Chapter 9

The walk to Lothering was uneventful, giving Aedan and Emma time to talk and strengthen their growing feelings for each other. Everyone else was, unsurprisingly, wrapped up in their own thoughts. The first real piece of excitement came when they reached the bandits trying to fleece travellers entering Lothering. Emma smiled in anticipation; the leader always made her laugh.

"They are fools to get in our way. I say, teach them a lesson."
Emma nodded, for once in agreement with Morrigan. The fight was over swiftly, and after the bandits had run for the hills, they got down to the serious business of looting. Looking at the side of the highway, she saw the body of Ser Henric and took the locket. Handing it to Aedan, she advised, "Keep this, you'll need it soon enough."
He took it and eyed her with some amusement. "I grow ever more curious about your story."
"You're going to have to wait a little longer." Emma hoped he'd forget about the subject altogether, but that seemed highly unlikely. Her ability to continuously blurt out weird things probably wasn't helping.

"I think I've missed out on a few hugs."
Emma turned and stared at Alistair. "Sorry?"
"The hugs. You said they were part of a ritual you performed before each battle."
She chuckled. "Well, yes, but to be fair we haven't been in any battles since-." She closed her mouth so quickly that her teeth clicked together. There was an uncomfortable silence as the three Wardens remembered Ostagar. Emma pulled Alistair into a hug. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."
His arms tightened around her briefly before he stepped back. "No, it was my fault. Besides, it's not like we can just keep ignoring it."
She rubbed his arm in a comforting manner. "True, but a little time to allow the wound to heal can be a good thing."
He managed a smile, and they moved on to Lothering.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, the conversation turned to what their next move would be. "I need to look for Fergus, he might still be alive," Aedan said.
Emma scrubbed a hand through her hair. Shit! How could she have forgotten that he'd recently watched his whole family die and lost his lands to that snake Arl Howe? Morrigan's response was, as usual, lacking in sensitivity, a fact that Alistair was quick to point out. Emma struggled to remember what came next in the dialogue; this wasn't a line of dialogue she followed in her gameplay - well, not since her first time playing as a human noble.

When it became clear that Aedan wasn't willing to let the matter drop, she stepped forward. "Sorry, could I just borrow you for a moment?"
She moved them a few steps away, but before she could speak, he was already questioning her. "Do you know something about my brother?" His tone held a tinge of desperation.
"Fergus is going to be fine. You will see him again, Aedan, I promise you."
"Are..." He cleared his throat, his eyes suspiciously shiny. " Are you sure?"
She gave an emphatic nod. "I'm one hundred per cent sure." Blimey, she hoped that was right. What she wouldn't give to have access to the Dragon Age Wiki site. "I also wanted to offer my condolences for your loss." Her words sounded so inadequate, nothing she said could take away the pain of losing everything he'd known.
"Thank you." He looked away for a moment, as though considering something. "Is that why you were startled when Duncan mentioned my name at the bonfire?"
Emma fidgeted uncomfortably. "Not really, it was because I recognised your name and I wasn't expecting to see you there."
"So when did you know about the fate of my family?"
At least to this, she could reply honestly. "It just came to me now."
He rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly looking tired. "Thanks for telling me, that's removed one worry from my mind."

They rejoined the others and the conversation returned to where they should travel to first. Emma happily spoke up on this matter. She'd always thought it a bit sneaky that Alistair would try to steer the Warden towards visiting Arl Eamon first, thereby screwing up any chance of saving Connor or Isolde. Not that she wouldn't like to see Isolde kick the bucket, but it was a damn nuisance losing so much approval from Alistair. "If I might make a suggestion? It would work well for everyone if we visited Kinloch Hold first."
Aedan nodded, "All right. We might as well start using these treaties."

Before they could get into Lothering, they were stopped by a Templar. "You, there! If you're looking for safe shelter, I'll warn you; there's none to be found. Move on if you can. Lothering's lost."
Emma felt her stomach flutter. She'd forgotten that this NPC was voiced by the same man who did the voice for Fenris. Please question him further!
"I was looking for some news, actually."
She offered up a sincere thank you to Aedan while leaning in a little closer to hear every nuance of the sexiest damn voice ever to grace her ears.
"You might find that, though it's probably just frightened gossip," the templar said.

Unfortunately, the conversation ended much too quickly for Emma's liking.
Morrigan's clipped tones intruded. "Are you well, Emma?"
She looked up, her mind still on the huskyd voice. "Yeah, I'm good thanks."
Morrigan peered closely at her. "Are you sure? You look a little flushed."
She glared at the apostate. "It's the heat."
Morrigan smirked. "Of course it is."

With the conversation over, the group wandered around carrying out side quests until they came to the inn. Aedan pushed the door open and the smell of warm ale mixed with the stench of fear and hopelessness wafted over them. Gathered in the middle of the room were some of Loghain's soldiers. They looked towards the door as Aedan and his companions entered, eyeing the group with suspicion. It didn't take them long to identify the Grey Wardens, and Emma felt the swell of tension in the tavern. Villagers began to sidle away from the two groups when they sensed the possibility of a fight.

Emma spotted Leliana in the corner, noting that the redhead was paying attention to the conversation between Aedan and the guards. The bard stepped forward, her soft lilting voice advocating peace. "Gentlemen, surely there is no need for trouble. These are no doubt simply more poor souls seeking refuge."
Her words went unheeded. Aedan's eyes had taken on an angry glint at the first mention of Loghain. "It looks like they want a fight. I'm happy to oblige."

No one in the group argued; most of them still smarting from the Teyrn's betrayal. Emma drew her staff and targeted the Commander. During her gameplay, she'd found that once he went down, the other soldiers gave up. She cast Winter's Grasp and was about to follow up with Stone Fist, when an arrow whizzed past, catching her on the cheekbone.

Bloody archers! She was always so careful to take them out first, although she didn't recollect any in this fight before. Slamming her staff to the ground, she shot off a bolt of lightning, jumping back into the fray before the soldier's body had even stopped twitching. Aedan's dagger brought the fight to a halt when he thrust the blade deep into the Commander's shoulder. The man screamed in pain, then waved his hands around while blubbering, "All right, you've won! We surrender."

Emma eyed Aedan warily. His eyes still glittered with anger, and he had yet to remove his blade from the Commander's shoulder. Crap! What was she supposed to do? In the game, she'd always told the soldiers to take a message to Loghain. She had an idea that Aedan would rather send their corpses to Loghain. The tension in the tavern grew, stretching everyone's nerves to the point of breaking.