Fenris had been lured to Kirkwall by the possibility of acquiring some documents relating to the rite he'd been put through. While trying to find the whereabouts of his former master he had been able to contact an ex-apprentice of Danarius who had seemed bitter enough to be ready to part with some notes that had been left in his possession. Brief exchange of letters had left him with a pickup location in the Alienage of the corrupt city. Fenris hadn't got that far by being careless though, and especially since getting to the city had been easy, way less hunters than he'd gotten used to lately, he had no intention to spring the obvious trap by himself.

The professional help for just such an occasion was always available but what Fenris had learned about professionals was that their loyalty lay with the highest bidder and he didn't have coin to be wasted on potential turncoats. However unprofessional help was as easy to find and even easier to threaten to stay on his side. He had picked up a nervous looking dwarf from the Hanged Man and promised him some coin for the fetching task. He might not have been totally honest about the nature of the item he wanted to get retrieved, after all he intended to be around when the poor guy went to get it and could clear any misunderstandings with coin afterwards. That was, if it wasn't a trap after all. He had been generous enough to suggest the guy might want to get some companions with him on the job.

When he went to watch the operation the next night he was as surprised by the amount of pursuers waiting for him, or apparently anyone who went inside that small shack, as he was of the craftiness of the bloke he had hired. That, or the small group that was fighting with the slavers on the empty street of the alienage had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. For a moment he was sure the dwarf had blabbered to authorities of his spun tale of lyrium import as he saw the uniform of the city guard on one of the fighters. But the rest of the group didn't seem to be all that official, not to mention they followed the orders of the scrapper of the group who danced around the battlefield stabbing and slashing opponents when they least expected. Fenris made his own part as well by making away with the reserves that would have shortly joined the fray. Regardless if this group was there on purpose or not it wouldn't hurt to gain their trust to get their help later. It seemed the game in Kirkwall was far from over.

-o-

The bell tolled to inform the closing of the city gates. Fenris lingered for a while longer in his hiding place before reluctantly leaving towards the mansion he'd been living in for the past months. Aveline interrupted him on his way to ask how the day on the gate duty had went. Had his daily routine begun too predictable? Fenris mainly shrugged as he wasn't on the mood to deal with the guard captain right now. The supposedly hidden concern towards the friends they both were waiting, as well as for the well being of himself was too obvious. He didn't want the pity of this woman who was busy enough with her fresh appointment to the new role. When he had shrugged her of he continued his way to the place he had decided to stay in. When he looked at the destruction that was evident everywhere, he hadn't bothered to clean up much, he was reminded of how that group of misfits had helped him to reclaim the place...


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