The first three hours of the proving were fine, Elissa decided, but after that it started to feel tedious. She shifted in her seat, trying not to show her discomfort with sitting still for so long, and kept her eyes trained on the battleground. How much longer? She tried to remind herself that at least it wasn't another banquet. By the Maker, that was uncomfortable, with all those unhappy nobles and warriors, who wore a veneer of politeness covering outright hostility. And all because I crowned Bhelen instead of Harrowmont. She suspected that even if she had chosen Lord Harrowmont, they would still have been unhappy. Many of the dwarven nobles had stated as such when they were trying to garner troops for the blight, saying that outsiders should not have had a hand in their politics. The fact that she chose Bhelen just made them that much unhappier than they would have otherwise been.
At least nobody has tried to assassinate me. Yet. Although if the looks Alfstanna was giving her, and the looks Alistair was giving Nathaniel, were any indication, dwarven nobles were the least of her worries. Just one more day. We can handle one more day, right? We can leave right after the ceremony. Maybe we can make a detour to avoid having to travel most of the way back with the royal entourage. Anything to get away from Ser Mopey and Lady Lemon. She calculated the time it would take in her head and nodded to herself. We have time for that. Maybe we can find a recruit or two, and Oghren can visit with Felsi and the baby.
"What are you thinking about?" Nathaniel had leaned in and pitched his voice low so that only she could hear. It probably didn't hurt that to do this, he had to turn and put one hand on her shoulder so that she was practically leaning on his chest. Score another point for Nathaniel. She decided to humor him, since he had been under more than a little stress ever since they started traveling with Alistair, and turned her head so that she could answer in his ear. Besides, with Nathaniel talking to her that way, she felt a lovely combination of all-over relaxation and butterflies in her stomach. It was really quite distracting, in the best way possible.
She breathed into Nathaniel's ear, "I was thinking about our travel plans after we leave Orzammar." Judging by the hitch in his breath, he enjoyed the intimacy of their attempt at private conversation as much as she did. She stored that information away for later use. "I was thinking we could leave as soon as is polite after the ceremony tomorrow, maybe go to Lake Calenhad. We could go to the Circle Tower while Oghren visits his family and let Eric and the mages stay at the inn there."
"That would be good." Elissa could feel as much as hear the relief in Nathaniel's voice. His tone turned subtly suggestive and he leaned in closer, so that she could actually feel his nose brush against her hair while he spoke softly into her ear. "I'm tired of acting like a proper noble." The combination of sound and touch would have caused her knees to buckle, had she been standing; as it was, she felt like she was losing her balance and had to put her hand on his chest for support. Otherwise she would have forgotten she was in public and actually leaned on him. He covered her hand with his and chuckled, further wrecking her equilibrium. "You smell like roses. It drives me wild."
Elissa was dimly aware that she must look quite the sight. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, rather than give in, close her eyes, and just feel, and her breathing had definitely gone unsteady, not to mention she was absolutely certain everyone there should be able to hear her heart thump-thump-thumping away as if it was getting ready to leap out of her chest. "I see," was all she managed to say, and that sounded husky even to her own ears. Nathaniel's hand squeezed hers and he let out a near-silent groan, audible to her only because he was right by her ear. He took in a breath and Elissa was sure he would have said something, but Oghren's shout brought them out of their little haven and back to the proving.
"Did ya see that! Where did that duster learn to use a sword and shield?" Oghren was practically foaming at the mouth with excitement. "Hah! I never saw anybody move so quickly!" Elissa took a moment to compose herself, although she still felt very warm and unsteady, and looked down at the arena. What she saw stunned her.
Of the two combatants on the field, the one with armor that looked like it was falling apart, even at a distance, was clearly dominating. He was wearing what looked like a cobbled together suit of armor, most likely scraps from ruined armor sets, bits of iron and silverite and red steel forming a metal patchwork all over the breastplate. Even at a distance it was obvious the armor was not meant to hold up well. There was a loose strap at the shoulder that kept flopping distractedly, and the hip and skirt piece was far too long. His boots looked like they were clean, but they reflected a mottled texture, as if their dents had been removed by hand numerous times with inferior equipment. He had no gauntlets or helmet, and Elissa guessed that was because he couldn't afford or scavenge those pieces. His shield was but a small targe and looked heavily dented, and his sword was too long for his height.
His appearance otherwise was also unusual for a dwarf in that he was clean-shaven and had only stubble for hair, making his casteless mark stand out against fair skin even more. He looked like his body was hurriedly hewn from the stone itself, his body was so square, but somehow he moved with exquisite grace. He danced around his much more heavily-armored opponent, who could barely keep up with his movements. He would jump into his opponent's range, and before the warrior opposing him could get his battleaxe raised, he would smack him around with his shield three or four times, or maybe take a good swing at him with his longsword, then shout in his face and jump back out of range and find a new attack angle. The helmeted, fully armored warrior he was fighting clearly had no idea where the next attack would come from and moved like he was constantly dazed.
"He fights like a duelist," Elissa breathed. "I wonder if he ever tried wielding a pair of daggers."
"With that kid's strength he could do it with two longswords," Oghren replied. "Kid's obviously never been trained but he's got talent." Elissa could do no more than nod at the observation.
"Imagine if he had decent armor and weapons, and some formal training," Nathaniel added. "That man would be unstoppable."
Just then, the well-armored dwarf in the arena dropped to the ground. The casteless dwarf had won the battle. It didn't look like his opponent had even gotten a hit in on him. It was just as well; with the man's state of dress it would have been a miracle if he had survived getting hit at all. The audience roared at the outcome; the well-dressed dwarves almost completely overwhelmed the arena with booing and jeering, while a small contingent of casteless were jumping up and down with excitement. Elissa watched as the victor took in the crowd, interested to see his reaction. He turned around once, then grinned and threw his arms up into the air before dropping into a deep bow. Oghren laughed out loud at the display, and Elissa was inclined to agree. "I think," she said once the noise finally receded in the stands, "that we need to try to recruit that dwarf."
-0-0-0-
Finally, the provings were over and they could leave. The poorly dressed "duster shield", as Oghren put it, had made it to the final round before being eliminated by a warrior caste dwarf who had an unbeaten record. For someone who was under-equipped and untrained, it was amazing. Oghren, Anders, Eleanor and Eric decided to go to Tapsters to get dinner, while Elissa and Nathaniel went to the entryway of the proving grounds, hoping to get a chance to talk to the casteless warrior who had so impressed them.
It didn't take long. The dwarf in question emerged from a side hallway, still wearing his dilapidated armor. Up close, it looked even worse than Elissa suspected it would. She wasn't even sure that it was welded together – it looked like one strong breeze would take half the breastplate off. She looked at Nathaniel, who blinked as he observed the dwarf and then shook his head. So, it's not just me then. That dwarf was insane to go into the arena dressed in that.
They walked toward him and waited for him to press through a throng of casteless, all of whom were cheering and congratulating him. He took the time to grin at each and every well-wisher, nodding and saying something to each person he passed. He managed to emerge on the other side of the small crowd and saw Elissa and Nathaniel. He stopped and raised an eyebrow as he looked them over.
Elissa cleared her throat. "We saw you fight in the proving today. Congratulations. You did really well."
The dwarf considered what she said a moment, then he tilted his head forward once. "Thanks." He started to walk forward, looking as though he might pass by Elissa with no further comment.
"Do you have a moment? We were hoping to talk with you. We could buy you dinner." Elissa noted the surprise, then the poorly-concealed interest in his eyes at the mention of a free meal. He seemed to think for a minute, then shrugged as if he didn't care.
"Name's Ragnar. I guess I could talk." He eyed them suspiciously then. "I don't owe you anything for the food, though."
"What?" Nathaniel's startled question caught the dwarf's attention. "Of course you don't!" Nathaniel sounded offended. Elissa put a hand on his arm to calm him.
"It's all right," she said quietly to Nathaniel, then turned back to Ragnar. "No, you don't owe us anything. We honestly just want to talk to you, nothing more. " Right, Dust Town. He's probably had favors dangled in front of him in exchange for awful deeds his whole life. At these words, Ragnar studied her face. After a good long moment, whatever he saw must have satisfied him, because he relaxed just a fraction.
"Where to?"
-0-0-0-
Ragnar was starving.
Elissa watched him pack away as much food as she and Nathaniel could have eaten, uncaring of manners, and he showed no signs of slowing down. He took his bread and sopped up every single last bit of gravy from his plate, making sure to get everything, before finishing the bread and taking a huge swig from his mug of ale. It was clear that he wasn't expecting to eat again for quite some time. He looked eagerly at the table, his distrust momentarily forgotten with the prospect of a full belly right in front of him. He sighed when he saw there was nothing left. Bemused, Elissa waved over the waitress and asked her to bring seconds of everything that they had ordered. He can take the leftovers home with him tonight. Ragnar said nothing as she ordered, but there was a light in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
Since there was no food on the table, Ragnar decided to finally say something. "So," he started, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her, "what do a couple of surfacers care about a casteless?" The distrust was back in his voice and eyes.
"My name is Elissa, and this is Nathaniel. We're Grey Wardens." At this, the dwarf sat up straighter and some of the suspicion left his eyes, replaced with an assessing gaze directed at both of them.
"Huh." And that was apparently all he had to say about the subject.
Elissa looked at Nathaniel then. He shrugged at her, just as perplexed as she was. I guess we'll have to do all the talking then. She turned back to Ragnar. "We saw you fight today, as you already know, and we were impressed with your talent. We were wondering if you would be interested in becoming a Grey Warden."
Ragnar's eyes opened wide. He sat, stock still. Then, a look of hope took over his face, but only for a moment. Then he looked down at the table, and his shoulders slumped just a fraction. "I can't." It looked like it cost him a lot to say that.
"All right, I won't force you." Elissa was disappointed, but it was his decision, after all. "Is it because you'd have to leave Orzammar?"
He looked at her incredulously and barked out a sharp laugh. "You gotta be kidding me. Have you ever seen Dust Town? If I never saw it again, it'd be too soon." He shook his head then lowered it. "I got a sister. If I leave her, somebody will be trying to whore her out within the week." He started to get up. "Thanks for the offer though. Guess I should stop wasting your time." His voice sounded bitter.
"Wait," Elissa said. "Stay and eat your dinner. You can take any leftovers back to her, at least." He stared at her a good long moment, then sat back down, again with a single nod in thanks. She leaned forward. "I have been to Dust Town, but not for a while. Is it any better now that Jarvia's gone?"
Ragnar's eyes widened as he stared at her. "Wait." He was thinking. "Grey Warden … Elissa … You know about Jarvia?" Elissa nodded in response. "By the Stone! You're her! The one who came through and got rid of the Carta and then put Bhelen on the throne!" Elissa nodded again, at which Ragnar actually laughed, and then shook his head. "Well, I'll be." He chuckled to himself. "Wait'll I tell Erna."
"Is Erna your sister?" Elissa asked.
Ragnar nodded. "Yeah." He shrugged. "Jarvia was trying to get her hands on Erna when you came through here." He didn't need to fill in the details. Elissa remembered Jarvia's attitude all too well, her voice echoing in Elissa's mind. Leave the pretty one alive. I got plans for her. She nodded her head to show she understood.
She looked at Nathaniel then, as she had an idea. Nathaniel was watching her to see what she would do, but it looked like he wanted to help. She nodded at him, then turned back to Ragnar. "Is your sister able to walk? Is she capable?"
Ragnar looked like he was trying to figure out what she was getting at. "Yeah," he said cautiously.
"You know, the Grey Wardens have a keep now. We're always looking for able bodies to work for us at the keep – servants, cooks, that sort of thing. If you think she would be interested, we could bring her along too. We don't normally do this, but ..." Elissa shrugged. "I'd be willing to get her training to do something to earn her keep. Something that would allow her to keep her dignity."
Ragnar sat across from them, stunned. He didn't even notice when the waitress came back, steaming plates in hand, and put them down on the table. "You," he blinked, "you would do that?" He changed his tone, sneering. "I don't want charity."
Elissa laughed. "Charity? I should think not." She leaned forward. "This isn't charity. This is a business deal. We want your skills as a Grey Warden and are asking you to go to the surface. In exchange, we offer you both a home and a place where you can earn an honest wage. Being a Grey Warden is not easy, even when there isn't a blight."
Ragnar considered this. "There are no old Grey Wardens, are there?" he muttered to himself. "I've never seen one." He looked at her again, calculating. "I figure we got a couple more years in Dust Town at most before someone kills us or we get sick. It might be worth a shot."
"Take tonight and talk to your sister. Think on it." Elissa waved the waitress over and asked her to wrap up the uneaten food and give it to Ragnar. "Take this home to your sister so she can eat. If you both decide you want to do this, we'll be at the Shaper's ceremony for Kal'Hirol tomorrow before we leave. You can meet us there and let us know." She rose from the table and Nathaniel got up as well. "Either way, we wish you luck."
She turned around one last time, just before she and Nathaniel left the tavern. Ragnar was still sitting there, completely still. "I think you surprised him," Nathaniel murmured in her ear. "Do you think we'll see him tomorrow?"
"I don't know," Elissa admitted. "Even though the casteless have a horrible existence here, it's a major decision to leave your entire life behind. I hope so, for both their sakes." She looked up at Nathaniel, who was smiling at her as he put a hand on the small of her back to guide her through the door.
"Time to go to the palace?" he asked, his eyes studying her intently. "We have the evening free, and I would like to spend it with a remarkable woman I know. Alone." She shivered at the way his voice deepened at the word alone, and his smile grew. He opened the door for her and escorted her out into the commons.