A/N – This chapter will cover the 'Mark of the Assassin' DLC to start with. I will only be covering the main plot line as, having not played it, I don't know what happens and I'll be doing the best I can do with what I can read and watch.

"He's a contact," Varric stated.

"Uh-huh. And…?" Hawke asked, gesturing for Varric to continue.

"Just trust me, okay. It'll be worth our while. When have I ever steered us wrong?" I burst into laughter from where I was sitting. I felt Varric stare in my direction but I ignored him. "Look, I haven't led us wrong lately. This will definitely worth our time."

"I want to know why, Varric. He's your contact, not mine. If I'm being dragged into something…"

Varric sighed. "Fine. All I know is that Edge has some information about, I don't know, maybe a conflict between you and some nobles?

I laughed again. "By the gods, Varric, that's pretty thin, even by your standards."

"I'm not sure if it's something we should be concerned about or not, but Edge is reliable. I think we should meet him tonight."

"Where?" Hawke asked.

"Hightown. In the market."

"Why do they never want to meet in broad daylight when there's a crowd, guards… witnesses?" Hawke wondered to herself.

"So you'll come?"

"Yes, I will. But you will be going around to collect everyone. I've got little information here, don't know exactly what I'm walking into, so I want back up. That means you too, Uhtred."

"Aye, how often do you leave the house without me nowadays?"

Varric chuckled. "The only reason why rumours haven't started about you two is the fact everyone knows you prefer women, Hawke."

"She should be so lucky," I joked. Hawke threw something at me, of course.

"We'll meet you there tonight, Varric. Uhtred may or may not be gagged, depending on how he behaves."

"Gagged? Kinky. Didn't know you had that side…" I shut up as something else was thrown at my head. Varric chuckled again.

"He's still walking on air after Leliana appeared," Hawke explained, as I had been in a good mood for quite a while, "He's going to be living off that until I have to kick him out for annoying me."

Varric disappeared, I got back to reading my book, Hawke got back to doing whatever she was up to. I assumed writing letters, or her finances or… "I received a letter from Bethany, Uhtred."

I nearly dropped my book at that revelation. I know I stared at her. Hawke looked… I'm not sure. "What did it say?"

"She's with the Wardens in Orlais, at their fortress in Montsimmard. She received an interrogation on arrival, though Warden Stroud had sent them word of her recruitment. It took some explanation but she is now within the ranks. She sounds… happy enough, I guess."

"I don't want to ask…"

"She wishes you well, Uhtred, but that's it." I nodded. I didn't expect anything else, to be honest. The string had been cut completely. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just a surprise that she'd sent a letter, that's all. To be honest, I still have affection for her, but after Leliana…"

"A future is possible with Leliana. I certainly understand why, so you don't have to explain yourself to me." She leaned back in her chair, looking at me. "I may be cruel here, Uhtred, but perhaps you were always fooling yourself, that Bethany and you could live happily ever after, considering the blood that flowed her veins after that bloody expedition."

I sighed. "You're right. But it was really good for a while. Maybe if we hadn't…" I sighed again. "Far too many 'What ifs' in my life nowadays. Goes all the way back to me arriving here. What if Alexandra hadn't died? What if Leliana and I had remained together? What if Bethany and I hadn't tried for a child? What if, what if, what if… And those are the big ones I can think of." I met her eyes. "Thanks for telling me, though. You could have kept it hidden."

"You deserved to know, Uhtred. You were together for a few years. The fact she's mentioned you would suggest, to me at least, that she still thinks about you, just like you still think about her."

"Well, we'll always have that few years we were together, and I'll always look back at them fondly. I can't even hate her for how she left, because I understood. If you write her back, let her know I wish her well in return."

"I will, Uhtred."

I found reading my book difficult after that. No surprise after what Hawke told me, so I gave up trying to concentrate and went out for a walk instead. After Leliana's visit, I looked more closely at how the city felt, if there was any tension, but compared to those last weeks before the Qunari attack, the city seemed fine. There were still the rumours about the templars and mages, but I was almost convinced the danger was being blown out of proportion. I'd been wrong before, of course, but I guess it was a case of wait and see. It was nothing I was going to involve myself with anyway… unless forced…

Returning home in time for dinner, Varric had gathered everyone, and none of them looked convinced about the story he'd spun. Preparing to head out later, I was just strapping up my chest armour when Hawke walked in. She closed the door and stepped as close to me as possible. If anyone walked in…. "What do you think, Uhtred? Honest."

"I'm always honest, you know that… And what do I think? I don't know because I honestly don't know what's going on. Look, I like Varric. Good guy, nothing but an asset when we're hard at work, can handle his drink, certainly a dealmaker. But he has a habit of getting us into trouble, though I guess we're more than capable of that ourselves. My advice? We watch our backs."

"Okay… Thanks, Uhtred."

"No worries. I've got your back."

"Just don't let your eyes stray south."

She that with such a smirk on her face, I couldn't help laugh. "I'm sorry, Hawke, you lack an accent that makes my knees weak. And I prefer redheads."

"Simple man?"

"Gods yes. You should definitely know that about me by now."

She turned around and was about to walk out when she looked back and slapped her arse. "You wish, Uhtred," turning and walking down the stairs, laughing to herself. I chuckled to myself, glad to see she was in a far better mood. She still carried what we'd done to Isabela with more difficulty than I did, but she'd slowly forgiven herself for it. She still thought it was the right to do, but her conscience ate her up.

Six of us headed to the market of Hightown. Three warriors, Hawke, Fenris and myself, one rogue, Varric, and two mages, Merrill and Anders. A good mix, I thought. We scoped out the market, looking for any sign of Varric's contact. When we couldn't find him, most of us knew the plan had gone to shit. And that's when we found ourselves surrounded by a bunch of… assassins? Mercenaries?

There's always a leader, whether you're dealing with anyone from run of the mill bandits to the Qunari. Someone is always in charge, whether they are capable or not. And there was a leader of this too. "And there is the Champion of Kirkwall. You die today."

"Who the hell did you piss off now, Hawke?" I wondered.

Before he could answer my question, or simply give the order to give, a dagger flew into his shoulder. I whipped around quickly, wondering who had thrown it, because to be honest, it was a bloody cracking throw! It was difficult to see in the darkness, but I could see enough of her head to recognise the ears. We then watched like morons as she leapt from one ledge, gracefully landing on the next level, taking out two others with relative ease, another perfect throw taking another archer in the distance, before she then leapt down to ground level, and must have taken out six more of them, sprinting through our group, all of us too stunned to move, where she held a dagger at the throat of the man who said Hawke was going to die.

He was wrong, it seemed, as the elven woman slit his throat before turning to us. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"You seemed to be doing fine by yourself," I replied.

Still, couldn't let her take all the glory, so we unsheathed and mopped up the rest of them. I kept an eye on her as she was rather graceful in her movements but incredibly deadly at the same time. Hawke watched her too. Hawke definitely watched her. I almost chuckled to myself at how distracted she already was.

I don't know where they got all these people, but there were too many archers for my liking, so my Thu'um may have been used. Only the one, but using bow and arrows is just cheating. Pick up a sword and fight me, damn it! So I lit the archers on fire and went looking for warriors like myself. They were better than the average idiot who I usually fight, some talent with the blade, and their footwork was exemplary. But they were over-confident, believing we'd be easy targets. The fact so many of them were already dead should have told them we were no pushovers.

"Shouldn't all this noise attract the guard?" Fenris asked over all the noise.

"You'd think so. Maybe they're otherwise occupied," Varric suggested.

"With what?" I wondered.

"Aveline is probably distracted nowadays," Varric only half joked, as always, there was an element of truth.

It was a longer fight than normal, simply because the enemy had clearly been trained, and we took a few wounds ourselves, Fenris quite a nasty one into his side that Anders spent time healing during battle. I'd been shot by an arrow and ripped it out, causing Hawke to yell at me for being an idiot, but Merrill managed to heal me after the battle was done.

Our accomplice was busy checking over the bodies, perhaps looking for information. I was left wondering why she'd helped out. She was approaching Hawke as I limped over, starting to feel the wound on my leg hurt more, Merrill stating she could heal that too. "After. I want to know who she is." I finally got a good look at her. Dark mahogany, almost brunette hair. Rather nice blue eyes. Incredibly thin, though most of the elven were, though her bust was… generous. To be honest, I was left thinking she was rather attractive.

"Well, that was just sloppy. You'd think the Crows would be better at this. They've been doing it for ages," the elf said.

"Crows? Are you with them?" Hawke asked, immediately suspicious.

The elf smirked. "I didn't arrange this, but it's no coincidence I'm here. My name is Tallis, and I've been looking for you," she stated, actually performing a slight curtsy.

Hawke glanced my way. All I could do was shrug. "You've been looking for me? Why?"

"Looking for the woman who has an invitation to Chateau Haine, to be specific."

"I do?"

"That's what Edge was on about. My contact. You remember Duke Prosper, the one who fawned all over you at the Champion of Kirkwall banquet."

"Oh, him. Ugh, man wouldn't take no for an answer. I almost had to fondle Merrill just so he'd take the hint." I looked at Merrill, who blushed bright red at the memory.

"Anyway, the duke talked about a hunt. Not sure if you remember."

"I don't really remember. Uhtred and I… drank. A lot. I mean, after what happened, I drank so much that even he looked like a half decent prospect for fun that night."

I groaned. "Seriously? I've got feelings, you know."

"Love you really, Uhtred. And a hunt, Varric? Since when does anything like that interest me?"

"I was hoping you'd reconsider," our potential new friend stated, "The duke is a delightful host, or so I hear."

Hawke wasn't the only one to smell a rat. "Let me guess: this isn't just a social call?"

"You would be right. I need to relieve him of something he has no right to possess, and I can't do it alone."

"So we're going to rob him?" I asked.

"This isn't how I was planning to ask you this. I was picturing an introduction with less… blood."

"What on earth would give you the idea that I'd got in for some thievery?" Hawke wondered. I had the same question in my mind. We didn't go robbing. Sure, we'd broken into places, but not to rob, usually to kill idiots.

"I… um… may have talking you up a bit. Maybe more than once," Varric admitted.

"Varric," Hawke groaned.

"Look, all I've heard is that you get things done. Not leaving your very well-known friend out of this, but you are nobility, Hawke, so you've got my way inside. I'm hoping everything I've heard about you is true."

Hawke looked at me like usual. "It's an interesting prospect. I guess we can go there, scope it out, then see how things are looking. If he's one of those uptight arseholes that deserves to be robbed, then we go through with it."

"I wouldn't mind doing it just from some of his comments made at the dinner."

"So we're going to do it?" I wondered.

"Sure, why not? Not like we're doing much else at the moment. City has gone quiet, which is good in a way, but leaves people like us with little to do. Okay, Tallis, we're in for now. What are you planning on stealing?"

"A jewel," she replied, keeping it simple, all of us probably waiting for more of an explanation. When she noticed our stares, she continued. "The duke thinks it's valuable, and it is, just not in the way he believes. What's more, he shouldn't have it in the first place. He who wishes to walk on water must first learn to swim. Come with me to Chateau Haine. I'll explain everything on the way. If nothing else, you get fine wine and fancy company. But… I hope you want more than that."

Hawke heard something promising because her eyes positively lit up. Tallis definitely noticed the reaction as well. Agreeing to meet at the stables west of the city, Tallis headed off into the night as we split up and searched the bodies for information. Varric did find a note mentioning the Cavril family, and also the fact his friend Edge was now dead. Though saddened, he didn't seem terribly upset, stating that was the business they were in. Not many lived to see old age.

We made plans to meet up before breaking up for the evening, Hawke and I returning to our rooms, asking for hot water to be brought up as we were both covered in blood, skin and armour. It was only when taking off my chest armour that I finally felt the wound at my side, busy binding it up when Gawen walked in. "Do you need healing, lord?"

"No, this will do for now. I'll have a soak and let the pain ease at least."

"Catching up with you, lord?"

"Doing this along time now, Gawen. Time catches up with everyone eventually."

Meeting Tallis at the stables the next day, I thought we were looking at a two or three-day ride into the heart of Orlais. Thankfully, I was incorrect in my assumption, though we would still ride to the chateau, which was a day's ride, stopping for camp overnight, making it to the breakfast some time during the morning. Along the way, Tallis explained what we would be doing. The jewel was known as the 'Heart of the Many'. Other than that, it was obvious that Tallis was going to stop at nothing to get the jewel.

The major problem. Tallis knew the jewel was locked tight in a vault. And she had no idea how to get into the vault. On top of that, the duke was protected by a retinue of Orlesian chevaliers. Not just a retinue, a veritable army is how Tallis put it. And there were only six of us going in. Hawke, Tallis and myself, with Varric, Merrill and Anders.

Approaching the chateau after a day and morning in the saddle, it wasn't what I was expecting at all. It was a fortress. It was simply… enormous. Add to that, it was incredibly isolated, built on the side of a mountain, overlooking a gorgeous forested valley. We stopped with the chateau in the distance, Tallis glancing at all of us. "So, still ready to do this?"

"I haven't ridden all this way just to turn around now," I replied.

"I am wondering how we get out. I've got the invitation to get us out, at least," Hawke added.

"Anyone used to dealing with Orlesian nobility?"

Hawke looked at me and chuckled. "Well, there is one person who is going to stand out like a sore thumb."

We rode down towards the main gate and I'm sure we all felt under-dressed arriving in our armour compared to the nobles ahead of us. It was more the colours on display. I'd worn Orlesian clothing before, though that was many years ago when Leliana and I lived at her chateau for those blissful few months before I was summoned back to Denerim, and she returned to the Chantry.

After stabling our horses, we approached the group of nobles that were assembling outside the main gate. We could overhear what was being proposed. Apparently we would be on the hunt for a wyvern, whatever that was. Despite the presence of a large bodyguard, Duke Prosper recognised us and seemed pleased to see us, introducing us around to the other guests. His bodyguard, Cahir, seemed to like staring at me. He had the look of a fellow warrior. I wondered if I'd end up fighting him later…

"I must say, your presence is a surprise. When we spoke at the banquet, you seemed… uninterested when I mentioned our hunt," the duke stated, wondering if he was at all suspicious. He knew who I was. I did wonder if he remembered Varric and Merrill. Anders wasn't at the meal. He asked who Tallis was and she expertly deflected the question, though practically poses as Hawke's partner.

"It's a favourite pastime of mine to find things and kill them, actually," Hawke replied, lying through her teeth. I almost burst into laughter at the very idea of Hawke hunting anything.

The duke found it humorous, though, I guess believing she was referring to the criminal elements around Kirkwall than any beasts we might find in the forest.

"What are wyverns?" I wondered. I'd never even heard of them before, "I've never heard of them."

"They are exceptional beasts, magnificent cousins to the mighty dragon!" I found myself getting excited at the prospect of fighting another dragon. I'd fought one in the mountains years before, and before that, it was Alduin in Sovngarde. "My only advice? Beware the poison. It's the deadliest thing about them, as well as the most valuable."

Many of the other nobles, I'm guessing they were of similar rank, or was it prestige…? Whatever, they had already headed out looking for this dragon, so we were left catching up. Hawke was quite pleased I was coming along, figuring my history of fighting dragons would prove helpful. What I noticed, and so did most of others, was the flirting going on between Hawke and Tallis as we headed deeper into the forest. I had figured she'd been instantly smitten by her, and she was certainly going out of her way to prove it. And Tallis was obviously going to use that for her own gain. I wanted to warn Hawke about setting herself up for hurt, but I had a feeling she'd tell me to butt out, so I remained quiet.

The hunting grounds were enormous. The other groups were making plenty of noise, I guess to attract the attention of the beasts that inhabited the forest. If they didn't catch a wyvern, they were certainly going to attract other things if they were not careful. Perhaps it would weed out the numbers a little bit in our favour.

The view was breath-taking at times, the chateau well and truly isolated. Having lived in Kirkwall for so long, being back in nature… I had to stop and simply take a deep breath of fresh air. Though I'd fought dragons, I knew nothing about wyverns, where they lived, how we'd lure them.

Thinking about wyverns, I did not expect us to enter a clearing and see little dragons, or as Tallis yelled out, dragonlings. I remembered seeing those years ago on our way to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, so if there were dragonlings, there was at least one dragon around. I unsheathed my sword, feeling a swell of excitement. Finally, the chance to fight another dragon!

Even though they were small, they were tough little bastards, with razor sharp claws, teeth that would likely tear your limb off, and thick scales that necessitated good aim to pierce. We were still dealing with the little ones when not one but two dragons appeared. I'll admit to disappointment as these dragons were tiny compared to those I was used to dealing with. I used my Thu'um, and again, the dragons of Thedas did not understand, did not seem to even speak the dragon tongue. This truly was a different world…

With the most experience fighting dragons, I took the lead, drawing both towards me before unleashing my Thu'um, fire burning their scales, instantly smelling cooked flesh. That just pissed them off, and their attacks were vicious. Anders and Merrill loaded up their spells and attacked from the rear, so I kept the dragons distracted by waving my sword at them, occasionally striking. I drew blood more than once, their underside lacking the hardness of their back and rear, so I got in close and got to work.

Hawke joined in and we took a dragon each. She was confident but was eager for instruction. She had no problem taking advice and did a bloody good job taking on her dragon, though she almost lost her head more than once. Burying my sword into the lower neck of my dragon and slicing upwards, it was not long for the world, not even waiting for it to drop dead before I helped Hawke with hers. The dragon did its best to hold off both of us, but it was a losing cause, Hawke and I killing the dragon together.

Hawke was sucking in deep breaths when she asked, "And you fought these all the time?"

I chuckled. "These were nothing compared to what I fought in Skyrim. At least double the size, breathing ice and fire, or other Shouts which had all sort of magical effects."

"I have heard rumour of this gift of yours, Dragonborn," Tallis stated, "Hearing is one thing, seeing is another. You are not of this world, correct?"

"Correct. I am from another realm known as Tamriel."

"And what brought you here?"

"The will of the gods."

"Well, it is an impressive gift, Dragon…"

"Uhtred. Dragonborn may be my surname, but few call me that nowadays. I prefer Uhtred."

"Of course. And now that we've found dragons, I have no doubt this mountain is probably crawling with wyverns. We just have to find one."

"Is there a particular one we're hunting here?" Hawke wondered.

"Doubtful. The duke wants his prize. As long as it's a wyvern, he won't care. He'll probably want a big one though."

We headed off, and explored further. It was a beautiful morning, the sun high in the sky providing plenty of warmth, with just enough cloud to keep the worst of the heat at bay. There was a gentle breeze. The forest wasn't as full of evil creatures as had been suggested. Of the other parties, we saw no hide nor hair, but the forest was teeming with others hunters, no doubt searching for elk and deer. Many of these small hunting parties had marbari with them, barking away and creating plenty of noise, enough to either scare away wyvern… or perhaps attract them…

It wasn't wyvern that eventually went on the attack. Passing by a group of hunters, they were peering into a cavern, and before any of them could react, they were attacked by some sort of… creature. I would have called them goblins, but I didn't think goblins existed, the sort of fairy tale creature meant to scare young children. The group were caught by surprise, a couple killed rather quickly. Our group went into assist and took care of whatever these creatures were. Vicious little bastards they were, small and very quickly. Compared to them, I was a lumbering oaf. But they could be killed easily if we managed to hit them, so we eventually took to standing still and let them come to us.

"What the bloody hell were they?" I asked once they were all dead. I counted the bodies. There were at least twenty of them.

Tallis was crouching over one of the bodies. "Hmmm, I've heard of these before, or at least rumours. I believe they are called ghast. Not particularly intelligent but highly territorial. Pack animals really. They're friends," she said, gesturing to the nearby group, now short a few numbers, "Poked their noses into the wrong hole."

I took the lead, or so it seemed, though I had no real idea where any of us were going. We'd walked so far now, I was worried about trying to find our way back, though when I did glance, the chateau did stand out rather prominently, left thinking we would be able to see it from anywhere in the valley.

"Is it lunchtime yet?" Varric asked, "We've been walking for quite a while now."

"We have been walking a while, but if we stop, we might not win," I stated.

"You really want to fight a wyvern?" Hawke wondered.

"Never seen one before. Want to see one and then, if I'm so inclined, kill it. Wonder what the duke will give me for it?"

The conversation ceased as we came across the remains of… something. It wasn't human or elven, or even dwarven, so the wyvern hadn't feasted on any of the hunting groups, but it was still fresh. We could have cooked it up and had ourselves a hearty snack. But I was confident if we'd found a kill so exposed, we had to be close to some sort of wyvern… lair. I assumed they'd have lairs like dragons. It made sense in my mind, anyway.

Ending up by the shores of a lake was not something any of us had expected. We stood in silence, taking in the view. Considering I'd spent years living in Kirkwall, the only time I got out into nature was the Wounded Coast or Sundermount. I hadn't been somewhere like this since… Skyrim, to be honest. Even my time in Ferelden had been spent either at the castle or traversing a wasteland as the darkspawn had laid siege. I stayed silent, though half-listened to Hawke and Tallis chat amongst themselves. Varric gave me a look and I just smiled. We both heard and saw it, no point making a big deal.

The wyvern was close, that much we knew, and when we found a pair of dogs, one quite clearly poisoned, as it was in tremendous pain, we healed it first before unsheathing our weapons. We were now very close. And we were at the heart of the valley as we followed what seemed like a series of ponds, lakes, and even a river at some point. Then we found fresh wyvern dung. We knew it was fresh as it was still steaming, and the smell was horrific, all of staying well back.

Entering its lair, there was one thing we learned about wyverns. They are incredibly territorial. We may have been armed, but the creature leapt at us from the shadows. I shouldered Hawke out of the way and barely raised my shield in time. Tallis has rolled out of the way.

"Spread out!" I yelled, "And watch its venom!"

We spread out into a circle, never offering a still target. The wyvern spun around more than once, choosing a target. I eventually attracted its attention by using my Thu'um, striding for to hit it. The mages and Varric immediately attacked as I distracted it. It was fast, that was for sure, whipping its tail for added effect, it's teeth sharp and its claws ready to dig into any exposed flesh.

Tallis decided to show off her skills, twirling her daggers before she ran and leapt onto the back of the wyvern, holding for grim death. "Hey, that's my trick!" I yelled out.

"Just keep it distracted!"

That was the plan as always. The mages and Varric now had to be careful with their attacks, the mages holding off as Varric peppered its lower body with bolts. I was mostly using my shield, trying to wear the beast down, only occasionally using my sword. The wyvern felt the stabs on its back and tried to shake off Tallis, to no avail.

Once she gave the signal, she leapt and drove her daggers in that caused the wyvern to raise its head as it roared in pain. I dropped my shield and sliced one way, then the other, Hawke stepping in and simply driving her sword into its neck. Blood flowed from all its wounds, Tallis sliding off the beast, leaving her daggers in until she could roll away. We all stood back as the wyvern stood on all fours, looking at us with fury, before its legs buckled and it dropped dead to the ground.

I looked at Tallis. "Show off," I said, holding out my hand, which she accepted with a firm grasp.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It always does, until you find yourself on a dragon, hundreds of feet into the air, left wondering about your life choices at that moment…"

It had been a long but successful day. What I'd learned to my cost at times was that even during the greatest of successes, there was always someone or some people just wanting to be party poopers. This was one of those occasions.

"Well, if it isn't the Ferelden turnip," an Orlesian voice mocked, "They say you are a champion of some backwater city in the east. Quite an achievement, I'm sure."

I was beside Hawke in a second, covered in blood, sword still in my hand. My shield lay somewhere behind me, but I only took in the arrogant bastard walking towards us, flanked by who I assumed were his men. I say assumed, as they were wearing masks, or plates of armour, or something ridiculous over their faces. I could barely see any gaps where they could look out. Frankly, they looked rather stupid.

"I suggest you run along with your servants while you have the chance. This wyvern was mine to kill, not yours," he warned.

"Servant? Do I look like a servant?" I asked Hawke.

"Well, you are very good at filling my glass with wine sometimes, Uhtred."

"Got to earn my keep somehow."

"Are you not listening to me?!" the Orlesian whined, "I paid good coin to be the who wins this contest! It was my turn!"

I shared a glance with Hawke. She simply smirked and I knew what was coming. Some cutting remark that would lead to another fight. Good, this guy was already annoying me. "Oh, I didn't realise the duke was offering charity to his more useless guests. My mistake."

"But the kill is still ours so piss off," I added.

"I will not accept such talk from a backwater mongrel, nor her idiot servant," he stated.

There was a loud sigh from Tallis. "You do realise these two have nasty little thugs like you for breakfast, I hope?"

The Orlesian stamped his foot, more like a child not getting his own rather than some noble. Actually, this sort of behaviour is what I'd expect. "More insolence! And from a knife ear this time?"

I'm not sure why, but that just pissed me off and, before I knew it, I saw red. I raised my sword. "Apologise at once or we end you." He simply whistled, attracting more of his men forward. I simply smiled. "Very good. More for us to kill."

Then I Shouted. Sure, sure, breaking my covenant again, but I was beyond reason by this point. Arrogant, pompous arsehole. Nearly all of his warriors, and the man himself, went flying backwards, and we got to work. Not all of them died easily. And whoever the Orlesian was ran away. Varric took a couple of shots at him but missed, so we just dealt with those that actually stood and fought. They were brave, I'll give them that. And those in the masks had quite a lot of skill, ending up in a terrific sword fight with one of them. Long enough where I took wounds that made me bleed, and for a moment, I did wonder if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. But if one feigns enough, the enemy will become complacent and, before they know it, they're slumped to the ground, mortally wounded.

Sheathing our weapons, we were getting ready to take the head of the wyvern and simply leave when Duke Prosper himself showed up, with the whining Orlesian next to him. "This blasted she-bitch tried to steal my rightful kill!"

"Now is that any way to speak of the Champion of Kirkwall, Baron?"

Ah, so he was a baron. Arrogant little pipsqueak. Probably dreamed of moving up a rank or two. Snivelling bastards like him always managed to work their way up the greasy pole somehow. And he wasn't done with us at any rate. "This is your fault for inviting a stinking turnip in the first place! Your mother should be ashamed."

I strode forward and gave him such a backhander, he fell to his arse and my sword was at his throat in about two seconds. I drank in the fear in his eyes as he looked up, glancing between me and the duke nearby. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, Hawke said quietly, "Not worth it, Uhtred. I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. He's not worth blooding your blade."

"You have my apologies, Champion," the duke offered, "Arlange has always been a cheat. What would you have done with him?"

"Let him go, Hawke. He's not worth your time," Tallis suggested.

"And you're no murderer," Varric added in my direction, "We have far bigger fish to fry than some no-name baron of some Orlesian backwater."

The hand on my shoulder squeezed and I knew what she wanted, taking a step back and sheathing my sword. "I have one suggestion. Leave while you still can. You utter one more word of abuse in our direction, and you won't see the morning."

The Orlesian got to his feet and walked off quickly, looking very alone without his men. The duke congratulated us on killing the wyvern, informing us that there would be a celebration in the chateau courtyard, though we would be afforded time to change before attending.

It was now time for more serious matters.