Everything was on fire.
The houses, the shops, even patches of the water where flammable goods had spilled as the qunari began their rampage. Astrid took it all in with a slow-rising, steady rage as she and Aveline ducked and dodged and made their way to Lowtown. Every ruined shop, every glassy-eyed corpse only served to fan the flame of her ire. I'm going to kill that bull-headed bastard. And any of his cronies that get in my way.
Forcing down the rage, she turned to her companion. "Well, that didn't go as planned, did it?"
Aveline snorted, raking ash from her hair. "You could say that. Alternately, you could call it an unmitigated disaster. Did you have to agree with him?"
The mage sighed, scowling at the collapsed remains of a tailor's shop. "Aveline, what d'you think Carver and I would've done if some son of a bitch forced himself on Bethany?"
Now the guard-captain was scowling too. "That's not-"
"We would've killed him, we would've made it hurt, and you know it," Astrid cut her off. "I was honest. The Arishok appreciates honesty-" Her words broke off with a hiss of pain and she glanced at her arm. Her scowl deepened and she pressed the opposite hand against the gash near her elbow.
"You alright?" Aveline asked, brow rising in concern.
Astrid nodded, magic at work. "I am now. It was only a graze. " She turned to exhibit the ripped sleeve and unblemished skin beneath.
"Right, then," Aveline sighed. "With how fast they struck, they've been planning this for some time, just waiting for an opportunity. We're good, but I don't like our odds trying to fight through this mess by ourselves."
Astrid grinned, nodding at a pair of approaching figures. "I don't think we'll have to."
"There you are! I was beginnin' t' worry." Sebastian's relief was clear, the archer not even attempting to hide it as he and Fenris reached the women and slowed to a halt. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine," Astrid nodded, resting a hand on his arm. "Did you... find anything?"
He shook his head, but Fenris was the one to answer. "No. She is well and truly gone, without a trace. We will have to manage without her."
Dammit, 'Bela. Of all the times for you to bolt... Astrid took a deep breath, gave Sebastian's arm a light squeeze, and looked at the three of them. "And manage we shall."
"The Arishok will most likely head for Hightown, the Viscount's Keep," Aveline pointed out, all business, fingers drumming against the hilt of her sword. "Take out the leadership and most of the nobility will fold."
"Not this member of the nobility," Astrid muttered, heading for the last of the alleyways between them and Lowtown proper. "Let's go."
...o.O.o...
They fought their way through the qunari forces in Lowtown; thankfully with only a minimal adjustment period for Aveline's style of weathering blows versus Isabela's preference for dodging them. There were a few spells and arrows hastily given trajectory tweaks, but on the whole, they managed rather well. The Grey Wardens were a surprise, though. And a significant enough one they distracted Astrid in the middle of the fight-just long enough for the saarebas crouched near Gamlen's door to catch her with some spell and send her flying into a wall. Ears ringing and vision doubling, she was effectively down for the count through the remainder of the fight.
"Astrid? Talk tae me." A calloused hand cupping her cheek. Concerned blue eyes filled her vision as the world stopped rocking.
"I'm fine," Astrid assured the archer, covering his hand with her own. "Just a touch rattled is all."
Sebastian's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled in relief. "Good. What would it say about the legendary Serah Hawke if she could be taken down by a mere qunari?"
She rolled her eyes and whacked him with her free hand. "Sebastian Vael-"
"If you two could stop making bedroom eyes at each other for ten seconds?" a very familiar-and thoroughly unimpressed-voice interrupted.
"Carver!" Astrid squealed, rocketing to her feet and hugging her brother with enthusiasm despite his heavy plate armor.
Carver chuckled-almost grudgingly-and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Why am I surprised to find you neck deep in trouble yet again? I should have known this is where you would be."
"'Course.I still live here," Astrid teased, tapping one finger against his breastplate. "What happens in this city actually affects me. Which leads me to ask: What're the Grey Wardens doing here?"
He shifted, glanced at his superior. "Just... passing through. Warden business."
"So asking you to help would be futile...?" she hinted.
Carver nodded and grimaced.
"Much as we might like to," his superior chipped in, raking one hand through close-cropped blond hair. "We're on something of a deadline. Best I can do is give you these." He handed Astrid a few good-sized lyrium potions. "C'mon, Carver. We take too much longer, Stroud might think we forgot about him, maybe decided to visit taverns instead."
"Yeah, you in the Hanged Man, Al. I'd pay to see that," Carver laughed. "I'm coming. Goodbye, sister."
Everything Astrid wanted to say jammed in her throat. Did you hear about Mother? Be safe. I miss you. Please, please write more.
All that came out was, "Bye, Carver," before she turned back to her companions. "Come on. The Arishok's not going to lounge around for us to dilly-dally."
...o.O.o...
All throughout Lowtown and Hightown both, it was more of the same; fighting qunari, rescuing what few survivors they found, and pressing ever forward. They picked up some more reinforcements on the way to the keep-Knight-Commander Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino both agreed to work with them, though the Knight-Commander was clearly unhappy about not being the one in charge. Still, she was willing enough to help Orsino distract the squad of qunari guarding the entrance to the keep, allowing Astrid's group to slip past and inside. They reached the throne room just as the viscount's head hit the floor. His bloodstained crown rolled across the carpet until it collided with Astrid's boot. As the metal circlet wobbled and fell, the dark-haired mage glared daggers at the Arishok.
"Is this your idea of diplomacy?!" she demanded hotly, snatching the bloody coronet from the ground and thrusting it toward him.
"Hawke," the qunari leader grunted acknowledgement of her presence as the doors banged shut behind them. "I am no diplomat."
"Well, that's bloody obvious," Astrid snapped back, heedless of the gawking, frightened nobility watching her. "Any diplomat worth the title would know murdering your host because you don't like the way they run their house is terribly poor form. Usually in those circumstances, you would just leave."
Fenris laid a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Hawke..."
For the first time in their friendship, she ignored not only his cautionary tone, but the part of herself that always wanted to work things out peacefully if possible. "Why didn't you just leave?!"
Irritation flickered in the Arishok's golden eyes. "I have told you, Hawke. I am denied Par Vollen until-"
"You return with the Tome of Koslun. I remember," Astrid cut him off. "I mean when I told you that Isabela had fled the city with it, that your prize was getting away, why in Andraste's name did you decide sacking Kirkwall was more important than retrieving the most sacred text in your religion?! That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me."
"The abuses of zealots, and even those in authority-" he glared at Aveline- "demanded a response. Or do you condone the rampant chaos and disorder in your streets?"
"Kirkwall has its problems, yes. I'm not denying that, or condoning the behavior of criminals. But they are problems that should be dealt with by Kirkwall's citizens, not by an outside force."
The Arishok stared at her with implacable, stony eyes. "So, Hawke, what would you suggest?"
"You leave. Right now. And we find in our hearts to forgive you to the point we don't consider this an act of war," Astrid replied swiftly. Meredith might protest not 'responding in kind', but right now, the mage only cared about getting the qunari out of her city.
"And the Tome of Koslun?" the Arishok tested.
Astrid opened her mouth, but her answer was cut off as the doors slammed open once more. "I believe I can help you with that," Isabela announced breezily, striding into the room with the monstrous tome tucked under one arm. She fearlessly approached the qunari leader and handed it over. "I'm sure you'll find it undamaged, for the most part."
The Arishok let out a deep, rushing breath. "Yes... I am now free to return to Par Vollen. With the thief."
Astrid's stunned "wait, what?!" was almost drowned out by Isabela's string of invective demanding much the same thing. "You have your book. And surely you've taken enough blood from this city to equal one thief."
The Arishok shook his head. "Those whose blood was spilled were paying for their own crimes, not hers. She cannot go unpunished."
"Then we'll take care of it," Astrid insisted stubbornly, grip tightening on her staff. "She is a citizen of Kirkwall, not a land under the Qun, and hasn't chosen personally to follow the Qun, either. So it would be more fitting for her to face Marcher justice than Qunari. Looking at what's come as a result of her theft, I doubt they'll be lenient, if that's your fear."
The qunari leader snorted derisively. "So, then, neither of us will be swayed from our position... So be it, Hawke. You leave me no choice. I challenge you, basalit-an. A duel to the death with the thief as the prize."
...o.O.o...
In the hushed silence that followed among nobles and qunari alike, Sebastian was sure everyone could hear his heart pounding. Oh, Andraste, please no... He and Fenris shared a look of dread, both picturing what would follow when Astrid said yes. She was fast, and smart, and an incredibly talented mage, and he had every confidence that she could win. But there was no way she would walk away unscathed.
He knew it was in Astrid's nature to respect and honor the dictums of other cultures as much as possible. It was tied to her diplomat's heart, as much a part of her as her freckles or crooked smile, but everything in him wanted to ask-beg-her to consider saying-
"No." She said it quietly yet firmly, green eyes locked with the Arishok's gold, but it still rebounded through the silence like a shout. A shocked murmur chased in the wake of her refusal, covering Sebastian's sigh of relief.
Maker, thank you.
The Arishok's brow furrowed. "You refuse?" he rumbled, obviously surprised that this woman, who had always done her utmost to respect the rules of his culture, was taking a different tack this time.
"Absolutely," the mage confirmed vehemently. "Perhaps there was a chance of my agreeing before you tried to kill me and force your way of life on my city, but not now."
His face hardened. "So be it, then." He turned to his men. "Vinek kathas."
Even not understanding the words, Sebastian could figure out their meaning from the accompanying gesture-and the way Astrid cursed and dropped into a defensive stance. His bow was in his hand before the first qunari moved, an arrow drawn and loosed before the ashaad knew what hit him. Isabela flashed past him, throwing herself headlong into the fight. Fenris and Aveline weren't far behind. Sebastian elected to hang back, stay near Astrid, for several reasons, only the least of which was them both being better at range.
"Watch out!" The mage's fingers snagged on his hood and she yanked him towards her, half a second before a lightning bolt scorched the spot he'd been standing.
"Thank yeh," he grinned, nocking another arrow and giving the string just a little bit of extra pull as he sent it on its way toward the saarebas responsible.
"You're welcome. Nice shot," Astrid commented with a breathless smile, clobbering one of the spear-wielding giants with the head of her staff when he got too close and finishing him off with a burst of flame.
"Again, thank yeh. Duck!" He fired through the space she had occupied a moment prior and caught the skulking ashaad in the shoulder.
"Thanks. We should focus on the Arishok, don't you think?" She nodded toward the qunari leader-currently trying to to cut Fenris in half. The elf blocked and dodged as best suited, but they both knew he would tire eventually. "Wanna try the teeth again?"
"Normally I'd be against combat testin'," Sebastian replied, dodging the thrust of another ashaad. "But I think I'll make an exception. Ready?"
"Whenever you are," she nodded, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Praying fervently that this actually worked this time, Sebastian fired two shots in quick succession at the Arishok's back. Astrid made a sharp gesture with one hand, and ice encased the arrows just before they hit their target. The increased sharpness to the point drove them deeper-unfortunately in the Arishok's pauldron rather than his back, as he moved at the last second.
Still, the frozen missiles distracted him long enough Fenris got in a good hit. The Arishok roared in pain as the elf's sword slashed a deep wound in his side, and the roar turned into a bellow when Isabela appeared out of thin air to dig her hooked daggers into his arm. Almost frothing with rage, the massive qunari swept away elf and pirate with one swing of his arm.
And Sebastian gave just a little too much attention to their battle rather than his own.
A/N: So, this is something I started writing back at the beginning of August. Between here and tumblr I was seeing a slew of art/fic for the whole 'Hawke duels the Arishok and nearly gets him/herself killed and ofc LI panics' trope(I guess that counts as a trope *shrugs*), and my brain being the masochist it is went WHAT IF WE FLIPPED IT. What if Hawke refused to duel the Arishok(which is what I do 90% of the time tbh. So much easier to beat with my squad at my back ;P), and in the ensuing fracas the LI is the one who nearly gets killed? Since Astrid talks to me a lot, and she did refuse to duel the Arishok, she and Sebastian sort of got volunteered by default. Aside from getting to explore why a diplomatic Hawke would choose 'all-out brawl' over the duel AND the way I imagine Astrid and Seb's relationship progressing, any excuse to write hurt/comfort is good with me. My original imagining of how this would go would have clocked in at about 2500 words. Instead-because Astrid is talkative, and Fenris and Isabela and Carver(and yes, that's Alistair as his commander :3) all wormed their way in as well-it's almost 10k. 9500 and change last time I checked. xD WHOOPS. So I split it in chapters for posting. To make it easier for you guys