the time, offer them to Cauthrien."

"It's good to see you laugh, Pup." Bryce finished his wine. "But, now, the both of you need to bathe. It's almost put me off my food."

Elle smiled at her father. "Just because you couldn't wait dinner long enough for us to bathe, Father! But, I need to leave you with one consideration before I retire."

He raised his eyebrow as Zev narrowed his eyes.

"I believe that I may volunteer for the Grey Wardens." Before the men could argue, she added, "I haven't definitely decided yet. You told me that the Archdemon was sighted briefly last week after that battle. We have a Blight in Ferelden. Yes, the Wardens need fighters against the darkspawn. That is a given. But, they also need a good recruiter. I feel I can fill that role quite adequately. No discussion is necessary at this time as I must rid myself of the stench of that place." She got up to leave the room, but her father held up his hand to stop her.

"You didn't know about this either?" her father asked Zevran.

"No, Your Lordship, I did not." Zev chuckled. "Our Elle can still surprise the best of us."

Bryce also stood. "We told you that you could make your own decisions now, but I leave you with one thought, my darling girl: you can recruit for the Grey Wardens without becoming one, can't you?"

"I could, and I will, but I would sound a bit hypocritical after a time, would I not?" Then, she made a motion to stop further discussion. "But, like I said, I'm only considering it right now." She gave them a sincere smile. "Know that I sincerely love you both and I know you only want the best for me ... but now bath!"

...

The following morning, Elle made her way to the palace to check in with Anora and Cailan. They both told her the same thing her father had: they felt better after the blood magic had been uncovered and destroyed. But they were keeping Wynne as the Royal Mage. A wise decision, even over the disturbingly loud rantings of the Grand Cleric against the decision.

But! Things like that tend to work out. On her way out of the palace, a message was placed in Elle's hand. Because of the Blight, Grand Cleric Elemena was being recalled to Val Royeaux due to her advanced age. It made Elle grin as she handed it to Wynne who had walked with her. "The King and Queen will appreciate that one. Read it if you wish. It will hardly be a secret by now."

Wynne read it. All she did was grin and nod. "Give Duncan and even that erasable Loghain my best … if they haven't already killed each other. Tell Loghain that his daughter is strong and the boy is healthy."

"Boy!" Elle mouthed word, not daring to say it out loud.

Wynne's face flushed as she slapped her hand in front of her mouth. Then, she grabbed Elle's shoulders. "You will not divulge that secret to anyone, young lady! Not even the King and Queen wish to know." She threw up her hands. "Maker's Mercy! I can't believe I told you of all people!" Then, she looked horrified, as if she'd insulted Elle in some fashion.

Elle chuckled as she hugged the old woman. "Your secret is good with me, gentle healer. I know how to gather … and keep … secrets," she whispered in the healer's ear. She stepped back and held Wynne's shoulders. "But, you know these walls have ears." She winked at Wynne's groan and shook her finger at the Senior Enchanter. "And, don't think for one minute that I trust you not to mislead me! Now, I must stop by the wardens and the Chantry before I head out to Ostagar in the morning, via a long route through the north and, perhaps a stop at Kinloch and Orzammar. Honestly, I think I may become quite dizzy at these constant circuits of Ferelden! Although, with the size of this caravan, this circuit will likely take months. If you have any other messages that you'd like me to take along, just have them delivered to Highever House."

"Well, then, I won't take up any more of your time. Take care of yourself, Elle," Wynne said and hugged her.

"You, as well!" Elle replied.

A boy! Elle thought to herself as she bounded down the stairs. As long as it would be healthy, any gender would be fine with Ferelden, a country who revered Queen Moira as much as her son, Maric. But, she knew Anora wished for a boy. Maker only knew why. Girls were so much more interesting.

It looked like it was going to be one of those sunny — then cloudy — then sunny — then rainy — frustrating weather-cannot-make-up-its-mind kind of days. Since the skies were currently in the cloudy and threatening rain phase, Elle quickly walked through the palace courtyard and into the Grey Warden Compound doors.

Actually, the Grey Warden enclave was a rather large wing of the palace. Today, there were a few wardens around, but not many. Likely due to most of them being in Ostagar … and validating Elle's reasoning that they needed a good recruiter. There had to be warden duties all over Ferelden that were going wanting because of the urgency of Ostagar.

The wardens seneschal, Danric Droeld, met her while she was slowly walking past the bookshelves in the common room. They were packed with resources of all kinds … in no order whatsoever. She had an idea to send Anora a request to share the Royal Archivist with the wardens to organize this sad excuse for a library. These brave men and women fought darkspawn. They did not waste time organizing books; however, they would likely need the information from time to time.

"Lady Cousland!" Danric said as he walked up. He was a very handsome man with wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. He walked with a slight limp. Elle knew he was the sixth or seventh child of a Bann somewhere in central Ferelden.

He would have gone into Loghain's army if not for a valiant fight to save one of his father's farmholds from a nasty group of bandits. Not one to give in to despair, Danric walked into the Grey Warden wing, looked around, and presented himself to Duncan as someone the Wardens could not do without. Duncan wisely hired him immediately. "Your father sent word ahead that you would be stopping by." He noticed her looking at the unkempt shelves. "Alas, an archivist is on my list of things to do, but it has not risen to the top just yet."

"I was just thinking to ask the Queen if she could spare the Royal Archivist from time to time to sort through … if you don't find that too bold, good seneschal." Elle smiled at his brilliant, grateful smile.

"That would be very much appreciated, my lady." He swept his hand up the stairs. "Senior Warden Ramara is in the office at the top of the stairs." He started to lead her when he was called away to accept a delivery.

Elle waved him on his way. "I know where the office is located, Danric. Tend to your impatient vendor." She winked as she turned and climbed the stairs.

However, Elle found another interesting dwarf speaking with Ramara when she walked into Duncan's office. Since she was in temporary command of the Denerim compound, Ramara used the Commander's office for official business. The Nevarran seemed to attract interesting dwarves lately, but she looked peeved with this one. "So sorry! I'll just wait downstairs, Senior Warden."

Ramara had a glare that could turn a person to ash. She was now training that glare upon the poor dwarf. "Nonsense, Lady Cousland, this … dwarf can wait."

That just made the dwarf laugh. Obviously, he was accustomed to … and immune to … Nevarran glares. He bowed. "Varric Tethras, at your service, Lady Cousland. Don't let me interfere with your business here."

"Pleased to meet you, Varric!" Elle smiled at him. "No need to leave. This should only take a few moments. Senior Warden, I shall be leaving for Ostagar in the morning. I will be taking a round-about trip around Ferelden to get there, however. We need to stop at Amaranthine for a day or so and then swing by Vigil's Keep to check on it. I thought I might spend a bit of time exploring the caves to the old Warden's Keep. If there's anything left of the structure, I'm sure it could be of use to the Wardens in this time of crisis, don't you agree?"

Ramara pursed her lips and nodded. Then, she shuffled through some of the paperwork on the desk and came up with a small, corner of parchment. She handed it to Elle. "This man, Levi Dryden, claims to know the way through those tunnels. He might prove helpful." She frowned. "Don't spend too much time on the pursuit, Lady Cousland. If it is rundown, send us a note and continue on your journey."

"I shall do just that." Elle tucked away the address, which was just off the market square. "After that, I'll be checking in at Highever before heading south to Kinloch Hold and ferry over Lake Calenhad to make a hopefully quick stop in Orzammar. Do you need me to stop at the Circle Tower …" she grinned. "To see if I can convince the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter to release one or two more mages?"

Ramana thought about that a moment. "Greagoir and Irving have been generous with mages for the army, but not so much for the Grey Wardens … if you have the time, we certainly wouldn't turn down your efforts. We have a warden mage who has been recuperating here and he needs to get back to Ostagar. Perhaps he knows of a good mage to recruit. Would you mind a warden mage traveling with you?"

"Not at all! In fact, I was hoping one or two wardens could be spared to travel with us. Your darkspawn warning system would be most helpful. I traveled to Ostagar before with wardens Anders and Rance … trusted mages are also very handy in a fight, I daresay." With a questioning look, Elle turned to Varric after he laughed. "I was sincere, Master Tethras."

"No. No. I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you." He smiled. "I'm just standing here wondering why they haven't made you a warden."

Even Ramara smiled at that. "Lady Cousland has become one of our most valuable associates, Varric. As much as Duncan would love to recruit her, he realizes her value as … how did he put it? … 'our independent source of information, coercion, and subterfuge.'"

"I may become a warden someday, Varric. One can never foretell what may transpire in future." She nodded to Ramara. "That is all that is on my agenda." She bowed to Varric. "The floor is again yours."

"Wait," Varric looked at Elle. "You said you're going to this Ostagar where the Warden-Commander is?"

"You would not be welcome bothering the Ferelden Warden-Commander for Deep Roads maps just because the Marcher wardens turned you down, dwarf! They're fighting a Blight down there!" Ramara pounded her fist on the desk.

"This situation sounds much more interesting than my brother's rantings for a warden map. His weird idea can wait." Varric turned from Ramara to Elle. "I wouldn't be a useless companion on the way. Need a bodyguard?"

Elle looked at Ramara, an unspoken question of assent on her face. After Ramara shrugged, Elle asked, "I assume you can use that marvelous crossbow?"

Varric grinned. "Yep! Bianca goes everywhere I go."

"Do you have lodging for the evening?" When Varric said that he hadn't found a place yet, Elle wrote out a quick note to her father and gave it to the dwarf. "Take this to Highever House and tell my father you are going to join my travel group." She turned to Ramara. "It might be best if your warden mage also stay at Highever House, so we can leave as soon as everything is ready."

"Are you talking about me, Ramara?" Anders was standing in the door with a grin on his face.

"Anders!" Elle ran over and gave him a hug. "I assumed you'd be treating with the dwarves, coercing the Dalish or keeping everyone in Ostagar up and fighting on!"

"He was supposed to go to Orzammar until a group of idiot Templars from Amaranthine's Chantry came after him." Ramara's scowl was as fearsome as her glare.

"What?! But, you're a warden!" Elle was incensed.

"Ser Rylock and her cronies decided that I had 'allowed' one of their cadre to be killed by darkspawn and wanted retribution." Anders threw up his hands. "I wasn't even near Amaranthine when that happened!"

"They attacked the group led by Warden Alistair. All of Rylock's Templars were killed except Rylock. She ran away." Ramara nodded toward Anders. "He was seriously injured and Rance only knew enough healing magic to keep him alive. They were forced to detour back here a week ago before heading to Orzammar. Senior Enchanter Wynne healed him back to health and only today released him to service again."

That must have been the activity Elle saw when she arrived with Cailan all those days ago. The smaller group had to have left Ostagar and tried to cut through the Bannorn when they ran into this Rylock.

She touched the warden mage's arm. "Anders, I plan to make a large loop through Ferelden on my way to Ostagar and that includes heading through Amaranthine. I'm rather interested in meeting this Ser Rylock and reminding her of her Chanty oaths, but if you'd prefer …"

Anders laughed. "No, I think I'd rather enjoy seeing you remind her, Elle!"

"Very well, get your gear and go with Varric here over to Highever House. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, or the next morning at the latest." Elle put her hands on her hips. "I need to visit this Levi Dryden and then the Chantry and then I'll head back there as well."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to tag along." Varric smiled. "Get to know you a little and you can get to know me and Bianca."

Anders waved his hand. "I'll forego a trip to the Chantry, if you don't mind."

"That's quite …" Elle paused. "Perhaps a visit with these Templars would not be so bad, Anders. I'd like you to report this to Knight-Commander Tavish. I've found him to be no-nonsense, but he's been fair."

"Tavish?" Anders blushed. "I don't think he'll …" Then, he laughed. "All right. Let's just see how 'fair' he is with me." Anders obviously thought he was going to teach Elle a lesson. Elle hoped the opposite might occur.

...

AN: Surprise! Enter Varric! :) Finally ... Elle will get to leave Denerim next time. ;)

Joseph Sage, thank you for your Follow! I got your alert a couple of weeks ago, but it got moved into my "Pending Bills" folder for some reason. What a nasty place to land! ;) I really appreciate all of you folks. :)

The Invisible Pretender, nope, no spicy abominations, or as Elle would put it ... "Ugly buggers!" hehe Thanks so much for your review! Reviews don't make the house payment, but they feed my soul! :)