Chapter 70: Back to Orzammar
"It…it is not going to fall on us, is it?"
Alim could not help but chuckle. Seeing Orzammar again was a bit of a shock for those that had joined the party since the first time they had been here. Wynne was in awe of the great city. Theron and Kallian, well…Theron and Kallian were not entirely happy.
"The ceiling is not going to fall Theron," Alim said rolling his eyes.
The Dalish's elven ears twitched nervously.
"I don't like caves," he murmured, "Such places are never lucky for one of the people. Elvhen do not belong underground."
Kallian seemed to share his opinion. The poor warrior looked like she was ready to hyperventilate.
"There…there is a whole mountain above us, a WHOLE saddening mountain," she said meekly, her face going a little green, what if there is a cave in, what if the lava around here erupts? What if…"
"Kally calm down," Gus murmured, "Orzammar had been here for centuries, the dwarves have built their city well. We're in no danger here."
The elf tried to take a deep breath, willing herself to calm down, and not think of all the tons of rock that were sitting over their heads.
It helped a little.
"No danger you say," Zev snickered, "Considering what we did here last time, I'm not sure if that is certain friend Gus."
"No natural danger anyway," Seri sniffed.
She turned to Alim.
"Don't think for one moment that Harrowmont's supporters have forgotten about you warden. Dwarves have very long memories, and we like holding grudges."
Alim snorted.
It had not taken them long to find the merchant that Sten had been looking for, and he was a squirrelly little bastard as the man back at Lake Calenhad had said. He did not have the Qunari sword, but did know where it was. He had stopped by Redcliffe and had sold the blade to a dwarven merchant there.
Sten had nearly taken off for Redcliffe right then, and likely would have had Alim not stopped him. It was nearly dark, and the pass, though not as icy as their first trip up here was not likely safe after dark.
The Qunari yielded to his wisdom, barely. Alim feared that he was losing control of Sten. The chance of finding his sword again was making the Qunari reckless.
Alim just needed him to stay in control a while longer, they would be heading to Redcliffe soon enough. Hopefully Arl Eamon would be willing to help; this continued civil war aided no one.
The Blight needed to be stopped.
What did a few more assassins and bounty hunters matter in the face of the Archdemon?
The elf's eyes narrowed grimly.
Let them come.
IOI
Let the bastards come, they had an entire nation after their blood, a few dwarven nobles with a grudge did not bother him.
He was still a little pissed about letting that mercenary go. Leliana had asked him and that was the only reason he had done it. The loss of his hat, coat, and armor did not sit well with the mage either. He hoped to find a new set in the warden compound here.
Mainly thought, the thought that some was openly trying to kill Leli irked him to know end.
He found himself watching the bard, a small, but happy smile on his face.
He worried about her, but at the same time he was trying not to smother her. Leliana was a fierce and wonderful woman, and not the type to sit on the edge of the battle. She could handle herself, usually, but that did not mean that he did not feel overly protective of her.
Knock it off; she doesn't need you crowding her.
But…but I love her.
Yes, he loved her, and if she needed his help he would be there, but she was not some damsel in distress. Leliana had survived things that would have broken a lesser woman. She could handle herself quite well.
…But…if she needs me.
I will be there.
She noticed his attention again; she always seemed to know when he was watching her.
She smiled at him.
He fought the urge to blush.
Maker this was intolerable, wonderful, but intolerable.
"You're quite taken with each other?"
Alim found Wynne standing there, an amused expression on the old woman's face.
"I am," he admitted, he could have lied, but it was hard not to miss the lovesick looks he was giving the bard all the time.
"I think she is as well," Wynne said, "How she always tried to find her way next to you. How the two of you always seem to be there to defend the other. The stolen glances are impossible to ignore too, it is very sweet, almost too sweet for an old woman like me."
Alim chuckled.
"You're not an average old woman Wynne."
"True enough," the elder mage chuckled, "I'm not going to be knitting any fuzzy blankets or making socks with pom-poms any time soon."
Her manner suddenly turned serious.
"I…I need to ask you where you think this is going? You and Leliana I mean."
The comment brought the elf's defenses up. He frowned.
"We're just taking things one day at a time."
"But you should be thinking about the future," Wynne said sagely, "Leliana is a sweet girl, guiless, and in matters of the heart quite open to you."
Wynne sighed.
"I would hate to see either of you get hurt."
"I would never hurt Leli," Alim exclaimed, "Never."
"Not intentionally no," Wynne replied, "But there is more at stake here than your personal feelings. You are a grey warden, a defender of men, and you are also a mage."
"Really," Alim said dryly, "I wondered why I was able to shoot lightning from my hands, and the Grey Warden thing…that explains the nightmares about the Archdemon, thanks Wynne."
The elder mage scowled.
"Don't get lippy young man."
"I'm not," Alim sighed, "I acknowledge my duty Wynne, but I'm not just a mage or a warden, I'm a man on top of that, and I have feelings. I think I can handle my duty and my relationships."
"Love is ultimately selfish," she said, "What would happen if doing your duty meant losing Leliana? What if you had a choice between saving your love, or everyone else? What would you do?"
Alim shifted uncomfortably, he…he knew that something like that could happen, but…
No…no, he did not want to think about that, still…he…he had to…
"What would you advise?" he asked.
"Perhaps," Wynne sighed, "perhaps you should let her go, before this goes any further. The chance for tragedy here is quite great; inflicting a little pain now will save you great pain later on."
Alim's ears lowered in anger.
"So I should inflict pain, to avoid it later?" he sniffed, "Great logic."
"Alim, I…"
"No Wynne," he said coldly, "I won't do it! Try and understand. If I step away from everything that matters in this world, then what in the void am I fighting for? Why should I fight if not for something, for someone that I care about? I can't image all those warden heroes of the past were choir boys and monks. They had friends, lovers; I refuse to believe that I have to isolate myself from the world to save it. I'm sorry, but in this…I think you are wrong."
The elder mage sniffed.
"I have said what I needed to say lad," she said, "Take my advice or do not."
He sighed; he had not intended to insult her.
"I appreciate your concern," he said, "And I value your counsel, just not in this."
He hurried away from her.
Wynne watched him go.
Despite their conversation, the elder mage smiled.
She and Irving had talked at great length about Alim before they had left the tower. He had described a good mage, hot-headed and hard headed at times, but a good mage none the less.
It seemed that Alim had learned to control his temper in the last few months. The trials the elf had faced had seemed have calmed him. He fought with both his head and his heart now.
That was good.
"You might just save us all yet young man," she said to herself.
IOI
Orzammar was a city transformed.
Leliana was shocked by the sights around them. Soldiers were everywhere, far more than she remembered from the last time she was here. Commanders were drilling young troops; young men and women sparred with swords, axes, and maces for the first time.
Many of these troops had brands on their faces.
Leliana smiled.
It seemed that King Bhelen had been true to his word. He was truly mobilizing all of Orzammar to fight this Blight.
She got the sense that some of the nobles did not like what they were seeing, more than a few shot the casteless troops dirty looks, but it was clear that that was the farthest it would go. The King would not be disobeyed…
…not in this.
"Tis impressive, is it not?"
She turned to see Morrigan smirking at her. The witch had been doing that a lot since Leliana had come clean about her past.
The bard frowned.
"Have I done something to amuse you?" she asked.
Morrigan's smile widened.
"I find it amusing that we now see your true face that our…paragon of chantry virtue is not as high as she pretended to be. "
Leliana wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"I regret the things I did in the past," she said, "Everything I do now is to redeem myself, doesn't everyone deserve that chance?"
Morrigan sniffed.
"What you did was survive," she purred, "Tis the one thing I respect you for. A wolf should not lie down with the lambs, or a cat with the mice. You are a predator Leliana, like the rest of us."
The witch smiled evilly.
"Tis nothing to be ashamed of, you should embrace it proudly, without fear."
Leliana shifted uncomfortably.
Was the witch right?
We're the same.
Marjolaine's words haunted her. She…she had wanted that mercenary captain dead. Part of her had wanted Alim to disobey her, to kill the man slowly. Such was the price of threatening a bard, a bard with powerful allies.
It was all she could do to remember Dorothea, to step back from that abyss.
Maker save her, but it was sooo tempting. Part of her loved it, to leap into the blood and violence, to let it fill her up again, to light her up again.
Violence, terror, lust, story and song those things had been her religion once. Andraste save her, she had even robbed a poor box once, not because she needed the coin, but because the shock on her allies' faces had amused her.
No, no she was not that woman anymore!
She had found faith! The Maker guided her hand now. Alim guided her hand now.
Alim.
She smiled lightly.
The sweet little man had ensnared her heart, but she was afraid. If Marjolaine was back, she would use every weapon in her arsenal to hurt her former student.
If Marjolaine knew about Alim…"
The bard shuddered.
Alim was no easy prey, but Marjolaine was an expert at hurting people. She knew how to get pass their defenses, to strike where a person was most vulnerable. Her old master had called it being an artist of the human heart.
Leliana had used to love that, she had hoped that one day she would be able to do that.
The naivety of her younger self horrified her now.
Marjolaine was not an artist of the human heart, she was a monster.
If it served her ends, she would hurt Alim in ways that would have made even the elf cringe.
She won't hurt Alim! I won't let her. She will pay; I'll make her regret her decision to come back into my life. I will hunt her down before that happens! I will take my time; she will know a new definition of pain. She will…
We're the same.
You are a predator, like the rest of us.
You should embrace it proudly, without fear.
A predator.
Leliana whimpered.
She was afraid…
…very afraid.