- Chapter 6: The Archive -
The Siren's Call has been docked in AntivaCity for three nights now.
The city was built on the mountainside, having stairs linking every level from the bottom to the top, where the castle was.
Usually busy in the morning and afternoon, the city was now calm as the water that surrounded it. There were very few lights illuminating the paths and most of it came from the moon and stars.
The four companions stepped foot on land. They had been sleeping in the ship so no attention would be drawn to them.
With their hooded cloaks on, the Wardens led the way. Truthfully, Alistair was the one guiding them, as he had had plenty of time to explore the city and its surroundings, creating a mental map of where he should go. As soon as he saw the stone arch, followed by a big wooden door with two guards watching over it, he turned around to his companions and nodded. Each one knew what they had to do, so they split.
Alistair was left alone in the middle of the night. He walked past the arch and stood in front of the two guardsmen.
"You!" one of them shouted when he saw him, while the other one's hand slipped to the sword he had sheathed near his hip. "Give a name or start running."
They didn't seem too dangerous, but Alistair wanted to avoid a fight. He pulled down his hood and revealed his face. "My name is Alistair Theirin, and I'm king of Ferelden." The guardsmen didn't move at his words. Nice going, Alistair. "Son of Maric the Savior?" The two men were starting to look angrier by every word. He sighed. "You're… Really not convinced, are you?"
They both unsheathed their swords and got ready to attack the strange man. Clearly he was a lunatic, claiming he was king. "Convince the dead."
Both men charged at Alistair. He swiftly avoided the first attacker, sliding to his right and blocking his menacing strike with his own sword. The man stumbled and Alistair seized the opportunity, striking the guard on his back, cutting his leather armor and skin. The man shouted in pain as he fell to the ground.
Alistair looked menacingly at the remaining guard, while the first shivered on the floor with pain. He was blind from his right eye, as a huge scar ran through it.
"Let the Crows take you!" he yelled as he abandoned his sword and ran through the narrow streets of Antiva.
Alistair stood and watched the man running desperately when a sudden rain of arrows caught up with him. Varric, he thought. He looked up to a lone roof where a tiny figure stood against the moonlight, holding a massive weapon in comparison.
The guard hid behind a wooden cart, trying to catch his breath.
An arrow suddenly pierced through his left eye, leaving the man dead in a moment.
Isabela got up from inside the wooden cart and looked up to the woman in a red hooded cloak. "I could have done that, you know?" She looked a bit annoyed.
The woman pulled the hood down. "Not with this kind of precision, and certainly not from there." Elissa smiled.
Isabela got out of the cart and shook off the dust that had gotten in her clothes. "I have daggers, sunshine. I could have just slit his throat."
"It would have been messier, though."
The two women walked up to Alistair, while Varric was already there.
"You didn't have to kill him," Alistair said when they got near him.
Isabela smiled. "You killed him the moment you gave him your name. Who does that?"
"That wasn't exactly bright thinking, Alistair," added Elissa, putting her bow on her back. She had decided not to bring her melee weapons, as they figured there wouldn't be any fighting – apparently they were wrong.
"Cut him some slack, you two," Varric said smiling. "Most kings can't speak a word without a script from their advisors."
Alistair sighed. "Fine, fine. Let's get this over with before the Crows find us raiding their Archive, please?"
His three companions nodded in silence. It was time to focus, as this had been the easy part. Getting into the Archive and searching it undetected, however, was not such an easy task. They walked in cautiously and Alistair grabbed a torch that was attached to the wall.
The Archive was a wide circular room with two floors; its walls were filled with scrolls and books in wooden shelves. Alistair had an eerie feeling about it, as it had been too easy to just walk in. The security had been very little, so there must be something more to it.
Varric was ranting about how careless the king had been about walking in through the front door when he grabbed his arm. "Stop!"
"What?" Alistair asked, raising his right brow. Elissa and Isabela were behind them, exploring the division, trying to find what had triggered the dwarf's warning. He got down on his knees, closely examining the floor. "Not the time for this, Varric…"
"Shh, let him work," said Isabela while poking Alistair's arm.
Varric pressed a particular spot on the floor and tiny arrows came out of a stone serpent's mouth. He smiled. "It's called a Dragon's Crèche – a building designed to kill you."
"Oh, that's all there is to it?" Isabela smiled as she lifted a piece of the floor to reveal a strange mechanism. "A Falling Mountain."
"Poison Wind," added Varric while disarming a tripwire mechanism.
Alistair and Elissa looked at each other and shrugged. They could have never possibly seen half of the things they had found. Apparently the duo had years of experience with these sorts of traps.
Isabela looked at them and wiped one hand on another. "You do whatever you came to do. We'll take care of everything."
Alistair nodded in approval. "Alright. Elissa, I need a particular scroll that tells us the location of a Crow prison."
"Does it have a name?"
"It must have, but I do not know of it."
"I just love when you complicate things."
"It's not my fault!"
Elissa walked past him to a wall full of scrolls. "Okay, let's find it."
Isabela and Varric continued finding traps all over the place. Behind a gargoyle was a fire fountain, and the dwarf had found a wheel of liquid pain.
"Okay, I think that's it," said Isabela. Varric took another look around and confirmed.
Alistair and Elissa were trying to move fast. They each took a scroll out of the shelf, opened it, read a few lines, and then dropped it on the floor, as it didn't have what they were looking for. This happened several times, so by the time Varric and Isabela concluded their task, the Wardens were still busy looking for that important scroll.
Alistair smiled and stepped away from the wall. "Found it!"
Elissa sighed and turned around to meet him. "Finally!" Alistair was reading the scroll attentively now. "Alistair, you can read it later. Let's just get out of here!"
Alistair snapped out of his concentrated state. "Right— You're right. Let's go."
As soon as they started to walk out of the Archive, a blinding light illuminated the entire room from above and the four companions heard a voice with an Antivan accent. "Halt!"
As they looked up, they saw a man in fine clothes, looking like royalty. His black hair and beard gave him a respectful look, even though he surely wasn't over his 30's. "Found all the traps but missed the alarm." Surrounding him were six armored men with bows and swords and masks on.
"Crows," hissed Varric.
"Hello, Claudio," said Isabela.
Alistair looked back and forth between Isabela and Claudio. "Wait. Are you Claudio Valisti?"
Elissa had her hand on her bow. Just in case. But the other three didn't seem to move or feel threatened.
Claudio went down the stairs with a smile on his face, looking less intimidating. "Then you're King Alistair? Maldición! I wasn't expecting you to come personally."
Alistair laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "I had to know it was real."
Claudio grabbed the scroll Alistair was holding. "Velabanchel…" He looked at Alistair and gave it back. "Go. You have magnificently escaped our pursuit. Know that I cannot aid you further."
Isabela stepped in between the two of them, facing Alistair. "You're not serious, are you? You really trust this man?"
Alistair grabbed her arm and drove her away. "Let's just go, Isabela. There is no need to linger here, and Claudio's letting us walk away."
"Yes, Isabela," Claudio added with a creepy smile. "You should listen to your king. Go now."
"He is not my king!"
"Isabela!" shouted Elissa from the door that led to the exit. "Let's just go. We'll talk about this later."
Isabela rolled her eyes. She faced Claudio one last time. "I do not trust you." She then turned around to the exit door.
Claudio watched them go in silence.
"What a lovely place," Elissa said in disgust. The four companions were sitting around a table in The Perfumed Spring. "Is this a bar or a brothel?"
"Do you still have problems with brothels, dear?" Isabela asked, reminding her of the unpleasant exchange of words they had had just a couple of days before. "Let's just call this place a libertarian bar, where people come to drink… or to find other pleasures."
Elissa found those places… disturbing. She couldn't imagine how someone could just sell his or her body for a coin. I guess if you're desperate… or just devious. She sighed, letting go of the subject.
"How do you know Claudio?" Alistair had a grim look on his face since they had left the Archive.
Isabela took a last sip of her ale before starting to tell a long story. "Prince Claudio Valisti was my husband's business partner."
Varric laughed. "The husband you killed?"
Elissa choked on her tea. "You killed your own husband?" How could she do that to her family?
"The husband I had killed, thank you. And Elissa, dear, it wasn't like Luis was the most charming man you would ever know. He was abusive and treated me like an object – even worse than these creeps here treat the whores." Isabela looked around and Elissa noticed how women were explored in this place. Most bartenders wore nothing but their underwear, crafted on purpose to reveal their curves. Men couldn't keep their eyes off of them and often slapped their rears. Not to talk about the women that worked in the back and were in the bar trying to get a job for the night.
"Listen to me, Alistair," Isabela started on a serious tone. "You mustn't believe a word that pestilent bastard says."
"Well that makes two of them." Varric got the attention of the three warriors at the table, along with confused looks. He blushed, as he had hoped his stupid remark would have gone unnoticed. "You said bastard. Alistair's –"
"Yes, Varric. That would be enough," Isabela interrupted. "Alistair…"
The king got up and walked to the window. He looked outside into the night. Trust. I don't even know if I can fully trust those people at the table.
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from below. "Look, nobody understands cozying up to snakes better than I do." Varric seemed genuinely preoccupied. "But that's a job best handled by someone who can afford becoming the black sheep of the family."
Family. If only I had one to worry about.
Varric continued, oblivious to the king's digression. "Not the man with a reputation and a crown to protect."
Alistair snapped out of his perfect family thoughts. "My reputation is the least of my concerns now, Varric."
"Do not be silly, Alistair," Elissa stepped in. He looked at her. She was standing by the fire place with her old armor and pretty cloak on, and her hair in a loose ponytail. The light that came from the fire made her hair even redder with golden tips. "Your crown and reputation should be the first things in your mind." She sighed and flicked her hair, turning to the fireplace. "What's this Valabanchel Claudio mentioned?"
Alistair and Varric got close to her. Isabela got up and joined them.
"It's a prison run by the Crows," Alistair informed.
Elissa knew too well the look on his face. "Please tell me you're not—"
"I'm planning to break in, tonight. With or without your help." Alistair put his hooded cloak on and got out of the bar.
It was a freezing night. He needed to get some sleep, as it was getting closer and closer to dawn. That night would be definitive for him and his kingdom.
He heard light footsteps behind him, followed by a grip on his left arm.
"Alistair…" Elissa's eyes were shining, and as she had known the look on his face, he too knew the concern in her eyes. "Please, can we talk about this?" She was begging.
"Not here, Elissa."
They walked silently to the docks, where they boarded The Siren's Call. They both went down the stairs to that familiar small hall and Alistair opened up his bedroom door, signaling Elissa to come in. She put down her hood and sat on his bed. Alistair closed the door and sat beside her.
"Alistair, what you're planning to do is crazy. You know that!"
Alistair sighed and covered his face with his calloused hands. "I can't go back now."
"There's four of us! Four!" Elissa was starting to feel desperate. "Look, you asked me to come with you because, according to you, I was the only one you could trust. So please, trust me now. You just can't go to a prison run by the Crows! Besides, why would you—"
"I believe Maric's there."
"Come again?"
Alistair held Elissa's hand. He couldn't care less if she was still mad at him; he just had to make her understand. "Elissa, this is big. Please, I need your help. I can't do this without you."
She was speechless. She knew that was crazy – they knew that was crazy. But the look in his eyes, pleading for help, like it's everything he could ever want in his life… After a long sigh, she asked, "What are your plans if you actually find him?"
Alistair choked on those words. "I… I haven't really thought about it. For now, I'm just hoping he will be there."
"And if he's not?"
"Well… Then I'll have to keep looking."