Chapter 58: An Elf's Conflicted Heart

The Hanged Man

Merrill was at the Hanged Man playing Wicked Grace with Isabela, the pirate and Varric have been teaching her the game since she arrived in Kirkwall but the elf has never been any good at it. The rules were simple, Dealer shuffles, and starts. Each player is dealt five cards, and cannot have more than five cards in hand at a time. The exception to this being that a player can "play" cards, placing them on the table in front of them. Played cards do not count against the five in their hand. Cards are sometimes played upside-down or in reverse. Before the turns start, there's a round of betting, the same as in poker: players can call, raise, or fold. Each turn, the player draws one card from the deck, discards and/or plays cards until they have five cards in hand again, then ends their turn.

When the Angel of Death card is drawn, the card must immediately be revealed and the game ends. All players show their hands, and the one with the best hand wins. To win the game, you must have the hand of the highest value when the game ends—similar to how you win at poker. Today however Merrill was playing more seriously than the last couple of sessions to the point that she had betted the ring that her parents gave her as a memento when she left to be the First for Sabrae clan. Perhaps it was out of frustration for the last couple of nights of failure in trying to restore the Eluvian or perhaps it was to keep her mind off of other things…like her feelings for a certain rogue.

The two women revealed their cards. "Serpents of deceit and avarice, songs of temerity and mercy. Not a great hand, but I still win." Isabela said with a grin. "Not bad, this is probably your best game despite losing"

Merrill gave a small pout. "Why do you always win at cards?"

Isabela chuckled as she revealed a card under her bracer. "Because I cheat, Kitten" The rules to Wicked Grace are treated more like guidelines. Half the fun of the game is to cheat without being caught. Cheating in Wicked Grace can be done in a number of ways, such as drawing two cards instead of one, drawing from the discard pile, not revealing when the player has drawn the Angel of Death until they like their hand, stacking the deck in their favor, etc. So long as you're not caught cheating, the rules don't matter. "This trinket…it's elven, isn't it? From your clan"

"The only remaining tie to the Alerion clan, my birth clan" Isabela threw the ring back to the elf.

"Biggest rule of Wicked Grace, don't bet anything you're not prepared to lose" the pirate said. "And with that, it's time for a drink"

"I don't think Corff will settle for another…what did Varric called it? An IOU"

"Don't worry about me Kitten…I have my ways" Isabela walked to the bar with an aura that no one could resist whether they were man or woman. Corff was resistant at first but eventually the weight of the pirate's charm was even too much for the stoic bartender and he was forced to give Isabella what she wanted. She blew a kiss at Corff as she walked back to Merrill. "You are a sweetheart, Corff" The bartender just grumbled.

"How do you do that?" Merrill asked.

"Do what, Kitten?"

"You sort of... swagger when you walk. I've been trying, but I trip over my own feet when I do it." She said.

"You just strut. It's something you practice" Isabela said.

"How do you learn it, then?"

"It comes to you. Usually at night. It's like a lover... or maybe a burglar." The pirate said. "Either it ravishes you or runs off with all your jewelry. And you have to run it down and stab it in the heart." Merrill looked at her blankly. "And... that metaphor got a bit away from me, didn't it?"

"I think it did, but it was certainly exciting!" Merrill said. "Lovers…you've had many of them, haven't you?"

Isabella leaned back in her chair. "Fewer than some think"

"But you never stay with them"

"No, why should I?"

Merrill blushed. "But the act of lovemaking is so... intimate"

"I don't "make love." What I do is only skin-deep, Kitten" the pirate said. "But you're not talking about me, aren't you?" She then smirked. "You and Hawke... something's there, isn't there?"

Merrill's face became redder and she then looked away. "W-What makes you say that?"

"Oh please, even the people in the Anderfels could see how you feel about Hawke" Isabela said. "You are not the subtle type, Kitten"

"Ericks is…he's clever, strong, and wonderful. How could anyone not love him?"

"I'm sensing a 'but' here…"

"I'm of the People, for me to be having feelings for a human…even someone as wonderful as Ericks. My ancestors would be ashamed of me" Merrill said. "And what will Kirkwall say about Ericks? He has worked hard to get where he is...he shouldn't lose all of that because of me"

"Sorry Kitten, but I call bull on that…if you were really worried about what your ancestors thought, you wouldn't be asking him for help so much" Isabela said. "I think you are afraid that Hawke won't feel the same about you…tell me I'm wrong" Merrill was silent for a little while.

"As for Hawke, I don't think he really cares about what the nobles have to say about him"

"What should I do?"

"Tighten your knickers, get in there and tell him how you feel" Isabela said.

Merrill lowered her head. "And if he…"

"He won't…Hawke has a better poker face than most but I can tell he cares a lot about you" the pirate said. "But if he doesn't feel the same way, then at least you gave it your best shot and you can leave with no regrets"


On behalf of Knight-Commander Meredith, the Kirkwall Templar offers a gold bounty for the death or capture of several notorious apostates who have escaped the Gallows. Follow the example of Serah Hawke, who valiantly apprehended many Starkhaven apostates in years past, thereby making the realm safer. The apostates are:

Innley of Starkhaven
Deborah Keins
Jake the Black

Proceed with caution. May the Maker watch over any faithful who undertake this holy task.-Chanter's Board

Sundermount

"FIREBALL! DOWN!" The gang took cover as a barrage of fire rain upon them. Another day, another request from the viscount, a qunari patrol was ambushed…no survivors, when the other qunari found the patrol's bodies they found that they were drained of blood. At the same time, there was a manhunt for three escaped apostates from the Gallows, the three was suspected of being blood mages. The viscount asked Ericks to hunt down the blood mages before they had a huge incident on their hands. The found the first apostate, Jake the Black in the south side of Darktown, posing as a beggar to throw off the Templars scent. He was going to use the Undercity and make his way to the Wounded Coast; from there it would have been smooth sailing…until he ran into Anders.

The mage or rather the spirit within the mage could sense the corruption of blood magic. The mage stood no chance against Anders and in desperation gave into the demons to become a pride abomination. The next apostate was Deborah Keins; he had made it as far as the western end under the alias Heborah de Soliere. He used his magic to make himself invisible and run away so the gang had to set a trap to close in on the mage. Once caught, the Templars quickly pounced and killed him on the spot. The last apostate was Innley of Starkhaven, he was much harder to find as he was the only one who wasn't heading towards the Wounded Coast. A hunter from Merrill's old clan tipped them off about a human at the peak of Sundermount defiling the Dalish graves that sat there.

Tension rose when the Templars wanted access to the Dalish's sacred lands, the hunters didn't trust any entity from the Chantry and the Templars were still sore about the Dalish aiding on their escaped elven charges. If it wasn't for Varric's famous fast talk, the hunters and the Templars would have come to blows. When they met the mage, he didn't waste any time. Demons and the undead were summoned filled the mountain. With the combined efforts of the gang, Dalish hunters, and the Templars they were able to whittle down the numbers. As Innley saw his chances for freedom getting dimmer and dimmer, the mage revealed his ace in the hole: a mature dragon that he took control of using blood magic. Mature dragons are mature female dragons, becoming significantly larger than the normal dragon but lower than high dragon. Thus, they are between the two in power.

"Templars! At the ready!" The Templar archers took their position with their bows drawn and fired a barrage of arrows on the mature dragon. With the Templars handling the dragon and the Dalish handling what was left of the demons and undead…the gang headed right for the blood mage. Innley cut himself more times and used his blood to power his fireball spell; Aveline blocked the fire with her shield while Varric shot the mage in leg. Ericks came up last and with swiftness gutted the mage, ending his threat forever. With the blood mages dealt with the Templars and the hunters parted ways somewhat civilly, the gang headed back to Kirkwall to make his report but not without making a little stop.


Kirkwall Alienage-Merrill's house

Kirkwall was starting to get dark and the citizens headed home before night comes. Merrill was in her house preparing for dinner; on the table was smoked ham, herbs and a big wedge of cheese. Thanks to her connections with Varric and Ericks, the elf ate a lot better than most of the elves in the alienage…which made her guilty at times. She wanted to help her people, all of them whether they be dalish or city. While deep in thought, the elf never noticed Ericks coming in until he spoke up. "Merrill, you home?"

"Oh, Ericks I didn't see you there…how was your job with the viscount?"

The rogue groaned. "All that trouble and all I got for it was vapid praise from the viscount and condescension from the Arishok and no coin…so your typical day" Merrill giggled. "By the way, I got you something while I was over at Sundermount" Ericks handed a wooden halla carving to Merrill. The elf reached for it and touched the rogue's hand. They were looking into each other's eyes until Merrill spoke up.

"Ooh. Did you get this from Master Ilen?" the elf then gasped. "Mythal! Did I miss some important occasion? I'm so sorry! I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Ericks chuckled. "I think I missed the elvish sign for 'this present induces terrible guilt' I'll shop more carefully in the future"

"I…of course. You're just being thoughtful" Merrill then gazed at the carving and gave it a gentle rub while blushing. "No one has ever given me a present before. Useful things. Tools or clothes. Because I needed them. Not…just because" she said. "Ma serannas. I'll find a good place for this"

"Well…um, it's getting dark…I should, uh get back to Hightown before Ma starts worrying" Ericks said. "See you in the morning, Merrill" The rogue started to walk towards the door.

"Um, Ericks…" Ericks turned towards her. "Good night" The rogue smiled and headed out. The elf groaned as she slowing banged her head against the wall. "Creators, why is this so hard?"

Young love...Next Time! As always Review and Comment!