Misdirection
By Kaimaler.
AN:
I do and yet do not apologize for being late with chapters to all my stories. I've gotten Batman: Arkham City and Battlefield 3 just recently.
Of course the most important is:
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I will not apologize for playing Skyrim instead of writing, for it is the most amazing game ever and I've been playing since Morrowind; I know, some have been playing since Daggerfall and whatnot, but I'm a 90's kid, I only had time for Morrowind, Oblivion, and now Skyrim.
If you aren't considering playing this game, you need to seriously reconsider. It is fantastic, graphics, story, there is originality in EVERY mission, even the smallest ones. It's fun, stunning, and I'm hooked.
I'm playing it most of my free time so I'm writing in between turns, for I have two brothers to share it with.
Well, with that said, enjoy this chapter. :)
SKYRIM IS GAME PERFECTION.
Skyrim is also the reason I'm writing this, so thank Bethesda and Obsidian! I am incorporating certain game elements from Skyrim into this story to make it more in depth since Oblivion barely scratched the surface of the game world unlike Skyrim which has covered every game mechanic and story board possible.
Instead of the normal battle sequences from Oblivion, I will be adding the statistics of battles into this story. Spells, monsters, lands, etc. etc.
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They were on their way to the square where Isabela would wait for them.
S'aravi had been in many situations regarding someone else's business. This duel seemed rushed, almost... set up. She wouldn't speak a word of it, it wasn't her place, but she'd keep her hand on her blade.
Hawke paused before entering the square, seeing Isabela pacing to and fro, assuming she was being impatient Hawke approached. He didn't want to get back stabbed by this pirate (a trait S'aravi remembers they are infamous for) and he took it easy. He wasn't in a rush anyways, Isabela was the one being chased.
"There you are." She sighed, continuing her pacing. "I've been here for hours. Hayder hasn't shown up, no one has. I don't like this." She spilled her discomfort quickly, stopping again to face Hawke.
Hawke chuckled, someone in a duel doesn't just stop and smell the roses for hours on end; they are either being watched or this Hayder character wasn't planning on sticking to his word.
Isabela was clearly disturbed by his light hearted behavior and just as she was about to reprimand him for it, they all heard footsteps coming from their side. Too many to be one man, that was certain.
Turning, Hawke spotted a woman flanked by two armored men.
"That's the wench! Gut her." She spat, Isabela already armed and ready. Blinking, Hawke saw that his party had their swords drawn and prepared to fight. "Am I really this slow?"
"Yes, now shut up!" Aveline shook her head, the offenders weren't carrying light weight weapons; they were poised to kill and Isabela was already facing down two men.
Hawke joined, seeing Aveline approach the men with her shield blocking their blows. They outnumbered the duelist stand-ins, but they were not helpless either. The woman drew a battleaxe Hawke was sure weighed more then him and Aveline combined. Shuddering, he saw he come straight for him.
Why did he have to give his short blade to S'aravi? Close combat is the weakness to this massive axe, now he had to fight it on the womans terms.
Fantastic.
Varric shot and arrow off, digging itself into the armor of the axe wielding woman and knocking her back momentarily. One of Varric's specialties thanks to Bianca's power and force behind an arrow. "Hawke!" S'aravi called, throwing him the short blade. "Never try to fight an axe at arms length, get close and aim for her sides!"
Surprised, Hawke nodded, handing off his claymore to her, "I must aid Aveline." S'aravi looked to the battle between Isabela, Aveline, and the two heavy armored men.
Varric and Hawke could handle the big bad boss, Hawke thought, No problem.
It all happened in a split second, he had his short sword -thank you S'aravi- and the duelist stand in had been shot twice by Varric, keeping her away from him and giving time for Hawke to adjust to the great difference between short sword and claymore. A very large difference it was.
With his short sword in hand, he charged the offending woman, getting behind her reach and slashing as fast as he could, in this case speed was the key to defeating this axe wielding brute; he couldn't give her enough time to swing that massive bulk of steel and leather in his direction.
As Hawke took on the large woman, S'aravi lend her arm to Isabela, with a powerful swing of her blade she caught one of the men by surprise as the claymore sliced down between his neck and shoulder, causing the man to scream in agony and collapse before bled out on the stone.
The second man used dual daggers and turned his attention away from Isabela to S'aravi, with a roar he struck out as S'aravi prepared her blade to defend herself. His dagger caught the sleeve of her cloak, tearing down it and cutting into her forearm at the same time. Once the sleeve split the dagger was pulled away as Isabela released a flurry of her own.
S'aravi's forearm bore a large gash, she grasped it quickly. She thanked Talos that the dagger only sliced the top of her forearm, she knew what would have happened had the man caught the under side of her forearm. Distracted, she failed to realize that Isabela took matters into her own hands and released a flurry of her own daggers, causing the man to fall back to S'aravi.
Snapping her attention back to the man who struggled to defend himself from Isabela's barrage, S'aravi used her good arm to throw her arm over his shoulder and use her claws to catch onto his armor, giving plenty of time for Isabela to strike him with both of her daggers.
After the man stopped struggling, S'aravi dropped him with his deceased ally.
"That takes care of that; let's give Hawke a hand, shall we?" Isabela took off to find Hawke delivering the final blow to the woman.
Grinning, Isabela turned around once she saw Hawke nod to her. Leading them away from the corpses, Isabela climbed the stairs leading to a massive brass colored building. S'aravi stared at it as they joined Isabela at the top of the staircase.
As Hawke stretched out, S'aravi stopped him before he could open the door. "What is this place, Hawke?" She questioned, not taking her eyes off the mountainous tower.
"This is the Chantry, it's where many go to seek blessing from..." He thought it over, S'aravi said she never heard of the Chantry when they first met. Perhaps it was best to avoid a long discussion about Andraste and the other ideas about her. "-from their gods." He thought he spliced the answer well, yet it earned him an unsure look from S'aravi.
"Your people have dedicated this entire tower to their gods? Surely they are displeased." S'aravi commented, now seeing the tower as a temple, not a simple piece of this giant city.
"Displeased?" Hawke repeated, the Chantry tower was larger then he knew and... he knew that. All he had ever seen of the temple was the ground floor where all are welcome, but the higher reaches of the tower was hidden to him. That and... this gigantic building was larger then anything he'd ever seen in Ferelden, it beat the Circle Tower by far. "Why would they be 'displeased', this place is huge." He sent S'aravi a very confused look.
"If only one tower is dedicated to all gods, do you not think that they would find having only one tower to be worshiped between them; when people come to pray or receive blessings, how can they properly distinguish their desires amongst the gods with only one temple?" S'aravi could see this wasn't getting through to Hawke.
Glancing back and forth, Hawke shook his head to confirm her thoughts. "I have no idea what you mean."
"In the Empire there are temples dedicated to each god or goddess. The temple of Akatosh, the temple of Mara, so on and so forth. Each deity represented a purpose, an existence, and a blessing. People would seek out Mara's temple to be blessed with love and comfort, some will find a temple to Kynareth for the enrichment of land and harvest."
Hawke snapped his fingers, "Ah, I see. You're asking if there are ways to worship each god individually without confusion." He rewarded himself mentally for solving another one of S'aravi's homelands' strange rituals. "Well, you see, there isn't multiple gods here... There is only one and his bride, Andraste."
"Only one? And he stands for all things?" An image appeared in S'aravi's mind, all the gods and goddesses being molded into a singular celestial being that presided over all. I wasn't impossible, but she never heard of such a thing.
Just as Hawke was about to answer Isabela huffed impatiently. "I'm sure you two are having a very deep conversation about who goes where when they die, but I'd rather not find out today. Can we continue now?" She gestured to the two great doors.
"Yes, er, I believe she is right. Come on." Hawke forced open the heavy doors, allowing a gap large enough for them to slip in.
Upon entering, S'aravi's fur stood on end, it was so very quiet for a temple; granted that is how it's supposed to be, but the temples in Cyrodiil were always bristling with activity ranging from an avid worshiper who prayed at the temple everyday, to a traveler who was seeking a blessing, and even families who were trying to find out if their lost loved one had found proper peace in death.
Inside this temple was statues made of the same metals as the ones outside it only these depicted richer figures then the slaves kneeling before armored masters. These statues were carved to show people bowing their heads and offering out their hands together, as if asking for something.
As they approached however, S'aravi saw something she only found in shrines to daedra. A statue so large it challenged the height of the tower, looking like it was barely contained by the stone and metal walls surrounding it.
It also shined as if made from pure gold...
Dragged out of her thoughts, S'aravi and the others were stopped by a leather-clad man stepping from the shadows. "Isabela, should've know you'd find me 'ere." He strode out confidently, so far S'aravi saw no other thugs with him.
"Tell your men to burn the letters next time." As the group stopped in front of this man, Isabela stood ahead of them.
He paused in the center and to his right another woman wielding an axe joined him. S'aravi groaned inwardly, this man had an affinity for warrior women who chose the axe. His taste was questionable.
"Castion was heartbroken when he heard about the ship wreck. You should've have let 'im know you survived." The sarcasm dripped from his words and Isabela played along. "Must've slipped my mind." She said with a shrug.
Done with his own joke, the man chuckled at Isabela's innocent play. "Where's the relic?"
"I lost it; Castion's just going to have to do without." She spoke sternly, she knew where this was going as much as the rest of them.
He glared daggers at the pirate woman. "Lost it? Just like you lost a ship full of valuable cargo?" He didn't believe a word of it, S'aravi knew not what to think of this relic or the feud between this man and Isabela either. She was in no place to judge and, from the look on Hawke's face, he realized he hadn't a clue who was right or wrong.
"They were cargo Hayder, they were people." With more strength Isabela defended herself.
Wait, people? Cargo? S'aravi blinked, is this pirate suggesting the two are the same?
"Those slaves were worth a hundred sovereigns a head and you let them scurry off into the wilds." He paced slowly, "And now the relic's gone to..." He growled, "Castion won't be happy to hear that, I promise you."
Hawke sent a smug grin to Hayder. "Castion isn't a very happy person is he? Maybe he needs a new hobby?"
Everyone seemingly ignored Hawke's little joke. Isabela stepped up, "There's only one way to settle this." She moved swiftly, snatching the dagger from her back and throwing it towards Hayder's ally, the axe woman. The blade was perfect, it pierced the armor and sunk into the woman's chest smoothly; she died once she hit the ground.
Without another word, Hayder armed himself as did Hawke and his group.
An arrow stuck at S'aravi's feet, she looked up; Hayder brought more then a few friends to the fray. Archers were on the balcony shooting off arrows and forcing them to block and dodge. This was no good, they couldn't fight like this.
"Hawke, are we alone?" S'aravi asked quickly, diving behind a statue for shielding like the rest of the group. "Alone? What? Of course were not! Look at them all!"
She shook her head, "No, I mean-" She snapped her hand and fire burst into her hand. "-are we alone?"
He could see what she meant now, her magic could prove useful against the archers. Of course, fire would just light the arrows for them... "Yeah, but lighting their arrows on fire is probably not the best idea." He suggested just as she changed spells.
"Very well, this should do the trick." She cast frostbite against the barrage of arrows and it stopped them instantly. "You are clear Hawke, I shall take care of the bowmen you go after the swordsmen."
S'aravi used frostbite to create an arch above where Hawke and the others fought, protecting them from the arrows as she worked her way to the balcony behind Hayder.
Hawke saw Hayder swing for Isabela first, determined to end the pirate's life before anyone else. Isabela had her hands full blocking Hayder's greatsword and Hawke couldn't get close enough without ending up on the wrong side of Hayder's blade. He whistled and gestured to Varric to fire at Hayder instead of the other archers.
Varric could see clearly that every time Hawke got closer to Hayder the leather-clad man would swing wide and nearly sever Hawke's arm form his shoulder. He needed to give Hawke time to get in and attack, Isabela couldn't block the blows with daggers.
Aiming at the man, Bianca snapped loudly and the bolt connected with Hayder's side, reducing his speed and strength tremendously.
Hawke had plenty of time to go in a strike at Hayder who changed from the offense to defense very fast, he was already feeling the stress of their attacks.
While they fended off Hayder, S'aravi worked her way to the archers. The ice was too thin and shattered when multiple arrows struck weak points. She cast the spell repeatedly, shielding Hawke, Isabela, Aveline, and Varric from the arrows, yet she maneuvered her spell to allow just enough room for Varric to return fire to the archers.
She noted that Varric's bow or... strange mechanical bow made straight shots, unlike common bows where the arrow arched before hitting its target, which made forming the ice around Varric's shots much easier.
Once she was in range of the archers her hand lit a fireball and cast it on the balcony, halting the constant arrows as the archers escaped the flames. She darted up the staircase and unsheathed her blade and struck one of the archers down before he had a chance to fight back.
Another archer was faster though, he took ashes from a dead bowl of fire embers and threw it into S'aravi's face, causing her to stumble back from her attacker and was blinded once they began firing arrows at her.
Once an arrow pierced her skin she roared out in pain, the arrow struck deep into her arm and she lost her grip on the sword.
Ignoring the ashes in her eyes now, her palm facing the floor, she cast a summon spell and a dark mist grew until a being stepped out of it; the Dark Seducer took one glance at the enemies then took up her sword and shield before charging the archers.
S'aravi knew she was still weak, she lost her breath quickly, she became exhausted just as the battle grew and it was showing itself an immediate issue she needed deal with as soon as this battle ended.
Perhaps she was ill? It wouldn't be the first time she was afflicted with some kind of energy draining sickness and it wasn't out of the question. She was locked away for a long time, she was malnourished, she could have contracted anything.
It could also explain her inability to regenerate her magicka. Blinking, S'aravi began to wonder how she managed to remain unaware of this possibility after having to take that potion to regain her magicka to heal herself.
"For Lord Sheogorath!" S'aravi sighed, Dark Seducer or Aureal, they all shared the same selfless devotion to Sheogorath; even though S'aravi knew she now ruled over the plains of madness, it didn't make her truly Sheogorath or a real deadric prince.
She needed enough time to be able to see again and casting frostbite aided her, the small piece of ice melted quickly when rubbed against her eyes then she wiped off the ashes and water from her eyes. With her sight back, she cast a shock spell over the other archers and it gave her Mazken time to deal with two of them.
The Mazken's size was enough to intimidate their enemies if the actual summoning didn't. From the shocked looks on their faces, S'aravi could've sworn they were ready to surrender as it was.
Remembering what Hawke said about summoners and magic, how they are treated here, S'aravi now used their fear to her advantage and earned the upper hand in this battle.
She barely heard the sounds of Hawke's armor as they came rushing up the stairs to help her fight off the archers, only to watch as her Mazken cut down one and another succumbed to the electric shocks S'aravi kept forcing on them.
With little between them and the archers, the Mazken cut down the others like giant rats; they were too afraid to fight back with full force and were already immobilized by S'aravi's electric spell.
As the last one fell, they all sheathed their swords. S'aravi took the arrow firmly in her grip and pulled it back out quickly, only growling after the arrow was removed. She cast a restoration spell over the wound, sealing it before it bled out and the pain subsided with it.
First thing was first though, before Hawke questioned S'aravi about their new accomplice, he turned to Isabela and demanded answers. "Why did you do that?"
"What, you mean start the fight? Trust me, it's better this way." Isabela seemed indifferent to Hawke; he wasn't afraid of battle, but he'd like to avoid it whenever he could. Especially in the Chantry, a religious temple. "Castion won't hear about me from Hayder, but he'll find my eventually. I'll just have to get him the relic, simple as that." She sounded a little worried, finding this relic didn't sound easy.
"If getting the relic means getting Castion off your back, then I'll help you retrieve it." Hawke was honest about that, it was rare when he wasn't truthful and S'aravi doubted very seriously that Hawke could lie convincingly.
"I still don't know where it is, but you'll be the first to know if I hear anything." She shrugged it off, as if dropping this battle from her mind. "Anyway, thanks for helping me out with Hayder, I think I'll tag along for a while, there might be something I could do for you." Isabela stepped nearly into Hawke, just close enough where he could feel her breath on him. "I have a room at the Hanged Man if you're looking for... company later."
Again, S'aravi found herself waiting for Hawke to snap out of his trance as Isabela strode out of the Chantry, no doubt to return to the Hanged Man.
"Hawke, we should probably leave..." Aveline suggested, she didn't like this as it is, but she didn't want to be accused of it either.
"Right! Yes, good idea. Come on everyone." Hawke agreed, turning around to face them. "But first... S'aravi, what is that?"
S'aravi looked to her Mazken, "She is a Dark Seducer." She answered easily, it was no big secret they existed, only an rarely known fact outside of Sheogorath's realm.
"Is she... tame? Are you in control of it?" Hawke seemed concerned about it, as if the Seducer would attack at any moment. She took offense to this and took a defensive stance. "I am Mazken, not an 'it.'" She corrected forcefully.
Hawke stared on, "Yeah, alright. Then are you in control of this... Mashkin?" S'aravi nearly rolled her eyes, Hawke had trouble with pronunciation.
"I am not in control of anyone, this is a Mazken, a specie from my... other home. I spoke to you earlier about my position as Sheogorath, do you remember it?" S'aravi introduced her soldier. Hawke just stared straight at the dark blue skinned face as if the Mazken was suddenly the most interesting creature in the world.
"Yeah..." He said slowly, not breaking eye contact. "This is one of my many soldier from that realm. A Dark Seducer is a Mazken. They protect me with their lives when able." S'aravi finished, the Mazken merely taking her place beside her.
"So... the other realm thing? It's true?" Hawke asked blindly. "Yes, that is why I bothered to mention it. If it was not true, I would never had mentioned it."
"I still find it hard to believe." Hawke blurted out, all the while Aveline and Varric kept their guard up, readying their weapons just in case. "Mazken, they do not know, return home and guard the city as you did before. I have no further use of you at this time; wait until I call upon you again."
"Yes, my Lord." The Mazken bowed and S'aravi canceled the spell that kept the Mazken in this realm. She disappeared in the same mist of smoke as she arrived, returning to Sheogorath's realm.
"She is gone now, back in her home land, is that better?" S'aravi didn't wish to concern Hawke or his allies, they had already done so much for her. "Yeah, so long as i- she's really gone." Raising her hand, she stopped Hawke. "Worry no more, friend, that Mazken cannot enter this realm without my summons and even then, a Mazken's only duty is to guard me with their lives and the city in their home realm. They will not harm a being unless threatened."
"If you say so... I still want to hear more about that. After all, you are going to be teaching my sister; I want to know what you're going to be teaching." He was cautious, understandably so, yet S'aravi felt it best to stray from conjuration unless she was in dire need of it. These people did not appreciate it very much.
"We still need to get out of here before someone comes down here; who knows how many priests that battle could've woken up." Aveline reissued the concern, causing Hawke to begin trotting down the stairs. "Right, don't want to be caught red handed, do we Aveline?"
With a sigh, Aveline pointed to Hawke accusingly. "Only this once, Hawke, and only because it was unavoidable... and because that pirate you acquainted yourself with did something noble."
"Noble? Pirate? You're joking." Hawke replied sarcastically. "Hawke." Aveline warned and Hawke ducked, "Alright, alright. I'm leaving it alone."
S'aravi knew Hawke wanted to leave, wanted to see that Mazken gone and drop it, so she decided to move on from the conversation, however, it was clear that Hawke was more suspicious of her then before. Summoning creatures was nothing new, but something forbidden. She will respect his wishes, she owes him her life, yet she will not pretend to be something she is not.
She will answer all this questions; she wants him to know she is trustworthy with family and friend, not just as a homeless khajiit who is lost in this new land, far away from her own.
As they exited the Chantry, Hawke was already in his satchel searching for the letter. "We need to go to Lowtown, there we'll meet out contact... Anso." He dragged out the sentence oddly, as if reading it for the first time...
"The best district in Kirkwall." Varric smiled happily, heading to Lowtown meant he could fight on familiar ground again, Hightown was still more dangerous then Lowtown by far.
Heading down the streets, S'aravi noted again how quiet it was, no guards, no patrols, as a thief she knew this city was ripe and easy to reach, as an assassin it would be some of the easiest contracts she'd ever have; she'd never admit that she was practically counting doors and locks, searching for the largest most extravagant home she could find to make a few coins.
Never, even on pain of death, would she say a thing about the Brotherhood or the Guild. Not a word.
Once they reached the stairs, S'aravi and them descended into the dark districts of Kirkwall, passing a few questionable folk on the sides of the streets as they made their way into Lowtown. Again, the change from these districts was quick, blink and one would miss it. Like a sudden breeze when exiting a building, they reached Lowtown and were heading off to meet this contact.
As Hawke led them through the streets, each person kept and eye out for dark corners, nooks and shadows that could hide anyone skillful enough to use them.
Lowtown was no different from Hightown, it was quiet, no one dared be on the streets this late, not even the guards.
Turning a corner, Hawke spied a dwarf that looked to be examining something closely. "Are you Anso?" Hawke asked as he approached and the dwarf nearly jumped out of his skin, crying out in shock as he faced Hawke and his group.
"Sweet mother of partha. You can't just run up on someone like that." He took a breath, calming himself before speaking. "Are you... the one that Athenrel told me about, the one looking for work?"
"Did you think I was going to attack you?" Hawke withheld himself from snickering at the dwarf's obvious nervousness.
Shaking his hands in defense, the dwarf answered. "Oh! No, no! Or I hope not, anyhow..." He shrugged his fear off, "My apologies human, I haven't been on the surface long. I keep thinking I'll fall up into that sky any minute."
Varric laughed, "Bartrand used to be like that. Got jumpy every time he stepped outside."
"But I digress, I need some help. Rather badly, in fact. Some product of mine has been... misplaced." He clearly wanted this done quickly. "The men who were supposed to deliver it decided not to. If you retrieve my property, I could reward you handsomely...?"
"Just what did these men steal?"
The dwarf, Anso, chuckled nervously. "Did I say steal? I don't know if I would go that far." He gave a stern look that wasn't well practiced, he seemed confident but hiding a truth. "They seemed like perfectly reasonable smugglers. They smiled and everything!"
Yes, Anso was definitely new to this trade.
"The goods are valuable, however. And illegal. And my client wants them very, very badly." He put emphasis on the clientele before shaking his head. "You know how these templars can be."
Hawke smirked, "You're smuggling lyrium to the templars?" It was less a question then an actual statement, this was a well known smuggling trade apparently.
"Maker's breath!" Varric groaned out, "Between the Chantry, the Carta, and the Coterie."
A very well known trade. S'aravi remembered certain things like this lyrium smuggling, mostly it was slaves to Morrowind or ships from Summerset Isle, they usually carried the most questionable supplies hidden in the many pockets aboard their ships.
Anso shushed Varric, "Shh! By the paragons, not so loudly!" He sighed, "My word! I'm not cut out for this, I should've taken that job sweeping the stables like mother insisted."
Hawke had something against the templars, but he still needed the coin to pay for Bartrand's expedition, he had to get the lyrium, give it to Anso, get paid, and get out as fast as he can. Anything that would help the templars become more dangerous was always a threat to his sister. He wouldn't stand for it unless he was rewarded.
"Make it worth my time, and I'll help you." He demanded, it was a set price and no room for negotiations.
"Oh, I will. Or... I'll try to." Anso wasn't a just calm person, S'aravi would never trust such a jumpy man with smuggled goods; by the Nine who would? How did this dwarf ever get a contract? "The gentlemen conduct their business at night in a little hovel within the alienage. If you have to kill them, then I guess it can't be avoided. But I'm sure they'll be reasonable!"
S'aravi almost felt like smacking this dwarf into sense, reasonable? Smugglers? Anso was the most dense person she ever met.
Hawke just turned and left, he felt that getting this lyrium was contrary to keeping his sister out of dealings with the templars, but he needed coin and he needed it before the expedition found itself a new partner.
He wasn't tired though, even after that battle with Hayder and his crew, Hawke still felt able bodied enough to take on a new threat. If this work got rid of a few dangerous criminals while he was at it, then he wouldn't complain. Deal with the smugglers, get the supplies and be done with this.
In all honesty, he was beginning to hate the blue liquid as time went on.
Descending the stairs to the alienage, Aveline paused a moment before continuing slowly. "The alienage shouldn't be this quiet..."
S'aravi's senses picked up sounds of people behind doors, but it was muffled, she couldn't tell if it was the residents of the alienage hiding from the smugglers or if it was just night and they were fast asleep.
She wagered that it mattered not to them, they were going to take out these smugglers anyways, might even calm a few citizens of the alienage while they're at it.
Hawke glanced around, usually there was some kind of life, but right now he was searching for the abandoned hovel, it was the only place the smugglers could go without an outcry in the alienage. These elves protect their own as much as they can, which is a good thing.
They entered the hovel and were met wit silence, not a being stood in the main room. Cautiously stepping through the room, Hawke opened the door on the end, revealing the same thing; not a soul.
Hawke blinked in confusion, were they not here? These buildings weren't very large, with two rooms empty not many people could actually fit into the last small bedroom.
He was ready to find out though.
Turning the door handle, Hawke could hear the smugglers inside announcing Hawke's arrival by unsheathing their swords and readying their bows. "Get ready, we're going to have to force our way in. Aveline, you first, use your shield to block the arrows so we can get in close."
Aveline hid herself and them behind her shield as much as she could before barging into the building, arrows cracked upon hitting the metal shield and the archers prepared their bows again.
Fighting at a distance, Varric opened up with a barrage of arrows courtesy of his mechanical bow Bianca who fired rapidly. Two archers fell, one injured, one dead.
Hawke went in close, his speed gave him enough time to run his shortsword through a smuggler, when another attacked he blocked. Aveline bashed her shield into the smuggler, knocking him off his feet and allowing Hawke time to compose himself.
S'aravi fought at a distance with Varric, unable to lift the greatsword due to her sore arm, she cast spells over the smugglers. Fire blew like the wind, coating the smugglers in the inferno, they panicked, trying their best to put out the fire futilely, S'aravi didn't stop until her magicka was drained and she was forced to take a break.
This was enough for Hawke and Aveline to take down two smugglers and Varric to hit another archer, leaving two terrified smugglers left.
One searched for an exit, he was ready to run just as the other fought against Aveline, meeting his sword with her shield as she waited for an opening. Hawke was on the approach, he noticed the smugglers fear and didn't raise his weapon against him.
"Run." The smuggler accepted and ran out the building as fast as he could, leaving his dead allies behind.
The last smuggler was hit by Varric's bolt, stunning him so Aveline could get a clear shot and ran him through. With the last of the smugglers dead, Hawke began peaking around the old barrels and crates for Anso's valuable cargo.
Varric tapped a chest with his hand, "If the goods are anywhere, they're in here."
Hawke nodded and joined Varric by the large strapped chest. Pulling the lid open, Hawke stared at the contents before dropping the lid closed. "It's empty."
With a twitch, Varric growled. "Waste of bloody time. Who put us up to this?"
"I guess we have no choice but to go back to Anso and tell him." Hawke's displeasure was blazing, he was angered that he fought a group of smugglers for nothing. Anso would most likely know what happened, if not him, Hawke would find out who put his friend's life and his own in danger for an empty chest.
Hawke felt the urge to smash the empty chest in hopes he'd feel better, but he kept himself and walked away.
S'aravi looked around quickly, trying to find something, a hidden compartment perhaps that hid this valuable lyrium as Hawke and the others exited the hovel. "Why chase down a group of smugglers for nothing?..." She stood from the chest and left the room.
This hovel didn't have many rooms or many items that could be hiding anything like a shipment of lyrium, S'aravi had seen the size of the bottles, they were delicate and quite large, they had to be stored carefully to avoid displeasing the buyer.
Disappointed and confused, S'aravi knew there may be other reasons to hunting these smugglers and getting paid for it. Perhaps Anso or someone else desired these specific smugglers dead but didn't want to get their hand dirty. It was probable, she had seen it done many times before.
That was that, she supposed, they are still getting paid the coin Hawke has been working for. It didn't matter if they did or did not bring back the goods, if there was any in the first place.
S'aravi opened the door to the hovel and saw Hawke and the others standing by the large tree in the center, watching something she couldn't see from her distance.
Walking up behind her allies, she peeked from behind Aveline's shoulder to see a very large group of armored strangers all poised to strike. Directly ahead of Hawke was a woman who looked as mad as Hawke did when he found there was nothing in the chest.
"That's not the elf! Who is that?"
A man unsheathed his sword, "It doesn't matter, we were told to kill whoever enters the house!"
It was a standoff, they saw the greater numbers and assumed their own victory.
"S'aravi, what's the best spell you got?" Hawke whispered to her. "Best or most powerful Hawke?" She counted out the men surrounding them. "The one that kills the most people at the same time."
"I have an idea of a spell, I'll try to busy as many as possible." S'aravi stepped back to concentrate, powerful area spells took a lot of energy to cast and at this moment she didn't know how much she could cast without becoming too exhausted to continue.
Worth a try. She charged her spell, an inferno began circling her feet before spreading out. The spell charged, every second it became more powerful as the others engaged the unknown attackers.
They weren't able to do much damage, with so many they spent their time either blocking or earning new wounds. Hawke and Aveline were back to back trying to fend the other men off and Varric had found himself a stack of crates to stand on and fire at the men attacking him.
Those who approached S'aravi made it only a few feet before being burned, the tornado of fire encasing her made it impossible to reach her, sword or arrow.
"Now would be a good time! Or, you know, whenever you feel like it!" Hawke groaned against the stress of his blade and his inability to block three attackers at once.
With a roar, S'aravi released the fiery storm upon the strangers. Howling in pain, many succumbed to the fires and fell, others were blown back by the force at which the inferno was released. It was timed correctly and S'aravi opened holes within the fire to keep her allies from burning alive like their enemies.
"Fantastic!" Hawke laughed, finally able to fight back.
Now on an even field, Hawke, Aveline, and Varric all took their stance against the offenders while S'aravi collapsed, she was drained and needed time to recuperate. S'aravi panted, she must be afflicted by something, she didn't feel ill, but she was far weaker then she should be. She remembered using that spell when daedra, clannifear, and daedroth surrounded her, she never felt this tired after casting it.
In fact, she's never felt this tired after casting any spell, it was as if the spell drained her strength and magicka reserves; she felt out of it, but she could feel her magicka trying to regenerate, giving her enough strength to cast a few destruction spells to her allies' aid.
Of course, she suggested to herself, the large shackle around her neck certainly didn't help her when it came to lengthy battles. It threw her off balance, even though it did make sure no one would get lucky and slit her throat when she's not looking.
"S'aravi's down! Cover her Varric!" Hawke called out and Varric ran over to her, firing off bolts from Bianca when he reached her.
"You hit?" The dwarf asked, "No, that spell took a lot out of me is all." She came to a kneel, firing off fireballs and frost spikes at their enemies. "That's what I want to hear!" Varric glanced at the fire in S'aravi's hand. "Hold still."
Staring at the dwarf, she watched as he lit the end of his next arrow on fire from the flames in her hand then firing them off rapidly. The arrows stuck into the armor, barely striking the man wearing it, but the fire lit up his clothing, catching him on fire after he failed to put them out. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
Laughing, S'aravi charged her flame spell for another flurry of fireballs.
Hawke and Aveline protected each other flawlessly, defending each others' backs and striking when the time was right. With a chuckle, Hawke finally struck down their leader and the number dwindled until Hawke's group outnumbered their attackers.
With fire, arrows, sword, and shield, the last strangers were picked off and they finally could take a breath.
"Well, that was bracing." Hawke said brightly. Aveline put a hand on his shoulder and gestured to S'aravi who was still kneeling on the ground. "Oh, right."
Varric was right beside her, letting her relax. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Hawke kneeled in front of S'aravi who panted too heavily to answer. Varric holstered Bianca and answered in S'aravi's place. "She just said that... spell she used, the big fiery one that blew up had taken a lot out of her. So she's just catching up, she's fine though, aren't you?" He patted her back supportingly.
"I... will be. I feel as though every bit of strength has been sucked out of me, not the first time that has happened, but it is the first time I have ever been so worn from using a common spell." S'aravi leaned back, her lungs felt like ice, her hands shook, and her magicka reserves had barely restored themselves. "I am better, I can continue."
"You sure? I don't want you fighting a battle you can't fight." Hawke offered his hand to help her up, she accepted and they both rose, S'aravi was unsteady though and took a moment to readjust herself. "My magicka regenerates quickly, I just feel sapped; thank you for your concern though, Hawke. I am better, as we move I shall fully regain my strength. I simply cannot cast that powerful a spell again, at least, not for a while."
With a nod, Hawke sheathed his sword. "That's fine, we're done here, all we're doing now is telling Anso about his missing lyrium and heading home; we made a good bit of gold today."
Stepping over a few bodies, the group made their way back to Anso. Hawke kept S'aravi close to him, ready to catch her in case she was still too weakened to walk.
As they passed the giant tree, they were stopped by yet another mysterious person with less then noble intentions. He wore the same armor as the group that attacked them a moment ago and he looked ready to kill a bear with his hands.
"I don't know who you are, friend, but you made a serious mistake coming here." He ground out through his teeth, he was seething in rage. "Lieutenant, I want everyone in the clearing! Now!"
S'aravi sighed, more of these people? How many could they possibly have?
Behind the man, up the stairs, an armored man stumbled out, bleeding from more places then S'aravi could count. He choked, nearly falling over, "Captain..." He gargled before tumbling down a few stairs.
Everyone was equally confused, watching as a figure strode out from behind the dead man. "You're men are dead." He approached without a care, this Captain posed no threat anymore. "And your trap has failed. I suggest running back to your master while you can."
The man stood facing Hawke, ignoring the captain instead focusing on them. "You're going no where, slave!"
S'aravi gave the man a bored look, he was determined, she'd give him that much.
As the captain gripped the white-haired man's shoulder, he turned around, his skin gave off a blue glow as an energy built in his hand, raising it, he plunged his hand into the captains chest, for a moment, the captain was still alive before the man threw him to the ground.
He stopped glowing, snapping at the dead man, "I am not a slave."
It was silent, if but for only a second. "I apologize." The man spoke to Hawke directly, "When I asked Anso to provide a distraction for the hunters, I had no idea they'd be so numerous."
Hawke just shook it off, "I take it they were looking for you."
"Correct." He faced Hawke. "My name is Fenris. These men were imperial bounty hunters seeking to return a magisters lost property. Namely myself. they were trying to lure me into the open. Crude as their methods were, I could not face them alone. Thankfully, Anso chose wisely."
Hawke chewed the inside of his cheek, "So everything Anso said was a lie, then?"
"Not everything, your employer was simply not who you believed." Fenris answered smoothly, he didn't seem concerned that there was a very mad warrior and his motley crew of fighters behind him who did not like being lied to.
Hawke, unlike Aveline and Varric, just shrugged it off. "If you couldn't fight them, why not just run?"
"There is a time when you must stop running, when you turn and face the tiger." Unlike Anso, however, Fenris was very sure about his actions and his words."
Glancing over the elf, Hawke spoke up. "That seems like a lot of effort for one slave..." He didn't intend on offending the elf, just questioning about how valuable he was to this magister. Fenris didn't mind in the slightest, "It is."
As if someone had just thrown a bone to a dog, Hawke lit up and pointed to Fenris. "Does this have something to do with those markings?"
Fenris glanced down to his arms, "Yes, I imagine I must look strange to you." He held up his arms momentarily. "I did not receive these markings by choice. Even so, they have served me well. Without them I would still be a slave."
Despite what he said, S'aravi could clearly tell he did not appreciate the ability they gave him fully. Aveline could see it as well, the looks she sent this elf spelled out distrust and caution to the white haired elf.
Hawke snickered to himself, "Anso's job did seem a little too easy."
"Perhaps the deception was unnecessary. If so, I am sorry. I have become too accustomed to hiding." Fenris replied, for the first time, a little uneasily, but corrected himself quickly. "If I may ask; what was in the chest? The one in the house?"
Hawke looked to the abandoned house, "It was empty."
More to himself then to Hawke, Fenris commented on it. "I suppose it was too much to hope for. Even so, I had to know."
"You were expecting something else?" Aveline joined the conversation, she felt like this talk would go on until she did something about it anyways. Hawke had a knack for keeping discussion going and going well beyond the original point. It was starting to look like that.
"I was, but I shouldn't have. It was bait, nothing more." Fenris was disappointed, yet decided not to dwell on it.
Hawke pouted, "All that for an empty chest?"
Fenris shook his head, "No. There's more." Fenris walked beside Hawke and knelled next to the corpse of the captain. He kneeled over the body and searching the satchels on his belt, finding something, Fenris opened a letter to the captain and scanned it over, his face now contorted into spite as he finished the letter.
"It's as I thought. My former master accompanied them to the city." Hawke was about to speak up when the elf stopped him, "I know you have questions, but I must confront him before he flees." He spoke fast, as if readying himself to run away any moment.
"You led us into a trap and now you want our help?" Just before, Hawke remembered how angry he was when he found out he entered a building with nothing inside for nothing. It put his friends at risk; that was unarguably the one thing Hawke would never stand for, not without knowing what they were walking into.
"If Anso had told you to divert an ambush of Tevinter bounty hunters, would you have done it?" Fenris retorted. Hawke merely raised a brow, "I would've charged more."
"My funds are limited, but I will find a way to repay you if you help me now. I swear it." S'aravi growled lowly, he sounded honest, but she still knew so little about the elves in this land. Sometimes people are right when it came to categorizing species about their honor and loyalty. S'aravi would even admit that many khajiit are smugglers from Elsweyr, she would also counter it with the Empire taking land from the khajiit repeatedly. Every race was more or less respectable, sometimes individuals within the race will prove that not all are like that.
Were the elves of this land common to be tricksters like some dunmer or khajiit?
Grudgingly, Hawke nodded. "Very well. We'll help you."
S'aravi blinked, is Hawke serious?
"The magister is staying at a mansion in Hightown. Meet me there as soon as you can. We must enter before morning." He was stern about this as well, would this magister leave without his goal in hand? S'aravi was beyond confusion.
"Hawke-?" She intruded. "He lied to us, nearly got us killed, and you agree to work with him? How can we be sure it is not just another trap by either him or these... Tevinter hunters?"
A little surprised at S'aravi's sudden interest, Hawke glanced between his group and Fenris. "We were never in any real danger; we handled them just fine."
"Just fine? You and Aveline were surrounded, Varric could not even fire a bolt without having to dodge a blade; we cannot trust him." S'aravi had no concern if her argument regarding the trustfulness of this elf was rude, announcing it like he wasn't even there.
"S'aravi we're fine." Hawke took her forearm in his hand, "I know you got hurt, but we have potions for that. If you need one all you have to do is speak up." Hawke pulled a red vial from his satchel and put it in her hand, her claws clinked when they make contact with the glass vial.
"I need not healing, I can do that myself." She bared her teeth though her face was still hidden from the elf. "I am not thinking of myself Hawke; I owe you my life, I will let you throw it away on a hunch. He could be lying through his teeth, I have met many like that."
Fenris narrowed his eyes, "I do not mean to deceive, I need help and I will pay you back. I thought I made that clear enough." He stepped closer, trying to see beneath the hood, when she turned to hide her face more, he became just as suspicious about her as she is of him. "Who are you?"
"I am S'aravi." She introduced, "I am... indentured to Hawke."
Looking to Hawke, Fenris was wary now. "Indentured?"
Varric shook his hands in Hawke's defense. "Just another way of saying we saved her life and she wants to return the favor. That's all." Hawke smile was unsure. "Why, what did you think it meant?" Hawke asked and Varric only rested his hand in his palm.
"Slave perhaps, she wears a shackle." Fenris pointed out, the cloak couldn't hide the metal ring around her neck.
"I was captured by Tevinter who were taking me to their city to sell me into slavery, Hawke stopped them, were it not for him I would have died. A life for a life, I have a debt to him and his allies."
He hummed. "Then it is out of respect." Fenris commented, "I assure you, S'aravi, I am not trying to trick any of you. I need help, I cannot do this alone."
S'aravi growled at the elf, "Then you stay with us the entire time, if at any point I even think you are about to betray us; I will hunt you down, elf."
He didn't like the treatment, but his years of experience in mistrust and caution told him that is was well deserved. He was wondering now if Hawke would have gone along with the plan anyways, so long as he was paid... Coin could buy anything these days. Including a mans' life, figuratively and literally.
"Then we mustn't waste time. I will meet you there." Fenris agreed, he didn't have plans to turn on them; he never knew them before tonight. Perhaps Hawke had many enemies?
"We'll be there, don't worry." Hawke assured the elf just before he left them.
As Fenris left their sight, Hawke turned to S'aravi.
"That was... off." Hawke wasn't mad, just a interested at the khajiit's sudden voice. She never spoke with that much force against anything they did before; even when they teamed up with Isabela a few hours ago. S'aravi kept to herself, now she was a little more abrasive.
"I do not trust someone who spends their life in lies, Hawke. Just because he may have been a slave, now free, does not mean he will not take any chance he can to get further from those that hunt him." She rubbed her sore forearm, the wound healed by restorative magic. "Even if he has no intentions now, understand this if nothing else; someone who hides and tells lies for so long will do nothing but, eventually it becomes a part of them as much as an arm or leg."
Aveline took a deep breath, "She has a point Hawke."
Hawke bit his lip, "I know; that's what bothers me."
With a smile, S'aravi decided to also support Hawke's argument. "Of course, you could be right and all Fenris truly wants is someone to help him; being hunted by what you fear most tends to change people. So you could very well be right, Hawke." She didn't want to shoot down Hawke's opinion, she was here to help no matter what.
"Yeah, that's also true..." Hawke sighed tiredly, "Let's just do this and go home." He chuckled sadly, feeling more worn out then before. He was good with his blade, but words always seemed to take up more energy.
"I agree." Varric huffed and led the others out of the alienage.
Hey whoa! Beware! My "Office Word" program has locked me out so I'm using FanFiction's suggested spell and grammar check called "LibreOffice," now, I'm new at it so if there are a few strange words or typos, please mention them to me so I can log the corrections on LibreOffice's custom dictionary.
I hope you still enjoyed this! :)
