Chapter Six
Mercy and Wolves
We were walking through Lowtown; the sun had set and we were in the same group we had been in that morning; Varric, Fenris, Anders, Hawke and myself.
That is of course, when we heard Sister Petrice… "I need someone native to the dark places beneath Lowtown; if you claim as much, yes I will pay."
I groaned as it caught Hawkes attention. Fenris looked at me and I shrugged.
Petrice was younger than I expected; late 20's to early 30's… unless she was a blood mage – which she wasn't – she couldn't be any older than that. Her hair suggested otherwise; a natural white and grey mix that was short; cropped below the ears, like Avelines. Her eyes were squinted and I could see crows-feet beside them, but it was obvious that they were not from age… the coloring of her eyes was a light green and blue mix… as in, one of each; she had Heterochromia, and I was kind of jealous – I'd always liked that look.
"I am, I am; let's just step into this alley and me and my fellows can have a look at this money on offer…" the thug was not a red-head like in the game… in fact, he had brown hair.
"She has chosen poorly…" Fenris said simply.
Varric sighed, "Another sad Lowtown tale in the making; as if we need another…"
"It does appear she could use the help… especially now…" Hawke looked to me and I shrugged. "Is that sister daft? She'll be done over and thrown out," Anders groaned. I knew he didn't like the idea of helping the Chantry, but even he could not just stand by at a moment like this.
We took care of the… bandits, swiftly enough.
"Well, thank you for your timely intervention. I am… out of my element." She didn't seem too concerned and knowing what I knew, I wasn't surprised.
"Surely you didn't realize that just now?" Hawke lifted an eyebrow and I snorted.
"I had to come here, to get the type of person I need; somebody of bloody skill and integrity… perhaps the kind of person who might leap to someone's defense? I have a charge that needs safe passage from the city. If you are willing and capable, meet me at my safe-house nearby." She handed Hawke a slip of paper; presumably the address; and yes it was across from Gamlen's.
"I just saved you in an Alley, and suddenly we're in buissness?" Hawke snarked and I coughed. "Fine, we'll be there."
"Varnell?" she called out, suddenly full of authority. The brown-haired, green eyed Templar came around the corner.
"Not so helpless, I see," Hawke shrugged.
"I do hope you'll come, this matter only grows more urgent with time." And they walked off.
We followed at a distance as Hawke asked me, "What do we know?"
"That when it comes time… I hope you trust me. I'd like to do this with as little blood as possible and I will explain my choice later…" I was looking at Anders and Hawke, the two mages of our group. They hesitated but nodded anyway.
We entered the small three room building, and were greeted by Varnell who had his sword out.
"Nice to see you too…" Hawke gave a relaxed grin.
Petrice waved him off and he sheathed his sword. I could tell Varnell recognized me.
"I thank you for coming. As I said before, this matter is delicate and I need someone of… limited notoriety who will not link this to me. It is an escort, but I think you'll agree the nature of the party makes this… unique."
"Time is wasting… who's going where?" Hawke smirked at her.
"My name is Sister Petrice. I have assumed a burden of charity… this is my charge," she gestured to a room where Ketojan, a Saarebas, came forth.
"A Saarebas? Here?" Fenris shot me a look. I nodded.
"Twist my tale," I loved Varrics style of cursing.
"Andraste's Breath! I had never thought about the plight of mages among the Qunari… it seems they are even more oppressed than we are." Anders breathed, I gave him a sad look and he looked confused.
"Would even a Templar bind a mage like this?"
"Yes," Anders and I voiced at once. Petrice looked stunned. "Erm… he is a survivor of in-fighting with their… Tal-Vashoth outcasts. I call him 'Ketojan', a bridge between worlds. The Viscount and others feel that peace begins with appeasement. This mage would likely be returned to his brutal kin. He can serve a better purpose; I want him to be free. He must be guided from the city without alerting his people, or being seen in my care."
"I can get him out of Kirkwall… he's a bit conspicuous for the streets though…" Hawke was staring at Ketojan.
Fenris looked at me, "The eyes of a slave; does he want freedom or a master?" he had whispered in my ear and I forced a blush to throw Petrice off. I turned and whispered back. "He will follow the Qun. The Qun demands his death, Fenris." He nodded and put an arm around my shoulder, having heard my voice crack.
"I'm not seeing a whole lot of fire for freedom in those eyes, Feathers." I shook my head, minimizing the movement so only those looking at me caught it.
"This mage will be a fine example of how cruel the Qunari are, even to their own; but only if it plays out just so. In this room, there is a passage that leads to the warrens of the undercity. It's dangerous, but that is why you were hired. Good luck." She and Varnell left. I looked to Ketojan.
"Saarebas, you will follow. I am Basalit-an, as proven to the Arishok." Ketojan dipped his head, causing the two mages in our group to look at me horrified.
"Would he not follow if…"
"He only follows those who are worthy, Anders. His will is bound to the Qun. Saarebas, if the Qun demands your death, will you go?" again, Ketojan dipped his head in a nod as he growled to me.
We entered the Warrens, killing spiders and bandits. It was a 2 hour walk – not counting the… interruptions – before we reached the main 'group' living here. Ketojan stood close to me… very close.
"Look at this. Undercity is feared by all, but there's no shortage of fools with coin who want to test it. What is this thing; collared like a dog lords bitch? You some sort of Qunari lover? Maybe I should get rid of you and see that will pay the most for your pet."
Ketojan growled and made a menacing move forward. I place a hand on his arm.
"Er… I don't think it likes you threatening its master… maybe we let this one pass…" I was having flashbacks to Lothering when he said that.
"A voice of reason; what's he doing with you?" Hawke plastered a surprised look on his face.
"You lot think you're so damned right; buying everything running Free Marchers like me into our own sewers… you want us bound; like this thing. I'll see you all dead first!" the dumb-dumb had the bright idea to pull a knife and point it at me. Ketojan didn't like that at all; he shot his hand out and grabbed the man by the throat, setting him on fire while refusing to let him go.
Taking the element of surprise, Hawke and the others leapt to action to kill the rest.
"Did he react like that because his lead was threatened?" Hawke asked me. I blinked, "Yes. Saarebas are not allowed to use magic without permission from their lead unless there is extreme circumstance, such as this. Saarebas, stand down!" I ordered and the mage relaxed, lowering his hand.
"How much of this is just… blind instinct, I wonder?" Hawke muttered.
"I know that kind of Blind Instinct it is hard to judge just how much control he has…" Fenris lifted one black colored eyebrow at me. I loved the way it contrasted with his white hair.
"Let's get him out of here before he… helps… again," Hawke sighed.
"You all stay here, guard the pass. This will be hard enough." They all stayed at the entrance to the cave; though I knew they were watching as I approached Arvaarad.
"Basalit-an? You will hold. I am Arvaarad and I clam possession of this Saarebas at your heel. The members of his Karataam were killed by Tal-Vashoth but their disposal leads only here; to you."
"Careful with your accusations, Arvaarad; I did not kill the Karataam." I snapped.
"Tal-Vashoth killed them; that battle was expected. The survival of a Saarebas without his Arvaarad was not. I do not know how you came to hold his leash, but he must be returned and this crime cleansed."
"I was given this task. I return him to you. Know now, Arvaarad, that I am… incorruptible. Demons cannot seem to see me in that way. If you attack me now, I will win. The same Sten that calls me Kadan surely put this in his report?"
"You show an unusual ability to reason, Basra. Yes, the Sten mentioned your unique ability to avoid Demons; know this, Bas, it is the only reason the Qun does not demand your death along with Saarebas."
He spoke to Saarebas in in Qunlat, and there was a resounding growl. He looked to me and I shook my head and said, "Sataareth Kadan hass-toh issala ebasit. Meraad astaarit, meraad itwasit, aban aqun. Die well, Saarebas."
Translated, my words meant; 'it is my purpose to do what I must for those I consider important. The tide rises, the tide falls, and the sea is unchanged'. The last half was from the Prayers for the Dead. I saw Arvaarad look stunned beneath his Vitaar.
I stood there as Saarebas handed me a small piece of metal, shaped like a pair of horns, and walked over to Arvaarad. The expected execution happened and then Arvaarad looked at me. "What did Saarebas give you?"
"A piece of metal; I watched him shape it in the warrens while we walked, Arvaarad, there is no magic in it. I let him use a blade to do it, see?" I held out the small piece of metal. Arvaarad inspected it before handing it back. "I will allow you to keep it. You know much of the Qun for one who is Bas; you have honor. I will report to the Arishok," he gave me a nod before his group wandered off.
As soon as they were out of sight, I fell to my knees and cried. I felt several pairs of arms envelop me.
"Why did you allow them to kill him?!" Anders asked, justice peeking from his eyes.
"If I hadn't, we would have had to fight Arvaarad and it would have been for nothing! Ketojan would have set himself on fire the minute we were done. I did what I had to do to avoid the deaths that were not needed! If a Saarebas has been outside their Karataam, a group of several mages held together on the same leash, then they are considered at risk for certain corruption, if not already corrupted. When this happens, the mage, and all who have come in contact with it, are to be killed. The reason they didn't kill me is because of the one Sten who traveled with us in Ferelden! He put in his report that Demons have no sway over me, Anders. If you had come to this little meeting with me, we'd have had to kill Arvaarad anyway."
They all looked horrified. "He would have killed himself?" Hawke asked, looking pale.
I nodded and Fenris sighed, "The Qun demanded his death, Hawke. He was raised to always obey the Qun. If the Maker or Andraste told you that you needed to die, and say you are devout in this scenario, would you do it?"
"If I was devout… and the Maker himself was saying it… yeah, I could see myself doing it," Hawke muttered.
I cried for about half an hour more, before we headed back to Kirkwall.
I was too depressed to deal with Petrice. Leandra was there when I got home, and gave me a smile. I had let Hawke go deal with the bitch while Fenris escorted me home.
"Do you… need company tonight?" He asked. "If you wouldn't mind; I'm feeling… I just know this whole 'Ketojan' thing is going to get to me."
"Then I will stay."
It was three days later when Hawke arrived at my door with the Acts of Mercy letter. We brought Fenris, Varric, Isabela and Carver with us. I had explained that these mages would end up in the circle one way or another; and would blame Hawke even if he let them go.
"Master Hawke, Lady Cousland. Thank you again for my daughter's letter, and for helping Feynriel… I thought perhaps you would be willing to show mages a kindness once more," Thrask greeted us.
"Going to need more detail than that, Thrask," Hawke shrugged.
"There are a number of apostates hiding in this cavern. I was hoping you might speak to the group, convince them to surrender peacefully before my fellow Templars arrive."
"Do they intend to do worse than re-capture the Mages?" Hawke asked.
"Ser Karras is a Knight-Lieutenant of the Templars; a great crony of Meredith's; should he find apostates hiding from pursuit, Meredith will consider him justified in murdering the lot of them."
"Knight-Commander Meredith?" I asked, though it was only for Hawkes benefit.
"I sometimes forget you are friends with the Knight-Captain… yes, the Knight Commander… she has changed the rules for Mages in Kirkwall. They are less free here than elsewhere. Though, I dare say she has created as much dissent as obedience."
"If I'm right, these mages are from the recently destroyed Starkhaven Circle? The timing fits; did the Templars there send for Kirkwall to house the survivors?"
Ser Thrask gave me a nod. "That's exactly it. Unfortunately, they escaped during their journey… with the Phylacteries destroyed in the fire, it has been nearly impossible to track them."
"I don't want any… unnecessary death. We will aide you." Hawke said.
"Your compassion does you credit."
We entered the cavern and killed our way to the lone male mage… Alain. He was one of the few I'd met that had dark skin, and his eyes were brown. I couldn't see his hair – if he had any – from under his hat.
"Makers Blessings! I thought I was going to die here in this… this tomb! Are you with the Templars? Please, I need to go back to the Circle; I never wanted to get involved in this. Not when he started making those… things," the man – boy – begged. He was younger than I had initially thought. Just out of puberty.
"Erm… he?" Hawke asked.
"Decimus… it was his decision. He kept saying the Templars would label us Blood Mages if we fled – why not use it if it's our best tool? He slit his wrist and the magic… it rose from the blood and woke the skeletons in the cave. I ran; Decimus is wrong – blood magic is a work of evil, not just a power the Templars keep from us out of spite!"
Fenris growled.
"Decimus is the leader of these mages?" Hawke glanced at me.
"He's crazy! He said with our Phylacteries gone, no one could find us; we would be free… I think he started the fire. There must be a demon working through him; no normal man would profane the dead like this…"
"The Templar Thrask is waiting outside. Surrender to him, and you will not be hurt." Hawke gestured toward the entrance. Alain nodded and took off in that direction.
"Maybe not… all other mages are bad. The fact that he had the choice and didn't take it…" I knew Fenris spoke of blood magic and I leaned into him.
We entered the large cavern and Decimus turned and shouted, "They're here! The Templars have come to take us back to the circle!"
Grace was beside him. She stood at 5'6 with short brown hair, green eyes and a face tattoo like in the game. "Decimus, no; stay your hand. These are no Templars…"
"What do I care what shield they carry? If they challenge us, the dead themselves will meet the call!" the dead rose, but avoided me, much to Decimus' dismay. I smirked as I moved to him; he shot fireballs and ice waves at me, but I blocked them with my own magic. He tried to shield as I reached him, thinking I planned to use magic to kill him… I stabbed my Antivan Dagger into his eye.
The dead fell around us. Grace came running us to Hawke and I.
"You killed him! Oh, Decimus, you should have listened to me, love…" She sobbed. "I saw what you are. How could you murder one of your own just for daring to defy the Templars?" she pointed to me.
"I am not what you are. Nor am I what he was. Honestly, woman, I doubt he summoned those skeletons to life to serve me biscuits and pizza. I get it, you loved him. I'd go nuts if someone murdered the men I love, but truth is, he provoked us."
She sighed. "I warned him. I told him, once he marked himself as a blood mage that was all anyone would see. I swear to you, I've had no truck with demons. Please… we only want our freedom. Without your help, the Templars will execute us all for Decimus' crimes."
"You followed him! You should all face the punishment for this," Hawke snapped, gesturing to the dead bodies around us.
"If you try to turn us in, you and your friend there are coming with us. Do not doubt that the Templars will let extra apostates share our punishment." I giggled before snorting as it turned into a full blown laugh.
"We aren't helping you, bitch. Come now, be a good girl," she glared but ultimately followed us.
"Are you trying to tell me this boy is all that's left of the apostates?" Karras was about the same height as Thrask but had blond hair and angry green eyes.
"I ran away when they began to use blood magic, Ser," Alain whimpered.
We came up.
"And who are they?"
"These mages are surrendering." I shrugged.
"As if we would let demon-worshipers pollute the minds of our mages! No, once they've tasted freedom, apostates are good for nothing. Better to silence them now."
"No! And you wonder why we fear them. Please, you must protect us!" Grace cried.
"I think maybe we all need to take a deep breath. Grace, this is Thrask; Thrask…" Hawke started.
"The circle is a sanctuary, not a prison! If you kill these people, I will see you disciplined by the Divine herself!"
"Knight-Commander says no rebel robes get to preach to the tame ones."
"Are you truly going to send us off with this… monster?" Grace asked.
"Monster or not, he's a better bet than a demon," Hawke shrugged.
"Then… we truly have no hope. You seem a good man, Templar. I must place the lives of all these people in your hands. Including this woman," She pointed to me.
Karras and Thrask looked at her like she was simple. "This woman? Lady Cousland, Mistress to King Alistair, Sister of two Teyrns, Chancellor of Ferelden and Knight-Captain Cullens friend… you believe she is a Mage?" Graces eyes popped from her head. "I saw her use magic!"
I moved off to the side, slowly. "Give it your best shot, Ser Karras. As a Templar, you must answer to these charges, after all."
Fenris, Hawke, Isabela and Varric all looked somewhat scared to varying degrees.
The Templar nodded and I felt him use smite. They were all stunned when I just stood there.
"I thought that was supposed to hurt even the non-mages?" Grace asked.
"Not when you're used to pain all day, every day, dear. And I'm a masochist, I enjoy pain."
"Well, there you have it, Grace; Lady Cousland is not a mage. I will be sure to add this to my report," Karras said dryly.
"Expedition begins next week, Ara. Per your request, I'm bringing Anders, Bethany, Carver, Fenris and you… no one else. Can I ask why you were strict on the 'no women other that Bethany and you' thing?" Hawke was with me later that month. I had invested 50 Sovereigns to double Hawkes money, much to Bartrands joy.
"You can ask, but until the expedition is over, I won't answer. Just… trust that I have everyone's best interest at heart… even when it seems like I don't, or when things seem to be at their worst; I know what I'm doing."
He nodded. I left to 'pack'.
