They were about halfway back to the Arl's estate, following the edge of the darkened, empty marketplace, when a hooded figure stepped out of an alleyway, blocking their path. All three of them were reaching for weapons before the figure raised his empty hands, palms toward them. "Bann Teagan," the man said, quietly. "You know me."
"Fer...!" Bann Teagan exclaimed, breaking off in mid-word as the hooded figure shook its head. "Maker, man, you were reported dead, after the debacle at Ostagar!"
A low laugh. "I damn near was. Luckily for me, the Chasind aren't nearly as barbaric as people paint them; a tribe of them found me and nursed me back to health. We need to speak, friend."
Teagan snorted. "That we do. And not in public. My brother's estate is near..."
"And under Teryn Loghain's watchful eye," Zevran pointed out as he re-sheathed his weapons, it being obvious the Bann didn't consider this man any danger.
"True. My townhouse, perhaps? It's a bit of a walk..."
"And equally likely to be under the Teryn's eye, from what I've heard about your challenge to him when he declared himself regent," the man pointed out.
"As long as there are no more then two, perhaps three watchers, I believe I can make sure your guests are able to enter unseen," Zevran suggested to Teagan.
"Guests?" Bann Teagan asked, while the man gave a low laugh.
"I have a companion, whom your friend has obviously spotted," the man said, nodding toward the alleyway he'd emerged from. "All right. I know where your townhouse is; it will take some little time for the two of us to reach there; better we travel separately than walk openly with you."
"That is good, it will also take me some little time to locate and temporarily disable the guards. Hide nearby, I shall find you when it is safe for you to approach," Zevran assured the man.
The man turned and looked questioningly at Bann Teagan. Teagan nodded. "If Zevran says he can do it, he can. He is – was – an Antivan Crow. A good one."
"One of the best," Zevran said, with a broad smile.
"Ahhhh," the man breathed, softly, and nodded his head toward Zevran. "I am familiar with such. I will take you at your word, then," he said, and disappeared back into the alley.
Teagan turned, and led the way away from the marketplace and off through the city toward where his townhouse was. Once they were close enough for him to point out the correct building, Zevran separated from him and Owen, vanishing into the shadows. He slowly circled the area, looking at Bann Teagan's house and judging where in the surrounding area watching eyes might usefully be placed, then began cautiously checking. In the end, he only found two people, one watching the front, and one the back. The one in back was half-asleep at his post as it was; a little dart, with no more bite to it than an insect, easily sent him the rest of the way. Zevran carefully plucked it from his skin before heading off to find the pair and guide them to safety.
He frowned as he saw the man's companion for the first time; moving as if injured, favouring one leg and cradling one arm, half-supported by the bigger man. Zevran made sure to make a little noise before stepping out of the shadows to greet the pair.
"Turn left down the next alley," he advised them. "And then the third right will bring you to the laneway running in back of Teagan's townhouse. His garden gate and back door will be open, and safe. I will leave a sign on the ground before the right gate so you do not mistake it. I will go see to that, now."
"All right. Thank you," the man called back softly.
Zevran ghosted back through the darkness to the townhouse, unlocking and oiling the gate, scuffing a quick mark in the muddy dirt of the laneway, then slipped through the garden and did the same for the back door. He hid in the shadows, keeping his eyes and ears open, until he saw the pair ease through the gate and creep through the garden to the house, disappearing inside. He went back and relocked the garden gate before following them indoors himself.
The pair were in a sitting room with Teagan and Owen, having just drawn off their hooded cloaks when he entered. The pair had dark brown hair, shaggy on the taller figure and hacked messily short on the slighter one. Matching hazel eyes in tanned faces, the tan bringing out the paleness of the scar that marred one side of the smaller figure's face from temple to chin, narrowly missing the eye and pulling the outer corner of the mouth awry.
Zevran nodded in greeting to the pair, then turned to Owen. "I believe the lady may need your talents, my friend," he said.
"Lady...!" Teagan exclaimed, then stared in shock at the slighter figure. "Gemma! Forgive me, I didn't recognize you... I thought you a boy..."
She gave a crooked smile. "I hardly resemble the fine young lady you danced with at Highever last winter," she said, an edge of bitterness in her voice, then looked questioningly at Owen as he rose to his feet, eyes widening slightly as she took in how unnaturally tall he was. "You are a doctor?" she asked nervously.
"A mage, and a healer," Owen corrected. "I can see there is something wrong with your leg and arm – what else?"
She grimaced. "Ribs. The leg is an old injury, I doubt anything can be done for it now, but the arm and ribs are recent. Walked all the way from Highever in disguise as a boy without problems, and then ran afoul of some fat bastard in a cheap inn down near the docks who thought I looked like easy meat. Broke my arm, before I cut his fat throat for him. And then had to run and abandon what things I had, since I didn't dare get involved with the guards in any way. My disguise wouldn't have lasted any longer than it took for them to strip my armour off and notice I had girly bits instead of dangly bits."
"I suppose I should make introductions," Teagan interjected. "Fergus Cousland, Gemma Cousland, may I make known to you Zevran Arainai and Owen Amell, companions of the Grey Wardens."
"Ahhhh, the missing heirs of Highever," Zevran said, enlightened, and cut the two of them a rather pretty bow, which drew a sardonic smile from Fergus and an amused one from Gemma.
"Charmed," she said, an ironic edge in her voice, then looked to Owen again. "Anything you can do about my injuries will be very much appreciated, ser."
"Of course. You will need to strip for me to attend them – would you prefer to withdraw somewhere more private, or...?"
"I will trust the gentlemen to look away," she said gravely. "I would rather not miss out on the conversation."
Owen nodded, and he and Gemma withdrew to one corner of the room, Owen standing between her and the others, while the other three men took seats facing away.
"So how did you come to be here, and how did you and Gemma manage to reunite?" Teagan asked curiously.
"Much as Gemma did, I walked here, after I'd healed enough. The Chasind were generous enough to provide me with what rations they could spare. They have little enough of their own at the best of times, living off the land as they do, and with the darkspawn overrunning their territory are even worse off than usual right now. It humbles me how willing they were to care for me, a complete stranger. By the time I'd reached Denerim I already knew that everyone in my family was believed dead, and that Howe had claimed our lands," he continued grimly, jaw setting. "I have only two goals left in life. And only one that I care about; seeing Howe dead for what he did to us and our people. And then reclaiming our lands."
Gemma spoke up. "I, too, came here to find and kill Howe. After what he did to us at Highever..." her voice broke for a moment.
"I was there. I saw the bodies. Apart from Fergus, everyone I loved died that night, family and servants both. I was left for dead after they..." she broke off, fell silent for a long moment before finally resuming, voice raw with emotion. "I would have died, but they didn't know about the secret tunnel out of the pantry. When they... they left the room... I managed to open it, crawl within, drag myself through the tunnel and out. One of the villagers found me as they fled the carnage, and carried me to safety. Our people kept me hidden for months afterwards, while I recovered from my injuries. They did what they could for me, then once I was well enough, helped me to disguise myself so I could come to Denerim. We all thought I was our only chance at justice, at seeing Howe and his people removed from Highever."
Fergus took up the tale. "I was scouting out our properties here in Denerim, hoping to find one that Howe and his men had missed, where I might be able to get proper arms and armour, or at least some of our valuables to sell for same, when I found Gemma doing the same. That was yesterday evening."
"I'm going to need something to use for bandages to strap these ribs," Owen interrupted. "Bone heals better if it's allowed to heal naturally, and my energy is better spent on healing some of the other damage. I'll also need some smooth sticks to help in setting her arm."
It took some little time to round up suitable items. While Zevran was sent off to plunder the linen closet for old sheets to tear into strips for bandaging, and Fergus to sort through the woodpile in the kitchen for suitable lengths of wood, Teagan vanished upstairs to his rooms, returning with clean clothing for Gemma to wear once Owen was done with her; he only had things of his own there, bringing back a plain cotton shirt and drawstring breeches which would hang rather loosely on her smaller frame, but at least that meant it would fit on easily over her bandaging.
Owen ended up needing help with keeping her supported during the bandaging, which Fergus supplied. She only cried out once in pain during the process, though she was pale as a sheet by the time it was finished.
"I'll want to check on you daily while those are healing," Owen told her. "And you should rest in bed for a couple of days, at minimum – there was some damage inside, which I've done what I can about for now, and will heal further once I have more energy."
Gemma nodded. Between them Owen and Fergus helped her upstairs, and installed her in one of Teagan's spare bedrooms. The men carried in chairs from elsewhere in the house to settle down and continue their conversation there.
"What are your plans now?" Teagan asked Fergus.
"I've heard that your brother is at the centre of the resistance to Teryn Loghain and Arl Howe, and is organizing a Landsmeet. It may be useful for myself – and Gemma too, if she is up to it – to appear there and challenge Howe's claim to our Terynir. Gemma's evidence in particular about the atrocities Howe perpetrated in Highever may help sway adherents away from them. And if the Landsmeet supports me, and allows me to reclaim my family seat, that weakens Howe, and therefor weakens Loghain's support."
Teagan nodded. "An excellent plan. And most effective if Loghain and Rendon have no warning of it. If we can continue to keep your presence secret until the Landsmeet..."
Gemma nodded in agreement. "Do you have servants here whom we have to worry about?" she asked worriedly.
Teagan shook his head. "Just one, my housekeeper, and you could sooner enter the Golden City on foot than pry a secret from her short of outright torture," he said, and smiled thinly. "Apart from the few years when I was away in the Free Marches, she has been with me her entire life – her mother was my nurse as a child. I would not hesitate to trust her with my life."
Fergus nodded. "All right then. I will trust you to make our presence known to your brother, and plan out with him how best to use us. For now we will have to depend on your hospitality."
Bann Teagan smiled pleasantly at the pair. "It is no burden. Whatever help I can be to you, you can depend on me to perform."
He turned and looked at Zevran and Owen. "As late as it is, would you prefer to stay here the remainder of the night, rather than returning to my brother's estate?"
Owen nodded his head. "It would be best if we stay, I think. It will allow me to do some further healing on the lady before we leave in the morning."
"Very well, let me offer you all beds for the night. Fergus, I suppose you'd prefer the room next to Gemma? Do you and Owen mind sharing a room, Zevran?"
"Not in the least," Zevran assured him with a charming smile.