Chapter 91: Ascent

For the next several days, we relaxed in between going to meetings with Sereda. She had already made sweeping changes, instituting a new 'military' caste that took anyone who could fight regardless of previous caste (or lack thereof). She had the recruits, mostly former casteless, training under the supervision of a few open-minded Warrior caste veterans. She'd opened up the castes to accept the children of a union whether or not the gender lined up with the casted parent, and as a result, several merchant and warrior caste dwarves had married their mistresses and had their female children recognised. The slums of Dust Town were being torn down and rebuilt, and she had the former residents housed wherever they could find space, be that abandoned housing in the market, or in the bowels of the Proving Grounds. The casteless without any talent for fighting were being trained to build and excavate stone to make new permanent housing. She'd cancelled any upcoming Provings, instead implementing war games to take place between Orzammar and Aeducan Thaig, as training exercises both for the warriors and the military.

Alistair and I made good use of the bed and the spare time; it was a good thing Grey Warden stamina was what it was, or we'd both have needed medical treatment before the week was over. I also spent some time shopping with the girls; Leli insisted I be fitted for yet another dress that she wouldn't allow me to see or have input on, even when I pouted.

Caridin and Shale left to find Cadash Thaig, as well as reactivate any golems they could find along their travels; the Shaperate had provided detailed records of the numbers and approximate locations of golems lost in centuries past, so the two sentient golems left with dozens of control rods carried between them. Sten seemed a little disgruntled to have been left; he and Shale were as close to friends as I could imagine either of them being. But I couldn't blame Shale – as large and hardy as the Qunari was, he was still a 'fleshy creature', and it must have been nice for her to spend some time with one of her own kind. Especially one who remembered her from before. And since neither needed to eat or rest, I imagined they'd have the sections of Deep Roads they were aiming for cleared in short order.

Our parting with Shale was short and abrupt; though I had come to appreciate the acerbic golem, she wasn't exactly the emotional type. She bid each of us a curt farewell and stomped off, promising to meet up with us when the dwarves marched.

Solona spent much of the time either holed up in the library or shopping with Leli; she avoided Anders like the plague, and he allowed it, seemingly thinking about what we'd talked about. Faren spent his time with Rica, or training with the new military class dwarves; Bel had begun work with Leliana on his speech, taking over where I left off, and spent much of his time alone, practicing his new skills. Oghren spent the time drunk or unconscious. Given what had happened with his wife, we all just stayed out of his way, though Mistress Leta insisted he have a bath every day or two. Like Alistair and me, Aedan and Zevran were, I guessed, enjoying a few days together in bed, given how I only saw either of them when we were forced to a meeting with Sereda. I almost never saw Gorim, and I wondered what was happening between him and Sereda, but never got a chance to ask. Morrigan spent her time reading, between pestering Jowan and Anders to learn new skills – she'd spent her time waiting for us to return from the Deep Roads working with Solona.

When Leli wasn't shopping, singing, or working with Bel, she was chasing Schmooples around the estate and trying to prevent Prince – or Oghren, or Faren, or any other dwarf who happened to wander by – from eating the poor little naked pig-rabbit. The nug was ridiculous, adorable in the 'you're so ugly that you're cute' sort of way. Leli adored her pet. The rest of us rolled our eyes and carried on.

Our armour and arming clothes were finally delivered by Paider and a gaggle of assistants. The arming clothes were made of some sort of thick, slippery, breathable material that would apparently wick away sweat and not bunch or bind underneath leather and plate. The mages were given very light armour to go overtop; Solona's was styled as a robe with the chest and shoulders covered in a light chain mesh for extra protection and leather leggings peeking through the shortened front panel. Jowan and Anders received what looked like leather armour that was even lighter than mine. Morrigan had refused robes, but from the glances she was giving Solona's attractive new attire, I thought she might be regretting that. Though she'd have be covering up an awful lot of skin if she wore something similar...

My new armour, of which there were two complete sets, was incredible. Made of supple, flexible leather of some sort, there were chest pieces, elaborate shoulders made up of overlapping plates that didn't impair my movement at all, boots that hugged my feet and calves like a second skin, leggings with the crotch cut out, and a skirt-type thing of overlapping plates to cover the crotch. There were even helmets, cut close so as not to feel clunky, and with a convenient nook at the back for my coiled hair to fit. The armour was light enough that I could barely feel it when I moved, and so mobile I could have sworn I wasn't wearing armour at all. And when I looked in the full-length mirror lugged in by a couple of the assistants, my jaw dropped – somehow, despite no skin showing anywhere, despite it being armour, I looked incredibly feminine. My hips and chest curved fetchingly, hinting without showing what lay underneath, my calves looked cut, like I was wearing high heels, and my belly was flat and smooth. The helmets managed to look sleek, and the bump at the back looked sort of like an elaborate hairdo, the face plate like a beautiful Orlesian mask. One set had been dyed a gorgeous dark green, while the other set was a deep blood red.

I didn't even have time to admire the plate he presented to Faren, Bel, Oghren, Gorim, and Sten, or Leli's set of leathers almost identical to mine but in blue, so enamoured was I with my own armour. And I wasn't the only one who noticed; Alistair's look of approval and open lust left me blushing deeper than the crimson armour I wore. Zev, Alistair, Aedan, and Duncan were the only ones without new armour; they didn't need it, with how easily their plate and drake-scale cleaned up. Even Prince got an armoured, fitted helmet of sorts and a coat of armour to strap around his chest with small spikes sticking up; the ridiculous beast was prancing around gleefully, growling fiercely in the mirror before flopping happily to the ground at Aedan's feet.

The last thing he had for each of us was a tabard. They were a surprise, and I realised Duncan must have ordered them when he was measured for his armour. The tabards for the actual Wardens were Grey Warden regalia – royal blue and silver, with a griffon rampant displayed prominently across the chest and back. Those for the rest of us were the same colours, but with a smaller griffon on one shoulder, clearly identifying us as companions of the Wardens. We wouldn't wear them all the time – especially with the bounties still out on Wardens – but we'd have them if we needed them.

We were an intimidating group once we were all kitted up. I couldn't wait to see the faces on the nobles in the Landsmeet when we walked in like this.

I kissed Paider on the cheek in appreciation of his hard work; it couldn't have been easy to get that many sets of armour and arming clothes ready in such a short time, and they were amazing. He blushed and stuttered, and I thought I might have partially ameliorated the disgust at having to make me armour.

The night before we left Orzammar, Sereda held a reception in our honour at the Palace. Thankfully it was small, with only a handful of her closest friends and advisors, instead of the mass of the nobility from the celebration after her coronation. We drank and ate and laughed together for hours, and then she presented each of us with a boon of some sort.

To Duncan, she presented a new treaty compelling the dwarves to aid the Fereldan Grey Wardens in the time of a Blight even if there was no King or Queen to honour the old one. To the rest of us she gave enchanted amulets specific to each of our areas of expertise. Mine increased my speed, allowing me to dodge more easily; when she placed it around my neck, I could feel a buzz like I'd had about six cups of coffee. I couldn't wait to see how it improved my combat. She also gave me a small box tied with ribbon; it was perhaps three inches square by one inch deep. She told me not to open it until I was bathing at a campsite somewhere on our way to Redcliffe, and I assumed it would be some sort of dwarven-made soap, though the wink that accompanied the gift made me question that assumption.

She made a speech promising to have the first part of the army marching towards Redcliffe by the end of the month, and the rest following behind at regular intervals. She'd committed to purchasing twenty of the bola launchers Dallard was designing, and I almost choked when I imagined sixty sovereigns being delivered to me in Redcliffe eventually.

Exhausted and tipsy from all the wine they'd served at dinner, we finally made our way back to the Grey Warden estate. Alistair made love to me – in a bed, for the last time in a while – and then we slept until woken by Duncan the next morning. We geared up, appreciating the new arming clothes and armour again, and went to the dining room to find our packs full to bursting, waiting for us. Mistress Leta had struck again; after preparing a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, cheese, and bread, she had also packed us with enough food to feed an army for much longer than it would take to get to Redcliffe. We all got hugs from the motherly woman, even Oghren, who grumbled good-naturedly the whole time. She was teary-eyed, and made us all promise to visit again soon.

Sereda and Lord Harrowmont, as well as Kardol and a few of the Legion, made a procession through the Diamond Quarter and the market towards the gates; the people of Orzammar turned out in droves to cheer and wave us on our way. The Hall of Heroes, far too revered a place for cheering crowds, was where they left us. Sereda bowed and we all returned the sign of respect, then she left and headed back to the Palace. After she walked away, Gorim slipped out of the shadows and nonchalantly joined us. Everyone noticed, but no one commented; the pained look on his face was obvious enough without asking questions.

We climbed steps for what felt like forever, proceeding through the hall that was quiet as a tomb; the guards at the massive outside gates warned us it would be cold, so we all stopped to bundle up. Duncan had a brief discussion with someone he knew among the guard; they assured him that, once Sereda had returned from the Deep Roads, the emissaries of 'King Loghain' had been sent packing with assurances that if the dwarves were going to be involved in Fereldan politics, they wouldn't be on Loghain's side. The dwarves had always had good relations with the Grey Wardens.

They opened the main gate this time instead of slipping us through the side door. I blinked owlishly against the bright light, so different than the reddish glow of flowing lava I'd become used to. And then I gasped against a gust of frigid wind that raced by with ice crystals floating in its wake. After the initial shock, it was mostly refreshing; the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and I'd never been so happy to see a snowbank in my entire life.

Oghren immediately covered his face with his hands, evidently dizzy and nauseous; Faren shaded his eyes, looking distinctly green as well. Bel seemed to be managing alright, and he and Gorim each picked a sickly dwarf to support while they adjusted and learned to trust that they wouldn't float off into the sky.

With a giggle, I pulled away from where Alistair held me by the hand, and launched myself onto the nearest patch of flat ground, rolling onto my back with glee. I laid there for a moment, and then began making a snow angel, just appreciating ground below me that wasn't the hard stone of the Deep Roads or Orzammar itself and actual sky above.

A shadow fell over me, and I looked up into Aedan's amused face; Alistair, Duncan and Leli stood beside him, watching me and laughing.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a snow angel."

"What's a snow angel?"

"It's a ... you know, never mind. I'm just going to lay here for a moment and enjoy this. You can all be stoic all you like – I'm freaking glad to be outside again, and you won't make me feel guilty for it."

Everyone seemed to consider my words for a moment, and before long there were a half-dozen more bodies scattered about on the ground around me, mimicking my actions and giggling madly. Duncan, Sten, and the dwarves watched us with amusement; Zevran shivered just looking at us, and Morrigan sniffed disdainfully, though I caught her taking a few extra deep breaths and looking appreciatively at the sky. Prince danced joyfully around us, a chorus of yelps left in his wake as he stepped on people indiscriminately.

Oghren looked at Duncan, once his initial dizziness had passed. "You topsiders always like this, or is it particular to Grey Wardens?"

Duncan chuckled before signalling that our revelry was at an end. I scrambled to my feet and offered my hand to Alistair, who seemed slightly turtled on his back in the heavy plate armour he wore. He looked at me skeptically, shrugged, took my hand, and pulled me back down to land face first in a snow bank beside him, while everyone else laughed hysterically.

Swearing and laughing in turns, I pulled a couple of handfuls of snow out of the neck of my armour, tossing them at Alistair spitefully. In the end, it took Sten and Oghren both to help lever Alistair up out of the snow, not that I was going to try to help a second time. Finally upright, Alistair came over and stole a kiss before taking one of my two heavy packs from me with a sunny smile. I punched his shoulder playfully.

"I'm going to pay for that, aren't I?" His expression was not especially apologetic.

I scowled. "When you least expect it, yes."

His answering grin made my heart race.

We met up with Bodahn, who I was amazed to see had waited in the shanty town outside the gates for us. With the gates open, half of the town was empty, but Bodahn assured us he'd done good business while we were away. He packed a few things into the cart, ushered Sandal up onto the bench seat, and led the way out of town and back towards Redcliffe.

I was starting to feel like I spent my entire life on the road to and from Redcliffe, and when I grumbled about that, everyone seemed to agree. Even after spending over a month in Orzammar, I wasn't happy about seeing the same stretch of road. It took two days of walking before I realised the weather wasn't going to improve much, despite the slowly dropping altitude – winter had hit in Ferelden while we had been underground – and my knees were soon sore from going downhill. If I hadn't been so happy just to be above ground, I would have been miserable. Instead, despite the grumbling, I trudged along in my snazzy new armour, holding Alistair's hand, and trying not to think too much about the temperature, the walking, or what the future might hold.