Bleh, I think my desktop computer is dying, but troubleshooting to be certain is taking up way more mental space than I want it to.

Plans of Attack

"Solas." I placed my hand on his stiff shoulder.

"I cannot believe the Grey Wardens could even conceive of such a plan!" he snarled, not even attempting to modulate his voice. I had already cast the sound barrier he liked to use, though I didn't think he had noticed. "To seek out these Old Gods deliberately in some bizarre attempt to preempt the Blight…"

I felt a shudder run through him, and stroked his shoulder in what I hoped was a soothing manner. "I know," I assured him. "It will never happen - the demons are bound to Corypheus and not the Wardens - but we will try to end this madness before it goes any further."

He took a breath and I felt him forcing himself to relax fractionally. "Yes. Of course - ma serannas, vhenan."

Though it was still only late afternoon, we were already in our tent. I had sensed Solas's increasing agitation during the fairly short ride back from the tower, and thought it better that he express it in private, at least while Stroud remained nearby. The Warden might be getting ready to leave with Hawke, Harding, and another of Harding's scouts, but they hadn't left yet. Though perhaps Stroud wasn't the only one to consider - if Solas said much more about the Wardens, people were going to start wondering why he distrusted them so reflexively.

I already wondered. It was telling that he was more concerned with the Wardens killing the Old Gods than he was with Corypheus taking control of a demon army. "You know something about it - the Old Gods, or the darkspawn, or the Blight - that you aren't sharing with me," I observed quietly. It wasn't a question.

The degree of shock that echoed down to me through our bond might have been funny in other circumstances. "Vin," he admitted after a moment spent blinking at me. "Eolasan...delan na - "

"Is it something I need to know to deal with Corypheus and the current crisis?" I asked, giving him a hard look.

He paused. "I cannot imagine a reason knowing would help you," he said after thinking it over - and it was a simple, unvarnished truth, lacking the layers of meaning I often sensed from him when he spoke.

I had chosen to trust him through much more flagrant deceptions, and Corypheus was clearly the most pressing issue. Did I even have attention left to spare for any other problems, particularly of the potentially-world-ending variety? He wasn't asking me to change any of my plans, and so I pushed aside my unease. "All right, then I don't need to know - for now."

The rest of the tension drained from him all at once, and I abruptly found myself enveloped in his arms. He carried me to the bedroll and then buried his face in the crook of my neck. "You are far more patient than I deserve, ma vhenan . You, in your entirety, are far better than I deserve."

"I don't think that's true," I replied, "but if it is, perhaps you should simply let it drive you to be more deserving."

Laughter vibrated his ribs. "I should - and you will be the first to know when I find a means of accomplishing that goal. In the meantime - "

"In the meantime," I interrupted him, "you should think carefully about how vocally and passionately you oppose the Wardens. You're inviting speculation, ma vhenan - at some point I won't be the only one who notices and wonders. The points you're making aren't wrong, but the force of your fear and anger make it easy to wonder what you know that the rest of us don't."

He hummed thoughtfully, the vibration of it tickling my neck. "Those fools and duty," he grumbled against my skin. "Responsibility is not expertise, nor action inherently superior to inaction." Then he sighed. "You are but the most recent in a line of trusted friends and confidants advising me to be more...tactical in voicing my opinions. Ma serannas. My record in the heeding of such counsel is far from encouraging, but I appreciate it anyway."

He raised his face to meet my eyes, and then tipped his head back a little more, inviting me to kiss him. I started with the slightly flattened place on his nose where it had been broken at some point in the past, and then kissed the light smattering of freckles on either side, smiling at the soft sound that escaped his throat. He was still so entirely unaccustomed to receiving affection that it sometimes broke my heart. "Emma lath," I whispered, and then finally kissed his lips.

"Arasasha," he replied, and the fractures in my heart expanded until I was certain it was crumbling.

It was a little easier to keep our clothes on with the cold wind from the desert periodically cutting through our tent, but when we finally broke apart - acknowledging that we hadn't yet eaten - I told him: "You know, if we take Griffon Wing Keep, we'll probably be sleeping within stone walls for several nights."

"An excellent ulterior motive, if ever one existed," he told me, pressing one more kiss to my mouth. "I would be pleased to help plan the assault."

There was a great deal of discussion around taking the keep over dinner, though a definitive strategy would have to wait until our scouts had information on how many Venatori remained to occupy it. "Almost sorry I'm missing it," Harding told me ruefully. Their party was prepared to leave in the morning.

"Why? You get to convince Hawke not to try single-handedly taking Adamant when she gets pissed over all the blood magic," Varric told the other dwarf.

"Come now, Varric, that's an exaggeration - I have Stroud, Harding, and Scout Percy," Hawke replied. "Not to mention two perfectly good hands. It would be far from single-handed."

"That...is the opposite of reassuring. You know that, right?"

Hawke just grinned at him - an expression whose ferocity I could appreciate since I happened to be sitting next to her, though it was also laced with enough humor that I was fairly certain she was only teasing.

"Maker's balls, Hawke - " he began.

"I'm not going to try taking Adamant without the Inquisitor and her army," Hawke promised, rolling her eyes. "That should really go without saying, Varric."

"It really should," Varric scoffed, "but I remember fighing our way to the Arishok through the streets of Kirkwall with just you, Fenris, and Merrill while the Qunari fucking invaded - and then we did it all again a few years later when the mages rebelled. I'm sorry if I don't have a lot of faith in your patience."

"The mage rebellion was completely different," she argued. "We had Aveline with us instead of Fenris - I tried to make him stay home."

"He showed up at the Gallows anyway - and you could have sent him for Isabella and Sebastian," Varric pointed out.

"Isabella and Sebastian both showed up at the Gallows, too," she retorted, "so sending him would have been useless."

"I think the key difference here," Harding interrupted dryly, "is that you were already inside Kirkwall for both of those crises. Usually getting past walls requires, you know, siege equipment."

"Or sewers," Hawke countered, though I suspected she was just enjoying the argument at this point.

"I imagine that any subterranean warrens open into the Abyssal Rift," Stroud put in from somewhere across the fire.

"You say that like you think it would deter her," Varric muttered. "Just remember that you were younger when you scaled all that shit in the Deep Roads," he added, speaking to Hawke again.

"What are you implying, Varric?" she demanded.

"I'm implying that I really don't want to have to write to Fenris to tell him you fell into the Abyssal Rift," he growled at her.

Her expression softened. "No - that isn't a job I would wish on anyone. I'm not as impatient as I used to be, and I understand the goals and limits of this assignment. We're just going to hide and observe. I promise."

I was awake to see them off before dawn the next morning, both because it was the considerate thing to do and because the scouts charged with keeping watch on Griffon Wing Keep had returned with a rough estimate of the enemy force remaining there. Before they left, I pulled both Hawke and Harding into brief hugs. "Stay safe, ma falonen. Varric and a considerable portion of the rest of the world need you," I told Hawke. " Leliana and I both need you ," I added, looking at Harding.

"I'll keep an eye on your dwarf if you promise to keep an eye on mine," Hawke told me, smiling as Harding blushed and sputtered.

I agreed, and they departed. Since I couldn't see them anyway, I didn't stay to watch, but instead turned to the scout who was waiting for me. "How bad is it?" I asked him.

It was hard for our people to make good estimates - the Venatori were fully aware of our presence now, and rarely left the keep except for patrols - but one of the scouts was particularly adept at climbing and had scaled the outside of the fortress, peering into arrow slits and over the walls to make a rough count of the people within. The final estimate was somewhere between thirty and sixty, but as many as half of them appeared to be noncombatants - servants and slaves, and even an apprentice or two.

"So," I mused, "the walls can be scaled, and relatively easily, it seems?"

"Not the walls exactly, Your Worship," the scout reporting to me answered. "The keep is built around an outcropping of rock - it's fairly easy to scale."

"Are there ledges wide enough for multiple people to stand?" I asked, an idea beginning to form. "And, if so, are any of them conveniently placed to be partially or mostly hidden from patrols on the walls?"

"Ah - let me take you to Michele. He and Amberley are sketching out the keep for you. He'll be able to answer those questions better than I can."

Amberley, it turned out, was a talented artist and had made several sketches for me, including the front entrance of the keep and their best guess at the internal layout based on what Michele - the climber - had observed.

The gate at the front entrance was long gone, with only the rusted and twisted remains of its hinges to suggest what might have happened to it. The Venatori had erected a barricade, but it wouldn't stop a determined assault - just pause anyone attacking long enough for mages and archers on the walls above to make an attempt at picking them off. "I would have thought word would have reached them of my particular abilities," I commented, seeing a clear flaw in their defense. If I put Cassandra on top of the wall, I doubted Bull would have any trouble with the barricade while she kept the defenders busy.

"From what I understand, you killed most of those who have had the poor judgment to oppose you, Your Worship," Michele pointed out.

I snorted. "Then Corypheus and his archdemon are withholding crucial information from his followers. In any case," I traced the wall bordering the outcropping of rock with one finger. "What if I sent a small strike team up here to pick off Venatori from behind while we make a great deal of noise at the entrance? Varric and Cole, for certain...and Solas can both move and cast quietly."

"Might I go with them?" I looked at Michele and found him grinning at me. "I'm quiet and can use a bow, and that sounds enjoyable."

"We have...ten scouts left without Harding and Percy?" I said, thinking aloud. "Place wards and leave five behind to hold camp...yes. Two teams of two with my group - they can sweep side passages and secure noncombatants." I returned my attention to Michele. "You can go with the strike team."

"I would like to be on your team," Amberley requested.

"You have some idea of the layout of the keep, so that seems wise," I replied. "All right - I'm going to start breakfast, and I'll see if anyone else has thoughts, objections, or amendments while we're eating. The three of you relax and get some sleep once you've had a meal."

"Your Worship," Amberley protested, "that's really not necessary - "

"I can see well enough to cook porridge and hearth cakes," I promised her. "Now go rest. I imagine we will want to attack at dusk."

Vin. Eolasan...delan na: Yes. I know...I wrong you.

Emma lath: My love

Arasasha: "My only happiness" though it could be interpreted as "my entire world" or "the only thing that matters to me"

Ma falonen: My friends