19: Interlude III-2
9:30 Dragon
On the road, literally
It was around midday, and we were moving down the road, approaching a curve.
A woman ran toward us and breathlessly began speaking.
"Oh, thank the Maker! We need help! They attacked the wagon! Follow me; I'll take you to them."
She turned and began running. I peered down the road. From where I was, I could see a wagon, a dead ox, and a few people in armor standing and not doing anything.
"Careful," I warned the group. "Trap or real, there's going to be a fight." My hands moved instinctively to my sides, ready to draw my sword and dagger. Once we prepared ourselves we started moving again.
We reached a clearing just after the woman and I saw her nod toward a dark-skinned, tattooed elf.
"Trap, then," I sighed to myself.
Smirking, the elf motioned forward with his hand, and a group of crossbowmen moved from their hiding place behind a rock.
I glared into the elf's eyes.
"Well?" I asked. Then a creaking sound reached my ears. I shot a quick glance sideways to see a tree loosely attached to the ground.
"Shit. Everyone move!" I yelled giving everyone just enough time to move as the tree crashed to the ground.
Looking even more smug, the elf made another motion, and his men attacked. Even the woman he had used as bait began to fight, lightning beginning to crackle around her hands.
There were about five foot soldiers on the ground, and five crossbowmen on the high ground, plus the elf and the mage.
As soon as she recovered from the shock, Leliana immediately began taking shots at the crossbowmen. Morrigan also turned her attention to them, but she went about it in a more impressive manner. She turned into some sort of black bird (a raven, maybe?) to ascend to their level, then shapeshifted into a bear and began attacking. As it turns out, very few people are prepared to suddenly fight a bear at close range, and crossbows are also not particularly good close-range weapons.
As that carnage was going on, the rest of us were fighting on the ground. The elf drew two daggers but stayed back from the fighting. I made sure to glance at him once in a while to make sure he didn't get the drop on anyone. This was made somewhat more difficult by the other people fighting, as they charged and fought very aggressively. It was relatively easy to fight defensively, until I was blindsided by a blast of lightning from bait-lady. Mentally cursing her for reminding me of the very uncomfortable feeling of electrified metal, I told Dane, "Go get her."
While he charged toward her, she launched a fireball toward him. It singed his fur and elicited a howl of pain from him.
"You bitch!" I yelled at her. She briefly turned her attention to me to look smug. It was for just long enough to distract her from the burned, incredibly angry dog launching himself at her. I let a smirk cross my face for just a bit, then refocused on the two swordsman attacking me. After a bit more back-and-forth, I was able to strike at the sword hand of one of them. It connected, and his sword fell out of his hands as he swore and yelled in pain. This let me focus on the other, knock his shield away, and successfully slash at his neck. By then, the other had recovered somewhat and attacked again. Unfortunately for him, his grip was significantly weakened, and I easily knocked his sword away again. As he scrabbled for his sword, I stuck my sword in his back.
I glanced at Alistair just in time to shout, "Look out!" to warn him from a surprise attack by the elf. My personal foes dealt with, I moved toward the elf. He was also using a two-weapon style, but utilizing two daggers instead of the sword-and-dagger approach I was using then. That complemented his style, which focused more on speed and agility than brute force. With a bit of unease, I noticed that his blades were slathered with a thick black substance I could only assume was poison.
Not too hard... I thought to myself. Just have to... not get hit... at all.
The fight was fairly balanced. He dodged and tried to hit me at my armor's weak spots, and I fought defensively, blocking his blows and able to deal more damage due to his weaker armor. I was gaining the advantage when he saw that my companions were finished with their combats and could focus on him. He looked like he was about to turn and run when I ducked to the side to allow Alistair to smash him with his shield. He crumpled to the ground.
"Everyone else dealt with?" I asked, breathing deeply. When I received an affirmative response, I looked down at the elf. He was bleeding and unconscious, but appeared to be breathing. I tuned to Leliana and motioned to her to tie up the elf. Once he was tied tightly I turned back to the other.
"He was the leader," I said, pointing at him. "Wynne, could you heal him a bit? He's alive, and I want to know what's going on here."
She looked a bit unsure, but she complied.
He blinked his eyes open, looking around blearily.
"...What?" he asked, in an accent I didn't recognize. "I rather expected to wake up dead... or not at all, I suppose. But it seems I'm still alive."
"For now..." I responded. "I have questions I want you to answer."
"Ah. I am to be interrogated. Well, as I prefer to avoid torture when it is possible, allow me to save you some time. I am Zevran, one of the Antivan Crows. I was sent here to kill any surviving Grey Wardens. I've been... less than successful, if you couldn't tell."
"I'm sorry. Really," I replied drily, rolling my eyes.
"I suppose sympathy would be too much to ask for, but getting captured by a target isn't the best thing for one's budding assassin career."
"Must be terrible. What are the Antivan Crows?"
The assassin looked mildly offended at this, but before he could say anything, Leliana chimed in.
"I can answer that. They are an order of assassins working out of Antiva. Very powerful, and renowned for getting their jobs done. They're considered the greatest assassins in the world by many."
"I'm surprised you haven't heard of us," Zevran said, sounding a little offended. In a slightly arrogant voice, he continued, "We're quite infamous back in Antiva."
"Among your targets, or your patrons?" I quipped.
"Oh, very funny. Is mocking your prisoners a Fereldan custom?"
"More of a personal one. So, as if I couldn't already guess, who hired you for the job?"
"A fellow in the capital... Loghain, I believe his name was? Yes, that sounds right."
"Thought so. You know, I'm interested. How much were we worth to you?"
"To me? Nothing. From what I understand, a handsome sum changed hands from Loghain to the Crows, though. Life in the Crows isn't for the ambitious, you see."
"Not the ambitious type, then?"
"Partly. I was also bought by the Crows quite young. I understand I was quite a bargain.
"Ah, but don't let my story discourage you. They aren't so bad. Those in the Crows stay well-supplied... Wine, women, men... whatever you might enjoy."
"Yeah, no thanks."
"Just as well for you. The severance package is garbage. I'm sure you've other options."
"Yeah, whatever. Were you going to see Loghain again?"
"No. If I were successful, I was to return home and Loghain would have been informed. If not, I would be dead in the Crows' eyes, if not literally."
"If not?"
"What can I say, I'm an eternal optimist." He laughed briefly, trailing off awkwardly.
"...no, I suppose that wouldn't be very funny to you."
"No, not really."
"Well, if you are finished asking questions, I have a proposal for you. The Crows do not tolerate failure; as such, my life is forfeit. But, as you might imagine, I like living. So here is what I propose: I will serve you instead. You seem the sort to give even the Crows pause."
I snorted derisively.
"You betrayed the Crows at the drop of a hat, and you expect me to believe you'll be loyal? This could just be a trick to finish the job."
"I am a very loyal person until I am expected to die for failing. That's not such a fault, is it?"
At that, I laughed darkly.
"If we fail, the darkspawn will overrun Ferelden and we'll all either be killed by them or executed. What's that kind of loyalty supposed to be worth?"
"No, that I can deal with. That's honest killing, nothing like what I would get in the Crows. Besides, why would I kill the person keeping the Crows away?"
"To finish the job?"
"And open myself to be killed on principle for failing?" he laughed. "No, I would be safer with you."
"Hmm... Thoughts?" I asked the rest of the group.
"You want us to take an assassin with us? I... don't think that's a good idea," Alistair said.
"I care not," Morrigan said. "Kill him or don't, I have no fear of him either way. I would advise you to watch your food and drink more closely should you bring him."
"Take him," Sten suggested. "If he is treacherous, kill him."
"Well... I can hardly argue against it, can I?" was Jowan's reply.
"You have already proven you cannot be dissuaded from insanity regarding your choice of companions," Wynne remarked bitterly. "I will not interfere.
I pondered for a bit.
"Won't we be pursued by the Crows if you're with us, and not lying, of course?"
"Perhaps. It is just as likely that you will be followed regardless. The contract still exists. If I accompany you, then you will have knowledge of the Crow's methods and I will have protection; best for us both, don't you agree?"
"What do you even have to offer?"
"Apart from insider knowledge of the Crows should they come for you again? I have many skill: fighting, locking, stealth... I also know a great many jokes, twelve massage techniques, six different card games? I do wonderfully at parties."
"Fine. I agree. But if I regret this, so will you."
"Uh... are you sure about this?" Alistair cut in.
"He's useful, and his arguments hold up. We can't be picky."
"I suppose. But if there was ever a sign we were desperate..."
I waved him off, muttering, "Yeah, yeah..."
Zevran began to swear his oath:
"I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you until you should choose to release me from it. I am your man, through and through. This I swear."
I cut him loose before I helped him to his feet, he dusted himself off, and our now-bolstered group continued on.
9:39 Dragon
City of Amaranthine
Mirevas looked expectantly at Cassandra.
"...what?" she asked, confused, after several seconds.
"You're... not going to be angry? Annoyed? Not going to say I'm crazy, suicidal, or stupid for recruiting an assassin literally five minutes after he tried to kill us?"
"After everything I've heard before now? No." Cassandra replied flatly.
"Well, you're no fun. All right, when we made camp that night..."
9:30 Dragon
Camp
...I decided to get to know our new companion better. Uh, not in that way. Just clearing things up, as these rumors are quite varied.
Anyway, we began to talk.
"If you're going to be working for me, I should know more about you," I told him.
"What do you want to know?"
"You seemed pretty quick to turn your back on the Crows. Why?"
"That's a fair question, I suppose. Being an assassin is a living, after all. I suppose it's simply that I was never given the choice to do anything else, so why not seize the opportunity if it presents itself?"
"What do you mean, you weren't given a chance?"
"I was bought by the Crows when I was very young. I cost three sovereigns, or so I was told. Probably a fair price, considering I was skin and bone and didn't know a dagger's point from its pommel. That's what the Crows do, buy their agents young and teach them to know nothing but killing. And if they fail, well... there are always more."
I hesitated for a brief moment.
"That... is the most despicable thing I have ever heard."
"It might seem that way, but those who succeed in the Crows—manage not to die—are able to enjoy the benefits. Being a Crow in Antiva gets you respect, wealth, women, men... whatever it is you might fancy. But it comes at the cost of doing what you are told, no matter what. And it means that you are always expendable. It is a cage, if perhaps a gilded one."
"What is wrong with you?" I asked, genuine bewilderment in my voice.
"Come again?"
"How can you not see the problems with this?"
"What problems? Assassination is a business like any other, except a bit messier."
"Even if that's true, assassination is a business, murder is not."
"What seems like one to you may seem like the other to them. It's all a matter of perspective."
"Destroying children's lives and murdering them if they don't live up to your standards is not something that can be justified by perspective! And you... you sound like you enjoy this! enjoy being a murder-for-hire!"
"Why not? There are many benefits to being a Crow in Antiva: Respect, fear, overt ignorance from the authorities, and handsome rewards. As for the killing... well, some people simply need assassinating. Or do you disagree?"
"I think that the decision of who those people are shouldn't be made by whoever has the most coin. Have you never killed an innocent?"
"Well, 'innocent', that's an interesting word. Is anyone truly innocent? Regardless, if we are speaking in generalities—children, bystanders, and so on—not on purpose, but it can happen sometimes. It is regrettable, but ultimately death must come to us all. If not me, then something else—a disease, an accident—"
"You're just making excuses. They're not even good ones."
"'Death happens,' as we say. And if I am paid, death happens more often.
"And as far as the killing itself, the action of sinking one's blade into another's flesh... why not? There is a certain artistry, a certain pleasure that can be gained from the knowledge that their life is in your hands."
"I don't find any pleasure in taking life. I kill to defend myself, or to defend others. I don't regret it, but I don't enjoy it either."
"It's not pleasure, exactly. Nothing sexual. More a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of power. Does that make sense?"
"Well... not from the act of killing, but from the effect of it... I suppose I could understand satisfaction."
"See? It makes sense."
"That's not what I-"
"There were things I did not enjoy about being a Crow, of course. Having no choice, being treated as expendable, and the rules... so many rules!"
"Are you even listening to me?"
"But simply being an assassin? I like it just fine. I will continue to do it, even if I am not a Crow. Can you see me doing anything else?"
"Oh, you're listening? Well, in the eight hours I've known you, you haven't shown much aptitude for anything except assassination. Oh, sorry, I meant, 'including'. Honestly, I don't know you, so surely you can do whatever you want."
"Well, I am content to merely do what I am good at. It is a talent few possess, and I see no reason why I shouldn't develop it. Of course, these thoughts are moot. Chances are good that both of us will end up dead, eaten by darkspawn or slain by the Crows. Very gruesomely, I imagine.
"But it is pleasant enough to chat about."
"You are a very strange man. But it doesn't seem like you're going to murder me in my sleep. Goodbye."
Rubbing my temples to ward off my fast-approaching headache, I took a look around camp. There was an out-of-the-ordinary sight. Standing off from the main camp stood a human I didn't recognize. I approached him wearily.
"I don't know who you are, b-"
"You're a hard man to find!"
He paused briefly.
"Where are my manners? The name's Levi. Levi Dryden. Did Duncan ever mention me? 'Levi the Trader'? 'Levi of the Coins'?"
I immediately turned my full attention to the man.
"Duncan? You knew Duncan?"
"Oh, yes, for years. Considered him a friend... But here I am, wasting your time while you have a Blight to stop! I'll put it simply: Duncan promised we would look into some business having to do with the Wardens, and I think he would want his work continued."
"What kind of promise did he make?" I asked warily.
"Well, back a few centuries, my great-great-grandmother, Sophia Dryden, was the last Warden-Commander of Ferelden before they were exiled. King Arland banished the Wardens and took all of House Dryden's land and titles."
"And then?"
"Can't really say. After King Arland's death, there was a civil war, even worse than this one, and the Drydens were on the run without a friend in the world. But we rebuilt ourselves as merchants and never lost our pride."
"Back on topic," I told him, trying to stay patient. "What favor did you ask of Duncan?"
"I want to find out the truth. Sophia Dryden died at the old Warden base at Soldier's Peak. Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of it; no one's visited it since Arland's days. Anyway, my family wants evidence to clear Sophia's name. I've spent years mapping out the maze to the base's entrance, and I found the way in. So I went to Duncan and said that he could reclaim the base and I could reclaim my family's honor."
"I assume that there's value in holding the base?"
"Yes. Duncan thought it would have strategic and symbolic importance, and he hoped to find some Warden relics."
"But then the darkspawn started to surface?"
He nodded.
"And I'm sure you know the rest."
"So, why do you need me?"
"Well... they say the base is haunted. Even if it's not, I'm sure there will be dangers. I can get in, but I'm not a fighter. Will you think about it?"
I considered for a moment.
"I can't help you right now. My mission is time-sensitive and very important. But this doesn't seem urgent. When... or if... I complete what I'm currently doing, I will accompany you to Soldier's Peak."
"A thousand blessings to you, Warden. I'll mark down the location on your map."
I nodded and walked away.
9:30 Dragon
Camp
A few days later, I managed to have another rare conversation with Sten—this one more major than any previous.
"I have been thinking of you," he stated when I approached him.
"I can't tell if that's good or bad," I replied.
"You are not as callow as I believed. That is... unexpected."
"Thank you," I said sincerely. Praise from Sten was very surprising. "Is there any way that now you will tell me the reason you were caged?"
"I caged myself. A weak mind is a deadly foe."
I motioned for him to continue.
"I told you that I was sent here. I was not alone."
"Was?"
"I came with seven of the Beresaad, my brothers. We made our way through the countryside without incident, seeing nothing of the Blight. Until the night we camped near Lake Calenhad.
"The darkspawn came from everywhere: The air, the earth, even our own shadows, it seemed."
"That sounds like Ostagar."
"I heard what happened at Ostagar. Your kith stood their ground as the army shattered around them. Nothing more could be asked of them.
"I don't know how long I lay on the battlefield, nor do I know how the farmers found me. I know only that when I awoke, I was no longer among my brothers. And my sword was gone."
"Your sword? You probably dropped it on the field."
"Perhaps. I searched for it. Then I asked my rescuers what had come of it."
"Did they know?"
"They said they found me with nothing."
"So... you killed them?"
"I did not have my sword—They had no reason to lie to me. So, unthinking, I struck them down."
"Why did your sword matter so much?"
"That sword was forged for my hand alone. I have carried it as long as I have served the Beresaad and I was to die wielding it for my people. If I could cross the entire continent, alone and unarmed, to deliver my report to the arishok, I would be slain on sight. Without my sword, to them I would be soulless, a deserter. No Qunari would cast away his sword while he drew breath."
"Weapons can't just disappear. Where did this battle take place?"
"Near Lake Calenhad."
"I remember near the docks talking to someone who said he'd received a tip about the area by someone named Faryn near Orzammar. When we need to go to Orzammar to recruit the dwarves, we can find him. We'll find your sword."
"Perhaps those are empty words... but thank you nonetheless."
AN: Yeah, I know. "It's been longer since the last update than it was between uploading and the last update." I've tried, but one thing after another has come up. But now I've been bitten by the Dragon Age bug again, so you can expect more chapters! I have the structure of the next few planned out, and the general progression of events for the rest of the story. There probably won't be any for the next week (semester exams), but I'll try to do a lot over Christmas break.
AN 2: I now have a beta reader. Thanks, pintsizedpsycho!
AN 3: It's been so long, I'm going to skip the comment-thank-yous. I'll start those up again next chapter.