55. Shadows
The ferry ride is uneventful, and the river's even calm enough it doesn't set off my seasickness, which is a blessing.
We aren't even all the way on solid ground before I'm informing Aenya she's the boss now. She knows the city better, knows what we're looking for, where to start, the best places to stay; it just makes sense. Now we just have to keep her from having another "paranoia overload", as Sigrun calls them. Ansburg is only a few hours from the banks of the river; near enough to benefit mightily from the trade, far enough they don't have to worry about flooding during the rainy seasons. She should be okay until we get there, at least. And I'm hoping once we do get there, having something to focus on will help. I know having something to do in situations like this; being part of the rescue, figuring things out, does wonders diminishing the feeling of helplessness.
So we all follow her lead without complaint, straight to an inn that looks like it caters more to the underbelly of the population than well-off merchants or travelers. Part of me wonders if this isn't exactly the sort of place the Crows would expect us to stay, and shouldn't we be somewhere else? But I bite my tongue and go with it. We make brief detour to our room, neatly storing our packs under one of the beds, before the redheaded dwarf leads us back out to the city proper.
She makes straight for an alley, half a mile or so from where we're staying. When she stops in the mouth of the alleyway, staring at the walls and crates and other debris like they belong to some awful dream, that's when I figure it out.
"This is where they ambushed you, isn't it?" I ask quietly
She nods, hand pressing briefly against her side. "It's rained since then. The... bloodstains are gone." She walks the narrow alley deliberately, reconstructing that night in her head. "When he distracted them, I went... this way..." Aenya reaches the end of the alley and turns to her right, walking up the rutted side street even more slowly. She finds the other alley, the one she must've hidden in; a skinny little slit between buildings-Jowan's shoulders brush the walls as we follow the dwarf to what was her hiding place that night. She kicks aside a rotting crate and stares at the scuff marks and blood splatters in the dirt underneath. Swallows hard.
"Rahna, I need to tell you something. Something I should probably have told you before we even left Amaranthine."
"Okay..." I draw out the word cautiously. "Don't tell you're working for the Crows and now's the moment you double cross us."
"Sod, no!" she protests. "Zev would kill me! I just... there's part I didn't tell you."
"Do tell." Sigrun crosses her arms, look in her eyes that begs for this to not deteriorate into something that would make her choose between friends.
"One of the Crows found me. After I'd hidden here. Tall man, kinda skinny. He put a dagger to my throat an' said if I valued Zev's life at all, I'd make sure you came with me. He was very insistent on that." A sigh escapes, her fingers tracing a scar on her arm. "I'd already started thinkin' about it, which they were prob'ly countin' on. I shoulda told ya, I was just... scared you-you wouldn't come if you knew for a fact there was a trap waiting for ya."
"So you left out getting threatened and the fact we're for-sure walking into what's meant to be a trap," I summarize.
She nods. "He warned me not to tell you, but I was goin' to anyway, on the boat over. But then you were so sick the whole time... and I couldn't figure how t' broach the subject once we were in the Marches. I know now that you wouldn'ta been afraid to knowingly walk into a trap if you could save him, but I didn't then. I was scared to death you woulda delayed, or even... maybe... not come at all."
"I'd never abandon one of my friends like that!" I protest, mildly insulted.
"Keep in mind, I'd only met you once, Rahna," Aenya points out. "Had all of two conversations with you. I knew you were really good friends with Zev and where to find you, and that's about it. Forgive me for playin' it safe when his life was on the line!"
Once again, she has a point. I concede with a reluctant nod, remembering another secret I learned later than I maybe should've. Listen, can we talk for a moment...? "Okay, yes, I see what you mean. But that's it, right? You're not hiding any other deep, dark secrets I need to know, are you?"
She shakes her head. "Unless you're interested in some of the stuff Zev and I do when we're, um, alone."
"No, thank you." I instinctively move to cover my ears. Between the, ah, tips, that elf passed on to Alistair and things he mentioned or hinted at to me, I don't really need much more help filling in the blanks as it is.
"So... we good?" Aenya presses, anxiously scanning the rooftops. "'Cause I can't shake the feelin' we're bein' watched."
Now that she's mentioned it, I do feel the creepy-crawly tingle along my spine that means someone's watching me. "I think you're right. Maybe we should get outta here."
"Good idea," Jowan and Sig agree in unison.
"We prob'ly shouldn't go straight back to the room," the Legionnaire adds. "In case they follow. If they just want you dead and they found us here, what's to stop them from poisonin' our food or somethin'? What little I've heard about the Crows, they don't really seem to mind collateral damage, so long as they get their target."
She's right. An idea occurs to me. It's a risk, a gamble-big time-but then, so is this whole trip. "Didn't I see a bazaar set up on our way over?"
"Probably," Aenya shrugs. "They're more common the closer you get to Antiva and Rivain. Why?"
I grin at her. "Let's go shopping."
oOo
While I recognize the danger that any one-or a dozen-of the shoppers or merchants who surround us could be working for the Crows, the crowded streets also mean we get swallowed up. I know from experience how hard it is to track a target through crowds like this without making a mistake. Of course, I was always looking to pickpocket, never kill, but the strategies for tailing your mark are very similar.
So we each keep one eye open as we browse. I smile to myself as I watch Sigrun finger various shiny things; from jewelry to daggers to statuettes, and reluctantly put all of them down.
"You know, we can afford to buy some things if you really want them," I remind her in an undertone. "I brought enough money we can splurge a bit."
She picks up a small knife, veridium blade polished 'til it shines enough to rival the trio of sapphires set in the grip. "Just a bit?"
"Just a bit," I nod, chuckling as she debates the knife and a necklace-teardrop shaped amethyst hanging from a narrow yet sturdy chain. "Get 'em both. We can swing it."
Her eyes light up. "Thanks, boss! You should get yourself somethin' nice too. Like... ooohhh, these!" She snatches a pair of earrings off a nearby table and plunks them in my hand. They're small gold hoops, about the same size as the ones Anders gave me, but these have a narrow jade bead slipped on, and one is joined by a delicate gold chain to a small, intricate ear cuff, meant to be clipped higher up on the ear.
Because me drawing more attention to my ears can only be a good thing. I don't realize I've voiced the sarcasm-tinged comment until Sigrun replies to it.
"Eh, they don't seem to care as much about that here, boss." She gestures to the stalls, some of which are run by elves. "And to be honest, the ears aren't the only thing that give you away."
I raise one eyebrow in a silent question.
"Even if you keep 'em covered, you still make for the skinniest, shortest, most underfed human I've seen in my life," she explains.
I smack Jowan's arm when I hear him strangle off a laugh at the no-nonsense description. "What, you think there aren't any underfed humans in existence? You shoulda seen him when he joined up with me an' Zev." Another poke at the mage. "Don't think he'd had a proper meal in weeks."
"Sadly, she's not exaggerating," Jowan concurs, grin teasing the corners of his mouth. "For once."
I point at him with the hand not holding the earrings. "You, ser, are just begging to be tickled without mercy the next time I need to wake you up."
"I'm terrified," he deadpans, looking exactly the opposite as he steps closer and kisses the top of my head. "Buy your earrings. You deserve something nice." He walks away before I can reply.
Sigrun bursts out laughing. "You're gonna make him pay for that, aren't you?"
"The kiss, no. The comment? Sod, yes," I grin as I scan for the merchant so I can pay for things. "He knows I make good on my threats. He should be terrified."
"I'm torn between wanting to watch this and wanting to be far away," she chuckles. "It could be entertaining, but if you're gonna move from tickling to, um, more lovey dovey stuff... That I don't wanna watch."
"Don't worry, the farthest it would go would be another mind-melting kiss," I smirk.
"Really? You can guarantee you two wouldn't, y'know... go all the way?" She doesn't look like she believes it.
Maker, am I glad Jowan walked away. He'd be pure crimson by now. "Not with an audience, we wouldn't. Why, you want us to do it with you right across the room?"
"Ewww. Stone, no!" He nose wrinkles in a comical expression of disgust. "That sorta thing is your business, Commander. I don't wanna know."
I chuckle. "Hey, you started it, Sig."
"Next time remind me to keep my mouth shut," she groans. "Now I have all these mental images that won't go away."
"You keepin' your mouth shut would take some kinda miracle, salroka," Aenya ribs as she walks past. "Whatever mental images you have now, ya prob'ly deserve 'em."
"Alright, can we please change the topic?" I beg, not entirely comfortable with where this conversation might head. "Where's the blasted merchant?" It's plain stupid to leave your wares so unattended, especially in a place like this.
"Right here, kind lady. One thousand apologies for the delay." The voice belongs to an older man, likely Rivaini from the triple-pierced ear and nose ring, likely a veteran of places like this from his ages and the shrewd gleam in his dark eyes. "A noble of Starkhaven claims I charge too much for my Orlesian silks, yes? I must convince her it is not so. Alberto de Vichi is an honest man." He manages to look both wounded at her mistrust and hopeful I intend to make a purchase at the same time.
"I'm sure you are," I reply, a nicety I only half believe. The number of entirely honest merchant in any given country can probably be counted on one hand. "I'd like to buy these, if I might."
"But of course," de Vichi smiles ingratiatingly. "The earrings are a sovereign, and the knife fifty silver."
"What about this?" Sigrun holds up the necklace.
"Forty silver with the chain, twenty if you only buy the pendant."
"Well, in that case..." the Legionnaire unclasps the chain, slides the amethyst free, and lays the chain back on the table. "Just the pendant is fine."
"You sure?" I ask, and she nods. I hand over the money as Sigrun adds the pendant to the cord bearing her Warden's Oath.
As de Vichi clinks the coins and bows before walking away, I raise an eyebrow at Sigrun. "Think we've lost our tails?"
"I dunno, boss, I still have that creepy feeling on the back of my neck." She grins impishly, sliding her new knife down inside her boot. "I think we should keep shopping. There's an armor merchant a few booths over. I know your old set's taken a few beatings..."
I laugh at the hint in her voice. "Alright, alright. Take me to him." I tuck the new earrings in my belt pouch as she drags me through the crowd. "You go too far, we're gonna lose Jowan and Aenya."
"They know where we're stayin'," she ripostes cheerily. "Worst case, they catch up with us there."
"But you know Jowan," I remind her. "He can't find us, he'll assume we got kidnapped or something."
"Your boyfriend worries too much," she giggles.
"I know," I snort. "I've been tryin' to work on that for two bloody years. I don't think it's goin' away. Jowan will always be a worrywart."
"Sort of like you'll always be lousy with maps and directions?" the mage chimes in, materializing out of the crowd.
I glare at him but can't hold it for long. "Yes. Sort of like that. Where's Aenya?"
He shrugs. "Gave me a significant look and said she was going hunting. Whatever poor sod's been following us is about to be in a lot of trouble, I think."
"Now, that, I would pay to see," Sigrun chuckles. "But for now, let's be bait."
oOo
We reach the armor merchant's tent, and while Sigrun looks at the various sets of lighter plate, I'm captivated by a set of black leather and shining silver chain. Oddly enough, it even looks sized for an elven woman.
"You have an excellent eye for quality, my lady," a man I assume is the merchant comments smoothly as he joins us. "This was made for a follower of the legendary Black Fox. Am I correct in assuming you know the story?"
I nod. "Stories are among the better ways to pass the time. I imagine something with that sort of history comes at a high price?"
"Only if fifteen sovereigns seems high for the best set of armor you'll own in your lifetime," he counters.
I make a face, wanting the armor but knowing his price is indeed high. "Money's tight. Anyway I can talk you down to ten?"
He shakes his head sadly. "Alas, twelve would be the lowest I could go."
I trace a finger over the flaming sword stamped into one of the armguards and sigh reluctantly. "It's a stretch, but if that's the lowest you can go..." When he doesn't jump in with a concession to the ten I offered, I know he's serious. I hand over the money and collect the armor.
We bump into Aenya as we leave. "There you are!" she exclaims, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the outskirts of the bazaar. "It's safe to go back to the room now. Our shadow is, um, indisposed."
"Do I wanna know?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Nope. Trust me, you don't." She leads the way briskly away from the crowds.
My eyebrow arches higher, but we all follow her without question.
She knows this game far, far better than us. And we're due a strategic withdrawal to plan our method of attack, anyway.
My worries that there may have been a second shadow are allayed by the lack of the tingling feeling that we're being watched. But you can't be too careful, right?
A/N: Is it bad that I wanted to put a 'wait for it' in the middle when the merchant says 'legendary'? BARNEY. NO. Get outta my head. And the armor Rahna just bought is the Armor of the Black Fox mod, which is available on the DA nexus. :) It's one of my favorites, but I didn't get the mod until Rahna was all finished. So I'm giving it to her now, because she will look badass in it.
