my continued thanks for everyone who reads this story. as usual, italics means Antivan. Aedan has a rough handle on the language, but most of the conversation is too fast and complicated for him to fully understand.
Aedan was not gentle as he gave Zevran's shoulder a brisk shake.
"Wake." he commanded quietly. Zevran opened his eyes to see Aedan, fully dressed and holding a sword. That he suddenly felt very much unarmed served to strip the vestiges of sleep from him, and he jerked upright.
"There are people at the door. I will go and greet them but I need you up and dressed and ready. If they are grey wardens, and they have some daft notion of dragging me off to Weisshaupt, I'll need your blades. Stay by the door, and listen out for trouble." Aedan's air mimicked his sword, cold and unmoving, and Zevran gave an understanding nod.
He was swift and silent as he pulled a tunic over his head, and curled into a crouch behind the door, ear against the gap above the hinge, listening intently as he heard Aedan open the door and several people enter. He counted four, but most of these footfalls were padded, and light. as he heard an Antivan voice ring out in the hall, confident and rich, he knew that there were Crows in the house. His hands tightened on his daggers, and he thanked Aedan's foresight for keeping him out of sight.
"Greetings, Ser Cousland. And welcome to the land of Antiva."
Another voice, accented, translated the sentence into Ferelden. A male voice, nervous, trying not to stumble on the words.
"Jik. What is the meaning of this?" Aedan's voice was firm, and he spoke in Ferelden. Zevran thought this wise, for Aedan would have little chance of following the florid Antivan of a crow. Better to let them believe he had no Antivan, and keep his knowledge to serve him in secret. However, he had no idea who Jik was, and how Aedan knew him.
"You may explain to him. Tell him who we are." The crow leader seemed to address the translator,
"Forgive me lord. This is Alonzea of the crows. They are a group of assassins, and they wish to speak to you. Its about the elf you were seeking... I had no choice but to tell them what I knew.. They had my daughter... They assure me that they do not wish a fight however, just to talk. I will translate, if it pleases you. Alonzea does not speak Ferelden, so I will have to relay your words back to him also."
Zevran had not ever met Alonzea, and in truth did not know much of the man. He had been a lower ranking crow, not even a master... but it seemed his cull of the highers had elevated Alonzea into a position of power. No muttered curse escaped him, there were too many ears present, but he did edge closer to the door so that he could hear better.
"Then talk."
"I hope you will overlook that I have hired your translator into my service, but I felt a familiar face might ease the conversation. I would assume that your are finding yourself in good health? I am told the Antivan sun can be rather much compared with the cooler climes of the lands overseas." This was then translated back to Ferelden, via Jik.
"Look. I will not tolerate your petty small talk. You are here for a reason, dispense with the pleasantries."
Jik translated loyally, his tone almost apologetic for Aedan's brisk manner.
"Ah Fereldens, always to the point." Alonzea seemed to recover from the lack of the social civility which would normally be demanded, if not expected. "Very well I am led to believe you have something of ours... We wish it returned to us."
Zevran steadied himself with a breath, despite all his plans and preventions, he had brought the crows down upon Aedan.
"You mean Zevran?"
Jik translated.
"Ahh, you do know him then. I was unsure..."
Jik's voice held a quaver, as he relayed the words to Aedan.
"You were not at all unsure. You knew my association with Zevran, else you would not be here. Do not play your silly Antivan word games with me, nor insult my intelligence. I thought better of the great Antivan crows than resorting to trickery."
Jubilant, Zevran gave thanks for Aedan's sense. Alonzea was using a common tactic in negotiations, putting the other party on the defensive by suggesting they had erred and given away some piece of information. It tended to make them nervous, and more likely to make mistakes and, ironically, reveal further details.
Interestingly, Zevran also noted that the translator relayed Aedan's reply word for word, despite the insult. He realised then that it was Aedan that this Jik feared, not the murder of crows standing nearby.
"I... I understand." Alonzea seemed to have lost his confidence, struggling to adapt to this blunt Ferelden, his usual graces and guiles useless against Aedan's disconcertingly frank nature. He would not be used to someone addressing him as Aedan did, abrupt and with a degree of impatience. "We wish the elf. We will pay you handsomely, as well as guaranteeing that your stay in Antiva will not be interfered with again."
"No."
"I do not think you understand. We are not asking. If you hand over the elf now, we will give you 500 gold, and promise that you will be safe from the crows. I cannot guarantee your safety should you detain us from what is ours. I have heard the stories, and know you are a formidable warrior, but you are a very long way from home and your allies. None here would blink twice if you were to disappear."
Jik translated, but this time added, in his own voice a quiet plea to Aedan "My lord, I urge you to be careful. The crows are powerful, and very dangerous."
"No." Aedan repeated.
"Really? You value a failed assassin over a king's ransome and your own life? Very well, I offer one last reward for your cooperation. You obviously have some sort of attachment, so, if you turn Zevran in, by the end of this day, we will grant it a quick death."
Zevran shuddered in his skin, partly at being referred to as an 'it', but more that a merciful death was being used as a bargaining chip. I did not bode well for him, should the crows catch him on their terms.
As Jik translated, Zevran could hear the people beyond the door readying themselves. Aedan must have looked like he was about to raise his sword. Instead, the assassin heard Aedan's voice ring out loudly.
"Remember what I said about leaving. Run!"
Zevran tightened his body, trying to fathom wether he was to flee or fight. Then the Aedan's warning about leaving returned to him, and he stayed still. Jik, seemed slow to tell Alonzea what Aedan had said, but then suddenly there was movement. Zevran's ears pricked for the sound of steel, but none came, so he stayed hidden. There were cries as a door, Aedan's private rooms he thought, was forced, and a female voice spoke out.
"Master Alonzea, the window was wide open. He must have escaped out onto the rooftops."
Alonzea gave an exasperated cry, and issued the female and two others to follow out the window. Zevran could hear the crow leader seethe as he spoke to Aedan, and had to strain to made out his lowered voice.
"You have made a grave mistake." then, a chuckle as the voice retreated, probably heading out the door now he thought the quarry no longer in the building. "You should have Zevran tell you of what happens to those who betray the crows... I imagine you will find it... informative. The offer stands, should you not like what you hear. Give us Zevran by tonight, and you will not have to experience our methods personally. Deliver him to the docks, we will be waiting." Nothing in his tone suggested that he imagined Aedan doing anything other than obeying, and Zevran wondered if Aedan's face was saying something that his lips were not.
As Jik frantically tried to relay to Aedan, apparently shaking, Zevran tesned and released his muscles, ready to fight if need be.
"Wait! My daughter... my Abigail!" Jik's voice was almost a cry of pain.
"Aahh yes, I had almost forgotten. She will be returned, along with your payment. I do not think we will have futher need of your services but if we do... we know where to find you..." The voice was cruel, and though he could not see, Zevran felt sure that Alonzea was smirking wickedly.
The silence that decended did not reassure Zevran, and he stayed as still as he could, daggers tilted to drive up into his foes. He listened as Jik started to explain to Aedan what Alonzea had said, full of apology. Aedan said simply; "Get out.", followed by a set of scurrying footsteps and the sound of wood closing against a doorframe. Footsteps approached his door, and the opened slowly to reveal Aedan, looking irritated of all things.
"I thought you'd managed to deter the crows..."
"So did I..." Zevran got up, gingerly as his legs protested the movement, having been crouched and tense for so long. He returned his daggers to his belt, and brushed off his knees from the dust from the floor.
"Sod it. If it is not one thing it is another. Right, what should we do?" Aedan seemed to be treating the fact that he had managed to engage the wrath of the most prolific assassin group in all of Thedas as if he had spilled a glass of wine, or ripped a shirt. Zevran felt himself questioning that Aedan knew what he had got himself entangled in.
"They will not move until tomorrow. But I imagine they will not be at all pleased with you. Aedan, I think we will have to contemplate this carefully, the crows are not a threat to be taken lightly."
"Archdemons, grey wardens or crows, I will face them and beat them down."
"Mmuch as Ii admire your bravery, Ii would advise against over confidence." Hhe was painfully aware his that his words seemed hushed, and the assassin found himself nervously scanning the doors and windows.
"Zevran... you are scared."
Zevran turned and glared at Aedan. "Yes. And rightly so. Alonzea was not lying when he said that a quick death would be a blessing... The crows, they can be very cruel..." He folded his arms across his chest, and remembered the first time he had been made to witness a torture session of a crow who had failed. He had been woken in the dead of night, and taken into a cellar, with two other new apprentices. They had huddled together, the cold air and scene before them chilling their blood.
Bound to a chair, hands and feet crushed and bleeding, only half aware of what was going on, was a former crow. His hair was matted, and the stink of the room almost overwhelming. Zevran had fought to keep from retching as he realised that the man's flesh was rotting in some places, and charred in others. The torturer, paying no heed to their audience, then proceeded to squeeze the broken right hand, until bone showed through the ruined skin.
One apprentice had cried out then, crying for the man to be shown mercy. He had been taken away and was not seen, or spoken of, again. Even then, young as he was, Zevran had seen that there was a lesson here. It not only displayed some of the finer points of inflicting pain, but also tested the mettle of the young crows, compassion having no place within a crow's heart. In addition, it was made very clear what happened to crows who failed their masters.
The elf took a deep breath, the way the man's head had lolled towards him, eyes pleading for death, lingering in his mind.
"Aedan. The crows are fragmented, and I suspect that the organisation is in its death throes, but that makes them only more dangerous and desperate. If they managed to find me, they would not hesitate to make you watch as I was subjected to their torture, as punishment for denying them. Even if they left you alone, they would deliver you pieces of me, over a period, weeks probably. They are cunning as they are cruel. They would manipulate you into a rage, into attacking them openly in public, and thus kill you in defence, avoiding political repercussions." Zevran's voice dropped to a sincere sad whisper. " I would save you that pain..."
With a wave of his hand, Aedan dismissed the idea of Zevran turning himself over.
"Zevran, you are not going to hand yourself over to those bastards. I will cut down any crows who comes within my sword's length. I will do whatever it takes to keep you with me."
Zevran looked at Aedan, and his hand still tight around his sword. He had no doubts about Aedan's strength, but was wary that his temper may be the grey warden's biggest weakness, and that the crows would take full advantage of that. Or that he himself was a weakness in Aedan's otherwise impenetrable chain.
That he might be doing more harm by staying, gnawed at him. He'd already attracted the crows to Aedan, and he suspected that as long as he remained, Aedan would not seek grey warden help to combat the taint inside him. Aedan must have caught the look in his eye, because he closed the gap between them, sword held to the side.
"Zevran. You cannot leave me." His eyes narrowed, "I will not allow it."
Zevran said nothing, but was struck by the tightness in his gut at Aedan's words. He would admit that he was scared of the crows, but seeing Aedan like this, hearing the venom in his voice and anger in his eyes, that positively terrified him.