Chapter 22

The dimly lit interior revealed a shifty-looking elf sitting alone at a table and nursing a drink. Zevran and Leliana eyed the individual with suspicion before discreetly pointing him out to Aedan. He gave a nod, confirming he'd also spotted the man. Aedan casually walked over to the table and got into a conversation with Berwick. It didn't take long for him to extract all the necessary information from the elf, plus a promise that he would fight in the upcoming battle.

They turned towards the bar and found Zevran in conversation with the barmaid. Emma felt a wave of sympathy as they talked to Bella. No one should have to put up with being groped by their boss. Emma got a mischievous gleam in her eyes; now would be the perfect time to tell Aedan that he could take over the tavern if Lloyd was handled right.

She advised him what to do and say and then followed him over to the chubby bartender. Aedan looked suitably intimidating and within minutes he had Lloyd agreeing to hand over full ownership of the tavern. He ordered drinks for everyone, including the militia who quickly stopped their grumbling. Emma sat down at the last empty table and took a thirsty mouthful of ale. As the pale golden liquid hit her taste buds, she pulled a face and discreetly spat the remainder back into the mug.

"Not thirsty?" Leliana queried.
"Not after tasting that. How is everyone drinking this stuff?" Emma was debating whether to grab another mint leaf to clear the nasty taste from her mouth.
Leliana chuckled. "It seems you have something of a refined palate."
"So this is the usual taste of ale in Ferelden?" Emma would never be drunk again if that was the case.
"It's a little watered down but not too bad." Leliana took another sip and shuddered. "Perhaps you're right, this isn't nice." She got up and went to the stock room, returning a minute later with a bottle of wine. "This should be more to our taste, it's a very fine vintage."

Emma took the proffered glass and sipped the deep red liquid. "Much better." She smiled gratefully at the bard and sat back to enjoy the wine. She saw Aedan talking to Bella and guessed he was giving her ownership of the tavern. The barmaid made an excited noise and jumped on Aedan, who staggered back and put his hands out to stop her. Recalling that the barmaid kissed the Grey Warden in the game, she jumped to her feet. "Lady, you put your mouth anywhere near his and you'll need a surgeon to remove my staff from your ass."

There was a moment of stunned silence as Bella rapidly backed away from Aedan. Emma flushed. "I'm sorry, that..." She cleared her throat. "That was uncalled for." Feeling all eyes on her, she turned and walked as calmly as possible out of the tavern. Bloody hell, what was that? She scrubbed a hand over her face, feeling agitated and annoyed at herself. Emma paced back and forth, thinking that perhaps this was payback for her hugging and eyeing up all the men. Damn, no wonder Aedan had been a bit terse with her back at the Circle tower. In fact, she was impressed with his control, considering her own jealous outburst.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Aedan until she turned and nearly walked into him. She looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you in there."
He tucked a finger under her chin and attempted to get her to raise her head, but she couldn't look at him. "You look very sexy when you get angry."
That made her head snap up. "You're not mad?"
She saw he was looking more amused than annoyed. "Nope, I'm happy that I'm not the only one who can get jealous."
"Oh. Well, I'm glad you're not upset with me, but I still should have had a better hold on my temper."
Aedan smiled. "I think you did pretty well, at least you didn't use your magic."
Emma looked away. "That's only because I don't know how to turn someone into a toad."

With a laugh, he dipped his head and kissed her. As soon as his lips met hers she felt almost greedy in her need for him. She found herself trying to climb his body, which he was happy to assist with, until finally, she had her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms twined around his neck, and his hands cupping her ass. When oxygen became a necessity, they broke apart and rested their foreheads together as they waited for their breathing to even out. At the sound of the tavern door opening, Emma put her feet back on the ground.

"Bella asked us to apologise for her behaviour, and to say that we would always be welcome here," Wynne said.
Emma let out a guilty sigh. Damn it! Why did the barmaid have to be so nice? "She didn't do anything wrong, I just jumped the gun."
Zevran's eyebrow rose, indicating his confusion. "You jumped the what?"
Leliana chuckled. "You'll find that Emma has some unusual sayings."
"Ah I see, so what is this... gun that you speak of?"
Emma coughed, trying to buy some time to think of an answer. Oh God, where was her brain when she needed it? She blamed Aedan, that last kiss had knocked her for six. Okay, keep it simple, that seemed to be the safest bet. "It's an... object... that people jump over..." Oh, that's good, confuse them with vague words. Perfect. Just perfect.
"So, you just jump these guns whenever you want?" The assassin appeared to be more bewildered than before.
"Well, it's... a game." All right, that sounded better, she could make this work. "Yes, it's a game where you can only jump the gun at a specific time, and if you do it beforehand then you lose points. So when I said I jumped the gun it meant I acted before I should have."
Zevran shook his head. "You have some strange customs in your homeland."
She gave him a bit of a sheepish smile. "Indeed."

They made their way to Ser Perth and found he needed some holy symbols. Aedan and Alistair managed to convince the Revered Mother to give up the small silver objects, even though Leliana was none too happy with the plan. However, if it gave the Knights a boost of courage and kept them alive, then Emma was all for the idea. As they made their way back to Ser Perth, she noticed a flurry of activity as people started rushing to the Chantry. It took her a moment to realise that the sun had almost disappeared and night would soon be upon them.

They reached the windmill and the Knights each took one of Andraste's symbols with a word of thanks. Aedan looked to his companions. "I guess now we wait for nightfall." Emma looked past his shoulders and saw the first wisps of a green mist. "I don't think we're going to have long to wait." They all turned and followed her gaze.
"Maker, what is that?"
She had no answer for Alistair as she turned and faced the steep incline, gathering her mana in preparation for the fight ahead. Emma's face was one of steely determination; she would not lose anyone in this fight. She turned to her fellow mage and asked, "Do you know the Death Hex?"
Wynne gave a brief nod. "It's not something I like using except in extreme circumstances. What are you thinking?"
Emma gave her a grim smile. "I'm thinking you lay down the hex and I'll cast Death Cloud."
Wynne's eyes opened wide. "Do you understand what will happen if you combine those two spells?"
Emma dropped the smile. "I do. I also know how bad this fight will get if we don't immediately take control of the situation. There are a lot of people depending on us to protect them."
Wynne's eyes were speculative, then she gave a slight nod. "Very well, then let us show these creatures the power of magic."

Emma smiled, and for the first time since arriving in Thedas, she felt ready for the fight, as though she'd found her true calling. The first of the undead crested the hill and Emma watched as a shimmering light indicated the death hex had been dropped. She gave orders that everyone stay back, then raised her staff and cast her spell over the hex. As the warriors reached the bottom of the slope a large dark, swirling cloud of death materialised where the two spells merged. The timing was perfect; corpses ran through the dense fog, some never made it all the way through, and those that did were dead in seconds... or rather dead again. Well, they weren't moving and that was the main thing.

While the cloud was still active, Emma decided to throw in a Tempest just to keep things lively. She felt a pulse of magic to her right, and suddenly the lightning had turned into the Storm of the Century. Emma watched in awe as a large spinning funnel stretched from the ground to the sky, and thick bolts of lightning shot out and struck the walking dead.

Above the roar of the storm, Emma heard Alistair say, "Well, shall we go back to the tavern since the ladies seem to have things well in hand?" The spells died down and the men charged forward, eager for blood and action. She turned and grinned at Wynne. "We work well together."
The mage smiled, her eyes shining with amusement. "We do indeed."

Emma backtracked to the path leading down to the village, straining to see in the dark. Nothing yet, but she knew the soldier would shortly arrive. She took a lyrium potion in readiness for the next part of the battle and checked the ongoing fight, which seemed to be easing off now.
"The monsters are attacking from the lake! They're attacking the barricade. We need help!"
Aedan shouted to Ser Perth to keep guard at the windmill. Then it was a fast sprint down the hill to aid the militia.