Chapter 83
The Grey Wardens reported back to Arl Eamon, who expressed shock and disgust at Loghain's actions, although he admitted to being happy to have something on the traitorous Regent. "The Landsmeet is called for tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the free time you have available."
Emma was about to leave the room when she spotted Riordan. "How are you feeling?"
He smiled. "Much better, thank you." She talked with him for a few minutes and retrieved the details to get into the Warden's vault. She left the room and found Aedan waiting for her. "I still need to go and talk to Anora," he said with a grimace.
"Well, you've been reprieved for a while." She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the estate.
"Where are we going?"
"Do you recall when Alistair said he wished he had something of Duncan's to remember him by? Well, I know he has the weapons, now we're going to get him the shield."
When Emma pulled him into a warehouse and revealed the hidden door, he whistled at the selection of weapons and armour available. In the game, she always took everything, but now she took only Duncan's shield and left the remainder for any Grey Warden who might need it one day. Back at the estate, Aedan said, "I should really get this talk with the Queen over and done with."
"Before you do that, we need to have a chat with Alistair first."
He raised an eyebrow. "Now, why would we need to do that?"
"Because he needs to become king, and I'm not sure how he feels about it," she admitted. It had only recently occurred to Emma that the conversation with Alistair after the visit to Goldanna, hadn't gone as expected, and consequently, she had no idea whether he wanted to be king. This posed a bit of a problem because if he stayed a Grey Warden, there was a big possibility that he might not live past the events of the Inquisition.
Alistair opened the door and welcomed them in. "Everything all right?"
Emma paced in front of the fire. "Yes, but... well, I need to ask you something ." She paused, thinking how to word the question. Her fingers picked at an invisible piece of lint on her sleeve. Alistair slapped at her hand. "Could you stop doing that? You're making me a nervous wreck. Just tell me what's on your mind."
She rubbed the back of her neck, drew in a deep breath and blurted, "How do you feel about becoming king?"
He let out a bark of laughter. "Maker's Breath, Emma. Is that all you wanted to ask me? Look, I've known since Redcliffe that there was a good chance of me becoming king, and to be honest, I wasn't that sold on the idea." He got up from his chair and poured them all a glass of wine before retaking his seat. "Then I met Anora, and I realised how similar to her father she is – and that was it – the one thing that I couldn't allow to happen - I couldn't let a Mac Tir take the throne." He siped the red wine, looking comfortable and relaxed. "So, in answer to your question; I have no problem becoming king."
Emma cheered and raised her glass in a salute. "And I'm sure Alfstanna would make an excellent queen." He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, but there was a big grin on his face. "Yeah, I think so too. We've talked about it, and both agree that this isn't the best time to begin a relationship."
"We're going to make it, Alistair. Don't ever doubt that," she told him in an assertive voice.
He smiled. "I hope so."
"Oh, and we have a gift for you." Emma waved at the sack next to Aedan's chair. Smiling, he untied the strong and pulled out the shield. Handing it to Alistair, he said, "It's.."
Alistair's face lit up. "Maker's breath, where did you find that? I thought it must have gone missing at Ostagar."
"There's a warden's vault in Denerim," Emma replied.
Alistair strode over and pulled them both into a hug. "Thank you, both of you, not just for this but for making this whole blight thing a lot easier to bear."
Aedan slapped him on the shoulder. "We Grey Wardens stick together, always."
Emma teared up and held them both tighter. They separated and returned to their seats, Emma flicking away a stray tear.
"All right, now I guess I need to have that talk with Anora?" Aedan said. Emma nodded and proceeded to describe the events of the landsmeet and the consequences of it.
"So let me get this straight: if I tell Anora I won't back her bid for the throne, she'll betray us at the Landsmeet?"
"Yep, that's pretty much the gist of it," Emma confirmed.
Aedan scraped a hand through his hair. "The alternative is to pretend to ally myself with her, and then I betray her."
Emma gave another nod. "However, we may have enough support to carry this through without Anora's backing."
Alistair grinned. "Well, Alfstanna will definitely back us, and she promised to speak to Arl Bryland and get his support."
"How likely is that?" Aedan asked.
"Oh, very likely. He had no love for Howe, and was already leaning towards the Wardens."
"Bann Sighard will back us, and if he did as he said, so will Bann Reginalda." Emma was trying to remember which other nobles were in Denerim, but her tired brain just wouldn't cooperate. "Who else did you speak to in the tavern?"
"There was Arl Wulff, but he wasn't very talkative as most of his lands have been lost to the darkspawn," Aedan replied. Emma cast her mind back to the Landsmeet, going over the correct responses to say to Loghain. Through trial and error, she'd found out the best way of getting the nobles on her side, especially after her first few playthroughs of the quest had ended in an all-out brawl, which had been extremely difficult to win. She remembered the line that would get the Arl on board. "We can get Wulff on our side, but we're going to need to choose our words carefully."
They discussed their plans for a long time, and only ended the meeting when a messenger arrived to tell them that the service for Ser Otto would take place in an hour. All the companions joined Aedan and Emma at the funeral service for Ser Otto. Tears trickled down her cheeks as the flames climbed the side of the pyre and consumed his body. "You can't save everyone, Angel." She acknowledged his words with a sniffle, knowing he was right, but it didn't ease the sting. She'd known when he was going to die and she should have been able to prevent it. Aedan's arms tightened around her waist. "I can feel you thinking, Angel. Stop blaming yourself."
"There's no one else to blame. I knew what would happen and still I failed."
"No, you tried to stop it. I saw you push him out of the way. Perhaps it was just his time to die."
She thought over his words and found some comfort in them; at least Ser Otto had died fighting.
Back at the estate, they all drank a toast to the Templar, and then Emma explained the details of awake, which, of course, led to more drinking. After numerous glasses of ale, Emma decided to teach them a song - Roll me over in the clover - well, as much as she could remember of it. Soon the hall filled with the sound of drunken voices singing.
Now this is number one
And the fun has just begun
Roll me over lay me down and do it again
Roll me over in the clover, roll me over lay me down and do it again
Now, this is number two,
And he's got me in a stew.
Roll me over lay me down and do it again
Roll me over in the clover, roll me over lay me down and do it again.
As the evening progressed, everyone became more inebriated, so that when they decided to sing the song again, most had forgotten the words, and the replacement lyrics were even more ribald.
Now this is number three
And I'm rocking on his knee
Roll me over lay me down and do it again
Roll me over in the clover, roll me over lay me down and do it again
Now this is number four
And I'm up against the door
Roll me over lay me down and do it again
Roll me over in the clover, roll me over lay me down and do it again
As the night drew to a close, the catchy tune resounded through the halls as each person made their way to bed.
-x-
The next morning there were a few sore heads, and for the most part, silence reigned at the breakfast table. Aedan groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "I should have spoken to Anora yesterday when it didn't feel as though an ogre was using my head as a drum." Emma chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck to massage the back of his skull. "You'll be fine, love. She'll ask for your support, you'll tell her no, she'll say she's content with that, and the conversation is done." He nodded and then dipped his head to capture her mouth in a tender kiss before leaving.
Ten minutes later, he found her sitting with Zevran trying to learn the intricacies of Wicked Grace. She looked up as he entered. "How did it go?"
He shrugged. "Pretty much as you said it would. She's got a good poker face. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was on our side."
The door opened to admit a nervous Alistair. "Arl Eamon has left for the Landsmeet, and he's asked us to meet him there. He suggested a small party, otherwise, it might seem as if we're looking for a fight."
"I agree, but I think we'll take everyone with us, and they can stand guard at the doors to the chamber. If we run into any trouble, they'll be within easy reach," Emma said.
The companions gathered and made their way to the Royal Palace. The outer chamber was empty, and the sound of Arl Eamon's voice rang clearly from the main room. Alistair pushed the heavy door open and walked inside, followed by Aedan, Emma and Leliana. Their appearance was greeted with a few surprised gasps from the gathered nobles, but the party kept their focus on the far door, where Loghain would make his entrance.
The fate of the nation would be decided, here and now!