"They should be put to death, the lot of them. If we are lucky, we will be rid of them before dinner."
Fenris blinked out of his reverie and turned to regard his companion.
"Surely even you would be against the slaughter of innocents?"
"Innocents?" Sebastian scoffed and placed his hand on the pommel of the sword at his hip. "Gypsies are not innocent, Fenris. They are poison to our city – filth in the eyes of the Maker."
"I thought your Maker loved all of his children?" Fenris questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Sebastian grimaced. "I suspect even the Maker has a hard time smiling fondly upon this lot. I would feel much more comfortable if this band of destitute rats left us immediately."
Fenris's gaze turned slowly from his partner to the gypsies. From what Fenris could tell, their troupe was smaller than the regular band of gypsies that passed through Kirkwall, allegedly stealing riches and dazzling audiences. A relatively large crowd had gathered around the square to watch the gypsies perform – hence why Fenris and Sebastian had been instructed by Guard-Captain Aveline to keep an eye on things.
Fenris took a closer look at the gypsies. Two of them were currently juggling knives and discs while a young boy played an upbeat tune on his violin. One of the jugglers was a female elf with short blonde hair. Her red tunic was far too big for her and she wore a rather hideous pair of tattered plaidweave pants. Her accomplice was a rather busty brunette with dark eyes and a tight-fitting tunic that hung low, exposing her assets for all to see. The two worked in perfect unison, tossing knives and discs high in the air so that they could take turns spinning around and catching them. Accompanied with the background music, it was quite the clever display.
The audience was enraptured, to say the least. Fenris and Sebastian continuously scanned the crowd to make sure none of the gypsies were worming their way back and forth through the throng to pickpocket unsuspecting fools. Fenris had initially thought the nobles of Hightown would turn up their noses at the gypsies the way Sebastian did, but apparently not even the most elite of Hightown could resist the charms of a good show.
Fenris's eyes scanned the violinist as he changed beat to start up a new song. He wore a hat low over his brow that hid his eyes from view. His long, blond hair was shaggy and unkempt as it nearly reached his shoulders. Unlike the jugglers who did their best to interact with the crowd and earn more money, the violinist seemed to avoid all interaction with the crowd. The few times Fenris caught sight of a pair of blue eyes, they were either looking at his violin or at the ground. He seemed lost to his music and a part of Fenris appreciated the amount of concentration he was using.
"Do you really think they will leave here when it gets dark?" Fenris asked his companion.
Sebastian nodded, sweeping his bored eyes over the crowd with a wary expression. "Gypsies never stay here for too long. Eventually the nobles get tired of their presence dirtying the already filthy streets of Hightown."
That made sense to Fenris, considering gypsies based their lifestyle on constant movement. Fenris hadn't experienced too many gypsies in Hightown personally – he had only become a guard two months ago after fleeing to Kirkwall – but he had heard enough stories from the others guards and Sebastian to know to be on alert. Although, Fenris wondered whether the concern most guards experienced towards gypsies was warranted or whether the guards just considered them blaspheming sinners and prejudiced against them because of it.
Suddenly the violinist slowed down his tune to something…sultry. The jugglers took a final bow and moved back into their caravan to give way for a new entertainer.
Sebastian gave a rough sigh and muttered, "Ugh, they've brought him."
"Him?" Fenris questioned, his eyes watching the caravan for signs of movement.
"He's an apostate. Be wary, Fenris. His magic will put you under his spell if you aren't careful."
Fenris couldn't help but bristle at the knowledge. He had known mages in Tevinter – had been abused by a magister – and the idea of dealing with another mage right now did not terribly appeal to him.
The curtains of the caravan parted and the apostate stepped out slowly from behind the curtain. The sight of him made Fenris falter – he was beautiful. The human wore a pair of burgundy hmong pants and a hip scarf of about four layers. Gold discs shined brilliantly against the black fabric of the hip skirt. His feet were bare and on his ankles he wore gold anklets that jingled. His white chemise was opened in a deep v-neck that went all the way to his waist, exposing his abs and muscles to prying eyes. He wore gold bracelets around his wrists that matched the anklets. His strawberry-blond hair was tied half-up, half-down and draped around his face quite nicely. The hair that was tied up was wrapped by a burgundy ribbon that was probably about a foot long when undone. The gypsy's most striking feature was his amber eyes. They winked at the crowd and lured the audience into a false sense of security. Fenris himself thought he was drowning in them – he found he couldn't look away.
When the gypsy's eyes fell on Fenris, the elf felt his breath catch. He remembered Sebastian's advice and kept his stance wide and firm as he challenged the gypsy with his eyes to do something illegal. One of the gypsy's eyebrows rose in wonder as those amber orbs raked over Fenris. Apparently the gypsy liked what he saw, for he shifted his body more so that Fenris could see every inch of skin visible to the eyes of the crowd. The gypsy's movements were captivating and made Fenris feel as though the gypsy were dancing for him alone. For the first time in a long while, Fenris was filled with a stirring of pure want.
Fenris didn't have to wonder about how Sebastian was faring because the guard gave a grunt and leaned in closer to Fenris to whisper, "Like I said, be wary of his magic."
The gypsy finally seemed to have focused on another member of the crowd and Fenris blinked slowly out of the trance. He still couldn't tear his eyes away, but he did shift his body slightly so that he could lean over to Sebastian and ask, "Who is he?"
"He calls himself 'Anders' like the Anderfels. Nobody knows his true name or if he even has a true name. When his troupe is in town, he usually performs a bit and then disappears into Darktown for Maker only knows what. He is rumored to be a healer who helps the injured destitute of Kirkwall."
"A healer? Is he a necromancer or blood mage?"
Sebastian shook his head and replied, "Not that I know of. Although the rumors do not go too in-depth about what type of healing he performs. Could be entirely sexual in nature, if his appearance and attitude are anything to go by."
Something didn't sit right with Fenris about labeling Anders as a sexually-deviant fellow just by what he wore or how he danced. The stories about gypsies told Fenris that they were all rather open with their sexualities and regularly practiced orgies and the like. But Fenris wasn't so sure the rumors were true. There seemed to be a lot of unknown information about the gypsies and very little factual knowledge. It somewhat made him want to discover the truth for himself.
The gypsy – Anders – turned his attention back to Fenris and shot him a wink. The guard felt his face start to heat up but he swiftly squashed any physical embarrassment from showing. The music swelled and when it reached its peak, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared out of thin air, covering the gypsies and their caravan. When the smoke cleared, the caravan had vanished. Thunderous applause erupted from the audience and Fenris and Sebastian swiveled their gazes to look around the square.
"I suppose that takes care of our gypsy problem."
Fenris was about to reply when a startled shriek interrupted him.
"My wallet's gone!"
Fenris sighed as he and Sebastian moved to help the woman.
Apparently the gypsies were not to be trusted after all.