Chapter 11: The Lone Wolf

Slavery still thrives in Thedas, even if the trade has been outlawed. Who hasn't heard the tales of poverty-stricken elves lured into ships by the prospect of well-paying jobs in Antiva, only to find themselves clapped in leg-irons once at sea? And humans fall prey to this, too.

If they're lucky, they end up in Orlais, which has only "servants." Most nobles treat them decently because they are afraid of admitting the truth. Orlesians go to great lengths to maintain the fiction that slavery is illegal.

Of course, the greatest consumer of slave labor is the Tevinter Imperium, which would surely crumble if not for the endless supply of slaves from all over the continent. There, they are meat, chattel. They are beaten, used as fodder in the endless war against the Qunari, and even serve as components in dark magic rituals. —From Black City, Black Divine: A Study of the Tevinter Imperium, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Kirkwall Alienage-Night

"To arms!" One of them said. The thugs came charging in hoping to box them in, Bethany struck the ground with her staff and shards of ice erupted from the ground. Some of the thugs got skewered and the rest jumped back. Ericks and Aveline rushed the two thugs on the side and cut them down. Varric fired a volley of arrows in the air, the rain of arrows were blocked by the thugs shields. Bethany then rained fire upon them, burning the soldiers alive. More thugs appeared from the shadows; Ericks tossed a shock grenade their way. Lightning surged through their bodies and dropped the thugs to their knees. Aveline bashed one of them with her shield and then stabbed him in the neck. Varric shot an explosive arrow and wiped the rest of them out. When the battle ended, Aveline checked the bodies…the armor had the heraldry of the Tevinter Imperium.

"Slavers…can't say I'm surprised, the Free March is a well-known checkpoint to and from Tevinter" Varric said. "Looks like this elf they're after is an escaped slave"

"And somehow we're in the middle of this…we have the best of luck, don't we? Ericks said sarcastically.

"The fact the slavers had this many people just for one slave, means this is no ordinary slave" Aveline said. "I'll have the guards look into this" As the gang was heading out of the Alienage, a man in heavy armor came towards them. He didn't look happy when he saw the other slavers dead on the ground; the man must have been the leader.

"I don't know who you are, friend, but you've made a serious mistake coming here" he said in a gravelly voice. The gang got their weapons ready. "Lieutenant! I want everyone in the clearing! Now!" One of the slavers came around the corner; his armor was dyed with blood.

"Captain…" The slaver choked blood and collapsed. A deep voice spoke up.

"Your men are dead" A dark skinned white haired elf in dark spiky armor came down the stairs. Across his body were strange markings that seem to glow in the right light. His light grey eyes turned cold on the slaver captain as he walked past him. "Your trap failed, I suggest running back to your master while you can"

The slaver grabbed his soldier. "You're going nowhere, slave!" The elf then glowed blue and then put his hand through the captain's body. His eyes met the captain's eyes, the elf's eyes burned with hatred.

"I am not a slave" the elf said coldly. He took hand out of the captain's chest leaving a big hole. The captain's body fell with a thud in a pool of his own blood. He turned and faced the gang. "I apologize" he said. "When I asked Anso to provide a distraction for the hunters, I had no idea they would be so many"

"So you're the elf they were looking for…" Ericks said. "Nice trick you got there"

"It…has its advantages, my name is Fenris" he said. "Those men you killed were Imperial bounty hunters hired to recover a magister's lost property…myself"

"They were trying to lure into the open. As crude as their methods were, I couldn't face them alone" Fenris said. "Anso chose wisely, not many could kill so many hunters with just four people"

Ericks crossed his arms. "So was everything a lie, then?" he asked. "He promised good coin for this job"

Fenris shook his head. "Not everything, your employer was simply not who you believed"

"So if you couldn't fight them all, why didn't you just run?" Varric asked.

"I've been running since I first escaped, I was tired of it"

"Those marking…I've never seen anything like them" Bethany said.

"Yes, I imagine I must look strange to you" the elf said. "These marking were not by choice as I said they have their advantages, without them I would still be a slave"

"Glad to have help, slavers deserve their fate" Aveline said.

"Indeed" Fenris then sighed. "I have met few in my travels who have sought anything more than personal gain" he said. "If I may ask, what was in the chest? The one they kept in the house?"

Ericks crossed his arms and sucked his teeth. "Nothing, it was empty" Fenris had look of disappointment on his face. Ericks raised a brow. "You were expecting something?"

"Doesn't matter, it was bait, nothing more"

"And yet I don't believe you…"

"Believe what you want to believe" Fenris then started rummaging through the captain's corpse and found a letter with a magister's seal on it. The elf frowned when he read it. "As I thought, my former master accompanied them to the city" he hesitated at first but then turned to the gang. "You have questions I know but must confront him before he flees. I will need your help"

"Sounds like you want to do more than just talk" Varric said.

"Danarius wants to strip the flesh from my bones; he's sent so many hunter that I have lost count" Fenris said. "And before that, kept me on a leash like a qunari mage, a personal pet to mock qunari custom"

"Oh yes, I intend to do more than just talk"

"Why not? Fighting more slavers will help me forget that I'm not getting paid tonight" Ericks said. "Lead the way"

"I will find a way to repay you, I swear it"

"I'll hold you to that"

"The magister is staying at a mansion in Hightown, meet me there" the elf said. "We must enter before morning"


Before it became the Imperium, Tevinter was ruled by a dynasty of kings. And long before the Chantry there was a Circle of Magi: the society of mages in each city. The titles our modern Circles use—enchanter, senior enchanter, first enchanter—all originated here. But above the first enchanter, the Circles of Tevinter had another office: magister.

The magisters formed a council of the most powerful mages in the kingdom. They convened in Minrathous and held dominion over all magic in the land. When Darinius seized the throne in -1195 Ancient, the Court of the Magisters became the royal court, and "magister" was the only title of nobility recognized in Tevinter.

The Imperium today is a magocracy. Political power is solely in the hands of the magisters, who come only from the ranks of the Circle. Every young mage aspires to be a magister's apprentice because it's the best chance of ascending to the rank of magister themselves. —From Black City, Black Divine: A Study of the Tevinter Imperium, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Hightown-Night

Hightown is one of the safest places to be during the day but at night it is a different story, during this time guard and Templar activity is at its lightest allowing Kirkwall's underbelly to come out and play. Thieves come out to loot the nobles' estates while scavengers searched the streets for any lost items that they can sell for the highest prices. And then there are the rumors of Abominations and demons coming out at night looking to prey on unsuspecting fools wondering the streets. The gang went to Fenris' location; he was waiting for them outside of an estate near the Chantry Courtyards.

"No one has left the mansion but I've heard nothing within" the elf said. "Danarius may know we're here, I wouldn't put it past him"

"Who is this Danarius?" Aveline asked.

"He's a magister of the Tevinter Imperium"

"Oh, is that all? Nothing to worry about, then" Varric said dryly.

"In the Imperium, he's a wealthy mage with great influence" Fenris said. "Here, he is but a man who sweats like any other when death comes for him"

Ericks shrugged. "What the worst that could happen?"

"I don't fear death, but that doesn't mean we should be reckless" They headed into the estate; it was a grand place full of statues and symbols of the Imperium. There were also some macabre looking devices and items, Fenris explained that Danarius had experimented with blood magic and demon summoning. The markings on the elf's body were also one of the magister's experiments.

"Danarius!" They walked towards the next room and spotted a trap, Ericks disarmed them without a hitch. Once they entered the next room, several shades had appeared in front of them. Bethany cast a spell to stop the demons in their tracks, Fenris frowns at this but focused on the demons. Aveline and Ericks cut down two of them on the left while Fenris and Varric attacked on the right. They made quick work of the demons and went on ahead. "He sends spirits to do his fighting for him" Fenris said with a snarl. "Danarius! Do you hear me? Your pets can't stop what is coming!"

The gang head to the center of the mansion where more shades attack along with a rage demon. Bethany cast a cone of cold to slow them down; Ericks rushed forward and cut down the demons while Fenris impaled the rage demon with his glowing fists. Varric showered the demons with arrows allowing Aveline to take them down when they were weak. The party went through every room in the mansion fighting demons but there was no sign of Danarius. "Gone…" he said disappointed. "I had hoped…no, it doesn't matter any longer"

"I assume Danarius left valuables behind; take them for your payment…I…need some air" Fenris left the mansion while the rest of the gang went up the stairs for the chest.

"Will Fenris be okay?" Bethany asked concerned.

"Let him have his space, Sunshine" Varric said. "He came here to kill the man that tormented him as a slave only to find he wasn't there…that's got to be a blow to your confidence"

"Well hello there…" Ericks said holding the contents of the chest. "How much sovereigns you think we can get for this stuff?"

"Believe it or not Tevinter stuff fetches a pretty penny among certain circles of the nobles"

"Details, Varric, details"

"Hmm, a good twenty sovereigns…give or take" he said.

"Then that means we're halfway there" Bethany said. "Thirty more and we're in the expedition" The gang headed out of the mansion where Fenris was waiting against the wall.

"It never ends" Fenris said. "I escaped a land of dark magic only to have it haunt me at every turn. It is a plague burned into my flesh and soul" The elf then gave a hard gaze at Bethany; the mage came close to Ericks. "And now I find myself in the company of yet another mage"

"I saw that woman casting spells inside, I should have realized sooner what she really was" he said. "Tell me, then what manner of mage is she? What is it that you seek?"

"This mage is my sister, and if you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me" Ericks said seriously.

Fenris turned away. "I imagine I appear ungrateful. If so, I apologize, for nothing could be far from the truth" He then walked toward Ericks. "I didn't find Danarius, but I still owe you a debt. Here is all the coin I have, as Anso promised"

Ericks whistled. "Twenty sovereigns, so Anso wasn't bullshiting when he said he could handsomely pay" he said. "Well, apology accepted"

"Hmm, you are a strange one….should you find yourself in need of assistance, I would gladly render it"

"Well there is a matter of an expedition into the Deep Roads, and your abilities would surely come in handy" Varric said. "Pays well too"

"Fair enough" Fenris then headed back into the mansion.

"You're staying here?" Aveline asked.

"It has a bed and a roof, why waste it?" The elf said. "And if Danarius wishes to have his mansion back, he is free to return and claim it" He entered the mansion.

"We sure attract the weird ones, don't we Hawke?" Varric said.

"Yeah, but at least it's not boring" The gang went home.

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