Wrapping his hands around the beer-filled pewter mug that had been set before him, Daylen nervously looked up to the barmaid who served him, she was very pretty and was probably be about the same age as himself. She gave Daylen a generous but slightly forced smile that made him a bit giddy as he resisted the urge of having his eyes linger too much on her overly exposed cleavage. A soft chuckle of amusement was heard from his hooded companion who sat across him with hands wrapped around her own pewter mug as well while ignoring the suspicious looks from the people around them.
They sat at the corner of an inn called the Dancing Cow which was situated along the borders of Nevarra and Anderfel. For some time now they had been travelling with no real destination in mind other than to stay one step away from their pursuers. The best place he could think of was maybe the Tevinter Imperium, the Frostback mountains or even Rivain but all of these places were very far away from where they were now.
'Why don't you go for it?' asked his companion in an oddly accented Ander with a teasing tone and a sly look which made Daylen look away with some embarrassment as his cheeks reddened.
While Daylen was dressed in the simple sort of clothing which was no different from what the common folk in the region wore, his companion on the other hand was dressed in a manner which truly stood out from the crowd. His companion wore a hooded cloak and robes of dark red with bright orange around the bottom of the skirt which formed a fiery pattern and bright brass thread lining the end of her garments. His companion's arms were laid bare and from what he could of the fair skin of her limbs was that they were heavily covered in crimson runes and writing of some arcane tongue which he did not know and it occasionally make a soft to a very bright glow.
His companion also wore several pieces of exquisitely expensive looking jewelry which was composed of an amulet with a bright bronze lace of intertwined miniature chains which connected to several glowing rubies which gave off a feeling of warmth. She also wore a pair of bracelets, a circlet and two rings which were made from the same metals and gems and on her belt was series of keys which was also prominently displayed on her garments. Leaning on the wall behind his companion was her wooden staff that was ringed with runic iron bands and the top of it was a cage like that of a brazier and a sheathed sword which she called a Kriegsmesser.
For weeks now, the newly apostate mage, Daylen had been travelling with one, Melusine Von Schtauffen, a strange foreign sorceress who claimed to belong to a group called the Bright Order which was supposedly part of some other organization called the Colleges of Magic and a nation known only as The Empire. Having first believed that the woman was insane, he had revised his opinion of them after their recent close calls and the unusual magic which she wielded.
It had been a long journey from Hossberg with many deadly encounters with Darkspawn, brigands, Maleficar who were more interested in their blood and the Templars. The thought of their last encounter with the militant arm of the Chantry in particular was most worrying for the Templars still had his phylactery. It just wasn't fair! He thought for his masters had postponed his Harrowing for too long and already the impatient Knight Commander of the Templars had went ahead and signed official documents that would condemn Daylen to Tranquility.
He felt an oddly warm gloved hand touch his own and he looked to his companion who gave him a soft reassuring smile.
'It will be all right' quietly whispered Melusine whose fiery red eyes had an slight glow to them.
He had no idea how she was taking in all of this for she seemed surprisingly calm about it. Whatever was the case, Daylen was glad to have this strange, foreign mage around for he had no doubt that had she not been around, he already would have been dragged back to the Circle and have become an emotionless drone. Fighting had never been Daylen's field of expertise; he was more skilled in the use of Creation Magic, Herbalism and Rune-craft while his companion on the other hand was completely dedicated to the destructive applications of Fire and her own skill in swordsmanship was quite amazing.
Nodding towards his companion, Daylen gave her a soft smile as well and he quietly went back to his drink. The two of them continued to sit there, enjoying the beer and they waited for the cheap meals which they had ordered and the band of four minstrels begin to play a song from their instruments. Melusine's attention was quickly drawn towards the band of musical performers for his companion seemed to have quite the soft spot for it.
One of the Minstrels, an extravagantly dressed Orlesian man began singing about the heroism of the Grey Wardens which found its spot among the patrons from the Anderfels. It was a very rousing song which filled his heart with a sense of pride for the song told about even when things were at their darkest, all one needed was courage and faith to persevere. Soon the voices of the crowd joined the singing bard like a choir and when it ended there was a loud round of applause from those within the establishment, especially from his companion.
'I miss watching performances like that' commented Melusine as she sat back down 'do people here have playhouses or operas in Hossberg?'
'I am sure they have many in Orlais' shrugged Daylen for he honestly had never been out of the tower often when he was still in the Circle.
'If ever we manage to make it back to The Empire, I will treat you to a show at The Vargr Breughel Memorial Playhouse' said Melusine with a warm smile.
'I will take you up on that, if we do' replied Daylen rather shyly for he did also find that his companion was quite attractive despite looking perhaps a decade or so older than he was.
'Oh you will love Altdorf, I just know it' said Melusine 'there are no places like it anywhere else in the Old World and-'
A loud crash was heard as the front door of the inn was knocked down and five armored knights barged in with each one bearing the flaming sword insignia barged of the Templars.
'There are the apostates!' roared one of the knights as he drew a sword and pointed it towards both Daylen and Melusine. His companion had an amused look on her face as she took one last gulp from her mug and she stood pushed her seat back and stood up.
'Be a little pig and watch my weapons will you?' said Melusine with a confident look as she adjusted her short runic leather gloves which reached up to her wrists and Daylen took a big gulp of his own drink while deciding on whether he should do as she said or make a run for it. Melusine sauntered towards the Templars who began to converge upon them with weapons drawn while the patrons of the inn began to get out of the way or head straight to the front door.
'No need for violence now Mein Herren' spoke Melusine towards the Templars who already had their weapons raised in defensive stances 'can we just forget all of this and enjoy this fine night?'
'Be silent Apostate!' shouted one of the Templars who wielded an enchanted sword that was wreathed in fire 'surrender now and we may show you clemency.'
'Tempting, but we have a saying back in The Empire for situations like this' replied Melusine with a confident tone as she pulled down her hood to reveal her wavy red hair with a single thick lock that went down along the right side of her face and she extended her hands to her sides. 'Death or Glory' was all she said before swiftly leaping back to avoid any strikes and she began whispering words of power which drew energy from the several pieces of jewelry which she wore.
A sword of pure flames materialized on her right hand while the left grabbed a mug of ale which had been abandoned by one of the patrons. Splashing the drink towards the nearest templar, she splattered the helmet of the knight with the liquid and she immediately worked a spell that caused the alcoholic drink to ignite. The templar screamed in pain as some of the beer had gotten into his visor and the subsequent flames kissed the skin around his eyes before the flaming sword cleaved a great rent across his chest.
The other Templars were quick to attack Melusine but their movements were hampered by the weight of their plate armor as well as the wooden chairs and tables of the inn which were being knocked over. Melusine moved with a clinical degree of agility which she claimed to have learned from the Reik Schule Kunst des Fechtens. Knocking tables and chairs in the path of the Templars to impede their movements, the Wizard of the Bright Order continued to speak words of power and she extended her left hand towards the Templars and upon the palm of her hand, a cackling skull made from pure flame materialized and it flew towards the Templars.
The burning skull passed through one Templar, causing the knight to stagger but he remained standing while the fellow behind him proved to be unlucky for the flames super heated his armor and caused the Templar to be cooked inside of it. Melusine then casted another spell which wreathed her in flames and she dashed towards the Templars with her flaming sword in hand. The first Templar she engaged in melee managed to swing his sword towards her and Melusine expertly parried it before unleashing a gout of flame from her mouth like a dragon.
The Templar burned from the flames of Daylen's companion and she quickly grabbed a plate from a nearby table and she hurled it at another Templar who quickly raised his shield up to block it. Melusine then pointed her left index finger towards the feet of the Templar and with another spell, she caused the floorboard beneath him to begin smoldering and before the knight knew it, the weight of his armor caused it to collapse underneath him.
The last Templar who remained standing was the one who carried a flaming sword. He had earlier been struck by the burning skull and the man had been busy putting out the fires which had incinerated the skirt worn over his leg plates.
'Now what was that about surrendering?' asked Melusine in a mocking tone as she still stood wreathed in flames while the sword of fire was still held in her right hand.
'Abomination!' declared the Templar with accusation 'you are not just some Apostate! You are Demon of the Fade in disguise!'
Melusine then began to laugh with genuine amusement which seemed all the more mocking for there were times when Daylen thought that there was something truly unnatural about his companion which went beyond more than just being a mage.
'I have fought and slain many demons, Herr Templar' replied Melusine in a cold tone 'I have conflagrated barbarian champions of the Ruinous Powers, savage warlords of the greenskins, undead horrors that stalk the night, piratical elves from across the ocean and the dwarves of the dark east.' Melusine then raised her fiery sword and pointed it at the Templar and she said 'take this message to your fellows, do not follow us for if you do, then I will be less than merciful.'
'I will not! Witch!' shouted the Templar with Defiance as he charged at Melusine who then began to cast another spell.
Daylen's eyes widened with shock as he saw his companion stood her ground and the Templar thrust his flaming sword towards her with the tip aimed at her gut and in the last moment, she stepped aside to her right and she spun around towards his back while slapping the side of his helmeted head. The Templar then turned around to face Melusine and he suddenly dropped his burning sword before falling to his knees and screaming quite horribly in extreme agony.
Throughout the fight, a smell that was disturbingly akin to roasting pork had begun to fill the inn and as the battle progressed, it only became stronger. Now though, the smell seemed more like someone had overcooked some meat and Daylen saw steam rising from the visor of the Templar's helmet before a loud disgustingly wet crack resounded from the knight along with his armor which instantly expanded and was bent out of shape. The Templar collapsed to the floor with steaming blood gushing out from the disfigured helmet's visor and it poured out from the rest of the armored body.
Melusine then extinguished the flames around her and she whispered words of power that did the same to the fires that had begun to spread within the inn. She then picked up the dead Templar's fiery sword and she studied it with a look of approval.
'Excuse me there, innkeeper' said Melusine as she looked to the bar of the inn where the owner of the establishment fearfully cowered behind the counter. 'Sorry about the mess' shrugged Melusine towards them before looking to the Templar she had just killed 'I am sure these fellows can help pay for the damages.'
The innkeeper of course said nothing for he was simply too scared of the woman and even Daylen himself was more than a bit afraid as well of his companion.
'So, are you hungry?' asked Melusine in a disturbingly cheerful tone which always seemed to come after a fight 'I suddenly have a craving for something like a Schnitzel or maybe some Bratwurst…'