Interlude – Shy Chessmaster
She takes a shaky breath before nodding to herself. This is prepping for her 'battlefield', and she could not make a single mistake. This is what she must do.
"Are you prepared?" Sten asks her quietly. She smiles and nods. It is a lie; she feels completely unprepared. She fears screwing up, and she fears making things harder for the others. "You will be fine." Sten, however, sees through her lie easily. "This is your role, and you are skilled in it."
"Thank you," she murmurs. From him, the words are very reassuring. "Okay, here we go." One more heartbeat to gather her courage, and she walks inside the Gnawed Noble Tavern. It is loud and bright, and she wants to run all over again. There are too many people. She can feel herself draining just walking past their groups, and she wants to run and hide under her blankets. She wishes she hadn't even woken up this morning. She thinks she's going to vomit and make a huge spectacle of herself. She thinks she is just going to embarrass herself, and by proxy, the group. Perhaps she should…
Sten's reassuringly nudges her, and she makes herself move. No matter her fears, she has a duty. She has a promise to keep. So, even though she is so certain they will think her stupid, she makes herself head to one of the back couches.
Uncle Leonas is there, Alfstanna sitting with him already. She wishes that wasn't so; she had hoped to have a brief minute to speak with Uncle Leonas alone. But it isn't the case, and so she makes herself smile and say, "Hello, Uncle Leonas, Alfstanna."
"Oh, it's so good to see you," Uncle Leonas greets in return. His smile is warm, and his greeting hug is even warmer. It's hard for her to trust them, given everything, but it is nice to see. "When I first heard of Highever, I feared the worst." He urges her to sit, and she does so, next to Alfstanna. Alfstanna leans over to give her a quick hug too. "But I talked to Fergus not long ago. Even Oren was saved?"
"Yes, Ser Gilmore gave his life ensuring Oren safely made it out, and my Eoin protected him until we found him." Pain flutters in her chest, matching her rapid pulse. She misses Rory. He had helped make 'Fereldan' a home. Now, though, it feels as if 'home' had been nothing more than an illusion. "I've taken him on a few playdates."
"And those Oren has not charmed, you have." She manages not to squeak or yelp as Sighard suddenly joins them. She had not been expecting him, had she? She couldn't remember. "Sorry to just join in," Sighard says, shrugging as he takes the seat by Uncle Leonas. "I got angry at a fellow and decided chatting with you all was preferable to breaking his nose." He nods to someone, and she glances back to see it was a bann she barely knew, one she knows is loyal to Loghain. She can easily see why Sighard might be angry.
"How is your son?" she asks, deciding to use the unexpected appearance to begin her attack. She is to win allies, and she knows what to say in such a public place. She knows how to play the Game. She had thrived in it, even as it sickened her. Rumors were a double-edged sword, but when your opponent was someone like Loghain, they are the murdering daggers in the heart. "I visited earlier, but has his condition improved?"
"I've physicians tending to him, and the mage you recommended, Wynne, has been doing what she can." He sighs, though, drooping. "His legs were stretched for so long that the muscles just don't seem to work anymore."
"I am so sorry…" It's easy to look sad. She isn't friends with Oswyn, but she had always thought him a good, if silly, person. "Ah, but that does remind me…" She pulls the ring Nuada gave her out of her pocket, and passes it to Alfstanna. "There is a message, but I think you would rather ignore it and go get him, yes?"
"You found him?!" Alfstanna yelps. All eyes turn to them, just as she had hoped, and she glances at Sten in silent question. He moves to stand a little closer behind her, still gloriously silent and, thus, unnoticeable to the nobles. It is child's play to take advantage of how nobles rarely look up to anything. "Where is he? I must…!"
"In the dungeons of the Denerim Estate," she answers, making her voice both soft and loud. She wants everyone to hear this. "I think past the torture chambers, but I am uncertain." She pretends to hesitate before adding, "you will want to bring people with strong stomachs. Nuada could not tell me much without fear of vomiting, and the Cousland estate is filled with those he and Aiden managed to save."
"It was that bad?" Uncle Leonas breaths. When she nods, she sees the righteous fury blaze in his eyes. "This is why I refuse to attend Howe's burning!"
"No one is attending," Alfstanna sighs. She sees the sad eyes, and know Alfstanna pities Howe more than hating him, at least for now. "Is it truly right to let him go to the flames unmourned?"
"The only thing worth mourning is that he did not die years ago!"
"You were friends, though. Was he not your brother by marriage?"
"The boy I knew died at White River with everyone else." Uncle Leonas is tense enough to shake. "I don't know the man my sister married. Not one bit." He sighs, slowly relaxing. "I tried to warn Bryce, but Rendon was always on his best behavior around him."
"The snake waiting to bite the hand of the one who kept him safe," Sighard added. The words are a growl, and she glances to see they were still the focus of attention. A glance at Sten tells her all is still safe, for now. "And Loghain promotes him for such a thing! What ridiculousness!" She hears the words Sighard will not say: 'this is why we do not allow commoners power'. This is the attitude Loghain was used to, and why he held no respect for the political traditions of Fereldan. It is also why Loghain had no political allies, and was stuck with those like Howe. "He's condoned torture with this!"
"I am afraid that he apparently condoned it in other areas as well," she whispers. She makes herself look small and meek. "Nuada and Aiden were captured in the Estate, for liberating the captives." This is a falsehood; they were captured for Howe's murder. But she words it like this to make others jump to conclusions, and turn even more against her enemies. "They were taken to Fort Drakon, and the things they saw within scared and shook even Aiden, who has fought dragons, demons, and darkspawn." She knows the reason; Aiden cannot stand the color 'red' without falling into a panic. But they do not, and so, she lets their imaginations do the work for her. "Though, the fact that they escaped so easily tells us how much Loghain is really in control." She shakes her head. "Though, considering the crimes ignored in the lower market, that is probably to be expected."
"Ignored crimes?"
"Yes." She sighs, pressing a hand to her cheek. "Cleon, Alistair, and I even had to help out to ensure the peace." She makes certain to put Alistair's name in. It is her bait, but she smiles to let them know she will not say more. Fergus is Alistair's champion, not her, though she will admit to herself, at least, that she wishes she was. She likes being around him, and she likes it when others can see what a charming person he is.
"Speaking of ignored crimes," Uncle Leonas begins. She tenses, already prepared. She knows what is coming. "As I understand it, Elspeth, you were there at Ostagar." The room holds its breath as they realize what topic has been broached. "What is your opinion on Loghain's retreat?"
"That… is a difficult answer," she begins. "It is very difficult to say whether or not it was the correct choice. Her words are slow. This is dangerous ground, very dangerous ground. "The darkspawn were truly endless that day. I was there, and I saw how they marched over their dead. I saw the Archdemon rise up from the bloody ground. It was a battle beyond everyone's expectations." She shakes her head, thinking quickly. It does not matter if it was 'right' or 'wrong'. She does not need their opinion on it. What she wants is to put a different thought in their head. She wants them to think not of whether or not the decision was correct, but of something else he did that day that casts doubt on him. "But, still, it simply bothers me that he did not send a messenger to let Cailan know of the change of plans." The entire room stills. There are many arguments as to whether or not Loghain's choice that day was correct. It is possible that it will be a debate for many academics in the decades to come. But not sending a messenger puts Loghain in an ill light. Not sending a messenger put all of his words to question. "The retreat was called because I went down, on my own." She slumps, and it is easy to let her eyes fill with tears. "If I were a bit faster, then perhaps Cailan…"
"You did everything you could, and more than most," Alfstanna instantly reassures, resting a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She smiles 'bravely', and notes that many of the eavesdroppers are sympathetic. Vulnerability does that, and it works all the more when you do not have to lie about it. "Please, do not blame yourself."
"I shall try." Her smile shakes, but she keeps in on her face. "But, truly, there is another reason why that retreat might cost us Fereldan, and it scares me." The room holds it breath for her to continue. "Most of the Wardens died, and to be truthful…" She pitches her voice so that it sounds like she is telling a secret, but can still be overheard by anyone willing to listen. "To be truthful, an Archdemon can only be killed by a Warden. History tells us this to be so. Without them, we cannot kill the Archdemon. We cannot save Fereldan."
"First he sends no messenger, and then in his ignorance, nearly condemns the very country he claims to be saving?" Alfstanna scoffs, and the mood of the room is uneasy. Even those who support Loghain must admit how badly he screwed up in this. "All because of an imaginary Orlesian threat?!" She can her Alfstanna grind her teeth. "My bannorn is drowning in refugees because of him!"
"I spoke to Arl Wulff earlier." She smiles, steering the conversation to 'safer waters'. "His grandchild and Oren had a lot of fun playing."
"I'm sure they did!" The mood of the room lightens, and she can see the other groupings beginning to talk, to argue. This is what she wanted to reveal, in a public place. Here is where most nobles will condemn Loghain. Those here will broach the topic with those who are not, at dinners, at parties. "Oh, Elspeth, are you attending the ball tonight?"
"I am." She makes her smile warm, as if she is looking forward to it. Truthfully, she would rather change into her nightclothes and not move for the rest of the day. "I simply could not refuse a beautiful invitation." She glances back as she notices Sten shift. He nods to the people in shadows creeping closer to them. Well, here came trouble. "Ah, my pardon." She reaches down and snags a knife from the table. "It seems I have attracted some unwanted attention."
The would-be assassins leap, ready to strike, but she uses a trick Leliana taught her to throw the knife into one's throat, ducking and using a throw Oghren taught her to avoid a second.
Sten flies into motion, easily blocking and striking, letting the blood and body parts fly. He tosses her a sword so that she can defend herself, and she thinks of what Alistair taught her as she parries and stabs. A sword is heavier than a dagger, and it is not comfortable like a bow, but she knows enough to fight off assassins without breaking her wrist, which is far more than she knew when Highever fell.
When the assassins all die, she looks around the room. She is bloodstained, holding a sword dripping with even more blood, but there is a question she must ask. "Is everyone okay?" she calls, worried that someone was injured during the fighting. Instead, however, the room stares, and she has to fight off the urge to squirm. She knows she must look like a mess. It is a horrible impression, and she worries it undoes all the work she did before.
Laughter and clapping, however, makes her thoughts stop, and she turns to see someone walking up. "Now that was good sport!" the woman laughs, still clapping. "Well done, well done, my lady and ser bodyguard!" She smiles shyly, ducking her head. "Come, let's get you cleaned up in the back. Send for a change of clothes."
"Thank you." She curtsies, to be polite, and she notices many watching her more closely than she would expect. She could only hope she did a good job earlier.
She smiles regretfully at her group, before heading to the back to get the blood out of her hair, and to find a change of clothes, with Sten guarding her. She would finish up here, and then prepare for the ball, with Leliana and Zevran at her sides.
This is her role, her duty, and Maker help anyone caught in the crossfire.
Author's note: So, this is the last of the 'companion' interludes, and the third-to-last interlude overall. Have insight into Elspeth's head.
Next Chapter – Day before the Landsmeet with Layla (Landsmeet begins in two chapters)
