Mercenary work made for odd company. There weren't too many other lines of work that could bring a dwarven rogue and an elven apostate to a shadowy corner of the Gnawed Noble, but folks had to eat. Those who had survived the Blight found themselves willing to do a very great deal to ensure their next meal.

The dwarf was red-haired, round-featured, and amply proportioned. She swaggered to the bar with the kind of confidence that should belong to someone several feet taller and ordered two ales, setting one down in front of the elf. She peered at her companion: blonde and dark-eyed, which was a little weird for an elf. Usually their eyes were grassy green or sky blue or whatever other magical nature colors existed.

The dwarf broached a topic of conversation: "—just think of all the money we could make if—"

"No, Maeva" the elf replied, her voice flat but soft, with the tone of one who had played out her role in this conversation many times before.

"You didn't even hear me out."

"I don't need to. I don't care how badly you want to be a brothel owner someday; I will not be your first employee."

"You say that like I'd be a bad boss. I'm a little hurt."

"Don't care."

"You're such a bitch sometimes, 'Dara. I try to tell you you're pretty enough to make a lot of money whoring, and you throw it right in my face." The dwarf returned to her drink with an expression of deepest hurt, and the elf shrugged.

They drank silently, which wasn't much fun for Maeva. She went through two more mugs of ale while the elf's remained barely touched. The elf's eyes slid from person to person, quietly watching each patron who came into the tavern. Maeva supposed she couldn't blame her for being twitchy. Adara might be a valuable asset to the mercenary gang, but that wouldn't protect her if the Chantry came calling.

The elf saw their contact approaching before Maeva did, apparent in the sudden tension in her shoulders. The man who approached them was blonde and handsome, the kind of fellow Maeva would easily give a tumble to in different circumstances, and he wore the grim expression of someone who found his current task distasteful. "You Kay's boys? Ah, girls."

"Took you long enough to show up," Maeva said, eyeing him up and down.

"Not so long. Just forty beats of a raven's wing."

Adara and Maeva exchanged a glance upon hearing the appropriate phrase and rose together from their table. "You're the errand boy, I take it?" Maeva asked, stretching out her arms and legs after sitting for so long. "The rich ones never show up in person."

The man's jaw worked in annoyance, but he managed a nod. "I'll take you to him. Follow me." With a wave, he gestured for the women to follow him to the staircase that wound up to the private rooms above the tavern.

Adara brought up the rear, her eyes scanning the tavern for anyone showing too much interest in the small party retreating up the stairs. No one did. The Gnawed Noble was used by the wealthy for such business for a reason. Maeva was more interested in watching their escort's ass as he navigated the stairs.

The blonde man opened a door at the end of the hall and bade the women to enter first. Adara tensed, but Maeva plowed right on in without a care in the world. The dwarf was never anything less than obnoxiously confident, but knowing she had a mage ally at her back likely bolstered it. The mage herself was not nearly so cocky.

The door was closed behind them, and the blonde man stayed outside. Wise precaution. The interior rooms at the Gnawed Noble had no windows, and even in daylight the room would have been pitch black without the crackling fire in the hearth. Their attention was more focused on the man who stood beside it.

His clothing was very fine though he wore no sigil to identify him. Black hair curled around his ears, and when he turned his face to look at them, they could make out a strong jaw and grim eyes that seemed to belong to a much older man.

Greenish eyes slid from one woman to the next, but he kept his judgments to himself. "Kay sent you?" he began.

"Sure did, handsome," Maeva piped up. "We wouldn't be here if you hadn't paid, so let's skip the dancing about. I'm Maeva, this is Adara."

The man hesitated before speaking again. "You may call me Theo."

"Short for Theodore, I guess?"

He didn't confirm that, but Maeva didn't need him to. "I was told that your employer came into possession of a certain box."

Adara paused to fish something out of the small pouch at her side. Her fingers skimmed over the small painted box. It did not open, and it looked as useless as a child's toy, but she could feel the thrum of magic deep within it as she held it out. She knew little about it save that it had been found in the Circle Tower during the Blight and pawned off later by the Hero of Ferelden, where it had made its way from palm to palm until their employer stumbled across it.

Theo made no move to take it from her and nodded.

"And we were told that you were in possession of a certain map," Maeva said, watching him expectantly.

Theo crossed to a small table and waved them closer, spreading out a very old and worn map across its surface before finally holding out his hand. Adara stepped close enough to carefully set the box on his palm. His fingers closed around it briefly before placing it on the map. There was a hum in the air that sounded like a distant song to Adara, and she watched with interest as the very ink on the paper stirred and lazily began to rearrange itself.

Maeva snorted. "Looks like blank moldy paper to me."

Theo ignored the dwarf and watched Adara expectantly. "I was told that only a mage could read it."

She nodded. "I can see it."

Theo nodded sharply and rolled up the map. He made to tuck the painted box into a pocket, but Maeva's hand shot out and stopped him. "Hey. Box is ours until we get our share of this treasure Kay told us about. Call it a security measure."

"You already have the mage; it's useless to me without one," Theo retorted.

"Humor us," Adara said.

The three of them regarded each other with only the pops of firewood making noise. Theo released the box into Maeva's hands, where it disappeared in the blink of an eye into a pouch. "We will take the North Road to the coast, and from there my man and I can find the crypt. Hopefully your services will not be required until we're inside."

"Good, because you have to pay for anything extra. Even being as cute as you are."

Adara was well-practiced at ignoring Maeva's comments, and the nobleman seemed to be picking up on it as well. "I expect a four day journey to the crypt. Pack lightly, and meet us at the northern gates by dawn the day after next."

Theo turned away from them to stare into the fire in what was clearly a dismissal. Maeva looked as though she had a slew of lascivious comments that she wasn't prepared to tuck away for later, and Adara poked her in the shoulder. "Let's go."

They had quite a few preparations to make.