A/N: Before anyone asked, I wrote this in such a way that the reader would be able to picture their warden as the one Zevran is talking/thinking about, if they romanced him or even if they didn't. I may continue this after DAI comes out, especially since I heard that Zevran won't be in the game. This was betaed by the awesome vabvioand.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Zevran slowly put down his drink and glared at the man across from him. After the battle at the Kirkwall gallows and once he had made sure that the Champion would be all right, Zevran had left and traveled to a small village to meet one of his contacts. The news that the man had brought him was neither wanted, nor what he expected to hear.
"What do you mean the Warden is gone?!"
"Just what I said, ser. I went to deliver your letter like we had agreed only to find the entire Keep in an uproar. No one seemed to know why or where the Warden had disappeared to."
"How long did they say the Commander had been missing?" Zevran asked in a calm voice.
The messenger swallowed in fear as the elf's eyes pinned him to his seat, their smothering, churning depths betraying the calmness of his voice.
"They…were…were uncertain, serah. Everyone, it seems, thought the Commander was away with someone else, they didn't realize their mistake until they held a meeting and the Warden never showed up. After they did a complete search of the Keep, with no clues to the Commander's whereabouts were found, they began to panic and sent out search parties to search the countryside."
"Those Fools!" Zevran shouted, as his fists slammed down onto the table top, his face twisting with rage. "Did they find any leads?"
"There…there were rumors the Warden had been spotted at the docks in Amaranthine, but no one there would talk to any of the wardens, and confirm whether the Commander took a boat or not. That's all I was able to find out, I swear, Messer."
Zevran growled at the man's uselessness and throwing some coins, dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
The assassin remained in his seat long after the messenger had left, silently fuming. His Amor gone! He had left the Keep and his beloved only because he thought the grey wardens could be trusted to look out for his Warden. Now to hear that his Amor was missing…
Zevran's mind began to race. Could the Crows have…? No, he was certain that he would have heard if they had been able to take out such a high ranked target. Perhaps one of the many enemies they had made over the years? Shaking his head, Zevran rose and walked toward the door. He had too many theories and too little information, so he would start the last place his beloved had been seen, the Amaranthine docks.
Once he arrived at the docks, it only took a few days and the right amount of coin and intimidation to find out that the Warden had been seen boarding a ship heading towards one of the costal cities along the Orlesian boarder.
Taking the next available boat, he arrived at the city of Val Chevin and began to send out feelers into the city. After over a fortnight of following false lead after false lead, he was found by young street urchin.
"Are you Mr. Zevran?" He asked.
"Yes. How can I help you, child?"
"I was told to give this to you and to tell you that the person you're looking for has already left the city heading north." Handing Zevran a package, the boy turned and vanished back into the crowd. Unwrapping the package, he found one of the knives he had gifted the Warden after the battle of Denerim. Knowing his Warden would only leave this behind if there was no other choice; he placed it on his belt and walked back to the rooms he had rented.
The next morning, Zevran bought the supplies he needed and left the city heading north. Each village he came to brought him another item, a scarf, a belt, a necklace, each item one that he had gifted to his Amor and each one he received was slowly leading him further north. Soon he found himself in the Country of Nevarra and he realized that he was not the only one searching for the Warden. In the city of Hunter Fell, he saw people with a burning eye symbol on their armor asking questions about his Warden. He worried for a brief time that they would find the next clue before him, only to have them put to rest when it appeared on the bed of his room. Gathering new supplies, Zevran left the city before the Seekers could see him and realize who he was.
When the Commander's trail turned north-west his worry hit a whole new level. He was traveling closer to the boarder of the Tevinter Imperium and still he could not seem to catch up with his Amor or find out what would bring his beloved this far north.
In the town of Nessum, Zevran found himself at a loss. He had been here for a week and could find nothing of his Warden. It was like the Commander had completely disappeared, something that had never happened at any of the towns he had been lead to so far.
Sitting in the tavern that night, Zevran went back over all the bits of information he had been able to gather over the course of his search, trying to find the all-important thread he had missed, when a shadow fell over his table. Slowly lifting his head he studied the human male standing before him; noting the hidden weapons and the fact that he was not native to Nessum, Zevran found himself gearing up for a fight.
"Calm yourself, Master Zevran; I have no wish to fight you. In fact, you may wish to hear what I have to say, unless of course you do not wish to know where the Warden might be."
Taking a drink from his mug of ale, Zevran fought the urge to growl at the smug smile on the man's face.
"Tell me, why would I believe anything, such a respectable looking gentleman as you, might tell me?"
In answer the man flicked a small item onto the table before Zevran, the sight of which froze the very blood in his body. HIS EARRING! It was the very earring he had given his Warden years ago, and this man had it, had touched it!
Knowing that this was the one item his Amor would have never given to anyone willingly, he placed it in his pocket before launching himself over the table at the man his daggers drawn. Sending him to the floor with the unexpected attack, Zevran held a blade against his throat, and took several deep breathes to keep from killing him too soon.
"Where is the Warden?!" Zevran nearly shouted, glaring coldly down at the man.
"I…I…don't know, Messer, but I can show you where I was to take you! They didn't pay me enough to die for them!"
"They? They who!?"
"I don't know! I swear they were hooded and they found me late at night when I was leaving the tavern. They gave me the earring and told me to use it to bring you to them. That's all I know, I swear on Andraste's scared flame!"
Seeing no deceit in his eyes, Zevran stood but kept his weapons trained on him. Mentioning for the man to stand, Zevran placed a blade to his throat and the other over his heart.
"You will take me near your meeting place, and if you try to betray me or run away, the death I give you will be slow and excruciating."
The man shallowly nodded his head, and breathed a sigh of relief as the blades were removed. Nodding toward the door, Zevran followed the man out the door; the only thing on his mind was the many ways he would make these mysterious people suffer if he found that his Warden had been hurt.