Well.

Clare tucks herself into the back of her cell and sits on the floor with her back to the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms folded around them, face pressed against her arms.

And she goes hunting.

There's always a rat or a pigeon or something of that nature around these places - a mabari hound if necessary, but those are much harder to spy with most of the time - she'll work with a fly if she has to, but they're such a pain.

There's more than a few rats lurking around.

She picks one and goes scouting. First priority is to find the Queen, then the other prisoners if possible, then the layout of the building, then she'll have to get a message back to the Redcliffe estate.

All the prisoners are in the same cellblock. The fort is large and mazelike. No sign of the Queen in or near the part where she and the others are.

With her borrowed rat body, she squeaks twice outside Elissa's cell and then searches out an exit. Rats are reasonably good eavesdroppers; is anyone saying anything useful?

Idle chitchat. Barracks-room bravado. A cook muttering something disgruntled about having to prepare the Queen's favorite meal on such short notice.

She wishes Stalas were back at the house, because he's the best rat interpreter with the group by far. But Zevran gets by and Hesta's not bad either. They'll manage.

The rat makes its way to the Redcliffe estate. This takes some time. She might have to catch a pigeon for the return trip.

Now: where's someone who knows this trick...? Ah, there's Hesta. Squeak squeak, Hesta.

"Clare! Where are you?"

This is a moderately uncooperative rat; she's not going to be able to do complicated mime. She scampers in a little circle, then sits still.

"Captured?"

Squeak.

"Loghain?"

Squeak.

"What direction are you from here?"

Three squeaks for south, a pause, four squeaks for west. Southwest.

"Fort Drakon?"

Squeak.

"How urgent is your situation, from one to five?"

She hesitates for a moment, then squeaks twice.

"Is the Queen free?"

Hesitate. Squeak squeak.

"She's with you?"

Squeak.

"All right. Is there anything that needs taking care of at Howe's estate? There are rumours, but..."

Hesitate. Squeak. There were those two remaining prisoners, the boy Elissa didn't like and the templar in withdrawal.

"Stop me when I name the person who sounds most applicable to the situation - Ambrose, Zevran, Elissa, Stalas -"

Squeak.

"Someone still needs rescuing?"

Long hesitation.

"You're not sure?"

Squeak.

A golem and a rat. What.

"...Why are you interrogating a rat?"

"It's Clare," Hesta explains. "I'm not sure if you've heard, but Elissa, Metella, Stalas, and Clare all went to rescue the Queen from where she was being held prisoner by Arl Howe earlier today." She glances down at the rat. "Is Howe dead?"

She squeaks an affirmative.

"And there's some loose end or other at Howe's estate but this isn't one of the cooperative rats and I'm not having much luck guessing the details."

"The rat is? Intriguing. I read once of a mage possessed of similar talent, I had thought it one of the author's flights of fantasy. The theoreticians say that an animal lacks enough brain to control properly."

Well, of course a blood mage couldn't do it. (The rat wants to clean her face; Clare lets her.)

"You can ask her about it when she gets back," says Hesta. To the rat: "Do you need rescue?"

Clare hesitates. And thinking back, she's not sure she shouldn't have been more hesitant about saying the Queen was with them. The Queen seems to be in Fort Drakon, but it's not at all clear whether or not she's imprisoned there.

"You're not sure? All right. I'll expect another message by tomorrow morning, and if we don't get one, we're rescuing you."

Affirmative squeak.

"If I sent Zevran into Howe's house, would he be able to handle whatever remaining trouble you expect?"

Clare thinks of Warden Riordan, and hesitates. They might be better served to wait for him.

"Something complicated that you aren't sure how to communicate?" guesses Hesta. Clare squeaks. "Stop me when I name the person you think best suited to the job -"

Clare squeaks twice, very quickly, before Hesta can name anyone.

"...all right, I'm not sure what to do with that response," says Hesta.

"Did you find someone not hostile?"

Squeak!

"...and they are the loose end?"

Squeak squeak.

"...and you expect them to show up to help with the loose end?"

Squeak.

"All right."

Clare considers for a moment, and then has the rat clap her paws together and point at Eliana.

"...that's the sign for 'gift', right? The non-hostile person is going to bring Eliana a gift?"

Squeak.

"A gift for me? Something magical?"

Long hesitation.

"Not exactly?"

Squeak.

"Blood, then?"

She hesitates, then squeaks.

"Yes, or sort of, but there's more to the story?"

Squeak.

"More than blood... A host? A live one?"

Clare isn't sure what that means. She hesitates.

"I think I might have a shortcut through this guessing game," muses Hesta. "Did you ever mention to Stalas that there was something you'd like to have that you didn't expect to be able to get?"

"A ghoul, when you went off hunting darkspawn the other day."

"Clare, is the gift a live ghoul?"

Squeak.

"I have no idea how he does it," says Hesta. "For all I know it wasn't even him. But things like that just keep happening around Stalas."

If he keeps this up she's going to have to see about a way of permanently attaching herself to him.

"Anything else?" asks Hesta.

Two squeaks.

"All right, I'll await your next message. And the delivery of a live ghoul," says Hesta, amused.

Clare scampers off. She finds the rat a decent meal as a thank-you for putting up with her human nonsense, and then she transfers her consciousness to a pigeon to fly back. As soon as she's in range of her body, she lets the pigeon go.

"Ow," she mutters. Waking up again after not moving for an hour is always the worst part.

"Welcome back," says Elissa, only just loud enough to carry across the space between their cells. "Anything to report?"

"Owwww."

She takes a deep breath and comes to the front of her cell to talk. No use being any louder than absolutely necessary, even though she's sure no one's listening.

"I couldn't find Anora but I heard a cook complaining of having to make her favourite meal on short notice. Told Hesta where we are, urgency two out of five, and that the Queen was with us. Warden Riordan hadn't shown up yet but I let her know we met someone who'd be coming by with a live ghoul for Eliana, and indicated there was unfinished business back at Howe's that he might be able to help with. Hesta expects another message tomorrow morning or she'll send a rescue."