Don't Mess With A Dragon Slayer
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age.
Sereda Brosca wasn't quite sure what to expect when she set foot in Dust Town for the first time in over a year. She was pretty sure that Leske standing a few feet away from her former home – and her family's former home given that her mother and sister had moved into the freaking palace while she was gone – was not it, however.
"Sereda?" Leske looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Sereda Brosca? Is that really you, duster?"
Sereda grinned at her friend. Rica had warned her that Leske might have changed while she'd been gone but he was her best friend and so she had to see for herself. "Do I really look so different that you have to ask?"
"The last time I saw you you had the brand of a casteless," Leske pointed out. "And now you somehow don't. What happened?"
"My friend Morrigan is a mage who decided I'd look better without the brand," Sereda informed him. "As for what she did…well, she got rid of it and let's just leave it at that."
"If you say so," Leske said dubiously. "And what about your clothes? The last time I saw you you were dressed in typical duster attire and wielding a poorly made dagger. Now…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
"Well, the good thing about killing a ton of people and looting their corpses is that I can afford nicer things," Sereda explained.
"Nicer things?" Leske repeated with a laugh. "Your armor is the nicest I've ever seen – even if I don't recognize the material – and your sword is glowing! As in actually glowing! Is that normal? Or safe, for that matter?"
Sereda crossed her arms defiantly. "When you kill two enormous dragons practically single-handedly, I think you're entitled to have Dragon scale armor made out of it."
Leske's jaw dropped and he started looking a bit nervous. "You fought a dragon?!?! And won?"
"Two," Sereda corrected proudly, holding up to fingers to emphasize this. "Although one of them was actually a shape-shifter who turned into a dragon, but I suppose a dragon might have been her true form. Unlike all the other shape-shifters I've killed, she didn't turn back into a human once she died."
Leske just shook his head. "Remember the good old days when the only people we had to kill were a few dwarves?"
"I try not to," Sereda confessed. "In fact, if it weren't for Rica and this stupid treaty obliging Orzammar to aid against the Blight, I never would have looked back."
"To be honest, I can't say I blame you," Leske remarked.
"As for my sword…" Sereda unsheathed her weapon and held it out for Leske to inspect. "It's called the Strarfang and it is my one true love. Some sort of metal fell from the stars and I had it made into a the most amazing sword I've ever seen."
"Your true love's a sword, huh?" Leske muttered. "I guess that explains why you could never get a guy…"
Sereda dutifully ignored him and put the Starfang back in its sheath.
"This all sounds very expensive, Sereda," Leske noted.
Sereda shrugged. "What can I say? I kill a lot of people."
"And dragons," Leske added.
"No, only the two. I've killed a lot of drakes, though, and Wade insisted on refining his skills with drake scales before he'd even touch the dragon scales. He claims all the drake scale armors were abject failures, but they are still some of the nicest armors I've ever seen. Here, do you want one?" Sereda offered, reaching into her pack and pulling out a set of said armor.
"Do you often carry armor you don't need around with you?" Leske wondered.
"Not usually, no," Sereda replied. "But Shale seems to have decided that as drakes have wings they must be birds and thus leaving the armor unattended around her is not a good idea, to say the least."
"I…see…" Leske said slowly, clearly not seeing in the slightest.
Sereda looked amused. "I highly doubt it, but then you really don't want to."
"And you want to give it to me?" Leske asked skeptically, just to make sure he was getting this right.
"Of course I do!" Sereda insisted, her eyes wide. "Your armor kind of sucks."
"But it just looks so expensive," Leske protested.
Sereda waved off his concerns. "Given how quickly I make money these days, my perception of 'expensive' is a little skewed. Then again, given how poor Dust Town is, so is yours, I'd imagine."
"I really can't accept this-" Leske started to say.
"Nonsense," Sereda cut him off earnestly. "You are the best friend I've ever had and I haven't been able to stop worrying about you since I escaped Orzammar's so-called 'justice' and left you holding the bag. You know I'd do anything for you."
Leske, who still appeared nervous, now looked stricken as Sereda shoved the armor into his hands. "Don't say that!"
"Don't say what?" Sereda asked innocently. "That I trust you with my life? Because I do and I will, regardless of whether I say it or now so why not tell you?"
Leske groaned. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"
"Make what easy?" Sereda inquired, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm working for Jarvia, now," Leske confessed, refusing to meet her eyes.
"What?" Sereda, despite her sister's warning, was stunned. "But…she tried to kill us! Remember after that Proving went south because you couldn't be bothered to keep your eye on that fighter I was impersonating?"
"I wanted to watch the Proving!" Leske defended himself. "When was I going to get another chance to see you fight in one?"
"Earlier today I won the proving Prince Bhelen was holding in his father's honor just because as a Grey Warden I can do that now," Sereda replied. "You should have been there; it was awesome. And if you wanted to watch me, you should have drugged him since I was fighting his opponent fairly."
"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty," Leske said sagely.
Sereda snorted. "And common sense is far rarer than the name suggests. But let's get back to Jarvia, shall we? Why are you working with her?"
"I needed to survive and you know that the carta is the best chance I had to do that as not all of us were invited to go join the illustrious Grey Wardens," Leske sounded bitter.
"You could have come to the surface, too," Sereda pointed out. "Of course, that probably would have meant you'd have been at Ostagar and likely would be dead, so…Why dos Jarvia keep you around after everything, anyway?"
"After Beraht died, she gained a lot of power very quickly," Leske told her. "And it's taken me the better part of the last year and becoming Jarvia's lover, but I'm finally going up in the world."
Sereda looked disgusted. "You're sleeping with Jarvia of all people? WHY?!?!"
"You know, you didn't want me interested in your sister, either," Leske said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "I'm starting to think that I was onto something when I used to say that you wanted me all for yourself."
"No, I just don't want to think about my sister that way and Jarvia used to be Beraht's lover," Sereda shot back. "That doesn't disturb you?"
"You do what you have to do," Leske said stubbornly. "Besides, in addition to the fact that I've gained a lot of power this way, Jarvia's really not all that bad looking."
Sereda closed her eyes and put her fingers in her ears. "I am so not hearing this…"
"What, like you've never slept with anyone for an ulterior motive?" Leske scoffed.
Sereda opened her eyes and brought her hands down. "You honestly think Rica would allow that?"
"Point," Leske admitted.
"So you know what I got sent down here to do, right?" Sereda asked, abruptly changing the subject. "Kill Jarvia?"
Leske sighed. "I thought as much."
"So where does that leave us?" Sereda asked bluntly.
"You realize that if you wipe out the carta it would be bad for me, right?" Leske queried.
"You could always take over as the new carta leader like Jarvia did," Sereda suggested. "Prince Bhelen only wants to wipe out the carta so Lord Harrowmont can't do it first and get the glory. Once one of them is King, they'll go back to no longer caring. Or you could always just go up to the surface if you're really sick of Dust Town."
"So you're supporting Prince Bhelen?" Leske asked. "Why?"
Sereda shrugged. "I was actually tempted to go with Lord Harrowmont and watch Orzammar tear itself apart because I see nothing in Orzammar worth saving, but Rica would kill me as Prince Bhelen is the father of her son."
"Rica always ruins everything," Leske complained.
"I know," Sereda agreed. "But she's my sister so what can you do?"
"What could I do on the surface?" Leske wondered. "I mean, I've heard there are no castes up there-"
"There aren't," Sereda confirmed. "But you really don't want to be an elf."
"From what I can tell, dwarves tend to stick to either smithing or being a merchant and I know nothing about either. I suppose I could always be a thug, but I'm already a thug so why bother leaving for just more of the same?" Leske continued.
"You could always come with me," Sereda offered hesitantly. "I'm getting increasingly ridiculously wealthy and I'm off on an epic quest to save all of Ferelden if not all of Thedas."
"I'm sure your path is far too dangerous for me," Leske told her. "I mean, really? Slaying dragons?"
"Why do people keep saying that?" Sereda grumbled. "My camp is a very safe place. We have a dwarven merchant and his son travelling with us and they're fine. Granted, Sandal is quite possibly the most dangerous person I know, but still."
"I couldn't just come along and stay in camp all day!" Leske objected.
"Why not? Leliana can't stop accidentally making racist remarks and blathering on about her Maker and Wynne won't stop lecturing me on my responsibilities so they haven't left camp since they got there," Sereda declared.
"I don't know," Leske said again, but it was clear he was weakening. "Are you sure it's a good idea?"
"Did I mention that I currently have 629 Sovereigns and after I go through the carta and make my way through the Deep Roads I'm sure to get another fifty, easy?"
"…To the surface it is, bestest friend," Leske decided.
Sereda rolled her eyes. "You opportunistic scoundrel. I am curious, though. If you knew I was down here for Jarvia's head and you didn't want that to happen as you're working rather closely with her, then why in the world would you come out to meet me? And what were you saying earlier about me not making things easy?"
Leske started coughing. "I've already slaughtered my way through the carta once with you, doing it again might be pushing my luck. How about I just wait out here until you're done? Just go to your old house, get the finger bone token off the thugs waiting in there, and then go to the door over there and you're in."
"That really didn't answer my question," Sereda pointed out.
"Good luck, bestest friend," Leske told her, practically pushing her towards her former home. "And remember, anything you might here about me that I haven't already told you is just a pack of vicious, vicious lies!"
Sereda frowned. "I feel like I'm missing something…"
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