Hello readers, and welcome to Orzammar! Most annoying place in the whole game, barring that fade sequence. But wait! There will be twists, and turns, and loop-de-loops! Let us dive beneath the surface of the earth, brothers and sisters!
Authors Note: I do not own Dragon Age. Everything involved is the intellectual property of Bioware and others contributing to the franchise, and I profit in no way other than self gratification.
Chapter 6: Gravel
Faren Brosca woke up in a house that smelled of cheap ale, in a bed that he was sharing with his sister, and with one hand resting on his axe. Life in Dust Town was, to put it lightly, tough. The red headed dwarf sat up, rubbing his face. The small room he and his sister shared was probably the part of the house that smelled the best, due to their agreement to keep all alchohol away from it. Faren's sister, Rica, sat before a speckled mirror and was wiping down her face with cold water. Layers of makeup were washed away until a normal, casteless girl sat at the mirror, giving the brand on her face a deep glare.
Faren now sat up and pulled on the clothes he had worn yesterday. They would need a wash in the next few days, but, luckilly for everyone in dust town, hot water was easy enough to come by when you lived over a lava floe. His dagger and his axe rested on his hips. Sitting infront of the mirror now, next to his sister, he put his unruly red beard into a simply braided style, short and organized. Rica, meanwhile, treated her teeth, plucked at her face, and clipped her nails.
"Any luck last night?" Faren asked. Rica turned and smiled at her twin brother, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I met a man. He seemed interested in me, and asked for me to meet with him tonight at tapsters. Said he'd reserve us a private room." She gave him a side hug. "He didn't want a tumble yet, however. It was pretty early in the morning when I caught him. Infact, I was just about to head back to Beraht when I came across him." she admitted. "He's a noble though, don't worry."
"I'm not." Faren returned the hug now. "Just be careful, alright?" He asked her, concern in his eyes. Prostitution, no matter what name the carta gave it, was rarely a safe job. "You are taking a chaperone or two, right?"
"Relax. Beraht said that he's got a man undercover at Tapsters who'll watch my back. I'm not completely helpless myself, either." Rica now rolled up the sleeve of her gown, and revealed a small, wicked looking dagger. Faren knew he wouldn't have to worry. Say what you would about the Carta and the man who ran it, but they did not like taking risks with their investments.
The twin dwarves were practically poster children for the life of the casteless youth of Orzammar. Instead of being good little doormats and begging for scraps from nobles, the two young dwarves had joined the life of organized crime at the age of 10. Not as a noble hunter and hired thug, of course. Faren had begun his job as a messenger boy, assistant, weapon polisher and, on one memorable occaison, nug wrangler. Rica had been employed as a serving girl until she had hit the age of 18, the legal age of which a dwarf could bear children and recieve the benefits from it. She had then spent a year as an assistant to the already existing noble hunters, learning the tips and tricks of makeup and fashion, seduction and stealth. Now the twins were 19, and too deep into the Carta to escape if need be. It did put bread on the table, however, so neither of them minded.
"Did you get groceries before you came home last night, or should I go out during the day?" Rica asked. Faren wordlessly passed her a pouch of coins. Neither could depend on their mother to do the shopping. Kalah Brosca had long ago checked out of reality, and had turned to liquor as a substitute. Were she to be let out of the house with coin, no doubt the stench of piss and ale would only worsen.
"Well, I'd better get going." Faren gave his sister another kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, sister."
Leske was waiting outside of the Brosca residence. The black haired dwarf was idly balancing a dagger upon his fingertip, humming a little tune to himself. It was all Faren could do not to break down laughing at the sight of one of the hired thugs of the Carta so loose and idle. When Leske spotted his friend, he idly flipped the dagger in the air, caught it by the hilt, and sheathed it.
"Bout sodding time. I was afraid I would have to go in there and get you." Leske joked. "So, how's Ri-"
"Found an interested man, needs her fertility for the next 9 monthes, and she carries a dagger in her sleeve." Faren replied in his best deadpan. Leske went limp in exagerated dissapointment, before recovering with a dramatic sigh and straightening up. "What's the job today?" he asked, all enthusiasm draining from his voice now. As muscle, Leske and Faren were in charge of taking care of individuals that got on the bad side of their boss, Beraht. THe well known fact of the matter was that Beraht had no good side. Rather, he had a bad side, a tolerable side, and a side for whatever clever and brave woman was acting as his lover.
"Trader named Oskias. Apparently, he's been dealing with Lyrium on the side and not telling Beraht." Leske and Faren had started walking now through dust town, eyes focused straight ahead of them, hands on their weapons.
"We to bring him in alive or dead?" Faren asked as they rounded the dirty water fountain.
"Alive if he can provide good info. Dead if he tries to resist. Oh, and no bribes. Beraht has people in the tavern." Leske replied.
"Unless the poor duster is giving away a Lyrium Golem, I doubt bribes will be a problem." Faren sighed. "So, Tapsters?"
"Where else?" Leske grumbled. "If we're lucky, Oghren got pissed off at him and decapitated him and we can all share a celebratory drink." Leske joked.
Tapsters tavern was crowded. Tapsters was always crowded, though. If the dwarves of Orzammar loved one thing, it was drinking to forget they lived in Orzammar. Leske exchanged a few whispered words with a waitress, who jerked her head over to a lone dwarf at a small table. Faren drifted across to the right of the man, and Leske to the left. Oskias had no idea what was happening until the two dwarves sat down on either side of him.
"Mr. Oskias, was it? We come to you on behalf of a mutual aquaintence." Leske put an arm around Oskias in a manner that seemed friendly enough, until one saw Leske's thick fingers carefully trapping the merchant's shoulders. "Our friend heard you had something you'd like to tell him. He sent us to collect you."
"Give Beraht a few minutes. Apparently, the guy in there is a big client asking for a big favor." Jarvia twirled an arrow between her fingers. The second in command of the Carta and the lover of Beraht, the brunette dwarf possessed an uncanny talent for stealth and deception. That and the fact that Beraht's previous lover, who had been the subject of several "rumors" and had "accidentally" fallen into a lava floe right after Jarvia appeared on the scene made her a rather imposing woman.
"Gotcha. Here's the money he tried to bribe us off with." Faren tossed her a pouch of coins. Jarvia caught them with her free hand, dropped her arrow, and sifted through the pouch. Taking the larger portion of the money, she tossed the pouch to Leske. Leske emptied it into his hand, split half of it with Faren, and tucked the now empty sack into a pocket.
"And here is a bonus offering." Leske handed over another pouch, and Jarvia opened it carefully. The small moonglow of lyrium shone out, reflected against her eyes. She gave a low whistle.
"You're lucky, merchant man. Play your cards right and Beraht may let you off this time. This is good stuff." She tucked the pouch into her own clothes carefully. "Any complications?" she asked. The two dwarves shook their heads. "Gotcha. Kay then. I've got the merchant, I've got the Lyrium, and I've got your next job. Wanna hear about it?"
The day wore on as the two went about doing "errands". Most of the businesses in Orzammar were due for a renewal of their protection fees. Faren was impressed by the turn out. Only one unlucky duster had tried to resist. The two had left him alone, as a public brawl would not do anyone any good. Instead, they put him down for the more serious enforcers to come and pay a visit to later. They checked up on the noble hunters and gathered progress reports and Beraht's cut of the fee from them. They also were instructed to dispose of a rather large "package" that Jarvia not to subtly hinted at being Oskias from before.
It was around noon when the two returned to the headquarters, and actually saw Beraht. The muscular, black haired dwarf sat in expensive clothing, and was being served wine by a teenaged girl.
"Right then. Next on the agenda." Beraht began, all business. "Today, a glory proving is being held in honor of the second son of House Aeducan being made a general." he explained. The two nodded. The second in line to the throne was the popular choice to replace his father, despite the problem of an older brother in the way. "Certain powers that be have a vested interest in Everd Bera winning a match against Mainar Dramans." Beraht produced a small vial of clear liquid. "This should be enough to tip the odds against Mainar." he pushed the vial across the desk, and into Leske's hand. "Put it in his water fountain, and wait. Confirm when Everd fights before drugging Mainar, otherwise it'll wear off before the fight. My contact will let you in the side entrance." Beraht dismissed them now with a wave of his hand, and the two thugs left without a word.
The kitchen entrance that the two entered through was rather empty, and soon the pair of thugs stood in the entrance hall of the proving grounds. Leske went to examine the room assignments on a slate on the wall while Faren looked around.
The hall was buzzing with conversation about the days events. After the proving today, Prince Duran Aeducan would be formally made a commander of the army of Orzammar. Tommorow, he would lead the armies out in an expedition to reclaim the old Aeducan Thaig, the closest of the lost dwarven cities. He also mentioned several younger female dwarves speaking about Everd, and learned of his popularity with the ladies of Orzammar. Mainar was the favorite of the older patrons of the proving, as the experienced, battle hardened veteran.
"Pardon me, but do you know where the Proving Masters quarters are?" A nervous young voice asked behind and above him. Faren turned around, and found two human men and an elven woman standing behind him. The speaker with a young man with a black beard and hair, and holding a staff. The older man was in his middle ages, going grey at the temples, and wore a sword and dagger. The elf had the darkest skin tone that he had ever seen, and leaned on her own staff, looking bored.
"Can't help you there. Sorry." Faren replied.
"What's with that tatoo?" The dark skinned elf asked, bluntly. "I keep seeing it all over, but only on some people." Faren turned to her, absentmindedly rubbing the brand on his face.
"This? Oh, this means that we were born unlucky enough to belong to the casteless, and therefore do not exist in the eyes of the high and mighty folk of Orzammar. They brand us at birth so they can tell who is a thief and murderer." He replied bluntly. The younger human looked very, very much like he wished to be elsewhere, while the elf merely raised and eyebrow.
"So what are you doing in Orzammar's best known establishment?" she asked, tilting her head now.
"None of your business." Faren glanced over to Leske, and saw him staring at the company in amazement. "Gotta go." He walked away from the trio, and gave Leske a questioning look when his eyes did not leave the three mysterious visitors.
"Oy, salroka. What, you're into elves now?" he asked, snapping his fingers infront of his friends face.
"No, no, that's not it. Do you realize who you were just talking to?" Leske's voice was low now. "That man, the older one, is the leader of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden!" he whispered excitedly. Faren raised and eyebrow at this.
"Must be scouting out recruits from today's provings." He shrugged. "Find out where Everd and Mainar are?" he asked. Leske nodded, and jerked his head off to the side, down a hallway. The two were on their way, and soon arrived at room 24, Everd's registered quarters. Faren knocked at the door, and recieved no answer.
"His fighting schedule is in the room, right?" Leske asked. Faren nodded, and produced a set of lockpicks from his clothes. The door was an easy puzzle to solve, and the two slipped in.
The fighers quarters were not as spacious as one might have thought, although it may simply have been from the state their occupant had left them in. The tables had been overturned, several bottles of lichen wine were scattered about the floor, one end of the expensive rug had gotten too close to the fire and had been burned to a crisp, and the fireplace was surrounded by soot.
In the center of the room, still clutching a bottle, lay a dwarf that could only have been Everd. Leske rushed over to him, but Faren, after years of living under Kalah Brosca, knew well enough that he would not be coming out of that drunken coma anytime soon.
"Oh stone." Leske whispered. "What are we going to do?" He stood up now, pacing the room, kicking bottles out of his way. Faren closed the door behind him now.
"He's not coming out of that for atleast a few more hours." Faren confirmed, examining Everd. "When's his match?"
"...Bout twenty minutes from now." Leske groaned as he examined the slate nailed next to the door. "Oh sodding..."
"Leske, listen." Faren began, walking over to his friend. "I have an idea. I need you go go find Mainar. Don't worry. I'll handle things here."
"What the hell are you going to do, then? " Leske asked. Faren sighed, and walked over to the one upright piece of furnature in the chamber. An armor stand. He stood infront of it, and Faren saw now how Everd's armor looked like it was exactly the right size for Faren.
"Probably the stupidest thing I've ever done."
And that's a wrap! Welp, I'm taking canon and kicking it out the window now, aren't I? Next chapter continues the story of Faren and the Proving. Toodly ooh!
