Chapter 55) Undying Trouble
Nuada POV
So, this was Redcliffe? Did it get its name from the soil or from the blood of everyone that died trying to take it? I was very curious, but it didn't seem like a thing to ask.
"Bryce, it's been too long!" a man greeted us cheerfully, smiling warmly as he met us halfway in the receiving room. "Who are these two? Surely not Nuada and Elspeth."
"Makes you feel old, Eamon?" Father laughed. He had his 'real' smile, so I automatically put this 'Eamon' in the 'probably actually a good person' list. "Though, as I understand it, you've a little boy yourself, now."
"That's right, you've not met Connor." I tilted my head curiously, noting how 'Eamon's' smile softened. He must love his son dearly. "But yes, I do. Teagan complains that he's too old for two nephews."
"I can't wait to sic Nuada and Elspeth on him." Was Teagan a bad man? "Though it might be a bit. Fergus jumped on him." Oh, then maybe they just liked teasing him. "Give me a tour! What's different?"
"Well, we finally fixed that windmill." There was a windmill here? I wanted to see! "Follow me. I'll gladly show you around."
It was amazing what a few months, weeks, could do. The normally bustling village of Redcliffe, which had been lively when we passed through on the way to Ostagar, was quiet and fearful, its people skittering about. That alone screamed something was wrong, even without the message.
"The Veil is very thin here," Wynne murmured. Her eyes were narrowed at the sky, as if she expected a hole to spontaneously appear there. "If I had to take a guess, I think a fledgling mage got into a lot of trouble." Her signing was light and gentle, the slight shaking hinting how she was worried about this hypothetical mage. Leliana gently patted her arm reassuringly, and smiled when Wynne glanced at her in thanks. "It's not uncommon, really. A child mage still has enough power, and without training, their magic will burst."
"Not helped, of course, by everyone's foolish fears on magic," Morrigan scoffed. Even her signs were sharp and biting. Cleon rolled his eyes at them, shaking his head slightly. "Their panic only feeds the trouble."
"While I normally would agree, Morrigan, I think we're looking at a very good reason why magic is feared," Aiden gently countered. His signs were certain and crisp, though, a telling sign that this would be the end of whatever argument that might brew. I saw Sten nod approvingly. "Lord Nuada? Lady Elspeth? Where would the leader be?"
"I believe I see Teagan in the square right there," Elspeth answered. She pointed to a redhead in the middle of a group of people, using my shoulder to balance. "Murdock is next to him."
"Aiden, you want me to go talk?" I asked, turning to face the group. He smiled sheepishly and nodded. "It's fine. I'll head down and talk while you coordinate everyone for whatever."
"Nuada, I'm coming with you." I wasn't the only one surprised when Alistair said that. Personally, I was more surprised it was a statement, not a request. Was that bad of me? "You'll need someone to ferry specific requests to Aiden," he noted with a little shrug. Layla opened her mouth to suggest something, but the shut it with a slight shake of her head. I wondered what she'd been planning, and then remembered how in Ostagar she and Wynne communicated through magic. Why did she decide against reminding? "I can do that."
"Then, let's go?" I glanced at Aiden, who nodded with a slightly confused smile and shrug that said 'why not?'. "Down the hill we go, then. Careful, it's really easy to fall." Not three seconds after I said that, Zevran slipped. He promptly somersaulted and landed almost perfectly into the lake, surfacing with a laugh. I half-wondered if he did it on purpose. It certainly lightened our moods. "Careful that he doesn't do naked cliff-diving now that he knows it's deep enough. It's a thing in Antiva."
If there was a reply, I didn't hear it as Alistair and I meandered our way into the square, carefully slipping into the crowd. I studied the people as we past. I saw injuries badly bandaged, clothes ragged and ill-fitting. I saw red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained faces. I saw shaking fear and whimpering worry. They were a far cry from the exuberant laughing crowd that happily joined in an impromptu drinking contest.
They needed a good laugh. I might as well try.
"So, I take it this is worse than the frozen lake incident?" I asked lightly, easily breaking into the conversation. Murdock blinked slowly at me, like he thought I was a hallucination, and stepped a bit away, eying me warily.
Teagan, however, immediately groaned. "Nuada, let that thing die all ready!" he complained, shaking his head. He then paused and stared at me. "Wait, Nuada? What are you doing here?" His next words shocked me. "And with Alistair?"
"I didn't think you'd remember me," Alistair mumbled. I gave him a look and he shrugged. "I really didn't. I mean; I was covered in mud and all last time he saw me and it was ten years ago."
"Hard to forget the little boy who went out of his way to make me laugh when he noticed I was sad." Alistair coughed awkwardly and Teagan shook his head. "Ah, not a time for memory lane wandering. I'm not old enough anyway." Ha! "Nuada, seriously, how are you here when we need help?"
"You sent a message to Highever," I reminded, crossing my arms. I noticed there were smiles in the crowd as it slowly dispersed. Some looked hopeful, even. Could I call this a 'success' then? "I'm assuming it was you. It was your handwriting, and the writer used the lemon juice trick."
"Yes, I remember that." Teagan looked so confused. "But how did you see that? Highever is…"
"It was liberated. Fergus rules it again." Teagan's face brightened in a relieved smile. "Of course, that's assuming Oren will let him."
"Oren's alive too?" He laughed, and I saw him noticeably relax. "Ah, that gives me hope for everyone inside the castle." But at the words, he grew serious again. "Since you're here in response to the message, I'm assuming you're both here to help. Is it just you?"
"No, we have an entire group." I glanced back and pointed all the way up to the hill by the windmill. "You can see a couple there."
"Oh, good. Murdock has a list of specific jobs that need to get done." Alistair immediately went to chat with Murdock. I noticed he got Murdock to sigh in exasperation, but relax and smile, within moments. "Times like this, he reminds me of his father." Teagan flinched as he realized what he said. "Ah…"
"I already know. Elspeth got it from Uncle Duncan way back in Ostagar." Teagan nodded, sighing a little, and we moved away from the two to have a little more privacy. "So, what all can you tell me?"
"Eamon is gravely ill and no one has heard from the castle in days." Well, that… that… shit, that wasn't a good sign. "No guards patrol the walls." I had never heard of that happening before. Even the Orlesians had kept regular guards. "And no one responds to my shouts." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The attacks here started a few nights ago. Undead, surging from the castle." Well, this just kept getting better and better. "We drove them back, but many perished."
"Then, you saw them the next night, as the attackers." Teagan nodded and I had to fight off the urge to groan. I tensed as I heard movement on my blind side, and turned to see it was Alistair, walking off to do something. I shifted so that my right side was leaning against a building. "Are we the only ones who've responded?"
"Yes." Teagan's eyes glinted in cold, hard anger. "Cailan's dead and Loghain is starting a war over the damn throne." We needed to get those rumors out soon. "I sent word to Highever in desperation. Maybe Thomas wasn't as bad as his father." Considering Thomas had ignored it… "We had a smith that continues drinking, Dwyn with mercenaries that refuse to get involved, and I have a feeling tonight's will be the worst yet." What was it with us and appearing right in the nick of time? It was a strange sort of luck.
"Well, we're here now, and this isn't even the strangest thing we've had to deal with." He gave me a skeptical look and I laughed before shrugging. "Regardless, I think I'll have a talk with that Dwyn you mentioned." I smiled slowly and Teagan actually looked a little scared. "Oh, come now! I'm not going to hurt him!" I was just going to convince him to help, and check into that rumor I remember from when we were here before.
"Nuada, if there's one thing I've learned about Couslands since returning from the Marches, it's that if they're smirking, you need to be afraid." I laughed and he groaned. "Just… try to keep it peaceful."
"Relax. Trust me." He groaned again. "I'll see you later. Go introduce yourself to the others. Aiden might win the spar this time. He's been training."
"I might challenge him again, if we get through this." He shook his head and clapped me on the back. "It's good to see you, by the way. I don't think I said that."
"It's good to see you too." More importantly, I was glad to see an old friend who wasn't trying to kill me. "Let's keep everyone from joining the undead horde, yes?"
I was impressed with Sten's strength. I was really impressed with how strong Sten had to be, if this stupidly heavy greatsword was really his.
"Sten!" I called, breath a bit ragged. Wow, and here I'd thought I was strong and in good shape. "Over here!" I let go of the sword with one hand to wave him over from carrying crates to help form a barricade and nearly toppled over from the unbalanced weight. "Whoa!"
"If you are falling because of a simple sword, then you need to train more." I gave Sten a dirty look as he came over. "You should not dislike the truth so much," he chided. I rolled my eyes and attempted to pass the sword over to him. "Now, what is…" He trailed off, eyes actually wide. It was probably the first, and likely last, time I had seen Sten so obviously startled. "That is…"
"Last time we were here, I heard Dwyn had a qunari sword." He took it, smiling slightly as he checked the blade for nicks and scratches. I tried not to scowl at how easily he held it. "So, is it yours?"
"Yes." Success! "This is my Asala." Now, was that the actual name of his sword or was than qunari for 'soul'? "Strange…" He moved out of range and swung the greatsword. It 'whirred' through the air easily, glinting blue in the fading light. "I had almost forgotten the feeling. Completion." He shook his head and slung the greatsword onto his back. "You are nonsense. Finding a single lost blade in a country at war."
I had the distinct advantage of it being a qunari sword, and braggarts who were very proud of that one little fact. "You're welcome, Sten." I made my voice gently chiding and he rolled his eyes. I almost laughed. "So, what will you do?"
"My sword is mine again. I plan on putting it to use." He looked thoughtful. "My squad was sent here to answer the Arishok's question. 'What is the Blight?'" That's right. Based on historical records, the qunari didn't appear in these waters until after the fourth Blight ended. "I can deliver a much more satisfying answer if the Blight were ended, yes?" I had the distinct feeling he was reinterpreting orders.
I was glad for it. "Yes, I think so too." I grinned. "And here I was worried I wouldn't see you beat Aiden's ass into the ground again."
"He is improving his guard. Slowly." Ha! "I have a question, though." He did? And he was going to ask me? "It is about Alistair." Oh, Maker, what happened? "He has been explaining that he is the brother of the dead human king to the group." …He told the others? He told him themselves? Today was a day of surprises. Thankfully, so far, they were 'good' surprised. I think. "Why is that important?" Ah, right, Qunari did not have family and inheritance like we did here. "The others acted as though it was." So, why not ask Elspeth as he normally did?
Ah, well. I was here. I might as well try. "It makes him a threat to Loghain, our… well, our 'lesser' enemy. He makes it difficult and inefficient to go after the Archdemon, the true threat." He nodded, accepting that. His eyes narrowed, though, and I could see he was still wondering why. "Because of his birth, he can claim his brother's title." How was I going to explain this?
"Are you saying he was born to be king?"
I… you know what? Let's roll with it. "Yes, he was, but because of circumstances, he was placed in a different role. He did well enough so no one questioned, but now…"
"I see." He nodded, expression thoughtful. "Then he must take his role." That would only work if we could convince Alistair that he could take it, and do it well. "I will talk to him later." Oh, flames, what did I unleash? I'm sorry, Alistair! "Let us move on and continue to work, Ashkaari." The blunt words were followed by him leaving, and I was left wondering what 'Ashkaari' meant.
"Oh, Nuada!" I turned and saw Alistair himself running up. He looked a little wan. "You were talking to Dwyn, right?" he asked. I nodded, smiling a little. "Will he help? Murdock said that he wasn't, but…" His eyes narrowed. "You're smiling like the cat that caught the pigeon."
"I think the expression is 'canary'," I replied lightly. He rolled his eyes. "I'm simply a little proud, that's all."
"Proud?" Alistair looked so confused that I almost felt bad. "About what?"
"Sten said you told the others about your heritage." Alistair sighed heavily and I shrugged. "I'm proud that you took that initiative."
"I just thought it would come up, so I wanted to tell on my own terms." Alistair, I had honestly thought you'd try to hide it until your dying day. "Oh, but Morrigan laughed and made a comment and I snapped back, so we're angrier at each other than usual." If he was making a point to tell me, then it had to be bad. "She mentioned something of trying to find my father in me, and I told her to go die somewhere." Ah. "I was on my way to tell Aiden when I found you." I had no idea how to react to this. "Oh, hey, there's Layla!"
I stiffened a little when I glanced over my shoulder and saw her running up. Automatically, I thought of how, back in Highever, back in the tower, I had almost kissed her. Honestly, the only reason I hadn't was because I remembered, at the last second, that there was no way I was thinking clearly after everything that had happened. No matter how much the memory made my pulse race, I couldn't make a clear distinction in my head. Did I like her? Did I love her? Did I simply find her pretty and wanted physical comfort after everything? I didn't know. And considering the undying trouble on the horizon, now wasn't the time to try and piece it together.
"I'm off to find more things to do," I said lightly, already moving. Running away from a problem wasn't unusual for me, after all. I needed a clear head to do my duty, and I did not have a clear head around her. "See you later, Alistair."
I thought I heard a flustered farewell, but I didn't pay attention. I just focused on getting some distance for now. From there, I'd figure out something out. I hoped.
Something bumped my leg, and it took me a second to realize Cleon had gently kicked it to catch my attention. 'You look frazzled,' Cleon signed when I looked at him. He signed 'frazzle' three times to emphasize it. 'Everything okay?'
"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, smiling as I made my signs light and bouncy. He just gave me a look, not buying it for a second. "You are way too used to me."
'Very.' He laughed at how deadpanned he looked. 'So?'
"It's… complicated emotional thing that we don't have time for." Cleon was still giving me a look and I sighed. "I will think and figure it out." I signed 'will' twice for emphasis. "But this is really not the time."
'I will take it.' Thank the Maker. 'We found a spy, by the way.' Oh, now that was interesting. 'Elspeth said it was Howe's signature on the note.' It was… oh. Oh, for crying out loud…
"That is just great." I sighed. "I don't think this was as coincidental as we might've thought." When I signed the words, Cleon gave me another droll look. "Oh, come on! I was thinking a mage got scared by darkspawn, not Howe and Loghain potentially putting a mage here to purposely cause trouble! The Chantry…." I trailed off, hands stilling, before I grinned. "If this is true, we just got a bunch more ammunition."
'Give me the short version.' Cleon smiled slightly. 'There isn't time for a full on ramble.'
"And I would not want to repeat it multiple times." His smile grew and I snickered. "Basically, if Loghain is involved in the mage trouble, then it has to deal with an apostate. He's interfering with the domain of the templars. Chantry hates that."
'So, the wrath of the Chantry will be on our side for once?' Cleon smiled sardonically, his signs sharp. 'How amusing.'
"Well, just imagine it aimed at Loghain and Howe." Now the smile was just bloodthirsty. "Anyway, we should get more work done."
'Can you deal with the Inn?' Hmm? 'That owner is charging ridiculous money for ale.'
"I can think of something." I could think of a lot of somethings, actually. "I'm off, then. If anyone is looking for me, you know where I am."
'Of course.' Cleon suddenly grimaced. 'I'm going to calm Morrigan down, though. She and Alistair fought again, and then Wynne took Alistair's side. I don't know what it was all about, but the last thing we need is a full-scale argument.'
"I wish you luck. For context, Morrigan made some sort of snarking comment about his father, and Alistair has issues." Cleon facepalmed. "Yes, I know."
'See you later.' Cleon waved as he left, shaking his head. I waved too and switched my path to head up to the inn, already formulating plans to get this over with the fastest.
After all, we have only until sunset to get this place ready for a siege.
Author's Notes: Welcome to Redcliffe. Sten sword recovered, Alistair heritage known… not really a whole lot else. That's two companion quests done, though. Oh, toolset has Connor at age twelve at the start of the story, so I'm going with that age.
Next Chapter – Zombies with Cleon
