Chapter 72) Welcome Back
Cleon POV
"Cleon! Welcome back!" Lyna laughed, racing over to hug me. She must have gotten back from her own hunt early today. "Welcome back, welcome back!"
"You're later than usual today," Merrill added shyly, creeping up hesitantly. When Lyna released me, I held my arms out for a hug, and she launched herself into me. "Did something go wrong? Well, it's you, so probably not, but…"
"Well, I… uh…" I began, laughing awkwardly. "I… ended up killing something too big for me to carry?"
"Like what?"
"A couple of bears?"
"…Cleon, how did you manage that?!"
Redcliffe. I smiled as we approached, feeling myself relax as we walked into the castle. Redcliffe. It meant we were 'back'. We were 'done'. We didn't have to deal with Orzammar's damn politics for a long while. It also meant I got to see all the soldiers try and fail to gape at all the golems we brought with us. That, alone, made the whole damn trip worth it. Barely.
Movement caught my attention, and I was startled to see Connor run up to us. 'Welcome back,' he called with a small smile. Sten signed for me. 'I am glad to see you are well.' He bowed to us. '…Um…'
'The next step is, 'shall I show you to your rooms?', Connor." And there was Elspeth, walking up… and wearing a dress. A dress-dress. A rather simple, but clearly expensive and fine even by my eye, dress. It shouldn't be startling, except the last time I saw her in a dress-dress, and not the leather-skirt-and-armor ensemble… was when we first met. 'Though, otherwise, that was very well done, Connor,' she praised, stroking his head. Connor smiled slightly. 'Regardless…' Elspeth curtseyed before going back to signing. 'Yes, welcome back, everyone. 'I am guessing you managed to navigate Orzammar politics without killing anyone?'
'Well, no one the Assembly cares about,' Aiden signed, look making it clear just how exasperated he was still. Elspeth smiled sympathetically. 'We have them, though. And you all?'
'The Sacred Ashes were found, and Eamon has been cured.' Yay. 'And I see you have brought… unexpected…' Her jaw actually dropped. Her eyed went wide and she just gaped. 'That is…' she signed, hands shaking. 'That's the golem from the rebellion?!' She bolted straight to Shale, babbling something, and looking incredibly excited, eyes sparkling and everything. I had no idea what she was saying, if she was signing I couldn't see her hands, but Shale seemed to… well… preen under it, so I assumed it was praise?
Aiden waved to catch my attention and signed, 'Well, that is a sight I had not expected to see.' I almost nodded, but Aiden pointed to show me he hadn't been the one to say it, but rather, the older man walking up. 'You must be Lords Aiden and Cleon," the man continued. I saw he waited to make sure Aiden finished signing before speaking. He'd been prompted. 'I am Eamon, Arl of Redcliffe.' Oh! Him! He looked… significantly better when not half-dead. 'Please forgive Elspeth's enthusiasm. She has grown up on stories of the golem who assisted Maric in the rebellion.' …Shale fought in the rebellion here?!
'We like it when she actually acts her age,' I signed back, Aiden translating for me. Eamon burst into laughter, warming his face. 'So, do you mind if we come in to rest? The golems don't need to, but the rest of us really need it.'
'Isolde has baths, changes of clothes, and rooms prepared for all of you, though I imagine she will be fretting over the golems.' I could almost like the woman. 'Please, this way.' He gestured into the castle. 'My home is your home.' That… was very kind of him. It was weird being welcomed. But I liked it. A lot.
After a long, long bath, made longer by the fact that I actually fell asleep in it, and then almost killed the poor maid who tried to wake me up… well, the idea was to meet with Aiden, Nuada, and Layla to talk about what is going on. However, Nuada was too busy laughing his damn head off because of the maid incident for us to discuss anything important. Damn him.
'Nuada, you should not be laughing!' Layla scolded, scowling at him. I noticed she seemed a lot… surer about herself than she'd been when we left. Good. 'That poor maid…'
'I ran into her shortly before we got here, and the shock of having almost died has been replaced by 'Maker, he looks really good naked'," Nuada managed to sign. He was still laughing hard, hard enough that he had rolled onto his back, sprawled out on the floor, face redder than an apple. I noticed he and Layla were, like Elspeth, dressed in fine yet simple clothing. Nuada's had a high collar to it, a style I hadn't seen shemlen wear. Layla's dress was simple, with strange… holes in the sleeves? There was a sleeve, yes, but the top part was cut-out. It looked nice, but it was a little weird. 'So, I am laughing. Deal with it.'
'Brat.' Nuada stuck out his tongue and she rolled her eyes. 'Hold still. I need to check you over.' Nuada nodded, and held still as Layla ran healing magic over him. 'Your stomach wound is healing nicely.' What.
'That is still causing difficulties?' Aiden asked, incredulous. Unlike the rest of us, he decided to be sane and actually use a chair. I was sprawled out on a bed, and Layla and Nuada were on the floor. 'I thought…'
'We forgot about it, and the thread almost healed within the skin'. …Oops. I shouldn't have done that. I was the one who sewed it up. 'That is all.' She shifted so that Nuada was resting in her lap. I saw Nuada's eyes widen in shock, and I exchanged a grin with Aiden. Well, well~ 'Regardless…'
'Regardless, I have one question before we chat about serious things,' I signed, waving to catch attention. 'Nuada, what did you do to your eye?' It was a different color now, and I thought his canine teeth had elongated slightly.
'A demon cut it.' I scowled at how deliberately obtuse he was being. 'I thought we went over this already,' Nuada signed, eyes wide and innocent. Layla rolled her eyes and continued checking him over.
'The other one. And you have fangs now, and some weird scarring, and seriously, what in the name of the Creators did you do?'
'I drank dragon blood. I highly do not recommend it.' Nuada signed the word 'not' five times. 'Just don't.'
'Why did you?'
'There was a cult guarding the Ashes, and I drank some stuff they gave me, and basically I am a Reaver now, and we can go into what it is later.' Well, I hoped he was prepare for a lot of questions! Particularly about his sanity! Damn it, Nuada! Have some self-preservation, please? 'So, golems?'
'Golems,' Aiden signed. He sighed, though, head drooping with the motion. 'Only good thing to come out of that whole damn mess. Last time I felt so useless was Ostagar.'
'Sounds like it was even worse than I expected, and I was expected bad.'
'There is a thing called Broodmothers that we will tell you about later.' I shuddered at the memory. And felt myself go cold at the thought of any of the females in our group being inflicted with such a fate. 'We picked a king. Bhelen.'
'…Where in flames was…?' Nuada actually looked startled. So startled that I had no idea if he trailed off or said a name I didn't have a sign for. 'I always thought she would succeed her father.'
'Not there, apparently. Never did hear what happened, other than possibly framing by Bhelen?'
'That name is familiar…' Layla signed, face thoughtful. From it, I gathered Nuada had said a name, and frowned. But no one noticed. 'Where did I…?' She clapped her hands as she beamed. 'Oh! The merchant lady who sold me my…!' Her what? I didn't know that sign. 'She was married to a man named…' Layla paused, glancing back at me. 'So, where are you confused?' Finally.
'Name of person we are talking about, name of what was sold, and name you were going to say,' I signed, scowling. I didn't bother hiding my annoyance. 'So…' I held out my hand so Layla could spell things out. S-e-n-e-c-a. Seneca. R-a-p-i-e-r. Rapier, paired with the sign she had used. G-o-r-i-m. Gorim. Okay. I had context finally.
'They must be the same people,' Nuada signed. I gave him an annoyed look and he smiled wryly. "I am sorry and will submit myself to whatever punishment you want later, but I think some people need a nap.' He pointed to Aiden… who was half-asleep. Actually, no, make that fast asleep. Well, damn. 'See, not everyone fell asleep in their baths.' Ha. Ha. Very funny. 'So, we can work in out later?'
'Count on it.' Nuada grinned, and I grinned back. 'So, golems, thanks to Shale.' Now it was Nuada and Layla's turn to look confused. Right, they didn't know the signs for Shale or Oghren. 'The smaller golem, apparently fought in the rebellion.' Nuada's jaw dropped. 'Focus.' He scowled, and Layla smiled. 'We also picked up a dwarf berserker. You can meet him later.'
'On our end, we have the Ashes, Eamon, and a Landsmeet being called, officially.' Finally. 'And rumors swirling around and around. People are defecting from Loghain left and right, though he still has powerful allies, and the people who leave him aren't necessarily with us.' They were just neutral and could be swayed. Right? 'We are also pushing Alistair for the throne.' What. 'With his permission.' What?! 'And with that, let's leave Aiden to his nap.'
…Seriously? 'Nuada, I could hate you sometimes.' He grinned and I rolled my eyes. 'All right, so…' Movement caught my eye, and I rolled off the bed, knife in hand. Layla caught my arm, though, and good thing. The person was Teagan.
'Ah, sorry if I interrupted?' Teagan began, glancing around the room. Layla signed for him. 'But I found something in the library I thought Cleon might like.' At my nod, he came over and handed me a manual. Inside the cover, I saw one word: Shadow. 'It was written by someone who once served in Redcliffe, specializing in concealment and ambushing.' Oh, then… it was perfect for me. 'Thought it might be useful.'
I flipped through it, noting it also had pictures, and smiled slowly. Yes, useful indeed. 'Ma serranas,' I signed. Layla translated for me, with a bright, bright smile. Teagan smiled back. 'I shall use it well.'
I spent some time flipping through the manual, vowing to get Leliana and Zevran to help me, before passing out for another nap. Afterwards, I decided to wander the castle, peeking in on everyone. Leliana, Wynne, and Morrigan were still sleeping, Oghren was sampling the wine cellar, Sten was 'meditating' (I think he was just napping standing up), Shale was getting a kick out of terrorizing the servants, Elspeth was talking to Eamon and Teagan about something, and the others… were clustered in one room. With both Alistair and Nuada shirtless as Zevran tattooing something on Aiden's lower back, with Layla watching on. Um…
I rapped the doorframe to catch attention, and signed, 'what is going on exactly?'
'Tattooing, obviously,' Nuada replied, with a grin, his signs light and innocent. I gave him a look and he shrugged. 'Alistair asked Zevran to do one, and that got Aiden interested, and then Layla wanted to see mine fully because she didn't get a good look prior…'
'And now it's Aiden's turn to endure the needle!' Alistair signed, but only with one hand. I imagined it hurt to move his arm. There, on the upper bicep, was a griffon rampant, with a sparkling crown. Subtle, Zevran. Real subtle. But, it was beautiful, and badass, so it all worked out. 'Come in, sit down!' Alistair waved me to a chair, and passed me some candies to snack on. 'Basically, we're having fun. New concept, I know.' That… was true. When was the last time we got to sit down and just have fun? It felt like forever.
'I am going to get one too!' Layla signed, bouncing a bit with excitement. 'On my back!' I noticed she had a blanket near her, and figured she'd use that to cover herself. How kind of… whoever thought to provide it. 'The one on Nuada's back is super pretty.' She signed 'super' three times, and when I moved to look at Nuada's back, I had to admit, it was worth the repetition. A great wing, partially unfurled, the feathers reaching the edges of his back, and curving over his shoulder. A bird ready to move at a moment's notice. Yeah, that sounded like Nuada. 'Zevran says he'll make it match!' Now, was that because she liked it or because Zevran was subtly going 'kiss already!'? The twinkle in his eyes as he continued to work implied the latter. 'Cleon, do you want one?' Well… Hmm… Actually…
'Yes, let's get one, if Zevran doesn't mind,' I signed, smiling as the cheer of the room infected me. I obtained my vallaslin as a sign of adulthood, a coming of age ritual to signify I was no longer a child. Why not get another, to signify I was a Warden? Besides, it would be fun, getting tattoos with friends. I had gotten my vallaslin alone, the first of my friends. 'Zevran?'
'I love this, so I certainly do not mind,' Zevran signed, in between adding bits of ink. 'But wait your turn. I have to finish up Aiden's.' I nodded, expecting that. I was also trying to figure out what he was drawing. All I caught were wings. He was definitely doing a 'griffon' motif for all of us. 'I will make it something Morrigan to eye appreciatively.'
'You sign that as if she doesn't already.' Laughter rippled through the room. I could tell by how Zevran paused in his inking to throw his head back, Aiden shook on the table, and the other three swayed with the sound. 'Thank you.'
'It is no worries.' Zevran waved the thanks away and went back to work. 'Sit, relax, enjoy a bit of wine.' Nuada helpfully held up the bottle when I eyed Zevran skeptically. Why was there wine? Pain numbing? 'Rest for once.'
Rest, indeed. 'I think I will.'
Author's Notes: Yay, everyone together again! Yes, tattoos for all the Wardens. Yes, Cleon's third specialization is Shadow.
Next Chapter – Resting with Layla
