Exchange of Kings

Eamon sighed as he watched Alistair leave, the his eyes tired but not defeated. Still, he was silent as the King left the room, and for a moment more after the closing of the doors echoed through the room. Then he turned to look at Macha, who was standing by the wall with a look of utter bewilderment on her face, and then to Nygozy.

"Mmm. Difficult child. Perhaps you can talk some sense into him," he said, his smile thin. "No, though," he conceded, his smile becoming a little less strained, "you've done enough for me on the boy's behalf. He seems content to remain deaf to his responsibilities." With his hands clasped behind his back, he strode over to the table of food, looking down the line without taking anything. "I should thank you for all you've done, Commander. I don't think he would have even seen me this afternoon if you hadn't been here."

What was he going to do with Alistair, then? As petulant as he was being, Eamon knew he needed to be King, and while he was perfectly happy to let him go off on one last reckless adventure, he was going to drag Alistair back to the throne if he had to tie him down to it.

"Difficult is a word for him, yes." She settled back to let Alistair go fume on his own because if she followed him now he would just react and another emotional stand off was something she could not afford. She was going to be meeting new potentials and doing a bunch of other things. Her mind had to be clear so that her judgement would not be impaired. If she did any different at this point she would be just as well off to drink a couple kegs of ale then go to the meetings.

"He was about ready to rush off without talking to you, I'm betting. Hmph ... you should have seen the trouble I had even getting him to lead a couple of people in missions let alone to run a country. I think you were lucky to get him for as long as you did but I agree that he could be a good king." Straight forward as usual but there was nothing to lose by being that way with the Arl, "I am sorry to say that he is not likely to want to talk with you for a long while now. He's probably mad at me now too for not answering him in front of everyone. Give him time. With time away and learning it may help."

She looked to Macha and put out a hand to suggest she sit beside her then continued, "On to other matters, it has come to my attention that you have extra supplies and crafting at your disposal. In fact, more than enough for a keep to be created. I have been able to work out a deal with the Tower mages and Templars to have them work with construction crews from the Korus and other noble families. There have been advances in some magecraft which will speed up building tremendously, making it so our keep can be made in months instead of years with the same integrity. I know you require more work restabalizing things in Redcliffe. Maybe we can work out a deal that I can get the mages and Templars to help you as well for the cost of material for the Grey Wardens' keep?"

Well . . . that had not gone as she had expected. Of course Alistair would have doubts, but the shouting was wholly unnecessary. She learned a long time ago that shouting at politicians rarely had any of the desirable effects - most of them, like Eamon, had passive masks of steel.

She was a bit angry that Alistair had so carelessly suggest that she take over his job. More fit for it she might have been, but it wasn't her place and had never been nor would ever be her place. She huffed an frustrated sigh not at his behavior, though, but because nothing much had been accomplished. But Mygozy was calling her over, so she pushed away from the wall and sat heavily in the chair next to her friend, grinning wryly as she idly grabbed a piece of bread from the table.

"Well," she said, looking between her Commander and the Arl, "I say we put him on the front line against every darkspawn band we come across. He'll be begging to come back here and be King." She laughed a little, because she knew that that wasn't the likely case at all, but it never hurt to lighten the mood before going into other serious matters.

Eamon nodded absently, bringing a hand to his chin as he considered what Nygozy was saying. "Hmmm. Yes. The rebuilding of Redcliffe had been going on for some time now, but there are some issues of security that I've been questioning recently. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to lend your our excess materials, when you have done so much for this kingdom - and Redcliffe - already."

He moved around the table to put down the wine glass he'd been offered earlier. Matters of finance were so much simpler to death with than the ambitions of a young man. "It will be costly, the work and the supplies. You'll need extra hands, and not just mage and Templar hands, if you want to build your keep in that short time frame. You'll need an architect - I imagine you'd want a dwarven one? - and skilled men for the more intricate work. But there is not much to worry for, there. The guilds in Denerim are conscripted to work for the king, and, well, with the King in your party, you have all of their work at your disposal. And the men of Redcliffe will, of course, offer their services."

He looked over at Macha, who had perked up. "The finances of the King's treasury have been growing steadily," she added. "We can funnel money from there, where we need it."

Constantly set Alistair up with foghting missions directly with darkspawn? Nygozy smirked, "Too bad he likes those missions. No, I will have to find another way to deal with him but I will."

The arl seemed much more content now that Alistair had stepped out and they were discussing matters of a less personal nature. This was understandable as anything was better than the heated subjects they were moving away from. She smiled gratefully at her friend for being there for her and wished that they could get together just the two of them but that would not be possible yet, "That is all good to hear. There has been a strong reaction from many to help get the wardens' keep up and running, I think due to there being a continuation of darkspawn problems so everything should go fairly well. I had needed to make sure that the Redcliffe materials were excess and since my sources were correct it makes all easier. As for the coffers, that is wonderful news . We can have everything clear for both Lothering and Redcliiffe in good time."

She sat back and smiled. Good news for once. Some things were coming together.