Judy: Awesome and faithful as ever. Thanks for the comment. Gemini Sage: Thanks. I agree. Now that you have found part 2 I hope you enjoy. Oscar or other spanish guest: Fenris reminds me of a wounded animal. He lashes out with nothing but magic to direct his anger too. And I agree his rants were over the top but no more than Sebastians or Anders. Dree66: Welcome and I hope you are enjoying the story.
He wouldn't trade Enid for all the lyrium dust in the dwarven kingdom, but tonight he wished she were a Mabari. The war hound was better suited for the task ahead of them.
He would have taken care of this errand earlier while he had both hounds if the situation with Iona and her girls was different.
Maybe this incident was more proof that he needed to allow the Maker or the Ancestors to show him the path they wanted for him. He never intended to return to Kirkwall, and yet he was the first to volunteer to come with Rhiannon when she traveled across the sea.
Bidding his hero farewell this evening was harder than he imagined. She asked questions after she found him at the Vigil. And he'd put her off the scent by telling her that his quest was the King of Ferelden and she saved him. He would now serve her.
Not happy about becoming his personal quest, she offered to make him a Warden.
He and the five men he commanded refused as there was a glory to being a Warden, especially now in the blight's aftermath. As Ash Warriors, they forbid you to accept coin or glory for your skills or victories.
Having little choice, she accepted his reasoning and allowed him to stay. Her compromise was that he and his men would train the warriors and wardens at the Vigil as with the skills of Ash Warriors.
His men readily accepted the assignment as the Keep was severely under-manned and there was a new type of Darkspawn terrorizing the land.
He still hadn't told her the truth. Not why he dedicated his life to her, or the reason he was leaving tonight instead of tomorrow.
While he intended to make his destination his dwarven family, he had someone he needed to see first. Hopefully, his bribes got him what who wanted.
Arriving at the gates of the prison, Darragh was challenged by the same guard he had made the deal with hours ago. "Who goes there?"
"Leith," Darragh said, the name sounding foreign after all these years.
"Ah Leith, my friend. Do you have the gold?"
Darragh tossed him a partial bag of coins. "Half now, half after I talked to the prisoner and I am back outside the gates free."
"I am hurt you don't trust me," the prison guard scoffed.
A tight smile pulled at Darragh's haggard face. "Now don't be like that. Think of it more as insurance. Insurance that I talk to the right person and am not forgotten inside."
"We wouldn't forget you inside, would we," the guard said, ribbing Darragh. Turning to the guard standing on the opposite wall, he said, "Watch and sound the alarm if I am not back in an hour. Assume he is here for a prison break."
"Yes Serah."
Darragh followed the beefy man through the portcullis with Enid close on his heals. The prison was dim with torches on the wall and braziers at intervals providing the only light.
The smell was worse than even the most disgusting Darkspawn caves, including the children's hatcheries. Stale urine, vomit and death reeked horribly enough that even Enid sneezed several times for relief.
"This is a far as you go. I will get him while you wait here. Be warned, I've posted twenty guards outside the door. So, if this is a jail break…." He guffawed, making his threat clear.
Darragh didn't dignify that with an answer. He would be more likely to plunge a blade into the bastard than help him escape. But he would allow them to worry. Maybe that was why the priest at the alter kept sending furtive looks in his direction.
Fifteen minutes passed. A nervous feeling found a hold in his confidence, enough that Enid lifted her large head and watched as he paced the floor. There was always a chance the guard would double cross him and keep the gold.
The sounds of clanking chains and shuffling feet let him know they were brining someone to meet him. Now to see if his gold bought him the truth or a fraud. He stepped behind the statue to watch and wait. If they brought the right man, it wouldn't do for him to recognize Darragh first.
He watched as the guard brought a man in tattered clothing into the room by pulling on the chains on his wrists. He scrutinized the inmate, noticing what twenty years in confinement did to a man. Darragh shuddered, knowing that without the Ash Warriors it would have been his fate.
The guard pushed the unkempt man into a pew with the command to behavior or get a beating.
With little fear of authority the man arranged himself as much as his chains allowed to look nonchalant and said, "relax boss, I know I would never make to the front door."
The guard slapped the mans feet propped on the pew in front of him onto the floor, not caring for the blatant disregard for rules. This caused the prisoner to sit up straight and behave. "I didn't want you to get any ideas with your visitor."
The tone was full of contempt and the glare was baleful as he mockingly said, "Yes, because suddenly after twenty years there are people lining up to help me escape. Maker knows this is my first visitor in seven years. Speaking of visitors, where is this man who paid you good money to see me?"
Darragh stepped out from behind the statue of Andraste motioning for Enid to stay. If the hound wasn't a Mabari people underestimated the dog. Being out of sight, out of mind would help the surprise factor if they wound up needing it.
"I was getting bored, so I thought a little light reading was in order. The statues have such fascinating dedication plaques."
"My visitor is a scholar and a jester. But that doesn't answer why you would want to see me. Or who you are."
Darragh leaned casually against the support pillar and clicked his tongue. "It couldn't be your stimulating personality, could it? No. Truthfully, this was about making sure you were still where you belonged. And offering to pay them for giving you the royal treatment."
"Oh, I am touched. You spent gold to check on my health and happiness. Let me guess, my smuggling affected you," the prisoner snapped bitterly.
Darragh examined the dirt under his nails, giving the appearance he wasn't here to watch the man squirm. "What smuggling, Damian? You couldn't find a corpse on a battlefield, much less move it without being seen by blind men. You're innocent."
The guard was watching the men with interest. When one of Ferelden's soldiers came and asked to see Lord Astrid's grandson, he was more than a little curious. At first, he didn't believe the man just wanted to see with his own eyes that Amell was still in custody. There was talk about him gathering power from inside the prison and swaying the nobles into believing he'd been framed.
So, he took a chance and accepted the bribe. And now it looked as if they have framed the lord after all. He'd watch a bit more before deciding on going to the Dungeon Capitan.
Damian clicked his tongue against his teeth, making a sucking sound. "You wouldn't be one of Cotire, would you? Is this some scheme to get me to support one of your factions? Cause if that was your offer of friendship, you need to learn some diplomacy skills."
"Damian you should know the only diplomacy I know is at the end of my blade. I could careless what faction you offer your support to. I do however want to know how you, a pathetic excuse for a pasty, got enough power to think someone wants your help."
The self-satisfied smirk slipped as anger replaced arrogance. "Rotten Maggot spawn, who are you?"
"Twenty years. And you lost your memory. Are you too old to forget the man that framed you, for smuggling?."
The priest coughed in surprise. She had many years as a priest serving convicts inside the prison. She thought she heard all the confessions. And after she thought about it for several moments, she realized that she probably had heard someone confess to framing others before. But never one so brazenly.
Damian lurched to his feet and started towards Darragh, only to be yanked back into his seat by the guard.
"You... you heard him. She heard him. You must release me. I'm innocent. He admitted to framing me."
Darragh sniggered. "Innocent… of smuggling. Absolutely, but smuggling was the only crime your inbreed bitch of a templar had no patience with. Well, that and being a mage. Your crimes were so much worse than smuggling. Your father's crime was just as vile. So, he needed to suffer as well. Having you locked up and him wasting away trying to free you. Was punishment."
"So, Leith still raising your brother's bastard because you fell in love with his whore." Damian said realizing who the man was.
For the first time in twenty years, Darragh found he couldn't harness the rage that made him a berserker and attacked the chained man. It was only the guard pulling him away that saved Damian's life.
Unfortunately for Damian with the guard holding Darragh Enid was free to channel her human's anger and maul the prisoner.
The last thing Damian heard as he lost consciousness was Darragh shouting that he had better watch his mouth as that 'whore' was his sister.