Zevran sighed as he swung his foot slowly back and forth, twirling his dagger idly in his left hand. He watched with little interest as the young hirelings rush about to complete their tasks. They were all the youngest, most eager, most annoying, and least experienced of the Crows, none of them marked for more then two years. It would be a small price to pay, losing a dozen of their lowest ranking killers. It was one of the reasons he chose them, they would be too quick to please and do just about anything Zevran told them to. Which was why he was sitting there watching them set up the most obvious of ambushes with grinning faces. "We are going to make it look as if bandits raided a caravan." Not even the barbarian's of this frozen waste of mud and dog shit would fall for such a ploy.

"the scouts returned." Someone off to his left said pulling Zevran from his thoughts. He glanced up and saw the boy running full sprint around the bend. "they are coming!" He huffed as he skidded to a halt before their leader. "But it's..." He hesitated biting his bottom lip before an annoyed huff from Zevran forced him to continue. "Well the human Templar is there, but the only other male is Qunari. The rest are women."

For a moment Zevran stared at the man as if he just told him a Ferelden war-hound just took over as the Antivan Crows Guild master. No way could even this fool confuse an elf for a Qunari. "It's fine, just take your places." He said as he sheathed his blade and hopped down off the wagon. He snatched up his bow, fingers sliding along the scars along the grip, one notch for each lethal arrow that had met it's mark. More then one dozen, less then two. Each of his daggers had similar scars along their handles, each one telling a story. "Kerana you know what to do."

He watched as the girl ran off back the way the scout had come. He could only hope the warden's party would wait to kill her until after they came to investigate. He moved quickly, taking his spot behind a large boulder. If they were as green as his people, they wouldn't bother to notice him until after they already passed, showing him their backs. He notched his arrow and waited, ears twitching as they listened to the approaching footfalls.

They walked slowly past his hiding spot with weapons drawn as he expected. He would have laughed at any other time when he got a peek at the 'women' in the group. Two humans, one carrying a staff the other carrying a bow, and an elf who was most assuredly NOT a woman. It was in fact a male elf, heavily tattooed and much younger then he would have first thought. A rather lovely elf wrapped in dirty purple silk with dark colored makeup on his eyes and lips. Such a shame something so young and pretty was already Ferelden's most wanted. The sound of snapping wood pulled his attention again as the loose log was pushed off the cliff and into the road behind the warden's party, signaling the start of battle.

He pulled back the bowstring as he slipped from his place, each crow doing the same as the groups eyes moved slowly around the clearing unsurprised. He cleared his throat pulling the attention for a brief moment as his bait moved to stand beside him. "The Antivan Crows send their regards." He said as he loosed his arrow, beside him the woman's hands began to crackle with magic.

"mage!" The Templar yelled after the arrow clanged off his shield, a second later the woman fell limp beside him and he had to shake his head. He thought if nothing else, an apostate would have known better then to show their hand so early in the fight. "Wait until they are distracted, then bring in the magic." Some people never listened.

He pulled the shadows around him as he reached for another arrow from his quiver, moving around to the other side of the group and behind a tree. He could hear his people going down quickly, no matter he knew how it was going to end, had counted on it even. He swung out from behind the tree and leveled the mage in his sight.

The rest of the battle was a haze of blood and shouting, he shot more then half a quiver full of arrows, most pinging of steel and arcane barriers, one he was sure buried itself in the elven mage. His left bare shoulder if he wasn't mistaken. Such a pity too, it was a lovely shoulder. The last thing he remembered was being slammed from behind by a large, furry, growling beast followed by a shield that connected with the side of his skull, and then everything went blessedly black.

"I'm dieing," A voice cut into his mind. "Don't lie Sten I am dieing, look at all the blooaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOUUUCH!"

"You cry like a baby. I fear for Ferelden if it's hope lies with a baby in a dress."

"You always say the nicest things Sten."

Zevran groaned loudly as he opened his eyes and then closed them again against the sun that threatened to blind him. He tried to move his limbs to find he had been tied up, trussed like some animal ready for the spit. "Ferelden's have no art for tying people up." He mumbled as he opened his eyes, blinking against the light until he could focus on the shoes in front of his face.

"Hey, the elf is awake." Steel boots peeking out from dirty, ragged Templars skirts.

He could hear shuffling and movement behind him as the others approached. Another pair of steel boots, three pairs of worn Ferelden leather, and four fur covered paws. He looked from one to the next until his eyes fell on the purple robe, dirty and frayed from miles of travel. He followed the skirts up until he met the angry green gaze staring down at him. "Ah so you survived my arrow, I am glad. It would have been such a pity to lose such a beauty as you to treason and a single noble man's greed."

"I am going to have a scar." The mage hunkard down and leaned forward, black hair falling forward to frame his face, shading it from the sun. "A VISIBLE scar, on my favorite shoulder!"

"Scars can tell amazing stories, I have many of them if you wish to hear some."

"Not interested."

"A pity. Then I would assume since you are not here to listen to my stories, you wish for information." He gave a quick glance to each face before focusing back on the elf. Blazing emerald green eyes with a red streak through the center. He had to admit he found them captivating, he had never seen such eyes before. "Let me make it easy for you, I am Zevran Arainai, Zev for short. I am an Antivan Crow hired to take care of the last remaining Orlesian wardens that have been sent to spy on Ferelden."

The mage scoffed as he tilted his head to one side. "Do we LOOK like Orlesian spies to you?" Meryn blinked as he glanced over his shoulder for a brief moment. "Ok, does anyone EXEPT the red head look like an Orlesian spy to you?"

Zevran smiled at the mage. "I am an assassin for hire, I do not care one way or the other where you really come from. They tell me to kill wardens, I kill wardens." He shrugged one shoulder as much as the ropes would allow.

"Who hired you?"

"A man by the name of Rendon Howe, the mouth piece of some taciturn fellow named Loghaine."

"Figures." the mage stood and looked over at the Templar, "You still think your hero of River Dance is a wonderful man?" He sighed as his face turned sour. It was almost comical on the mage's face, turning a young man into an even younger looking boy. "Why are you giving up so much information freely?"

"River Dane, and I never thought he was wonderful." The Templar was defensive, and obviously lying.

"So what exactly is an Antivan Crow?"

"They are an order of assassin's out of Antiva. Known and feared throughout Thedas for their skill. This was a poor example of the true strength behind their guild." The red headed woman with a bow scoffed as she looked down disapproving at the man laying before them. "They are not known for failing."

"Ah you wound me. I happen to be one of their best, although I must admit your lovely friend is correct. This was not one of our finest moments."

"So what do we do with him?"

"Well." Zevran began before anyone could answer. "Seeing as you bested me, my life is now forfeit. If you will allow, I shall offer you a proposal before you decide."

The mage narrowed his eyes as he hunkard down once more, eyes searching the assassin's face. "What is that?"

Zevran tried to hold back a grin, he knew that look well. It was the glare of someone waiting for someone to screw up, waiting for the tell tale signs of a lie. "You have bested me, my life now belongs to you. If you would allow me to travel with you I shall fight beside you until you have succeeded in whatever it is you are doing."

"Why would we want some assassin following us around?"

"I am skilled in many things, from assassination to wicked grace. I can pick locks, disarm traps, warm your bed, or just stand around looking pretty all night." He bit back a grin when the mage's eyebrows rose at the last bit. "Ah, I see I have peeked your interest."

"Not interested." He stood quickly.

"We aren't going to take him with us are we?" The Templar asked. "He tried to kill us, and he shot you. What's to stop him from trying again."

"Ah well seeing as I failed the first time, trying again will do no good. The crows do not tolerate failure, as your lovely companion has said. Would I to succeed later, my life would still be forfeit and they would kill me on principle. I can be of help there. If they find someone else to fulfill the contract, I can tell you how and where they shall try."

"You have a contract with Loghain. You are loyal to him, right?"

"I HAD a contract, I failed and the contract is void. I did not complete it, the Crows do not get paid. Which just gives them even more incentive to see my head spiked as an example for those who would fail in the future."

"They would come after you?"

"In time yes, but as long as I travel with you I doubt anyone would be so stupid as to try. Even the Crows know better then to raise arms against the wardens. They are of legend and deserve the respect their station demands."

"Then why..."

"We waste time." The large Qunari bellowed, thankfully cutting off the mages next question. "We must keep moving, the sun sets early and we must make many miles before camp."

"Fine, lets take him with us. We could use all the help we can find."

"This is a mistake, he is an assassin!"

"Fine Alistair." The mage turned that piercing glare on the Templar. "You kill him if you are so inclined to see him die."

"...Fine but I warned you." The Templar huffed and stormed off.

The mage circled the Assassin and knelt down behind him. "I could use a bed warmer, these Ferelden nights are terrible. Shame you to go and shoot me with an arrow." He murmured as he tugged at the ropes jerking the assassin's limbs this way and that. Zevran couldn't help but chuckle at the mage's words. "I am Meryn, the Templar is Alistair, the archer is Leliana, the half naked woman is Morrigan, Sten is the Qunari. And then Bolt."

"Bolt is your dog I assume."

"Yes, as in lightning bolt." Meryn sounded a bit too proud of that name. "You try to kill us again, we won't be so nice next time."

"I have no doubt." Zevran sighed as his limbs were finally released from his bonds. He happily excepted the hand Meryn offered as he stood on slightly unsteady legs. He held onto the other elf for a few moments, waiting for his legs to hold before pulling his hand away and resting it across his chest. "I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you until such time as you release me from it. I am your man without reservation, this I swear." He bowed his head slightly.

"Ummm... great!" The mage all but squeaked as he turned red from the top of his robes to his hairline. "So yeah, umm. Get your gear together and we can get moving."

Zevran smiled. "I could use a bit of help. Since I am now just one Crow left, there is much gear that will go to waste. We should take what we can and disperse it among all your lovely companions to carry."

Meryn nodded as he glanced over his shoulder and waved the Qunari over to help. Zevran wasn't sure if he had made the right choice, if nothing else it would be an interesting journey.