Chapter 4
Big Boss guessed that a medieval-era castle wouldn't have Mother Base level security, but he was surprised at the efficiency this Teyrn kept his house in. The guards were alert and working, the walls seemed well-kept, no cracks of crevices to climb. He knew that if he really wanted in, there wouldn't be much the Teyrn and his men could to do stop him, but he was just analyzing in his mind right now, with no plans of acting on his findings yet.
"This way, gentlemen," Bryce said as he opened the door to the library. On the other side of the room, he could see his archivist, and personal tutor to his children, Aldous lecturing a group of children, likely on the "great history of the Couslands", as he was fond of calling his lessons. A small smile made its way to his face as memories of his two boys as children reluctantly listening to the old man came to mind, making him long for the days when his oldest was still a teen and his youngest was still socially awkward around girls.
Sending the thoughts from his head, Bryce headed for the door to his private study, located on the south side of the library. Pushing the door open, he said, "Please, have a seat, gentlemen," as he sat in his own chair behind his desk. Ahab and Ocelot sat in the two chairs before his desk while DD obediently took a seat at Ahab's side.
Proud of his companion's obedience, Ahab gently pat DD on the head and said, "Good dog." DD affectionately whined in response when Ahab stopped petting him.
"Well," Bryce said, "you wished to speak privately. Here we are."
"Thank you for indulging us, Your Lordship." Ocelot said. "What we have to say, we'd much rather keep a secret for as long as we could." Big Boss could feel the sideways look Ocelot was sending him, not only signaling for him to take the lead, but also that he would follow his lead.
Thanks, Ocelot, he bitterly thought. "As I'm sure you've been able to deduce, Your Lordship, my companions and I are not from Ferelden. And just to save you the trouble, we are not from any of the other kingdoms, either. I told you the truth when I said my name is Ahab, but on our home, I am called Big Boss, the leader of the mercenary nation known as Outer Heaven."
"You are a mercenary?" Bryce asked, managing to keep his distaste for the profession under wraps.
"We call ourselves that, Teyrn Cousland, because it's the best word I can think of to describe us. But please don't get the wrong idea. We are not some tribe of bandits that sell our services to whomever can afford us. In our homeland, we had standards, rules to follow. We were professional soldiers who made sure we knew who we were working for and they knew who they were dealing with; we accepted jobs and did them our way, if killing could be avoided, then it was."
Bryce couldn't help but feel a growing respect for Ahab, though he also had a healthy sense of skepticism. As noble as he was making himself, and his group, out to be, he could also be an incredibly good liar for all he knew.
"What country do you hail from, then?" Bryce asked.
"Like our island, our home country also lies over the ocean to the east. We've only recently arrived in your country. We landed on your shores to the north, not two days ago, hiked through the jungle until we discovered your city, and here we are. We know so little of this new land we find ourselves in what we do know could fit on one page, front and back." Big Boss expertly ignored the indignant shout over his earpiece, making a note to apologize to Miller and the Intel team next chance he had before continuing. "We didn't come here to spy on you personally, Teyrn Cousland. At least, not in the traditional sense. Our initial goal was to gather as much intelligence as possible before making our appearance known. Usually we're quite good at that, but unfortunately the incident at the gate happened, we were brought to you, and you know the rest."
"Yes," Bryce said, stroking his chin in thought. So much was just revealed to him with so few words, which only left him with more questions. Being from a foreign country was a reasonable explanation, considering everything he knew so far about these two men didn't fit them in with any known country on Thedas. Their mannerisms were too different, as was their clothes, their appearances. It wasn't unheard of for someone to claim to be from outside Thedas, but those claims were usually by the qunari and their homeland to the far north or from somewhere beyond the Sea of Ash to the west. Never has anyone claimed, in recorded history, to be from somewhere beyond the vast ocean to the east.
If they were telling the truth, this was truly a historic meeting.
"But why did you come at all?" he asked. "If our countries truly have been this close for all this time, why come here now? We could've gone all our lives and stayed ignorant of each other's existence."
Ah, Big Boss thought. A reason for why we came at all. Well, we know why we're here, but I can't very well tell him that, can I?
Big Boss knew he had to say something, and, unless he wanted to make them suddenly seem like a couple of functioning madmen, he couldn't very well tell him the whole truth.
What would seem plausible enough to explain the imagined effort we went to "find" this country? What would be believable?
And then it occurred to him: the creature they had seen in the forest before the city gates.
"Around one month ago, a creature washed up on our home island; a vile, undead creature with pale eyes and black liquid flowing from its eyes and mouth." The way the Teyrn reacted to that, straightening in his chair and an alarmed look appearing on his face, he knew that was either the right thing to say or the absolute worst thing he could've said.
"We judged the possible direction it could've come from and decided to venture to the west. After two weeks of preparation, including leaving my people with capable leadership, Ocelot, DD, and I left Outer Heaven on a ship with a light crew. After a month of travel, we arrived on your shores only last night and after traveling south, looking for the nearest settlement, we came to the gates of your city. Like I said, our initial purpose was to gather intelligence, primarily on whether or not that creature was from here."
Big Boss took a breath here, trying to come up with a gentle way of saying they found one of those zombie-looking creatures right on his doorstep.
He failed.
"Our suspicions were confirmed this morning, when, just before we arrived at your gates, the three of us were attacked by another one of those creatures."
Teyrn Cousland's response to that was calm, calculated, and appropriate.
"Impossible!" he shouted, jumping out of his chair. "They couldn't possibly be this far north already. We only heard they were gathering today!"
While the Teyrn was keeping his anger in check, Big Boss and Ocelot shared a sideways look. Obviously, the creature they killed out in the forest was not an anomaly, and if the Teyrn's words were to be believed, they were more of them, and they were intelligent enough to assemble.
Realizing his loss of composure, Bryce took a breath and sat back down. "I apologize, Ahab, Ocelot. That was…unbecoming of me as a Teyrn."
"Well, whatever that creature is you clearly know about it. Would you mind telling us about it? That is why we're here, after all."
"Yes," Bryce said, "of course. Well, since you three are strangers to Ferelden, and likely Thedas at large, allow me to start from the beginning. The two creatures you met are called darkspawn. There are many theories as to where they came from, but no one knows for sure. The Chantry teaches that after a group of mages from the old Tevinter Imperium attempted to breach Heaven, they corrupted it and were cast out as the first darkspawn."
"Great," Miller said over the radio, "a world of religious zealots. Exactly what we need when they see what we're capable of. They'll probably try to burn us at the stake as heretics or something."
Big Boss ignored him as the Teyrn continued, hoping that Miller hadn't stopped recording just because this was beginning to sound like something straight out of a fantasy book.
"Whether that is true or not, the reality is they are a plague, a Blight, to the world and everything in it. Since their appearance over a thousand years ago, they have been a constant source of nightmares for everyone unfortunate enough to stumble across them and survive. Kingdoms have fallen, never to rise again, millions of lives have been claimed by them, and the Blights they bring…words cannot describe the horrors that come with it."
The Teyrn's words echoed in Big Boss' mind and somehow, he suspected their lives were going to get a hell of a lot worse in their time here.
"What's a blight?" Ocelot asked. "You say that like it's more than what it seems."
"Heh," Bryce chuckled, "I envy you two men, having grown in a world free of the darkspawn taint, free of the horrors that arrive in their wake."
Memories of everything he'd seen, both as Big Boss and before, came rushing through Ahab's mind. "Well," he said, "we've seen our fair share of horrors too, Your Lordship. What is so dangerous about them, exactly?"
"Their corruption," Bryce replied. "They are not simply a race of monsters, Ahab. They spread their infection, corrupting everything they touch. They can poison the land itself, make it barren and poisonous to any plant life. And when they infect another living person, they can turn it into one of them."
"You mean…"
"Yes. The more they kill, the more they recruit. Men, elves, dwarves, qunari, beasts. Every living thing is a potential fighter for them. Once you're infected with the taint, you die, if you're lucky, or you return as one of them."
"Goddamn it, now we're dealing with a sentient zombie army? Fuck this world!" Miller shouted.
"Well," Ocelot said, "now I'm glad we burned the darkspawn that arrived on our island, huh, Ahab? The last thing we need is another outbreak on Outer Heaven."
"Another?" Bryce asked.
"It's an old…memory, Your Lordship, and one that we'd rather not revisit." The Teyrn understood, sensing it was a sore subject. "Teyrn Cousland, I understand we didn't make the best first impression, but could we remain in your city for a few days? Give us time to rest, resupply, be ready to return home with what we've discovered?"
"One conversation and you two already have what you crossed an ocean for?" Bryce asked.
"Well, we were also going to ask if we might make use of your library, the one we went through to come to your office. That will allow us to get a more detailed background on Ferelden and the surrounding countries, perhaps even a map so we would know where we actually are."
Bryce couldn't help raising an eyebrow and saying, "Those are all things a spy would ask for, Ocelot. Things that might help an invading force…" His voice trailed off, but Ahab knew what was on his mind. For all the ground they made, they still hadn't made themselves trustworthy enough yet.
"Which is why we didn't ask. I understand your hesitation, Teyrn Cousland," Ahab said. "I would feel the exact same if our roles were reversed. Why don't you give us a chance to prove ourselves trustworthy to you? Allow us to show you we have no hostile intent toward you or your country?"
From the way he blinked in surprise, the Teyrn hadn't expected that. He expected them to continue arguing; claim they were innocent and should take them at their word. Not be reasonable and request a chance to prove themselves.
"You would so readily request a chance to prove yourselves, Ahab? Without specifying what you're willing and unwilling to do?"
"We're mercenaries, Your Lordship," Ocelot said. "That's part of our job description. Besides, while we are offering our services, in a sense, we're not guaranteeing that we'll accept. If you propose something that goes against our principals, we'll simply decline and be on our way. No hard feelings."
Bryce couldn't help but chuckle at the man's words. "I wish all mercenaries, even some dedicated soldiers, had your attitude. I've met several mercenaries in my life, most during the Ferelden civil war, and few of them had the same code of honor you two speak of having. Very well, I'll give you the chance you ask for."
He stood up, prompting the two men to do so as well, and DD to leap to all four legs.
"Since you've informed me that a darkspawn has been sighted near my city's gates, I'll have to assemble some men to search the surrounding forest for its…friends. Since you've offered to prove yourselves trustworthy, and you look like you can handle yourselves, would you mind joining them?"
Big Boss shared a look with Ocelot, both knowing they were thinking the same thing.
"Your Lordship, Ocelot and I tend to work better alone. We operate by being as quiet as possible, and if we're hunting an advance group of darkspawn, then, no offense intended, a large group wearing plate armor marching through the forest would draw attention that we don't need."
The Teyrn considered that. "I can see the logic in your methods, but I can't very well send two men alone on a hunting mission. Not only because I don't know you two well enough not to assume you'll simply go out, hide in the forest for a few hours, and return claiming you found nothing, but I simply can't in good conscience send you two out to your potential deaths. Darkspawn have been the death of many an overconfident adventurer and should never be taken lightly."
He paused as he considered a solution. "How about a compromise, gentlemen? I will allow you two to search the surrounding forest alone, and I will send two of my most trusted men to accompany you. They will stay out of your way, allowing you to work, but will intervene if you need assistance. Deal with every darkspawn you find, in their presence, and I will allow you two to remain in my home as my guests. I will even throw in a monetary reward should you clear out all the darkspawn in the forest. Say, ten sovereigns?"
"We don't know how their economy works yet, Boss," Miller said, "but work is work and gold is gold. You should accept. He could become an ally if we play our cards right."
"We're going to need some specifics first, if you don't mind, Your Lordship. We're newcomers, remember? We have no idea how large this forest is."
"Good point." Bryce said, thinking about it. "Follow me." He led the trio back into the library, idly noticing Aldous and his students left sometime since their arrival and headed to the back of the room. "Now, where does Aldous keep – ah, here we are." Pulling the latest map of the Teyrn of Highever off the bookcase, Bryce rolled it open on one of the tables. "Now, we are here," he said, pointing to Highever city on the map. Picking up a quill from the table, he dipped it in a vial of ink and made a circle around the city icon. "Search the forest for about three miles in all directions. If you find any sign of darkspawn, track them down and, if you can, eliminate them. Return before nightfall, with my two soldiers, alive. Does that satisfy your conditions?"
Smirking, Big Boss said, "I think we can handle that."
A knock at the library door drew their attention. "Ah," Bryce said, "that must be them."
"Who?"
"The two soldiers I'll be sending along with you. Come in!"
The door was pushed open and two men walked in. The older of the two looked at least several years older than the other, though still younger than either Ocelot or Big Boss. He had the beginnings of a beard growing and dark brown hair short enough to not get in his eyes but long enough to be considered "shaggy". The younger one had short-cut black hair, was clean-shaven, and still looked young enough to still be in college back home.
The older one was dressed in a suit of plate armor with a sword and shield strapped to his back and the younger one wore chainmail with hardened leather pants and boots with knee-coverings and two long daggers strapped to his hips.
Big Boss also couldn't help but notice the facial similarities these two men had to the Teyrn.
"Ah, and here are my two sons, Fergus and Aedan Cousland."
When Aedan Cousland woke up this morning, he expected another relatively dull day as the youngest son of Teyrn Cousland. Not that he held any disdain for his family's position or his older brother's status as next in line, he was well-aware of the stereotypical younger-brother-killing-older-brother-for-the-throne cliché in the stories he read growing up. He loved his brother, he loved his family, and would never think of harming them in any way.
However, that did not mean he could deny that his lot in life was relatively…boring.
A typical day in Aedan Cousland's life was waking up, eating morning meals with the family, several hours of training, studying, sitting in on his father's meetings with his fellow banns, arls, or representatives from the king, lunch, and then more training and studying in the afternoons before bathing and sleep. Occasionally, his father would manage to convince his mother to allow him to join a guard patrol outside the walls, but that quickly turned from a patrol to escorting the Teyrn's son around the forest.
He knew he didn't have it hard, nowhere near hard, but he did long for something more.
And then his training session with his dear older brother Fergus was interrupted by a guard who said he was sent by the Teyrna to have them meet with their father. While neither could guess what the reason for that was, the murmurs they overheard from passing guards on their way gave them some idea.
Apparently, after some sort of altercation at the gates, two men and a hound as big as a horse were brought before the Teyrn to be punished. But then the Teyrn dismissed everyone to speak with them privately. It's not uncommon for Father to deal with these minor things personally, Aedan thought to himself, but who are these guests?
His train of thought was interrupted by his brother, Fergus, "So, what do you think Father wishes to see us about? Not to scold the both of us again for some prank you pulled, I hope?"
Aedan smirked and replied, "If I recall correctly, dear brother, it was your idea to let Dogmeat into the larder to mess with Nan's schedule. I only acted upon your plans. How was I supposed to know Arl Howe and his entire family would turn up unannounced? Besides, no one knew it was us, yes, us. Everyone just assumed Dogmeat found some knew weak spot to dig in through."
"Hahaha," Fergus laughed, "it was amusing, I grant."
The two shared a good laugh over that, which they cut short once they reached the door to the library. They knocked on the door and, after hearing their father's voice beckoning them in, they opened the door and stepped inside.
But their father wasn't alone. He was standing by one of the tables to the back of the library, two men opposite him and a dog seated patiently nearby.
"Ah, here are my two sons, Fergus and Aedan Cousland. Boys, meet Ahab," he pointed at the man wearing and eye patch and – was that a horn growing out of his head? -, "Ocelot," he pointed at the blonde-haired man wearing a long, simple-looking coat, "and DD," he pointed at the dog, who barked in response to its name being spoken.
The two Cousland men moved to stand by their father. "As I'm sure you've heard of by now boys, these two gentlemen arrived this morning. I've agreed to give them a little test to ensure they're not spies sent to catalogue Highever's weaknesses."
The looks the two men, and even the dog, gave the Teyrn clearly said, "Seriously?"
"What test, Father?" Aedan asked.
"On their way here, these three came across a darkspawn scout in the forests just outside the main gate. They disposed of it, but, as we all know, darkspawn are like rodents: there's always more where they come from. I've asked them to search the forests around the city for any sign of more darkspawn. If they do, they will either deal with it or report it when they return, which will allow me to dispatch a force en masse."
"Why not have a larger force than just three men search, Father? Would that not cover more ground in less time?" Fergus asked.
"Ahab?" Bryce said, passing the question to him, as it was his request.
In a voice more gravely that the two boys expected, the man called Ahab said, "Common sense would say that, but if there are any darkspawn observing the city, then they're probably only a few of them, not nearly enough to take on a group of well-trained guards, as I assume your men are. So, following that thought, we must assume they would either be ready to flee at the first sign of pursuers or have reinforcements nearby, ready to call in at a moment's notice. Regardless, the best plan is stealth."
Bryce was about to speak until Ahab unexpectedly continued. "Also, I just want to make one thing clear: in the field, I am in charge. If this is a test for us, then we do it my way. I don't want to have arguments with your two sons, Your Lordship, in the middle of potentially hostile territory about who's giving the orders. Out there, on this mission, I am. Can we agree on that?"
Fergus and Aedan both looked surprised at Ahab's words, Ocelot smirked while internally agreeing and feeling a bit of hidden pride, and Bryce smirked, surprising his sons. "Agreed, Ahab, within reason."
Turning to his sons, Bryce explained. "I've agreed to Ahab's request that the three of them search in a smaller group, with the condition you two accompany them to ensure they're actually doing the job I've hired them to do. You're all expected back here before nightfall. Alive, preferably."
"Don't worry, Father." Fergus said. "You should know by now: no darkspawn will ever best us." He put his arm around his brother, pulling him into a friendly chokehold, also pulling him off balance and almost causing him to fall.
"Yes," Bryce said with an unamused look. "Regardless, you five should best get moving before my dear wife finds us. I'm sure she suspects my reason for having you two come here and if she catches you, you will never see the light of day again."
A genuine look of fear crossed Aedan's face as he said, "Right, then. We're off!" before hurrying for the door.
"He's not even waiting for Dogmeat," Fergus mused. "Well then, gentlemen," he addressed their guests, "shall we depart?"
Well, Aedan's day sure took a turn. After starting off like any other, he was now silently journeying through the forest with his brother, two strangers and their dog, looking for darkspawn. He could not imagine how this day could get any more exciting.
And then he saw the strange grey…dog of their companions' dart forward, not barking, but clearly checking the area around them. He had been trying to teach Dogmeat how to act in the field ever since he'd gotten him, turn him into a proper war dog, but he's still spoiled by living in a castle since he was a pup.
A bark from DD, odd name, drew his attention and Ahab seemed to know what he was trying to say as he gently pats the dog on his head and said, "Good dog," before continuing. Whoever this man was, whoever these three were or where they came from, they were clearly very skilled soldiers, and he had so many questions he wanted to ask them, to learn.
First and foremost were, "What the hell happened to your head?!" and "What in the Maker's name happened to your arm?"
He had noticed the man's…horn when they first met in the library, but it wasn't until they were crossing the field outside the city gates when he noticed something odd with the man's left arm. Upon a closer, but subtle, inspection, he saw it was made of metal; a fake arm, but it still moved and acted like a real one. He barely managed to keep his shock to himself.
"I can almost hear your thoughts, kid," Ocelot said, surprising Aeden as he hadn't even heard the man approach him. "What's on your mind?"
"N-Nothing," he stammered, which he cursed himself internally for. "Just…curious about you two. Father didn't have much time to explain who you are or where you come from before sending us out on this little errand. He must already trust you, though, to let you do this your way."
"Is that so?" Ocelot asked. "Well, I appreciate it. We might even meet his expectations."
Aedan was about to say something before Ocelot's arm shot out in front of him, knocking all the air out of him when he walked into the surprisingly sturdy appendage. "Shh." Ocelot said, the finger of his other arm coming up to his mouth. He then made a "get down" motion and crouched, somehow becoming almost unnoticeable in the foliage and shade. Aedan followed suit and, after a few seconds, Fergus came up next to them, doing an amateur job of making as little noise as possible in his heavy plate armor.
"What was that for?" Aedan harshly whispered.
"Look," Ocelot said, pointing at Ahab.
Looking forward, Aedan saw that Ahab had also dropped to a crouch and, unlike Ocelot who just became harder to see, was somehow completely invisible in the foliage. It suddenly occurred to Aedan then, what the purpose of Ahab's oddly designed clothing was: camouflage. How did I not see that?
"What is it?" Fergus asked. "Does he see something?"
Another possibility that didn't occur to Aedan but did to his older brother. Ahab didn't seem like the type of man to waste time, nor did do anything without purpose.
In Ocelot's mind, however, he knew the man carrying the name Big Boss did nothing without a reason; every move he made, every decision, was carefully thought out and played over in his mind a dozen times within seconds before he made a move.
It was why he was so successful as Big Boss, it was why Diamond Dogs had successfully grown to the world power it did under his command.
And it was why Ocelot knew that Big Boss was seeing something the three of them weren't.
After a few seconds of stillness, they saw Ahab draw an odd rectangular device from one of the many pouches of his Fatigues, which only Ocelot recognized as his high-tech binoculars, and bring them up to his eyes. His head slowly moved from left to right, seemingly scanning the area in front of them, where nothing seemed to be.
And then Aedan's attention was drawn to DD. He didn't know how he failed to notice it before, but DD had lowered himself - he noticed earlier that DD was male - and had his teeth bared. Aedan knew that look, he had seen it a few times when Dogmeat met someone he didn't trust: DD was prepared to attack.
So, their leader and his dog were both seeing a potential foe somewhere in the forest in front of them that the rest of them weren't seeing. Not a good situation.
Before he could say anything, however, Ahab put the rectangular metal box away and whispered, "Get him." DD apparently knew what his master meant as his head swiveled around to his side and his teeth gripped a handle that was built into his harness. Aedan was further surprised when DD drew a knife from his harness, holding it expertly in his teeth, and almost knocked off his feet when the knife began to sparkle with electricity, like it was enchanted.
DD then charged into the forest, disappearing for a few seconds, and then a bright flash, followed by the tell-tale sound of electricity and a body falling to the ground could be heard. A moment later, DD came trotting back into sight, his…enchanted knife back in its holster on his side, looking quite pleased with himself.
Ahab then displayed the most emotion Aedan had seen in the short time he knew him, a smirk, before patting DD on the head. "Good boy."
He then stood up, signaling to the rest of them that the coast was clear, before all four of them moved forward together to see what prey their canine companion caught. It wasn't darkspawn, like they expected.
It was a young female elf, dressed in slim, feminine leather armor with a quiver of arrows strapped to her back and an ornate bow laying on the ground a few inches from her left hand. The way she was lying on her back, feet towards the group, and a lone arrow a few inches from her right hand, it wasn't hard to guess her purpose.
Though her reasons for being in this part of the forest near Highever was unknown, it wasn't hard to deduce her intentions. She must've been passing through the forest, like them, before she noticed them first. She drew her bow and arrow and lined up to fire but didn't have a shot through the trees. DD must've stunned her before she could move to find a better line of sight on them. A good thing too, for, though Big Boss's various fatigues and suits held up against weapons far deadlier than a bow and arrow, he preferred not to test fate until they managed to acquire various samples from around the world and test-fired them on dummies wearing their suits.
Until that time, he would just have to avoid taking an arrow to the knee. Damn it.
"That's a Dalish elf," Fergus said, coming up next to Ahab.
"Dalish?" Ocelot said as he and Aedan joined them, creating a circle around the unconscious woman. DD, not understanding the significance of the group huddle but not wanting to be left out, nudged his way in-between Ahab and Fergus. "That some kind of specific elf?"
"Yeah," Fergus said. "See those tattoos on her face? That's a Dalish custom. Elves aren't really differentiated by country like humans are. Since they have no country of their own, most elves are just nomads, squatting in whatever land the owner will let them. Generally, there are two types of elves; Dalish elves, like this young lady, who travel in clans around the country they're in, even to others; and city elves, elves who live in larger cities but are cordoned off into the city's Alienage."
"Alienage?" Ahab asked, having a feeling of what it was but hoping against it.
"A section of the city, typically in the poorer part, that elves are forced to live in. Unfortunately, most humans don't even see them as people and tend to treat them as animals. No, some people treat them even less than animals."
"Why?" Ocelot asked, with a modicum of disgust and outrage in his voice, which translated into a shout of indignation to those who knew him. "They're living, sentient people, aren't they? What makes them deserve that?"
"I don't know," Fergus quickly said, attempting to appease Ocelot, understanding his feelings. "Believe me, I feel the same way. As does my brother, so does my Father, Mother, and most of the people in our city. My father is one of the few people in power that treats the elves under his care with dignity and respect. The Alienage in Highever has no walls, is regularly maintained and patrolled like any other part of the city, and Father does not tolerate and mistreatment of any of his people, including the elves."
"He's right," Aedan said, joining the conversation. "Father does not tolerate racism. There was this one time a shop owner and a city elf were brought before Father. The elf claimed that the shop owner was refusing to sell him food to feed his family, even though he had the coin. When asked, the man did not even try to deny it. He said he didn't serve 'knife-ears' and that they should all be kicked out of the city. Father simply purchased the man's business, had him removed from Highever, and appointed the elf in charge of the shop. That was only a couple years ago, and the elf still runs that shop."
The woman started to stir then, signaling that the effects of DD's Stun Knife were wearing off. Kneeling, Big Boss gently, and respectfully, put his arms under her knees and behind her neck and picked her up.
"Ahab?" Ocelot asked. "What are you doing?"
"She's going to wake up soon." Ahab said, carrying the woman over to a tree before gently settling her down in a seated position. "She's obviously not a darkspawn, but I want to know what she was doing here."
"You think she's an assassin, Ahab?" Ocelot asked, placing himself just out of arm's reach next to her and casually putting his hand on his front revolver.
"Probably not." Ahab said. "But better safe than sorry."
Aedan and Fergus came up next to Ocelot, until Ahab said, "Back off. If she wakes up and sees herself surrounded by human men, she'll assume the worst. Ocelot, can you take a few steps back and try to make yourself look non-threatening for once in your life?" Ocelot scoffed, amused, but did so. At least, attempted to. "You two, sit over there." Ahab pointed to a fallen log nearby. "Look like your resting. As casual as we can look, the better this may go."
The Cousland brothers understood their temporary "leader's" logic and did so, taking a seat on the fallen log and realizing they were, in fact, tired but hadn't noticed. Their timing couldn't have been better. As soon as they had sat, the woman started stirring awake. Her hands unconsciously went to her lower back and sides, a move Big Boss recognized as checking your weapons in unfamiliar territory.
When she didn't feel the wooden curve of her bow, or the twin daggers she had strapped to her lower back, the woman perked up instantly. Her eyes snapped open and she was about to jump to her feet and hightail it were it not for the one-eyed human kneeling before her and the threatening-looking wolf next to him that was growling at her.
She had always had a way with animals, ever since she was a child. She would often only have to make eye contact with any kind of wild animal and a bond would be formed between. After that, she could make even homicidal bears become docile. This wolf, however, seemed immune to that. Movement to her right forced her to abandon that avenue to see what was there.
Her quick elven eyes registered the two armored men sitting on a log nearby, foolishly relaxed like she wasn't a threat. She tensed her limbs, readying herself to pounce, when she suddenly felt the cold, hard metal of a knife. She turned her gaze back to the one-eyed man kneeling before her. Somehow, in the few seconds she looked away, he had produced a knife and brought it under her throat without moving.
"Rule two," he said in a gravelly voice that made her spine shiver, "never take your eye off the enemy."
She managed to deduce a few things about the man before her: he was older than the few humans she had interacted with, and he was not to be toyed with. Somehow, she knew that if she tried anything, especially with three men and a wolf as backup, things would go poorly for her.
"What's the first rule?" she asked, praising whatever gods there were left that her voice didn't waiver.
The human twirled the knife in his hand before sliding it into its sheath on his hip. "Find out who your enemy is." His left arm reached behind his back and produced a canteen. Unscrewing the cap, she fully expected him to drink some right in her face, knowing she was thirsty, and then spit at her, but was taken off guard when he held it out, wordlessly offering it to her.
She had grown up on stories of the cruelty of humans, told all her life to not trust them, any of them, for they were a lying, deceiving, backstabbing race. And once she was permitted to hunt alone for her clan, she had seen no proof otherwise. Bandits, thieves, and murderers plagued the roads. She had never been in one of their cities personally, but stories from her elders, or elves who came from there, did not convince her to visit any time soon.
Normally she wouldn't have considered it, but she decided to take a chance. She brought her hand up and slowly reached for the canteen. Her eyes were trained on the man's lone one, searching for the smallest hint of mischief or sign he was toying with her. Her hand bumped into the canteen, not realizing she had lost focus of it, and quickly grabbed it.
A little water spilled out on her, but she hardly noticed as she began chugging the water down.
"Careful," the man said. "Don't want to-"
"*cough*cough*"
"Yeah, that."
She held the canteen back out to the man while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"What's your name?" the man asked.
Surprise after surprise. None of the humans she met before him had ever asked her for her name, always shouting, "Knife-ear!" or "Filthy elf!"
"Lanaris. My name is Lanaris."
The man smiled then, a small, half-smile, but a smile. It wasn't malicious, or even lecherous; it was…kind, which looked odd on a face that scarred and old. The man stood up and held out his left hand. Lanaris flinched then and shut her eyes while turning away, fully prepared for it to come down hard on her head, all the man's earlier pleasantries an act, but felt nothing for a few seconds. Cracking one eye open and looking up, she saw the man's hand had not moved from where he held it, and it took her a minute to realize he was holding it out to help her up.
Her mind was struggling to process all the warring emotions, facts, and stories she's been told all her life. Ultimately, what moves her to take his hand and let him pull her to her feet is how uncomfortable she feels leaning against the tree.
"Ahab," he said.
"What?"
"My name. Ahab."
"Oh." She cursed her blush.
"This is DD," he pointed to the wolf, "and that's Ocelot behind you." Alarms rang in her head as she spun around. Leaning next to the tree she woke up against was another man; dressed in a brown coat, red scarf, and had long blonde hair and a short beard. Unlike this Ahab, however, he still had both his eyes. He gave a lazy two fingered salute and said, "Pleasure."
"Now, over here," Ahab said, pointing at the two armored men who had stood up and moved closer while she was looking away, "is Fergus and Aedan Cousland, the sons of the Teyrn of Highever."
The way she suddenly looked feared for her life told Ahab she knew exactly who they are. "Now," he said, making his voice pointed to ensure she was paying attention, "what are you doing here?"
She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that she could trust this human. He had given her no reason not to trust him since she woke up, apart from being attacked by his pet wolf, and it wasn't like what she was doing was classified. She just hoped no one from her clan ever found out about this. Besides, she also had a feeling that this man would know if she was lying to him and wouldn't appreciate it.
"I was hunting." She said. "My clan arrived in Highever a fortnight ago. We've been running low on supplies and my Keeper sent out the clan's best hunters to hopefully bring something back to feed the clan. I swear that's all. I didn't even hear you coming!"
Though Fergus and Aedan were surprised that they were being silent enough to sneak up on a Dalish hunter, Ahab and Ocelot stayed focused. Ahab asked, "Have you seen any sign of darkspawn since your clan moved here?"
"Darkspawn?" the alarmed look on her face returned. "Here?"
Ahab looked over to Fergus, since he was the eldest brother, wordlessly requesting permission. Had he been from any other noble family in Ferelden, he likely would've said no. But instead he nodded.
"The Couslands received word of possible darkspawn sightings in the area. The Teyrn hired Ocelot and I to search the forest surrounding Highever for any signs of them."
"And have you found any?"
"Yes."
Lanaris then began speaking harshly in elven, undoubtedly cursing. When she finished, Ahab said, "You better get moving then." Lanaris, Fergus, Aedan, even Ocelot looked at him with surprise. He swore even DD did, just because they other humans were doing it.
"You're…letting me go?" she asked, hope and disbelief evident on her face.
"Is there a reason we shouldn't, Lanaris? Did you lie to us about your reasons for being in Highever's territory? Because I'd imagine the penalty for a spy or traitor is not very forgiving, is it, my lord?" he directed his question to the eldest Cousland.
It took Fergus a second to catch on, but he quickly realized what Ahab was doing. They had no reason to keep this woman "detained" any longer, nor did he have any desire to. His father had worked very carefully to maintain the delicate balance between the human and elven populations of Highever. News of his sons randomly arresting elves, Dalish or not, would ruin that. Even so, he personally didn't believe this woman had any sinister motives. He may not have met many Dalish elves, personally, but he was aware of their harsh nomadic lives.
But all that aside, he also saw Ahab's ulterior motive: he was trying to scare her, see if she was truly telling the truth. Not something he approved of, but he was the heir to Highever, and it was part of his responsibilities to ensure his home's security.
Taking the coward's way out, he decided to give the bare minimum. "They are not," he said, answering Ahab's question.
Ahab nodded. "So," he said, turning back to Lanaris, "we're going to go our own way now, back to hunting down darkspawn. You may go, continue about your business. Just stay out of trouble, or I won't be so nice on our next meeting."
Lanaris nodded, her face defiant, though fearful just below the surface.
"Then that's that. DD." Nodding off in the direction they were walking, DD sped off into the foliage. "Men," Ahab said to the Couslands, nodding in the direction DD ran off in. The two took his message and followed, surprising Lanaris that those two nobles were listening at all to someone technically below their status. Ahab followed, followed closely by the blonde man, Ocelot, who merely gave her another two fingered salute before disappearing into the forest.
And then despite being alone again, she felt that someone might be watching her. The forest had always been a place of comfort for her, she never saw the need of travelling in groups in her element. But now, with thoughts of darkspawn in the back of her mind, every shadow held something.
Turning in the direction she remembered her clan to be, Lanaris took off in a sprint, all care for sneaking forgotten.
After that little distraction, the rest of the group's search of the forest was disappointingly uneventful. Not only did they come across no one else, but they also saw no evidence of any darkspawn. Fergus was a little disappointed by the lack of action on this excursion, but Aedan was privately relieved. A darkspawn was one of the things he was not eager to see in his lifetime.
The sun was nearly set by the time the Legendary Soldier and his compatriots arrived at Castle Cousland. With the Teyrn's own two sons vouching for them, the group passed through the gate and its new shift of guards with no trouble. The quintet collectively sighed in relief once they stood in the safety of the castle's main hall.
"Well, that was an experience." Aedan quipped.
"It certainly was," Fergus added. "I must say, it was interesting watching you work Ahab, Ocelot. The way you two operated was so unlike what we're used to. Wherever did you learn to sneak like that? I was under the impression only the most accomplished of rogues could sneak up on a Dalish elf. That was impressive."
"Thank you." Ahab simply said.
"There you all are!" A woman's voice, one with a tone that promised pain and suffering to those wise enough to fear it. Ahab, Ocelot, Aedan, Fergus, and DD slowly turned to the main hall's north door and basked in the holy wrath of Eleanor Cousland.
"Mother," Fergus said, attempting to placate the vengeful woman.
"Mother, nothing, Fergus!" she shouted. "Just what the hell did you two think you were doing, gallivanting out into the woods with two strangers you just met to hunt darkspawn? How thick-headed are you?" From behind the furious mother, Ahab's sharp eye caught the Teyrn meekly loitering near the door.
Coward, Ahab thought to himself.
"And you two!" she shouted, pointing at him and Ocelot. "You two numbskulls went along with this moronic plan?"
Ahab knew there was no right answer that got him out of this without starting an argument, so he took the high ground and did the sensible thing to do when confronted with an angry beast that has you cornered: throw somebody else in its maw.
"It was your husband's idea." He said, shrugging unapologetically.
He knew he would never forget the utterly betrayed look on the Teyrn's face, nor the shocked looks on Ocelot, Fergus, and Aedan at hearing him shamelessly throw the man under the bus like that.
One hour later, Ahab and DD found themselves alone in the library. Ahab had commandeered one of the tables near the back of the room and had over two dozen books of various topics open on top of each other. Tacked to the wall behind him were three maps Ahab found; one of Highever, one of Ferelden, and one of Thedas. DD was laying peacefully on the floor, close enough to the lit fireplace to keep warm but not so close to risk catching his fur on fire, but Ahab was the complete opposite.
There was so much information, so much to take down, memorize, scan and send back to Miller and the Intel Team. And not everything he read was helpful. There were huge discrepancies in the various historical texts he read, and everything had the obvious taint of a theocratic oligarchy heavily editing the information to make this "Chantry" seem like the good guy.
It was like a group of people went through every book in Thedas and changed whoever was responsible for something to either, "the Chantry, in the Maker's holy wisdom," or, "the heathens who defy the will of the Maker…"
Slamming one book in frustration, Ahab had to restrain himself from throwing the whole lot into the fireplace. The footsteps he noticed slowly approaching for a few seconds now finally turned around the bookcase. "Some light reading?" Ocelot asked.
"This world is not just backwards," Ahab said, unable to help the venom in his voice, "it's screwed up. Plain and simple. Read this," he pointed to one of the open books on the table. "It talks about how the Chantry is basically doing the elves of this world a favor by keeping them so low they don't even qualify as second-class citizens."
"It's screwed up, I agree, Boss. But I think your energy could be better used coming up with a plan, rather than rambling. Don't you think?"
Big Boss took a breath, calming himself. It wasn't often that he lost control of his emotions, but he was still human. It happened. Not often, but it did.
"Sorry, Ocelot. It's just-"
"I know, Boss." He said. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"What am I going to do about it?"
"Well, yeah. I know you didn't spend one hour just getting yourself worked up over this world's inadequacies. What's the plan?"
Ahab said nothing for a moment, merely staring at Ocelot with a deadpan look on his face. Which then broke into a smirk. Activating his earpiece, he said, "Miller, are you there?"
"Always, Boss."
"Good. Listen up."