So me and my betas haven't worked out a precise schedule hence the weird time gaps between updates. I'm working on it. Anyways, Chapter 6! Enjoy!
Antivan City of Treviso:
Isabela groaned as she was rudely awakened from the best sleep of her life by a dog's barking. She didn't remember the bed being so hard though. She blearily rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
When they started to focus, she noticed Fenris laying next her and couldn't help but smile.
'Wait, why are we on the floor with clothes on?' she wondered as she realized that they both were in fact on the floor, fully clothed. She looked at Fenris' hand and noticed a partially finished bottle of wine.
"That's right!" she yelled out loud, which caused Fenris to groan. They had been talking and enjoying each other's company after Hawke had announced she was going on a walk.
The innkeeper had come up and offered them a bottle of his best wine. They had both thought it strange, however, neither Fenris nor Isabela were going to turn away free quality wine, Fenris for his love of wine and Isabela for her love of alcohol.
"The damn bottle must have been drugged!" She thought out loud, while Fenris just groaned again.
'Why would someone want to drug both her and Fenris and then do nothing to either of them?' She questioned herself mentally and then came to a single conclusion., 'Someone wanted us out of the way so they could get to Hawke!'
"Shit!" she exclaimed. and then she started pacing back and forth as her mind raced.
She looked down at Fenris' prone form and stopped next to his body and nudged him in the side with her boot a few times.
"Get up, Stud Muffin!" She yelled, "Something has happened to Hawke!"
That seemed to have gotten his attention. He awoke almost immediately, his lyrium-infused tattoos flaring and wiping the last vestiges of sleep away. If she hadn't seen him fast asleep a few moments ago, she probably would have never believed he had been sleeping in the first place.
"What do you mean? Wait, what did you call me?" He questioned, in that deep voice she absolutely adored.
"We were both drugged," She explained. "And since we are both here, that can only mean something bad has happened to Hawke. Come on! We should go check her room." She sneakily diverted his attention from the name she had called him.
They both quickly grabbed their gear and hurried out the door. Fenris raised his hand to knock and found the door swung open easily. This was not a good sign.
Isabela did a quick scan of the room and could find no evidence of foul play. It looked like she had been in the middle of packing.
"Hawke used magic here recently," Fenris declared.
"How can you be sure?" Isabela questioned.
"I know what her magic feels like," Fenris replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
'How vague!' Isabela thought exasperatedly. She also noticed Hawke's staff was missing.
"Come." Fenris commanded. "We should go ask the innkeeper. He was the one who gave us the wine, right?"
"Yes," She replied as she pulled out one of her daggers. "Yes, he was."
They both turned around and left the room headed downstairs.
When they arrived they found the innkeeper behind the bar absentmindedly rubbing a bandage on his hand. When he saw them he stopped and tried to leave. Isabela quickly cut him off.
"Aw, where you off to sweetheart?'" She said in her sweet sultry voice.
The innkeeper stammered, but quickly recovered. "I was going to the back to get some more supplies."
Isabela just smiled at him, and then finally she stated, "I don't believe you." As soon as the words left her mouth she brought her dagger to his neck. "I suggest you start talking quickly."
The innkeeper started sweating profusely. "I ain't tellin' you all anything!" He declared. "If I had known she was a maleficar I would have never let her stay!"
Before Isabela could question him further, Fenris stepped forward bristling with rage. "Do not dare insinuate that SHE is anything like them!" He practically roared into the innkeeper's face as he picked the innkeeper up by the scruff of his shirt with one hand. "Answer her question." He commanded with barely contained fury.
"Make me," The innkeeper declared smugly. He knew they wouldn't actually kill him until they got the information they needed.
Fenris just smirked at him. "As you wish."
Fenris' opposite hand glowed white and he then plunged his hand into the innkeeper's chest. The innkeeper's smug look was quickly replaced with one of pain and fear. The patrons of the inn all hurried out at that point. They tried not to make any noise, lest they bring the strange elf's wrath upon themselves.
After a few seconds he removed his hand. "Speak," He commanded. Isabela also realized that the innkeeper had wet himself. If the situation wasn't so dire, she probably would have laughed.
"A man was in here earlier," The innkeeper stammered with fear. "After her dog bit me, he told me she was a dangerous maleficarum and asked if I would help. He paid me thirty sovereigns to give you two some wine and make sure she was alone when she went up to her room. That's all I know, I swear!"
"This man… Describe him," Isabela said as she took over the interrogation. "If I find your answers lacking, I will kill you." She warned him.
The man hurried to please. "I never saw his face!" He cried.
"Well, that's just too bad," Isabela purred. Fenris then dropped him to the ground. Isabela twirled her dagger between her fingers and struck so fast one would have been hard pressed to watch her hand. Just before her dagger pierced the skin of his throat she stopped.
"Wait! Just wait! He had some weird tattoos that looked like vines! They ran all up and down his arms." He shrieked.
Isabela patted the innkeeper on the head to calm him. The man visibly relaxed. "Thanks for the identifying marks, but unfortunately, you helped a man kidnap one of my only friends. And that I can simply not tolerate." She said in a deceptively calm voice. Just as the innkeeper's eyes widened in realization of what she was implying, Isabela finished her earlier strike across his throat. The innkeeper choked in his own blood and bled out in under a minute.
Fenris looked down at the innkeeper, but from the looks of things, he felt no sympathy for the man. Finally, he looked at Isabela. "What now?" He asked.
Isabela started contemplating, but before she could think of an idea, they were interrupted by a dog barking at the front door to the inn. It sounded like the dog that awoken her earlier. Then she realized who it was… Boomer!
She quickly ran to the door and realized Fenris still stood where he was, not putting two and two together. "Come on, Stud Muffin!" She ignored the fact the Fenris was about to ask about the name again and once more stated more important things to keep him distracted. "That's gotta be Boomer! If anyone can find Hawke, it's going to be that loveable mutt!"
Fenris hurried after her.
When they pushed out into the humid afternoon, Isabela was nearly knocked over by the massive form of Boomer. He ran right past her into the inn and then up the stairs.
After a few minutes Isabela saw the dog return down the stairs, with his form low to the ground. It looked like he had caught Hawke's trail. Maybe, just maybe they could catch her.
As Isabela and Fenris followed Boomer through the city, Isabela grew more and more worried for Hawke.
She and Fenris followed the Mabari for hours, the trail winded throughout the whole city. Whoever had taken Hawke had gone to great lengths to make sure he wasn't followed. She wondered how he had carried her around with no one noticing.
After an eternity of following Boomer, they arrived at a gate that led outside the city. Isabela immediately noticed that this gate was also, physically, the farthest possible exit of the city from the inn and docks.
They followed Boomer outside the walls for at least another hour;, the Mabari finally came to a complete stop.
The last of Isabela's hopes were finally snuffed out. They were in front of a large river with no easily visible way to cross. The current was also moving too fast for them to wade across.
The Mabari let out a howl of pain, and before either Fenris or Isabela could stop him dove into the water.
Isabela gasped and took off, preparing to dive into the water after him.
Fenris grabbed both of her arms before she could do so. "Isabela! Stop," He said firmly. "He has not surfaced, you may very well drown!"
"Fenris! He's family, we cannot just leave him!" she argued.
"I have no doubt he survived, but you will do no good if you drown," he tried to convince her to think logically and not swim across the river like he knew she was going to attempt.
The argument was cut short, because at that moment a furry body struggled out of the river about twenty yards downstream. Boomer didn't even acknowledge them and took off down the river bank, no doubt once again searching for the trail.
Isabela felt the worry drain from her.
"He is dedicated, he will find her," Fenris reassured her. "We need to go and see if we can find somewhere to cross"
Isabela nodded mutely.
"If we cannot find her or Boomer, we should return to Kirkwall. Varric is far more connected than us," Fenris stated, once more he saw the whole picture and she was grateful for the direction.
With one last glance across the river, Isabela hesitantly turned to follow Fenris. She found herself praying, for the first time in a long time, for the safety of the two members of her adopted family.
Observation Outpost Alpha - 00:
Dominic blearily opened his eyes. He tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes, but found his hands were strapped down. With a little more force, the bindings easily snapped. He was finally able to rub his eyes.
Wait, He shouldn't be able to do that. Where was his helmet?
He glanced around and found he was seated on a table in an otherwise empty room. He then decided now would be as good a time as any to stand up. As soon as he twisted his body, the pain from his injuries came back full force. He struggled to remain upright. After a few second of deep breathing, he felt strong enough to fully stand. There was a swishing sound and he glanced to the wall on his right. A hole formed at the center and kept expanding until it was roughly door shaped.
The Green Monitor came floating in, 'What was its name? Maker's Voice? That sounded right,' Dominic struggled to think through the pain.
"Ah! Reclaimer, you've awaken! Good. I was just about to wake you. Your injuries are extensive and we lack a proper medical facility," It said in that voice that instantly put Dominic at ease.
"Where is my helmet?" he asked.
"Oh, it was severely damaged," Maker's Voice said just as his helmet appeared in a ball of light. "I scavenged some of its non-essential systems to fix your HUD."
"Wait, what do you mean non-essential systems?" Dominic questioned starting to feel just a little apprehensive.
"Items including long and short range communication, ammo counter, and the anti-fog feature," Voice replied, sounding quite pleased with itself.
"How were any of those non-essential?" He asked, while barely preventing himself from raising his voice.
"Well, by my calculations you only have approximately 3 hours left before you go unconscious again for what may be the very last time," Voice replied in a solemn tone. "Never fear, for I have a solution, Reclaimer," It concluded in a slightly more cheerful tone.
As if spurred by the reminder, Dominic broke out into a coughing session that hurt almost every inch of his body. After recovering he picked up his helmet and gingerly shoved it into place.
"Let's hear it," He resolutely told Voice.
"Follow me if you would, Reclaimer," it commanded and then floated out the doorway.
Dominic shrugged to himself and stepped across the threshold.
The Monitor was a couple feet down a hallway that looked almost exactly like any of the others he'd been down during the mission. The Monitor knew where it was going, so Dominic followed its lead at a brisk walk, compared to his usual jog. It was all he could manage.
"Oh! Before I forget, I also modified your sword and your suits power source," It said cheerfully, like a father who had just gotten one of his children a new toy. Dominic, on the other hand, was not amused. He did not like it when people messed with his gear. This Maker's Voice had already made adjustments to his helmet, now he was finding out that was the least of the items it had modified.
Dominic let out a sigh and then asked, "What did you do?" If the words had come from anyone else, one would have assumed they were moping. SPARTANs, on the other hand, do not mope;, they voice their complaints loudly and bluntly.
"I altered them to automatically recharge if there is enough lyrium in the air," Voice said. It seemed like it thought that was a satisfactory answer.
"And what's lyrium?" Dominic asked, getting slightly frustrated.
"Oh, it is an amazing mineral! I have been tasked with studying it for the past million years or so! It has an adverse effect on the Flood, causes some humanoids to develop special powers;, it even shortens the gap between worlds!" Voice said while bobbing up and down with giddy.
"Oh, that explains it," Dominic said sarcastically, which the Monitor didn't even pick up on. "You still haven't told me your plan that is supposedly going to save my life."
"Ah, yes. This observation post monitors a planet that through lyrium shares a very close connection with a realm of strange beings. One is called the Fade by its residents, while the other is called Thedas. I will be sending you to the latter. Lyrium gives Thedas' residents some unique powers, one of which includes the ability to heal wounds. My hope is that one of these individuals will be able to save your life," It replied.
It all sounded magical, but the Monitor thought it would work. Dominic was all out of options anyways.
"I assume that you have some way of getting me there and back?" he questioned, still not satisfied with the answers so far.
"I have a way to get you there, but bringing you back might be more of a problem," Voice stated, its tone did not change at all. With a sinking realization, Dominic understood it seemed fine with that outcome.
"When my masters abandoned this facility during the war with the Flood, they shut down all of their facilities in order to prevent the Flood from finding the planet. My teleporter is only one way, so I will be unable to bring you back until you have found and activated the teleporters at one of the facilities. I do not know where on the planets the facilities are located. That bit of information was deleted from my memory banks. I do know that there are three on Thedas and one on Fade. The one on Fade does not have a teleporter, regrettably." It explained without being prompted.
"And this is my only shot?" Dominic asked. "What happens if I die before I can find one of these people that can heal me?"
"I have located one who suits our needs," Voice stated. "I will be able to teleport you within one hundred meters of her location."
"It's a she? How will I know what she looks like? How will we communicate?" Dominic questioned. "There seem to be a lot of holes in this plan."
"Oh she speaks English or as they refer to it… the Common Tongue. Plus she is human," it said casually,. "I also have placed a navigational marker in your H.U.D. with her location. She isn't moving currently."
"Wait, did you say human?" the SPARTAN questioned once more.
The Monitor actually sighed in exasperation. "I study the effects of lyrium! One such aspect is the effect it has on Reclaimers! We transplanted some to live on Thedas." It was clearly getting frustrated with all his questions.
They continued in silence for another hundred meters or so. Dominic was hesitant to ask more questions. It hurt to talk and he was already focusing on keeping his pain under control, plus he did not want to make the floating ball angry. Finally, they came to the end of the hallway.
"The teleporter is just in here," It informed him. "Is there anything you need before your journey?"
"Yes, my partner is still in the building. After this I was wondering if you could inform him where I went?" he asked politely. He was being polite to a robot and couldn't believe it.
"Strange, I am not picking up any Reclaimer biosignatures," it stated. Dominic sighed, the nerve of this machine to just assume his partner was human.
"That's because he is not human. He is a Sangheili, and his name is Arvo. He is different than the other filth in here. I assume you can take his IFF code out of my helmet?" Dominic said as he removed his helmet in order for Maker's Voice to have easier access.
"Ah yes, good idea!" It said in a condescending tone that made Dominic feel slightly inadequate. "It will be some time before I can teleport him in as well. The teleporter has to recharge. Oh, I have already downloaded the code. You may replace your helmet," it informed him.
Dominic forcefully shoved his helmet back into place -it hurt, but he was too frustrated to care at this point- and stepped into the teleportation room. If he wasn't in such a bad mood, he would have been amazed at the large room with a glowing yellow portal at its center. As it was he saw the yellow, assumed it was the portal and headed straight for it. Just as he stepped through he heard Maker's Voice call good luck after him in a tone that was much too happy for his liking. He needed to vent his frustration and soon.
So if anyone caught on to Arvo being a Sangheili... Kudos to you. I'll be trying to keep this story fresh, anyways if you got any ideas or would like something to happen, shoot me a PM or write a review. I'm always open to new ideas!