Elissa's entry into Kinloch Hold was made without fanfare or prior announcement, just as she had intended. She strode into the main hall, herself and the two figures behind her fully cloaked and silent. One of the figures was significantly taller than her and the other shorter; they followed on either side and just behind her. The effect of the entrance of three dark figures was startling to the templars who were guarding the doors, if their suddenly stiffened postures were any indication.
"Who are you? What is your purpose here?" the first templar asked, his voice muffled through his helm. Any attempts at intimidation apparently relied solely on his uniform, for Elissa was able to peer over the top of his helm and his voice lost all power when forced through the heavy metal cover. She chuckled darkly and responded in a low voice, so that the knight in question had to lean forward to hear her.
"I am here to see the First Enchanter and the Knight-Commander," she said, using the low tones of her voice, rather than volume, to carry the words. Her hands and arms then emerged from their woolly cocoon, rising to lift the hood of her her cloak from her head and place it gently behind her shoulders as gracefully as only long years of nobility training can accomplish. "I am a friend of both men. My name is Elissa Cousland. I am also known as the Hero of Ferelden and Commander of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden."
Sometimes titles do come in handy.
The templar straightened a bit and backed off by a step. "My lady, this is a surprise! What brings you to the Circle Tower?"
Elissa smiled at the mask before her. "I have come to discuss business with your leaders, and to possibly recruit for the Grey Wardens. Please, take me to the First Enchanter."
The helm before her paused, then turned side to side. "I'm afraid that's not possible, my lady. They are in the harrowing chamber at present and may not be free for some time."
Elissa nodded. "Ah, testing an apprentice?" She took the silence as confirmation. "That is fine. We will see ourselves to Irving's study then and we will be content to wait there until they are available." She started to move forward, but the templar continued to block their progress.
"My lady," he started, hesitating yet again, "I do not think -"
"You don't think that they will mind me waiting there? Good, neither do I." And with that, she swept past him, the other two cloaked figures nearly floating behind her, and she made her way to the second floor. The templar who had been left behind was ignored, sputtering in protest.
They entered Irving's study and closed the door before Elissa removed her cloak and the taller of her two companions lowered his hood. "Nice theatrics," Nathaniel observed wryly. "They'll be talking about this for a while."
Elissa grinned before sinking into one of the comfortable chairs in front of the First Enchanter's desk. "I thought it would be nice to put on a show. Besides," she smiled at Nathaniel, "this way they'll be sure to tell Irving and Greagoir that we're here that much faster." She rose when the door knocked, waiting for Nathaniel to don his hood, and opened the door to see a templar standing there. This one wasn't wearing a helm, so she made sure to look him directly in the eye as she addressed him.
"Such hospitality! My companions are dying for their afternoon tea. You'll see to that, won't you?" She flashed the young man her best, most gracious smile and leaned in closer, so that he could smell her rose-scented soap. The templar blushed and looked down, then realized by doing so he was looking at her bosom, and his eyes snapped up again. He tried to compensate by looking somewhere past her ear. She lowered her voice conspiratorially and gazed into the man's eyes as she continued, practically cooing at her unfortunate victim. "If you could put extra cookies with the tea, that would be just wonderful," she purred. "They get so grumpy when they run out of cookies." She smiled sweetly at the man and watched his face redden further.
"Y-yes, my lady," the templar stammered, and turned as if in a daze. He took off down the hallway as if a demon was after him. Elissa closed the door after he left her sight and grinned at Nathaniel, even as he shook his head at her in exasperation.
"I had heard that you were persuasive," he grumbled. "But that was laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow as Elissa laughed quietly. "I mean, that poor boy looked like his head was about to explode."
Elissa smiled at Nathaniel. "Since that was the effect I was hoping for, then I would say that it was a success. I wanted him distracted and gone from the hall." She lowered her voice. "Nobody is guarding the door. It's time to prepare." At that, Nathaniel nodded and hung his cloak, and Elissa's, on a coat rack in the corner of Irving's study. He waved over their other companion, taking the third cloak and hanging that one with the other two. Then the two of them walked to the corner and Elissa watched him cover their companion's form before blending into the shadows. If I hadn't watched him do that just now, I would never have known where he was. Elissa turned back to the room's entrance and walked up to the door, listening at it intently before quietly opening it and peeking out. Good. Nobody is in the hall. She closed the door and went back to the comfortable chair from before, sitting down with a sigh. Now, for the wait. Maker, I hate waiting. Let's hope that the display is worth it.
A few minutes later, another knock sounded at the door. Elissa quickly crossed to the door, opening it to find the templar from earlier holding a heavily laden tray. "Thank you," she murmured as she caught the templar's eye again. "You're a lifesaver." The way she said it caused him to blush all over again. "We should be all set." With that, she dismissed the now-flustered young man and closed the door gently in his face. She put the tray on Irving's desk and sat back down to wait.
"Was it necessary to flirt with the boy again?" Nathaniel's voice came from his hiding spot. He sounded irritated.
"The more distracted he was, the less likely it would be that he would realize he couldn't see you in the room. I didn't want them to start searching for you." She smiled at the reluctant grumble. "Don't worry, love. I'll make it up to you later." The shadow in the corner fell silent and they resumed their wait.
Ten minutes passed, then twenty. Elissa was starting to consider actually drinking some tea when she heard Irving and Greagoir's voices in the hall. She stood as the door opened. "Good afternoon First Enchanter, Knight-Commander. It is good to see you both." She bowed to them both as they entered, looking around the room.
"Hello, Elissa. I had heard that you had brought a pair of wardens with you," Irving said, his voice just as creaky and wise as she remembered. "Are they not here?"
"Well, they had heard that your library was first rate ..." Elissa shrugged. "I hope you don't mind, First Enchanter."
"Not at all. I am glad that we have something to entertain them." Irving indicated the chair that Elissa had just vacated and she sat. Irving and Greagoir followed in their respective seats.
"I don't like the idea of them walking around without an escort," Greagoir complained, looking at Irving. "I can arrange for one of my men to act as a guide."
"Knight-Commander, I would never bring anyone here who would cause trouble." Except myself, of course. "Please rest assured, I am certain that they will cause no harm or allow themselves to be harmed. They understand the responsibilities that a good mage must assume." At these words, Greagoir sat back in his chair a little, although he still maintained his ridiculously upright stance, before reluctantly nodding.
Irving turned back to Elissa after watching the templar commander sit. "What brings you to the Circle Tower? I presume you are looking for new recruits?"
Elissa ignored Greagoir's annoyed huff. "I was hoping to, yes, although I was thinking of coming by in the morning to talk more about Grey Warden recruitment, if you will have me. The business I have with you today concerns one of your mages."
Both Greagoir and Irving leaned forward in their seats. Irving looked on with concern, but Greagoir chose to speak first. "Is there a problem with one of the mages? Is someone who was assigned a post outside the Circle causing problems?"
"Not directly, no." Elissa got up now and paced, acting disturbed. "How much do you gentlemen know about how Grey Wardens live?" She looked to Greagoir when she asked this.
"You seem to be doing very well for yourselves," Greagoir answered. He seemed confused by the change in subject. Irving just sat and watched, a look of concentration on his face. "You have an entire arling now and with the blight over you can focus on living normally."
"It's not as easy as that," Elissa sighed. She stopped her pacing and looked between the two men in the room with her. "I would have assumed that myself, but the reality is not nearly as pleasant. Since the blight, the other Wardens and I have had to deal with many … problems." Irving looked concerned, and Greagoir's face paled slightly. She continued. "Part of my problem is political. I'm still associated with the Cousland name, and there are yet more problems because the Wardens were dragged into the middle of the civil war. I can't count the number of times that people have tried to assassinate me or members of my order here in Ferelden because of political power struggles. Bandits are all over the roads still, and with all the death this country has seen, there are many places where the Veil is incredibly weak or even torn." At this both men's eyes widened. "If it wasn't for the survival skills of my people, we would all have been dead several times over." Greagoir turned white as a sheet at the last statement. So, she was telling the truth. "In short, no place in Ferelden is safe for anyone traveling with me."
Greagoir looked nervous. Irving frowned, and cleared his throat. "I am sorry to hear that, but what does this have to do with the Circle of Magi?" He sounded almost convincing.
Elissa crossed her arms and looked from one man to the other. "What I want to know," she said quietly and coldly, "is why you two chose to send Eleanor to spy on me. Except for her magic, she was completely helpless."
Irving put his elbows on his desk and rested his head in his hands. Greagoir's face had gone ghost-white and his mouth worked soundlessly for several moments before he finally found his voice. When he did, the sound came out strangled. "Was?" Elissa watched his face twist into a mask of grief and then struggle into a neutral expression, although his eyes looked dull and lifeless. "What," he swallowed hard, "what happened?" Irving kept his head in his hands, but shook his head slightly.
At least they're not denying it. Elissa straightened up again. "The templar you had assigned to her, the one who knew your plans, died before we found them. The rest of the templars and Eleanor had been attacked by a group of Antivan Crows and a contingent of Bann Loren's men. As it turned out, some of my brother's forces were there also, and they were the intended target for the attackers, but it didn't keep nearly everyone from dying." Greagoir's eyes closed and he leaned his head back. Elissa went to his chair and leaned on the armrests, putting her face close to his. "Why," she said softly to him, watching his eyes snap open in surprise, "would you do this to your lover, Greagoir? Why would you put her in a position where she was doomed to fail? She couldn't hunt or cook for herself, her guardian died so the other templars thought she was an apostate, and if we hadn't found out about her condition, we probably would have killed her ourselves when we found her."
She heard Irving get up, his chair scraping on the stone floor behind her. Greagoir refused to make eye contact with her, although his eyes got impossibly wider at the word 'condition'. He remained silent, however, radiating grief and defeat. "Lover?" Irving asked incredulously. "Condition?" She heard his footsteps fall behind her until she could see him in her peripheral vision. "Greagoir, what is she talking about?"
Greagoir looked like he wasn't able to talk, so Elissa filled Irving in. "Greagoir and Eleanor are – were – lovers, Irving. I take it you didn't know that?" Irving grunted his assent. "When we found Eleanor, we also found out that she was with child." At these words, Greagoir sprang to his feet. Elissa just barely managed to get out of his way and avoid getting clobbered by his heavy plate. His face was ashen white and he started pacing, his head down in shame. He tore off his gauntlets with trembling hands and dropped them on the floor, uncaring of the heavy clang of metal meeting stone, before rubbing his temples. He turned to Elissa and looked at her with tortured eyes.
"How far along?" he whispered. "How did – when did -" his chin trembled. "Did she suffer?"
He still loves her. There might be hope, then.
Elissa stared at him for a good long while. "When we found her, she was only a couple of months along." He nodded in reluctant acknowledgement. "She would have only just found out herself. That was about three months ago." Greagoir shuddered. Elissa took a deep breath before continuing. Here it comes, then. "I have a problem, though. I need to know what will happen to her if she decides to come back to live at the Circle. I don't want to see her or her baby punished."
Greagoir's eyes snapped to hers. "She's alive?" He dropped to his knees. "Thank the Maker! Where is she?" He looked frantic now. "I want to see her." His voice raised in volume.
"Not yet, Greagoir." Elissa purposely made her voice icy. "First I need to know why she was there, and what will happen to her if I return her. I will not abandon her to an execution the way that you abandoned her." She glowered at the kneeling knight, and then to the mage standing beside her. "You two really messed this up. Your actions made her my responsibility and I won't allow you to continue to destroy her life." She crossed her arms as she waited for an answer.
Greagoir rose to his feet and crossed to Elissa, grabbing her elbows with his hands. His grasp was harsh to the point that Elissa thought she might have bruises the next day, but she ignored the pain in favor of glaring at the Knight-Commander. "You can't do that! I demand to see her now!" he snarled at her.
"I can and will keep her from you, Greagoir, until I am satisfied that you won't allow her to be hurt or persecuted. I have the Right of Conscription and I will use it if I have to, to keep her away from your machinations." Elissa continued to glare at Greagoir. "You have some explaining to do. Whose idea was it? Why her? What was the point of all this?" She set her jaw stubbornly. "I repeat -what will happen to her and the baby if I decide to return her to you?"