She unlocked his cell and without a word, waved at him to follow her. He was as confused the first time she had come to see him after sentencing him. The Inquisitor. He was surprised that she had spared his life. Twice. Her visits never brought anger or pity or any other emotion a sane person would offer him. She wanted to talk. To understand she said, what had brought him to place he know was. He answered her questions as best as he could, at least the ones that involved Corypheus. When she started asking more personal things, he began to ignore her. She still kept trying though. He wasn't really sure what the point was now that he had no important information to give.
He was curious as to where she was taking him. He never left his cell except for when he was needed in the Undercroft. He followed her up the stairs that lead out of the dungeons and outside.
After being in his cell all day, the light of the sun blinded him as his eyes struggled to adjust. Where were they going? He had just seen Dagna yesterday and she rarely needed to see him again so soon. He followed her to a small unoccupied corner that had been set up as a small practice space.
"What's all this?" he asked as she handed him a wooden sword and shield and grabbed a staff for herself. "You need some exercise. Cullen refused and the rest of the soldiers are afraid of you." "You're a mage right? What do you expect to do against me with that…" Before he could finish his insult, she had dropped low and swept his legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a loud thud, the air knocked from his lungs as she swung her staff and pressed the end against his throat. He was glad it wasn't bladed like the one she had used at the Temple.
"My staff isn't just for show. You were a templar so you know that there is a limit to how many spells we can cast in a row. I wasn't trained in a circle. I started training with a sword before my magic manifested and I switched to a staff. My family made sure I could defend myself in any situation. Plus it isn't exactly easy to get lyrium when you operate outside of Chantry control. I got used to not needing it. It's why I chose Knight-Enchanter when it was decided I needed to pick a speciality. Now templar, show me what you got." The corner of her mouth turning up slightly as she motioned for him to get up. Maker he wanted to wipe the smug smirk off off her face. Getting to his feet, he replied, "Let's go then mage."
He gave the practice sword a few test swings just to get a feel for the weight and loosen up the muscles he hadn't used in far too long. Once he was satisfied, he fell into the familiar stance of a templar, ready to face his opponent. He waited for her to make the first move. He had seen her fight before but that battle had been chaos and he hadn't been able to adequately study her style for any weakness. Plus he had been more concerned about her giant Qunari with the axe. She was tall but that one made her look human sized.
After only a moment she swung her staff towards his left, a move he easily blocked with his shield. She was testing him. She swung again, this time to his sword arm. He moved to bat it away but his timing was slightly off and the end grazed his arm.
"Sloppy." "Alright, I suppose I am a little rusty after being locked in your dungeon for the last few months," replied Samson. He was glad she hadn't swung harder or that would have stung.
"I didn't put you there Samson, your own choices did." Falling back into his stance he responded, "I didn't say I wasn't responsible for what I done but they are your dungeons and you are the one who sentenced me. You could have just as easily killed me, either at the temple or when I stood before your throne." There was no vitriol to his words, he had accepted his fate the moment she had defeated him in battle.
Enough playing it safe, time to go on the offensive. He took a few test stabs that she dodged before bringing his sword hard from his left, catching her off guard and forcing her flick her staff upwards to divert the blow. He was the one jumping out of the way though when she recovered and brought the end of the staff up towards his face.
He was impressed. He had never seen a mage who didn't need to rely on magic in a fight. He watched her lower the weapon slowly and braced himself for her next move but she spoke instead. "No, I couldn't have killed you. Killing has never been something I do easily. I feel every life that I am responsible for taking. I suspect you can understand that."
Thinking about his men, he simply nodded. "I spared you at the temple because you could be valuable in the fight against Corypheus, but I also found myself curious about the man you were. What would drive someone to follow that monster willingly? I asked Cullen about you since you served together Kirkwall but he didn't give me much and after speaking to Maddox before he died, seeing the loyalty he had to you, hearing what you had to say at your sentencing about the men under your command and your reasons for joining Corypheus gave me a glimpse at who you were. I am a decent judge of people's character, at least I like to think that I am, and what I saw when I looked at you wasn't the villain everyone thinks that you are, but a good man who got screwed because of his kindness and in his anger made some very bad decisions."
"So this is some attempt to save me? It is a wasted effort Inquisitor. I don't think there is any going back for someone like me."
"Of course there isn't. You will never be able to undo the choices you made or the consequences of your actions but what you can do is spend the rest of the time you have left atoning. You can't do that if you are dead. Do you think that everyone under my command is a good person? There are several I can name right now who have done terrible things. I offered them the same chance I have offered you. You are no less worthy of my mercy than they are. You can never be the man you were but you can strive to be better than what you have become."
Samson let her words sink in for a bit before pushing them to the back of his mind where he could think on it later when he was back in his cell. "Are we gonna chat or are we gonna fight Inquisitor?" She just smiled at him as she resumed their match.