Chapter 45
Upon arrival in Redcliffe, they went straight to the castle, where the Arl and his brother greeted them. Food and drink were brought out, and talk ranged from Aedan's wound to the Arl's poisoning, which ultimately led to the question regarding Jowan's fate. Aedan leaned back in his chair, toying with the stem of the wine glass between his long fingers. "I'm not sure why you feel I should decide."
Arl Eamon leaned his elbows on the heavy wooden table and rested his fingers together. "As the injured party, I wouldn't be able to take an unbiased view of the matter."
"Understandable." Aedan looked over to Emma and asked, "Do you have any thoughts on this?"
She was busy trying to decide on what to nibble on, but at Aedan's question, she turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. "I think he's learnt his lesson, so maybe he should be returned to the Circle?"
Arl Eamon took a drink from his glass and smiled. "A wise decision. I'll have the Templars come to collect him."
Bann Teagan leaned over the corner of the table and spoke quietly to Eamon. When he'd finished, the Arl turned to Emma. "I hear that I have you to thank for rescuing my boy from the demon."
Emma blushed and waved her hand in denial. "It was nothing."
Arl Eamon chuckled. "Such modesty. But that is not what my brother tells me. So allow me to say this; you are both Champions of Redcliffe and will always be welcome here." Shortly afterwards the evening drew to a close and he called for a couple of servants to show them to their rooms.
Aedan and Emma walked into the sumptuous bedroom and her gaze landed on the massive four-poster bed dominating the room. "Oh, damn! I've always wanted to sleep in one of these!" She ran to the bed, almost tripping over her own feet in excitement. Each column of the dark mahogany frame twisted upwards in intricately carved spirals. Rich red and gold fabric, luxurious to the touch, hung in heavy folds to the floor.
She turned and hugged her arms close to her body. "I can't believe we're sleeping in this bed." Aedan had spared the bed a cursory glance before focusing his attention on Emma. As she spun around to face him, the impact of her beauty knocked the breath from him; her green eyes were sparkling, her cheeks flushed with exhilaration, and the most gorgeous smile curved her lovely lips.
"Angel, I think it's safe to say there won't be much sleeping going on tonight." He reached her in three long strides, picked her up and tumbled her onto the bed. She let out a shriek, followed by giggles which soon morphed into moans, gasps and groans.
-x-
After breakfast, they bid farewell to Arl Eamon and Bann Teagan and made their way to Dwyn's home. "Are you all right, Emma?" Alistair asked as he watched her taking small, careful steps.
She glanced over and smiled brightly. "I'm fine, thanks."
He eyed her sceptically. "You look like you've been horse riding," he said.
Emma's skin heated up as Aedan let out a bark of laughter and managed to gasp out, "Almost correct."
Alistair rolled his eyes. "Oh, you've been up to that again. Maker, you two are like rabbits."
The negotiation with Dwyn went well; Aedan offered to buy back the sword and bartered the dwarf down to a more reasonable amount of gold. He took the key offered to him and unlocked the chest in the back room. Aedan reached in and lifted the massive, gleaming two-handed sword. It had been well used if the various nicks and dents along the long blade were anything to go by. Aedan carefully wrapped it in the piece of leather bought for the purpose. He gave a nod to Dwyn, and the group made their way to the bridge where Bodahn and Sandal waited for them. After scrambling into the back of the cart they once more set off for the Frostback Mountains.
-x-
They reached Orzammar mid-morning and the companions sat around the campfire chatting away. Emma noticed Sten looked much more relaxed and assumed he'd had an enjoyable night with the red-headed dwarf. Aedan walked past Emma, gripping the leather bundle, and she quickly caught up to him, wanting to see Sten's face when he received Asala. Aedan unwrapped the sword and held it out with both hands. "I believe this belongs to you, Sten?" The Qunari turned to face Aedan and his eyes immediately alighted on the sword. For a brief moment he stared at it, as though unable to believe his eyes, and then, with a slightly trembling hand, he wrapped his fingers around the hilt and lifted it.
He looked up and down the length of the sword. "Strange. I had almost forgotten it. Completion."
His gaze moved to Aedan. "Are you sure you're a Grey Warden? I think you must be an Ashkaari to find a single lost blade in a country at war."
Aedan chuckled. "You're welcome."
With Sten's confirmation that he'd be sticking around to see the job to the end, they moved over to the campfire, where Sten's sexual exploits were the main topic of conversation.
"Maker's breath, what did you do to that dwarf? She could barely walk when I last saw her," Leliana said, sounding both shocked and in awe.
Zevran grinned appreciatively. "You forgot to mention the very large smile on her face, my dear,"
Sten shrugged. "We had sex." His lips curled slightly. "A lot of sex."
Zevran laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good for you!"
As they prepared to head into Orzammar, Wynne staggered and fell to the ground. Wynne regained her consciousness almost immediately but her attempt to stand was hindered by the many people circling her. "Perhaps we could give Wynne a little room so that she can stand up?" Aedan suggested.
Everyone seemed to realise they'd been on the point of crushing the woman and stepped back, concern evident in their expressions. Wynne gave a grateful smile to Aedan. "Thank you, young man. I'm all right, I just felt a little... dizzy for a moment." Alistair helped her to a nearby flat rock and Bodahn brought over a small silver flask, which he handed to the mage. "This should help settle you."
She took a small sip and some of the colour returned to her cheeks. She lifted an appraising glance to the dwarf. "A fine whiskey, thank you." He smiled, bowed and returned to his cart.
Aedan took Alistair aside. "I think Wynne should sit this one out and as she's most comfortable with you, I was hoping you would agree to stay with her." Alistair's face dropped, but he forced a smile. "Yeah, of course."
"Oh no, you don't! I'm absolutely fine."
Aedan jumped at the sharp tone and swung around to meet Wynne. Her eyes gleamed with anger, but they also held a touch of desperation, a plea not to be left by the wayside or treated as an invalid. Emma approached and laid a hand on Aedan's arm before he could speak. "How about we all head into Orzammar?" He met her gaze with a searching one of his own. Whatever he found there made him nod in agreement to her suggestion. "Bodahn, would you be able to keep watch over the camp while we're away?"
The dwarf smiled. "It won't be any trouble." He clapped Sandal on the back. "We'll keep everything safe until you return."
Aedan took the lead and the others followed, striking an imposing picture as they walked towards the gigantic doors of Orzammar. As in the game, one of Loghain's men was already there, arguing with the guard on duty. He turned at the interruption, a sneer marking his weak face as he recognised the Grey Wardens. The sneer dropped off his face like a dead fly and the words of condemnation died on his tongue as the rest of the group made their way up the stairs.
Ignoring the messenger, Aedan spoke to the Orzammar guard. "We would like to speak to your King. It's Grey Warden business." He placed the treaties into the guard's beefy hand and waited. At length, the dwarf looked up. "Well, these are real enough. However, you should know that King Endrin Aeducan died not more than two days ago and the Deshyrs are locked in a stalemate regarding the election of a new King. You're free to enter Orzammar, but I'm not sure how much help you'll get."
Loghain's messenger regained his wits at this point and started sputtering like a fish out of water. "This is an outrage. King Loghain will hear of this."
Aedan finally acknowledged the man and faced him. "He won't hear a word if you're dead." The man paled and beads of sweat appeared on his upper lip and forehead. "I'm... I'm not afraid of you." He motioned to the few men behind him, but before a fight could break out, the guard spoke up. "Take your bleedin' fight off the main steps."
Aedan gave him a polite nod; then he turned and walked coolly down the stairs, pulling his blades in preparation. Further sounds of steel scraping against hardened leather rang through the sudden silence as the other combatants also readied their weapons. Dwarves and merchants backed away, worried about being caught in the imminent fight.
The messenger walked forward, full of false bravado with his guards around him. "You've slandered the great name of King Loghain for th-" The sentence ended with a bloody gurgle as a blade pierced his skull right between the eyes. Aedan lowered his hand and stared at each of the guards. "You have a choice. Walk away and take that," he pointed to the body, "or stay and die." He moved towards the corpse, and Emma noticed Loghain's men back up a couple of steps. Then Aedan bent down, retrieved his blade and rejoined the group. He spent a couple of seconds nonchalantly wiping down the blade before raising his eyes. "So, what's it to be?"
"We don't get paid enough for this shit, we're leaving." They carelessly picked up the messenger's body and walked away. As everyone turned back towards the stairs, Emma snagged Aedan's wrist and tugged him close. "Now, don't go thinking I like seeing people die, but I have to say, you looked very cool, and sexy as hell facing those guys down." She cupped the back of his neck and kissed him fervently, sliding her tongue against his for a taste, before withdrawing and joining the others.
Aedan blinked, feeling a little stupefied, and then grinned. "Well, damn. That was some reward." He climbed the stairs and the dwarf ordered the doors open. "Thanks for getting rid of that loudmouth, he's been like a yapping dog for the last few hours." Aedan chuckled, and as the gigantic doors slowly opened, he led his group into the great city of Orzammar.