24
"Lass! You're back!" Ruvin called out to them enthusiastically as they approached the gates to the Aeducan Thaig.
As soon as they were rested, Savith had suggested heading back to speak with Duran. Talia was surprised that Savith wanted to head back to the Thaig immediately, but the Dragonborn assured her that she'd already gotten everything she needed from Amgarrak. Talia had been a little put out that she hadn't been able to see the Thaig, but time was of the essence, and she really wasn't there to sightsee.
Talia smiled at Ruvin, but before she could say anything, Savith wrapped an arm around her neck in a half-hug and waved back at the dwarf. She resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at the other dunmer.
"Ruvin! Thanks for letting my sister pass!" Savith gave her a squeeze before releasing her. "I heard that you're the dwarf who made it happen."
He waved away their gratitude. "No thanks necessary!"
"Hello Ruvin, it's good to see you again," Talia said warmly.
"Ah lass, I'm glad you were able to find her. I've spoken to the King as well, and smoothed everything over. No beheadings for me of any sort," Ruvin said wryly.
"How unfortunate," Nathaniel muttered. The old dwarf looked past her and scowled at the two men behind them.
"I see you haven't gotten rid of the young'un over there. Hoping the Warden-Commander's presence makes him behave a little bit better."
Savith gave Nathaniel a look and the warden coughed awkwardly.
"I believe King Duran wants to speak with me?" Talia brought Ruvin's attention back to her.
"Yes, he mentioned you may be able to help with our problem."
"Well…I'd have to know what the problem is first."
He added in a chiding tone, "And don't think I'm not upset at you for not telling me you're part of this Inquisition thing."
Talia gave the dwarf her best approximation of a sheepish smile. "It didn't seem like important information at the time?"
Ruvin maintained his disappointed expression for a few seconds before shaking his head ruefully. "Ah, well, if you're able to help us, I'll be more than willing to forgive you." He turned towards the gate. "You can follow me. Aimur over there," the young dwarf gave them an awkward wave when they looked over at him. "Can bring your companions to a room where you can stay."
"Hang on," Blackwall said. "I'm not leaving—"
"If you think for one moment—" Nathaniel began hotly.
"The Wardens have not been invited to this meeting," Ruvin interrupted testily.
Nathaniel looked like he wanted to say something more, but Savith placed a hand on his shoulder to forestall him.
"The Wardens haven't been invited, but I'm coming, Ruvin." Then Savith added when Ruvin's expression turned into one of consternation, "I'll just be there to support Talia. The Wardens as a whole are neutral." She gave both men a stern look, "But I can't sit idly by and let my sister go into a meeting with King Duran alone."
Ruvin was clearly exasperated, but he didn't argue any further. "All right, but just you. Those two troublemakers are going with Aimur." He turned on his heel and started walking. Talia stalked after him him, with Savith soon following after reassuring Nathaniel and Blackwall.
Their second jaunt through the Thaig gave Talia a bit more insight about the place. Savith, having been visiting the Thaig on occasion while she had been in the Deep Roads pointed out different areas she was familiar with.
"They have some talented enchanters down here, probably some members of the artisan guild," Savith explained as they passed by the room where they were growing food. Talia looked over the artificial lighting they'd set up to keep the plants alive. "There's a wealth of lyrium in the Deep Roads; they don't use soul gems like we do."
Lyrium seemed to be incredibly versatile; she wondered what it was made of. So far, she'd seen it used for recovering mana, providing templar abilities, and enchanting weapons and armor.
"And those hairless rabbits?" Talia asked curiously, she remembered seeing the pen, but there seemed to be even more of the animals than there were a day ago.
Savith grinned. "They do look like hairless rabbits, don't they? They're nugs. Really easy to breed, and a good source of meat especially down here. Much better than having deepstalker that's for sure." She made a face as she spoke, and Talia decided against asking her about it.
They took a turn into one of the larger corridors. At the end, there were two dwarves standing guard before a stone double-door. The dwarves bowed and stepped aside, allowing Ruvin to step forward.
As he opened the doors, Talia could see Duran in the middle of the room, speaking with a dark-haired female dwarf who looked unimpressed with him. They both glanced up from where they were huddled over a map, and Duran smirked when he saw them. The female dwarf assessed them surreptitiously, sharp eyes giving them a quick once-over. She had a curious tattoo on her cheek, similar to some of the ones Talia had seen on other dwarves walking around the Thaig.
"King Duran." Talia inclined her head in greeting as the two stepped away from the table and approached her.
"Well, if it isn't my new friend, the Herald of Andraste," Duran grinned. "Let me introduce my companion—"
"Fuck off, Duran. I got a tongue, don't I? I can introduce myself," the woman said waspishly. Surprisingly, Duran snorted instead of telling her off, though Talia could see that Ruvin held his halberd a little more tightly when she insulted him. She folded her arms over her chest and looked at Talia as if she were sizing her up. "Name's Natia Brosca. But call me Brosca; everyone does."
"Talia Indoril, pleased to meet you," she replied politely. "I'm sure you already know my sister." She gestured towards Savith.
Duran's expression turned flat. "Warden-Commander."
"King Duran," Savith said neutrally.
"Hey Savith." Brosca gave her a grin. "What's all this sister business? Thought you said you were an only child."
Somehow, it hadn't occurred to Talia that Savith might have told other people she didn't have siblings.
Talia feigned offense. "Disowning me again, sister?"
Savith nudged her with an elbow. "Aw, don't look so sour, Talia."
"Well," Duran interrupted their banter. "Now that we're all here, perhaps it's time to speak of our potential…agreement, Herald." He gestured towards the table.
"Of course," she said graciously as she and Savith took a spot on the side of the table opposite Brosca and Duran. Ruvin sheathed the halberd on his back before joining them. Talia peered down at the map that the two dwarves had been looking at earlier. There was a room encircled with red ink; she couldn't presume what it meant, so she was a bit surprised when Savith spoke up.
"Are you trying to get into the Shaperate?"
The other dunmer was frowning when Talia turned to glance at her.
Brosca grunted her assent. "Yeah."
"Why?"
Duran pursed his lips, but didn't answer Savith, instead turning to Talia, asking, "What do you know of dwarven politics, Herald?"
"In truth, I have no knowledge of how your kingdoms work. Either Orzammar or the Aeducan Thaig."
Brosca started at Talia's words, though the dunmer wasn't sure what it was she said that surprised the dwarf.
Duran and Ruvin looked pleased. "The Aeducan Thaig isn't much of a kingdom, but we're only just beginning of course. And while we are separate from Orzammar, we're looking to unite our kingdoms eventually."
Oh, Talia thought with amusement. They were pleased that she'd acknowledged the sovereignty of the Aeducan Thaig. She hadn't even been trying to butter up Duran; it just seemed like it was true.
"Life in Orzammar is heavily driven by the caste system," Duran continued. "I was born in the noble caste, same with Ruvin over here."
Talia thought it would have been rude, so she didn't ask what Brosca's caste was.
"The monarch of Orzammar, could be a King or Queen, is the sole ruler of the kingdom. However, they share part of their power with the Assembly. It's a group of dwarves called deshyrs, also from the noble caste, who gets to create or vote in new laws, and pass judgment on criminals. Ruvin, as you know, used to be part of the Assembly before he was tried with treason." The aging dwarf grumbled at the reminder, but didn't say anything else. "It wasn't the perfect system, but it got things done."
"Yeah, for the nobles," Brosca muttered darkly.
Ruvin glowered at her. "Now listen here, you little—"
"Enough." Duran pitched his voice louder, interrupting their spat. "Ruvin, Natia's right. When was the last time the Assembly did anything for the casteless?"
Ruvin sputtered as he scrounged for a response.
"As for you," he rounded on Brosca, "now is not the time to antagonize Ruvin. We will set things right with the casteless." He placed a hand on her shoulder bracingly.
"Yeah, yeah." She batted him away half-heartedly.
"And what does it mean that you'll be setting things right with the casteless? Are you prepared to throw away centuries of tradition?"
Duran gave him a level look. "If it means not wasting a third of our people, Ruvin? Then yes."
Ruvin seemed to be struck dumb by this statement while Brosca looked on smugly.
Talia watched them interact and silently catalogued what she learned in her mind. Brosca was casteless, and it seemed she still held some animosity towards the nobility, despite her friendship with Duran. Ruvin seemed not to care for her and vice-versa, but both were close to Duran, the only reason they even spoke to each other.
"But this isn't the purpose of our meeting." Duran herded them back to their original topic. "As I mentioned, Herald, the Assembly used to be there as a…counterweight to the monarch. But as of a few months ago, Bhelen had managed to 'disband' the Assembly."
"Legally?" Talia asked.
Savith let out a dry chuckle beside her. "Bhelen never does things legally, Talia."
"In this case, the Warden-Commander is unfortunately right," Duran grunted. "He claimed that members of the Assembly had attempted a coup—apparently there were certain families that just couldn't be bought." He finished darkly. "He has routinely either killed, exiled, or disempowered anyone who could oppose him. With Bhelen running around unchecked…I fear Orzammar can't survive much longer under these circumstances."
"Speak plainly, King Duran," Talia said with a hint of impatience.
The dwarven king sighed deeply before answering. "I want to depose Bhelen."
Savith asked the question that was on both their minds. "Not kill him?"
"He would deserve it, wouldn't he?" Duran said darkly. "But no, I cannot. My father died knowing in his heart that I was not a kin-killer, and I do not plan on betraying his memory in that manner."
Talia was both disappointed and relieved. Killing Bhelen would have been easy, but she didn't necessarily want to brand the Inquisition as assassins-for-hire.
"Well, how are you going to get Bhelen out of the way, then?" Savith asked.
"There is an ancient law that allows one to unseat a monarch, and pass it onto whoever is next in line, if a claim can be made that they have been ruling unjustly. Since Bhelen's son is not of age, the monarch's power is temporarily passed onto whoever moves to unseat them, until the heir is ready."
Interesting, Talia thought. "I assume there's a requirement for becoming the deposer, otherwise I'm certain this law would have been abused many times over the years."
"Indeed," Ruvin nodded firmly. "The accuser must be a Paragon."
The dunmer frowned. Paragon? Wasn't that one of their revered ancients of some sort? As she glanced to the side, she saw Savith looking at Duran thoughtfully.
"…do any of you fit that criteria?" Talia asked.
"You probably don't know, but clearing out a Thaig that's been lost is practically unheard of. But it's what Duran did." Brosca spoke up. "He gathered us exiled dwarves, those who were innocent, or repentant, those who wanted to survive, and cleared out the Aeducan Thaig, all the way up to the Orzammar entrance. Not only that, but we made the Thaig livable. We've got hundreds of lost artifacts from the Aeducan family—by the fucking Stone—Paragon Aeducan himself was buried here! And he can be safely visited by anyone who wants to pay tribute to him. So yeah, you could say Duran fits the criteria."
Even Duran looked a little startled at Brosca's defense, but a pleased smile curled his lip. Brosca cleared her throat, her face reddening in embarrassment.
"My apologies if I've offended, as I mentioned, I am not well-versed in dwarven politics or tradition," Talia said diplomatically.
Brosca waved away her apologies, still a little red in the cheeks. "Don't worry about it, I just got a little carried away there. I'm still fucking pissed at Bhelen, that fucking snake."
"How did Bhelen betray you exactly?" Savith asked.
"Apart from the first time?" Duran asked dryly, before turning serious. "After a few months of stability, some of the Orzammar dwarves who patrolled around here regularly noticed the lack of darkspawn and apparently informed Bhelen. I'm sure he would have kept it to himself, but it leaked to members of the Assembly. Soon after, I was called to present myself; it's quite the interesting predicament for them—an exiled dwarf being potentially elevated to Paragon status—they were beside themselves." Duran rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "The Assembly being, well, the Assembly, it took them months to talk it over. I was summoned around four or five times. Even managed to reconnect with Bhelen," he said bitterly. "I had thought that after ten years as King, my brother would have changed. He had a wife and child he loved…call me foolish but—,"
"You're a fucking idiot," Brosca said flatly.
"Thank you, Natia." He rolled his eyes. "I was willing to put the past behind us and start anew. I had no deigns on the Orzammar throne, I was—am—happy here in the Thaig. But then…but then…" Duran trailed off, his expression shifting to barely concealed rage.
"We were set up," Ruvin said plainly, continuing where Duran left off. "Given the wrong hour to go to the Assembly chambers. There were a few deshyrs there who supported us. The doors were barricaded, and Bhelen ordered everyone's death."
Talia felt some sympathy for him, but in her opinion, he should never have trusted someone who already framed him once.
Duran smiled viciously. "He didn't count on some of the guards siding with me, their potential new Paragon. They cleared a path for us and stalled the Bhelen loyalists, allowing us to retreat back into the Deep Roads." Then he added more solemnly, "I heard that they, along with the guards at the entrance who allowed our escape, were sentenced to death. They sacrificed their lives for us; I do not intend to let their sacrifice be in vain."
"Then without you there, Bhelen pinned the entire thing on you," Talia surmised.
"Called me an 'assassin'. Hah! The only death there that I contributed was Frandlin Ivo's." Duran smirked. "And what a joy it was to finally end the life of that smarmy bastard."
"Assassin does seem like a far cry from Paragon."
"Paragon-elect," Duran corrected. "Hasn't been finalized, though I suspect the Assembly had already agreed to put me forth as Paragon…which was why Bhelen went ahead with his plan. It was never officially announced, so nobody outside the Assembly knew anything beyond rumors."
"Then how is your plan to depose Bhelen supposed to work?" Savith asked bluntly.
Duran reached out and tapped the encircled room on the map. "The Shaperate contains all records of happenings in the Kingdom. After Bhelen disbanded the Assembly, I heard he tried to get into the Shaperate, presumably to get rid of the slab that chronicled my being Paragon-elect. The Shapers have made the decision to close off the Shaperate until the situation is 'resolved'. No one gets in or out."
Ruvin grunted. "You wouldn't believe the number of locks and fail-safes on those gates. They can only be opened from the inside."
"We still need to figure it out, but we need Duran's memory slab; our entire plan hinges on that thing." Brosca grimaced.
"But being Paragon-elect is vastly different from being an actual Paragon," Talia pointed out. "It's not going to be enough to oust Bhelen."
"Yes, we need to get the Assembly to formalize it, preferably in a public setting."
"Will the Assembly's power still be recognized even if they've been disbanded?"
Ruvin scratched at his beard. "It's unprecedented, but I believe so. If the Assembly announces it, the Lord Shaper Czibor will engrave it in the Shaperate, making it an official part of dwarven history."
"And with it being public, Bhelen has no choice but to grant us an audience, or he loses face with the entirety of the Kingdom," Duran added.
"What do you need the memory slab for then?" Talia gestured to the map. "I assume all members of the Assembly already know you're Paragon-elect?"
"The slab's not for the Assembly. Seweryn, that's the captain of the guard, can be swayed to our side if we can prove that King Duran's being considered for Paragon," Ruvin said.
"He's crazy about dwarven traditions," Brosca explained. "If the guards side with us, then we'll be able to move around Orzammar more easily while we prepare the thing with the Assembly…it's going to take some time."
"Plus, we'll go around the Commons and the Dust District to spread the word, and a Shaperate memory slab is the best thing we can show them to convince them it's true."
Wow, Talia thought. What a mess.
"This plan doesn't really inspire a lot of confidence," Savith said wryly.
"That's true," Duran sighed. "Our plan isn't quite ironclad; there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding it."
"And where do I come into this, exactly?" Talia asked curiously. "Much as I would like to help you, I don't necessarily have the time to spare to see your entire plan through."
"We don't really need you for the entire thing," Brosca said dismissively. "Otherwise, you'd be staying in Orzammar for months."
Duran crossed his arms and leaned his hip on the table. "When we first met, you said you 'sneaked' into the Deep Roads without Bhelen's knowledge."
Talia inclined her head in assent.
"As a former member of the royal family, I happen to know that there is only one entrance connecting Orzammar to the Deep Roads."
"Perhaps."
"So I would like to know how you entered here unseen by Bhelen, and if it's possible to sneak back into Orzammar the same way."
All three dwarves were throwing her expectant gazes, and Talia took care to keep her disposition neutral. She was silent for a moment before confirming. "You're right; there is only one entrance connecting Orzammar and the Deep Roads. That I know of at least."
"Then you managed to pass unseen. How did you get past Bhelen's guards? I know for a fact that after what happened, he never left the entrance unguarded."
Talia stared at them for a moment, unwilling to give up her secrets. It was bad enough that she'd had to use her magic in front of Nathaniel and Blackwall, but to divulge it to strangers? She needed to get something in return…something big.
"You ask for much, Duran," she finally said.
"Do I?" Duran asked. "Perhaps we can sweeten the deal."
"Oh?"
There was a long pause before Duran shrugged. "…well what does the Inquisition want?"
Brosca and Ruvin groaned. "Duran that's not how you fucking open negotiations!"
"We'll get nowhere if we dance around it." He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I tire of all this wordplay; Bhelen's a lot better at it than I am." He turned to Talia. "Name your price, Herald."
Talia raised an eyebrow, intrigued; this had the potential to go very well for the Inquisition. What she wanted was a tall order, so she needed to give them something more.
Her hand brushed the Skeleton Key hidden in her pocket, and she realized she already held the literal key to all their problems.
"I want an alliance with Orzammar," she said confidently.
"An alliance?" Ruvin cocked his head in confusion. "What for?"
"Something's brewing in Ferelden and Orlais…whoever killed the Divine and created the Breach is moving in the shadows, but I suspect it won't stay that way forever. The Inquisition needs all the help it can get to stop this threat."
Ruvin gave her an appraising look, as if he were seeing Talia for the first time.
"An alliance would mean Orzammar would come to our aid in the event that it does lead to open battle. Apart from that, dwarven engineers and architects are the best at their craft, and we do have need of them. And opening trade route for lyrium would help us immensely." When Brosca looked unimpressed, Talia smiled. "An alliance goes both ways too, you know. You scratch our backs, we scratch yours."
"You ask for much, Herald," Duran said with a hint of humor, stroking his blonde beard in contemplation.
"Indeed, but I can get you into Orzammar."
"And you believe that this is already worth an alliance with our kingdom?" Ruvin sounded affronted at the very idea.
"No, but I can offer you something more." Talia placed her hands on the table, and leaned towards Duran with a smirk. "I can get you into the Shaperate."
The silence that followed her statement stretched out for a moment before it was broken by Brosca.
"That's impossible," she scoffed. "That place is locked up tighter than any dwarven vault."
"Trust me. Locks are my specialty."
"Oh?" Duran asked in an intrigued tone.
"It doesn't matter if it's a regular lock, dwarven lock, a magical lock—whatever it is, I can open it."
Ruvin gazed at her skeptically, and to her side, Savith was giving her a suspicious look.
"Perhaps a demonstration?" Talia said graciously. "If you want to test me, you may."
"If you can truly get us into the Shaperate…" Duran said slowly.
"I can," she proclaimed with bravado.
There was another bout of silence.
"…I need to talk this over with Ruvin and Natia," he finally said. "Can you give us the room for a few moments?"
"Of course."
Both she and Savith exited the chamber, and stayed near the doors. Talia had been tempted to eavesdrop, but the narrowed gazes of the guards across them dissuaded her. Besides, she was already fairly confident that Duran could not disdain her help. Without her, it could take them months, if they did at all, to figure out how to enter the Shaperate undetected.
"You think they'll give you the alliance you want?" Savith asked quietly as they lounged by the door.
Talia hummed. "It depends on how desperately Duran needs to get into the Shaperate. But if they're willing to ask a stranger for help, then I think they must be."
"I think so too," Savith said. "And I think Duran's going to need my help too."
"You do?" she asked in surprise.
"Well, I know you can sneak them into Orzammar with your magic. But it would be a little suspicious to see the door open with nobody there, wouldn't it?"
The stone door beside them opened, and Brosca's head popped out. "Hey, you two, we're done talking."
Talia and Savith reentered the room and returned to their place at the other end of the table. The three dwarves looked at each other uncertainly before nodding towards Duran who turned to face them.
"We'll give you your alliance if you can prove it to us," the king said, though his tone was full of doubt. His skepticism only served to make Talia smile.
"We have a door down here," Brosca spoke up. "No one's been able to open it for hundreds of years probably. I can take you to look at it."
Talia inclined her head. "Lead the way."
As they traversed the Thaig, Duran and Ruvin hung back to the end of their group, conversing in low tones, and Savith was strangely sullen, leaving Talia with only Brosca for conversation.
"Any idea what's behind the locked door?"
Brosca shrugged. "Eh, could be anything. It's a pretty small room, so maybe more old shit."
"Old shit?" she asked wryly.
"You know, artifacts and stuff. Maybe something important since the thing they put on the door is the most complicated shit I've ever seen in my life…and I know my way 'round a lock too."
"Fiddled with many locks, have you?"
"Yeah, I'm not really ashamed of it. Did what I had to to survive." Brosca snorted. "When you're casteless, you don't really have much of a choice. And those old fucks in the Diamond quarter wonder why almost every one of us becomes criminals." She rolled her eyes.
Talia grew contemplative at that. It was a similar situation with many living in the poor districts of the Imperial City. The Guild did what it could to protect them, but there was only so much that they could do. Giving those people honest work would have gone a long way in improving their lives.
"Here we are." Brosca's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
The door she was led to was an ornate stone slab set into the wall. In the middle of the door, there were multiple divots that Talia assumed were where you had to insert multiple small keys to open. One part of the mechanism had multiple scratches; it seemed someone had indeed tried to force the door open.
"Well," Brosca said brusquely, gesturing towards the door. "Have at it then."
Talia nodded and stepped forward. "I'm going to need you to step back a little to give me space." As Brosca and Duran retreated a few steps away, she knelt in front of the door and took out the Skeleton Key.
Nocturnal, guide me.
The Key hummed in her hand as she passed it in between the cracks of the door, and Talia could feel the daedric magic pulse as it seeped into the mechanism and undid the lock.
The door gave a shudder, and slowly slid open.
"Ancestors!" Duran exclaimed.
"By the Stone…" Ruvin said in a stunned voice. Savith looked disquieted as she hovered behind the dwarf.
"Well." Talia smirked at the dumbfounded dwarves. "After you?"
Duran and Ruvin stumbled forward in their haste to enter the room. Brosca followed suit, but not before beckoning both dunmer into the chamber with them. Talia followed at a slower pace, with Savith still suspiciously quiet behind her.
As the dwarves lit the braziers, Talia appraised her surroundings with great interest.
There were different weapons of all kinds mounted on the walls. She inspected one of the battleaxes near her; it seemed to be imbued with some type of enchantment. Passing her hand over it, she tried to get a sense of what the enchantment was. There were runes engraved on the weapon and wrapped around the hilt which glowed lightly as she touched it.
"I don't believe it…" Duran spoke, and Talia turned to him. He was goggling at a set of armor set at the end of the room. Ruvin was in a similar state, and he looked as if he would start muttering prayers under his breath.
The armor on the stand gleamed under the torchlight. It looked very similar to silver, though she doubted any warrior would have worn silver armor. Duran reached out and touched one pauldron lightly, staring at it reverently.
"Ten years ago, I was sent down in this Thaig to retrieve Aeducan's shield…a shield that Bhelen ultimately used to orchestrate my exile." He exhaled heavily. "It is ridiculous, but I cannot help but wonder what finding Aeducan's armor will bring about."
Ruvin slowly approached him from behind and placed a bracing hand on his shoulder. "It's true, finding Aeducan's shield led to your exile and Bhelen becoming king. And in truth, I believe history will repeat itself."
When Duran looked at him in confusion, the older dwarf elaborated. "At the end of all this, another Aeducan will be exiled, and his brother will take his place as heir."
Brosca chuckled lowly and stepped forward, placing her hand on the king's other shoulder. "Irony is a bitch. So is Bhelen. So you wear that armor, Duran Aeducan, and claim your place in Orzammar as our newest Paragon."
"I—but is it not sacrilegious?"
"My king—lad—I cannot think of anyone more worthy of wearing Paragon Aeducan's armor."
"Well maybe me," Brosca joked, nudging Duran's ribs. "But seriously, you're Duran-fucking-Aeducan. You're our new paragon, and I don't need the Assembly to tell me that. Where you go, I'll follow."
"As will I," Ruvin said firmly.
Duran looked like he would be overcome with emotion.
"My friends, you honor me." He snaked his arms over the shoulders of his dwarven companions. "I promise you, for our Thaig, for Orzammar, for each and every dwarf that has been wronged; I will bring Bhelen to justice." He pulled them into a fierce hug. "And we will turn Orzammar into a kingdom where all dwarves regardless of caste are welcome—where we can all live a full life."
There, in the dim torchlight, Talia could see their flicker of hope blaze into burning resolve.
"So," Duran said, once they returned to their makeshift war room, "you can open the gates to the Shaperate." He sounded much more convinced now that he finally saw her in action.
"As I said." Talia nodded with a smirk.
"I believe I owe you an alliance."
"Indeed."
"Then you shall have it," Duran said with conviction.
Talia smiled. "We can draw the terms of the alliance at a later date. I suspect the Inquisition's ambassador would prefer to be present during such talks."
"Then let us talk of strategy first?" the dwarf leaned on the table. "You say you can sneak us into Orzammar?"
She looked back at Savith in askance, and at the other dunmer's nod, she said, "I can probably sneak a small group into Orzammar. We'll time it at the same moment Savith and the other wardens enter back into the kingdom; that way, we won't have to worry about opening the gates ourselves." She braced herself as she willingly gave up her secret. "I can cast an invisibility field making sure we're unseen as we enter just behind the wardens."
Ruvin's eyes widened in shock. "You're a mage, lass?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "And I must ask for your discretion on the matter."
All three dwarves nodded, though she doubted they would keep it to themselves. But it was a calculated risk, she just hoped the entire thing would pan out.
"We were looking at around five dwarves—me, Duran, and three others." Brosca said. "That ok with you?"
"You're not coming, Ruvin?" Talia asked in mild surprise.
The aged dwarf shook his head. "Someone has to take charge here in the Thaig while Duran's gone. And I'm no good at all this sneaking business. I'll follow eventually; need to be there when our new Paragon's presented to the kingdom."
"I see," Talia turned back to Brosca. "Yes, five should be fine. But we'd need to practice with your team. You need to get used to being invisible. It can be disorienting at first."
"If you told me yesterday that I'd let anyone willingly cast a spell on me, I'd have laughed you outta this room," Brosca grumbled, and Talia bit back an amused grin at her ire.
"Once we're in, we might need a day or two to regroup. While we can plan all we want, we can't deny that anything we know about how the Shaperate is guarded may be outdated," Duran said.
In truth, she was confident enough in her skills as a thief to get into the Shaperate alone. Unfortunately, she had no knowledge of what the memory slab might look like, and even with illustrations, she wouldn't know where to look for it.
Talia agreed. "I think I have the time to spare, but once I get the memory slab, I need to be going."
She and Savith still needed to go back to Skyhold, pick up Felix and head to where the wardens were developing the new joining potion.
"Don't worry, we won't keep you for long, I know you have other responsibilities." Duran smiled. "If we're successful, we'll send a formal letter to the Inquisition."
"And what guarantee do I have that you'll follow through with this?" Talia asked lightly.
"Are you questioning the king's integrity—?" Ruvin sounded appropriately offended, but Duran raised a hand to forestall him.
"It's a valid question, Ruvin. Herald, I am already in your debt—and you will be aiding us even further—what can I do to assure you that I have no plans to go renege on our deal? A signed agreement?"
Talia gazed at him contemplatively. That was likely a bad idea. In the event the entire thing went sideways, there should be no evidence that the Inquisition was involved in the coup against Bhelen. She should probably just improvise. "I want a binding oath."
Duran blinked. "I don't see how—,"
"A magical oath, King Duran."
"You're one of those blood mage shits?" Brosca asked in disgust.
Talia chuckled. "I am not, as you say, 'one of those blood mage shits'."
"Then what do you mean by—?"
"It's not powered by blood…but by our words and our intent. And it's not going to do any lasting damage. We shake on our agreement, and the magic ensures that you don't forget about it." She gave him a reassuring look and extended her hand.
Duran looked at it skeptically. "Is this truly necessary?"
"King Duran," Talia said solemnly. "You are now one of nine people who know I'm a mage. Before I agreed to do this for you, only six other people knew. I understand your reservations, but know that I have imparted a great secret to help you. Allow me this—if only to put me somewhat at ease."
He appraised her for a moment before sighing. "I can see that this is important to you. And as I have every intention of pushing through with this…then I agree." He took Talia's hand and gave it a firm shake.
Talia let a spell rush onto their joined hands. Brosca and Ruvin gasped as their hands glowed briefly, before the light disappeared altogether.
Duran gave her a resolute nod. "You have my word, Herald."
"Thank you, King Duran. I look forward to the time when Orzammar and the Inquisition can work together in a more formal capacity."
The two dunmer were then escorted to their rooms, giving the trio sometime to regroup. The dwarf who led them gave a bow as he left them in front of their chambers.
"Can I talk to you?" Savith asked just before they entered.
Talia turned to her curiously. "Yes of course."
As they opened the doors, Talia could see that neither Blackwall nor Nathaniel was in residence, likely walking around the Thaig.
As soon as the door was shut behind them, Savith rounded on her, eyes filled with fury. "What the fuck, Talia?"
"Excuse me?" she asked in bewilderment.
"You had better give me a good fucking explanation of why you thought stealing the Skeleton Key from Nocturnal was a good idea."
"What—steal? I didn't steal the Key." Talia said in confusion. "What are you even talking about? She gave this to me when I became her Champion."
Savith faltered. "I—what? No…no that's…"
"Yes. She instructed me to find one of her artifacts, the Eye of Nocturnal. When I returned it to her, she granted me the Skeleton Key as a boon."
Curiously, Savith clutched at her chest and closed her eyes, as if in pain.
"Savith. What's this about?" Talia was a little miffed, but seeing Savith's distress had all but evaporated her anger.
"Nothing, I—sorry I have to go." Savith turned to leave, but Talia's hand shot out and grabbed her arm.
"You owe me an explanation," she said firmly.
The other dunmer was quiet for a moment, still rubbing at her chest. She sighed heavily before turning back to her. "The guildmaster before me, Mercer Frey… he was a Nightingale. I don't know the why and the how, but he stole the Skeleton Key from the Twilight Sepulcher, and it…corrupted him."
Talia remained silent, letting Savith speak unhindered.
Savith had a faraway look in her eyes. "When I joined, the guild had been down on its luck for years, and no one seemed to know why. But after I joined, it seemed as if we were getting some good gigs again, you know? Brynjolf called me a lucky charm—he's the guy who recruited me. When I met Mercer, he was cold and calculating, a veritable bastard as some would say." Savith gave a small laugh. "He was all of that and more…but I trusted him. I knew…somewhere buried beneath the harsh words and the uncaring attitude, he cared about m—the guild."
Talia caught her slip, but didn't point it out.
"I trusted him," she repeated softly. "So when we went on a mission together to catch the person sabotaging the guild, I followed him blindly. And in that crypt…Snow-Veil Sanctum…I got shot by an arrow tipped with paralytic poison. I lay on the ground helplessly as I learned the truth—he killed a member of the Nightingale triumvirate, and framed the other for his murder, leaving him the sole power in the guild."
Savith swallowed visibly, her hands clenching unconsciously.
"It didn't matter to him that I was…a friend, a guildmember. Or maybe it did. I don't know. All I know is I lay there, unable to do anything, when he ran his sword straight through me." She gestured towards her chest, near her heart.
"Savith…I'm sorry," Talia said quietly. It was a horrid thing to go through. The paralytic poison must have saved her life, prevented her from bleeding out.
"He was the reason the guild wasn't flourishing…Nocturnal had abandoned us. The only way to appease her had been to complete the triumvirate and restore the Skeleton Key to the Sepulcher…so that's what I did." She waved her hand in a careless gesture. "I was told never to touch it, otherwise it would corrupt me like it did Mercer, so when I saw you with it—,"
Talia nodded. "I promise you, this was given to me freely."
Savith laughed mirthlessly. "But that's the thing, right? Now I'm finding out you can safely use it without the threat of corruption. That means Nocturnal…" she gritted her teeth.
"I understand," Talia said heavily, closing her eyes briefly. The daedra, the gods…they could see everything and intercede if they wished. But they don't, in some sort of twisted punishment or lesson they wished to teach. She remembered the Night Mother telling everyone that Lucien was loyal to the end, and that she'd seen Bellamont's treachery, but let it come to pass.
"Well," Savith said hesitantly, and when Talia looked back over to her, she looked a little nervous. "Now would probably be a good time to be open about each other's daedric artifacts?"
Talia opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the sound of grating stone, and when they both turned to look, Nathaniel and Blackwall hovered by the doorway.
"Everything all right?" Nathaniel asked cautiously, eyes darting between her and Savith.
"Yes of course." Savith broke into a smile that looked genuine, if Talia hadn't known she was distraught a few moments earlier. The two mer shared a look and silently agreed to revisit the topic of daedric artifacts later.
"Where have you been?" Talia asked curiously.
"Took a look at what's in the market, and got us some food." Blackwall raised the tray he was holding to emphasize. It was heaped with different meats and what looked like some tubers.
"Thanks, Blackwall." Savith approached and took some of bowls from the tray. "Here let me help you set up."
As they sat at the table and started on their meal, Talia examined the questionable meat before taking a tentative bite. The wardens on the other hand, descended on the meal like a group of wolves. Nathaniel in particular gave a relieved sigh as he swallowed his food, as if a great burden had been taken off his shoulders. Talia gave him an amused look as he met her eye, and he had the grace to look a little embarrassed.
He cleared his throat. "So how did it go with Duran?"
"So, good news—I was wrong, Duran doesn't need me to kill Bhelen."
"Oh, thank the Maker," Blackwall mumbled into his meal.
Savith snorted in between bites. "He wants us to aid in their coup instead."
Nathaniel choked. "He wants us to what?"
"Not you. Just me, and well, the Inquisition," Talia reassured them.
Blackwall stared at her in consternation. "That doesn't make me feel any better. What exactly does he need from you?"
Talia gave them a rundown of what they discussed with Duran and his council, including Duran's Paragon-elect status, their plan to infiltrate the Shaperate to get his memory-slab, and Talia's role.
"Paragon Duran? Really?" Nathaniel commented.
"It surprised me too," Savith agreed.
"And what do you get out of all of this?" he asked Talia.
The dunmer gave him a smug look. "An alliance with Orzammar."
Blackwall gaped at her in surprise. Nathaniel seemed partially awed, but there was concern in his expression.
"This could backfire spectacularly. What if," he pitched his voice lower. "What if Duran's coup fails? The Inquisition is implicated."
"I've thought about it." Talia leaned back. "If Duran fails and he names me or the Inquisition as his co-conspirator, he won't be able to provide any hard evidence for it."
Nathaniel stared at her as if she were an idiot. "Hundreds of dwarves saw you here in the Thaig."
"They saw someone who looked like me here," Talia corrected. "Bhelen has been watching all the entrances into Orzammar and the Deep Roads. He knows the Inquisition wouldn't have been able to sneak in." Then she smirked. "Besides, there's indisputable evidence that I'm currently in Orlais, on my way to a peace talk with the Chantry officials."
"A body double will only go so far, Talia."
"Thankfully, it's not a body double—I really am in Orlais."
Blackwall's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "You mean that time travel shit you and Felix—"
At Talia's nod, he groaned and leaned back in his chair. "Maker wept. I'd forgotten about that."
Nathaniel gave them confused glares. "Time travel shit?"
"Oh, that's clever," Savith said in an impressed tone. "If Bhelen wins and the Inquisition is accused, you can provide proof that you were in Orlais at that time. You can claim it was just someone looking to discredit the Inquisition."
"Is someone going to explain this time travel shit?" Nathaniel asked in annoyance.
"Short explanation—I accidentally time traveled with someone when we were thrown into the Fade. We were thrown back by four to five months to the moment the Breach was temporarily stabilized."
Nathaniel looked poleaxed for a moment before speaking. "What the fuck, Talia?"
"I know, right?" Blackwall said, and then blanched when he realized he was agreeing with Nathaniel.
Talia shrugged and chuckled. "Not sure if I can give you the long version, maybe when the timelines inevitably catch up."
"All right." He shook his head in disbelief. "Make sure we have a bottle of ale or something, I doubt I could get through that story sober."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "I'll tell you over a drink, but you're buying."
"That oath you did with Duran," Savith spoke up, and Talia focused back onto their topic. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Oath?" Blackwall asked.
"Magical oath. They shook hands and there was this glow; Talia said it'll make sure Duran doesn't forget about the alliance. I didn't even know such a spell existed."
"That's because it doesn't exist. It was a mild lightning spell, coupled with a magelight to make it more convincing."
"You lied to Duran?" she asked disbelievingly.
Talia felt herself grin, and all of them stared at her unrestrained smile. "I can't have anything written down that might implicate the Inquisition if Duran fails, this seemed like the next best thing. This way, every time Duran remembers the alliance, he'll think it was the spell, and his mind will do the rest—ensuring he never forgets about it. It also implants some uncertainty—I told him that the spell wouldn't do anything to harm him, but he'll still feel uneasy at the prospect that it might."
They all gaped at her in varying levels of shock.
"You clever girl." Nathaniel sounded awed.
"I try."
Savith laughed unrestrainedly. "All right, I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming. You surprise me constantly, Talia."
Blackwall looked a little uncomfortable at her having manipulated Duran, but she was thankfully spared from another moral lecture. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked, "So what's next for us?"
"We'll leave the Thaig soon; but I promise I'll handle everything with Duran, and you'll have little no role in this entire business," Talia reassured them. "The only thing I need from you…"
"Yes?" Savith asked.
"Hadrian is still with Bhelen; I can't get him out, so I'll leave him in your capable hands." She directed her words at Savith, but Nathaniel was the one who replied.
"We'll get him out of there," he said with a nod.
"Thank you," Talia said gratefully.
They moved to lighter topics as their meal continued, and both Nathaniel and Savith regaled them with stories of their shenanigans with the wardens. There was still a lot to do, but Talia allowed herself this brief respite to relax and listen to Nathaniel and Savith interact. The two seemed to be quite close, and Talia couldn't help but miss Felix, who'd been her rock since the entire time travel business occurred. She hoped he was doing well, and he'd be able to hang on until she made her way back to Skyhold.
Somehow, she had to sneak the dwarves rebel group back into Orzammar, then gain access to the Shaperate, then steal Duran's memory slab, then leave Orzammar undetected.
She sent a silent prayer to Nocturnal for luck—she'll definitely need it in the coming days.
A/N: Would you look at that, it didn't take me 2 years to update! #newyearnewme? Not entirely happy with certain parts of this chapter, so I might reword a few sentences or phrases in the future, but nothing that would impact the story.
Responses to reviews:
Pzzy deztroya – Thanks! Glad you're still reading!
Ase of SpAdeZ – lmfao Talia x Savith is not a couple I had actually thought of, but they do have pretty good chemistry, now that I think about it :P Thank you for your support!
GalacticHalfling – first off, thanks so much for all your reviews! They made me smile while reading! I'm happy you seem to be enjoying this story so far, and I'm glad you like companion!Felix, I think he doesn't get enough fics :) Also really glad you like Savith! I was a little worried about her reception since it did take 23 chapters before I could get her into the story.
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