Chapter 5: Magic
Tam raised her bow to loose an arrow at the stowaway elf, a rather nasty looking bodkin point tipping it. The snarl on her face informed me she was absolutely intent on killing the man. Though man is putting it generously, he was barely eighteen by my guess.
I examined the target, concluding he seemed entirely harmless. Any one of the three of us could have taken him easily with our fists alone. Especially Julie. Tam's bow or dagger was overkill, whereas my firearms could have turned him to minced beef in a fraction of a second. Or at least, that was my assessment when I decided to stop her from killing the poor guy.
I lightly put my hand on Tam's shoulder to calm her down. Her narrowed eyes and tensed muscles relaxed slowly at the touch. With an exhale of breath, she slowly returned the bowstring to its place, and removed the arrow from its nock. That allowed me to relax a little in turn, as made it clear she did not kill people without good reason and stopped us creating a body we needed to hide.
The stranger seemed entirely blasé about the whole thing, continuing with a little smile on his face that was very disarming. I was certainly willing to give him some time to speak, but it did not convince our new Qunari friend, however.
"He is dangerous, Samuel," Tam said firmly, pressing her case to me, "We should kill him." That got my attention, you can be sure. I was rendered speechless by the ferocity of her conviction on the matter. He looked like a mischievous kid to me, at worst.
Our guest cleared his throat pointedly. "That's impolite," objected the elf, "Talking about killing a person right in front of them, without even knowing their name!"
"I know enough, saarebas," Tam snarled at the man, "You are without a keeper, which means you could attack at any time. You are too dangerous to live."
The elf rolled his eyes, his smile remaining. That tweaked my interest, as I began to suspect Tam's speech was something he had heard before. He moved to the side and sat down on the back of the cart, placing his staff across his thighs.
Julie and I sat too, my ignorant self still entirely unaware of the potential danger. Tam remained standing, now ignoring the fact that Julie had began eating the chicken again. Hunger beating out curiosity, which in this case was totally fucking bizarre to me. Both my companions seemed to know who my guest was, but Julie at least seemed calm about it.
"Who is he?" I asked her.
"It's more a question of what he is," Julie replied, pausing her chewing, "He's an apostate. A mage outside the Circle, a rebel sorcerer."
I snorted with laughter. Finally, a supposed magic user had arrived. If he had truly meant us harm and truly was a mage, he would've shown it already. Or that was my logic anyway. This situation seemed more absurd.
"My name is Armen, in case anyone cares," the elf said, not holding the interruption in our conversation against us, "And it is as your friend says, I am a rebel mage. And you?"
I had to see it to believe it. At the back of my mind, I had already decided that magic had to be real if all the things I had seen already were real, but I couldn't simply take their word. Some intelligence gathering on the basic capabilities of magic users was required.
To start, I took out a dessert packet from the MRE, and opened it. I bit into the dubious treat inside, to tease him a little before I made the request. A reminder that I had something he wanted. The grin on the mage's face died down a little, as he watched the dessert rather than me.
"Sam Hunt, at your service," I said quickly, "If you are a mage, show us your magic. I've never met anyone who could use it before."
That certainly caused consternation, the young man's brow going a bit crooked.
"You're not from Orlais?" Armen asked.
"Does he sound like he is?" said Julie. I was after all speaking in Orlesian, though the accent should have answered his question. He didn't get out enough to know, as I'd discover.
"He sounds like some dwarves I've met," confirmed the elf, "What country are you from?"
I was becoming annoyed. He was stalling, or trying to avoid my request completely, by moving onto another topic entirely.
"I come from somewhere extremely far away. You wouldn't know it," I said, "So, are you going to show me magic or are you not hungry any more?" I shook the dessert between my fingers, the packet making a pleasant sound.
Armen's face curled with annoyance, the first time he had displayed something other than a casually happy visage. It still lacked threat to me though, looking more like the face of a child asked to do a chore than anything with real hostility. I felt a little bad, making him into my personal trick pony for a moment. I would regret feeling bad soon enough.
The elf rose, dusting off the bottom of his robes as he did so, before taking his staff back into his hands.
What happened next astonished me. He swung the staff in a wide arc, and as he did so, purple-blue electrical discharges began running the length of it. Before I could wonder how he was still holding the thing without shocking himself, he stopped swinging it and thrust it forward towards me. A bona fide bolt of lightning burst from its tip. I didn't see where it went, it was obviously far too fast for that, but I certainly heard it as it passed right by my left ear. It almost deafened me in doing so.
I fell on my ass, while Julie and Tam scrambled for cover. Armen returned his staff to a resting position off the ground, and his face went from one of deep concentration to mild amusement again.
I stood up in a daze. I don't know what sort of expression I was making, but I can only imagine it was something akin to a child seeing a skyflower firework for the first time. I was amazed and impressed... but that quickly curdled into something else as my mind recovered from the shock.
"See!" said Tam, pointing at him with one hand and keeping her other on her dagger, "This is no mere stowaway! He is living weapon!"
At long last, I agreed with her assessment, though not simply because he had used magic. No, it was because he had shot so lethal a thing so close to my head. The equivalent of shooting an Earth weapon around like it was a toy.
But I couldn't let him get a whiff of threat from me, not yet. I wasn't so quick on the draw as to be literally faster than lightning. I needed to get the drop on him. So, no doubt with a barely suppressed disapproving glare, I clapped the man's performance slowly. The cheeky guy took a theatrical bow, evidently pleased that he had entertained.
Yeah, he definitely didn't get out much.
"Seems pretty harmless to me," I lied, "He could've killed us all if he wanted."
The corner of Tam's mouth twitched. She had detected my deception. If the mage had, he made no sign of it. My confidence grew, as I inched towards him while my other companion did what I knew she would; have her say.
"Harmless?" said Julie from her seat, not believing her ears, "He shot lightning at you!"
The mage turned his head completely, letting me take several steps casually. Tam wisely did not follow; as trained in stealthy movement as she was, at this range it would've seemed like a mountain was moving.
"I shot the rise in the ground behind him," Armen corrected, addressing Julie's complaint, "He asked for a demonstration of magic, I gave him the best one I could think of." More like the most flashy he could think of, and there's nothing more flashy than lightning.
The comment must've sent Julie's blood running cold as much as it had mine.
"Sam, you can't let him stay," pleaded Julie, "Mages are kept away from the rest of us for a reason. The explosion from last night, they caused it!"
That caught my attention, let me tell you. Tam's explanation from the previous night had left out that detail, or rather, laid it out in a way I couldn't understand. My instincts still told me that Armen was not our enemy, but he was a kid who had way too much power at his fingertips. I needed to reassure both Julie and Tam that I was aware of that at least.
And yet, I saw great potential in him. I figured the chances of us getting into a serious fight in the next few days at better than fifty-fifty odds. Besides that, he was of obvious scientific interest, I had something of a duty to try and bring him to my superiors.
Or, to be more honest about it, I wanted to see what else he could do and I wanted those other things done to the people hunting us, rather than me. The thought of Goldie being turned into electro-fried chevalier was highly motivating.
My determination was made, I was going to take the elf along.
His lack of restraint needed to be dealt with first. Or at least, a proper appreciation of where we really stood instilled quickly.
"Tam, you heard me talking to Julie about the dragon, right?" I said, turning to her to ask.
"Yes..." Tam replied, unsure where I was going with the question.
"Did you believe the story?" I continued.
"Not until I saw you in person," Tam replied. Her eyes darted briefly at the weapon hanging off the front of me on straps.
"I still don't believe it," joked Julie. I smiled back at that, as I knew perfectly well she believed me.
"Oh ye of little faith," I said, jokingly, "I guess it's time to show you." I was getting enthusiastic for my plan now.
I turned back to Armen, who had been listening intently without comment. His head raised itself a bit as he realised my full attention was on him. In a way, I felt sorry for him. He was about to bear witness to something not seen by the peoples of this world before, save for one particular asshole.
Turned out that the gathered people around me had heard of something like it, just not in the form I was about to demonstrate. Which made it all the more disturbing to them.
"My turn," I said to him. He tilted his head, trying to get my meaning. I think what I did next proves that I am a bad person, as I did it with a sense of glee.
I drew the handcannon hanging on my hip fast, bringing it into both of my hands. After flicking the safety off with my thumb, I aimed and fired three times. The bullets thundered out of the barrel, followed by bright muzzle flashes.
I grinned to myself. I had picked my target well; an upright crate that had been taken off and was leaning against a tree trunk. Inside was ceramic jars of cooking oil packed in hay. My shots not only penetrated the wood, they shattered the jars inside and went clean out the back. Oil spluttered out of the bullet holes, and then drained out of the bottom. Between rust from old iron nails and the natural colours of both wood and oil, the oozing liquid had a blood-like quality.
The sound of the firing had also echoed around in a snapping sound off some of the rock formations at the edge of the river. It was a curiously nostalgic thing.
"Ah, not the oil," Julie lamented from behind, "I was going to sell that."
The shots had missed Armen by a good amount of space, he was well to the side of the line of fire, but it was close enough for him to hear both bullets flying and the explosions that moved them. The mage had recoiled in surprise at the noise, losing his footing and falling on his ass.
Most importantly to my mind, he had dropped his staff; at the time, I was unaware that mages did not require one.
Having demonstrated I had my own means of killing him beyond his present comprehension, I aimed my weapon at him. Tam soon joined in, coming alongside me and nocking an arrow to her bow again. The mage's eyes widened, and he remained as still as a statue.
"I see so much as a spark of magic and I pull the trigger," I grimaced, "You and I need to have a conversation." I figured, correctly, that he couldn't summon a lethal spell before I noticed he was doing it and squeezed the trigger. As long as my concentration didn't break, anyway.
The mage's mouth turned into a thin line for a moment, before he spoke. It didn't take him long to recover at all. "I thought we were having one just now," he said.
"This is different, our cards are all on the table now," I replied, "Which brings me to the question: What the hell do I do about you?"
The reference to a card game seemed to amuse him. "I could say the same about you," Armen said, his grin coming back, "We're both on the run from something, so why don't we partner up for a little bit, until things are a little safer for the both of us."
This was what I wanted, of course, but he still wasn't getting the picture.
I breathed in through my teeth, shaking my head. "See, if safety is the issue, we've already got a problem," I said, "You seem to throw your magic around whenever the hell you want, safety be damned. Can't have that if you're gonna come along."
Armen's smile curdled. He was realising I hadn't really been as enthusiastic about his lightning as I had acted. "You sound like a Templar," he grumbled, "I am in total control of my magic, you were never in any danger."
I flicked the hammer of my handcannon back with my thumb. He flinched at the click it made. "Wrong answer," I intoned gravely, "One more try. You do not point that staff or aim your magic near anyone unless you intend to kill them. It's the same rule my people have for the sort of weapon I'm aiming at you now, which should give you an idea about how serious I am. You'll follow it or this is going to work."
Armen's eyes shifted to the weapon briefly. "How do you know I'll keep my word?" he said.
I tilted my head towards Tam. "She'll be watching you too," I said, "And me getting away ultimately could benefit you and your rebellion. I'm not the only one with these weapons, after all. That's what you really want, isn't it?" I had no intention of supplying the things, but it wasn't my call to make either.
A quick examination of Tam, her bow and her nasty looking dagger must have confirmed the danger of crossing us in the mage's mind. He sighed, and picked himself off the ground, wisely leaving his staff where it lay. "In that case... I'll follow your rules," he said, "If only because I'm wondering where in the world you are from."
It was my turn to smirk. "That's a long story," I said, holstering my weapon, "I'll take you at your word, for now. Pick up your staff and come get something to eat."
I threw him the dessert packet, giving him the promised treat. He caught it and took a bite, brow rising as he tasted something made on another world for the first time.
Tam shifted her weight nervously as Armen did as he was told, leaning over to retrieve his weapon and wandering carefully in a curve to join Julie and I. She eventually relaxed; the mage's body language must have appeared suitably tame enough.
I sat back down on my box, and we ate in comfortable silence for a while, every single one of us ravenous after our experiences. After a while, once I had enough, I looked over at my original companions. Both were gazing at me, as I knew they would be. I ignored them, knowing that they'd ask the question eventually. The one that came wasn't what I was expected.
"Where did you get a gaatlok weapon?" asked Tam, breaking the quiet, "If my people ever found you with this, they would certainly kill you to hide the secret."
And there I thought that I had something unique.
"You have firearms?" I asked, before clarifying, "Weapons like this?" I pat the side of my firelance.
The Qunari nodded solemnly, her manner and tone replaced entirely with something akin to reverence.
"They are our most powerful weapons, though I have never seen ones so small as those you have," Tam said, her eyes looking upwards as she remembered, "How they work our most closely guarded secret. Gaatlok is made by a special group overseen directly by the Arigena. Kings and Empresses would sacrifice half of their peoples for the knowledge."
So not only were firearms in existence, someone had used them in enough numbers to make a serious difference. It made me wonder about the level of technology that Tam's people had.
"Is this … gaatlok stuff a black powder?" I asked.
Tam blinked. "...Yes," she said, "You know of it?"
So, they weren't all that advanced. "Yeah, but it's obsolete to my people," I said, "We have developed better formulas."
Tam moved her eyes to her feet, biting her lip slightly, lost in thought.
It suddenly occurred to me that it was a huge development. The knowledge I had, or the technologies that had been brought through with me, could change this new world and not necessarily for the better. The weapons alone could be the cause of millions of deaths if mismanaged. And from what I had seen up until that point, I was absolutely certain they would be.
Julie sat down close beside me.
"It is the work of the Maker," she said, "It couldn't be a coincidence, that you and I happened to end up in the same cell. You could be the downfall of the Qunari, the nobility, all those who think themselves above everyone else!"
So that was her agenda. I was genuinely terrified for a moment. "Or, I could be the downfall of your civilisation," I said, ignoring the comment about the Maker for the moment, "You can't tell anyone."
"Could you make this gaatlok stuff?" Julie pressed, squeezing my hands lightly to encourage an honest answer. Her eyes were lit up with excitement. It was impossible to ignore.
"Yes, but you still can't tell anyone!" I insisted. I had pretty extensive knowledge of the subject, actually. Home-made firearms and explosives were a huge problem for our soldiers in the years leading up to my removal from Earth, we had to know the formulas to be able to spot when someone was making them. And black powder is very easy to make if you have the right materials.
That was the end of the conversation for a little bit.
Julie was humming to herself, caught in her own thoughts and obviously happy as she continued eating. Undoubtedly thinking about the applications of explosive powder, given her profession and political inclination, though I didn't see the real picture of either at the time.
Anticipating we might need something for the road so we wouldn't have to stop again that day, I began to get more food out of my pack, when Armen cleared his throat. I had almost forgotten he was there.
"About not telling anyone," the elf said, "I'm afraid I can't do that."
And things were going so well.
Tam bristled, shooting him another lethal look with her eyes. I thought I should probably inform him of what happened to the last person who displeased her to a great degree. And that I would let her repeat it if he was being unreasonable about the issue. But he continued before I could.
"I've lived in a Circle tower for most of my life, imprisoned for what I am," he said, "I like my new freedom. The rebellion gave that to me. If it fails, I go back to the tower, I'll be made Tranquil or I'll be killed. Just for wanting to live my life outside of a prison. If you have a weapon that can help us, I have to tell my brothers and sisters. Sorry."
I looked at him blankly. He looked genuinely afraid of our reaction to this statement, glancing nervously at my weapons. For my part, I was still pretty much in the dark about the Circle of Magi, the events at Kirkwall and elsewhere, or Orlais' Great Game. But I understood that I had to learn more.
My superiors would want intelligence. And life-long imprisonment without trial for the act of being different has extremely ominous repercussions. The consequences of which I was compelled to seek out. I looked to my companions for the answers.
"What is he talking about?" I demanded, "Mages are locked up like animals?"
"Not like animals," insisted Julie, "In fact, they're treated better than most commoners. They are educated, if they get sick they are looked after, and they never go hungry. They can even be treated as nobles in the royal court, like the Madame de Fer."
"A gilded cage is still a cage," Armen said softly, "Try watching parents have their child taken from them or see mages forced to become Tranquil on the word of Templars who abused them, their emotions and free will taken from them. We are not your enemies, but allies. If they can do it to us, they can do it to any commoner."
That stopped Julie cold, and she couldn't formulate any counterargument. I have to admit, thinking back now, Armen was very convincing. He knew exactly what button to push.
In Madamoiselle Marteau's case, it was her animosity towards the rulers of the country. I thought then that it was because of her arrest and treatment at their hands over taxes she had no say in. It was deeper than that. He was able to provoke sympathy for his cause very easily, as it was the same set of bastards that had put him away. Church and state were intertwined in Orlais.
He couldn't possibly figure out a Qunari, however.
"They are a threat to everyone else," said Tam between forkfuls of chicken and rice, "Here, they are separated from society, and killed only if they break the rules seriously. It is softness compared to the Qun. Their lips are sown shut, they are chained and guarded at all times. They serve or they die, any disobedience is treason."
I found that easy to believe, having seen the power myself. Given Tam's strong hostility to Armen, I was certain I could believe that her people treated magic users even worse. However, I wasn't thinking in the right direction. I should have been asking where the power came from, rather than what a mage could actually accomplish.
Armen bristled, to the point that Tam put down her food again and drew her dagger.
"Alright, that's enough," I said, heading off the argument before it went further, "I just want to know if there's something I can do to get you to keep my secret?"
Everyone cooled off again.
"Nothing comes to mind," said Armen honestly, his good humour returned to him, "I can't let such valuable information go. We won't be herded and hid away any longer."
I sighed at the man's politely cheerful stubbornness. I wondered if he was so cheery when he was locked up in a tower somewhere.
A desperate thought occurred to me, as all the pieces fell into place.
I may have a duty to protect this man. The founding principle of my own homeland was liberty, and here I was, refusing to help a man who had been deprived of that his whole life. That it wouldn't be the first failure to defend such freedoms in the history of my country weighed heavily.
Beyond that, there was the oath I had sworn to defend the right of people to be free of oppression. Other world or not, I didn't feel any different, I was a peacekeeper.
According to the laws under which I served, what Armen, Julie and Tam had described as the life of mages constituted a crime against humanity. In other words, actions so heinous that they would have drawn the ire of the entire world. At least, back on Earth they would. Acts that I had standing orders to prevent if they occurred in front of me.
There was only one choice, if I was to maintain my own sense of honour. However limited it might be.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." I said to myself in the Common tongue, quoting the declaration of my homeland's freedom.
"...What does that mean?" asked Julie, her eyes agape.
"It means Armen's cause is worthy of consideration," I replied, somewhat embarrassed that I had spoken the words aloud, "If I were him, I would fight too."
"So, will you allow me to give the secret to my brothers and sisters?" the elf asked, hopefully.
"Better. I can't fight for your cause, I don't know enough yet, but I can help in other ways," I said, "Come with me, and I'll try. Show you things that are potentially more powerful than the weapons I have here."
Armen's smile widened, and he gave a single nod. I guess he believed me, or perhaps he was just curious as to what I would bring to the table.
Tam immediately stood up. "This is going too far!" she complained. Her tone told me that she already thought it inevitable, but she was compelled to try and stop it nonetheless.
I paused to take a bite of chicken, which was a bit too dry for my preference, but hey, it was rations. "You want to come to my country?" I asked her.
"Very much," Tam replied.
"Then you have to understand something," I continued, "If my country were to hear about how these mages have been treated, my people would be outraged."
Tam frowned, having some idea of what that meant, likely from the sort of weapons I was carrying. But I explained for the benefit of Julie and Armen anyway.
"It might even be cause for us to send our armies, and trust me, there is nothing on this continent that could stop them," I continued, "That's how evil they would view it as. On top of that, there are plenty of resources around here that some people would love to take off your hands. All this would be a great excuse to march in to take them." We had no shortage of ambitious men looking for any excuse, after all.
The Qunari sat down again, defeated.
"Very well, but I will act as his arvaarad and watch him," Tam growled, waving her dagger at the mage menacingly. Armen seemed to find that funny.
"Good, I trust you to do it," I replied. She grimaced a little, but accepted the responsibility. The mage did need watching. I may have liked him, but I wasn't stupid either.
Really shouldn't have shown that so blatantly, friend. She's really good with that blade. Seriously, she'll flay you in seconds, stop grinning. I went over to her for reassurance, as I didn't want it to become a problem. I crouched down beside her, and she raised her head when I did so.
We both ate in amiable silence for a bit, but I finished first. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash," I said, "I really need it."
I saw that Julie's eyes tracked me as I went, while Armen finished off his curried chicken with every hint of enthusiasm. Tam sat and brooded over the events, but didn't appear particularly unhappy. Things were still tense, but I hoped a little time off would help. The sun was finally beginning to make itself known, and the murky darkness of the forest riverbank started to dissolve.
I bathed in the river without incident. Being able to clean off the sweat of days and the dirt of a prison cell felt absolutely divine. The stream was very cold, but I couldn't care. I even swam a little downstream.
By the time I was finished, I felt like I had been reborn, baptised in the new world's craziness and now immune to it. A naïve view, in truth, but it was just that sort of atmosphere. I felt a lot better after dealing with Armen and his predicament. Like a proper soldier again. I hoped that I had gained another person to rely on while I was here.
The temperature was on the up and the sun was rising higher. After drying myself with my sole towel, it began to feel very warm. I put on a fresh set of pants, pulled on my boots, but left my top half uncovered. I could feel it was going to be a hot day. I set about arranging my next move.
I went to my bag to find the scribe's documents, those that had been written when I was captured by Goldie, but found my pack in disarray. Out of the corner of my eye, Armen was watching.
"Did you go through my stuff?" I asked politely.
"It was her," he said, "The pretty one."
"Which one is that?" I asked, knowing the answer would be a good one.
I think he realised that he had run himself into a trap. "Both of them," he smiled after a pause.
I chuckled and nodded. I guess he was a kindred spirit in more ways than one. To be honest, I could tell that immediately. Little did I know that many Circle mages were like that. Guess there isn't much else to do in a tower all the live long day except read and the other thing. Making them excellent people for two reasons, in my opinion.
"How did you manage to come into the company of two lovely ladies like that?" he asked, "I'm extremely jealous." Poor guy really did need to get out of his golden cage, I thought.
"Prison, would you believe?" I said, "We managed to break out last night."
Armen looked very thoughtful for a moment, like that meant something to him. He took out a small journal from the folds of his robes and made a note of it. It did mean something to him, in fact, but he kept his counsel. I didn't think much of it, that perhaps he was wondering how we managed it.
"Escaped from prison last night, you say?" he said, "Now, that is interesting."
Shaking my head at yet another random thing I wasn't going to get, I steered the conversation back on course.
"What did they take?" I said.
"Clothes," said Armen, "Clothes and crackers."
"Huh?" I muttered in reply.
The elf laughed for a bit, and walked away to the wagon again. He began talking to and feeding the horse, the one member of our party I didn't think to feed at all.
I shrugged away the issue, and got out the notes that Red Mask had waved around at the Orlesian equivalent of a show pre-trial. The front page was, inevitably, the sigil of the royalty; a lion and the face of a woman embraced by sunbeams, stamped onto the rough yellowish paper with blue ink. I opened the page, and a problem spat in my face.
The letters were not familiar to me at all.
I scratched my head, wondering at the paradox. I could speak the languages of this world as they were practically identical to two in my world, though their names were different. Common is called English, and Orlesian is French, in case you were wondering.
Yet, despite this, the written language was unusual, or at least, the alphabet was. I managed to figure out that the most of the letters had direct counterparts in Latin script, the type you are now reading this story in. I looked out for a sequence that had the same number of letters as my fake name, Clint Eastwood. I quickly found it near the top of the first page, spelled incorrectly. The rest was in flowing script and in Orlesian, so reading it quickly wasn't going to happen. I would need to decode it.
I sighed, and leaned back, holding the paper out to try anyway. Red Mask had said there was a huntsman, which meant there had to be a village nearby the dragon nest, from which I could search for my cache of Earth weapons.
I was getting nowhere, when a cold hand landed on my bare shoulder. It was as if an ice creature had come up to say hello, the coolness biting into me. I shivered at the touch, and turned around to see who it was.
Julie was standing behind me. She was wearing a military undershirt from my world that was large for her, my boots, and I presume something below the waistline, though the shirt was too long to see. Her hair was damp, and twisted around to one side like she had tried to wring the water out of it. I supposed she had been swimming too, though how I had failed to spot her the first time remains uncertain.
This was the first time I managed to have a look at her in light conditions that weren't bordering on darkness too. The prison cell not having much of skylight and the streets of Halamshiral at night being nearly pitch black. She had warm light-brown skin, and her dark hair had a strong hint of red to it. Her cheeks had a mild sprinkling of freckles.
From head over heels to tumbling down a hill uncontrollably, was I. Julie knew it too.
She poked my side with her icy finger, halting my eyeing up of her. Which was hardly fair, she was doing the same to me. A question came that I probably should have anticipated.
"What is that tattoo?" she asked, moving her finger to my back, "What does it mean?"
"A bald eagle, clutching arrows and an olive branch," I replied in Common, "It's the coat of arms of my homeland."
"And the other one?" The finger brushed across my back. She was teasing me... and I was enjoying it.
"Coat of arms of the United Nations," I said, "My other employer, you could say, though it's a lot more complicated than that." It really is. I still need a drink or two to even bother to trying explain it.
"Is that a map in the net part?"
I had forgotten that the second tattoo displayed my entire world, and I still had not told anyone that I was from another world yet. Whoops. Not that Julie had believed my cover story, or Tam for that matter, having eavesdropped on the two of us in prison.
"It is indeed," I said.
Julie gave me a troubled look, and began tracing my back with her finger, trying to get a better look at the map. This was the moment that the truth first entered her mind as a possibility, I suspect. She looked at it as if trying to work something out. I think the round shape of the map caused her to think it was a depiction of a sphere. That is to say, another world. Thedosians knew their own world was round.
The madamoiselle didn't pry, though she did something else. When she was done inspecting the map of Earth and the eagle, things started to escalate. She sat down and put her palm against my back, moving it around. Followed by her cheek. I straightened up on the box, just before she hugged me from behind, arms around my chest. You might think that it was a very pleasant, but it was actually like being hugged when naked by a god damned snowman. Albeit a very attractive snowman.
"Ah, you're warm," she sighed, and I nearly fell to pieces. She practically nuzzled me. I learned long ago not to question Julie's whims, but at this point, I was a bit conflicted about her forwardness. What was she doing? I doubted very much that warmth was all she was after. Though I think it was also what attracted me to her.
Thus began my long and glorious career as a body pillow. The End... Actually, wait, that joke is too close to the truth. Disregard it.
I let her be. She was comfortable with it, so was I. Before she had showed up, I was on the verge of overheating anyway. I didn't remember it being that warm when I had arrived, but then again, it had rained on my first day.
With remarkable discipline in the circumstances, I flicked through the papers again, trying to get my bearings on the language as best I could. The dual task of translating both the characters and the language was making it very slow going. There was a lot of legal bullshit I didn't understand either. I must have let out five sighs in as many minutes, as sentences revealed nothing of what I needed to know.
I should have known that doing so would draw the attention and ire of Frosty the Avvar Snow-Woman.
Julie moved her head off my back and leaned her chin on my shoulder, peeking at the documents below. Which had very pleasant effects on how close we were, at the expense of a lot more cold contact.
"What are you doing?" she growled, "Do you always insist on doing paperwork when a woman is this close to you? Do you not remember what I said in our prison cell?"
I laughed loudly at that. We did have a moment back in the prison where we promised to explore this... whatever it was, when we were free. I turned my head to her.
"All these promises," I said quietly, "Careful."
"Never," she replied, her eyes narrowing, "What are you doing with that?"
"I'm trying to find the nearest village to where I was arrested, I hid a lot of useful stuff near there that I want to go get," I explained, "Problem is, I can't read the letters here. I'm not illiterate, they're just different where I'm from."
Julie reached under my arm with her own, and plucked the document from my hand. Her eyes moved from side-to-side as she examined the page that happened to be on top.
"Gethran's Crossing, a village of the Dales," she read aloud after less than five seconds, "It's on the way." She quickly put the documents on top of another box, and pinned them down with a small stone so they wouldn't blow away. Satisfied with her handiwork, she returned to clinging to the back of me. I was surprised she was able to read at all, given the state of things as I had seen them thus far.
"Thanks," I replied.
"I did it for my own, selfish reasons," she whispered in my ear. She wasn't lying, even if her tone expressed that it was.
Julie pulled on my shoulder, turning me towards her gently. Her grin faded, and suddenly it felt hot. The warm feeling one gets when something interesting is about to happen began falling over me.
My heartbeat increased, feeling every beat. I was sure that she could feel it as well. I had a slight lump in my throat as she slowly began to lean in, advancing an inch closer then stopping, waiting for me to do the same. Our eyes flickered around, examining each other. Her lips parted slightly, and our eyes locked. I turned slightly to her, as she repositioned herself. My hands fell to her lower back. She was soft and a lot warmer now. Hers rose to my shoulders. And...
Armen cleared his throat. The complete bastard.
I threw my head back in frustration at the interruption. Julie leaned her forehead on my shoulder, almost hiding from the elf. I very nearly said something unkindly.
"What is it, Armen?" I sighed, not wanting to sound too pissed off but probably failing.
"I don't mean to get in the way, but should you two be doing this when she is watching like that?" he asked, pointing off behind the both of us.
"What are you..." Julie began complaining, as we both craned our necks to see.
Tam was reposed on a rock beside the river, sunlight pouring down from the canopy. Her legs were crossed and she was supporting herself on her hands as she leaned back, sunning herself. Her hair and horns are wet, and her eyes were watching us though her head was turned towards the light.
The real problem is that she was entirely naked. To the extent that almost nothing was left to the imagination. Evidently, she was enjoying herself by drying off in the warmth, instead of robbing mine as Julie did. She continued watching our little scene from her perch, looking somewhat disappointed that it had ended. It was an unforgettable moment.
I really do have a type.
Julie slapped her hand over my eyes, as she laughed. Too late, I had already seen everything. Ha ha.
"What are you doing up there?" she asked the Qunari.
The response took a few seconds, for reasons unknown. "I cleansed," she replied in a tone of absolute relaxation, "I must dry myself."
I tried opening my mouth to speak, but Julie shifted a hand to keep me quiet for a moment.
"I can see that," she said, "Why couldn't you dry off elsewhere?"
"You ran off with a strange look, I wanted to see why," Tam said, sounding serious but probably having that smile of hers on. I don't know for sure, as I was still blindfolded by icy fingers.
"Is it usual for Qunari, or mages, to interrupt other people's business?" Julie asked the other two, with increasing annoyance.
"Sex was part of my business under the Qun," said Tam bluntly, "I was Tamassran, as I've told you. Your shame about it is not present in my culture."
"And there isn't much privacy in the Circle tower," Armen added, restraining a laugh, "My apologies."
An exasperated sigh erupted from the person beside me, to which I let out a small whimper of amusement. I got a slap on my back for my trouble, finally returning my sight to me.
I remember thinking that we really needed to have that chat about professions soon. I was pretty sure that a job that mixed archery, precision dagger work and sex would have a good story behind it. Little did I know that it was actually even more interesting than that. And there was still the mystery of Julie's own line of work.
For the record, that incident was also the first time I saw Tam outside of the dark either. Her skin was a light-grey, naturally enough for a Qunari, and she had tanlines indicating that she had spent a large amount of time outdoors before her imprisonment. Her hair turned out to be a silver-gold, rather than just pure white. Torchlight, whether its origins are a flaming brand or flashlights, didn't do it justice in the slightest.
As for the rest, you can use your imagination. All I know is that mine was running wild inside my head.
After that, Julie complained some more but didn't really have her heart in it, and everyone got back into their preferred state of dress.
Fresh clothes made us all look far better than before. No one would have been able to guess we were prisoners less than twenty four hours previously. I once again donned my armour, and feeling worthy of it, finally donned my blue beret with the gold coat of arms of the UN for the first time since arriving.
With the drama over, we packed up our things quickly, tossing everything into the cart that wasn't trash. I burned the MRE packets, keeping some of the reusable containers, to avoid someone getting hold of either. We got moving again quickly. The whole bathing incident had greatly defused tensions between all of us, over the rebellion and whether or not we trusted each other.
We proceeded quickly on the road once more, in very good spirits.
Between there and the crash-site, nothing really happened. I sat in the back with Julie and Armen, while Tam was conscripted to drive for her sins. We travelled quietly for the most part, alert to anyone coming from either direction. There was no shortage of those either, and despite being relaxed, we tracked every new group or individual as a precaution. Many looked at our group with curious interest, something I attributed to our mix of individuals from different races. Despite that, it was pretty boring.
I had two interesting conversations during some downtime, however.
The first was with Julie. Something other than her wit or looks had caught my attention.
"By the way, how is it that you can read?" I asked, my tone as gentle as possible, "From what I've seen, I wouldn't think it was a common skill here."
Far from being offended, my companion answered the question proudly. "The old Revered Mother back home made sure all the children could, before she got too old for it," Julie replied, "In fact, most people in the Hearthlands and the surrounding areas can read, but if you go further, most can't. I guess the Chantry has other priorities now, the new mother is much more of a firebrand and not much of a teacher."
This was both surprising and unsurprising. Religious organisations had long taken an interest in education in my world, for better or worse, but teaching serfs and commoners en masse seemed a bit out of reach for what my countrymen would call a medieval society. The Revered Mother must have been a woman of great wisdom, I thought.
Julie went to sleep afterwards, leaning against my shoulder. I left her to it. She had got us this far, driving the wagon through the night. It was a strange feeling, going back to the place where Fraser and his men had died, where I had despaired, in such good company. Like visiting very old friends that you haven't seen in years with a group of new friends.
The other interesting conversation was with Armen.
"So, why did you steal my cart?" he joked from the back of the wagon, "Any reason in particular?"
"Why were you stowing away on the back of your own wagon?" I shot back, "Just checking the inside of that box, were you?"
Armen waved his finger at me. "That would be telling, wouldn't it."
"So, you won't tell me who the lady driving it was?" I continued, "Friend of yours? Perhaps more?"
"Temporary acquaintance, a friend of a friend," he smiled, "She very kindly agreed to lend me the wagon in return for a small fee and a promise."
"From the rebellion?" I asked.
"For a third party, on behalf of the rebellion," he corrected me, "You don't seem very knowledgeable about current events."
"Oh, I just flew in," I said truthfully, "Dropped out of the sky, really."
Armen just watched me with a smirk. He knew somehow that I meant that more literally than usual.
"Where are your wings then?" he said, "You are … extremely strange."
"How so?" I asked.
"The things you say are bizarre," he said, "The principles you stand for are entirely alien to these lands. Dangerous in the extreme even. Yet you bear them openly, and without fear of retribution."
I smirked at that. "You've seen my weapons, I'm capable of plenty of retribution in my own right."
"Then there's her and her," he said, pointing out Julie and Tam, "They both seem attached to you, and I think I understand why."
"I can't possibly imagine why myself," I said, honestly enough. I doubted the few stories of my country I had told could sway a person that much. I would be proved wrong on that. One should never underestimate the power of a story to instil hope. It still seemed like Julie and Tam knew a lot more about me than I knew about them.
"It's a madness almost," Armen chuckled, "I hope you'll be able to help me, so I follow you, but I have no proof. I'm sure the others are the same."
"I will do what I can," I replied, "If even half of what you say is true, about what you have gone through and seen I mean, then it would dishonour all my oaths to ignore it. Besides, it doesn't look like I'm going home soon."
"I'm glad to hear it," he said, "Though I'm not sure how much confidence I should place in oaths."
We went on to discuss the Templar Order at some length, with Tam chiming in at parts, particularly with regard to their combat abilities. The details everyone in Thedas knew came first.
They exist to protect the world from the dangers of magic, and they have certain capabilities to carry out their duties. They guard mages in towers called Circles, separating them from the rest of society by force. They test young mages to see if they can resist possession by demons. That last detail made me snicker. Cults of all kinds had used the same excuse to gain power over people in my world, so I assumed it was the same.
Even when Armen assured me that it was a real threat, I didn't believe him. And wouldn't for quite a while.
The elf then spoke of the reality of the Circles. I won't get into the details here, as they are better discussed in relation to another incident, but I will say that I was utterly disgusted. The absolute contempt for the lives of the people imprisoned, the lack of any due process, the abuses, the complete apathy and lack of oversight. It was the same poison that I had been fighting against on Earth. It made me physically sick with anger for a brief moment.
I quickly calmed down, with a little help. Julie shifted her weight onto me a little in the midst of my fit, defusing my wrath instantly. Armen and I had a good chuckle as she spoke in her sleep about chicken.
By the time we arrived near my crash-site about six hours after we set out from our morning camp, it was very hot and humid.
There was no need to search first for the town that Julie had indicated from the documents. When we were close, it was obvious. The damage that the dragonfire had wrought was visible from the road, and the layout was familiar to me. The fire had spread further than I thought, blackened trees standing among their still green neighbours.
Of course, if I hadn't known which village to look for, we could have went by another road, so it was still time well spent to check out the document. The wagon rumbled along on the uneven ground slowly once we got off the path. The horse was tired after so long a journey, we wouldn't be going anywhere again today. Which suited me just fine, really. It was almost like a pilgrimage for me.
We rounded the ridgeline where Fraser had made his stand, and what was left of the dragon came into view. Something had picked almost all of the flesh off of it in the two days since I presumed I had last seen it. It was now a skeleton, its ribs collapsed in on themselves and not a scrap of meat was left. The corpses of the dragonlings were entirely missing.
I wondered if there was a predator or scavenger animal in the forest that had done it, but it seemed precise work. Dragonhide is highly valued for its toughness, being comparable in properties to the materials used in my armour. I had a vague notion of that at the time, due not only to having fought the dragon but also to the stories told about dragons in my world.
I had no idea about the illegal market in dragon meat and bone, though. Dragons were all property of the Crown in Orlais, which was why the fangs had been the big deal.
The others looked at the dragon with a sense of awe. Julie sat up straight, rubbing sleep out of her eyes rapidly. Armen's smile disappeared, and his face sharpened. Tam kept glancing between the dragon and I with an impressed look on her face. I couldn't help but milk it, of course.
"Told you we killed a dragon," I said, thinking of how the soldiers faced down the beast with no fear again. Compared to the swine in uniform I had met so far, they were gods among men.
Julie shoved me away playfully with a smile on her face, and got up to get a better look. They really don't call it the Dragon Age for nothing.
The helicopter's shell also became visible as we passed further into the meadow. The sight of it drew open gasps from all of my companions. It almost looked like a metallic monster with its mouth wide open from the angle we were approaching from.
A man once said that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. In the case of the vehicle that brought me here, it was sufficient enough to make the inhabitants of a world with magic think it was beyond magic. But then, Thedas was still fairly primitive. Thanks to its many stubborn zealots, and for no other reason. Earthlings are certainly not smarter on average.
"What is that?" asked Armen, the one who hadn't heard my story in the prison block.
"It's how I got here," I said. The elf looked confused, and I couldn't blame him. Although the helicopter had wheels, they were small and the entire thing was made of metal. It would have taken teams of horses to move it on the ground, without its machinery working anyway.
"A flying machine..." said Julie with wonderment.
I had told her about aircraft when I was discussing my travels on Earth, as she had asked how I had been to so many places in so little time. She hadn't reacted at the time, but seeing it in person was a different experience.
She hopped off the side of the cart and rushed, not bothering to wait until it had stopped. We watched her disappear up the ramp at the back, the others carrying a worried look. By the time Tam had pulled the wagon up alongside the machine, Ms. Marteau had began opening every compartment in the thing. I watched her move about inside through the round windows, as she tried to figure it out.
"Is she serious?" Armen asked, as we climbed down off the wagon.
"Deadly serious," I replied, "My country has had flying machines for a hundred years."
"Impossible," the elf replied, "You would have conquered the world if that was true."
"We did," I replied. That confused him very much, and he stood back and watched us from afar as we moved closer. Though the question of who 'we' is in the context of imperialism on Earth gets pretty complex.
Our Qunari friend joined the inspection, running her hand on the metal skin covering the machine and looking at the symbols painted on its side. She did so as if it was an animal at first, softly moving her hand over it, before confirming that it was in fact a machine. She rapped her knuckles off of it. She was trying to work out if it was a trick of some kind, I realised. She sat down on the edge of the hull that stuck out slightly and looked at me.
"What does this say?" Tam asked, tapping the inscription written between her legs. Which gave me flashbacks to the riverbank, just a bit.
"Royal Air Force," I said, after clearing my throat to clear my mind, "The round symbol is theirs too."
"Royal? I thought you said you didn't have nobles in your country," she asked.
"This machine belongs to an allied nation," I said, "But their Queen only has ceremonial power." Which was also the country from which my former homeland declared independence, much like Fereldan and Orlais. But better. Tam nodded, rubbing the metal skin of the helicopter again.
"I agree with the mage," she said, "This is impossible. Yet I'm beside it, touching it. I don't understand."
"It would be hard to without seeing it in action," I said, "I've flown in this and things like it more times than I can count. It's actually boring to me. I often go to sleep when it is in the air."
Tam watched me for a moment, and nodded. She believed what she could see and touch, and I guess this was good enough along with analysing whether or not I was lying. I wasn't. I would later miss flying very much, as travel by horse, carriage or sailing ship just takes too long. The result of which is another tale in this story. The Qunari was satisfied either way.
"If this is truly a machine that flies, show us," Armen said, like it was a wager, "I want to see."
"It's damaged badly," I said flatly, "The parts that make it fly are banged up, and I'm not sure I could start the machinery with the controls smashed to shreds either." I pointed to the front, which was nothing but ragged metal. Armen glanced there, and frowned. I guess he really wanted a demonstration. He wasn't alone.
Julie finally exited the interior and returned to us, slightly red faced but with a very pleased look about her. The excitement flowed off of her. It was at times like these that I appreciated her most. Well, almost most.
"I give up," she said, "Tell me how it works."
She stared at me, awaiting the answer with bated breath. I was happy to oblige her. I took her by the hand and brought her to the side, where she could see the whole thing. Tam followed, while Armen just listened in interested silence from the rear. I had a decent enough analogy for the whole thing, and I remain astonished that I was able to come up with it on the spot.
"You know how a windmill catches the wind in its blades?" I said, "Well, imagine that instead of the wind pushing the blades, there was a machine that turned the blades to push the wind."
I pointed to the two raised sections on the roof at the front and back, where bent and broken metal blades hung off, some limp in their sockets, others still jutting out. My companions eyes followed my direction. They were all ears now.
"The blades are there, as you can see," I said, "They push the air down, lifting the whole thing up."
I indicated for them to stay, while I climbed up onto the hull. I went to the back, balancing as best I could on the rounded top. It took some effort and no small application of force, but I managed to open up the skin of the machine to reveal its engine, the metal piping and wires sticking out. After a few minutes to catch my breath, I explained further.
"This is what drives the blades to turn along with one on the other side," I said, "They are turned so fast that you can barely see them, and it pushes the air downwards with the force of a storm."
I close the engine back up and climbed down to rejoin the others.
Julie was holding her chin, her head inclined downwards in deep thought.
"I don't understand how you would move the blades fast enough," she said, "But seeing this... I think it's possible, but I can't believe it."
I slid down and sat against the helicopter, and drank from my canteen. The sun was absolutely beaming down, and there was little cover.
"I told you," I said, "We don't have magic where I am from. So we rely on machinery and… I suppose you'd call it alchemy."
Julie and Tam sat down beside me on either side, and the latter took my flask from my hand. She drank deeply for a moment, and handed over again.
"I was right to follow you," Tam said, "The Qunari could never defeat a country with such power."
"America, fuck yeah!" I declared with a sing-song tone, drawing more confused glances. I couldn't explain that, so I just waved it off. The others returned to their places.
"So all you said about horseless carriages, buildings the height of mountains, the food..." Julie said, "All true?"
"All true," I said, "Especially the food."
"And no nobles?" she asked.
"No nobles," I confirmed. We had our elites like any society, of course, but no one was their slave.
She looked up at the sky. She blindly took my hand and threaded her fingers with mine.
"How wonderful," she said. She began tightening her grip a little, and rubbing her thumb on the top of my hand. Which was very pleasant. Ah, the nostalgia of that moment still hits me pretty hard.
"Don't forget weapons of mass destruction and ice cream," Tam added, having no clue about either. She moved to join us, a huge smile on her face.
Unfortunately, they never would see my world. Nor would I see it ever again.
We would learn this in a most disturbing fashion. This would have consequences for both the circle of people assembled beside the machine from another world, and far far beyond. Julie's enthusiasm for the descriptions of my country and my world was deep rooted in the reality she found herself in. Tam's own reasons were no less valid.
The realisation would send both to great heights. This is another reason for my writing of this text. Though it may only ever be read by a very few, privileged people, it must be recognised that this is where everything we did truly began.
Armen moved closer to the metal, and went to touch it. I watched him for any betrayal of his feelings. His face was one of study, as he scanned the machine visually, still unsure of what to make of it.
When he finally made contact with the metal, he withdrew his hand sharply and stepped back. He looked over the helicopter again, like it was snapping at him or something.
I raised an eyebrow. The elf wandered over in front of us, and smiled.
"I believe you now," Armen said, "This machine has been touched deeply by the Fade."
He leaned over, to look me dead in the eye. "You are not of this world."
I groaned. The secret was out. He wasn't lying either way, at least about the second part. I had no idea what the Fade was. I put my face in my hands for a moment, before releasing myself. The mage just had to say it, I remember grumbling under my breath.
"I told you that you couldn't believe where I had come from," I said wearily to the two sitting beside me.