The small party went back to camp, Surana starting preparation for his potions straight away while the others started to get ready for some sleep. He could not shake the feeling of that he knew that bald elf and that it was bad news to see him again. That he could not be trusted.
"Are you taking the first watch?" Ohgren was watching him from the other side of the camp fire.
"I am. This needs to brew an hour or two anyway, get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow,"
"Do you plan to do the ritual tomorrow?"
Surana nodded, he needed to get these recruits initiated as soon as possible. It was a fools mission to go down there without uninitiated recruits.
"Zevran, I want to talk to you before you go to sleep," he said as the elf came strolling back after taking a piss in the woods.
Zevran nodded and joined them at the fire;
"What can I do for you, oh dark lord of the Wardens?"
"I want you to head to Antiva,"
"But that is not where you are heading," the assassin protested with a confused looked "We were going on adventure,"
"I need to know what the Inquisition is up to. I have this... hunch. That elf that attacked me said that the Wardens were missing, and that the Inquisitor was looking for them. Do not give up my location, but find what you can of what they know, and where the Wardens are. This feels like bad news. Morrigan said this Inquisitor had re-instated the Templars, chances are big that he will not be friendly towards the Wardens nor our stand on magic,"
"Of course," Zevran replied his brown eyes resting on Suranas weathered and scarred face "How will I contact you? I can not run back and forth between the Deep Roads and Antiva every fortnight, I would have no time for fun then,"
Surana dug deep into his bag and took out a crystal handing it to his tanned friend.
"Take this. I will contact you through it,"
"A gem?" the elf weighed the stone between his hands doubtfully eyeing Surana "Do you want me to buy a pigeon, especially trained to track Wardens maybe?"
"It is an ancient Tevinter technique, probably elven to begin with. Do not break it, Zevran. It took me years to recreate the ritual and to make it work. And don't tell anyone. People hate when I succeed in doing things that are 'impossible',"
Zevran nodded and put the gem in his pocket.
"Do Morrigan have one too?"
"No..." Surana sighed "I have not had time to make more, and frankly, we have other means of communication,"
"Spooky," the elf purred "Is this a token of your love? Are you hiding me from her?"
"Don't flatter yourself. You are a treasure, but you could never be my Morrigan," Surana scoffed stirring in his pot once more "Decide for yourself if you go tonight or tomorrow, I just need you to keep me informed,"
"Will do. If you promise not to go and get eaten or disappear in those dark underground roads," Zevran said and started packing his stuff "And if you let me braid your hair before I go,"
The elfs eyes twinkled with delight, Surana just rolled his and nodded.
"Fine. I need it redone anyway, pack your things and then braid my hair,"
Oghren scoffed at them and muttered something about prissy elves before he went to his bedroll chugging down some home-brewed spirits to help him go to sleep.
Surana would never admit it, but he enjoyed having someone tend to his hair. In the tower he had kept it about shoulder length and often in a ponytail, but these last few years he had allowed it to grow a bit longer. It reached down his chest now, and had a soft wave to it that made Morrigan possibly green with jealousy. She never admitted it, but he knew.
Zevran was humming on a cheerful folky tune as he sat down behind the Warden commander with a comb and reached around unbuttoning Suranas cloak and pulling it back so the fur-lined hood wouldn't get caught while he worked on the hair.
He chuckled as he started to untangle and comb through the black mane of the commander, whispering in a theatrical voice;
"Don't panic, but I see greys in here,"
"I know. And why would I panic over that?" Surana replied.
He was enjoying the assassins skilled fingers running along his scalp and the slight pull when he ran into a tangle or knot.
"I am a Grey Warden, am I not?"
Zevran laughed, a laugh ringing out like a silver bell and rested his chin at Suranas shoulder for a moment.
"A pun? From my grumpy warden? What has the world come to, my friend?"
"I've saved that one, going to try it on Morrigan as well but you are far more fond of puns than she is," Surana mumbled feeling his body relax a bit "I'm... I'll miss you down in those blighted roads. We could use your humour down there,"
"It is a bit bleak down there no? I am not sad to not be going there, to be honest. A man of my beauty should be in well lit places, preferably naked on a sofa with pretty ladies admiring and painting my picture"
"And that is where we differ," Surana sighed "I could never do that. I wish I could just... settle down, study magic and the world with Morrigan, have Keiran safe and people not bothering us. Maybe in a nice comfortable house in a nice forest,"
"Sounds boring, how are you going to come swooping in and saving everybody then?"
"I don't want to. I want people to save themselves. Did you miss the do not bother me part?"
Zevran nodded softly and continued to comb Suranas hair while the Warden stirred his pot and missed Morrigan and Keiran.
"If we don't make it out of the deep roads I need you to give her something,"
"What would that be? And I am doubting that I should, dear Morrigan might bite my head off if that were to happen,"
"There is a map in my map case... Give me a moment," he dug through his bag once more and got out the right map "I need you to deliver it to her. It is important,"
"Is it a treasure map?" the elf mused and Surana rolled his eyes.
"No," he said.
It was not quite true, it was a map of all Eluvians he had mapped through out the years, and some deposits of things he had left behind for rainier days.
He was not one to not prepare for the worst.
There was no need to tell Zevran that though, because even if Surana trusted the assassin with his life he would never be dumb enough to trust him with his riches.
"But you do intend to come back from the roads do you not?" Zevran asked putting the map in his own map case.
"Yes," Surana replied and added some lyrium powder to his potion "I however always plan for the worst,"
"It is a healthy attitude," Zevran agreed "I bet it is what has kept you alive through all the people wanting you dead. And I like you alive, I bet a dead Surana would be no fun at all,"
"I doubt that too," Surana mumbled and felt a chill go up his spine as Zevran reached out and stroke his ear as he sat down behind the Commander again and began to separate pieces of hair and to braid.
The two fell silent, a natural state for Surana. He enjoyed being silent with friends. Zevran, not so much. It seemed as if the smart-mouthed assassin was sensing that it might be the last night they spent together though, or maybe he had bitten his tongue. Surana didn't know.
They stayed like that for hours though, simply enjoying each others company with the odd remark coming from Zeveran about Suranas hair.
"Don't die down there," Zevran said as he passed Surana some more elfroot extract for the potion and Surana scoffed, making Zevran pull his hair a bit and say again, more earnest and demanding;
"I am serious. Do not die. I know the world has a picture of you being mean and possibly evil, but... I feel a lot safer knowing that you are out here, somewhere, trying to keep it going. Stopping it from self-destruction and evil beings eating us. We have a hole in the sky, Surana. I think we will need you to save the world again. So save yourself, and the Wardens, and come back up here and save us afterwards. Please,"
Surana smiled, a small dry smile, and replied;
"I will. I can not have the veil torn like that trying to raise a family. World-ending catastrophes really put a strain on that kind of things. How in the world would I get anything but demon slaying done in such a world?"
"You jest," Zevran mumbled still braiding his hair "But it's true, is it not? There will be a lot of demons,"
"Yes," Surana replied and reached back squeezing his friends arm a bit to comfort him "I doubt you can't handle it though. You might have been the worst assassin I ever met when we first got to know each other, but you are a decent one now a days, are you not?"
There was that small, warm chuckle from Zevran and a soft mumble;
"I guess I am. If decent means the best?"
"You told me you were the best 12 years ago. You could barely get a chest open at that point,"
"And once more I am misunderstood. I am no simple thief, the amount of time I need to break in to or pick a lock to get to my assignments are very rare, dear Warden. I am an assassin. I get to my victims with grace and finesse, and with much more planning than me breaking into their house. At least I do not do that with every job. That would be too obvious of a clue. Expecting me to be an able thief of more than hearts is as to expect you to be an adept healer just because you are a mage,"
"Fine, you made your point. Still... You will be fine, and hopefully someone else has saved the world when I return from the Deep Roads. I doubt it, but feel free to hope that it happens. Maybe this Inquisitor can do it? I hear he has some control over the Rifts,"
Zevran made a sound that Surana assumed meant his friend somewhat agreed with that, and blinked when he felt Zevrans fingers trace the scar running from his left cheekbone over his nose.
"Watch out for Templars and darkspawn," Zevran mumbled and bopped the Warden-Commander on the nose with a small smile "I'm done. Your hair is ready for the Deep Roads, Warden-Commander. I will be going now, it is a long way to Antiva. I will contact you with news when I get them,"
"Thank you. Take care," Surana replied and ran his fingers over the braid trying to get a picture of what it looked like.
Zevran hoisted his backpack on his back and walked off into the darkness.
Surana sighed. It was best this way. The world needed Zevran, not as much for his fighting skills as for his temper. A storm was brewing, and anyone who could put a smile on someone's face should be kept as safe as possible.
The Deep roads was not the place for anyone but for dwarfs and Wardens. Zevran was neither.
Frankly, Surana had no wish to lose more friends. It was a small collective to begin with, there was no need to be stupid about it.
They were just going to head down there, find what he searched for and head back up. Cure the Blight and then he could get to investigate what that breach in the sky was for.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to concentrate on the potion and push the song in his head away. His fingers ran over the dent that marked his scar. It was a constant reminder that it didn't matter who you were, or what you had done, zealots would always only see you for what they feared. It reminded him in times where he was becoming too comfortable and feeling too secure that one never knew when they would come for you.
It was a lesson he had learned, a mistake that he had survived.
He seldom made a mistake twice. He just needed to remember, and to stay alive.
With the potion ready to be bottled and to cool he went to bed, setting up wards around the camp and telling Ohgren to take the next shift. Tomorrow would be a long day.
