Here is the next chapter. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Getting to hear from readers always makes my day. Thanks and enjoy!
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Bodan had nearly jumped out of his skin upon seeing the sled of dragon parts the company was hauling behind them. Damien agreed to let him sell some of it as long as he negotiated on their behalf to get the rest made into armor and weapons for the group.
Splitting up, Damien waved goodbye as the rest of his companions headed east toward Redcliffe and he turned south with Lyna, Leliana, Daylen, and Neria in tow. They only brought what they could carry so they could hike off the road if the need arose, especially since they were heading into the fringes of darkspawn territory. Damien did not doubt that he and his company could handle a raiding party of the creatures, but if a larger contingent of the horde happened to come across them, they might have a bit more trouble and have to retreat.
"So, what might we be searching for?" Leli asked falling instep with Damien.
"An old business acquaintance of mine sent a letter to me by way of a broker I'm in contact with. She specializes in the theft of weapons and weapon schematics so whatever she is after might be of use to us, and considering she actually asked for a little help, it must be valuable enough that she would not mind splitting the take," Damien replied as the group continued their march south.
"I remember you said that you were a beggar before joining the Wardens," Lyna stated. "If you were in contact with all these thieves and were even famous in Denerim, why were you not better off?"
"I ask myself that question a lot, but the thing is, I got famous in Denerim as a thief but only for jobs that I was hired for. Other than food, clothes, and other necessities, I never stole for myself. After I met Henness, Lockey, and Griggs, we all decided to stop stealing for everyone else and just live on our own in Highever. After a few years of only stealing the essentials, we were just begging," Damien explained.
As the group continued, they talked about their lives before the Blight and the different people they had known. Leliana spoke of the brothers and sisters back at the Lothering chantry and even made mention of a small gang of bards that she worked with before joining the cloister.
Daylen had a few rather humorous stories about an escape artist mage from the Tower who had managed to escape for the seventh time only a week before the darkspawn had appeared in the south. Apparently, none of the mages were allowed to practice swimming in the lake all because of the man's first escape when he was only ten.
Neria talked about one of the mages who accidentally set the apprentice quarters on fire while practicing a spell and how mad Wynne was when she found out that the others tried to help him cover it up.
Even Lyna shared a few stories about her life with her clan, spending her days hunting in the forest with her friend who had gone missing while exploring an old ruin. She seemed to be rather sad when the particular person was mentioned. Damien wondered if the missing friend had been special to Lyna. More so than simply a good friend.
The road narrowed as they entered the forested foothills edging ever closer to Honnleath. Damien started to get the feeling that they were being watched, but the taint in his blood assured him that it was not darkspawn. It appeared that the former bard and dalish hunter had noticed as well since all three fell rather silent.
"Left or right?" Damien asked only loud enough for the five of them to hear.
"Both. Three on the left, two on the right," Lyna stated.
"What are you talking about?" Daylen asked. Neria curled her fingers around the straps of her pack nervously as the three rogues glanced from one side of the road to the other.
"Is it darkspawn?" Neria asked.
"No, not darkspawn. If I had to guess, I'd say it was bandits," Lyna stated.
"Whatever they might be, they are amateurs," Leliana added.
"Leli, take the right. Don't kill them unless you have to, but subdue them quietly. Lyna, same thing on the left. Daylen and Neria, you two stay close. There is a bend in the road up ahead. My guess is these guys watching us were planning to cut off our escape and allow their buddies up ahead to take us out," Damien stated.
"So should we return the favor? Use my magic to cut off their escape and handle them," Daylen asked.
"You know, kid, you're catching on quick," Damien replied loosening the straps on his pack so the bag would be easier to slip off should fighting break out.
Damien and the two mages moved forward. He feel the eyes on him as they rounded the corner. He could not have picked a better ambush point himself. The road was blocked by a fallen tree and there were ledges that were perfect for positioning archers. If it were him, he would position three or four archers on the ledge as well as a mage if he had access to one. The five that were in the trees would hit from both sides as well as another three from the front.
"Daylen, when the action starts, set that fallen tree on fire and take cover away from the ledge on the left with Neria. I'll bet you ten silvers there are archers up there. We'll have to leave them to Lyna and Leliana," Damien whispered to them. The two mages nodded in response as the trio entered the ambush target area.
A blonde, olive-skinned elf appeared on the path leading to the ledge along the cliff and dropped his hand signaling for the attack to commence. The second the attackers started to move, Daylen set the tree ablaze eliciting a a few screams of fear and pain from the branches. Damien had guessed correctly. Their other close range attackers were going to attack from the fallen tree. With the fire either consuming them or blocking their path, that left just the elf and the archers to deal with. With one fluid motion, Damien dropped his pack and unsheathed his daggers and flew forward, dodging the few arrows the archers managed to fire. The blonde elf crossed blades with him but Damien had an advantage in strength and agility thanks to his magic, but the skill this man had was unparalleled. If Damien had tried to fight him without his magic, he would have lost very quickly.
Suddenly, an arrow buried itself in the elf's shoulder guard and Damien took the opportunity to deliver a devastating punch into the man's jaw. Knocked backward and obviously dazed, Damien immediately followed the punch with a kick to the side of the head which knocked the elf attacker out cold.
Continuing forward, the archers had started to flee into the trees where Lyna descended on them like a master hunter and cut them down without mercy with her arrows.
"That went rather well," Damien stated waving for everyone to form up around him.
"It was easier than I thought it would be," Lyna added.
"See if you can find any information, usable supplies, or weapons on the dead while I have a chat with our new friend," Damien stated heading down the path toward his unconscious opponent.
Tying the elf's hands and feet together, he searched him to make sure there were no hidden blades. What he found surprised him. The elf had nearly two dozen different blades hidden in his armor and clothes. Setting them all to the side, Damien sat the elf up against the cliff face and pulled his pack over to act as a seat for him.
"Rise and shine," Damien shouted tapping the elf's face with the tips of his fingers. However, the attacker did not stir. Taking his canteen and unscrewing the cap, Damien took a long drink before splashing some of the water in the man's face.
"Oh my… ow… I had expected to wake up dead… or not wake up at all as the case may be," the man stated shaking his head a little. "But I see you have not killed me yet."
"I could remedy that very quickly," Damien responded drawing his dagger and touching the tip of the blade under the elf's chin. "I have some questions that you are going to answer honestly or you will join your friends in the Void."
"Ah, so I am to be interrogated. Let me save you some time. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens, at which I have failed at… sadly," the elf stated.
"I wouldn't call it sadly, myself. Thing is, how did you know that I was the Warden here? I'm not wearing my armor and no one really knows what I look like," Damien asked as the rest of the group formed around him.
"You have become quiet infamous, Warden. The Masked Warden is what some are calling you. A man with a hood with a scarf for a mask. You are not as hard to find as you think," Zevran stated.
"I'll take that under advisement. Now, who hired you to come after me?" Damien asked.
"A rather taciturn fellow in the capital. Loghain, I think his name was? Yes, that was it," the elf answered with little hesitation.
"Figures. However, you are being rather forthcoming with the information I want," Damien responded.
"Why not? I was not paid for my silence."
"How honorable of an assassin. So I take it your loyalty is to the highest bidder, right?" Damien asked.
"Loyalty is an interesting concept. In fact, if you are done interrogating me, I have a proposal," Zevran informed him.
Damien cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms. "A proposal, huh?"
"You see, I have now failed to kill you. Therefore my life is forfeit. That is how it works. If you do not kill me the Crows will likely finish me off themselves. Thing is, I enjoy living and you seem to be the sort to give the Crows pause. So, let me serve you instead," Zevran offered.
"That sheep's clothing your hiding in might work on other targets, but not me. What's to stop you from finishing the job later while my back is turned," Damien asked standing and tapping his dagger against his leg.
"To be perfectly honest, even if I tried to finish the job later on, the crows would probably kill me for failing on my first attempt to set an example for the others," Zevran answered.
Damien could not sense any kind of dishonesty in his answers. There was something about the elf that made Damien think that he could trust him. However, the elf was an assassin who had just tried to kill him. He had to be cautious.
"If I did accept your proposal, just if I even considered it, could I expect the same amount of loyalty you are showing to you former employer?" Damien asked resting his dagger on his shoulder.
"I happen to be a very loyal person, up to the point when someone expects me to die for failing. That is not a fault, really… is it? I mean, unless you expect the same, in which case I would not come very highly recommended, I suppose," Zevran responded.
Damien sighed and sheathed his blade before sitting back down on his pack. He interlocked his fingers and leaned forward looking straight into Zevran's face.
"Why are you so eager to be away from the crows? The real reason. I believe you when you say that they will kill you for failing. Even a thief like me hears about the Antivan Crows and their methods, but we also hear about the loyalty of their members who would rather die than fail. You must have another reason for wanting out?" Damien stated narrowing his eyes.
"You see, I was never given much of a choice in joining the Crows. They bought me on the slave market when I was a child. I think I paid my worth back to them plus ten fold. However, the only way to truly get you is to sign up with someone they can't touch. I would really prefer to take my chances with you," Zevran answered. There was nothing but honestly in his voice. Not tent of a lie in his eyes of face. If he was lying, he had convinced himself that he wasn't even before speaking.
"Fine. I'll accept your offer for now. If I even start to suspect that you might be planning to double cross me, that will be it for you. Agreed?" Damien asked pulling his knife and cutting Zevran's bindings.
"Agreed," the elf replied shaking Damien's hand.
"Welcome Zevran. Having an Antivan Crow join us sounds like a fine plan," Leliana stated from behind Damien.
"Oh, and you are a companion to be then? I did not think such loveliness existed amongst adventurers," Zevran stated in as sauve a voice as Damien had ever heard. This guy would definitely make life a bit more interesting, and on top of that, with his skill in handling daggers, he could teach Damien and improve his skills.
"Or perhaps not," Lyna retorted with a laugh.
"I, therefore, pledge my oath of loyalty to you until such a time as you see fit to release me from it. I am your man without reservation. This I swear," Zevran stated before placing his hand over his heart and bowing to Damien.
"I look forward to seeing you in action. We'll actually get to see what you can do against darkspawn her in the next couple days. We're headed to Honnleath to meet up with an old business associate of mine," Damien said collecting his pack and directing Zevran to the stack of blades Damien had confiscated from him.
The group grabbed the supplies they thought they would need from the belongings of their fallen foes before putting out the fires and continuing down the road south.