Chapter 56: Education and Politics
The two wardens returned to Warden House along with Wynne and Zevran in time for dinner. As they shook the snow from their cloaks they were greeted by two very enthusiastic war hounds. Aeden was knocked over by Dusty as Griffin followed the mabari's lead by knocking over Alistair. As the two wardens tried without much luck to avoid the dogs' slurps the sound of the men's protests and laughs brought Delia into the foyer. Seeing the two men lying on the floor with the huge dogs standing on their chests sent her into a laughing fit.
"My two big, brave, wardens, taken down by a pair of mere puppies," she snickered. "At least they prove themselves to be good watch dogs!"
As Delia persuaded the dogs to release the men, Aeden hugged his mabari and chuckled. "What kind of training have you been giving the hounds today? How to kill a man in twenty licks?"
"Yes, the proper technique is an ancient secret, handed down from generation to generation of deer hounds. Griffon has been teaching Dusty all day. Are you impressed?" Delia smiled at the two men as Wynne and Zevran laughed from behind them.
Griffon looked up at Alistair and then to Aeden with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. It made the dog look as if he was trying to imitate Alistair's lopsided grin, but adding his own doggy style to the facial expression.
Alistair laughed at the dogs and scratched Griffon behind his ears. "It is certainly a… unique way to greet someone." His eyes looked at Delia with an almost shameless lust. "I can think of a better greeting, however." He moved past the dog and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
Delia pushed away from him laughing heartily. "Unfortunately, Griffon has left you smelling like a wet dog! Why don't you four wash up before dinner? We'll meet you in the dining room. Deirdre has been cooking a venison roast that has smelled absolutely wonderful all afternoon!"
"All right, all right… I'll wash if I must, but maybe next time you won't let Griff perfume me." He kissed her on the cheek and followed Aeden upstairs to get ready for dinner.
Once they were all seated at the dining table, Deirdre served the meal. Delia didn't think she had ever tasted venison as succulent as the roast before them! It was served with roasted potatoes, candied carrots and fresh baked bread. After the main course was finished, Deirdre brought out two platters of cookies and hot tea for everyone. Sten looked at the round objects on the platters curiously.
"Kadan, what are these?"
Delia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Haven't you ever seen cookies before, Sten?"
"Cookies… what an odd word. What are they?"
"They are best described as a kind of sweet bread. Try one – I'm certain you'll like it." She smiled at him gently.
Sten picked up a cookie and smelled it, then looked it over as if he was searching for something that might injure him. Gingerly he took a tiny nibble. His eyes slowly closed and a small smile crept across his face. After taking another huge bite from the cookie he looked at Delia with a smile.
"We do not have anything like this in Seheron. I must remedy this." Sten started to devour cookie after cookie, earning a frown from Aeden.
"Hey, Sten, save a few for the rest of us." Sadly he looked at the platter that was nearly emptied by the Qunari, which was the one closer to him.
Deirdre chuckled. "Now, don't you worry, warden. I have plenty more in the kitchen. I'm pleased he likes them so much!"
Aeden smiled at the dwarf. "Deirdre, you certainly must have been around a lot of wardens in your time. You are always ready for our huge appetites!"
"Why do you think they keep me on, love? I have a reputation to keep up with the folks in Weisshaupt, after all!"
After taking their fill of the tea and cookies, Aeden asked Alistair and Delia to join him in the library. After they were all in the room, Aeden closed the door behind him and motioned for the other two to sit near the fireplace.
"We have to talk about what we found out today and plan our next move." Aeden continued explaining the state they found the Orzammar Assembly in and the two people who were vying for the throne. "Harrowmount is the person King Aeducan himself wanted to replace him, but the king's son, Bhelen, insists he should inherit the throne. Neither man will meet with us personally, but wants us to perform certain tasks for them to earn their trust. Zevran felt we should align ourselves with the prince because he seems like a stronger force, but apparently he killed his brother and framed his other brother for the crime. The king was forced to send his second son into exile in the Deep Roads to battle darkspawn and he died knowing in his heart that Bhelen had betrayed him."
Delia frowned. "Why do we need to align with either side? Shouldn't we stay out of their politics?"
Aeden nodded. "I wish we could, but the Assembly will not help us without a king on the throne. It's up to the king to follow through on our treaty, so they won't touch it. The dwarves themselves are pretty much split down the middle over who to support, so somehow we have to tip the balance."
"So who do you feel we should support?" Delia looked worried. Dwarven politics was always such a touchy thing to deal with, and it would be much easier for the wardens if they could stay neutral.
Alistair looked very serious. "Well, we thought a lot about it while we were in the city. Bhelen's right hand man wanted us to serve some forged documents to a couple of nobles, trying to make Harrowmount look like a criminal, while Harrowmount's man wanted us to fight at the Proving Tournament in kind of a 'might makes it right' thing to earn the respect from more of the nobles. To be honest, even though Zev felt Bhelen would be a stronger king, neither of us felt right about supporting a man who set up his own brother for murder and continues to kill and frame others. We feel better about supporting Harrowmount, if only because King Aeducan himself wanted him to succeed him."
Aeden looked at Delia. "Before we made a decision, we wanted your input. You know more about the dwarves than either of us."
Delia nodded thoughtfully. "Unfortunately, I don't think you can have a right or a wrong decision here. Either man would be eligible to be put on the throne. I'd say to follow your instincts, if for no other reason that whatever hoops they want you to jump through won't be quite as loathsome."
"That's as good advice as any, I guess." Aeden sighed deeply and looked gloomily at Delia. "I'm afraid we will end up being asked to do more than just fight in this Proving. From what I am seeing of the dwarven culture, I have a feeling we won't get away so easily. I plan on being back here tomorrow night, but if for some reason we aren't, don't worry too much. If we aren't back by the following night, the next day you should take a full party into the city and see what you can learn at the Tapsters Tavern. The bartender, Corra, seems to have her ear in the middle of everything."
Alistair grinned at his friend teasingly. "It didn't hurt that she had her eyes on you."
Delia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Does that mean that my brother might get involved with someone shorter than I am?"
"Maker, no!" Aeden's alarm made both Delia and Alistair laugh heartily. "I mean… she's a nice person and all, but I don't think she could possibly get rid of the stench of that… establishment."
Alistair looked at Delia with an unnaturally serious expression. "Oh, that is true, I give you that. Nothing like the smell of dwarf vomit to set the mood…"
"Sounds like a marvelous place…" Delia rolled her eyes in amusement, causing Alistair to start guffawing. That caused Delia to start giggling as well, and suddenly neither one was able to stop!
Aeden cleared his throat. "Alright, back to tomorrow's plans…" He looked at his two friends who were both trying to stop laughing unsuccessfully and frowned at them. "Never mind… we'll go over it at breakfast. You two are completely worthless sometimes, did you know that?"
The two burst out hysterically laughing, holding their sides as they tried to contain themselves. Aeden just quietly stood and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he shook his head. "Maker, they deserve each other!" he thought to himself with a chuckle as he walked back to his own quarters.
Once Delia and Alistair finally stopped laughing he pulled her onto his lap. She leaned her head against his shoulder and enjoyed the feel of his arms around her waist with the warmth of the fire enfolding both of them.
"So, what did you do today besides teach the dogs how to attack with slobber?" Alistair asked while nuzzling her hair.
"Actually I spent a good deal of the day in here. I was looking for a book about dog breeds so I can understand Griffon better. I actually found a rather good one, along with another book that I think will be quite interesting…" She looked at Alistair teasingly. "It's in my room right now. Perhaps later I'll show it to you. Oh, but there were three visitors here today… a merchant dwarf named Zoram and two of his friends. They wanted me to pay some sort of tax the wardens owe, but I sent him away, telling him he needed to deal directly with Weisshaupt."
Alistair raised his eyebrow and looked at her, trying to assess the situation. "We should find Aeden and then you can tell the both of us exactly what happened. After we talk to him, then maybe you can show me the book you found. You have my curiosity peaked."
The two stood up and Alistair led the way to Aeden's room. When they arrived, Alistair knocked on the door.
"Aeden, are you decent? Delia and I would like to speak to you about certain events that happened here today."
Aeden opened the door. He was dressed in a simple shirt and breeches. "I was just reading at the fire. Please, come in."
They took a seat near the fire and Delia told them both about what had happened earlier in the day with the dwarves. Aeden nodded and put his hand to his chin, stroking it absentmindedly as he listened to her story.
"From what you've told us, it sounds as though you handled everything beautifully. Not that it surprises me." Aeden smiled at Delia with warmth that radiated pride. "Well done, sister. You must have watched your grandfather often when he met with his nobles."
"I watched him whenever it was possible. There was one time when it seemed obvious that one man was trying to take advantage of the misfortune of another. Today I tried to fashion my responses the same way my grandfather did in that past situation. He always seemed so sure of himself, and the way he carried himself that day it made it look as if he knew the answers the men would give him before they even spoke. I asked him about it later that day, and he told me that he usually was unsure about those situations, but if he feigned his own confidence the one who was in the wrong would give themselves away and he would resolve the problem correctly and fairly."
Alistair leaned over and gave her a hug when he noticed the sorrowful look on her face. "I'm certain your grandfather is watching you from the Fade and is quite proud of you, my love."
Aeden smiled sadly at her. "Yes, my father would be as well. I remember asking him about how he would determine fault in disagreements and he would act the same way as you described. Hopefully Zoram and his friends will stay away from Warden House until the messenger finally comes from Weisshaupt." He stood up and led his friends to the door. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to get some sleep. We'll talk more over breakfast about tomorrow's plans. I hope you both sleep well."
Delia and Alistair wished Aeden well and left the room. Once the door was closed, Delia grabbed Alistair's hand and put her other hand's finger to her lips to signal his silence. She led him to her room and brought him inside, not noticing Zevran in the shadows of the hallway. Once the door was closed, Zevran silently moved to the door, putting his ear close to the wood to listen.
Delia had Alistair sit in one of the chairs near the fire as she retrieved the book from her pack. She then walked over to Alistair and sat next to him, handing him the book.
"Here, look at this."
Alistair was dumfounded. "Maker… that book was banned by the Chantry! Whatever was that doing in the library?"
She sat on his lap, chuckling softly. "I suppose that wardens have the same sort of desires as anyone else. I thought it might be… enlightening for us both."
Alistair blushed from cheek to cheek as he put his arm around her waist and opened the book in front of the two of them.
"Well, let's see what all the fuss is about, shall we?" He opened the book in front of them and they began to read. Instead of reading about how to make passionate love, they discovered the book was actually about artworks dedicated to love.
Delia laughed. "I suppose that will teach us. After all, why would a Brother of the Chantry know anything about sex? They are celibate, after all."
"It is a bit disappointing, however. It would have been… nice to learn some tips. I really have no idea what to do when we finally… you know." He smiled at her shyly, earning a kiss from her.
"Don't worry, Alistair. Neither of us really have any idea what to do, but for some reason I think we'll be able to figure it out. We just need to give it a shot!"
Alistair laughed nervously before answering. "Yes… well… um… I guess I really should be getting to bed… um… sleep. Yes… sleep is good. I'll see you at breakfast, yes?"
Delia kissed him on the cheek before she stood up. "Yes, you will. Sleep well, my prince. Remember I love you."
As Alistair put his hand on the doorknob he answered. "And I, you. It is getting harder and harder to leave your side, my love."
As the door closed behind him, Delia sat on the bed and sighed. "I know exactly what you mean, Alistair. I hope we won't have to be separated for any length of time again soon."