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Chapter 51 - Not Exactly a City-State
Wycome was large, but totally different from Kirkwall in many aspects. The group made their way around the docks, and found themselves facing a branch of the river on one side, with a stone bridge that led to one of the entrances to the city proper. There was another river branch on the western side of the docks as well, for Wycome was almost in the center of the delta of the Minanter River. This meant that most of the houses surrounding the city were farmhouses, or stately manors built around fertile land. In short, the people in the city lived from what the lands produced.
The city itself was not ruled by a Viscount, but by a Teyrn. As most of the people were landowners, food wasn't scarce in Wycome and it was cheaper by default. The city reminded Faith of the city of Denerim, though there were cobbled streets and alleys, instead of the dirt and mud found in the capital of Ferelden. The residents of Wycome were mostly dark-skinned. Isabela remarked that it was possibly due to the proximity of Antiva; but the fact that the city had a warm climate and plenty of sunshine, even in winter, was probably another reason for this as well.
There was also a Chantry and a small circle in Wycome as most of the mages were readily sent off to the larger circle tower in Ostwick. Consequently, there were far more templars than the handful of mages that resided in the circle, something that Faith picked up even before they knew the reason why. More templars than mages was dangerous: It meant that the templars had too much time on their hands.
Before they had ventured into the Docks, the group had dressed in whatever seemed normal enough for a city. Suitable disguises were kind of difficult to get when most of their things had been lost in the shipwreck, but they managed to salvage a couple of common dresses for Merrill and Rilka. Faith had been wearing her leather jerkin during the storm - her Champion armor now lay in the bottom of the ocean somewhere.
Merrill changed into the other dress they had found, and anyone who laid eyes on her could mistake her for an elven servant. Hawke even asked her to walk beside Orana. Varric was probably the one who could call the most attention to himself, though truth be told, there were also a great number of dwarves in the center of the city, but not as much as in Kirkwall. Fenris could pass as a bodyguard. Not only did he look the part, it was what he had been before when he was a slave living in Tevinter. Anders looked like any hired sword beside Faith - problem being, he did not have a sword, so Faith gave him a pair of daggers retrieved from the debris also. Anders muttered his complaints under his breath and strapped them on his back, a look of dismay on his face until Faith whispered something in his ear. From that moment on, he kept a wooden smile on his face.
The people in the docks were used to people coming in on ships. On this particular day, however, they were busy cleaning up the debris caused by the storm and many were considering on hiring a boat to row to where the recent shipwreck was. When Faith heard this, she immediately grew concerned. Without waiting to discuss it with her companions, she managed to get to a place where boats were rented by the hour and paid for a boat to row to the place where Isabela's ship was. If there was anything to salvage there, she wanted to make sure that she got to it first.
Thus, right after they had arrived at the docks, they found themselves on the ocean again. The group started to protest as soon as they found themselves rowing towards the wreck.
"Why are we doing this again?" Anders sighed.
"If we don't get our hands on our things first, we risk the chance of people finding out who we really are," Faith replied, a somber look on her face.
"I think it's just that you've fallen in love with the ocean. You have Isabela Fever!" Varric exclaimed. Isabela scowled at Varric at these words but said nothing.
The rowboat was large enough to seat them all, and since Anders, Varric, Fenris, Isabela, Rilka and Faith were all rowing, they arrived at the wreck very soon.
"I can dive and take a look around," Isabela sang out as they gazed into the black hole at the side of the ship.
"I can too, but it's dark," Anders murmured, fear in his eyes for a few moments.
"What's with your fear of darkness, Blondie?" Varric questioned Anders. Anders felt himself stiffen and his lips formed a thin line.
"Not now, Varric," Faith spoke up, understanding Anders's reluctance to share the answer to that question with the rest. "He's had a bad experience in the past. Drop it."
Varric mumbled a quick apology and Isabela took off her necklace and earrings, handing them over to Hawke.
"I won't be long," she said cheerfully. She then stood on the boat and dove into the water.
They stared into the water, catching glimpses of Isabela here and there as she swam around. After a few minutes, she resurfaced, taking a deep breath of air. "There's a dry spot in the hold, but the rest of the ship is underwater. I'm going in. I'll probably be some time in there."
"Be careful," Faith called out. Isabela waved and after taking a deep breath dove in again.
She was gone for a short while. When she resurfaced, Faith extended a hand. She had two staves in her right hand, and as soon as Faith took them, Merrill and Rilka clapped their hands.
"We're going to have to hide these in the same place Anders hid his staff," Faith said resolutely. Merrill and Rilka's faces fell, but they nodded sadly to this.
"I retrieved another coin purse from a chest in what's left of your room, Hawke. Here," Isabela handed her the pouch.
"Outstanding. That would be the last of the coin I brought with me," Faith said happily.
"You already have two coin purses with you," Anders mused. "How much money do you have exactly, love?"
"Counting this coin purse? About six hundred gold," Faith replied proudly.
Everyone's mouths fell open. "What?" Faith said. "I saved a lot and we...um...acquired a lot of money when we were in Count Prosper's Chateau. Or have you forgotten we stole nearly everything from the vault?"
"We've enough coin to buy a house in Antiva and Rivain, then," Anders murmured, his eyes wide with shock.
"And one in Tevinter and Ferelden if you'd like," Faith grinned. "We'd still have a lot of left over money too. But I intend to make more. There must be lots of jobs here in Wycome."
Anders rolled his eyes. Fenris shrugged and helped Isabela onto the boat. "Anything else worth salvaging?"
"No, the rest is just lots of papers and some journals. Useless now that they are wet, I imagine."
"I can dry them using magic. You should retrieve them if you can, Isabela," Anders commented.
"Anders is right. I don't want them falling into anyone else's hands. Could you get them?"Faith chimed in.
Isabela rolled her eyes. "All right! All right!" She dove into the water, taking a little longer to reappear this time around. When she finally did, she handed Faith two leather-bound journals stuffed with parchments.
"Ah," Anders said happily. "This one is mine. This one's yours, love." He handed Faith the other one. His fingers wiggled and the journals and papers inside were instantly dried.
"Happy now?" Isabela snapped.
"Yes, of course. Though...you didn't happen to see my robes down there, did you?" Anders asked wistfully.
"No! I didn't!" Isabela exclaimed, her eyes flashing.
"All right, all right! No need to get so worked up about it!" Anders replied, holding up his hands defensively.
They helped Isabela back on the boat and rowed back to the docks.
"Let's look for a place to eat and stay the night," Faith said, gazing around.
...
The only decent inn in the docks had a funny name. At least that's what Isabela said. Standing outside 'The Lying Shrew' they all had to agree.
"I'm guessing we're going to get a glimpse of the worse of the city around here. The docks isn't a place for nobles to mingle in," Rilka said thoughtfully.
"All the better. I've seen no templars around. I imagine they can be found in the better parts of the city," Faith commented.
The inn looked a bit like the Hanged Man, with more tattered curtains. Faith made her way to the counter, where a dark-haired, middle-aged woman dressed in a simple skirt and white tunic stood. She eyed them curiously, a scowl on her face.
"You folks come in cause of the storm?" The woman asked, her cold brown eyes regarding them suspiciously.
"Yes. We were shipwrecked last night. We'd like rooms and good food and drink," Faith replied sweetly, clanking a couple of gold sovereigns on the counter top.
The woman's expression changed so fast, Faith blinked as she took a step back. She now had a grin on her face and her eyes twinkled warmly at them.
"Aye. I got rooms. And the food is freshly cooked and good. Me and my sister are the best cooks around here," she puffed her chest out a little, proudly breathing in. All the men in the group fixed their eyes on her voluminous breasts straining against her tunic and Faith elbowed Anders angrily before she continued speaking.
"Ow!" Anders complained, but was totally ignored by everyone except for Fenris who looked like he was about to burst out laughing.
"We'd like big rooms. Double if possible. And if you have bathtubs in them, all the better," Faith continued to speak in a sweet voice, a smile gracing her face. "We're very hungry, so we'd like a meal after we bathe."
"Certainly, Messere. Though only three of the rooms have baths in them," the woman continued smiling.
"That's fine. We'll manage," Faith nodded.
"I'll show you to your rooms. Come with me," the woman said, walking towards a wooden ladder in the back.
...
They spent some time in Wycome, taking a couple of mercenary jobs to pay for their rooms and food. Anders had never been to the center of the city, but Justice had become more and more insistent on helping the mages there. When Anders had assured him that there were only around five or six mages in the city, he quieted down, giving Anders temporary relief from the nagging urge to break into the circle and release the mages.
Faith saw his inner struggles and watched him closely, her lips in a thin line. She had been teaching him how to use the daggers, something he found extremely interesting. As it turned out, the innkeeper had grown to like them all which meant that they were given a space to practice behind the inn. The space there was like a small courtyard that was walled off from the rest of the docks and was private enough to keep them hidden from prying eyes.
They tried to buy another ship, but the one that was being built at the moment would take too long to complete. Faith feared that the longer they stayed in Wycome, the greater chance there was of them being discovered. What made matters worse was that Anders had used healing magic during their latest mercenary job. This, they knew, marked the beginning of the end of their time in Wycome.
"I think we'll just have to secure passage on a ship heading for Llomerryn. Once we arrive there, we can see if we can buy a ship later," Faith said quietly to her companions as they ate their evening meal in Faith and Anders's room.
"I still don't understand why he didn't control himself! It was a flesh wound, and he could have done the healing when we were back here, safe from prying eyes!" Fenris growled, his eyes glaring at Anders.
"Yes, I'm sure you would have appreciated all the loss of blood until we made it back here," Anders snapped. "It was not a flesh wound! But what do I know? I'm only a healer, with no experience in wounds, right?"
Fenris scowled at Anders, and Faith held up her hand. "I'd like you both to drop it!"
Both of them immediately fell silent, but continued to glare at each other.
"So, are we leaving soon?" Varric asked, keeping his eyes on Faith and ignoring Fenris and Anders.
"I'd like to leave soon, yes. I'll see to securing passage aboard a ship tomorrow morning. Isabela, would you come with me? You know your way around ships, and can tell if they are sturdy enough and other important things about ships, right?"
Isabela chuckled. "Oh, I'll get us passage on board the best ship in these waters, Kitten. Make no mistake."
"Good, then that's settled. Anyone want anything else? I'm getting another bottle of wine and second helpings of food for myself and Anders."
Fenris asked for more food, as did Varric, so Faith stood up and opened the door to go downstairs and speak to the innkeeper.
Anders remained seated, his eyes gazing at the floor, his thoughts a million miles away.
"I could have asked the innkeeper for the food and wine," Orana spoke up in a sad voice.
"Don't worry about it, Orana. She knows. She just needs to - do something," Merrill replied, patting her hand.
Orana gave Merrill a tremulous smile and sighed.
Faith reappeared, sitting on the chair next to Anders. "Food and wine will be here shortly."
"Llomerryn is where the Raiders operate," Fenris scowled.
"I know that, Fenris," Faith replied calmly, drinking the last of her wine.
"We would be living in a land where crime is abundant. Where slavery is common," he sneered. "I wonder if you hit your head sometime in Kirkwall before we left, Hawke?"
"Shut it, Broody. Hawke knows what she's doing," Anders snapped at him.
Fenris's eyes narrowed. "We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you!"
Rilka's hand shot out, as she grasped Fenris's arm, while Faith mirrored her movement at the opposite side of the table. Both men glared at each other, but did not speak again.
The innkeeper and her sister appeared at the door, carrying another bottle of wine and second helpings of food. She smiled affectionately at Faith as she handed out steaming plates of roasted chicken and vegetables and freshly baked bread.
Faith thanked her and they left, closing the door behind them.
"Listen, you two," Faith began, and the rest could plainly see she was fighting to control her temper. "This is not going to fix anything. If you two continue to bicker, then we'll be forced to separate. Is this what you both want?"
"I don't want to go anywhere else! I want to be with all of you! Besides, there is safety in numbers," Rilka cried out, turning a disapproving glance on Fenris.
"I'll stop if he does," Anders said quietly, keeping his eyes on the floor.
Fenris scowled but agreed to try to control himself better and Varric laughed out loud at this.
"Sorry, but it's funny. I don't think you two will ever stop bickering at each other. It makes this trip interesting, if anything else," he smiled widely.
They heard some yelling in the inn downstairs, and Faith opened the door a crack. She couldn't quite catch the voices, but she caught the word 'apostate' and froze. Turning to the rest of her companions she motioned at them to be completely silent, then slid out of the door, vanishing from sight.
Everyone sat there in absolute silence until she returned.
"Looks like we're going to have to make a run for it. To the caves we discovered when we were shipwrecked. There are two templars downstairs who are going to search the entire inn for fugitive apostates. Apparently, two mages from the circle here have escaped."
"Shit," Anders hissed.
"The templars will pick us out as mages if they find us, Cousin. They can sense magic," Rilka said nervously.
"The three of you will need to get out through the window and jump to the tree next to it, then make your way to the caves. We'll follow later. Go!"
Anders only paused to give Faith a quick kiss, then hurried out the window, with Merrill and Rilka close behind him. A few moments later, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Templar business! Open up!" A loud, voice called out.
Faith waited to see if Anders, Rilka and Merrill were gone. She peered out into the darkness, but could see nothing. A few moments later, she saw three figures hurrying away, towards the direction of the beach.
"I said, open up! Now!" The voice now sounded annoyed.
She turned round, walked calmly to the door, and opened it.
"Yes? We're kind of in the middle of dinner, here," she said angrily.
"Step away from the door, Serah. Two mages have escaped the circle. We were given instructions to search the docks."
"Mages? There are no mages here, Ser Templar," Faith giggled as she swung the door open.
The two templars moved around, looking everywhere, but they found nothing. The one that had spoken turned to Faith. "I am sorry to have interrupted your meal, Serah."
"What do they look like?" Faith asked in a matter-of-fact voice. "Maybe we can be on the lookout for them and capture them for you?"
The templar stiffened. "This is a templar matter. I assure you that the order is perfectly capable of taking care of this without any outside help."
"If you say so," Faith shrugged. The templar turned heel and barked at the other templar to follow him. They left the room and Faith closed the door behind them.
"We'll have to wait for them to leave the inn. Unless you all want to escape through the window?"
"I don't fancy heights," Varric replied. "Let's just wait for a few minutes."
"We cannot wait! What if they capture them?" Fenris said, standing up and clenching his fists. "We must move quickly."
"Let's collect our things, then leave," Faith agreed.
"I'll go on ahead, I have my things right here with me. Always prepared," Isabela flashed Faith a smile.
"See if you can secure passage aboard a ship at the docks, Isabela. Then meet us in the cave," Faith said handing her some coin. Then, she quickly started gathering her things and putting them in her pack. "The sooner we leave Wycome, the better."
...
