Denerim was small, compared to Orzammar. It looked battered and ramshackle, the houses of many different styles and qualities.
Eamon's estate was on the edge of the city, and Kitranna's group found their way there with little trouble, no guards stopping them. She was fairly sure they got odd looks for having so many armed strangers (not to mention three elves, a dwarf, and a golem) in their party, but no one bothered them.
Eamon and Teagan had both gotten there by the time Kitranna arrived. She, Alistair and Fiona went to meet with them immediately while the others got settled in.
“Is your errand in the Wilds finished?” Eamon asked. “No more side trips?”
“No, we're done,” Kitranna said. “How have things been? Any problems, aside from the normal ones?”
“The last we heard, there were still tensions between the Templars and the Dalish,” Teagan said with a grimace. “Mistress Oshathyla said that her—ah—Clan was having issues gaining allegiances from other Ferelden Clans, as well.”
Kitranna rubbed her forehead.
“Tell the Templars to focus their efforts on the darkspawn, nothing else,” Fiona advised. “Their policy of—acquiring—mages from groups such as the Dalish or the Avvar or the Chasind is suspect at the best of times...”
“I cannot call myself an expert,” Eamon said. “But that policy does seem detrimental at a time like this. Even focusing on apostates from towns under Chantry law detracts from fighting the darkspawn...”
“Yes, precisely,” Fiona nodded. “What else?”
“Queen Anora has not made a public appearance for many weeks,” Eamon said. “We have a source from her household who says that she may actually be being held hostage by Loghain.”
“Really?” Kitranna leaned forward. “That's hilarious.”
Everyone stared at her.
“Also, if we rescue her, does that mean she'd automatically be on our side?”
Eamon stroked his beard. “The individual from her household did come here on behalf of Anora, asking us for help,” he said.
“Who is this person?” Fiona asked. “May we meet them?”
“Not yet,” Eamon said. “She should be here soon, however.”
While they waited for their source, they discussed other matters. The dwarves were all restless because the Legion of the Dead was still mostly refusing to leave the Deep Roads, although they seemed more inclined to change their minds than they had been previously. Culwydd had also started to introduce some new immigration policies, allowing dwarves to leave for the surface without being declared casteless and allowing some surfacer dwarves to live in Orzammar. Many of the dwarven military didn't care, but the nobility was not reacting with much grace to these changes and the atmosphere of unease permeated through everyone.
It seemed as if the dwarves got on well with all the surfacers, however, so that was good. Eamon was hopeful that this would perhaps pave the way for better trade relations with Orzammar.
At last, the woman that Anora had sent came to them. Her name was Erlina, and she was elvhen, light skinned with black hair.
“The queen, she is in...a difficult position,” Erlina explained. She had an Orlesian accent, a little different than Fiona's. “She loved her husband, and trusted her father to protect him. When he returns with no king and only dark rumors, what is she to think? She worries, no? But when she tries to speak with him, he does not answer her.”
Fiona's eyes were fixed on Erlina, her expression calculating. “What does Anora believe?”
“My queen suspects Loghain, but he is very subtle, yes?”
Fiona sat back in her chair. “When he wants to be, yes.”
“Rendon Howe is not so subtle, so she goes to visit him. A visit from the Queen to the new Arl of Denerim is only a courtesy. And she demands answers.”
“Let me guess,” Alistair said. “It didn't go well?”
“Not particularly. He locked her in the estate.”
“And no one minded that?” Kitranna asked.
“I do not believe Loghain would allow that,” Fiona said.
“King Cailan was like a son to Loghain, and you see where that has ended,” Erlina said darkly. “Does he love Anora more? Who is to say?” she paused. “I...think her life is in danger.”
Everyone sat up.
“Really?” Kitranna asked. “Because that's just about the last thing we need.”
“Howe has said she would be a better ally dead than alive,” Erlina said. “Especially if her death could be blamed on Arl Eamon.”
“Loghain would never agree to that,” Fiona insisted. “When did you hear of this? How do you know?”
“One servant is much like another, Mistress,” Erlina said with the ghost of a smile. “Elves even more so.”
“Is it possible that Howe is trying something behind Loghain's back?” Teagan suggested. “There was that business with the Couslands...”
“What business was that?” Kitranna asked.
Teagan shook his head. “Over a year ago, before the battle at Ostagar, the Cousland family was killed. I don't know by who, but what I do know is that Howe declared himself Teryn after the death of Teryn Cousland.”
“Loghain relies upon Howe very heavily,” Erlina piped up. “He has made himself indispensable.”
“It's possible Howe may be trying for a coup himself, if he's willing to even consider risking the queen's life...” Eamon said.
Fiona nodded. “The Loghain I know would never dream of hurting his daughter,” she said. “There are certainly other things he has done wrong, but it is not as if there cannot be more than one corrupt noble in court.”
“Exactly,” Teagan said. “Cailan had no heirs, so I suppose it would make sense that after his death—or even before it—other nobles would be attempting to seize power.”
“Well, that's if we even trust this story at all,” Kitranna said, gesturing to Erlina. “What if she's lying?”
“We may have no choice but to trust the Queen,” Eamon said. “She is well-loved—if she dies, and Loghain or Howe succeeds in pinning the death on any of his enemies, namely, me or the Gray Wardens...”
“We'd have no chance at the Landsmeet, royal blood or otherwise,” Alistair sighed. “Wonderful.”
“And that's only if the death of the Queen didn't plunge the entire country into complete civil war,” Teagan said darkly.
“Alright,” Kitranna said, putting her hands on her knees. “So what do we do?”
“Arl Howe hires many guards,” Erlina said. “And they come and leave quickly as well. A few new ones would not cause a stir.”
“You want us to go in and rescue her ourselves?”
“Are you incapable?”
Kitranna glanced around. “I guess we have to,” she sighed.
“I can get you inside the estate, to where Her Majesty is being held.” Erlina leaned forward. “We must do this as soon as possible—I do not think she is safe for much longer.”
It was decided that Kitranna, Leliana and Zevran would get inside the estate. It would have been more practical to send either Leliana or Zevran or both, as they had the most experience with subterfuge and infiltration, but Erlina had said that without a Gray Warden, Anora would not be able to trust any potential rescuers. Eamon had not wanted to risk Alistair and there was a possibility that Howe could recognize Fiona if they came across each other, so, Kitranna was the logical choice.
The Arl of Denerim's estate was quite large, probably larger than Eamon's. Erlina got the three of them inside, where no one gave them a second glance.
Naturally, breaking the Queen out could not be done without its share of trouble. They came to her chamber and found that someone had put a very strong ward on the door. Kitranna couldn't get rid of it without blowing the door off its hinges and alerting the entire household.
Anora told them to find the mage who had set the spell, and convince him to take it down. A task easier said than done, but it was more practical than attempting to destroy a whole wing of the house.
All caution went out the window when they entered Howe's dungeons, where Anora was fairly sure the mage was. Apparently, Howe liked to torture people on his days off. Erlina hadn't known about it, but that was a possible reason for the high turnover rate of the guards.
The dungeons were filled with a great number of people who seemed as if they wouldn't be missed or were inconvenient if free. So, while searching for the mage, Kitranna decided that it might be a good idea to free all of Howe's illegal prisoners.
“You are aware this defeats the purpose of subterfuge, no?” Zevran asked her as she searched for the keys to the cells.
Kitranna shrugged. “I don't like prisons.”
“That is becoming more and more clear.”
Of course the rampant freeing of prisoners caused the guards to turn on them, but they were given a helping hand by a prisoner who was suspiciously good with a blade.
“I thank you for creating such distraction, stranger,” he said after they had dispatched several guards. “I have been waiting days for that opportunity.”
“Who are you?” Kitranna asked. “And why are you not immediately running out of here like everyone else?”
“I am Riordan, senior Gray Warden of Jader.”
“Oh,” Kitranna blinked. “That's convenient—I'm a Gray Warden too.”
“Are you?” Riordan peered at her. “I do not know you.”
“Yeah, well, how long have you been locked up down here?”
“...quite some time.”
“There you go, then. Listen, what are you doing here?”
“For the most part? Attempting to hold my tongue. I was sent when we received no word from King Cailan about the outcome at Ostagar.”
“Nice,” Kitranna drawled. “Wow, really helpful there.”
Leliana elbowed her. “Let him finish speaking!”
Riordan glanced between them, then continued. “The King had invited all the Wardens of Orlais and their support troops to join him, but then...nothing.”
“That's because everyone died at Ostagar and it was a total disaster.”
Riordan nodded. “I learned of that once I came here,” he said, his expression grim. “Our communications had been interrupted by Teryn Loghain, who does not trust Orlesians.”
“How'd you get down here?”
“Arl Howe offered hospitality,” Riordan explained. “I was fool enough to think that neither he nor Loghain knew who I was—or that perhaps Howe did not hold as much animosity towards Orlesians that Loghain did.”
“Nice job,” Kitranna said. “I'm real impressed.”
Riordan frowned. “You must tell me—I have had very little information here. What is the state of things? I have heard that there are more darkspawn--”
“It's a Blight,” Kitranna said. “Archdemon and everything.”
Riordan went pale. “I had the dreams, but I had hoped...”
“Also, we have an errand we need to get to, so if you either want to get out of here or help us, that would be great.”
“You say you are a Warden—are there others?”
“Two more. Right now they're at Arl Eamon's Denerim estate, so you can meet up with them.”
Riordan nodded, then headed further into the dungeons.
“Where are you going?” Kitranna asked. “The way out is the other way!”
“There is a young lady here who does not deserve to be imprisoned,” Riordan said, hurrying down the hall.
“That makes two of them, then.”
Kitranna, Leliana and Zevran followed Riordan, as he appeared to know the layout of the dungeons better than they did. They came to a hall lined with mostly-empty cells, and Riordan made a bee-line for one on the end.
He made an attempt at picking the lock before Kitranna simply handed him a key.
“Who're you?” Kitranna asked the person in the cell.
The prisoner leaned forward, so her face could be seen clearly. She was an elf, her eyes and cheeks hollow, her skin sallow. “Uvundar,” she said. “Uvundar Tabris.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kitranna said. “Kitranna Surana.”
“Charmed,” Uvundar said. She looked at Riordan. “Friends of yours?”
“Another Gray Warden,” Riordan explained. The door unlocked and Riordan helped Uvundar to her feet.
“Riordan, you know they're just going to arrest me again...” Uvundar said with a tired sigh.
“What'd you do?” Kitranna asked.
Uvundar smirked. “Killed a lord.”
“Impressive,” Zevran said, raising his eyebrows.
“Why would you do such a thing?” Leliana asked.
Uvundar stretched. “'cos he crashed my wedding and hurt my family. Didn't need much of an excuse, to be honest, but that was a pretty good one.”
“Warden, Mistress Tabris defended herself and her kin from a human noble,” Riordan said. “For this, they threw her in prison.”
“Since when is that a surprise?” Uvundar demanded. “You're from Orlais, Rioridan, you should know better.”
“Listen, this is interesting and all, but we kind of have a queen to rescue,” Kitranna said. “Riordan, like I said, you can meet up with Alistair and Fiona at Arl Eamon's place.” she glanced at Uvundar. “I guess you can go too?”
“How generous of you,” Uvundar said flatly.
“I'm a little pressed for time here. And anyway, if another Gray Warden says you shouldn't be in prison, I think they'll wait a bit before throwing you back in.”
“Surana...” Leliana sighed.
“Anyway—Riordan, we're looking for a household mage. Seen anyone like that around here?”
“Oh, him?” Uvundar's nose wrinkled. “Down at the end of the hall.”
“Thanks.” Kitranna nodded at the other elf.
“Should we not look for Howe, as well?” Leliana asked. “He is the cause of many of our troubles...”
“We're trying to rescue the queen, not do a political assassination,” Kitranna said. “No matter how qualified present company may be at doing that.”
“It would be no trouble, really,” Zevran said.
“Howe is probably still in the dungeons,” Riordan said. “With the mage you seek.”
Kitranna sighed. “...alright, I guess this is turning into a political assassination. Wonderful. You two—get out of here before anything worse happens,” she gestured to Riordan and Uvundar. “Go to Arl Eamon's estate, ask for Fiona and Alistair.”
Riordan nodded, and the two of them left.
They found the mage, who, under threat of getting shanked with a sword, dropped the barrier over Anora's door.
Howe was a little trickier, but they did find him, deep in the bottom of the dungeons. He stood as if he were waiting for them.
“Well, I see one of the surviving Gray Wardens has decided to stick her nose in somewhere else where it doesn't belong,” Howe said.
Kitranna took out her sword. “Look, we weren't going to do this, but it's just convenient,” she said. “Unless you wanted to completely change your loyalties and ally with Arl Eamon instead of killing the queen...?”
“If you think I will allow you to take this from me, you are very much mistaken.”
Kitranna shrugged. “I warned you.”
Howe, though well-trained and well-armed, was not a match for three people who had spent the better part of the last year battling darkspawn, and despite having a household mage, he had no defense against magic. He'd either made the mage angry or simply never thought to invest in enchanted armor, either way, it was bad for him.
They fought him to a standstill, a wound in his gut and frostbite on his hands.
“Maker spit on you,” he snarled. “I deserved more.”
“That's nice,” Kitranna said. Howe collapsed, either unconscious or dead, and they hurried upstairs to free Anora.
The upstairs was still fairly quiet, the sounds not having carried, and the three of them hurried to Anora's door. They got her out and she and Erlina joined them, hastily escaping the house just before the city guard turned up.
Crossing Denerim was a nightmare—someone had alerted the guard that Howe had been killed and his various prisoners escaped, and the city was crawling with guards.
They did manage to return to the estate, however. Riordan and Uvundar had gotten there before them, Riordan meeting with Alistair and Fiona.
“Maker's breath, the city is in an uproar,” Eamon said when he spotted them. “What did you do?”
“Got the queen,” Kitranna said, and Anora stepped forward.
“Your Majesty—I am—pleased to see you are well,” Eamon said. He focused his attention on Kitranna. “I am hearing rumors that Arl Howe is dead, that someone stormed his dungeons--”
“Ah, we did do that,” Zevran said. “Although I could not say if the Arl is dead.”
Eamon sighed heavily. “What happened?”
“Turns out, I'm not very good at rescue missions,” Kitranna said.
“Nonsense!” Leliana exclaimed. “We are all fine, as is Her Majesty.”
“Fine, I'm not good at quiet missions.”
“That is true.”
They explained how they had found Anora, and the state of Howe's dungeons, including the unlawful prisoners. Anora was fairly certain Howe would have had her killed, but really did not know if Loghain was in on it or not.
“He's completely paranoid about Orlais,” Anora explained. “And that paranoia extends to other things, including other nobles.”
“Well, where Howe's concerned, it sounds like he was right to be paranoid,” Kitranna said.
Anora nodded, her expression dark. “It is possible he orchestrated the attack that killed the Couslands,” she said. “I am unsure, but there was an investigation into the matter before Cailan's death.” she looked down. “After he died, the city was in such uproar that the matter was forgotten.”
“So what's the point in doing all this?” Kitranna asked.
“Why did Loghain betray Cailan?” Alistair demanded.
“That I could not tell you, not for certain,” Anora said. “Loghain is no longer the man I know as my father.” she sighed and rubbed her forehead. “You must understand—if a Blight were to originate in the Wilds, in Ferelden, and we needed Orlesian aid...” Anora trailed off. “The occupation of the Orlesians is still within living memory. We could not appear weak.” her lip curled. “At least, that is how my father sees it.”
“You do not feel the same way?” Fiona asked.
Anora shook her head. “The Blight is too great a threat to spare thought for old hatred,” she said. “So many of our troops were lost at Ostagar—even though my father's actions spared some, many more died. We may need the help of Orlais, and Antiva, and the Free Marches, and many more before this is all over.”
“Well, lucky for you we don't have to go that far yet,” Kitranna said. “The Gray Wardens, it turns out, have old treaties with the Circle of Magi, Orzammar, and the Dalish, so we already have an army handy.”
“That is well,” Anora said. “But Denerim has been in absolute turmoil since Ostagar, it is not simply the nobility,” Anora said. “The unrest is worst in the Alienage. I am not sure why—there were few elves in the army. I think perhaps my father—or Howe—gave them a reason to be angry.”
“Or perhaps the noble who attacked Mistress Tabris had a hand in it?” Riordan suggested quietly. “A Lord Vaughn.”
“Lord Vaughn?” Anora frowned. “I do know that he was attacked and killed by an elf, some months ago...”
“Who is this Tabris?” Eamon asked.
“One of the women in Howe's dungeons,” Kitranna said. “Riordan's friend. Where is she, anyway?” she asked Riordan.
“Still here, when last I looked,” Riordan said. He looked at Anora. “According to her, her engaged was attacked and killed on their wedding day, and Vaughn also attacked her cousin and several others of the Alienage. Mistress Tabris merely defended herself.”
Anora clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I doubt that is the full truth,” she said. “But Vaughn was known for being a deplorable brute.”
“And if an elf had raised a hand to defend herself, they would have arrested her all the same,” Fiona muttered.
Anora rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Even so, surely there are better things the Alienage could be doing than attempting to revolt,” she said. “There are several hundred elves there, the last I knew of, and our forces would also be doing better work focusing on the darkspawn than them.”
“This is a useful lead,” Eamon said. “But we have a more immediate matter.”
“And what is that?”
“One of alliances,” Eamon said.
“Ah—I had hoped we might join forces,” Anora said. “You need evidence for the Landsmeet, this is true. The Alienage will hopefully help to provide it--”
“Couldn't you just tell everyone Howe was planning on killing you?” Kitranna asked. “I mean, maybe Loghain would back down if--”
“I do not think so,” Anora said. “For two reasons. One, my father is not known for backing down from anything in particular. Second, I cannot be sure if he was privy to Howe's plan to kill me.”
“I do not think so,” Fiona said. “He would not do that.”
“I do not think so either,” Anora said. “Or—i hope so. But I cannot trust him as he picks his allies so poorly, and makes choices that endanger the lives of my people and my family.” she looked down at the table. “If he is responsible fo Cailan's death, I cannot trust what else he might do.” she looked up again. “In any case, you not only need evidence for the Landsmeet, but you need a strong candidate for the throne. Considering how I am already holding a throne, it would be advantageous to have me on your side.”
“We do have Alistair,” Kitranna pointed out, gesturing to the man in question.
“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” Alistair sighed.
Anora glanced at Alistair, then looked away. “I have no doubt that Alistair is biddable enough,” she said. “But royal blood does not change what one knows. Alistair is a Gray Warden—hardly a suitable candidate for the effective ruling of a nation.”
“What have I been trying to tell you all?” Alistair exclaimed.
“And in any case, if you attempted to put a Gray Warden on the throne, it would only bolster the opinion that the Wardens killed Cailan in order to take control of the country.”
Fiona folded her arms and glared at Arl Eamon.
Eamon ignored Fiona. “You are indeed capable, but--”
Anora looked at him coldly. “I am the daughter of Ferelden's greatest general. Who do you think has truly ruled this nation for the last five years? Cailan?” she smirked. “Never send a warrior to do a job of a diplomat. I am what you need, not an untested king who doesn't even want the job.”
“Wait a minute...” Kitranna said. “If you're in charge, couldn't people just accuse you of furthering Loghain's interests?”
“Howe was about to kill me, if you recall.”
“I remember, I was there. But if we put you in charge, the people who were against Loghain might think you've...I don't know, infiltrated our side or something.”
“Surely there is a way to meet in the middle over this?” Riordan said. “I would not advise putting a Gray Warden on the throne myself...”
“See!” Alistair gestured to Riordan. “What have I been telling everyone this whole time?”
“When you come to a decision, I wish to hear about it,” Anora said. “For now, I believe I will retire to my rooms.” she left, allowing them to continue the meeting without her.
Eamon was not in favor of backing Anora.
“This is an alliance of convenience,” Eamon said. “For the moment, we are united against Loghain, but I would not trust her.”
“Why not?” Kitranna asked. “I mean—technically all alliances are alliances of convenience. And when we're done with Loghain, then we'll be allied against the darkspawn.”
“We must think about the further good of Ferelden,” Eamon insisted.
“Oh, speaking of which--Can you induct other Gray Wardens? Do you have the supplies?” Alistair asked Riordan. “Because we're kind of low on them.”
“Would that I could,” Riordan sighed.
“The Joining not only requires blood from Darkspawn, but a drop of blood from an Archdemon,” Fiona explained. “I take it that the Ferelden stores were lost?”
“You are correct,” Riordan scowled. “I went to the vault where they were kept, but the blood was not there.”
Alistair sighed. “Great...”
“Before we even think about who we're backing for the throne, we still need to get Landsmeet evidence,” Kitranna said. “Anora said something about the Alienage. Anyone know anything about it?”
“You would be better off asking Mistress Tabris,” Riordan said. “Her Majesty knew some, as well.”
“The Alienage is frequently in a state of unrest,” Eamon said, waving a hand. Fiona muttered something angry in Orlesian that made Riordan grimace. “But perhaps Anora had a point—and we should ask this Tabris if she knows any more.”
As it turned out, Uvundar hadn't left the estate. She was hovering in the hall just outside the meeting room, glaring at people who passed her by.
“Something the matter in the Alienage?” she said once they explained their concerns. “Well—I've been in prison for a while, so, I can't say I have any idea what that could be about.”
“S'pose we'll have to go in ourselves, then,” Kitranna said with a sigh.
“If we are going to the Alienage, it would be best to only bring elves,” Fiona said. “Or anyone in our party who is elf-blooded.”
“How would anyone tell who was elf-blooded?” Alistair asked.
“Can you not tell?” Uvundar raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Well...no, not really.” Alistair rubbed the back of his head. “Don't half-elf children look all human anyway?”
“Not necessarily,” Uvundar said. “I know lots of half-elves who have the big eyes or the nose—one or two with the ears. Sometimes you can just kind of tell.” she winked at Alistair, who flushed.
“...right,” he said. “Are we sure we should be going there anyway? We already have a lot of evidence against Loghain, don't we?”
“Not enough to sway the Landsmeet,” Eamon sighed.
“And Anora did bring up a good point—soldiers' energy would be better used on darkspawn than on their own citizens.” Fiona pointed out. “There is no law expressly forbidding elvhen join the Ferelden military—perhaps we can convince some to do so.”
“Don't count on it,” Uvundar said.
Fiona tapped her chin. “No, I suppose not,” she agreed. “But this is still their city. There must be some way they can defend it...”
“Maker knows no one else will defend it for us,” Uvundar said.
They decided on taking only full-blooded elves with them—even though Uvundar could tell Alistair was a half-elf, she figured less practiced eyes might see the round ears and very tall stature and disagree. Although Morrigan was much slighter and had the brilliant eyes of one with elvhen blood, she also had a less prominent nose and round ears, so she was out as well.
Ultimately, it was only Kitranna, fiona, Zevran and Uvundar who made the trip to the Alienage.