Chapter 80
Emma took a few steps forward and pulled out a handkerchief which she offered to Arl Howe; he looked down at it, then back to her. "Why are you giving me this?" She smiled sweetly. "Well, you have a brown smudge on your nose." He looked confused, so she clarified, "I'm sure you just forgot to wipe it after you had it stuck up Loghain's ass."
"How dare you?!"
His face was a picture of outrage, but Emma just tucked the small square of linen back in her pocket, and her own expression became as cold as ice. "How dare I speak to a lowly piece of shit like you? Truly, 'tis a mystery." She turned her back on him and returned to her previous position, just as Ser Cauthrien spoke up. "You should learn to hold your tongue in the presence of your betters, child."
Emma glanced over at her, then to Loghain. "Perhaps you need a better sidekick, Teyrn. It appears your current one has poor eyesight." She turned back to the female knight. "I'm no child, and by betters, I assume you mean the people I stand with and not these two murderers." She indicated Loghain and Howe with a disdainful tilt of her head.
Their faces went red with anger. "You have not heard the end of this, Eamon," Loghain snapped. They turned to leave with their heads held high, and therefore failed to notice the large patch of grease under their feet. They went down as one in a clatter of armour and curses. There were a few snorts of laughter from Alistair and Eamon as the trio scrambled around trying to untangle themselves from each other. When they finally got back to their feet, Loghain glared at Emma, his eyes taking in the staff on her back. "You'll pay for that, mage."
She lifted an eyebrow and adopted a look of mock surprise. "Me? No, I'm afraid you have it all wrong. One of the mabari has a weak bladder and keeps leaving puddles everywhere."
"What?!" Howe screeched, then tentatively sniffed at his hand. All three of them wore expressions of disgust as they cautiously made their way to the front door; there were a few more sniggers as Howe went down again and had to be helped up by Cauthrien.
Once they had left, Eamon chuckled. "Well, that was amusing and refreshing."
Alistair glanced over to Aedan. "I have to say, your restraint was impressive." Emma looked a bit sheepish; she'd heard a bark of laughter from Aedan when Howe went down the second time and knew that the spell had worn off. Aedan huffed. "I didn't have a lot of choice because Emma cast a paralysis spell on me." He turned stern eyes in her direction. "I had a perfect opportunity to kill that bastard, and you stopped me. Why?"
"Because it wasn't a perfect opportunity. What do you think would have happened if you'd killed Arl Howe in front of Loghain?"
His eyes slid to the side, and she knew he was starting to think clearly again now that the rage had lifted. His mouth lifted in a twisted, bitter smile. "I'm guessing I'd have been arrested."
She took a step closer to him and laid a hand on his chest. "At the very least. Don't worry, you'll get your chance for revenge, love."
He leaned forward and kissed her. "Thanks, Angel."
She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "That's what I'm here for."
"Stopping me from doing stupid things?"
"Impulsive things," she corrected him.
"Also, taking the Regent and his cronies down a peg a two," Eamon added with a snigger.
The Arl asked that they go and check out Denerim and get an impression of how people were feeling about the Landsmeet. Wanting to keep a low profile, Aedan took the rogues and went to the Gnawed Noble tavern to test the people's reaction, and pick up any useful information. Emma grabbed everyone else and went for a wander around the marketplace in order to get a present for Aedan. However, after forty minutes of being harassed by various merchants trying to sell their ridiculous wares - from a moth-eaten rug to a scary golem doll that bore a remarkable resemblance to Chucky, she was ready to punch someone.
"No, I don't need a whetting stone." She looked closely and glared at the man. "Especially not one that's been used." She walked away and was about to suggest that they head back to the estate when she saw a face she recognised - Armaas, a Tal-Vashoth merchant who usually showed up in Dragon Age: Awakenings. She dashed over to him and then realised her friends were following. Emma spun around quickly and shooed them away. "It's okay, you don't need to follow me."
Wynne looked doubtful. "I don't know. The last time we were in Denerim, you got kidnapped." Emma cringed, remembering the incident with an unfortunate amount of clarity. "Look, I'm only going to that merchant. I won't be long."
Sten looked over to the man and frowned. "He is Tal-Vashoth."
"Yes, but he's just a merchant. Please, can you just give me a few minutes?" There were a few nods and they moved away to explore the rest of the marketplace.
She approached the large man and cleared her throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Do you have a…" She glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. "...a saartoh nehrappan?"
His brow lifted, but his face remained impassive. "A what?" She rubbed a hand over her face and tried to recall how Bull had pronounced the words. "A saartoh nehrappan."
His face remained blank. "It's a leather-wrapped rod with a harness, it's used for…" Her courage deserted her when it came to explaining the purpose of the object, and she started to turn away. "You mean one of these?" He held up the black leather rod in plain view.
"Oh God, don't wave it around for everyone to see! But, yes, that's exactly what I mean." She purchased the item along with a jar containing a thick, greasy cream, which Armaas assured her she would need. After putting everything into her pack, she rejoined her friends.
A few minutes later, Aedan, Leliana, and Zevran emerged from the tavern to find Emma hanging onto Sten's arm in an attempt to stop him from killing a man who was being held in place by Shale. "Sten, you can't just go around chopping off someone's head because he tried to pick your pocket," Emma reprimanded.
"How about a hand?" Shale asked.
Emma tilted her head to one side and thought about that; it wasn't uncommon for some countries to remove a thief's hand. The pick-pocket, seeing the only sane person in this crazy bunch of people debating the question, started to panic and plead for his life. Emma fixed him with a grim stare. "How many people have you robbed today?"
The man contemplated the question. "Oh, for crying out loud. If you have to think about it, then it's way too many," she fumed.
"I'm sorry, I'll give it all back," he promised.
"Oh, that's a good idea. How many of the people you've robbed today are still in the market?"
The pick-pocket looked around before answering. "Well, there seems to be quite a few."
"Good, then point them out; you're going to hand their money back to them."
"Do I get to keep whatever I can't hand back?"
Emma clouted him on his ear. "Don't be stupid. Whatever you have left will be given to those in need."
For the next ten minutes, Emma and Shale wandered around the market ensuring everyone's money was returned. When they were finished she took the remaining money, handed the pick-pocket ten silver, and then gave the rest to Wynne. "I know you'll make sure it goes to the right people."
"You look like you've been keeping yourself busy, Angel."
She spun around, clasping her chest. "Bloody hell, you made me jump. So, how are things in Denerim?" Aedan gave a rundown of everything the three rogues had learnt as they made their way back to the Arl's estate. As they walked through the front door, a servant bowed before Aedan. "Milord, the Arl would like to see you in his study as soon as possible."
Aedan flinched at the use of his old title. "I'll head there straight away," he told the maid. Emma walked next to him as they traversed the long corridor. "Are you okay?" she asked.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's just… it's been a while since anyone called me that." She reached for his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze which he gratefully returned, and only let go when Arl Eamon's study came into sight.
Emma eyed the female elf standing next to the Arl and almost groaned aloud. "This is Erlina, she's…"
"I'm the Queen's handmaiden," Erlina interrupted the Arl and went off into a panicked explanation of her reason for being there. She finally came to an end of her tale, and it was agreed that Aedan and a small team would go in and rescue the Queen.
Oh, joy! The fight with Ser Cauthrien loomed ahead, however, on a positive note, Howe would soon be dead.
