My prompt response. Fun prompt Sarah
"But Sweetheart, you know I only have eyes for you!" Anders' head jerked when the sweetheart in question slapped him. Rubbing his cheek he watched her storm away. "That didn't go well." Sighing, he picked up his ale and walked back to the companion he'd abandoned to chase the pretty girl. "Stop smirking."
"For someone who must have lied a lot, you're not very good at it."
"Oh? I suppose you're an expert are you?"
"Better than you." Sigrun smirked again, this time into her ale. Best not to annoy the mage too much. "What you need is lessons."
"Lessons in lying? Hardly. I've fooled Templars from here to the Waking Sea and down to Denerim. I once had the ones guarding the Tower convinced there was a secret passage out, did you know that Ser I'm-so-smarty-pants?" He glared when she sneered. "Its not easy to fool Templars."
"Ah huh."
"Don't 'ah huh' me its not! They're trained to be suspicious of mages. Trained I tell you." Anders was secretly proud of his ability to lie and he wasn't having some half-sized rogue belittle that.
"I have an idea." Anders was so funny, nothing like she's expected a mage to be. "A competition. You and me. Who's the best liar."
"Competition?" Considering that, Anders sipped his ale. "What are the rules and what's the prize?"
"No rules. Just a challenge. Needs to be something difficult." Pondering that Sigrun rubbed her chin. "Who's the most untrusting, suspicious person we know?"
"Nathaniel." Some might say Velanna, but Anders thought Nate was worse. It was easy to fool Velanna, all it took was making her angry enough and she'd stop thinking clearly. Nate, unfortunately, seemed to use anger to sharpen his mind. Annoying bastard.
"The challenge is to fool Nathaniel into believing a lie. Nothing embarassing, I don't know about you, but I'd prefer not spend the rest of my life waiting for him to take revenge."
"You have a point. Something simple but difficult. We can't make it too easy or anyone could do it." Thinking up the challenge would be the hardest part. "And the winner gets?"
"The winner gets to watch the loser apologise to Nate for lying. Then they have to stand on this table, in their underwear, and proclaim the winner as the best Warden in Thedas."
"Not best liar?"
"No, if we do that, Nate will know we both lied. That might be a bad idea." Even worse if he found out they'd competed to trick him. "Very bad."
"I didn't realise you were afraid of our Nathaniel." He'd have thought Sigrun wasn't afraid of anything.
"Not afraid, I'd face him in a fight. No point causing unnecessary trouble though."
"Good point."
. . .
The door slammed drawing everyone's attention. Sigrun took a breath and straightened. Nathaniel scowled around the hall and when his gaze reached her, she waved him over. He'd have found the bows. Anders had come up with idea of hiding all of Nate's bow strings. Then they'd locked the door to the supplies and hidden the key. The challenge was to convince him he'd put them in there himself.
"Something wrong?"
"Some fool is playing tricks on me." Nate had a sense of humour, it just wasn't childish. And this was childish. "All of my bow strings are gone and the supply room's locked."
"Oh? Who'd do a thing like that?" She tensed when his eyes narrowed. "Anders?" One eyebrow lifted. "Did you annoy him?"
"Not recently."
Sigrun frowned, pretending to think about it. "I'm not sure who else would play a trick on you. Are you sure you didn't just put them away yourself?"
"Sigrun. I'd hardly forget locking my own bow strings away. And losing the key to the supply room."
"I once forgot where I lived. We'd had a really good night you see, lots of ale, lots. That can make you do strange things." Like making wagers you shouldn't.
"I wasn't drunk last night."
"Weren't you? You seemed a little, unsteady, on your feet." Stepping closer Sigrun lowered her voice. "Perhaps someone put a potion in your ale?"
"A potion. In my ale?"
"To knock you out."
"While they hid my bow strings?" Both eyebrows lifted this time.
"No, no, to make you forget whatever you did during the night. I've heard of potions like that. They can make you walk in your sleep."
"A potion. Hmm." Turning slightly he found Anders on the other side of the hall. "The mage makes potions."
"Yes he does."
"Perhaps I should discuss this with him." Giving her a quick bow he crossed the hall to where Anders was standing. "Anders."
"Howe." Sigrun must have partly succeeded, cursed luck. Now he'd have to work particularly hard to win.
"Do you know anything about potions? Specifically one to cause walking in the sleep?"
That was a rotten, despicable, desperate thing to do. Obviously she recognised his superior skills and had bounced the victim to him to finish off. "I may do. Why?"
"Some fool has hidden my bow strings. Sigrun thinks I'm responsible, that I was drugged and don't remember. What do you say?"
"Its possible I suppose. There are potions that can cause memory loss. They're tasteless or near enough, the ale would be strong enough to disguise what little taste they do have." Anders was going to enjoy seeing Sigrun in her underwear. Very much.
"I see." Hands clasped behind his back, Nate rocked on his toes and thought about that. "Someone drugged me and I hid my own bow strings? Is that what you'd have me believe?"
This would require a delicate touch, the wrong word or gesture and he'd lose Nate. "I don't want you to believe anything. I'm simply answering your question."
"You were sitting next to me at supper."
"Yes." Anders drew it out cautiously. "What of it?"
"Perhaps you drugged my ale."
"Me!?"
"You." Turning he studied Sigrun. "Or perhaps Sigrun. I believe she was also sitting beside me."
"I don't think she'd do something like that." This wasn't going at all the way it was supposed to. "What reason could she have?"
"What reason could anyone?" Catching her eye he jerked his head, calling her over.
What had the mage done wrong? Stone cursed human. After briefly thinking about running, Sigrun told herself not be a coward and went over to join them.
"Did Anders know about the potion?"
"He did." Nate looked from Sigrun to Anders and back. "I'd like to know why you both drugged me."
"We didn't! You can't believe, we'd never. Nathaniel!" Sigrun looked at Anders for help. "Anders, tell him we didn't."
"I certainly didn't. I'm not sure what you did."
Eyes wide, she stared at him in shock. "You. Traitor!"
"Traitor? I was right then? You were in this together?"
"No! I mean, there's nothing to be in. We didn't do anything." It was starting seem liked they'd have to confess. Anders might tease Sigrun but he wouldn't really let her take the blame for drugging Nate. "No one drugged you."
"Explain how I managed to forget putting my bow strings away, Anders. I must have been drugged." Watching them look at each other he shook his head. "I'll have to put this to the Commander. We can't have you committing crimes against your fellow wardens."
"The Commander! No, no need for that!" Anders looked at Sigrun who nodded quickly. "We had a bet."
"A bet? To drug me?"
"No, no. Maker's sake, no one drugged you. We were competing to see who was the best liar."
"Ah." Thinking about that, Nate looked down at his feet. "The best liar? I assume the goal was to fool me?" They nodded. "And the penalty for losing?"
"Proclaiming the winner the best Warden in Thedas. While standing on a table in the dining hall, in their underwear."
"And apologising to you for the lie." Sigrun hoped that might make Nate less annoyed.
"You expect me to believe that you'd both do something so, childish? Just to prove who is the better liar?" Their mouths opened and closed. "You'd be right. I do believe you." He gestured over his shoulder at the door. "I knew before I came in what you were up to."
"You. Knew?" That wasn't possible, Anders couldn't believe that was possible.
"I believe that means I won this little contest. Doesn't it? I'd like my payment this evening during supper. I'll bring blankets in case you get chilly." Turning to walk away he paused. "Oh. By the way, you both really need to learn how to lie effectively. A child could have seen through that effort."
Modifié par Avilia, 12 novembre 2010 - 03:02 .
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