Chapter 79

They followed Aedan into an adjoining room and found more prisoners. Emma walked past Vaughan, throwing him a nasty glare, and made her way to Irminric's cell. Alistair winced at the sight of the Templar in the late stages of lyrium withdrawal and explained to the others why the man was so confused. "Alfstanna… is that you, little sister?" The man's eyes were glazed, and his jumbled use of words revealed his state of disorientation. Emma moved closer and took the ring from his shaking hands. "I promise I'll get your sister here as soon as possible."

She placed the ring in her bag and backtracked to Vaughan's cell. "You can't do this to me! I'll have you all flayed. I'm the Arl of Denerim." Emma looked him up and down, her contempt obvious. "No, you're not. You're a murderer and a rapist."
His eyes widened, and he stopped his ranting. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I do. I know very well what you're capable of." Without any further ado, she thrust her blade through the bars and into his stomach. Or so she thought. When he didn't fall, she looked a little closer at the wound and realised she'd only gone in a couple of inches. "Bloody hell, I need a sharper sword."
Zevran chuckled. "No, my dear. You need more strength." He walked up behind her and pushed the blade in the rest of the way, then Emma added her own touch, and released a cold spell. The sword thickened with ice, widening the wound and causing Vaughan to scream in agony. He soon fell silent as the ice spread and covered his body. Emma tried to pull her sword free, but the damn thing had got stuck in a chunk of ice. "Er… a little help here?"
As everyone took turns pulling at the sword, she couldn't help but laugh at the similarity to the Sword in the Stone. However, no matter the effort, it remained steadfast, even a group attempt yielded no results.
"Ah, sod it. Open the damn door." Emma hastily unlocked it and stepped back. Oghren swung his massive axe, shattering Vaughan with one blow, and her weapon dropped to the ground. "Problem solved," Oghren said with a grin.

After that, they returned to Anora's room and freed her. She stepped out dressed in a guard's outfit. In the game, Emma always used the line that referred to the scene from Star Wars: A New Hope, and she couldn't resist saying it now. "Aren't you a little short to be a guard?"
The Queen raised a cool eyebrow. "I don't think anyone is going to notice."
Emma turned her head slightly and glimpsed the soldiers waiting in the next room. "I think you're right."
Aedan's eyes widened as he too caught sight of what awaited them. "Are you sure this plan will work?"
"I bloody hope so, but I do want to try and talk Ser Cauthrien down. We'll only use the plan if we have to."

Emma walked in first, hands held up in the universal gesture of surrender. "Ser Cauthrien, good to see you again."
Cauthrien's lips tightened. "This is no joke! You can't expect to walk away after kidnapping the Queen."
"And who did you have this information from? A reliable source, I hope."
Cauthrien looked away, her lips practically invisible and her brows drawn down. "I... You don't know what he's done for me. You can't ask me to betray the man who gave me everything."
Emma walked closer. "No, I wouldn't, but is he the same man who helped you? Think back to when you met, when he knew the meaning of honour and respect." Emma gave the knight a moment to picture the Loghain from of old. "Now, compare him to the man who left your King to die."
Cauthrien slammed her hands to her hips and paced back and forth a couple of times. She swivelled and glared at Emma. "You could be trying to talk your way out of a fight considering how outnumbered your group is."
Emma shook her head. "I am trying to stop the fight because I don't want you or any of your people here to die today."
Cauthrien looked smug. "Just as..."
Emma held up a hand. "Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet. We're not outnumbered."
Cauthrien looked at all her soldiers - archers in each corner, mages guarding them, and Ser Cauthrien herself, a warrior of legend. Then she stared at the small group behind Emma. "I think you need some lessons in maths."
With a chuckle, Emma raised her hands, aimed them at the massive double doors behind Ser Cauthrien and let loose a wave of force magic. She waited for a split second… and then the doors heaved outwards as if someone was pulling from the other side.
Ser Cauthrien stared at the doors before turning back to Emma. "You fool! Do you think we'll let you escape through the front door?"
Emma smiled. "Oh no, you're mistaken. I don't want to get out, I'm letting people in." Again, the doors were pulled from the outside, and she helped them along by releasing another wave of force magic. With a thunderous crack, the doors splintered and were torn from their hinges. A cheer went up from her friends at the sight of Sten, Shale, Wynne, Leliana, Morrigan, Revek, and Frostie standing in the doorway.

Cauthrien shrugged. "Looks to me like you're still a few short."
"No, you're not taking into account that my group consists of three Grey Wardens, one golem, one Qunari of the Ben-Hassreth, one Crow assassin, one senior enchanter from the Circle of Magi, one dwarven warrior of House Kondrat, one excellent bard, and a legendary witch of the wilds."
Two annoyed barks broke the momentary silence.
"Oh, and two very large mabari."
Cauthrien swallowed and some of her soldiers looked ready to toddle off home for supper and a nice cup of tea.
"Now, I don't want to fight. You know there's more going on here. We're facing a blight, this is not the time to split our nation. Let us do our job."
Ser Cauthrien's stern shoulders slumped and she waved to the door. "Just go. I wish..." She shook her head. "Stand down!"
The soldiers lowered their weapons, looking relieved.

They walked out in silence, only talking once they'd cleared the Arl's estate. "My love, I believe you should be a diplomat."
Emma snorted. "Much too boring."
Before making their way back to Arl Eamon's home, they stopped at the Chanter's Board and reported the whereabouts of Rexel. Then they headed over to the Gnawed Noble tavern to speak to the nobles, where Bann Sighard thanked them for rescuing his son and promised to back them at the Landsmeet. They moved onto Alfstanna, Bann of the Waking Sea, and handed her the ring; she sat up straight and asked where they had got it from. To Emma's surprise, Alistair answered.
She looked over at him, and what she saw on his face made her smile; his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked upon Alfstanna as though she were the best thing since sliced bread. "I'll take you straight there, milady," He made the offer with a shy smile, which she responded to with a grateful one. Emma was happy for him, but a little concerned about his return to the estate. "Are you sure that's wise?"
"Cauthrien ordered them to stand down, and besides there's no longer an Arl to command the soldiers, so we'll be fine, Emma."

The rest of the party returned to Arl Eamon's estate, with everyone but Aedan and Emma retiring to their rooms for some much needed rest. The two Grey Wardens walked into Eamon's study and then spent ten minutes calming him down when he noticed the absence of Alistair. "Maker's Breath! After Anora's description of the situation you were left to face, I thought for sure he'd fallen during the battle." After the Arl had regained his composure, the normal conversation ensued which consisted of Anora voicing her concerns about the Alienage, and ended with Eamon asking them to talk to the Queen.

Finally, they left the Arl, and Aedan turned towards Anora's room; Emma grabbed his arm. "Oh no, she can wait." She linked her hand with his and dragged him off to their room. Aedan was in dire need of some downtime, and she intended to see that he got it.