Let the road

The voices jeered in his mind, hurling insults and threats left and right. His son was nothing, less than nothing, and now he was expected to grovel to him. If he’d shown even a tenth of his true potential perhaps Kellam would have gone easier on the boy, but at every turn Ruth was just a constant reminder that he was a useless child who was the cause of Amara’s death.

He had to find a way to swallow those feelings though, because his clan needed Arlathan to work out, at least until they could regroup. By now they were well on their way to clearing Orlais from the Darkspawn, so it wasn’t like they’d have to stay in Arlathan indefinitely, if they didn’t want to. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his face as impassive as possible, while the whisperings bounced around his brain.

Is this how you usually conduct business, standing in the doorway half naked? He asked, desperately trying to cling to the higher ground, despite the fact that it was fast slipping out from under him. It did make him question the good sense of this Megara person, that she would leave someone so unprofessional in charge in her absence. I’m here on behalf of the clan, not for myself. If it had been just for himself he would have walked away already, but his clan needed this. They were tired and on their last supplies, being turned away simply wasn’t an option at the moment.