Duty's Choice: The Bastards of Ferelden - Chapter 18

Stairway to Haven

Haven – two weeks later

"Whose bright idea was it to put a village in these mountains?" Aldo whined as the Wardens wound their way up the stairs to Haven.

Elinora chuckled and stopped marching, letting the mage catch up. "Someone who didn't want their village's secrets to be discovered."

"Anyone ever heard of hiding in plain sight," he muttered and continued huffing up the hillside.

Kinna offered him an arm and helped tug him up the path. "Didn't you have to travel on Warden business?" she asked lightly.

Aldo scowled. "I avoided it. Mages are sedentary by training, you know. Chantry keeps us pent up in Towers, so we get used to being indoors. None of this sweating and climbing and weather. Just books and… Templars…"

The Wardens stopped at the gate of Haven, openly staring at the herd of Templars occupying the center of town. Who were staring back.

Elinora stepped forward, stood straight and squared her shoulders. "Who's in charge here?"

A Templar stepped forward and imperiously meet her eyes. Reddish blonde curls were longer than regulation would have them and a little sun bleached. His shadowed brown eyes assessed her. "What do you want, Warden?"

Elinora looked around her. Her Wardens had flanked her, as they were trained, hands away from weapons, but ready to draw in a heartbeat. The Templars were doing the exact same thing. She counted eleven of them. "I'm looking for the Ashes, but I'm sure you knew that."

"Why?" he asked slowly with deep suspicion.

Templars. Chantry. She couldn't tell him the truth. "Warden business."

He crossed his arms. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Will I?" Their eyes locked. Seconds passed, waiting for one side or the other to blink.

"Elinora?"

Her gaze didn't move off the Templar, but the speaker was kind enough to enter her field of vision. "Hello, Brother Genitivi."

The scholar looked between the Templar and the Warden. "Cullen, this is a Grey Warden, not some common bandit."

"I know," the Templar growled. "I remember her, from the Tower."

Elinora finally placed his face. "You were outside the Harrowing Chamber. You'd been tortured, caged." Elinora looked at the men before her. They varied in age, but each had a haunted look about them, like they had seen too much.

"I was," Cullen said bitterly. "And now I guard the Urn."

She nodded politely. "Which I would like to visit, please."

Asking nicely did not sway Cullen. "The Chantry has issued an edict about the Wardens."

Elinora raised dubious eyebrows. "I didn't know Templars performed weddings."

Alcina snickered. A Templar shot her a silencing look, to which she responded by blowing a kiss.

Genitivi stepped between them. "What edict, precisely, Cullen?"

"Grey Wardens are to be discouraged," he sneered the word as his eyes bored into Elinora, "from visiting sacred sites, or handling any Chantry relics."

"On what grounds?" Elinora demanded, even though she knew the answer.

Cullen barked, "On the ground that those are my orders."

"I see." He didn't know. Elinora would have bet Finn that Cullen had no idea why he'd been given those orders, and a good soldier did not question his superiors. "Fine." Elinora relaxed her posture and looked to her Wardens. Aldo still looked winded, which fit her scheme. "It's been a long journey for us and its getting late. Is there perhaps somewhere we can stay for the night?"

Cullen was about to refuse them, when Genitivi broke in. "They can stay in the scholar's house. We've got the room, and its only good manners"

"Fine." Cullen still looked sour. "I suppose its good manners to feed them tonight as well?"

Genitivi smiled coyly. "Yes it is, and I think for the occasion I shall break out that cask of whiskey I've been saving. Should be enough for everyone."

An appreciative murmur went through both groups of warriors.

Cullen had not been swayed. "Supper is at sundown in the old store." He turned to his men. "Alright you lot, back to your duties."

Elinora caught mutterings about the lack of duties before following Brother Genitivi to the house where the various scholars kept their quarters. It would be a little tight, but they would all fit. Elinora settled her Wardens and set a watch rotation for the night. She didn't trust the Templars.

Genitivi showed Elinora to a tiny room on the second story, one far too small for more than one person. "I'm sorry about Cullen and the rest. The Chantry has decided that this is a fine place to dump her broken Templars. Still, they watch our backs and do some heavy lifting"

"That could come in handy," she muttered, too distracted by her own thinking to pay much attention.

"Commander," the scholar said lowly, "there is a back way to the temple."

Elinora looked up at him, now completely focused on what he had to say. "Tell me."

Genitivi sketched out the route starting about a mile outside the village and following a precarious path up the mountain. "Assuming its still there. The spring melt might have washed it away. Its risky."

"I'll take it. What about the Templars?"

With a disapproving shake of his head, Genitivi said, "They keep a sloppy guard rotation. It would probably be easy to get through, but its unpredictable. It would be best if we could distract…"

A thump from the corridor had Elinora rushing out of her room, sword and dagger drawn, to find Alcina, Maphisa and Kinna tripping over themselves.

"Graceful ladies," Elinora said dryly.

Maphisa straightened up first and looked to her other two compatriots. "We overheard, and, um," Kinna giggled and Alcina gave her a light smack on the hand, "we can take care of the Chantry boys."

Images of the trouble these three could cause flashed through her mind. "Do I want to know?"

Alcina looked to the other girls, and said, "Nope."

Elinora crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What's the plan?"

Maphisa thought a moment, selecting the information to share with her Commander. "At dinner tonight, you order that we march at dawn, then go to bed. We'll… make sure that the Templars have no desire to see us out in the morning. You slip out and do what you're going to do. We'll met you at the crossroads about a day from here."

Elinora nodded slowly. "I know where you mean. Are you sure?"

"Yes, Commander," they answered more or less in unison.

This was either going to go very well, or very, very badly.

The afternoon was spent on preparations and rest. She made sure her pack was in order and ready for a solo trip into the mountains.

"Did you know that there's a High Dragon sitting up there, just watching?"

Elinora smiled at Aldo's question. She had been a little stunned the first time she had seen the dragon too.

"The cult we found guarding this place thought it was Andraste herself, reincarnated as a dragon."

Aldo rolled his eyes. "You'll be careful, right?"

Elinora smiled at him, his brotherly protectiveness so like Fergus's. "It's a cake walk. Stay to the shadows, don't hit the gong and move quickly. You worry too much."

"Someone's got to watch your back."

She laughed. "With so many watching my back, my front gets lonely."

Aldo's eyebrows shot up his forehead, making his commander laugh harder. He bristled and cleared his throat. "Focus, will you? Are you sure about this plan? You know Vallis and I can't be much help."

"Yes, I'm sure. You stay out of it, let the girls cause all the trouble."

Aldo grumbled. "Not happy about that either."

"Handle it," she ordered, then headed off to supper.

"I hate to say it," Aldo muttered, "but Templars are better cooks than Grey Wardens."

Elinora laughed into her bowl of stew. "I swear Warden cooking is just a way to toughen us up a bit."

"They've had time to practice," Genitivi added. "Our head cook's been here since just after the Battle of Denerim. That's him over there," the scholar nodded to an unarmored Templar with one arm. "He lost the arm on the top of Fort Drakon, gobbled up by the Archdemon itself, or so he says." Genitivi seemed greatly bemused by this likely tall tale, as was Elinora. She rose from the table, taking her now empty bowl in hand.

"I shall have to go pay my compliments to the chef then." She wiggled devious eyebrows and headed over to where the dirty dishes were stacked for washing. After depositing her dishes, she tapped the Templar in question on the shoulder of his good arm. "A most excellent supper, good Ser Templar. I and my Wardens appreciate it." She smiled her most charming smile at him.

He bowed. "Think nothing of it, my lady… excuse me, Commander. I'm sorry we can't be more helpful to you, but the Chantry…"

She held up a hand and continued smiling. "What's done is done. I'm just looking forward now to a night it a real bed."

"I'm glad we can offer that much hospitality." His eyes looked to her face, but not her eyes. He was staring at the scar that ran down the right side from above the eyebrow to jaw. He noticed that he was caught. "Forgive me, but is that scar from the Archdemon?"

Elinora turned her head so he could get a better look. Warriors appreciated one another's scars and the stories that went with them. "Yes it is. Wynne said I was lucky not to have lost my eye."

"That you are, my la… Commander." He motioned to the stump of his left arm. "I wasn't so lucky, but I've managed since."

"Quite admirably, I'd say."

"Thank you, Commander." He bowed again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get this sorry lot on cleaning duty."

With perfect timing, Kinna popped up. "We can help."

Alcina followed her. "We really should. Its only good manners."

Maphisa made a face, but nodded in agreement.

Elinora nodded. "Good," then turned to the rest of the room. "Alright Wardens, we have enjoyed the good Templar's food and the generous brother's whiskey. I expect the lot of you to be gracious guests and help clean up, then get to bed. We march out at dawn, hangovers or no." She picked up a tiny glass of the whiskey and drank it down in one gulp. "As for me, I'm pulling rank and heading to bed. Good night."

As she opened the door, she heard a splash from the kitchens followed by Kinna's girlish, playful whine, "You got me all wet!"

Elinora stepped out into the night and pulled the door firmly closed behind her. She did not want to know.