Best Laid Plans
Elle and Midnight ran toward Loghain's tent. She knew Morrigan was following. "It was good advice with the information you had, Morrigan."
Once she got to the tent, the guard just seemed to know it was important. He opened the flap. "He's at the center table, my lady." Followed by a bit louder, "Lady Cousland to see you, Your Lordship!"
Loghain was hunched over a detailed map of Lothering and its surrounding areas. "Doesn't look like a casual visit, Elethea."
Elle nodded to Morrigan to speak … which seemed to surprise Morrigan. "I ... I decided to make a run to the east to check on Mother. The route takes me outside the normal scouting radius for the land-bound scouts. I noticed a rather sizable contingent of darkspawn beyond it. I was curious just how far it went to the north." She took a deep breath. "It crosses the Imperial Highway and circles around toward the west. Assuming that the horde that is massing to the south is a given, we are encircled."
"Mason! Get Duncan and Rodrigo in here!" Loghain yelled at the guard.
"Right away, Your Lordship!" he replied just before they heard him running away.
"Seems the Archdemon stole my strategy from the earlier battle," Loghain frowned. He looked at Elle. "So, we are to stay here, after all."
"It does seem that way, yes," she replied. "What would you have me do, Loghain?"
He thought a moment. "I think you should do what you do best, Elethea. Pending approval by Duncan, I would put you in charge of the communications tent. I've had too many complaints about the fellow in charge there now."
As Duncan and Rodrigo ran in, Duncan asked, "What's happened?"
"You both may want to sit down for this," Loghain said. Without waiting to see if they would, he turned to Morrigan and said, "Please repeat what you just told me, Morrigan."
After being brought up to speed about what Morrigan saw and what Loghain suggested for Elle, everyone was pacing. No one was sitting. Duncan turned to Elle. "How would you improve the communications?"
Elle smiled and turned to Morrigan. "When do your mages need to be available for the Archdemon battle?"
Morrigan glanced at the men. "Likely not until the day after the next day, maybe three or four days hence ... if the Archdemon ordered them to advance today. Hard to guess how quickly darkspawn can move when ordered. They have encircled us, but they think they are undiscovered. From everything I've heard and read, they will await the command from the Archdemon to close the noose. They are at least a three or four-day march away … for normal soldiers. Why?"
Rodrigo interjected, "Candra is a veteran warden mage and scout, she would be able to give us a better guess, now that she's gotten good enough with her raven."
"Do the others know any other forms than the giant eagle? Could you arrange a schedule of bird scouts?" Elle asked Morrigan, realizing she was answering a question with a question ... again.
Fortunately, Morrigan got the gist. "There are quite a few of them." She nodded at Rodrigo. "I agree. Candra has learned quickly and well." Then, she glared at Loghain. "I have offered my help, but the dullard in charge of the scout report tent has said … and, I quote … 'We don't need no apostate abominations' help.'"
"I didn't know that," Loghain said with a frown.
Duncan only shook his head. "Regular scouting reports came in. They looked well done. I had assumed the mages were already being utilized to the fullest." He smiled at Elle. "I agree. Put Elle in charge of the comm tent."
Before Morrigan could voice a smart comeback, Elle said, "Thank you, gentlemen. I suspect you've had other details to deal with. I will perform to the best of my ability. Starting with replacing anyone who cannot see the enormity of what we are up against."
"Send the man who is in charge there to me," Loghain said. "And then work with the other scouts and mages to set up regular reporting, Elle." In a rare display of raw anger, Loghain threw an empty mug against some crates. "We should have known about this a long time ago!"
"I shall try my best to see that we have the best information we can get, Morrigan, gentlemen," Elle said. "I will stop by the comm tent to deliver your message, Loghain, and then Midnight and I really need to get some rest in order to start the day's reorganization efforts in the best way."
As Elle, Morrigan and Midnight stepped outside the tent, Morrigan smirked, "Good thing you came along when you did, Elle. I think we may have a chance now. However, I am going to try to visit with Mother tonight. It's not too long a journey by air. I hope she sees reason and finds a new place to live for a while."
"Please stay as safe as you can, Morrigan. And, I should say it was more fortuitous that you came along when you did!" Elle said. "Please tell your mother that we appreciate all the help you've given us." She glanced at a group of Templars standing near the Highever tents. "At least most of us do."
All Morrigan did was laugh, changed into a small swift and quickly disappeared into the moonless night sky.
On her way to the Highever tents, Elle stopped by the comm tent. The soon-to-be-transferred coordinator was off drinking with some of his friends and the two people left in the tent were trying to wrap up the day's work all by themselves.
They said their supervisor was going to be back through shortly to check on their work before dismissing them and closing down operations for the day. Elle told herself that the first change was going to be a rotating schedule so that someone would be in the tent at all times ... and no one would be overloaded with the entire day's work.
The two people in the tent were a Dalish elf and a dwarf ... which spoke volumes about the man's biases. Elle asked the elf to find the man and tell him to report to Loghain immediately. She did not miss the smirks on both of their faces. She could have delivered the message herself, but was much too tired to properly handle the falderal she just knew he would cause.
Later, Elle discovered that the brusque commander of the communications tent had been reassigned to the kennels … Maker help poor Evar.
The next morning, Elle entered the communications tent and introduced herself, explaining that she had taken over from their former supervisor by order of Teyrn Loghain and Warden-Commander Duncan. They seemed to know about it all already ... a good sign that they already understood how communications worked!
Elle set-up for a meeting of all the workers there as well as any scouts who were in the camp. Morrigan made it back to camp just before sunrise, but brought in several of the mage shapeshifters who would be working with the scouts. Then, Morrigan asked Leorah to take notes and excused herself to get some rest.
A few of the scouts voiced concerns about mage reports being inaccurate, since they weren't trained as scouts. Of course, a couple of the mages had done scouting for the wardens. This was exactly why Elle brought them all together. The first thing for communications personnel to do was to communicate! After a few heated arguments, they came up with a comprehensive list of what to look for from the air, while traditional scouts were given guidance of what to look for on the ground.
During the continued meetings over two days ... whenever they weren't busy with reports distributions, there were things of major importance from both vantages that came to light. For example, aerial mage scouts could quickly expand maps with cliffs and chasms that those on foot wouldn't spot until they came upon them; thereby, avoiding lengthy detours and delays. And, of course, ground scouts could spot problems under the thicker tree canopies, as well as deal with them directly, if possible. After a few hours of arguing, discussing, yelling and, ultimately, agreeing, the mages and ground scouts left with coordinated assignments.
One of the first assignments was locating regular outposts in the field so scouting parties didn't need to come all the way back to Ostagar. Morrigan and Leorah would be in charge of the schedule of visits of the mages to these outposts to pick up and quickly fly all reports to a destination, be it another outpost or back to the comm tent.
After that, Elle restructured her assistants in the tent. There wasn't much to be done there. The previous commander was well-versed in office work. Some balked at working during the night, but were pleased that they wouldn't be required to work all day or all night. They had some recommendations of people in the camp who might be willing to take a shift. Elle was gratified at the number of volunteers that stepped up.
So, by the end of the second day, communications plans were in motion and running smoothly. Elle recruited some of the camp helpers to take intermittent shifts as runners and got that job organized. Varric appointed himself her personal runner and stationed himself outside the comm tent.
Elle sent Gorim to the dwarven area to work with Odonna, but he came back in short order. She had "assigned" him to watch Elle. Odonna rightly said that snakes were always the most dangerous when people weren't paying attention. So, he now stood next to Varric.
Elle and Fergus had been able to speak briefly at the end of the first day before they both collapsed on their cots. It seemed that Loghain was looking to her brother as a trusted second ... at least until Cauthrien returned.
And, she'd only been able to say a few words to Alistair from time to time whenever he found a reason to make a quick stop in the comm tent, as he seemed to be fully integrated in the command operations. Elle listened for any comments about him and was pleased to hear that Varric had the right of it. Warden-Commander was not a job any of the wardens wanted and the majority of other comments were positive.
With the unruly chaos well on the way to being manageable chaos, Elle walked out of the tent and looked around. "Maker's Breath, this is the second day I haven't seen the sun!"
Varric laughed. "Yeah, I was wondering if you were in there for the duration. I sent Gorim off to get some sleep."
"Thanks for slipping in the food from time to time, Varric." Elle winked at her personal storyteller. Midnight moofed, so she added, "Midnight thanks you, too."
The command tent was close by and looked rather busy. One of the door guards motioned her over. When she got there with Midnight and Varric, the guard explained, "The Commander wanted to hear your report whenever you surfaced from the tent, m'lady."
When the three of them entered, the tent became silent. Duncan smiled and took a deep breath. He stood straight. "Everyone in this camp is dedicated and committed to ending the Fifth Blight here before it spreads to the rest of Thedas. We have the best of the best gathered here." He smiled at Elle. "Even some who were not part of the original plan."
Fergus made his way over to his sister's side while Duncan continued, "But, the Archdemon recognized a brilliant strategy from our earlier confrontation and decided to use it against us." He motioned down to a well-annotated map laid out on a table. "Thanks to more complete scouting from the air as well as from the ground, we now know where our enemy is, what their strength is ... and where their weaknesses are." Duncan motioned toward Elle. "In no small part due to the command of Lady Elethea Cousland and the Ostagar scouting network."
She smiled and bowed. "The men and women knew what to do already. Together, we came up with a plan of divide and conquer. The bits of information come in quicker, are put together and gotten to the commanders in a timely fashion." She noticed the man standing next to the Royal Kennel Master. He was scowling at her at that particular moment, so she assumed that he was the man she had replaced. She nodded toward him and added, "My predecessor had most of the second part already in place."
Duncan motioned toward Loghain who said, "I don't do speeches, as you all well know. We now have a plan of attack for the darkspawn horde. First Warden Rodrigo will be commanding a large contingent to head north and break the noose. We cannot afford to put Lothering in jeopardy and must have our supply line secured. The contingent will be made up from the group previously slated to go north ... plus a large group of wardens." He nodded toward Elle. "With a few notable exceptions such as Lady Cousland and myself."
Elle turned and gave her brother a worried look, which she continued as she looked toward Alistair who was standing next to Rodrigo.
Loghain continued, "However, the Archdemon can be wherever it damn well pleases. Morrigan?"
"'Tis true about the need for much flexibility in regards to our flying Archdemon. We now have twelve mages competent in shapeshifting into giant eagles." She smiled. "Giant eagles with foot-long claws that can be used to target the most vulnerable area of a flying creature … the wings. However, there are things we do not know about attacking while flying around a dragon. Nor do we know the regeneration capabilities of the Archdemon. Things we shall not know until it engages us."
The man next to Evar strode forward. "And, what do we do with the abominations that occur on the field of battle! I'm tellin' ya! These mages are courtin' demons to learn how to shift into unholy creatures. We're just bein' blind to the consequences of this unsanctioned magic!"
Unfortunately, it spurred some of the nobles in attendance to echo his words.
Once Loghain got everyone's attention by yelling "Quiet!" and slamming his armored fist onto the center of the map, he said, "This is not the Landsmeet! You are all soldiers of Ferelden. Not unlike the Grey Wardens, for the duration of the Fifth Blight, you are no longer nobles or Chantry sycophants. You take orders from Warden Commander Duncan!" He glared at the first man to speak up. "Bascombe, IF … I repeat … IF a mage becomes an abomination, we have fourteen Templars who arrived with the mages. I understand that more Templars are coming. Many of the Grey Wardens are trained with skills to subdue magic if it becomes necessary to do so."
"But, what if one of 'em turns while they're up in the air?!" the man screamed.
Morrigan smirked. "I assure you abominations cannot fly. If one falls from the sky, it will die upon impact." Then, she turned her glare on the man. "I also assure you that the men and women who have agreed to perhaps sacrifice themselves by flying against the Archdemon are the finest people I have ever known. They are giving us all a fighting chance to prevail. Perhaps, you'd volunteer to fly on me to add your martial skills to my claws, little man?" She tapped her chin. "No wait, I feel certain that you have no martial skills."
Elle spoke up. "Someone could do that?"
Fergus grabbed Elle's arm. "Elle!" Her dear brother did know her so well.
Morrigan looked surprised. "With proper tack, a competent archer could … do … that. However, I am uncertain if we have the kind of time to develop it."
Rodrigo chuckled. "Actually, we brought a set of griffon tack with us … as a sort of good-luck charm. Perhaps it would work." He shrugged off Fergus' glare. "If Morrigan would allow us to try it on." He added the answer to an unspoken question on everyone's mind, "This is a newly crafted set and not one centuries-old. The griffon roostmaster's family has never given up hope some distant line of griffons will show up someday."
Alistair's gaze became horrified as he realized what Fergus had guessed. "No, Elle! You … you need to command the communications! It's crucial. Right, Loghain?" he pleaded.
"Is your archery skill up to that, Elethea?" Loghain asked as everyone else in the tent turned unbelieving looks his way.
Elle shrugged out of Fergus' grasp. "Of course not, but my disappointment at not practicing more is fairly great, at the moment. However, I'll wager there are some Grey Wardens here who can. I also happen to know that Dragon's Peak has the Ferelden Tourney's champion right here." She motioned toward a man next to Bann Sighard.
The archery champ's eyes were bulging out of his head. "Now, I wish the Highever champion had won," he mumbled. "But, I will do whatever you command, Teyrn Loghain." He nodded toward Morrigan. "If Lady Morrigan would allow it."
She laughed. "You really want me to say, 'No', don't you? If the harness fits comfortably to allow proper flight — a griffon has four legs and is only half bird after all — and if you remain conscious after we test it, I would allow it." She looked at Loghain. "There are vulnerable parts to the dragon's underside, as well as the underwing, that could be damaged by a talented archer. But, it would take practice to deal with the air currents."
Rodrigo smiled at the Dragon's Peak champion. "I think we have some warden archers who could give it a try, brave sir." He nodded toward Duncan. "With your permission, I suggest we take a break and reconvene in a few hours."
"Good idea," Duncan agreed. "Meet back here after two hours. It's already dark so it would be difficult to test the eagle-back archery tonight, but we should be able to ascertain if we could even get that far."
"We need to plan for a night run as well, Duncan," Loghain said. "As we all know, these are darkspawn, accustomed to the darkness." He nodded toward Rodrigo. "If the tack fits, please also do some test runs tonight."
As everyone filed out of the command tent, Elle did not miss the new kennel assistant … so, Bascombe was his name … huddled in the corner with some of Highever's touchier Templars. However, she grabbed Fergus' arm first. "Remember what I said about making me the heir, Fergus. You would regret it throughout all eternity."
Fergus just turned and gave Elle a strong hug. "I promise I won't do anything stupid, little sister."
Alistair stepped up with a smile. "I'll watch out for him, Elle."
"And, they both answer to me, so I shall make certain they stay smart and not stupid." Rodrigo winked. "However, the three of us need to go to oversee the griffon tack test and pass word to our cadre about the plan." He put one hand on each man's shoulder. "We leave before dawn tomorrow. Sadly, there is no time for lengthy farewells. Let us hope for lengthy hellos after this is done." With that, he showed both of them out of the tent.
Morrigan stepped up behind Elle. "Yes, I see who that horrid little man is speaking with. Do not worry. They shall not catch me afterwards."
Elle just smiled and whispered back, "Good, but don't take those Templars lightly. They are likely the most militant in Ferelden when it comes to magic."
"Good to know," she mused.
As Morrigan walked out chuckling, Elle found herself musing about being in the middle of things.
Right where she wished to be.
Perhaps that wish was a tad hasty.
…
AN: Ah, yes … be careful what you wish for! ;) My heartfelt thanks to everyone reading The Duty of a Cousland. :)
The Invisible Pretender, yeah, I thought about Alistair stewing a bit longer; however, Teagan agreeing with the facts kinda took the wind out of his big angry. :) I haven't decided about DA2 or Inquisition, to tell the truth. I'd like to figure out a different reason for controversy other than Corypheus (or Corypheus-like Saharius/Architect). We'll see. :)
Superstar Kid, I'm glad you're enjoying how the story is going so far and hope you continue to enjoy … especially what's about to happen in Ostagar. Thank you so much for your nice review! :)
Judy, always good to have your kind word! ;)
