The Challenge

Why does Ferelden have to smell so awful? Zevran thought as he stood in the shadows, staring out at the market district. The smell of wet dog was all over the place, and Zevran couldn't understand how the people of Denerim could stand it. Then again, Zevran had a love for the smell of fresh leather, which was a stink most thought to be worse than wet dog. Maybe Ferelden didn't smell so bad after all.

But it wasn't the smell that was bothering him. It was the reason why he was there in the first place.

Zevran lend against the building, its shadow concealing him as he watched the people run about. The market was busy just as it always was. It reminded him a little of the Antivan market making him slightly homesick. He had come to Ferelden by choice, though Ferelden was the last place he thought he would be going. He had put in a bid with his master to be replaced in a different country, he didn't care where: Orlais, Tevinter, he would have even gone to the Anderfels and endured the coldness of the mountains. It would have helped him to forget. Anything would have helped him to forget... her.

No, he could not let himself think of her name. It was too painful. He did not deserve it. She had been everything to him, and he just let her die without a care. Now that he knew his true feelings about her... it was too late. Fate did have a sense of humor, however, although it was a cruel sense of humor. Ferelden had been her birthplace. He remembered her saying that to him. And now here he was, assigned to the Ferelden post by the master who knew his hurt, but obviously didn't care.

The last Crow who had taken this post had died under suspicious circumstances. It wasn't something they were going to investigate, however. That's just how life as an assassin was. Death was everywhere, and Crows died all the time. Either by being killed by a target, or from the masters killing them for returning unsuccessful. It was something Zevran needed to remember. Death happened, and when he got paid for it, death happened often. Even if it meant protecting himself by killing the woman that he loved.

He sighed as he thought about her. As he saw in his mind her eyes as the life drained from them. They pleaded to him for help, and he only laughed. He took solace, though that it actually wasn't he who had cut her throat. It had been Taliesen, his former best friend—if you could really call him that—and partner. But Taliesen wasn't the one suffering. He was still in Antiva, more than likely living life just the way Zevran used to—carefree and loving it. But Zevran had begun to get that life back. He had arrived in Denerim about two days ago and acquired a room at the Pearl. He had also already received some of the Pearl's hospitality. It was nice to not have to sleep alone, especially in a new and different place, but now he wanted something more. It was all fine and well having a companion at your beck and call, or at least if you had the money for such things, but he wanted a challenge now. He liked challenges. They made things more exciting and gave him a nice distraction from the memories that plagued his mind.

Zevran shook out the memories of her. He would not think of her any more today, or at least he would try not to. That was why he was there, standing in the shadows, searching the market. He wanted his challenge.

He scanned the market, hoping to find something that piqued his interest. Either a beautiful woman, or a handsome man, he didn't really care. In the end it was all the same. He edged out of the shadows a bit to get a better look. He could be seen now, but there was nothing about him that should draw attention. He wore simple clothes since there was no need to wear his leather armor. He did keep his dagger hidden in his trousers, just in case. He was an elf after all, and even though the elves in Ferelden had it better than in most countries, it was still dangerous to not be cautious.

As he slowly walked out of the shadows, he finally spotted what he was looking for. She had come out of the alienage. A young elven maiden with bright, fiery red hair. She skidded across the market with quick steps. Ah yes, that was his challenge right there. Zevran could already see it, making him smile. He had always had a thing for redheads, even though he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the color, but it might have also been the fact that most redheads he had met were just as their hair: fiery and unpredictable, dangerous even. Just the way he liked it.

Zevran also noticed two other elves following her. One was a male, also with red hair but more darker in color. Behind him, holding his hand, was the third elf. She wasn't as pretty as the first with light brown, mousy hair and a long face. She was obviously with the male as their hands and fingers were intertwined, clenched tight together.

He watched as they scurried across the edge of the market, making their way to an alley and disappeared. He followed them into the alleyway, noticing how well they knew them. It was apparent that they were in a hurry to get somewhere, but Zevran wasn't sure where that was. He just followed, keeping close enough to know their path but far away enough not to draw their attention. When they finally exited the alleyways, Zevran was surprised to find where they had ended up. They had lead him to somewhere in the palace district, and within was a large crowd of people. It was made of both elves and humans alike, from all sorts: nobles, commoners, soldiers. They all stood in front of a large door, murmuring to one another about something. The three elves had disappeared into that crowd, but Zevran was able to find them easily. His elf maiden's hair was bright enough to pick out of the crowd. Making his way through, he positioned himself behind them, close enough to see her features now. He could only see the back of her head, but when she turned, Zevran saw the profile of her face, and he knew he had to have her.

She was very beautiful with pale skin and light green eyes. Her dress was too common for such a pretty face. It was all ragged and dirty, and made Zervan wonder if it was a hand-me-down. He took a step closer to her. She was staring at the male elf, his face showing an expression of concern. "It'll be all right," he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Her voice sounded lovely to him, like birds singing. "We haven't heard from her ever since she left. I'm sure a letter would have gotten to us by now."

"You know how she is, Shianni. Letters aren't her forfeit."

So Shianni was her name. Good, that would make things easier.

"We're all worried about her," said the brown haired female. Her voice was more squeaky, which seemed to match her hair color perfectly. "I didn't know her as much as you two did, but she was still like a sister to me."

"Thank you, Valora," said Shianni. "I know it's painful to you as well, but I can't help it. I miss her so much." She looked as if she was about to cry. Zevran edged up even further, wondering if he should try and comfort her, but then thought better of it. Shianni wasn't crying anyway. She sniffed then stood tall with a stern gaze, more than likely holding back the tears. If she was a strong woman, then all the better.

He could see her better now, clearer. She was petite, smaller than he was, but something told him that she wasn't an elf to mess with. Hidden danger, which made him more excited. As he studied her, he then noticed something dangling around her neck. It was a diamond pendent, perhaps the most expensive thing the elf was wearing. This did prove that she had some type of hidden skill. No elf would go around town with such a thing around their neck and not have a way to defend it if they were to be harassed.

"Soris, I think something's happening," said Valora as she pointed to the door. This made Zevran turn away from Shianni to see what was going on. The crowd had become silent as the door swung open and a plump little man stepped outside. He shut the door behind him and addressed the crowd.

"The Landsmeet has been dismissed," he said. "Teyrn Loghain has given his account of what has happened at Ostagar. The true story." He paused, allowing the crowd to murmur before continuing on. "It is with deep regret that King Cailan has been pronounced dead, and that Teryn Loghain has taken the throne as regent." This sent the crowd in an uproar, making the man stop.

Zevran wasn't sure what he was talking about, but didn't really care. He was more interested in the expressions on Shianni's face. Right now she was looking on with a blank face. It appeared that who the recent king was didn't matter to her either. She was more interested in something else.

"As for the armies at Ostagar," the man said after raising his hands to demand silence. "They have been lost along with the king. Teyrn Loghain pulled his men out just in time do to the treachery that he had seen while waiting in the shadows. The Grey Wardens" –and from the mention of them Zevran saw Shianni's face light up– "have betrayed us! It was their betrayal that lead to the king's and their own deaths. There are no survivors of any kind from that gruesome battle."

Shianni's face fell. It went from shock to sadness to anger in only a matter of seconds. "I don't believe it!" she said. "Arawin would never do that!"

"Of course she wouldn't," said Soris. "But... does that mean she's... Arawin's...?"

"No, please don't say it," said Valora as she covered her mouth. Her eyes were beginning to water.

Shianni looked down at the ground, her fists clenched in a tight ball, her eyes shut tight, and her lips curled over her teeth. "No," she said slowly. "I refuse to believe it. Any of it. Arawin can not be dead." She looked up and Zevran saw a determination in her eyes. Apparently this Arawin, whoever she was, was very important to them.

"Shianni... you heard what the man said," said Soris as he tried to put his hands on her shoulders.

"How can you just accept it?" she screamed at him. "You know her! You know she can't be brought down very easily! No, I refuse." She swiped her hands in front of her, causing him to back off. "And I can't believe you would too." Shianni then stormed away from them, running at full speed towards the alleyway that they had come from.

Zevran stood where he was, the crowd melting away from him as he watched Soris and Valora. Soris took Valora in his arms as they both cried together over their lost friend. "Come on," he said softly. "We should go and tell my uncle. I'm sure he'll want to know about his daughter." Valora nodded at him and together they both went into the alley and disappeared.

Zevran watched them go, wondering if he should follow. Maybe not. Perhaps she wasn't his challenge after all.

"Well that was interesting," he heard a sneaky little voice behind him.

Zevran rolled his eyes before turning to face his comrade. "And what do you want, Karah?" he asked irritated, now wishing that he had followed the elves after all.

The mage stood before him in clothing very suitable to her personality. A dirty commoner dress hugged tight against her body, pushing up her breasts, making them look bigger than they really were. Zervan was more used to seeing her in her Tevinter mage robes, but since they were suppose to blend in, she could not wear them out in public at least.

"And what is your problem, Zev, hm?" she said getting closer to him. "I'm just here to see what all the noise was about, and then here I find you."

Zevran sighed. If there was anyone who annoyed him it was her. Karah was a mage, but not just any mage, she was an apostate, a mage that didn't belong to any Circle. But what made it worse was that she was also a malificar, or a mage that practiced blood magic. It was the one thing that made Zevran uncomfortable, blood mages. At any moment during a fight she could use her abilities to rob him of his own life to either help fuel her spells or to extend her own. It was something that she had done to him a few times, each time almost killing him in the process. He had confronted her about it, but he didn't think she listened to him. Just like all Crows, including himself, they were all in it for their own purposes.

"Yes, I'm here," he said. "Now I will be leaving."

"Oh, come on, Zevy," Karah said grabbing him and pulling him into her embrace. "Let's go do something fun together! This place is so boring. There is nothing to do except mess with people's minds." She giggled, allowing Zevran to free himself from her grip. "I made this one man get on all fours and bark like a dog, heh heh. And then I made him look up this one noblewoman's dress, and you wouldn't believe the chaos that ensued!" Karah danced around, blonde hair flowing with her, and blue eyes sparkling with delight. "It was perfect. The man was arrested and he's now in the dungeons. Can you believe it? And I let him go right when the trouble started so he was pleading how he didn't know what he was doing and such. Just like a baby!"

Her laugh penetrated Zevran's ears and he had to cover them. "You shouldn't have done that, Karah," he said once she had settled down. "What if the templars caught you?" Then again, he probably did want the templars to catch her, but he knew that would never happen.

"Bah, like any templar could catch me. Those fools." Karah stuck out her tongue. "If I couldn't even be capture by a Tevinter magister, what makes you think some stupid templars could?"

"Then how about you go and test that, yes?"

"That does sound like fun, but hey, I got a better idea!" Karah wrapped her arm around his shoulder and squeezed him close. Zevran pushed himself away from her again. "What if we went and killed this new regent of theirs? Then we would be able to claim this country in the name of Antiva. Can you imagine the look on the master's face when we present him the crown to Ferelden! I think he would forget any anger he might have towards you."

"Are you nuts?" Zevran spat. "You know we can't do something that big without a contract. And do you not remember what these people did to the Orlesians?"

"No, and I'm surprised you do."

Zevran scuffed. There were many things he knew about Ferelden. Mostly from what... she... had told him.

"Fine," Karah whined. "Then how about we do something more... intricate." She moved closer to him, lifting her chest by putting her hands behind her back. She fluttered her eyes and tried to stare deeply into his.

Zevran looked away. How many times had she tried this on him? And how many times did he say no to her? He figured she would never stop. Karah was relentless when if came to getting what she wanted. But Zevran would not give in, not to her. He had been with plenty of questionable women and men, but the one he would not sleep with would be her. He had heard stories of men who had gone to bed with her who hadn't lived to see the next day. And the ones that did manage to live through the night refused to speak about it. Acting as if they had gone through a torture session rather than a night of passion. Apparently, whatever Karah was into, it was deadly—literally.

"Karah, stop," he said. "It's not going to happen."

"Oh, come on, Zevy." He cringed at that name. Karah edged up to him and slipped her hand into his trousers. He tried to swat her away but her hand was out before he could. In her fingers was the key to his room.

Zevran grimaced at her. Great.

"I got your key," she teased. "How are you going to keep me out now?"

Zevran swiped the key out of her hand and placed it back in his pocket. "Don't do that again," he scolded her.

"Don't be such a stiff, Zev. Oh wait, maybe you should be." She laughed at her own joke. Zevran was not amused. "Besides, you know it doesn't matter that I don't have the key. I just needed to get a good look at it. Now I can make a copy." She smiled wickedly at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "If I find you in my room tonight, don't expect me to be nice."

"Oh, I don't want you to be nice at all! I like a little pain. Course, I've yet to meet a man who can give me what I want." She sighed. "But I guess I'll just have to see if you're man enough tonight, now won't we?" Karah laughed as she walked by, caressing Zevran's check. He moved his head away from her, only making her laugh even harder.

"Great," he muttered. "Now I have to get a new room." But where he would get that room he wasn't sure. The Pearl might give him another one, but he figured it would be best to be as far away from Karah as possible. To perhaps be in a place he knew she would not go. He thought and knew of only one place. The alienage.

Perhaps he should go and find that little redhead after all. He could comfort her. She would obviously be lonely in her bed, crying her eyes out. What kind of man would he be to let her suffer all alone? Yes, that's what he would do. He would go and find her. Shianni was her name. All he needed to do was go to the alienage and look for his ruby amongst the rubble. The challenge was back on.