My thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: LadyCallia, xXxNikxXx, Jinx1983 (my muse), KCousland, megglesnake, auradorina, Raven Jadewolfe. Just to say that I was really touched by your review, Jinx. I am the one who is honored here. I thank you especially for asking me to write this and allowing your character to come to life in this fic. Thank you so much! :D
Well, this chapter is not as witty as I would have liked it to be, given the circumstances. It's not every day you are ambushed in a quiet village and a mad Revered Father and his men try to kill you after all...lol
Bioware owns! :D
Chapter 25 - Genitivi is Found
The night before they set off for Haven, Morrigan surprised Jinx by asking to speak to her. Jinx did speak to each of her companions, as well as occasionally give them gifts she had found so far in her travels. But as Morrigan was always so mean to Alistair, she found herself speaking less and less to her.
"Uh," Jinx said, totally surprised at the witch's request. She glanced at Alistair, who had his arm around her protectively, and he shrugged, so she gave him a peck on the cheek, and stood up, nodding at Morrigan, who promptly led her away from the rest.
"I must tell you some things, as well as request a favor," Morrigan said directly as soon as they were as far away from the fire and the rest of the companions.
"What is it, Sleazy?" Jinx asked her with a half-smile.
Morrigan stiffened at the name calling and Jinx thought for a moment that she was going to just shrug and not say anything, thus allowing her to return to the fire and Alistair's arms. She was wrong.
"I should have spoken sooner. However, since I see that you seem to be filling other people's requests relatively easily, I find myself in a situation. Hopefully you will be able to provide me with something I need," the witch began, then paused for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. She fixed Jinx with a yellow stare. "I wonder if by any chance, while you were at the circle tower, you happened to come across a black leather-bound book? There is a picture of a leafless tree on the outside and it is -"
Jinx gave a cry that interrupted Morrigan's speech.
"Wait right here," she said smiling and ran towards her backpack which she had left beside Alistair, thinking of taking a bath in the nearby brook before settling down for the night. The rest were there joking and sitting around the fire, and Jinx saw to her amusement, that Jowan and Kallia were now holding hands. Alistair, however, was nowhere to be seen, and she was puzzled at this. She grabbed her pack and hurried back to Morrigan, who was now regarding her curiously.
Emptying the contents of the pack before her, she saw the book and handed it to Morrigan wordlessly.
"You did find it? 'Tis a fortunate thing, indeed!" The witch smiled happily.
"What is this book about?" Jinx asked.
"'Tis Mother's grimoire. It had been confiscated by Templars some years ago, from the hut. The Templars, however, did not manage to catch Mother or me. I shall begin studying the book immediately. Thank you for this," Morrigan replied and smiled genuinely at Jinx.
"What's inside?" A direct question, that made Morrigan smile again.
"Secrets. Mother has many she has kept throughout the years."
"Did you live there all your life then? In the Wilds?"
"I did go to Lothering from time to time, to gather some food and supplies. Though the people there shied away from me and I kept to myself."
"I bet," Jinx replied grinning. Then she was serious. "Didn't you feel lonely at all?"
"As a child, I admit that I did feel I wanted someone to play with. Though Mother taught me her shape shifting skills and I found myself running with the wolves and flying with the birds more often that naught," Morrigan replied. Her eyes were distant and brooding.
"That sounds wonderful," Jinx said wistfully trying to picture herself do the same thing and failing miserably.
"For a time, perhaps."
"Did the animals speak to you?" Jinx asked curiously.
"I did not understand them, as I would a human, no. But they proved to be excellent companions."
"Interesting," Jinx remarked.
"Do you have an opinion on my skills? Do you think them terrible and evil, like some of the people I have encountered?" Morrigan asked frowning.
"No, not at all. I think your skills are quite useful, actually."
"A most practical opinion," Morrigan found herself pleasantly surprised. "Thank you for the grimoire again."
"No problem," Jinx said and gathered her things, stuffing them into her pack. She walked towards the brook for her nightly bath, whistling to Drinx along the way. Alistair was standing around the fire this time around, and she waved to him before disappearing into the tree line.
The water was pleasantly warm. She wondered about the coming winter and how the heck she was going to keep clean then. A thought crossed her mind then and she grinned. She decided to ask Marcus if it could be done. Leaving the water, she dried herself and dressed in a simple white tunic and loose breeches before grabbing her pack once again and heading off to her tent.
As she passed the campfire on her way back, she noticed Alistair standing outside his tent. His eyes were fixed on her and she smiled.
Then she went into her tent and her whole world stopped.
Lying on her bedroll was a complete set of warden runic armor, golden griffon etched on the breastplate and all, only this one was definitely for a woman and it was black, with golden decorations on the shoulders and metal skirt. She ran a hand over it, and then the boots and gauntlets, not daring to breathe too heavily, fearing that it was a dream and it would cause her to wake up.
"Do you like it?" Alistair said softly behind her.
She whirled around and nearly leapt into his waiting arms. He burst out laughing and held her tightly.
"Like it?" She said breathlessly into his ear before breaking away from his embrace gently. "Am I dreaming?"
"Er, no. I would pinch you, but I know what your reaction would be, so I'll play it safe," he chuckled, gazing lovingly into her eyes.
"How is this possible?"
"Well, remember the large backpack I managed to take from the second chest? This was inside it," he grinned. I saw it was for a woman, and would have given it to you sooner, but it needed some cleaning, so I've been cleaning it up properly and, um, it was ready tonight. I wanted to surprise you."
"Oh, I'm surprised all right," Jinx said softly and lifted up her lips, claiming his in a passionate kiss.
They melted into the kiss, the sounds of their companions laughing and chattering barely reaching them. Soon, the only thing that mattered was their kisses and fondling in the darkened tent.
"I think we'd best stop, we have to get an early start tomorrow," Alistair said breathing heavily, his arms sliding around her waist again.
"I - I agree," Jinx said, sighing deeply.
"Good night, my love," he spoke again, after sharing another kiss with her.
"Good night, my knight," she replied as she watched him leave the tent.
...
They camped near the slope that would lead them to Haven, and Jinx found a moment to finally talk to Leliana.
"What's up Red? You haven't been yourself lately."
"Oh, nothing. I simply was remembering things. Nothing important," Leliana smiled at Jinx.
"They must be important to silence you like this. Anything I can do to help?"
Leliana was deep in thought for a few minutes before she replied. Then she sighed, deciding to trust Jinx.
"Well, I haven't been entirely truthful with you. About why I came to Ferelden," she said, looking at the ground before her.
"Oh?"
"The real reason is that I was escaping, fleeing Orlais and the chevaliers."
Jinx stared at Leliana and blinked. Of all the things she had imagined that Leliana would say to her, this was not it.
"Fascinating! Tell me more!" She said sarcastically. Leliana, however, did not catch the sarcasm in her voice. She took a deep breath and told her the whole story. About how her bard master, Marjoline, had sent her on a mission to kill a man and steal some papers for her.
"They were important documents," Leliana said.
"You opened them, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. Something told me that those papers needed to be read." Leliana said sadly.
The rest of the story was about her being captured by the Orlesian chevaliers, after Marjoline had betrayed her, placing Leliana's name on the papers, and putting the blame on her. She had escaped only because Marjoline had taught her well. The thing that surprised Jinx even more was the fact that Leliana admitted to being in love with Marjoline. She didn't know that the bard could feel sexually inclined towards women. She resolved secretly never to bathe with her again.
"Thanks for trusting me with this," Jinx said when Leliana finished her tale.
"It feels good to get this off my chest," Leliana said. "Thank you for listening and understanding."
...
The following morning, Jinx decided to take Wynne, Marcus, Zevran and Leliana along with Alistair to Haven. She left the others asking them to guard the campsite zealously, asking Jowan to remain in charge.
They were stopped at the entrance of the village proper by a man dressed in heavy chainmail.
"What are you doing here? We do not allow visitors inside Haven," he growled a Jinx darkly.
Jinx bristled visibly and the rest waited for her outburst.
"Fuck off, moron. I'm here looking for Brother Genitivi," she hurled back at him.
"Who? Perhaps the Revered Father would answer to that, but he is busy ministering to the local villagers at the moment," he replied through clenched teeth.
Jinx tried a different tactic. She played dumb.
"I see. Well, I would like to explore Haven for a while," she said sweetly.
"We do not appreciate lowlanders scurrying about our village. You can trade for supplies at the local shop. Then I suggest you and your companions leave," he threatened.
Jinx shrugged nonchalantly at this.
"Did it just get a lot colder here, or is it just me?" Alistair quipped.
They followed her to a clearing with a lot of houses surrounding it. The whole place looked abandoned and was eerily silent.
Jinx tried one of the doors and found it unlocked. She walked inside, with the rest of her companions following closely. In one of the corners of the room, she saw something that disturbed her and walked quietly to it.
It was an altar, and that in itself was not uncommon. The fact that the altar showed traces of blood on its surface however, was the thing that shocked her the most.
"Used for...meal preparation, perhaps?" Alistair quipped again.
"Yeah, right," Jinx replied, gazing at the altar with disgust.
"This village is not what it seems, is it?" Wynne said quietly.
Jinx scowled and left the house. They were ambushed by a group of villagers, along with two archers.
"Ha! Quiet villagers, my arse!" She cried attacking the nearest to her. Soon they were all dead on the ground, and Jinx wiped her blades on the grass before looting the corpses. They all looked up at the next slope. More people were running towards them, but this time to attack. Jinx counted two mages and four men dressed in leathers, while two others, dressed in heavy armor let out their battle cries.
"Sweet. I love nice welcome committees. Alistair, do your thing," she pointed at the mages.
He stunned them both using holy smite and they ran into the fray parrying and thrusting their blades at the rest. Jinx made a beeline for the stunned mages. They worked as a team, and soon had succeeded in winning that battle as well.
There was another clearing, with more houses surrounding it and the village shop. Jinx strode boldly inside.
There was nobody in the shop. She looted the chests there, and winked at Marcus, calling him to the side. while the rest walked to the next room.
"Here," she said, handing him a pair of Antivan leather boots, "for Zevran. Make believe you found them, ok?" She grinned at his grateful gaze and followed the rest. They were staring at something in the corner of the room. She saw the dismembered remains of a body and grimaced. The shield lying on the floor next to it told her that this had once been one of Arl Eamon's disappearing knights.
"What the fuck is going on here?" She demanded, her breathing hitching slightly.
Nobody could find an answer to that one.
...
They ran into more groups of heavily armored men and men in leathers as they trudged up another slope. Jinx was getting angrier by the minute.
On top of the slope she could make out a Chantry building.
"Are all the villagers in the Chantry? These villagers must be an astonishingly pious bunch," Wynne remarked.
"Yeah, except for those who are now dead," Jinx replied angrily. She did not pause to think or look at anyone, but reached the Chantry doors and flung them wide open.
A man in robes was talking, and what he was saying was raising her hackles even more. She clenched her teeth and walked towards him, cutting a path through the villagers assembled and not stopping until she was standing directly in front of the man, interrupting his sermon.
"Ah," the man said, scowling briefly at her. "I heard that there were strangers in our midst. I trust you have been welcomed appropriately.
Jinx glared at him and her arm shot out, her index finger in the man's face.
"Listen you deranged whatever-you-are! I'm not playing games here. Welcome, my arse! What the fuck is going on here?"
"This is what happens when we let strangers in our midst," the man said to those there, who were already backing away. "They would take something sacred and turn it into something evil."
Jinx snorted derisively.
"Sacred my arse!" She managed out. "You have killed Arl Eamon's knights and are playing god here. I demand to know where Brother Genitivi is, you foul-mouthed monster!"
"We will not allow you to continue to defile our sacred Chantry with your presence -" the Revered Father continued, nodding to the guards present.
But Jinx had already whisked her blades out, the rest of her companions were now standing in a defensive position, while the villagers were now running wildly for the doors.
"Shut up, you freak!" Jinx cried out and slashed at his chest.
All hell broke loose. Not only were there more men there, who were attacking them, but, as Jinx discovered to her horror, three dragonlings as well.
"Not these again!" She yelled.
The battle in itself was harder, for they had to dodge the dragonlings fiery breaths while they parried and thrust. Alistair's shield was a blur again, and he was succeeding at keeping her safe, which was all that mattered to him. Jinx danced around the dragonlings and managed to kill two of the three, while Marcus and Zevran finished of the Revered Father and two guards, while Wynne healed and rejuvenated the group, shooting out arcane bolts at the other enemies when she could. Leliana fired her arrows accurately, killing one of the men who was dressed in heavy armor.
When the battle was finally over, Jinx looted the bodies. The Revered Father had a strange-looking medallion which she pocketed, and the rest had coins and various potions which she took as well. They explored the rest of the rooms and looted more things from them. Then they walked back to the main room in the Chantry.
Jinx looked around. There was something that was bothering her. She turned to her right and noticed a bricked-up door where there should have been an entrance to another room. She smiled.
Walking up to it, her long fingers traced the wall around it, until she found what she was looking for. There was an audible click and the brick door suddenly slid open.
Lying on the floor and groaning, was a middle-aged, nearly bald man. He was hurt, but showed no bloody wounds.
Jinx quickly rushed to him, and knelt before him.
"Brother Genitivi?" She whispered hopefully.
"Yes, that is my name. Thank the Maker you are not one of them!" The man exclaimed smiling at her.
"My name is Jinx. I found your research journal in Denerim." She pulled the now loosely-bound journal from her pack, the pages nearly falling from it.
The man's eyes widened when he saw it.
"What has happened to it?" He exclaimed.
Both Alistair and Marcus bit the inside of their cheeks to keep from laughing.
"Oh, an accident, they - um - didn't want me to get it, you see," Jinx lied. "You're hurt. How can we help you?"
"It's my leg," he panted.
"Wynne?"
The elder mage immediately sent out a healing spell, but the bone was completely broken.
"I can't do anything else, Jinx, I'm sorry. The leg is broken in two. I can set it, but he will have to rest for it to fully mend."
"I don't have time to rest! The Urn is just up the mountain!" Genitivi exclaimed.
"Well you aren't going anywhere like this, I'm sorry," Jinx replied frowning.
"You cannot deny him this. He has worked his entire life to see the Urn," Leliana suddenly exclaimed.
"And you would risk his life so he can see it, Red? You know very well that he isn't armored and he's hurt, so he is an easy target for whatever we'll find up there. You would put his life in danger, then? Just let me know so we can stamp a parchment on his, er, generous forehead that says, 'Easy target, come get me'" Jinx glared at the bard.
"I guess you are right," Leliana replied reluctantly. She then turned and spoke kindly to the good brother. "I'm sorry Brother, but you will have to visit the Urn once you are healed. It is better this way."
"Very well," said Genitivi sadly. "But first, I must tell you how to open the doors to the Ruined Temple on top of the mountain. That is where the urn lies. The Revered Father, he wears a medallion..."
"This medallion?" Jinx took it out of her pocket, showing it to Genitivi.
"Yes, that's it. The pendant is really a key. Let me show you how to work it."
"Thank you, Brother," Jinx said and quickly memorized how to turn the pendant into a key. Then she turned to Marcus and Zevran. "Take him down to our camp. We'll wait for you to get back. Then we'll all go into the Temple together."
They nodded and half-carried the brother out of the Chantry. Then the rest dragged the dead bodies outside, and finally sat to have a bite to eat and drink some water. It was getting dark and it was cold. Alistair helped Jinx with her bedroll and laid his next to hers. By the time Marcus and Zevran had returned and had eaten something, they were ready to call it a night.
"I just can't wait to see what's waiting for us up there," Jinx remarked sarcastically.
Alistair wrapped his arms around her, comforting her, and soon they were asleep.
...
A.N: Please read Jinx's awesome new fic if you have time:
http:/ .net/s/6744650/1/ World_Spins_Madly_On