I only own my OCs
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Ch. 17 City fun pt 3
Nick POV
Man~, when Fereldans wanna show off they can. The royal palace was beyond beautiful, from colorful tapestries hanging over the walls to paintings of the previous kings. Every pillar had low relief sculptures of mabari and Fereldan heroes. It wasn't covered in gold and jewels like the Winter palace, but you could see some Orlesian touches, probably when Orlais controlled the capital. The chandeliers were a little too much though, seriously~, does some poor fellow have to go up there and change the candles every other day? At least I was dressed to kill, with a beautiful lady at my side.
"It made the lift ride down here worth it," I said nodding at the artwork, not only for its beauty but also because I didn't want to see Nat's annoyed face.
"Nick, the lift took over 20 minutes," Nat said arms in a huff. It was worth it for me.
"And wasn't it beautiful~?" Ok, I may have not thought that out, I just wanted to look cool and didn't think of how to land, we ended up having to take the lifts down.
"It was windy." she huffed.
"It made you look majestic though~."
"My bun came undo, sending my hair all over the place." It was true, the scrunchy that kept her hair in place flew off allowing her hair to blow in the breeze. She took my breath away.
"Majestic~." I smiled at her, she blushed and tapped me on the stomach.
"Dork," you say that but that smirks says otherwise.
"It was the worst!" Right~, Oghren didn't have a good time. Even though he's been on Mother Base for almost two months he hates being outside when we fly. The wind didn't make it better.
"Oh, you jest, twas wonderful. Denerim is beautiful at that height and the smell was manageable." Zevran on the other hand, loved flying, the wind in his hair, the endless horizon, and the sights only available from a high altitude. The man would fly his Crow golem all day if he could.
"Bah! Just ya wait till you fall, the Stone will punish you then." Oghren grumped. Probably doesn't know about the feather fall rune on his armor.
"And this one?" I looked over to Jak as she pointed to another sculpture. Anora tried to give a description of who they were and what they did but would get distracted by Sky who would get too close to some painting, forcing Anora to warn her away. I should help... Nahhhh~, she got it.
"-and I'm thinking Mage light throughout the royal palace," Cailan said to Julee and Dagna, he's been talking about remodeling the palace, apparently all the lit fires tend to leave soot everywhere, making it annoying to clean, and one too many servants had been injured cleaning it from higher up on the walls, and the chandeliers were a problem in and of themselves.
"What about the kitchen?" Julee asked, writing everything on her notepad.
"And what of the restroom situation?" Dagna asked also writing everything down. You can never be too careful.
I left them to that as I gave the hall a good look over. We were waiting for the Landsmeet to begin, Eamon and Fergus arrived in a more incognito method, having to move our prisoners and witnesses without the threat of being attacked, our entrance helped quite a bit.
"So, any trouble?" I asked Eamon who was looking firmly at the door that would lead us into the throne room.
"No, we were able to move the prisoners to secure holding cells, some of the other lords are asking them questions under close supervision," he said, the stoic look on his face not leaving the door. "Why? Loghain loves this country more than anyone I know. Why do this?"
"Mmm. I'm unsure. Loghain might think this to be the only way to save his country."
"Slavery? Assassination? Regicide?! How can any of that be good for this country? And the darkspawn are getting bolder and bolder and yet here he is trying to rule over ashes!"
"Not a clue, but Loghain clearly thinks he's in the right, from what I understand the Orlesians were monsters." I guessed, in-game, Loghain tried justifying all his actions if you choose him over Alistair, they all seemed flimsy at best, but I didn't live through that hell.
I haven't met him face to face, so I don't know if it's an ailment or if he was just crazy. Eamon just let out a long sigh. A loud bell rang out beginning the landsmeet, the doors slowly opened revealing the large room, and much like the waiting room the throne room was filled with art, carpets, and a throne made for a king. The room was rather large holding two balconies made for men and women of a higher noble caste with banners hanging over the nobles indicating their lordships. Ground level had other nobles, that either didn't have the political clout or land to stand with the big leagues, but what I didn't see was any Chantry officials, another change from in-game.
"Mmm. Seems like we're late." Oghren huffed.
"No, Loghain and Cailan are the ones arguing over the throne, these nobles are allowed in first." Anora corrected, head held high and practically staring down everyone in the room at once. Looking across the room I found Loghain doing the same thing. Daughter like father, it seems.
Human master strategist
Loghain Mac Tir
Age: 52
Lvl:47
HP: 800/1000
MP: 5/5
Str: he has some serious old man strength
Vit: he hasn't been eating right
Dex: fast on the draw
Int: it's not paranoia
Wis: if they're out to get you
Cha: needs some sleeps
Luk: He survived an impossible war
Ailments:
PTSD
Extreme paranoia
Depression
Exhaustion
Malnutrition
Loghain Mac Tir was born into an occupied Ferelden and with King Maric Theirin drove out the Orlesian Empire more than thirty years before the events of the Fifth Blight.
Loghain was raised to the position of Teyrn of Gwaren for his service to King Maric. To Ferelden, he represents ideals of hard work and independence. After King Maric was lost at sea, Loghain became responsible for defending Ferelden and guiding his naive and inexperienced son-in-law, King Cailan Theirin.
He only knows you by reputation, he believes you're a spy but doesn't know from where.
He had his own group of soldiers, but nothing we couldn't handle if things got ugly.
"Anora." For a moment I forgot that Loghain was a loving father.
"Father." woah~, that was chilly.
"Cailan," Loghain growled.
"Loghain." and there's the heat.
"This landsmeet is in session!" a Noble woman with a huge Warhammer called out, bringing us back to the matter at hand. Eamon took the initiative.
"My Lords and Ladies of the landsmeet! Teyrn Loghain would have us give up our freedoms, our traditions, out of fear, he placed us on this path, that we should place our destiny in his hands, must we sacrifice everything good about our nation to save it!" Eamon vocalized making sure the whole room heard him as he walked into the middle of the room splitting the nobles on the ground floor, leaving plenty of space for him to walk around.
"A fine, performance, Eamon, but no one here is taken in by it, you would attempt to put a naïve fool on the throne and every soul here knows it, the better question is who will pull the strings, and we have the puppeteers!" He points to Duncan and the Grey Wardens. "Tell us, Wardens, how will the Orlesians take our nation from us? Will they deign to send their troops, or simply issue their commands through this failed king!? What do they offer you!? how much is the price of Fereldan honor now?"
"Orlesians!? What madness are you sprouting Loghain! Orlesians!? DARKSPAWN ARE RAVISHING OUR COUNTRY! BURNING OUR HOMES AND TAKING OUR PEOPLE! Do you know what they do, Loghain?" Cailan hissed out the last part with enough rage to put Loghain on the back foot.
"There are enough refugees in my bannorn now to make that abundantly clear!" Bann Alfstanna called out, holding a ring around her neck. She was that templar's sister right? That guy was not okay, half-mad from the torture and guilt.
"The South has fallen Loghain!" a noble one the balcony called out. "Will you let the Darkspawn take the whole country for the fear of Orlais!"
"The blight is indeed real Wulff, but do we need Grey Wardens to fight it!? They claim that they alone can end the blight, yet they failed spectacularly against the darkspawn at Ostagar, and they asked to bring with them four legions of chevaliers!? And once we open our borders to the chevalier, can we really expect them to simply return from whence they came?!" Loghain roared to the crowd.
"This coming from a man who let Tevinter SLAVERS take innocent civilians of Ferelden to fund this revolt!" Cailan roared back standing toe to toe with Loghain
"What's this!? There is no slavery in Ferelden! explain yourself!" Another noble roared; this man looked ready to kill Loghain, I was unsure if it was because of the slavery or because of the young man sporting a new mechanical arm next to him.
"There was no saving the alienage! Damage from the riots has yet to be repaired, bodies still rotting in their homes, it's not a place I would send my worst enemy, there is no chance of holding it if the blight comes here! Despite what you may think Cailan, I have done my duty, whatever my regrets may be for the elves, I have done what was needed for the good of Ferelden." he straightened. He doesn't get out much, does he?
"Good for-! Have you lost your mind! You would sell the people of Ferelden, so you don't have to waste time helping them! How many children have you torn from their families, how many of my people have you condemned to live in shackles!" if Cailan was angry before, he was apocalyptic now, "I hoped it was Howe making all these monstrous decisions behind your back, but this." Loghain's men looked antsy, an angry king in full armor and a room full of nobles turning against them tends to do that. "What of the Couslands? Was that also your doing?" The question was soft, but it spread throughout the room like a plague.
Loghain remained quiet.
"Howe brought me proof of betrayal," he muttered unsure
"SAY THAT AGAIN!" My arm snapped out holding Aeden back from ripping Loghain's throat out. I even needed to bend the earth under me so I could hold him back better, it didn't do much, the earth was cracking under me. Alistair was holding back his own Cousland, as was Eamon.
"Rendon was a soldier under my command, I had no reason not to trust him!"
"He stole from the crown, taxed everything to the point of riots, made gang leaders into nobles so they could be his personal hit squad, kidnapped and tortured innocent civilians," I drawled out still holding on to Aeden. "He also turned into a 25-foot monster, hell-bent on killing everyone and ruling the world." I didn't think I could make my voice any drier. Loghain just looked at me.
"Is this who you consort with Cailan? Abominations?" he looked over to Jak and Julee. "Demons?" I nearly let go of Aeden, as he looked over to Sky. "Monsters?!"
"I'm a dragon." Sky pointed to herself, standing at her full size and whipping her tail on the floor causing a small tremor, "and you are a broken land walker. Be in awe, you view someone who is whole."
"Is that a threat?" he hissed.
"No, it's a fact. Nicky has talked a lot about the strength of the human mind, but you are old, and fought too much, your mind cannot leave the battle," she answered like a wiseman to a fool. She pointed to Cailan. "He is family. You helped raise him, he is bonded to your daughter, he put his trust in you, and you left him to die from the fear of something that might happen." she shook her head causing her jewelry to tingle throughout the room. "You need to heal." She turned away; he wasn't worth it.
"And you?" He looked over at me.
"Oh~, we're just going to skip over the fact that your right-hand man, killed and tortured your people at your command?" I asked.
"I had no knowledge of that! Do you truly believe I would allow my daughter to be anywhere near him if I did!?"
"You left your son-in-law to die, you didn't investigate if Howe was telling the truth about one of the most loyal families in Ferelden, you sold your people to slavers because you couldn't be bothered, you allowed Howe to tax and torture your people, you worry about Orlais as Ferelden is burned by evil monsters from the abyss. You Loghain, chose what was easy instead of what was right." I did not raise my voice or use my intimidation skill; I just told it how I saw it. "I can see you leaving your daughter in the hands of a monster." The room when quiet.
"Your words cut stranger, who are you to say these things? What gives you the right?" Loghain hissed
"I am Nick Walters, a man of mysteries, a doom-driven fool, the gods' toy, but most of all... I'm just a man trying to help." I shrugged.
"Father, enough is enough," Anora interjected. "Lords and Ladies of Ferelden, I bring you proof of Loghain's treachery! From the slaver who tried to take our people, to the assassin he sent to kill Arl Eamon!" Eamon's soldiers took that moment to drag in Caladrius and Jowan.
"YOU!" Screamed Caladrius at Loghain. It seemed like he gained some of his previous sanity. "You sold me the elves! You said I wouldn't be troubled! LOOK AT ME!" he shoved his stumps at Loghain. Caladrius's guard yanked him back and onto his knees. A cuffed Jowan just stood there; his guilt seemed to still weigh him down.
"Loghain is not fit to rule Ferelden!" Anora called out regaining attention. " Loghain... father... stand down, there has been enough chaos." for a moment I thought he was going to end this without a fight.
"NO!" Loghain roared straightening his back. "Cailan is too naïve! He would bring Ferelden back under the rule of Orlais!" He looked at the nobles, seeing the writing on the wall. "But I see you don't agree. You have not done what I must to keep this country save, I, who has spilled more blood than anyone, who has fought overwhelming odds to bring freedom to the country I love!" he unsheathed his sword which ignited into flames, pointing it at Cailan, who just glared back. "I call for an Honor Duel!" that got some gasps, which also brought me up short, sure the duel was the most likely outcome but only after people voted, and the enchanted blade was new.
Cailan glared at Loghain, after a moment he looked over to his wife, who just looked terrified, clearly not seeing this coming. Looking back to Loghain he also unsheathed his sword. Unlike Loghain, only the edges of his sword gave a soft glow.
I called it Damocles, call me a try hard I don't give a damn, technically it was called Maric's Blade, but Cailan believed it needed a new name, he agreed to Damocles after hearing the story of the fabled king. The edges were super-heated, which was easy, it was keeping the heat contained to only the edges were where the real work went into.
Cailan tapped his sword to Loghain's.
-/-
Cailan POV
"I accept." The nobles around us took flight, giving us plenty of space. I gave Anora one last look. My beloved looked so lost. I will never forgive Loghain for doing this, to me, to Ferelden, to Anora. But even then. "Nick, can you remove the runes?"
"No, but~." He pressed something on my spine, making the runes on my armor dim. "I can limit the output; this should make it slightly better than your old armor." my armor's weight pressed down on me. It never felt heavier.
"This duel shall be fought according to tradition: a test of arms and single combat until one party yields! and we who have assembled here today will abide by the outcome!" Called out Alfstanna. Taking a step back we unclipped our shields to bring them to a proper stance. "Begin!" We began to circle each other.
His guard was strong and his footwork precise.
"This is unfair~!" I yelled from the floor; uncle gave me no openings. Uncle's spars sucked, all around us were the royal guards watching me getting my butt handed to me in the training yard.
"No whining Cailan! Do you think your father and I got to whine about how the Orlesian never got off their bloody horses!?" Loghain called out sword pointed to the ground as he circled me. I quickly jumped back to my feet; Uncle wasn't above giving me a smack while I was on the ground.
"You don't hold back!"
"Nor will any of your enemies! Bring up that shield!" he swung nearly knocking it out of my hand.
"I'm 13!" I swung my sword only for him to parry it with ease.
"And these skills may save your life! Block!" that one shook my bones. "And if not yours." his eyes flashed to Anora looking over the match with a worried look. I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
"You're not giving me any openings."
"Then make some!" He swung at me.
Block! Parry! I slapped the sword away, cutting slightly into his armor, and backed away. Loghain's sword must have some serious enchantments, I could feel its heat from within my armor. Charge! My shield gave off a soft glow as I rushed forward unleashing a small boom as our shields met, making him slide away, but his stance held firm.
"You've gotten better." he hissed; it seems like my charge did some damage. He rushed forward locking blades.
"Blade locks aren't real!" geez~, you don't say, I think my new goose egg would agree. 3 years and uncle still gives no mercy. "It takes the tiniest effort to move your blade and slash your opponent in the face. Again!" he swung. Blocking with my sword. "We are in a contest of strength and movement! You must push forward trying to slip past my sword and stop me from slipping into your guard!" instead of pushing he went limp, making me overextend and leaving me wide open to his left hook.
"Maker's balls! I think you knocked a tooth loose." I spit out some blood.
"We have healers. Again!" This time instead of committing to the lock, I just kicked him in the nuts. He gave a huff and a chuckle.
"Good! Any normal person would be on the ground." he shook it off getting back into his stance.
"What, you got balls of steel?" he chuckled and tapped his crotch, giving off a soft thunking noise.
"Cup." of course~. "Are you wearing yours?" I don't like that grin.
"As the prince, I make it illegal to kick the prince in the nuts!"
He didn't kick me in the nuts.
Headbutt! His head snapped back, blood gushing out, but even then, he just rolled out of the way bringing his shield and blade back into place. I pointed my sword to the ground, tempting him, and began circling him. Rushing forward I twisted my blade against his shield bashing his already bruised shield arm, giving me the necessary leverage to disarm him and throwing his sword across the room causing some Nobles to yelp. Putting my sword to his neck.
I lost count of how many times Uncle Loghain as put his sword to my neck. A hundred? 200? A thousand!? I should build a house on that edge since I practically live there.
"Yield." It was never a question, just a fact.
"I yield." I sighed.
"Good." he pulled away his wooden sword. "You're getting better, but you're distracted, why?" I swallowed; nothing escapes uncle's sight does it? I took a deep breath.
"Unc-, no." Loghain gave me a confused look. "Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir of Gwaren! I Prince Cailan Theirin, son of King Maric Theirin of Ferelden, stand before you, begging for your daughter's hand in marriage!" that may have come out louder than I wanted. He was silent for a long moment.
"Princes don't beg." he finally said.
"Anora's a woman worth begging for." I immediately retorted. He gave me another long look before moving his eyes passed me for a moment before snapping back at me.
"Will you be true to her?"
"Till the day I die. And then some."
"… very well." I didn't get to hear anything else before a weight slammed into me. Turning I found Anora's beautiful blue eyes and warming smile greeting me.
"Yield." I wasn't asking. He remained silent and just glared.
"No." I hit him with my pommel knocking him back, taking that moment to yank the shield from his arm and threw it across the room.
"YIELD!"
"No." he spit out a glob of blood, getting back up to his feet. "My country needs me." Maker, we Fereldans sure are stubborn. Stabbing my sword into the ground all the way up to the hilt and tossing my shield away, I brought my hands up.
Uppercut!
"Are you fools ready?" Loghain grunted walking into the room in his armor, because only his wife had ever seen him outside of it, shined like a mirror.
"HAHA! Log! Look at you! Wait~." Father rushed over, grabbed, and moved uncle so he could get a better look at his own reflection fixing his eyebrows. Rolling his eyes, uncle shoved him away. "My hair!"
"How are you Cailan?"
"My hands are sweaty, I can't stop shivering, my legs feel like jam, but I can't stop walking." I stuttered. Loghain nodded.
"mmm~. Yes, I know that feeling all too well. Celia had me jumping hoops and spilling out my guts to Maric." Father just nodded at Loghain's words.
"It's true, did you know he used to wet the bed until- gak!" Father didn't finish as uncle started squeezing his head. "OW OW OW!"
"Your father ran around Denerim to ease his nerves, didn't really help much. He constantly interrupted the mother saying, 'I do!' in the middle of her speech."
"Hey! Don't ruin my son's image of me!" I just laughed at their antics.
"Just remember, marriage is a journey two people take, it can be rough but together you can overcome any obstacle."
Feck me. My arms felt a hundred pounds heavier, my legs were weak, my left eye was swollen shut, and I'm pretty sure he busted a rib. Still, I can do this all day. Loghain on the other hand was swaying back and forth, blood running down his busted lip, his right eye swollen shut, and his right-hand laid limp.
"Yield," I ordered.
"N-never." He started limping towards me. He took three steps before he flopped to the ground and even then, he crawled. I placed my hand on his back and let my weight drop him to the ground.
"Yield... please uncle. Yield." he gave me one last wheeze.
"I yield." he groaned. Nick was on me the second Loghain yielded bringing my armor back to full operation, I could feel my body knit itself back together, my swollen eye return to normal, and my armor no longer trying to drag me to the earth.
"Heal the weak, so they can grow strong!" It seemed like Ayla wasn't taking any chances. Growing a tooth feels weird. Loghain gave a cough, his face slowly fixing itself.
"How ya feeling?" Nick asked.
"Better," I replied massaging my jaw. For an old man, Loghain didn't miss a beat. Two warm hands grabbed my face directing me to Anora's worried face. I just gave her a warm smile.
"You had me scared." Tear streaks marked her face.
"I'm so sorry my love." I apologized, giving her a soft kiss.
"The duel has ended! Long live King Cailan!" called out Alfstanna stamping her Warhammer, followed by other nobles stamping their family weapons, some even cheering. I turned to the nobles and spread my hands out silencing the room.
"Lords and Nobles of Ferelden! I have returned with allies to fight the blight! Ferelden will not fall! We will not go quietly into the night! We will stand our ground! WE ARE CANCELING THE APOCALYPSE!" The crowd roared out in approval.
"Oh, so you're just stealing that?" Nick whispered with a deadpan look.
"I have no idea what you're talking about?" I whispered back. I raised my hand to bring the crowd back to order. "Loghain. What you have done to Ferelden is inexcusable, but killing you won't fix your mistakes. Loghain Mac Tir, all your titles are stripped from you, and to remove you from any political power you will be made a Grey Warden and serve outside of Ferelden after the Blight. But before you leave you will beg the men and women of the alienage for nearly selling them to a life of slavery." I got up close to him. "Actions have consequences." I nodded to Nick who slapped a collar on Loghain.
"Not much fun, is it?" Nick said with no joy in his voice, just disappointment.
Can't say I didn't feel the same.
-/-
Nick POV
Like all things in politics, some agreed with Cailan, some fought the decision, and others only cared that the civil upheaval had come to an end or at the very least calmed down. With Loghain put in his place, Duncan called Ken and John, the only other Wardens that escaped Ostagar, giving them the green light to head to Denerim, but made it clear that if any Orlesian causes any trouble that they would be immediately conscripted. We also have some Wardens come down from the Free Marches. Things were looking up. Cailan did have something else he needed from me.
-/-
"Line up ladies!" I yelled standing on a platform in front of Eamon's soldiers and conscripts. "Yes, that means you too ya slack-jawed yokels!" I yelled at the men giving me confused looks. I forgot that many women join the armed forces here. "Your king has gracefully, and out of his love for you, ordered enhanced armor! That's right! armor for the lot of you, free, rune infused, and meant to keep Darkspawn blood off, so line up!"
It was free for them, not for Ferelden. After finding Howe's stash and having control of Ferelden's economy, Cailan finally started paying me for my work. In all honesty, it wasn't difficult for me to make the armor. My crafting skill made it stupidly easy to do all the hard work, all I needed to do was get high-level crafting items to make an expert crafted suit of armor, which I bought from Wade's shop. Wade was an... Eccentric man, but Herren was happy to take my money.
After crafting the armor, I copied it. It wasn't perfect, of course, I was only journeyman in my copy skill, so my expert-level armor copied into intermediate armor, I would then add runes to the armor to make up the difference, I didn't make them anything like the groups' armor or anything, I just made it stronger and self-fitting, so I didn't have to make individual pieces of armor. It wasn't difficult, just time-consuming and after I ranked up my Copy skill to Advance things speed up, I gained a number option so instead of making one by one I could make over a hundred but the magic need for me to make more than ten at a time would double. Making over 50,000, give or take 1,000 suits of armor took some time. It was the golem thing all over again, but easier on my mana core. I made bubble helmets made of hard plexiglass so the soldiers could see, real Mass Effect shit going on here, I even put in a rebreather. I just hoped that this would save time curing people of the blight after the fight.
The girls weren't happy that I spent my nights slaving away in my workshop for a week straight, shoot I was unhappy, but more people in steel and not in cloth would save more lives. The money was good too, sure I was drowning in gold, but it was more for the peace of mind it provided, I used to live my life paycheck to paycheck, helping with bills, rent, and family troubles, it was never 'just' my money. Now I have so much I don't know what to do with it, I wonder if this is what millionaires feel like.
"Name?" I asked the soldier coming up.
"Riley of Highever?" she answered. I jotted down the name on my ledger with a picture of her next to it. I pointed to the orb next to me.
"Hand," I ordered. She looked confused putting her hand on the orb, it gave a soft glow before it popped out an ID card made of hard plastic with her name, face, age, blood type, height, and weight. She just took it in awe. "Collect your armor in the next booth." I drawled. She's like the thousandth person I met today.
"Oh! Uh?" she pointed to the card.
"That's yours. Keep it safe, if you survive the war, you will be paid 10 gold." I was literally swimming in gold, but that was way too much for my blood. Cailan and the other nobles were making the payments. She looked shocked, and I kinda understand, from what I remember about old wars was that the peasants weren't paid. "Next!" that snapped her out of her trance walking over to the next booth where Dagna gave them their new armor, followed by a quick explanation by Alistair or Aeden on its features before sending them off to train or something, I wasn't their trainer.
There were 20 other booths just like mine doing the same thing, I pretty much forced everyone to help. It was still just over 3 days to finish, which was good cause Pancake's water broke. After 6 hours and Jak and Nat walking in circles in worry, we gained 6 pups, 2 boys, and 4 girls. I've never bred dogs before so I couldn't really tell what they would look like when fully grown, but they had Dogmeat's fur color and Pancakes ears. Jak and Nat wanted to name them all, but Aeden told them that it was tradition for the Mabari's partner to choose the name. Jak was unhappy with that, but Nat agreed, she did get to name Pancake even though she was already fully grown.
I can't read dogs, at least not yet, but Princess looked jealous, not at the attention Pancake was getting, but the freedom she got. I guess carrying a bunch of pups makes you a bit antsy to walk around. Dogmeat seemed to notice this and would comfort her until she pushed him away but would growl if he left her line of sight. Pancake just looked happy.
Jak and Julee already made a pin place for them all with a self-cleaning grass square where the pups will be trained.
"Aeden, do you have any trainers?" I asked Aeden who was staying close to Princess due to her due date getting closer.
"I can do it!" Jak countered looking offended. Aeden shook his head.
"No, you can't. I'm unsure of what breed Dogmeat is, but Mabari need a stern hand. They are incredibly intelligent and if they are not shown how to act, they can and will lash out." Aeden was dead serious. "Princess's trainer is no longer among us. I have no doubt King Cailan has a few trainers, but you have plenty of time, real training usually starts a year after birth, but you should teach them normal behavior after 7 weeks. Make sure to speak to them like normal people so they begin to understand the language. And-" This man was a fountain of information on Mabari, I just stopped listening, Jak and Nat were taking notes so she could handle it.
-/-
With the soldiers suited out and getting some training, Cailan wanted me to work on the walls that protected Denerim. I was beginning to worry a bit, I know Cailan's a good guy and wants the best for his people, but Anora's... practical. The only reason she's allowing Cailan's spending is because of the blight, but I fear she might get buyer's remorse and try to get her money back, so we came up with a payment plan so Ferelden wouldn't fall into too much debt, still I have a feeling she wants me to have an 'accident' in battle, so the kingdom didn't have to pay. I doubt Cailan will allow me to be attacked... I'm going to have to hire Zevran to keep assassins off my back... just in case.
"Good lord~." The wall was bad, like really bad. At the moment I was looking at the furthest point of the wall that connected to mount Drakon. No doubt the Orlesians messed it up good when they invaded and then followed by the Fereldans counter. All this and not knowing the original state of the wall, I'm surprised it is still standing. I could see where some reconstruction was done, but it was off-color, other places had wood, and some of the repairs were just large mounds of dirt. The wall itself was just over 20 feet high and 10 feet wide.
"What are we looking at?" Sereda asked. With her here the wall will be done twice as fast, her getting 25% of anything I make was just a small bonus. She's a shrewd negotiator when it comes to money. Julee, Lyna, and Dagna were also out here, I was hoping to finish the wall within three days, and finish adding runes not long after.
"I'm thinking we make a new wall 2000 feet away from the first wall."
"And the old wall?" I shrugged.
"We were paid to make a new wall not remove the old one." I pulled out the contract. "It doesn't say anything about removing any wall." I've been getting into the habit of writing out all my deals and having one of the Grey Wardens notarize them. Duncan charged me one gold for the stamping, turns out the Grey Warden's stamp of approval wasn't cheap, but it did guarantee the Warden's backing in legal matters. Before I said anything Theron was there, hand out for the money he was due. "Best not drag this out." I earth bent a wall 20 feet long, 30 feet high, and 20 in width. Unlike Redcliffe, where I made individual blocks of hardened earth, I just made thick hardened walls.
"woah~. I sometimes forget he can do things like this." Lyna said looking at the new piece of wall.
"Yeah~, Nicky likes showing off from time to time." Julee giggled.
"Julee, do you ladies have everything covered down here?" I asked, she just waved me away, and began writing out durability runes with Dagna and Lyna on the wall.
"We are getting paid for this right?" Dagna asked. I taught her well.
"50%, split between the 3 of you."
"I want it in writing." too well, it seems. I launched myself on top of my newly made wall.
"What! I can't hear youuuuuu!" All I saw was her, shaking fist at me. Sereda joined me shortly after.
"You do know she knows where you live, right?" I waved her off.
"She'll forget... probably."
"For the amount of money you're earning, I wouldn't."
"Mmm. I'll just distract her with fancy magic, and if all else fails I'll go the Sky route." She gave me a confused look. "Wear skimpy clothes."
"you're incorrigible."
"thanks~."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"You say that, but your blush says something else~." Her flustered face was adorable. "You ready?" She took a deep breath and nodded. I've been teaching Sereda everything I knew about earthbending, training to complete the Quest I gained at Ava and Lyna's place.
Quest: Montage time! Sereda and Ayla have requested more training before the blight arrives!
(42/100hrs) training with Sereda
(39/100hrs) training with Ayla
Reward: 15,000 exp, one silver loot box, one random skill book
"Alright. Rising stance." In unison we earth bent a new section of wall, making it longer than I could alone. I understand now how Ba Sing Se had stupidly large and thick walls. Making the first wall was like lifting a 20-pound dumbbell with one hand arm, pretty sure that was thanks to my Master Rank in earthbending and my armor's runes empowering me, but with two people bending the same slab of earth it was like lifting a bag of feathers.
Falling into the routine of hardening the floor, raising the floor, hardening the wall, lather, rinse, repeat. The wall came along quickly, but Denerim was a huge place, unlike the alienage, most of the people built out and not up, and that's not counting the new houses that lined the outside of the wall, so we had to make the wall larger to circle those houses. After two days, Sereda and I finally reached the sea. I sent her off for the day and began making runes from my end and heading toward the ladies on the other end.
Mana absorption runes, Durability runes, light runes, all at a journeyman level, nothing too difficult or time-consuming, and the only fancy thing I did was add lifts next to every staircase, so the men and women who probably had to add heavy crossbows to the wall didn't have to pull their backs. With my ability to go without sleep or food, I began working nonstop, it was even easier than making the wall, all I had to do was tap the wall segment for my runes to spread. I just had to keep an eye on my MP but other than that I was Dashing from wall to wall, reaching the rune crew in no time. To be fair they were already halfway finished.
"Finally~!" Dagna and Lyna flopped to the floor, I guess doing the same thing for two days could be boring. Changing into some lounging wear, I flopped in between them Julee flopped next to Lyna and watched the clouds slowly turn orange. We lay there for what seemed like hours, but in reality, it was probably 3 minutes.
"Nick?" Lyna spoke.
"Mmm?"
"Why do you do what you do?"
"Mmm?"
"I mean, why did you help the Alienage? Why help anyone at all? You have the power to do whatever you want? You can take your island and fly far away from here. Somewhere safe, away from this place." I could hear the bitterness in her tone.
"... When I was younger, my uncle was plagued by a disease, I am unsure if you have it here, but we call it cancer. It was... bad." I didn't want to go into a long explanation. "None of the healers we had could do anything to stop it. It turned my uncle, a man who helped raise me and built like an ox, wither away into a husk. Day after day he grew weaker and weaker, my aunt and cousins could do nothing but try to make his final days comfortable, they put up a brave face, but I saw the cracks. When he died, my family was hit in a way that is difficult to explain unless you've gone through it." I stretched my hand out to the sky, glowing a slight gold. "I didn't have the power to help back then, but I do now, and if I can ease that heartache for another, I will." We lay there, my glowing hand let out some sparkles.
Due to your hard work and effort, your skill has ranked up!
Honesty - rank Journeyman. 40% more likely to believe you.
"And the buildings?"
"Our environment makes us who we are. You live in a dangerous place; you grow into a dangerous person in order to survive. If I make the environment safer maybe the people who live there will ease." I shrugged. "It's worth a try."
"But the money doesn't hurt." Lyna teased.
"Ha! No, it doesn't~," I laughed, allowing the heavy topic to drift away into the silence.
"I better be paid for that~." Dagna piped up.
"5%," she thumped me.
"Dagny~, you're doing it wrong. Nicky's been punched, thrown, bitten, and set on fire. You got to be... gentle." she crawled over Lyna leaving her blushing and straddled me. "Nicky~."
"... 15%," I gulped. She took a deep breath, sticking out her chest, and rubbed herself against my hips. "...20." I squeaked. She leaned over and gave me a soft kiss that grew into something more risqué, before popping her lips away.
"Nicky~." Every hair on my body stood at attention.
Gamer's Mind has blocked Julia Hope's racial trait: lust
"I'll give you anything you want," I grunted. She patted my cheek.
"Happy doing business with you~." she winked at a blushing Dagna, before hopping off, taking her warmth with her. We watched her head back to Mother Base tail waving back and forth hips and butt on full display.
"What a woman~." I sighed.
"Yeah~." the ladies said in unison. Lyna was quick to hop to her feet.
"Don't wait up!" she yelled running after Julee, leaving Dagna and I on the ground watching the clouds change color.
.
.
.
"I want 30%"
"4%" I countered.
.
.
.
She rolled until she bumped onto my side face first.
"30~," she muttered into my shirt.
"... 7%"
.
.
.
She kept her face on my shirt but crawled on top of me, not making eye contact, face deep in my chest.
"30," she muttered.
"10."
She finally looked at me, her face as red as her hair her green eyes shining like beacons, and straddled me, squeaking as she felt something press up against her bum.
"30." Her face was on fire, but she gave me a stern look. I put my hands on her hips causing her to shiver.
"15." I gave a light squeeze. She placed her hands on my chest and gently placed her forehead against mine.
"30." Her breath was hot and smelled of the same cookies I made of lunch.
"20." I countered She gave me a gentle kiss. "21." kiss. "22." kiss~. "23." She slipped her tongue into my mouth as I moved my hands to her bum and massaged it causing her to moan in my mouth. She tasted of chocolate and seemed to melt at my touch.
"Are you going to mate?" Astral asked appearing to my left. Being caught off guard, Dagna fade step 10 feet into the air out of pure shock. Her wooden golem masquerading as her bracer activated its feather fall runes gently lowering her panicked flushed face to the ground. She didn't even try and land on her feet, she just covered her face and landed curled up in a ball.
"Adorable~." I teased; she just flipped me off. I picked her up like a princess, but all she did was bury her face in my chest. "25~."
"I want it in writing," she muttered.
"HA! Of course, my adorable apprentice~. So, sister from another mister, waz happenin?"
"Dinner!" Astral cheered.
Of course.
-/-
"Dodge!" I yelled throwing a flaming dodgeball at Ayla, who managed to jump out of the way. Danger sense tingled moving my head to the left allowing the ball Dagna launched at me to fly by. At the moment I was in one of the empty rooms on the third level which I remodeled into a large recreational room used for more movement training, like dodgeball and basketball.
"Hold still!" Dagna yelled. Ever since the kiss yesterday she has been breaking out of her shell more, asking more questions, and taking risks when rune crafting, she even slapped my ass as we left breakfast. Sure, she was blushing up a storm but still.
"Stop trying to hit me and hit me! Magic missile never misses!" I called out, with her new level of confidence, I believed it was time for some real offensive magic. The dodge balls were made to allow spells to give it power, it couldn't kill anyone, but it would sting.
"That doesn't make any sense!" she yelled, rolling away from one of my flaming balls.
"It's magic! Less thinking, more imagination!" I dodged Ayla's glowing ball of doom.
"Get him Dagny!" yelled Astral from one of the benches. She, Sky, Ava, Oghren, Alistair, Aeden, and Jak were the first to be taken out.
"YEAH! Get the traitor!" Jak joined. I had to take her out first, of all the people on the court she was one of the most dangerous. Her electro shot moved too fast for me to confidently dodge. She had to go. That left Dagna, Ayla, Neria, Nat, Elissa, Theron, Morrigan, Sereda, and- Danger!
I threw myself to the ground dodging a ball that seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Zevran~." I hissed. He has been popping in and out of my sight using his rogue skills, man was a goddamn ghost. Nat on the other hand...
"RAAAAAAR!" is a bit more... aggressive~. "Eat rubber!"
"Nat~, sweety the point of a sneak attack is to be sneaky." I teased as I jumped out of the way, picking up one of the dozen dodgeballs littering the room, just in time to slap one of Theron's curve balls. "I feel like I'm being targeted!" I launched my ball at an ill-prepared Dagna.
"Holy rebound!" yelled Ayla creating a holy shield not only blocking a sure hit but returning it straight at me with a little extra 'screw you' juice. I learned that Ayla had to chant to use her magic, but with some practice, we have been able to lessen the words needed to cast a spell. Using fancy footwork, I twisted out of the way grabbing another ball, and dashed away from Morrigan's and Elissa's magic-filled dodgeballs. Mory was still angry about how I beaned Aeden followed quickly by Alistair, which triggered Elissa.
"It's good to see you getting along with your In-laws!" I teased.
"Shut up and eat rubber!" Morrigan yelled, I, of course, tried to bean her in the dome, but Elissa was there for the save, using a barrier to protect her. Danger! I dashed up to the ceiling avoiding a ball wreathed in lightning, I trailed back to an ever-calm Theron. Theron's been training his body to handle more magic through mana enhancing his strength followed by unleashing large amounts of magic through his advanced body, it was amazing, but Mana intensive, he couldn't do those multiple times in a row without going into a Mana crash and messing up his body. Danger! I quickly dashed off the ceiling avoiding another ball that left an indentation on the ceiling.
"Master Nickolas, do yourself a favor and surrender," Sereda ordered, picking up another ball. Shit~, I was surrounded.
"Isn't this a bit unfair?" Originally it was supposed to be a free-for-all, a bit of training about how a battlefield could be chaotic, but it turned on me pretty quick.
"No," Neria smirked. "Wasn't it you who said that taking out the biggest threat makes it easier to take out the minions?"
"I'm flattered."
"I was talking about Jak," ouch, "and with her out of the way... well, that only left you."
"I just showed you the game like 5 minutes ago." I looked for an escape.
"Ganging up on one person is a time-honored tradition," Theron answered with a straight face. I slowly raised my hand in surrender.
"Man~. Ya guys got me~." I smiled like butter wouldn't melt in my mouth.
"No sudden movement!" Ayla ordered hand ready with a ball. "On the floor!" She's been watching too many cop movies.
"Why? Are you going to... do naughty things to me~?" I teased her using my Cha stat to the max. A light blush spread across her face.
"On, the, ground, Walters," she growled cocking her hand ready to launch. Ever so slowly I got on one knee and unleashed a powerful illusion of a smoke screen. DANGER! You don't say~. I dashed forward listening to my intuition, flopping just far enough where any ball destined to make mincemeat of my beautiful face flew over my head. grabbing a ball that rolled by, I beaned Theron followed by Zevran. I dash forward one last time scooping up one more ball and grabbing Ayla around the waist and using her as a meat shield, just as Morrigan and Neria unleashed a gust of power dispelling my magic.
"Well, well, well. It looks like the turn has tabled~… wait."
"Let her go Nick. You got nowhere to go!" Elissa yelled, quickly grabbing another ball. I gently lifted Ayla and moved so my back was facing the wall.
"Guys... hit me," Ayla said putting up a brave face.
"Ayla." Sereda looked shocked at her self-sacrifice.
"That's very noble of you Ayla," I said in my most villainous voice. "But be warned, Heroes. The moment you take her down, I'm taking one of you down with me." Dagna just gave me a death glare.
"Less thinking, more imagination." She launched her ball wide, missing me by a mile.
"What was that?" Really Dagny~, the last-minute hero thin- DANGER! I turned my face just in time to get a ball to the face. Magic missile never misses. Damn.
OUT!
You have been beaten! You only gain 10% Exp from this round.
We were all quiet for a second, watching the ball bounce away. I then fell to the ground; it didn't hurt or anything, I just wanted to be dramatic. The room exploded into cheers. Sereda lifted Dagna into the sky, only to die off as Morrigan hit Dagna with a ball. We all looked over at her.
"The game is still going." she deadpanned. oh yeah~. Everyone still in the game flew into action. I walked over to the benches plopping next to Jak, who brought me into a one-arm hug.
"Get wrecked," she muttered. We just laughed.
"How was that!?" Dagna ran over with a huge smile on her face.
"Kick ass!" Jak high-fived her. "The look on his face~! That's my girl!" she brought her into a hug, sitting a blushing Dagna on her lap, and gave her a breath-stealing kiss. "ahhh~, the lips of a winner." she smacked her lips. Dagna was trying to cover her blushing face.
"Looks like you got Magic Missile down," I smirked at her. That really caught me off guard. She was able to regain her composure and nod.
"Yep, I was overthinking it. I believed I needed to lead the magic like a kite. Turns out it was more of a point-and-shoot, and magic would do the rest. It took a lot out of me." Yeah~, unlike Energy Barrage, which peppers an enemy to lower their resistance, Magic Missile is all about power.
Magic Missile - Abracafuckyou! Magic in its purest 'feck you' form. 25MP per missile. 70 - 120HP damage per missile.
Rank Journeyman.
It was 35MP at novice and would cause an average damage of about 40HP.
"It's all about practice~. You'll be busting fools in no time. You really are an overachiever~." I teased. She huffed.
"Just you wait. Soon I'll be teaching you a thing or two." her nose reaching for the ceiling. I took that moment to gently lock our foreheads.
"And what will you teach me, Mistress Dagna~," I whispered hotly. Her face lit back up.
"I-I-I-I," I gave her a soft kiss, that seemed to be too much as she buried herself into Jak's chest. Adorable~.
"RAAAAAR!" I looked back to the battlefield only to find Nat standing over everyone remaining, roaring in victory. "YOU!" she pointed at me, snapping me to attention. "BED! I WISH TO SAVER MY VICTORY!"
Gamer's mind has blocked Natia Brosca's word of command!
Gamer's mind has blocked Jak Hope's racial ability: lust.
I looked over to a startled blushing Jak. Competition really brings out another beast in people.
"BED!"
I rushed out of the room.
-/-
Zevran POV
"One two, one two. Come on ladies! You call that jogging!" Nick yelled at his little group as they passed my table in the Alienage's newest restaurant owned by Nick, he called it 'Pizza time', they had a nice outdoor table set up, under the large tree that provided just the right amount of shade.
"This is a nice place," Theron said relaxing on his chair and sipping some of his tea.
"Nick spared no expense," Leliana commented drinking some of her own tea. It's true Nick has been buying up land and investing all over the alienage, something about future cash flow. I'm an assassin not a businessman.
"I guess~, there's no hot lava to keep your toes warm, but whatever." Oghren shrugged chugging some of his ale. Oghren aside, this is probably the greatest alienage in all of Ferelden maybe all of Thedas, the floor was cobbled, the houses were beautiful and had all the amenities Mother Base had, from kitchens to bathrooms, the people were clean and fully clothed, the smell that usually lingered in other alienates didn't exist here, free fresh water, and the people here just... looked happier. Now that I think about it, the alienage was far better than most of Denerim.
"Zev, pay attention ya nug licker." Oghren's voice brought me back to the reason we were here, other than lunch.
"Sorry."
"That's okay, as I was saying, the Raven has been able to find some leads on Taliesen," Leliana stated, passing over some photos. It was Taliesen, he was wearing a hood in some photos, but it was definitely him. He was talking to some shady characters and giving them bags of what I imagined to be money. "It would seem Taliesen is recruiting."
"Mmm." I hummed.
"Is this idiot serious?! We fight monsters and giant demons all the time and he thinks he can take us with mooks? Don't make me laugh." Oghren huffed taking another chug.
"Taliesen is many things but stupid he is not. He's planning something." I sipped my tea. Chamomile. "How many people has he bought?"
"Unknown. He may have been recruiting before we even got here, lying in wait for Aeden's arrival." Theron added.
"Mmm, it's possible. He knew my target and not hearing back from me he might have concluded that I've been slain."
"But why not make contact?" Theron asked.
"He has," I answered, bringing everyone short.
"What!? When? Why didn't you tell us ya sky lover."
"I hate, chamomile." I put my cup down. Theron and Leliana, quick on the draw, snapped their eyes around the area, looking for Taliesen. They won't find him, he probably paid off the waiter to give me the tea.
"And I hate flying, what's some tea mean?"
"He wants my attention, where does this place get its shipments?"
"Nick buys all his food before it hits the market so the docks, I think," answered Leliana. "Tonight?" I nodded.
"Get the others. I'll get Aeden, Taliesen won't be able to resist." I ordered.
"I have your food~," an elf in a cute apron called out walking over to the table. Ahhh~, Nick does good work.
"After lunch. Of course."
-/-
The docks were a mess, Loghain and Howe really made a mess of this place. I was here five months ago, and this place always had someone making sure this place was clean and spacious for incoming goods. This place is stacked with crates and littered with garbage; the surrounding warehouses weren't even locked.
"Are you sure he'll be here?" Aeden asked. At the moment only Aeden and I were walking through the dark street, everyone else was jumping over the rooftops, their forms invisible to the naked eye.
"Only you and I, walking through an empty street, and with no witnesses, he'd be crazy not to at least make contact."
"You know me too well Zev~" Taliesen's voice came down the street. "Nice suit." He came around one of the dozen stacks of crates littering the street. He was wearing his best drake leather armor. I was always jealous of that suit, but now... it looks like a sad excuse for armor, I've been spoiled.
"Taliesen. Leave." There's no joking with Taliesen on serious matters, otherwise, he'll make it into a joke.
"Woah~, what's with the cold shoulder? I came all this way here for you~." Taliesen spoke with his cocky swagger I loved so much.
"We both know I was never planning on returning." I retorted. "Leave Taliesen. Go home. Forget about me and live your own life." The street was quiet.
"I can't do that Zev. You know I can't. I took the contract on you." oh Taliesen~. "Join me Zevran, I'll talk to the rest of the Talon, we kill him," he pointed to a calm Aeden, "and we can return to Antiva."
"We both know The Crows will never welcome me back. Leave with your life." I reach down to one of the dozens of throwing knives I had on my person.
"I wouldn't Zev." He snapped his fingers and over three dozen thugs came out behind crates and the surrounding warehouses. Aeden took the lead and took a deep breath.
"Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Aeden Cousland. I am a Grey Warden, I have fought my way through dozens of monsters, demons, darkspawn, and fools. I am giving you this one chance. Leave." I know Aeden didn't have any magic, but every time he gets like this it seems like he grows an extra 3 feet and gains a hundred pounds of murder muscles. Some of the thugs looked nervous giving each other looks.
"Heh, cute," Taliesen smirked, did he really think these men in piss-poor armor and mediocre weapons could really stop us? We could handle them without backup. "You have plenty of confidence in that armor." he snapped his fingers and two of the men slammed their swords into the ground unleashing a blue field that washed over us. Templars. The runes dim for a moment before the mini-arc reactor lit up powering up the runes again. "What's happening!?" he yelled at the shocked templars.
"I-I don-" his body turned to ash as Aeden's big feck off sword cut through him.
"You should have taken my advice," Aeden growled as two new earthen walls appeared at both ends of the street, blocking any quick escape.
"It's that mage freak!" one of the thugs screeched, losing focus and getting bisected by Aeden. It was a rather sad sight; it was like hopeful ants fighting a dragon. I turned my attention to Taliesen.
"You know Taliesen~, I'm happy you didn't run, I can finally pay you back for Rinna." I stalked towards him, one of his thugs got in my way, I quickly dispatched him, but Taliesen took that moment to vanish between the crates.
"Zev. Think about this. Do you really wanna do this? Years of friendship and love, for these people?" his voice bounced around the crates mixing with the frantic screams and cries of his mooks.
"Friendship? Did you even think of 'friendship' as you tricked me into killing Rinna?" I hissed.
"I had to; the Crow Masters demanded it. It was you or her. You have to believe me."
"No."
"... at least believe that I'll be sad after I kill you."
"You'll try," My rapier flashed out parrying his dagger. Assassins don't fight out in the open, if we fail to kill our target the first time, we tend to run and wait for another day. Taliesen prepped to jump back into the shadows, but a wall popped out blocking his escape, followed by three more trapping him with me. Any crates that may have been used as cover sank into the earth leaving a clear view of Taliesen. Moonlight lit up our tiny death box. Our blades glimmered in the light. Lightning magic would occasionally illuminate our faces.
I always love storybook battles. Always so dramatic, clashing blades, banter, confessions, and most of all... time.
Parry, block, twist, disarm, parry the second dagger, and stab with my hidden dagger.
"Gak!" But in real life, fights last but a moment. "Heh, you, got me." Taliesen wheezed, spitting out blood. "Well played." I slowly brought him to the ground. "You were always, better." He gave one last cough and stopped breathing. I shut his eyes and gave a final twist of my blade. Double tap.
The walls around me slowly sank back into the earth revealing a rather burnt-up street and several ash piles. The rest of the crew looked for any stragglers.
"You okay," Nick asked. Am I? I looked back at Taliesen's peaceful face.
"He used to be a good friend of mine, maybe even more. He should have just left. Prideful fool. If he can't have it. No one could." A hand the size of a bear's paw draped itself on my shoulder giving me warmth on this cold winter night.
"Come. Let's drink and remember better times." Aeden said trying to comfort me.
"I could use a drink." I allowed him to lead me away.
-/-
Nick POV
You have slept on a wooden beam!
10% of HP, MP, and CP have been recovered
You have drunk a large amount of Alcohol!
You have the status debuff: Hungover!
All skills requiring MP and CP costs increase by 100%!
All magic and chi skills have been dropped to novice until debuff has been removed!
HP, CP, and MP regen locked!
Debuff will end in 1 hour!
59 minutes 59 seconds remaining
Everything hurt. My brain has had enough of my body's shenanigans and decided that today it will teach the body a lesson.
"Oh shit!" forgetting where I was, I tried getting up from what I thought was the ground only to fall 15 feet to the hard floor.
You have fallen from a great height! You have taken 50 points of fall damage!
"huuuuuuuh~, that sucked." I tried getting back on my feet, but the floor was spinning.
"Are you alright young man." a soft French accent chimed in my ear.
"Ugh~." was my elegant response.
"Yes, I suppose falling from that great of a height would leave someone a bit groggy." who is this sassy person to sass me with her sassiness? Peaking at her from the floor I observed her.
Human priest
Mother Giselle
Age:31
Lvl:8
HP 140/140
MP 5/5
Str: lover not a fighter but she's not above putting some hands on some idiots
Vit: she hikes all over Ferelden
Dex: she can touch her toes
Int: magic isn't dangerous
Wis: people are dangerous
Cha: motherly
Luk: The Maker has always been at her corner
Ailments:
Sore back
Revered Mother Giselle of Jader, third daughter of a farmer's family outside of Jader proper. Joined the chantry at the age of 15 after praying for her father's health one horrific winter's night. While her father didn't make an immediate recovery, the chantry helped bring her father back to health by bringing mage healers. She joined the chantry soon after.
Giselle would become revered by the poor and sick of Jader after defying orders from the chantry by giving them the food that was meant for the Orlesian nobles and the Chantry priest of Jader. The chantry, unable to punish her due to the love the smallfolk had for her, instead sent her to Ferelden in the hopes she would die in the rough and tough countryside.
She is laughing at you in the inside.
"Where am I?" I asked slowly, healing myself. My timer was sped up to just under a minute as long as I kept healing, it felt like I was trying to get that last drop of ketchup in the bottle.
"The Chantry." Ooooh no~. "You really should rest."
"Mmm, do you know how I got here?" my memories were slowly coming back to me. The night was going pretty well and then Oghren got out the Maraas-Lok at some point and then everything went a little fuzzy, I remember the ladies laughing before the men took off into the city. "And... what am I wearing?" I was completely naked except for a metal loincloth... it's a cold winter's day. Looking through my inventory I couldn't find any other clothes.
"You and some of your friends came in here and made magical copies of all the books we had, and that." oh that's not bad I thought, until I spotted what she was pointing to. It was a... Rather... interesting statue of Andraste... giving it a closer look I realized, that it wasn't Andraste. the woman was laying on a stone bench like one of Jack's French girls, naked and all, holding the torch between her legs. Leliana and Ayla are going to kill me. "And when the guards arrived you threw money at them screaming and I quote, 'the power of money compels you!'." ohhh butt~. "And you all ran off in different directions. We thought you jumped out a window into the city, guess you stayed behind."
"And this?" I pointed to the loincloth.
"You were already wearing that when you came in." she shrugged not caring about my near nudity.
"mmm~." my hangover debuff finally subsided allowing me to think clearly. "Well... No harm no foul! Thanks for the info, until we meet a-" an ornate sword, clearly meant for decoration, came loose from the wall and stuck in between my legs giving me... a bit of a close shave.
"Oh my!" Giselle jumped. "That sword has no edge; how did it stick to the ground like that?" It seems like someone didn't like how I was going to just leave.
"Eat my SHORTS!" I yelled to the ceiling, making Giselle look at me like I just might be possessed. Clearly, he didn't like that cause the doors slammed open revealing a rather annoyed Lily and embarrassed Ayla. Oops got a bit too cocky. Lily marched two steps into the room before spotting what I'd done to Andraste.
"Nick?"
"Yes Lily?"
"Is that Ayla?"
"..." lily.
"..." me.
"..." Ayla.
"... no." I finally answered.
"It's very life-like, it looks just like her," she commented.
"Nick?"
"Yeah Ayla?"
"Why is this so life-like?"
"... the artist was just that skilled. I guess." I walked over to it. "No worries, I'll take care of it." I slotted it into my inventory. I dusted my hands and put on a winning smile. "WELL! My good deed for the day is done. Ladies." I tried to walk past only for Ayla to grip my shoulder in a vice.
"Nick~, what are you planning to do with that?" asked Ayla in such a sweet tone I'm surprised Jak and Julee didn't show up.
"... dispose of it, of course." I lied.
"So, you're not planning to enhance it with runes and make it invulnerable to destruction... right?"
"... never~." I said as if butter wouldn't melt in my mouth. Her grip tightened. Danger! Gulp.
"Nick~."
"I was planning on shrinking it and giving it to Julee as a gift," I smirked at her. She poked me. It hurt more than it should.
"Give it to me."
Gamer's Mind has blocked Ayla Qina's word of command!
"Mmm. Okay, but you asked for it." I gently grabbed her by the back of the head and gave her one of the deepest, most passionate, toe-curling kisses I could. She had a minty cool taste, I felt purified. Any soreness I had, poof, gone. God~. I've never been more jealous of Sky in all my life. Ayla's rather addicting. I reluctantly released myself from her lips. "wow~… well. See you at the house." I left a red face Ayla staring off into space and an annoyed Lily.
"Hey! What about the statue!?" Lily yelled but I already Dashed away. "YOU ASSHOOOLE!"
-/-
This might be shocking to some, but they caught me rather easily, mostly because we did in fact live in the same home. Ayla and Lily eventually withered me down until I promised to spruce up the Chantry a bit as an apology. Lily on the other hand wanted me to build a humongous magical mansion that would cleanse people as they walk in. I laughed at her. A decent kitchen and one bathroom was my final offer. Ayla tried to argue but I would just flash her a smirk and she would light up like a match and not look me in the eye.
Lily ended up taking my offer.
I did get most of my memories back, it started with everyone drinking back at mother base, we made a small bonfire out under the stars and talked about our past a bit, we teased Leliana a bit about being Orlesian, talked about Hope and the city of the broken Mountain, Sten talked about Par Vollen, I'm pretty sure that's when Oghren brought out the Maraasa-Lok, Dagna took a single sip and immediately spit it out into the fire causing a huge fireball. The ladies called it a night after that, at one point I think we got into the topic of food and Sten complained about how our bananas were small and soft, and I must have misinterpreted that and put on the 'battle' loincloth, more drinking ensued, and a test of courage was challenged. Jack told me she heard the song 'the boys are back in town' as we marched into the city, I may have used my Inspiration skill cause it now had more Exp.
I, as you know, ended up in the chantry, Theron was found Butt naked on the Vhenadahl, the center tree in the alienage, Alistair was found on top of Fort Drakon in lady underwear, Oghren was found cuddling a nug in the market, Aeden was found dressed in a doublet and pretending to be a mannequin, I think he just fell asleep standing up, Zevran was found in the pearl surrounded by its workers, but he was the only one fully clothed, and Sten was found snoozing in a pet shop with a bunch of cats sleeping on him. Duncan could only share in a few drinks mostly because he was going to put some of Eamon's troops through night training and Cailan had to be a king in the morning, so his wife cut him off. We, of course, made whipping noises as he left, but we shut our traps when Anora gave us a glare that screamed 'off with their heads'.
It was a fun night.
It was a week later that we got our first reinforcements, and I ain't going to lie, the Dwarves were not my first guess, but they did have the most time to prepare and march out. They added another 15,000 soldiers to our army and the best part was that they had some real veterans, so Duncan had help whipping the troops into shape. The Dwarves seemed to take the barracks well, but you can see the divide between them and the humans as well as within their own group, it seems like Belen added a lot of former Casteless into his army, I wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to have a larger army or if he just hoped that they would die out here.
While this was great to see our forces growing, Sereda looked ready to snap.
"Lady Sereda! I wish for your hand in marriage!" scream the 8th dwarf of the day.
"Stop blocking the road!" I ordered, the first suitor was funny, Sereda's shocked look will be with me forever, but by the 3rd I had enough, Ayla lasted till the 4th, Julee's been upset since the first, Dagna had this angry look on her face, at first she didn't care, sure he took some time from her training but it was dealt with quickly, but by the third suitor nearly 30 minutes of her magic training was lost, now she just wanted to start punching her way to mother base, and Theron didn't even stop, I'm pretty sure he trampled one of the suitors, but to be fair they kept jumping in front of us in our morning jog, I have a Quest ya jackasses!
"No." Sereda was getting angrier and angrier. The first proposal was denied with some level of politeness, and now she looked ready to launch fools into the atmosphere.
"My name is Randel of house Dace. I'm of the noble caste and-"
"There is no Noble caste." Sereda interrupted him.
"Uh, well. Yes, but my house has much wealth and would be able to provide-"
"No."
"I... see. I challeng- grk!" Sereda didn't even let him finish, just sucker-punched him. Dude just stood there for a moment and fell flat on his face. See! This is why I don't trust HP, that guy had max HP and was dropped in a single blow, so unless Sereda has super dwarf strength, which I'm not saying she doesn't, that guy should still be kicking. Was it because it was a sneak attack? Was it cause the dude wasn't ready? Or does HP only work with me? I sure as hell ain't going to test it.
"This is getting annoying," she muttered. "Come on, before anymore-"
"Lady Sereda!" too late. "My name is- gak!" This time it was Julee who laid the smackdown.
"MY NAME IS JULIA HOPE AND THIS PIECE OF ASS BELONGS TO ME!" she yelled at the top of her voice.
"EEEEHHHHHH!?" Ayla and Sereda screamed. I wasn't that shocked Julee tends to stake claim on things and people. Julee walks over to Sereda and grabbed a handful of paladin bum.
"L-LADY JULIA!?" Sereda's face was shocked and burning red.
"IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT YOU CAN TAKE IT UP WITH HIM!" She pointed straight at me. It seemed like one of the Dwarves did, in fact, have a problem with that, cause he broke from the pack and marched over.
"I-" I didn't even let him get started.
Minimal strength + Power strike + Backstab + Fisticuffs = 357 HP of bludgeoning damage. opponent is launched 5 yards.
And since Power Strike needs an overhead strike, my chop buried him up to his neck. Any normal person would have died from that, but I softened the ground, so his knees didn't pop out his shoulders. Can't go around killing our allies. His HP was hovering over 50 and was slowly trickling down.
Fun fact about Healing hand, when you reach expert rank you don't need to use your hands and you can even heal through clothes. I slammed my foot into the dude's face slowly healing him.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY! WE'RE TRYING TO TRAIN! HAVE YOU IDIOTS FORGOTTEN THERE'S A BLIGHT GOIN' ON!?" I unleashed my intimidation skill. Many backed away, but a few took a step forward, I found that annoying, so I bent the earth under them and launched them into the sky. They may be surface dwarves now but the idea of falling into the sky was very real.
"AHHHH! Their falling into the sky!" one of them screamed causing a panic and the rest of the dwarves started running in random directions. I dusted my hands.
"Alright let's go." The dwarves I launched came back gently to the ground, hugging the earth I sent them on. I just jogged past them.
-/-
It's been a week since then and the suitors have lessened to one a day. Princess gave birth to 7 pups, 3 girls, and 4 boys. Poor girl, no wonder she wanted freedom. She still had to stay with the pups, but she seemed happier. Aeden and Jak talked for what seemed like days about how they would be raised, where, and at what age they should be split from Princess. They got into a boxing match over what food they should be fed after they get off milk. It was rather impressive, Aeden had size and strength, but Jak had speed and used her tail to cheat. They agreed on decent nutritional meals that I was expected to make, of course.
The elves were next to arrive. Added another 10,000 soldiers to our roster, but more than just troops came with Dalish. Whole smaller clans came, bringing news that darkspawn were spotted in the Brecilian Forest, and not wanting their clans undefended they brought an extra 10,000 people. I immediately jumped into action, creating another section of the military barracks meant for civilians. I wouldn't call them better than what the soldiers got, but they were made with what I thought normal people may need, large housing meant for individual clans, they looked like warehouses, but the elves were cool with them, I also made large bathhouses, outdoor bathrooms, a couple of laundry shops, water towers filled with fresh water, a decent market center where the clans could trade, and a couple of Robo-golems to patrol the area with Dalish guards. As Theron, Zevran, Neria, Ayla, and I, were running all over the place trying to get everyone situated and healthy, the last thing we needed was a plague, Cailan and Anora were calming the people of Denerim, explaining that the Dalish temporary housing was, in fact, temporary, still some humans weren't very happy that the elves had better homes than they did.
The Alienage became rather popular, Dalish elves would go there for food, to shop, or just to stare at the grandeur. This of course caused a bit of a boost in the Alienage's economy as they became a middleman between the Dalish market, who overpriced their goods to humans, and the Denerim Market who did the same.
Anora was the first to see the money to be made and created a Denerim Merchants Guild under the crown in the Alienage, the one they currently had was rather broken, with the Orlesian occupation and war, not many merchants had the confidence to stake many claims here. She had me build a huge workplace where traders could work out of, and the crown would take a small percentage from each trade. It would take some time, but it could one-day rival Kirkwall's.
She also took that time to march her father to the new and improved Alienage, to show him that they could be helped, and to have him beg for forgiveness. Many just turned from him, some spit at his feet. One little girl asked him where her mother was, and when Loghain couldn't answer she called him a monster. Loghain, no matter his excuses and self-justifications, looked truly remorseful, there is nothing like the innocent to remind you of your actions.
The Mages and the Wardens arrived a day apart, technically Wardens have been trickling in from the Free Marches, but a large bulk of them arrived with the 24,000 Orlesians. I think Loghain gave these guys too much credit, most of them were barefoot and in rags, they were the definition of a peasant army. The only people with any armor were the knights on horses and they didn't number a thousand.
The Wardens we situated with the rest of Eamon's troops, while the orlesians were stationed outside Denerim's new walls. Anora and Cailan sure as hell didn't want them any were near the people, they commissioned me to create a small 10-foot wall, far outside the new wall with a single entrance and exit.
Some of the noble chevaliers took some offense to that, but they couldn't do much. Anora made it very clear that they weren't guests, they were allies and a lot of people held a grudge from the last time they were here. The Wardens and Dwarves were now teaching the soldiers how to hold their swords and work in groups. Our army was formed.
~70,000 Ferelden troops
~24,000 Orlesian troops
~15,000 Dalish troops
~15,000 Dwarven troops
~300 Wardens
~ 100 Mages and Templars
Just over 124,400 people are ready to stop the apocalypse.
-/-
A/N: took me some time to make this one had to go over my own continuity for numbers.
We are now on a war footing!
I've read some comments and some of you said that Nick is acting like a bitch? The fuck does that mean? Is it because he doesn't kill everyone who gets in his way? Or is it because he cares about people?
Ehhh~, I don't really care, I'm doing this for fun. If it's a real problem, I'll do something about it... maybe.
Also, I like some fluff, Dragon Age is a dark world and I know some people enjoy that, but I don't.
Like always, comment and I have a DeviantArt link on my bio.