Precocious Situations

This is from Home Sweet Home and is a precursor for this thread.

Characters In This Thread:

Nygozy
Kai
Raphael Griffinhart
Anders
Robert Scwarzer
Roskio Cornelius
Garrol
Iauron Bein'Nor


After Macha had left there was a caller at Nygozy's door. The woman sighed heavily and went to the desk, placing the papers down in a box where her paperwork went on top of the desk and there was a heavier knock at the doo rand someone yelled that she had to let whoever was out there in as they were on an important mission.

Nygozy looked to the door then to the dark spot in the room she knew her lover had ended up in and her brow rose just before she snorted. She slowly started to clean the clutter on the desk and made little piles as the knocking got louder . The two guards who had come inside were looking at her waiting for her to give them a nod so they could let whoever into the room.

Nygozy put on her cloak so it would fully cover her, fluffed the pillow on her chair then sat down and calmly arranged herself into a comfortable position. Her eyes went to the guards and she motioned for them to go to the doorknobs. She counted on her fingers as the knocking and yelling got worse then indicated for them to open the doors.

Three men tripped into the room, one falling over the couch and another bashing into it. They started to get themselves in order when Nygozy calmly addressed them, "Good sirs. Welcome. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was indisposed." Her smile said opposite to the polite words, "How may I help you?"

"Warden Commander Nygozy ... there is no last name here ..." The leader moved around the couch to stand in front of the heavy desk and looked it over, "That is a short desk."

Nygozy fought the urge to roll her eyes, "There is no last name. I am Nygozy, Fereldan Warden Commander and Hero of Fereldan and I am a dwarf." That to her was enough to say that she had the desk chopped down to size and the look she gave the man indicated that if he didn't get to the point she'd do the same to him.

"Ah right." He bowed to her and placed a package on the desk, "We are Grey Wardens from Weisshapt and have an important message for you. When you have decided whom to send with us we will be leaving to go back."

"Open it."

"What ... ser?"

"Open the package."

"Open the package?"

Nygozy put her chin on a palm and gave him a bored grin, "You are a good parrot, ser. Now open the package and I will look at the contents if you hand it out to me." She smirked then, a smirk telling him not to try anything.

The man opened the package and handed her a letter. The dwarven lady noticed that the man had no issue with what he was doing so took the letter and read it. She gave no signs of what she thought of it or what her intentions were until she placed the letter, upside down, onto her table, "It is good to see you, ser Rubin. I will carry out this request as per the letter and have everything ready for an entourage within two days. Arvin. Please find these gentlemen guest rooms and tell Mya that there are more mouths to feed."

Rubin seemed confused for a moment, "But we must leave as soon as we may."

"And as soon as we may is in two days. I am sure that your group would like to rest before rushing off again." The other four men looked weary and happy for the prospect.

"You are right. Thank you for your hospitality. I have to say it has been an honour."

Nygozy smiled as the men were led out the door then returned to the couch where she laid back for a few moments until there was another knock.

Nygozy sat upon the large steed with Kai at her back glaring at anyone who would come near the animal. It was a dark beast with hooves the size of dinner platters and certainly not Nygozy's normal mount, the runt of a black pony that it was. No, this one was dark and had fire in his eyes just like her small animal but it was just as gentle to her and her co-rider.

She waited calmly as ser Rubin and his two partners stayed well out of her way, waiting with their twelve guards they had brought with them. Fifteen just to do this one job. That was almost a shock to her but then again this trip would take quite a while. It was almost worth the amusement to just see them all giving her those looks of confusion. They were likely wondering what had happened for her to be alive after fighting the arch demon. Let them wonder. It was not for her to care so much what happened with this.

"You have made it, Griffinhart." She said calmly as she heard the man coming in. She knew he would be early as he always was. He probably would not be pleased that she had left to be here before him, as he was her second body guard, but it was unavoidable if she were to speak with these men before her trusted guard, "If you would help me to dismount this monster?"

Nygozy turned towards the warrior knowing full well that he would help her but he also would be completely confused as to why she had requested his services for a long trip and why now just after settling into the keep. Also, why sit such a gigantic beast when she was a small dwarven female, who was pregnant none-the-less.

He wore an utterly neutral expression - but the helmet obscured that anyways. Griffinhart acknowledged the Warden-Commander's request by sidling up next to the horse and stooping slightly to avail Nygozy of his shoulder and arm. He remained as steady as a pillar as the stocky (well, for a humanoid; he wasn't familiar enough with dwarven anatomy to tell if she was stocky for a dwarf) woman dismounted.

Meanwhile, he assessed the dozen-and-change bodies that stood around. This was quite an escort for the Warden-Commander. Griffinhart didn't ask the why of it - reasons did not particularly concern him - but he remained edgy and suspicious. There was a vague - very vague - sense of familiarity to some of them. It was, perhaps, in the way they carried themselves and their arms. Their weight, their center of gravity. A familiar way of fighting. That gave Griffinhart some comfort - familiar things were easier to exploit.

The silent, towering warrior stood next to the Warden-Commander, hood up and cloak drawn, obscuring his face and his weapons in case they were needed, and awaited his next orders.

"Walk with me." Nygozy nods at him, thankful for his strength and devoted stature. She starts to walk towards the exit then goes into a corral where they exercise the horses. While they are walking she is quiet and almost restless thinking of what was going on but during this she takes a letter from a satchel she is carrying and hands it to Griffinhart then stops walking in a location she is sure is quite safe. Or at least as safe as it could get.

"Read this then tell me what you think." There was no sense in doing anything other than giving the man an order. He was one who would do as you told him but there was something deep inside and she knew it may have something to do with this. Maybe this would be helpful. It could also be quite harmful. The dwarf was not sure but whichever way this turned out she was behind her soldier.

Griffinhart scanned the document.

Once.

Twice.

A third time.

Finally, he looked up from the letter, into the distance as he thought; he turned the words over in his head, arranging them, trying to make sense of them; he cocked his head in bemusement. Finally, he spoke.

"I have sparred with several of the other Wardens, but I think you know more about the state of Ferelden than I do, Warden-Commander." The inscrutable warrior paused, looking back at the Hero of Ferelden. After a moment, he continued in the same neutral tone. "However, I do not understand the latter half of the letter. 'It was his wish to be buried in his homeland.' I have no wish other than to serve the Grey Wardens, Commander. Where my body lies after I die is of no concern of mine."

Wait for it. Wait for it. Ah the cocking of his head giving way to some form of emotional reaction. There was something that she was looking for since the man held everything in so tightly. Did he not realize exactly what was meant by this letter or was he only confused about why it was sent and why they had to leave? Ah. There it is.

Nygozy tilted her head in the same manner that Griffinhart had as a slight twitch of her lips showed that she was amused by his reactions. This was by far one of the most interesting reactions she'd ever gotten from the man and she was interested in extending it at least for a slight bit.

"You have been noted by Pendra to be an excellent sparring partner and teacher. That is fair praise from the weapons master. As for the state of affairs it is true that I have a foot in on those matters. The issue in this situation; however, is not of where you wish your body to lie once you are dead but the fact that they believe you ARE dead and wish that we return your body for interment.

Her mouth quirked into a bemused tilt as she watched for his reaction, wishing that his helm were not on.

"Teacher?" Griffinhart disagreed with that assessment, but he did not voice the thought.

"...they believe you ARE dead and wish that we return your body for interment."

There was a simple enough explanation for that. "I have been gone from Weisshaupt Fortress for over a year without reporting." It was not, from Griffinhart's perspective, unreasonable for them to believe him dead. Perhaps the Warden-Commander hadn't mentioned his continued existence in any of her reports to Weisshaupt - assuming she even reported to them.

"I may not be dead, but my body is still available for transportation to Weisshaupt Fortress, Warden-Commander. You can still fulfill their request." In short, he would go if ordered, dead or alive.

Nygozy considered the situation not due to whether or not to bring Griffinhart back but as to what exactly was going on. They knew that the man was there which would be why they were able to send people to come get "his body" but from there it seems that anything that had been sent had not gotten through otherwise they would know that he was alive.

"Reports do go out as you have said and I do keep good notes thanks to Macha's help as well as Drake's unending persistence to send them to get it out of my way. When he is here that is." She looked away for a moment then back at the warrior before her, "Which means that they are not getting through and if they are not then neither would any spies' reports get through. I believe that we have two mysteries to figure out here since there must be a reason they would believe you have come to some demise. You are not that easy to dispatch. So yes I would appreciate you to bring your "body" with us to assure Weisshapt that you are still breathing as you should be."

The thought of outside interference had crossed Griffinhart's mind, but he hadn't mind to voice it; it might have just as equally been Nygozy not sending reports regularly. But now there was someone - or something - intercepting missives within the Grey Wardens' chain of command. More importantly, Griffinhart now had new orders.

"Then, by your order, I will accompany you to Weisshaupt Fortress, Warden-Commander."

Hopefully the trip back to Weisshaupt would take less time than the journey from Weisshaupt to Ferelden. At the very least, Griffinhart would be traveling with a group this time. While he preferred to keep to himself, the warrior knew that long-distance travelers tended to be safer in groups than on their own.

Nygozy nodded as she knew that Griffinhart got the idea of something greater going on then what was being said out loud. The man had a mind which could only figure things out without it being said. The two had become to know each other a bit and she hoped that he was coming around to respect and like working for her, if "like" could be a word used for him.

"It is by my request as one who admires and respects your personage that you come with me on this mission. There is more than I can find on my own going on and that is why I have requested more than one or two others to come as well." She gave him a half grin, "Those men with the wardens from Weisshapt ... you are my guard as per normal along with Kai."

No more was needed to be said. There were too many people in that group and she was requested directly to come herself to bring Griffinhart's remains. Paranoia maybe but paranoia had kept her alive to now.

"Let us be back to see if the rest of our party has come yet, Raph." Nygozy had never called him that before but now, she would so the others did not know that he was alive, "They are not to know our orders except that we are going to give a personal report to Weisshapt. I will tell each their personal roles as we go along."

Garoll was pacing down the halls of the Keep a lot lately. He felt agitated, the group of them sitting on their hands like this. He needed some action. The grizzled dwarf had spent some of his time training in the barracks, though it just wasn't the same without his blade finding a Darkspawn's neck like the old days.

While scouting around the Keep recently, he found a disturbing sight.

The Shadow had been ripped apart.

The Darkspawn had been an agitation to Garoll, leaving one breathing and all that just because it could speak. Still, he trusted the Commander's word so he let the critter go. The Shadow rarely talked to the group anyway, it probably knew it wasn't welcome. Still, it was disturbing seeing the carnage that remained of The Shadow's body. He had been ripped limb from limb from the inside it seemed, and his body parts were strewn all around the path leading to the Keep.

He reported this to Nygozy the day before, when he had returned from his scouting mission. Someone was out there killing travellers, or maybe just Darkspawn. The Wardens could use that kind of skill.

He was standing outside the stables now, and heard voices. So he walked around the corner and poked his head into the stables, grunting a greeting to Kai, Nygozy and Griffinhart. "Hey folks. Look, I'm bored as all sodding hell, do you have a mission for me to do, commander? Something to take my mind off counting hairs in my beard." he asked with his usual bluster and lack of tact.

[OOC: If we're waiting on me, I have nothing to say. Pass.

-- Griffinhart]