Chapter 9
Two weeks passed and we had gotten much closer to our goal. We had cleared out a horde of dragons from a cave, killed a rapist and avenged a prince's parents who had been murdered. All in all we were doing well and still alive so I couldn't complain much. Carver and I spent most of our time at the Hanged Man not wanting to listen to Gamlin being an ass. Varric always enjoyed the company and it gave him more time to glean information from us.
"So Carver I hear you've been romancing a girl named Rose." Isabella said sitting down with us and Varric's eyes shot up. "Little Hawke you've been holding out on me."
"What who told you that?" he said turning slightly red. He shot a glare at me "Hey it wasn't me I've been covering and lying for you to Hawke and your mom why would I risk their wrath?"
The Inns door flew open and Hawke sauntered in commanding attention as usual. "All right we've got work to do let's get moving." Wordlessly we gathered our things and head outside meeting Aveline and Anders.
"Navianna you and I need to talk." Aveline grabbed my arm. Maker her gauntlets hurt.
She drug me a ways off and I cringed waiting for the yelling to begin when she surprised me "Are you all right?" I gave a quizzical look, "I heard what happened between you and Carver...and Anders."
"Maker Varric..." I growled.
"I just want you to know if you ever need to talk to someone you can talk to me."
I smiled in surprise "That means a lot Aveline thank you."
"And if you need any skulls cracked you let me know."
I can't help but chuckle "Oh you will be the first to know."
Our first task of the day was heading to the gallows to speak to some Templar recruits regarding a missing recruit named Keran. "I am not going in there." I said staring at the massive archway in front of me. I had avoided this place the entire time I was here I did not want to break that streak.
Hawke walked back over to me "You will be fine, nothing is going to happen."
"Right and then I follow you in some Templar senses my magic and I find myself in prison." He rubs his brow "They don't sense mine how will they sense yours?" I didn't want to answer that question and he growled "All right stay out here then I will go in with the rest."
He turns "Maker fine but I'm warning you a Templar even comes near me I'll..."
"You will stay calm." he says firmly.
As we walk in I slink closer to Anders my hand wraps around his arm and he places his hand on mine and leaves it there holding it gently. We listen as the recruits talk about how more than one recruit went missing and how Knight Captain Cullen was tracking him outside of Kirkwall.
"I'm sorry did you say Knight Captain Cullen? As in Cullen from Fereldan?"
The three stare at me "Why yes did you know him?"
"In passing mainly." I say lamely as they look at me confused. Maker this was getting worse by the minute.
As we leave the gallows a Templar passes me and stops "You there...you seem strange to me."
He moves closer and I take a breath "Oh perhaps it's my flute I had one of your tranquil place runes on it." I patted my side and he glares at me.
"What is your name?" He pulls his helmet off to get a better look at me and I take in a heated breath.
"I am Navianna Ser Templar." I bow slightly.
He relaxes "Forgive me Serrah; things have been a bit strange lately."
I wave my hand "There is no need to apologize Ser Templar; you were only doing your duty."
He bowed and went back towards the gallows and I felt my knees go weak.
"Maker that was close." Anders grabbed my arm and looked over at me his face had gone paler than usual. "Are you all right?" His finger tips brushed my hair back.
"I'm okay Maker that was awful." I hold tight to Anders arm afraid that if I let go I might actually collapse.
"What in the Maker's name was that Sparrow how did he sense you?" Hawke asked.
"As you know every mages magic has a different feel and tone about them. When you touch someone with magic you can feel it when they push it into you, you can recognize it later. My magic is almost identical to the feeling of lyrium, Irving once told me if a Templar ever absorbed too much of my magic they could become addicted to it instead of lyrium."
Hawke just stared "So you're telling me your magic is appealing to Templars."
"Yup, like bees to flowers and moths to flames. I can control it to an extent but if a Templar is sensitive there is no stopping it."
Hawke stops and looks at me "You want to tell me about this Cullen then?" I can see eyes turning to me expecting a story of some sort.
"Cullen was always assigned to watch me as I practiced magic. He was also there the day I had my first smiting and harrowing. He will recognize me if he sees me again he's told me many times he can pick me out of crowd blind folded and its true we tried it out once."
"You did when was this Vi?" Anders said in surprise.
"I think it was one of the times you ran away and the Templars were testing their hunting skills by playing games like hide and seek and can you sense that mage. Fun times." my face soured.
Hawke was frowning "You should stick this part out then Sparrow I don't want risk you getting recognized." I breathed a sigh of relief "Thanks Hawke that means a lot."
"The rest of you though are going so get your gear."
I returned to the hanged man grabbed a pint and pulled a book I had been reading out of my satchel. The hours ticked by when the door opened and dwarf entered looking somewhat relieved to be indoors. He headed over to the bartender who pointed over in my direction.
"Ah hello I, I was wondering if you could possibly help me?"
The last time I tried helping someone it was an ambush "What do you need help with?"
"M My name is Anso it seems ssoomeone stole my cargo supplies and I need to get them back."He was ringing his hands nervously. His blue eyes darted everywhere a thick black beard covered most of his face making it hard to judge his responses.
"All right Anso I'll help you when the rest of my group gets here, tell me where they are keeping your things." he looked relieved
"Oh good, you can find them in an abandoned house in the elven alienage." I nod and he heads back outside, I seem to remember him standing in front of a cart a few nights ago.
The troupe comes wandering back in and crashing on the table. "You are never going to believe the shit we just saw..." Carver said "...Templars possessed."
"No way!" I said in half fascination.
"Believe it." he said.
"So what do you have to do now?"
Hawke answers happily "We need to go to the blooming rose to see who the recruits were sleeping with."
"You are taking me with you I have always wanted to see what a brothel looks like." I said.
"Oh sweet thing you have been missing out." Isabella says laughing.
"Oh before we do that we have a job retrieving some stolen property from a dwarf named Anso, he said it should be in an abandoned warehouse in the alienage."
Hawke smiles "Wonderful, Carver, Isabella and Sparrow you're with me." I glance at Anders whose frowning slightly though I wasn't sure why.
Varric sits back on the table "Have fun tell me all about it when you get back."
So we skulk through the streets and make our way into the alienage.
"Did he say which one?" Carver asked and I shook my head no.
"Don't you think you should have asked?" he snips.
"Shut up Carver." I growl as we head to a door that has cobwebs over it that have recently been broken.
"I think this is it." Hawke said.
The alienage was quiet tonight which was odd, the massive tree had been freshly painted and the candles glowed softly around. I always thought it looked comforting and beautiful. Carver broke the door down and Isabella disappeared and reappeared behind the doorman killing him. I cast a few spells immobilizing the men allowing Isabella and Carver to finish them off. Hawke is taking out the group in the back room when he comes back.
"This looks like the last of them." He walks over to a chest "This should be Anso's goods." He throws the chest lid back. "Huh, there's nothing in here Sparrow."
I walk over disbelieving and look in at the emptiness. "Damn it! What is going on? I swear to the Maker if there is another ambush happening I am never helping another stranger again."
We leave the home to found it surrounded by soldiers. "That's not the elf!" one of them yells. "It doesn't matter we were told to kill whoever came out!"
"Oh you have pissed off the wrong mage, get inside!" I yell and send a freezing wave of snow and then cast earthquake, finishing off with a firestorm. A few fireballs later their voices were silence and the ground stopped shaking.
The door opened and Hawke leaned in the doorway "Feel better?"
I push my hair behind my ears "Yes, much better thank you."
Tired and in desperate need of Lyrium we go to leave when a soldier makes his way down threatening to kill us all when from out behind him steps an tall elf with white hair and lyrium etched skin. Maker that must have been severely painful, I should know the tattoo on my face was lyrium made. I never told anyone not really wanting to, I had found an ancient tome describing how a lyrium tattoo placed behind the right eye wrapping slightly around the forehead would awaken a deeper pool of magic and allow you to master magic that had been forgotten. The pain was excruciating to have it all over your body I shook in memory of the pain. I hear his name is Fenris and he's talking with Hawke about how he was a slave and he needed to take out his master. Hawke was always up for killing slavers so he readily agreed. Isabella wasn't too thrilled with the idea so she went back to the Inn. Hawke tossed me a bottle of Lyrium "Let's go Sparrow." he says smiling.
I suck down the potion. "On it."
We arrived in front of the house and Fenris was pacing back and forth. "We should move quickly." Hawke said not even waiting for him.
"Agreed." We head inside and Fenris is screaming for this man at the top of his lungs. We move to the next room and shades jump up to attack us.
"He sends spirits to do his dirty work." Fenris growls and keeps moving. We clear the house out but find no sign of this Denarius. We unlock the center door and a mass of demons explode from the room.
Once they had been dealt with Fenris was visibly agitated so much so he left to get air while we pocketed any valuables we could see. "Well this didn't work out to bad." Hawke said.
"Demons aside no I think we did pretty good." he puts his arm around me.
"Indeed we are getting closer every day."
We step outside triumphant when we hear Fenris "I left a world of dark magic only to find myself in the presence of more mages. I should have known earlier what you were."
Carver moved closer to us "If you have a problem with them you have a problem with me."
"I do not mean to sound ungrateful, I intend to repay you if you have need of me I shall be here." He went back inside.
"Well he's just a ray full of sunshine isn't he?" I say.
Hawke snorts "Right you guys head back I'm going back in to talk to him."
Carver looks at me "Well let's go I'm sure Gamlin misses you."
I gave him a sour look "I would like normal dreams tonight not nightmares." He laughs.
"You don't want dreams of Gamlin trying to seduce you."
I felt sick "Maker I hate you Carver." I said laughing
"And I you my friend and I you." He put his arm around me "Don't worry I will fend off Gamlin's advances after the second or third grope."
I punched him in the stomach and his stomach echoed through Hightown. "Good thing you're a mage you'd make a lousy fighter."
"And you would make a lousy mage."
"True, so true."
