53. Complicating Matters
Amaranthine was bigger than he expected. It was nowhere near the size of the cities in Orlais, of course, but from the size of the Fereldan villages they'd passed so far, Gabriel had to admit he hadn't been expecting the chief city of the arling to be so large. "Alright, I suppose we should go into the city, find out how far it is to the Warden base, figure out if we need to buy more food, things like that."
"Where's the tavern?" Kiv asked. "To hear if there's any gossip we should know," he protested when Gabriel shot him a dirty look. "You never know, there might be a werewolf problem, or a bandit infestation we need to be aware of before we strike out from the city."
"Good point," Gabriel conceded. "We should check that out, I suppose."
"I'll handle that," Kiv offered. "A lone elf in leather armor is more likely to hear things of interest than a troop of Wardens all in gleaming plate." He gestured at the armor the rest of them wore.
"Another good point," Gabriel admitted. "Syn, you follow and keep an eye on him."
Her lips curved in a grin. "I think I can manage that."
"The rest of us will wait in the chantry." He figured while they were there, he could talk to the Revered Mother, maybe get some information about how the Wardens were perceived in this city. Not everywhere loved them like Jader.
oOo
Jowan took an almost perverse level of enjoyment from the fact that, while he didn't suffer the slightest bit of seasickness, Zimri was not so lucky. He found himself wishing it would take more than two days to cross the channel, as the former templar was feeling too poorly to leave his cabin.
The respite from constant lectures was wonderful. And he tried to help. Zimri was proud enough he'd absolutely refused any kind of relief that carried the least hint of magic. Before he'd left the Circle, Jowan would have been surprised at the stubborn preference to suffer rather than admit the good that could come from magic. But what he'd seen, both before and after he joined with Rahna and Zevran, had shown him that pride and paranoia could make a person do the damnedest things. So he'd thrown up his hands in surrender and retreated to the main deck, muttering under his breath about the other Warden's stubbornness.
"Don't take it so hard," the first mate, Ceera, chuckled when she overheard him. "If he's too proud to accept help, it's no one's fault but his own."
Jowan snorted. "No, I'm sure he'll find some way to make it my fault once we're back on land. I've never met anyone so absolutely convinced that any and all magic is either evil or at the very least disagreeable."
She laughed at that, the wind whipping loose strands of honey blonde hair across her face. "His loss. I'd grant there's greater potential for abuse, but I'm not gonna condemn the many for the sins of a few."
"Thank you for that. Dealing with constant suspicion gets tiring after a while."
"Trust me, I know," Ceera replied dryly, tugged on the double pierced lobe of one ear. "Even if the ears don't give me away, being a half-elven sailor 'wench' doesn't exactly inspire people to trust me easily."
"I don't imagine it does," Jowan mumbled. "Doesn't bother me," he added hastily so she wouldn't get the wrong idea, "but from what I've seen, there are still plenty of people who think elves are little better than animals." She raised an eyebrow at that, so he explained, "Both of my best friends are elves."
"Ah, that does explain a lot." Ceera nodded, as if watching puzzle pieces slide into place.
"Like what?" Jowan asked, leaning against the railing.
"The fact you're actually talking to me rather than at me, for one," she replied with another chuckle. "That you might know a bit more about what elves endure than the average human. These friends of yours... they mages, too?"
"One is. The other's a rogue."
"I feel sorry for the one who is... if people won't be suspicious about the ears, they will be about the magic."
Jowan shrugged. "She's managed so far. But I know it was harder for her in the Circle than it was for me. Sharing the burden, gift, curse, whatever you want to call it, of magic doesn't erase other differences like some think."
"She, huh?" Ceera grinned.
Jowan shook his head. "Just friends. She's like a sister to me. And she's head over heels for a warrior she met during the Blight."
"What about this rogue friend of yours?"
"What about her?" He didn't know why he felt so defensive all of a sudden, and that bothered him.
Ceera's grin widened. "Is she head over heels for someone?"
"She's still nursing a broken heart from losing the love of her life," he deflected. "What's with all the questions, anyway? You interrogate all the passengers like this?"
"Just the ones who seem like they have somethin' interesting to talk about," she riposted. "And I figured a mage Warden who prefers regular clothes to robes and has as many scars as you do hasta be interesting."
Jowan fought down the urge to shove down his sleeves. He'd forgotten he'd rolled them up, leaving the evidence of what he was in plain view all over his arms. But he was tired of hiding, and Ceera seemed remarkably unjudgmental. "Well, thank you for that. But I should probably let you get back to work, shouldn't I?"
She nodded, her teal eyes twinkling. "Aye, y'probably should. The wind's picking up, and I'll be needing to bark orders soon."
oOo
Kiv was only in the tavern a half hour before he and Syn joined the others in the chantry, smelling every so slightly of ale, but not acting the least bit tipsy. "We need to head for Vigil's Keep, about three or four days steady walking along the Pilgrim's Path, if you wanna visit your friends. The barkeep says that's where the Wardens are stationed. And said Wardens have already killed just about every potential threat in the area, so aside from darkspawn, the roads are perfectly safe to travel."
Gabriel chuckled as he pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "Considering Rahna's in charge, I can't say I'm surprised. The Revered Mother was also full of only praise for Wardens. For all her worries, I think Rahna's managing the role of commander just fine."
"Well, what're we waiting for?" Syn asked, adjusting her ponytail and rolling her shoulders. "This armor's sodding heavy."
"Do we have time for this?" Aimon spoke up. "I know you have friends you wish to visit, Gabriel, but round trip we're talking an extra week to get us on a ship for Kaiten, and aren't we needed there?"
"He has a point," Stroud agreed. "We were told to go to the Free Marches. Do you not think it would be better to follow our orders?"
"Normally I would agree with you," Gabriel replied. "But the Revered Mother told me there are whispers and worries that the darkspawn are getting more bold here. We should at least offer assistance to our fellow Wardens, no? If they do not need us, then we will resume our journey for Kaiten."
The others all nodded assent, and they were off.
oOo
They docked in Amaranthine with no trouble, and Jowan found himself once again forced into Zimri's company. Upon inquiry, the harbormaster told them how to get to Vigil's Keep, and they started through the city. Zimri was unusually quiet, still recovering from his seasickness.
Jowan couldn't help but chuckle as he mentally compared the sturdy stone buildings that made up Amaranthine to the grand, soaring manors that lined the streets of Kaiten. "Fereldan to the bone," he muttered to himself, feeling far more comfortable here than he had there.
"What was that, mage?" Zimri demanded.
"Nothing. Just thinking about how I'm more at home here than I ever was amidst all that grand Orlesian architecture in Kaiten. Come on, according to the harbormaster, it's a few days' journey out to the Vigil."
Zimri fell in step with the mage, muttering under his breath about uncouth Fereldans and their lack of appreciation for fine things, nearly knocking over a scrawny boy who stumbled into his path. The boy shook his head dazedly and darted off. He'd barely taken two steps before Zimri clapped a hand to his belt and swore in Orlesian. "Que les petit voleur!" Any trace of residual unsteadiness vanished as the warrior pursued the pickpocket.
Jowan swallowed a laugh and rolled his eyes as he followed. Maybe the days in company with the former templar had made him paranoid, or maybe it was just the cynicism he'd picked up after escaping the Circle, but he wasn't entirely sure Zimri wouldn't accuse him of something if they got separated.
Fortunately for the two of them, the pickpocket didn't get far before he ran smack into an armor-clad elf. A very familiar, redheaded, armor-clad elf.
oOo
Gabriel was fairly certain his own expression was a mirror of the blatant surprise on the mage's face as he blinked at Jowan, only managing to grab the pickpocket's arm by sheer luck. "What're you doing here?"
"It's good to see you, too," Jowan replied dryly.
Gabriel cursed himself for an idiot. "No, that's not what I meant." He tightened his grip on the thief's arm as the boy try to squirm free. "I thought you were in the Free Marches, no?" A wild, crazy though sprang to mind. "Did Miri-"
"No," Jowan shook his head before the elf had even finished speaking. "She's still in Kaiten." Gabriel pointedly ignored the small chuckle Kiv emitted at that. "The commander refused to let both of us come, and since Miri's the better mage, and I know Rahna better, we figured I should come and she should stay." He frowned in confusion. "Not to sound rude, but what're you doing here?"
"Apparently the First Warden wants a stronger presence in the Free Marches," Gabriel explained, relinquishing his grasp on the pickpocket as the dark-haired warrior accompanying Jowan grabbed the boy's other arm. "We were on our way there, and I figured we could stop by the Warden base here so I-" Syn cleared her throat. "Sorry, so we could visit some old friends. But if we're all going to same place, let's get underway and we can handle introductions as we walk, no?"
And they did, trading introductions before Gabriel thought to ask what brought Jowan and Zimri to Amaranthine.
oOo
It was a struggle to not feel the bite of the panic that still squirmed in his chest as Jowan explained to Gabriel what he and the others had heard and seen in the Deep Roads below Kaiten. From the look the elven warrior gave him, Jowan had a feeling he wasn't entirely successful at hiding it, either.
"So, there are darkspawn tunneling into Ferelden from the Marches? What could be so urgent they do not just follow them around under Nevarra and Orlais?" Gabriel frowned. "I don't like this."
Jowan snorted. "Neither do I. Why d'you think I'm here?"
"Point," Gabriel conceded, raking his fingers through his hair. "Though I'm sure part of it was wanting to see Rahna."
Jowan shrugged. "I'm not going to deny that, if that's what you're expecting. She's one of the only friends I have, and I miss 're the one detouring completely out of your way to visit."
"Another point," Gabriel laughed. "But I'm visiting two friends, and the Warden who recruited Syn is here as well. It is well worth the detour, no?"
"I'm not arguing with that," Jowan smiled, tugging on his ponytail. "Considering what I've been putting up with and considering worth it to get to visit Rahna. Zimri's a former templar who thinks all magic is evil," he explained when Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"Ah. Well, never fear, my friend. I am quite sure he will learn to keep those objections to himself around Rahna, no?"
Jowan smirked. "Oh, she'll make sure he does. And Maker forgive me, I hope I'm there to see it."
oOo
It was the second day of their journey to the keep that things soured. The weather turned first cloudy, than rainy, quickly rendering all of them soaked. Things were further complicated when they stumbled, quite by accident, upon scavengers picking clean the remnants of a crashed supply ship, her crew long-since gone. Whether rescued or dead, Gabriel didn't know, but he wasn't inclined to let scum like this profit.
In hindsight, he should probably have consulted with the others-the shared look with Kiv before the rogue melted into the gloom didn't count-before charging in as he did. He heard Aimon and the new warrior, Zimri, curse as they followed him. Not everyone enjoys fighting in the rain, Gabriel, you idiot, he chastised himself as he ducked under the lead scavenger's blade, distracting the man long enough for Kiv to plant a dagger in his ribs before the two of them turned to help with the rest of the gang.
To complicate matters even further, Gabriel belatedly realized this gang had a mage. It wasn't quite the problem it would normally have been; they had Jowan, after all, but it was still an annoyance. Stroud and Aimon's armor iced over, slowing their movements, and the mage took advantage of the one moment Kiv wasn't enveloped in shadow to paralyze the rogue. It was when he tried to catch Syn with a matching spell that things swung in their favor.
While it slowed her down a bit, her inbred resistance to magic kept the spell from having its full effect, and the dwarf was soon close enough that the swing of her sword nearly cut the mage in two at the waist. While she handled the mage, Gabriel, Zimri, and Jowan finished off the last few. The spells hampering the others faded, and they took the time to clean their weapons and catch their breath before pressing on.
oOo
The best part about traveling with the larger group was that Zimri apparently didn't feel a need to monologue about the dangers of magic when there were others present. It made the last day of the journey to the Vigil much more bearable. In fact, aside from a small comment muttered under his breath about Jowan's use of magic against the scavengers-which everyone else dismissed as petty and foolish-the warrior hadn't talked much at all.
"How did you stand traveling alone with him?" Syn asked in a low tone as they broke camp what would hopefully be the last day of travel. "Listening to him make me want to rip my hair out."
"Honestly? Knowing I'd get to see one of my best friends at the end of the road helped more than anything else." Jowan shrugged. "And I didn't just take it when he pressed too far."
Syn snorted. "She must mean an awful lot to you, if you're willing to endure that for her."
"She does," Jowan admitted. "Not in any romantic sense, but..." he sighed. "If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be dead by now. I owe her a lot, and warning her about what the darkspawn are doing is the least I can do."
The explanation seemed to satisfy the dwarf, and it was true, every word of it.
But that didn't explain the tight anticipation that settled in his gut when they came within sight of the Warden fortress.
A/N: And so Gabriel and Jowan monopolize my attention for another week. Next chapter's gonna be from Rahna's point of view; I wouldn't miss writing this reunion from her side for the world. I realized a couple paragraphs into the last chapter that I haven't had Rahna handle the salvage operation quest, and since she's about to be too busy to worry about petty scavengers, I tweaked the location of the cove to be betweeen Amaranthine City and the Vigil and had these guys handle it. :) I must admit, heaping abuse on Zimri is unbelievably fun. :) Oh, man, I'm looking forward to writing the rest of this story...
Oh, yeah... Que les petit voleur=That little thief
