Chapter 7: The Way It Should Be

Sundermount

"Andraste's tits, man! What exactly did you put in that flask?!" Varric asked. The battlefield was littered with the bodies of the raiders and burning with fire, even after a few minutes the fire did not die out.

"Hmm, might have used too much deep mushroom for that one" Ericks said. "I'll have to adjust my ratios later" The smoke from Ericks' grenade signaled the other raiders up along the Sundermount, allowing them to prepare traps for the gang. As they went up, the gang was ambushed all sides by the raider but despite the advantage the raiders found themselves quickly outmatched. When two more of their guys fell, the raiders fell back and regrouped. Things were quiet for now but they knew the raiders would be back. They continued up the mountain, Ericks disarmed any traps he could see while the others watched out for ambushes.

"So a Fereldan in the guard. What will they think of next?" Varric said.

Aveline looked at the dwarf. "You have a problem with that?"

"Nah, my family's not native either. I'm just surprised, lots of old prejudice in the guard" he said. "They're still getting used to elves from their own alienage being among them"

"I'll give them plenty of reason to change their minds"

"You know, it's possible they're just scared shitless of you. That's my theory, anyway" Before Aveline could retort, a flurry of arrows was fired their way. The gang scattered and took cover behind the rocks. Varric took potshots at the archers behind the trees, but they were too well covered. Bethany casts a horror spell; a black haze erupted from the ground and enveloped the raiders. They then started to scream bloody murder as they started to run aimlessly giving Ericks and Aveline a shot at them. Once the archers were down, the gang continued on their way.

"Nice job doing whatever you did there, Sunshine" Varric said.

"It always feels terrible when I use entropy spells, like I'm tapping into something dark" Bethany said. "When people find out about it, they get scared"

"They're idiots, Sunshine, you are not scary" Bethany was surprised, he said that with no hesitation. The only people who weren't afraid of her magic were her family.

"You're not afraid? Not even a little?"

"I'm a dwarf, in case you missed that detail"

"Dwarves aren't completely immune to magic, you know" Bethany said.

Varric chuckled. "No, no. I meant there are at least thirty people in Kirkwall who'd want to murder my family over trade deals" he said. "Who has time to worry about apostates with a Merchants Guild breathing down your neck?"

"Oh, in that case…I see" The gang was near the peak, large assortments of the caravan goods littered the ground. Most were intact but the others have been torn open, it seems the raiders couldn't wait to enjoy their ill-gotten goods.

"Ericks, we're close to the ambush" Aveline said. "Be ready" To the left of the fork in the road, the raiders had set up a fortification of archers and traps. Ericks got out a flask of blue-black liquid and poured it on his daggers, concentrated deathroot extract, although the deep blue-black color is attractive, it was very deadly to the touch. Bethany shoots a fireball and destroyed the traps allowing Ericks and Aveline to get through. Varric pinned one of the archers down with an arrow and then loaded his crossbow with a shrapnel arrow. The dwarf fired it and hit the pinned archer with the arrow; the explosion showered the area with shrapnel and flame. When that wave fell, a new wave came from the side. Ericks kicked an explosive flask into the raiders, briefly stunning them. With every cut, he poured poison into the wounds which caused an incredibly painful death. Aveline bashed one of the rogue raiders with her shield and then with a flick of her arm cut the raider down quickly.

A raider tried to stab Ericks from behind, the rogue quickly turned and threw the man over his shoulder and slammed his dagger into the raider's head. When the battle was done, Aveline examined the bodies. "Well-equipped for bandits…"

"That's the Coterie for you, they protect their interests like an army protecting a city" Varric said.

"Well the road is clear, that's all that matters" Aveline said. "Captain Jeven needs to know of this, let's head back to Kirkwall"


Viscount's Keep

The gang was back in Kirkwall waiting for Aveline to finish her report to Captain Jeven. She was going to purpose an initiative to protect the roads leading to Kirkwall but all that could be heard from behind the door was yelling from the captain…he was very unhappy with Aveline taking matters into her own hands. But apparently Aveline gave as well as she got which made the guard captain even more furious. Many people stood in front of the door to witness the scene from the guards to the viscount's staff. "I don't know how they do it where you're from, Guardswoman but I decide the patrols, not you and your whims!" the captain said. "You many have been put up for lieutenant in your first year, but I'll have no show-offs in my command! Have I made myself clear?!

"Report to your post, before I have you and your Fereldan accomplice jailed!" The door slammed opened and everyone scattered to get back to work. Aveline walked out red as a tomato, and eyes full of fire…she was furious.

"Well, he's a charming one" Ericks said sarcastically.

"I don't have to like him, but could've at least have the decency to listen" Aveline then sighed. "Bandits are dead…that's all that should matter"

"Welcome to Kirkwall, Aveline. People here care more about being burdened than doing the right thing" Varric said.

"It's not the first time he's made me wonder like this…something is very wrong"

"So I take it, this is a bad time to discuss payment with him"

"He'll jail you, I don't doubt that. The rest, though…" Aveline said. "The duty roster will have my next patrol, so I'll have plenty of time to follow you around"

"Aren't I lucky?" Ericks said dryly. "Well, it's been a long day; I think it's time to unwind a little" Ericks, Bethany, and Varric headed for the exit, before Aveline went, she looked back at Captain Jeven's door and frowned.

"Threatening my friends…not going to let that go, Captain" She went to join the others.


The Hanged Man-Night

The Hanged Man is a tavern located in Lowtown, in the lower parts of Kirkwall north of the docks. It is a popular destination for all people, strangers or residents. According to Varric, the tavern got its name because people used to be hanged by their feet at the spot as it was a public execution site as well as a slave auction back when Tevinter controlled Kirkwall. Nowadays it a place that sells terrible ales and food, where you can get stabbed for looking at someone wrong, and where shady, under-the-table dealings go on but for a lot of people, its home away from home. The gang went into the tavern and everyone greeted Varric, apparently the dwarf was well-known here. He went up to bar where a blonde haired man was cleaning the glasses.

"Corff, my man, a round of drinks for everyone." The bar erupted in cheers. "Put it on my brother's tab"

"You know you're going to get an earful from Bartrand's money people, Varric"

The dwarf smirked. "We're good for it, always are" he said. "Finally a chance to talk, let's get down to business"

"So, here's the thing: we need to find a way into the Deep Roads" Varric said. "Bartrand can lead us to the right place, but we need a good entrance"

"Any entrance would do, wouldn't it? Unless a dragon's sitting in it, I suppose" Ericks said. "What are you thinking?"

"The entrance has to be close to our destination but isn't already plundered or filled with darkspawn" the dwarf said. "Fortunately, I have some new information. A Grey Warden is in the city, if anyone knows how to get down there, it'll be him"

"How would a Grey Warden know that? I thought they just fought the darkspawn"

"They forge into the Deep Roads all the time, and if he doesn't know, maybe he can point us to someone who can" Varric said.

"And if he doesn't? You got another option, right?" Ericks asked.

Varric sighed. "None at the moment. Bartrand had an entrance in mind but it was a bust" he said. "I'll keep looking, but if we don't find something…we're shit up the creek without a paddle"

"So where do I find this warden?"

"Supposedly, he came in with some other refugees from Ferelden not long ago" the dwarf said. "A Lowtown woman named Lirene has been helping the refugees, we talk to her and maybe we learn where he is"

"Sounds good, and let me know if you got work lined up" Ericks said. It was getting late, Ericks was going to round up Bethany and head home before their mother worries. Bethany was talking with Aveline until a woman with short brown hair came towards them.

"Aveline!" the woman said. "Heard you got a talking-to from Jeven, that ass" Aveline shook her head and grunted in disgust. "I owe you for clearing that ambush, saved me a mess of trouble, you did"

"That route was yours, Brennan?"

Brennan nodded. "Single patrol, would have been if I been there"

"A single person? That's not a patrol" Bethany said.

"Shouldn't need to be, that route was cleared for weeks" Brennan said. "First time its brought up was your big fight"

"The captain reassigned me after he heard what you did and I passed the satchel to Donnic for his patrol tonight" The satchel was pay and order assignments, the captain orders the men to run deliveries to the many guard outposts in Kirkwall during light duty. Usually the satchel was just an updated copy of the guard rosters but this one was unusual as it was very heavy. Aveline frowned a little at that…that was unusual, her suspicions rose again. "Anyway, thanks again, Aveline. You're a good one" Brenan walked back to her table for drinks.

"The satchel gets heavy and the same day there's an ambush, interesting coincidence"

"You want to check out tonight's patrol, don't you?" Ericks asked. "Sure you want to cross your superior again?"

"If a guard has been put at risk, a good captain would want to want to know why" Aveline said. "And if he's not a good captain, I want to know why"

"I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable lie that explains why your captain arranged this"

"And I'm very interested in hearing it, but not while a guard may be walking into a trap" she said. "Brennan said Donnic has the satchel, a good man…if I remember correctly, his route is here in Lowtown"

"Well let's just drop in and make sure his patrol stays boring" Ericks said. "And it's near home, so win-win" Jenra, Aveline, and Bethany walked out of the Hanged Man and started their search for Donnic's patrol. Lowtown was very different at night; it was empty and almost dead silent with only the squeaking of the rats and the raucousness of Hanged Man to give it sound. This was for a very good reason; no one wanted to be outside at night because this was the time Kirkwall's underground element came out to play. Not even halfway from the tavern, the trio was attacked by highwaymen a large group of them.

They made quick work of them and then heard yelling and the clashing of swords. They followed the sound until they saw a man in guard armor with long brown hair. Despite his age, the man looked like he could be several years young. He was fighting off thugs from the Coterie. The trio attacked from the back, surprising them. "He's got friends!" The Coterie attacked.

Never a dull day! Next Time! As Always Review and Comment!