Chapter Thirteen: In the Garden of Eden
The journey to Hearth took another two and a half days, give or take a few hours. The half-day left over after our fight with the Sylvans and the encounter with the Iron Bull was one of nervous quiet, weapons held at the ready and glances over our shoulders back down the road where the Qunari spy and his mercenaries might have followed. Or rather, that's how Julie, Tam and I spent the time. Armen and Ciara had taken my advice and caught yet more sleep, designated nightowls that they were. It was uncomfortable for those of us who were awake though. I remember being incredibly tired. Discovery by what all witnesses proclaimed to be a superpower was definitely not on my list of priorities. Nor was it the only superpower with its eyes on me, little did I know.
We made very good progress though, at least. We covered possibly as many as thirty miles before our horses complained loudly enough for us to stop to rest them. I suppose that in itself demonstrates how desperate we were to get away. I wouldn't have let Julie push them so hard otherwise.
We made night camp by the river, in a sheltered area behind large rocks on the shore. A bit damp, but the safety from peering eyes was the real draw. The sleeping bags were waterproof anyway. I was just glad to peel off my armour and combat webbing. Which admittedly felt divine. The summer heat was pretty devastating, mixed with the humidity that poured off the river. We took precautions to insure no one could sneak up on us, noise traps and the like, and prepared food.
The mage and the Dalish rose for dinner. The last of the hot meals from the ration packs, no less. It was yet another milestone on my distancing from Earth, and I knew it too. Sad about just that, I distracted myself from the notion by recounting the events of the early afternoon with the translation help of Tam. Armen's reaction was one of extreme displeasure.
"You mean to tell me that the big Qunari was a spy, and he now knows both about your weapons and your ability to … annul anything remotely magical?" he said loudly, put off his food entirely, "I can't believe it." I thought it a little bit of an overreaction to be honest. Put it down to my lack of knowledge about the new world, and its competing tyrannies.
"Believe," said Julie firmly, "But also believe that anyone who's going to find us is also going to die." She was thinking more along the lines of Orlesian knights than Qunari assassins, I think.
"It is not like the Qunari can send the antaam this far south through Orlais," Tam added, albeit not with a lot of confidence, "At worst, there will be agents sent. In numbers we can deal with easily." Which was true enough. To be honest, with the weapons at my disposal, the Qunari could have sent an entire army and I would have won. Though the second army would have captured me easily afterwards...
"Except I didn't sign up for being hunted by crazed giants as well as crazed Templars," said Armen, "Why don't you send a letter off to Tevinter as well while you're at it, complete the set of murderous insanity!" Ciara put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. He turned his head to her, and she whispered something into his ear. He released all the air in his lungs and turned back.
"Sorry, I'm just under a lot of pressure," he said, without clarifying further. Which was a little annoying.
"Don't be sorry, it was a disaster," I replied, "We're heading south, away from that problem. It was bad luck. Maybe, if we had gone down the road on our own without Duval, chances are we'd have run into those damn walking trees and the Iron Bull anyway. And we might have died." So it somewhat worked out for us, trading off short term survival for a long term threat. Which sometimes happens, and all you can do is take the consequences.
Armen accepted my response, and began eating again. I nodded my thanks to Ciara, but she just narrowed her eyes at me. Evidently, she wasn't pleased either, but she wasn't the type to express it beyond a bad look. Chirpy ones rarely are. I made a mental note to speak with her at another time, before my train of thought was interrupted by clicking of fingers.
"Perhaps my people can help," declared Armen, his mouth half-full, "We can cover our tracks, and I'm sure that they've got an interest in keeping Qunari noses out of this whole business." He looked at me for approval, or perhaps just to see my reaction to the idea.
I remember being torn. On the one hand, any help to keep people off my back was welcome and I had already thrown in my lot with the mages by accident anyway. Not to mention I was sympathetic to a fault to their cause. On the other, soliciting them for aid would probably bring further trouble to me, or so I thought. In the end, I thought it was a positive on balance. Mostly because I was hoping I'd be out of Thedas or backed up by an unstoppable military force by the time that trouble came to try and bite me in the ass.
"You know what, that's a good idea," I said, "Once we're settled in, send word. Maybe we can work out what I can do to help too." Fateful words, to say the least.
Armen's face lit up like it was Christmas, a sight familiar to many a parent now I would imagine. Well, at least around some parts. The mage was absolutely delighted at the prospect that I would help. I was very glad to see it, hoping it would cure any lingering resentment over the mess I had inadvertently put him in.
"Why not, you already had us clear out a bunch of sylvans," said Julie, head shaking, "But I guess our list of allies is pretty bare."
"The list is empty," corrected Tam, "As much as I distrust saarebas, having them around when the Ben-Hassrath death squad comes would be welcome." Nothing does quite make you seek an enemy of your enemy quite like the words 'death squad', I had to admit to myself quietly.
"I'm glad you approve," said Armen cheerily, directing his comment at Tam, "I'm looking forward to convincing you that we're not all evil."
"You're not evil, you're dangerous," Tam replied, rolling her eyes, "Evil would imply you had complete control over your actions."
"Most of us do," said Armen indignantly.
"Most," said Tam, pointing at him with her plastic fork, "But not all." Her tone was menacing, though less so than it had been at the crash-site. She was still fulfilling her self-appointed role as his overseer. Which, considering what we saw from Qunari saarebas a number of years later, was prudent for her.
"I'm sure anyone that Armen knows is good," interjected Ciara loudly.
We all stopped and turned to her, ceasing our meal-devouring to look. She stared back defiantly, particularly towards me. Like it was my fault the Qunari and the elven wizard were fighting. Evidently, she expected me to try and keep some peace. I don't remember how I felt about that at the time, but it is a role I would fall into more and more as time went on, as did Julie. Peacekeeper in more ways than one, I guess is how to put it.
"You are all in this together now," she continued, "This bickering will get you killed. Stop it."
Tam and Armen glanced at each other awkwardly, and turned to Julie and I with expectation. I had nothing to say. I agreed entirely with Ciara's assessment, and indicated as much with a sharp nod. To be honest, I wanted the tension in the air cleared. There was enough of that about with spies discovering my existence and Tam's location. Julie had more to say, and went over and took Ciara's hands as she likes to do.
"You're right, of course," she said, "We escaped Halamshiral together, we should trust each other more. Give it time, we'll be safe in Hearth." Of course, we wouldn't be safe in Hearth, not in the long term anyway. I'm not sure there was anywhere in Thedas we would have been safe.
Ciara frowned and her eyes rolled upwards as she thought about it, but I could tell that the blacksmith's plea for patience had already convinced the young she-elf. Julie could as well, as she stood up and returned to her near finished meal with a large smile on her face. Armen grinned as well, and even Tam had a small smirk. I exhaled with exasperation, just glad we were a little more united. My mindset was still mostly military, thinking about unit cohesion as much as growing trust between new friends. And lovers.
A few minutes of satisfied eating later, Julie downed the last of her steak and stood up. She yawned theatrically, kneaded her palms and loosened her belt.
"I'm going to bed," she declared, "You two, see you there." A finger flicked between Tam and I, and an eyebrow flicked upwards suggestively. Julie strode off, hips swaying ridiculously in jest, partially undressing herself along the way. Tam and I finished as quickly as possible, positively mauling the rest of our food, to Ciara and Armen's great amusement. Once that was done, we ran off to join her. Both of us were famished for another thing.
Defusing tensions and relieving stress: There's more than one way to do either.
The next day's travelling was equally as fast-paced, but considerably less nerve-wrecking.
Ciara's little speech had put us all in order, to my great surprise. We proceeded with a new and clear purpose: Our own survival and prosperity. Yet the threat of the Iron Bull following up his business with Duval with a little hunting trip, with ourselves as the prey, had not yet disappeared from our mind. It was less likely by that point, but prudence dictated we high-tail it. So we did, to the dismay of Fritz, Bob and Lucky. Horses have it tough.
Of course, my own mood was greatly lightened of annoying burdens by the memories of the night before. It started slowly and quietly, almost a repeat of what had happened on the battle-hill days earlier, but we finally had the time to continue past the point we had been interrupted. It got a little loud, admittedly, and it was worth every moment. We collapsed into an exhausted sleep afterwards, almost entirely naked, and woke up refreshed. No need for details beyond that. The Earth products came in handy. Needless to say, I felt a lot closer to both Julie and Tam in the aftermath.
The scenery changed in more ways than that.
The forests and little patches of farm fields gave way to vast agriculture, in a way it hadn't before. Fields of crops, tall and small, filled any space not given over to orchards or pastures for cows and buffalo-like creatures that I had never seen before. Not a single piece of land was wasted as far as I could tell. It wasn't all food either, I would later find out. There was flax for linen production, herbs for medicines, natural dyes for clothing, and even a couple of plants for smoking. The river was full of boats and barges in the day-time, the same types that had filled the dockyard at Gethran's Crossing.
I was impressed. It seemed to me that the level of technology for farming was actually pretty damn advanced for a society that hadn't mastered gunpowder or steam power. Of course, the reasons for this advancement were that the Blights had killed off weaker strains of crop and farmers needed to stockpile due to large taxes. The nobles downriver and as far west as Val Royeaux were insatiable in their material desires. I had some inkling of these factors, but the overwhelming picture was one of wealth, at least according to what a society like that would consider wealth. Unemployment or hunger didn't strike me as potential problems there, and indeed they weren't until the real fighting got started.
Thus was the hinterland of Hearth.
During the day, we kept following the river-road, sun pouring down on us, passing by several large villages but not stopping in them for fear of giving ourselves away. Peasants bowed at the waist as we passed, still thinking I was a noble with an entourage of mercenaries. I ignored them, as I thought they would expect, but they got out of the way fast enough to allow our swift passage, so a great number of thankyous got stuck in my throat. Although the sight of Tam riding up on me on a horse as big as Fritz would have made me get the hell out of the way too.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. Horses more so than people. Armen and Ciara jumped off the cart at the same time they had the day before, just before sunset, yawning as they did so. Tam and Julie went off to find some meat to cook. Ciara scouted around the new camp, which was in the middle of a thick grove of apple trees by the roadside, while Armen and I saw to the fire. Which gave us time to talk. I had questions, since we were going to be contacting his fellows.
"So... tell me how the Rebellion began," I said, getting straight to the point as I gathered fallen branches to burn. Direct was always best with Armen.
The elven mage smirked and leaned on his staff, swaying a little as he decided how to respond.
"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked, "I know more than most about it, but the knowledge is dangerous." The implication being that he was surprised I would want to put myself in further danger for the sake of his cause. I was almost insulted. Anyone would assume we were working together if they came across us anyway, and so would also assume I knew what he did. I also liked to think I had a little more honour than just looking after my own hide.
"Better to know than for it to bite me in the ass if your friends do show up," I said, "So? Get on with it."
Armen inclined his head to concede, and began speaking. I allowed him his piece without interruption.
"It started in a place called Kirkwall about a year ago, a city by the sea to the north of here. The Templar commander there went mad, due to the possession of a rare magical artefact. She began to persecute the mages there, seeing blood magic and corruption everywhere. During a confrontation with the leaders of the mages of the city, a mage called Anders intervened and destroyed the Chantry chapel with a huge demonstration of magical power. It killed a Grand Cleric, a priestess of great importance, as well as everyone else inside the building at the time. As you can imagine, there was no going back from that. Afterwards, everything just spiralled out of control. A warrior named Hawke managed to get the rest of the mages out of the city before Templar reinforcements arrived to kill the other mages, and Circles of Magi rose in anger after it became clear the Chantry intended to annul an entire city for the actions of one rogue mage."
I frowned. It was a lot to take in. It also seemed like something like this was inevitably going to happen. All conflict begins with one thing; a grievance. The Templars provided no shortage of grievances, and it seemed obvious that all it would take to push a concentrated, solidified group of powerful people over the edge was a zealot doing what zealots do best. Tethras later told me the story in more detail, but we need not dwell on the exact details as they are more or less well known.
"So the anger spread, the recriminations began and hostility rose on both sides," I said, completing the picture verbally. Civil wars of all kinds have a similar pattern, on Earth or Thedas. It seemed unlikely that negotiations could solve the problem. It was too early, the real fighting clearly had not began. I realised this early. Armen's smile faltered at my words.
"It was then we learned we were not people to the Templars, or the Chantry," he said, "Just caged animals for their benefit and amusement, albeit dangerous ones if we were let loose."
"Which ...Circle was it? Which were you a part of?" I asked, wondering if he was present at the start.
"The White Spire in Val Royeaux, the capital city of Orlais," he replied, "I had a promising life ahead of me, until all of this started. Education, good food and drink, safety if the Templars didn't get in your way. The White Spire is as luxurious as any palace."
"Couldn't you have remained loyal, and kept all that?" I asked, surprised that he was speaking well of his Circle. Such things would have given many pause.
"Who knows. Possibly? The debate about whether or not to formally rebel hasn't stopped yet. Only Circles where the Templars will attempt to annul the mages will actually fight until that decision is made. Like Halamshiral," he said, "Even if I didn't feel strongly about our freedom, the mages left there may not be safe even if they stay loyal. I think it's only a matter of time before the Templars try to kill every mage they can. Besides all of that, I wanted to fight."
I grimaced at that last part, doubting he even knew what a real fight looked like. I was also not happy about hearing that my breakout had resulted in an entire group of people throwing their lot in early. Indeed, my actions had sent hundreds of mages fleeing into the countryside, too far from the centres of the rebellion to link up with friendly forces.
"How old are you, Armen?" I asked, looking him over again.
"Nineteen," he replied, smile returning.
I shook my head, but couldn't say anything to him. I had joined the United States Army at eighteen, after all, basically as soon as I had graduated from high school. For much the same reason. I wanted to fight. And fight I did. A year and a decade had passed since that point, and I still wanted to fight, albeit not as a grunt. Armen seemed to know a lot for someone his age, but I remembered he had said there was little to do in the Circles but read and the other thing. He seemed adept at both, and had no problem with flaunting it. Needed some protein though.
"I'm sixteen, by the way," said Ciara behind me.
I nearly had a heart attack, having not heard her approach.
"Don't do that," I said, attempting to admonish her for the stealth. Unnecessary stealth.
"Sorry," Ciara replied, not sorry at all, "It seemed like an interesting conversation."
Which indeed it was. A thought struck me though. Nineteen and sixteen.
"Aren't you a little too young for this sort of thing?" I asked, "You're a child."
Ciara snorted with amused derision at that idea, and Armen had a good chuckle too.
"I haven't been a child for four years," she replied firmly in her lyrical accent, "I don't know how you tell when a girl becomes a woman, but we know exactly when." Exactly the sort of excuse a teenager would make, incidentally.
I shivered, hoping she was only referring to puberty. The concept of childhood beyond puberty didn't exist in Thedas. Still doesn't, despite my best efforts. Putting off adulthood has all sorts of benefits, like not having to worry about babies when you're barely not a baby yourselves. My mild disgust must have been obvious, as Ciara and Armen got even more laughter out of it. I was tempted to slap the latter in irons for statutory, to see if he would laugh then. I had plasticuffs somewhere in my pack. The values of a place where most die before their fifth birthday are inevitably different, I suppose.
Of course, this placed me deep in thought about Julie and Tam, who had to be anomalies where this subject was concerned. Julie was in her mid-twenties by my accurate guess, and I placed Tam at the same age as me, late twenties-early thirties. Neither had children, as far as I was aware. Neither had any of the signs physically. Tam had said she was exempt from birthing duties, but that didn't explain Julie. She was eccentric, but with her beauty and capabilities, she had to have had suitors at some point. An accurate guess on my part. I guess it shocked me that someone as … well, loving as Julie wouldn't have someone, if everyone was getting together as early as Armen and Ciara.
The pair in question returned from the hunt with several nugs, all smiles, and we cooked the creatures for dinner. Didn't taste half bad either. My questions disappeared into the back of my mind, replaced with a desire towards satiating my hunger.
The last day proceeded at a much more relaxed pace. The sun was even more intense, so I removed my armour and donned gold-rimmed 'aviator' sunglasses. The chance that the Iron Bull and his men were following diminished entirely. I remember thinking that if the giant couldn't catch up with us in that time, I doubted he ever would. This was particularly true as the mercenaries had horses to chase us with, and our wagon meant that even with a day to settle affairs with Duval, they should have found us by that point. To say I was relieved isn't enough justice to my actual feelings.
After all, my only worry would be sitting about, relaxing as I awaited the vastly superior forces of my homeland to arrive to rescue me, all the while in the company of two beautiful, interesting women, possibly with a little entertaining combat against primitives with no conception of heavy firepower. Getting caught on the road with all the good stuff stuck on the back of a wagon would have sucked, but getting caught with my legs kicked up in a prepared position with all the good stuff ready to go was entirely another thing. I was already planning to get a still together at the earliest opportunity, as a side project while I waited.
On another note, the shaded lens and glistening frame of my glasses turned more than a few heads. It had only occurred to me as a good idea to wear them once I spotted the case in a side pocket of my own pack. The sun was very bright, and the faux-gold added an obvious air of wealth about me. Perfect for cavorting about as a foreign noble, I thought. Tam and Julie both had a go at looking through the lenses, and both agreed it seemed very useful. Tam even remarked that the Qunari would probably pay handsomely to have a look at such an invention, as Par Vollen and Seheron are a lot more sunny than southern Thedas. That's how I discovered that we were in the southern hemisphere of the planet, actually. It would be a while before I saw a real map of the known world, as opposed to a rough sketch.
The general atmosphere of activity concentrated, the further we went along. We were no longer alone on the road, not by a long shot. Other carts and wagons, pulled by horses and donkeys of every conceivable colour and shape, joined us. The smell of the air got a little more ugly as a result, from both animal and hard-worked peasant alike. I hoped that hygiene wasn't as bad here as the history books of my world made out about similar cultures there.
It was the middle of the afternoon when Julie waved to a couple of people she knew. It elicited first puzzled looks and then frantic waving back. I thought it odd that they didn't rush over to speak with us. It's not like we were in a hurry either, yet she didn't signal a stop or pull back on the reins.
"Friends of yours?" I asked from the bench beside her, trying to get to the bottom of it.
"Customers," she replied, waving to another, "I'm good at what I do."
"I can imagine," I said flatly, knowing she had a huge advantage over every other blacksmith. She probably learned the techniques after a single sitting of watching someone else, so she should have outclassed all but the grand masters of the craft. Which she could indeed.
"They seem surprised to see you," said Tam, riding up beside the wagon.
"My arrest was pretty public," Julie said, grimacing as she recalled the event.
"How public?" I asked. Out of curiosity more than concern.
"They snatched me in the street, early in the morning without warning in the market. In front of most of the town," she said, "Searched my place, didn't find the coin and weren't bothered to confiscate my goods for resale. It was quite loud."
Which explained the "striking a chevalier" charge on her rap-sheet. The beginnings of panic slipped into my throat as I realised something.
"Doesn't that mean they'll ask questions?" I said, "Maybe even report you?"
Julie shrugged at that, to my dismay.
"With my records destroyed, even the chevaliers who arrested me will assume I settled my debt," she said, "Time for a stop, I think."
Before I could question it, she swerved the wagon off the road, up a very thin lane that weaved away through tall sunflowers. The two packhorses neighed at the sudden change of direction, and Tam had to wheel Fritz around to follow again, causing a bit of disruption to the traffic behind us. Angry shouts came from the road, stirring Armen and Ciara from their sleep along with the jolting of rough terrain. I turned back to see if anyone was following and to check on the ex-sleepers, before addressing the driver.
"A warning would have been nice," I said sarcastically.
"Not as nice as what we're going to," she said, "Trust me."
I grumbled but settled back into my seat, holding on to the edge of the wagon for balance with one hand and keeping my glasses on my face with the other. Non-answers are not something I'm fond of.
Ciara poked her head up over the parapet of the boxes, and glanced around sleepily beside me. "What's going on?" she asked, "Why are we off the road?"
Julie had a little giggle, as she careful navigated the lane. She was leading us somewhere at least. It was about fifteen minutes before she explained, even as Armen added his own inquiries.
"It's time for a wash," she said in a bored tone.
We turned a corner, and beyond was a large rocky pool with water jetting up in the middle of it, like a water fountain with not enough pressure. Or a jacuzzi. It was stuck in smooth raised rock at about shoulder height, shaped sort of like an upside-down plate. Small aqueduct-like pipes carried the overflow off a few yards in four directions to irrigation trenches, feeding the crops without spoiling the spring. They looked, inevitably, elven. The same sort of smooth white brickwork that the bridge we had crossed days earlier was built of. The whole thing was set amongst the high yellow flowers, the space paved in the same way the
Julie's intentions were obvious. "Oh good, no one is here," she said, bringing the wagon lurching to a stop beside the spring itself, wood creaking. She stood up on her seat and stretched to her full height, arms raised up. Which drew my eye, until Tam came riding by on Fritz. The Qunari circled the place, sizing it up.
"What is this?" she asked, looking confused.
"La source couronné," replied Julie, "Water bubbles up from the ground here for... some reason I don't know, and the elves built this to catch it. Some of the locals bathe here, and I know about it from my step-father." It seemed like a good spot for that, I thought. Its name was 'The Crowned Spring' after all, which I felt was entirely appropriate. It was big enough for twenty people to fool about in. Tam wasn't satisfied with the answer however.
"I meant why are we here?" Tam asked impatiently.
"Who cares," said Ciara, all smiles as she began stripping off and climbing off the wagon. Armen was hot on her heels, giving me a knowing nod. The robes were magically flying off him as soon as he finished the gesture. I rolled my eyes as Julie responded to the question at hand.
"We're maybe an hour away from Hearth now," Julie explained, "But I don't want to ride through town in the daylight. It'll raise questions, ones that I don't want to answer until I'm back home and ready."
"So you thought we'd hang around here until dark?" I asked.
She gave me a peculiar look.
"You've said that before, 'hang around', and I still do not understand what you mean exactly," Julie said, "But yes, we stay here until dark."
"I like this plan," I said, standing up. Not only from a desire to rest, but also as I didn't really want to draw attention to the contents of our little convoy.
"So do I," Julie said, "You are getting a little ripe." I sighed, as she nudged me and jumped off the cart. It was undoubtedly true. Combat, sex, and humidity-maxed heat had taken its toll on my aroma. And hers. In fact, if I had to say so, only Armen maintained complete cleanliness. Probably through some magic trick. I was getting to need a shave pretty desperately to boot.
The others were soon either naked and in the pool, or losing their clothes at a rapid rate. As the thought of real relaxation appealed to me greatly, an idea struck me for enhancing it.
Soon, dressed down to my boxers, a large box and the large firelance in hand, I climbed up to the spring pool. The outside of it was entirely dry and just rough enough to grip well with one's feet. I set the box and firelance down on the edge, and sat down into the water. There was a step on the inside of the pool, presumably for sitting on. It was pretty damn cold, but not quite as cold as the river had been when we washed after escaping Halamshiral. Ciara and Armen chatted among themselves about something, Tam was neck-deep, head leaning back on the smooth edge, and Julie was watching me. I inhaled air greedily for a moment, getting used to the water.
"What are those for?" said Julie, slightly annoyed, "We're relaxing, remember." I smirked.
"Well, this is so I can smite anyone coming down that road in an instant," I said, patting the side of the weapon, "Nothing worse than being interrupted in the bath."
"Yes..." said Julie, "And the other thing?"
"Music," I said, taking out the player and scrounged speakers. Julie's drown vanished, replaced by enthusiasm for my little plan. I set the speakers facing up in the box, and found what I was looking for on the player itself. American classics playlist. I clicked a random song, which turned out to be In A Gadda Da Vida. Or, In The Garden of Eden, if you're not drunk.
The guitar riff started up, and caused an immediate reaction. Armen and Ciara's conversation stopped. Tam's head rose from its relaxed position as she listened. Julie sank further into the water, enjoying the moment. I had a good laugh, then dunked my head in to cool off further. The heat was damned oppressive that day.
So that's what we did for a few hours.
Listened to more Earth tunes, sat about in a stone tub, and emptied our heads of the stress we had built up. Every so often, there would be some noise that sent me bringing the weapon beside me to my shoulder, and every time it would turn out to be nothing. It wasn't like the drinking at the crash-site either, which was more about distraction. I could make some off-colour comment about baptism and being born again, but I doubt anyone would get it.
By the time the sun began to lower itself noticeably, we were mostly out of the water. Ciara and Armen had fallen asleep in the wagon again, where they had laid themselves out to dry. Tam was doing her nakedness-in-sunlight thing like she had before, which neither myself or Julie had a problem with this time. We had seen it all before. Speaking of Julie, she was similarly naked but still half in the pool, sitting close to me.
As you can imagine, I was looking on with a great deal of happiness through my sunglasses. The cover from which didn't fool either of them.
"So, we need to talk about what happens when we arrive," Julie started suddenly, examining her pruned fingers as she spoke. Betraying her nervousness perhaps? It was a rare event for her to display it that easily.
I shifted in my seat, not having expected her to get to that point while we were still there. It didn't seem like her to try and spoil the mood. Tam inclined her head slightly to listen, but remained parked, leaning back on her palms in the light. I had no idea what to expect.
"We do," I said carefully, "So, what will happen?"
"People will wonder what happened," said Julie.
"Why you're free?" asked Tam.
"Who you both are too," Julie added, "And I have a cunning plan."
I snorted, attempting to suppress a laugh at that. Not only because I felt that cunning would be less useful than a display of force, but also for some rather more arcane reasons, which my comment afterwards reveals.
"Is it a plan so cunning, you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel?" I said flatly.
"What in the name of the Maker is a weasel?" asked Julie loudly, crossing her arms in complaint at my supposed doubts. With very intriguing effects on her person. My mirth only increased.
"Never mind," I said quickly, "Your plan."
"The story we will tell is this;" Julie said, "I was arrested, brought to Halamshiral, where you found me and got me out."
"How did I manage to pull off that miracle?" I asked, playing along.
"You bought out my debt hours before the fire," she continued.
"And just why would I..." I started, before noticing Julie's cocked eyebrow. I was confused for a moment, but had a guess pop up swiftly. Something fairly close to the truth.
"I saw you, and wanted you?" I said, "And because I'm a noble, I got what I wanted."
"And I was only happy to comply, seeing that you were a good person," Julie replied sweetly, though perhaps not honestly, "The gold we're bringing will help convince people, as well as the way you act. I don't think we'll have any problems, provided we use the money correctly."
"What about me?" said Tam, "I can't be your betrothed as well, and I am not going to play his servant." Pity, that first part. Completely obvious, that second part. She didn't appear to be in a bad mood, but I guess she was worried about it. Settling down this far south as a Qunari, Tal-Vashoth or not, was a risk I was not aware of.
Julie waved Tam over, and when she was close enough, put a hand on her arm.
"Tam, you're my mistress," she said, "People will believe that."
"That works," shrugged Tam, planting a kiss on Julie's cheek, and laying down on her stomach to continue her sunbathing. The relationship between the two of them was growing too, but I was a little too distracted to take great notice of it at that very moment.
I rubbed my temples a bit, trying to make sense of the detail. The noble-rescues-the-girl story had to be a pretty archetypical story, both in my world and here. Nobles would love such self-promotion, as it makes them look good and keeps peasants from rising in the hopes that their sons and daughters might be lifted above their station. It was the mistress part I was having trouble with. Showing up with both a fiancé and a mistress at the same time, after last being seen in chains? I couldn't get behind the idea.
"How will they believe that?" I asked, "You're a commoner, why would she not be my mistress?" Even if she was, people would have thought I was exactly the sort of noble that commoners hate. Which was exactly the opposite sort of impression I wanted to give off. As long as people thought I was an okay guy, as we say back home, they wouldn't go out of their way to screw with me.
Julie sighed and rubbed her cheek a little before speaking. "People already think I have had a mistress for a few years," she replied, "I told them that, to keep the idiots and bastards away."
"So the story is that you begged him to take me along," said Tam, putting two-and-two together, "And when he saw me, he agreed on the spot."
"That's... actually pretty clever," I said, finding myself believing we could weave the web of lies well enough to succeed. Assuming the details on the mistress angle were solid, it would make perfect sense in a fairytale sort of way. Instead of putting me down for the reputation of the aristos, it exploited the cliché to reinforce our story.
"Only if you can pull off acting like a proper noble," Julie warned.
"So act like an arrogant bastard, but dutiful enough to deflect hate," I said, "I think I can pull that off." And I wouldn't even need to act.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, that Trespasser DLC huh? Holy shit. Did not see any of it coming. Irony is that both the events in it AND the aftermath play absolutely perfectly into my plans for this. Very happy about it. Bravo to Bioware. Also, it means this fic may well continue into the next game, if I ever get that far.
This chapter is setting up the second part of the Laws & Customs arc, after which we're going to be approaching the Inquisition timeline at a much more rapid pace. Foreshadowing, etc etc.
KiraReaper: Trouble loves Hunt you say. I wonder why that is.
5 Coloured Walker: Thanks. I had to mention the restitution because it occurs much much later in the story. Could be as many as 100k words away, that chapter. Also, the construction of how it happens I think is rather complex. But that is my opinion of my own idea, so I'll look forward to hearing yours when the time comes.
Guest: Oooo, the temptation to spoil is immense when you say things like that.
Meebsterman: The Iron Bull is a Qunari agent and mercenary when Sam meets him there. I didn't feel there was room for them to get friendly, an entity like Sam is potentially too valuable to the Qunari. I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed it enough to actually shout about it.
Tactuc501st: Cheers
Judy: Appreciating the loyalty.
Comavampure: Welcome to the party! I was hoping you'd drop in to read this at some point. Delighted you like it.
Ww1990ww: Wow, a lot to respond to. First of all, the 'Murica tones are in there for a reason. I don't tend to write anything that is irrelevent to the story. I'm Irish, not American, it isn't a matter of national pride for me. Sam is an American however, and a patriotic one at that. It's important to his characterisation. It's also important for the storyline, as I hope you'll see when that arc comes around. On the Qun, it's implied that many have doubts. Or else the Ben-Hassrath would be unnecessary. Bull never leaves his spy phase only if you take that route in the main game, he can and does stay loyal to the Inquisition in Trespasser if you pick the right options.
As for the multi-ship, that isn't there to sex up the plot either. It is an integral part of the story beyond romance. I don't write in a romance unless it has importance to the plot, the same way I don't write in anything else if it's irrelevant. Also wrote it because I love all three characters, so it clicked.
The world traveler: Much appreciated, I hope you'll keep reviewing.