Late that night: The Gallows
"Well Uncle Gamlen sure wasn't what we expected but at least Athenril was cute." said Carver with a sigh as he walked alongside Garrett, Bethany, and Aveline on their way from a meeting with the Elven smuggler who Gamlen had said would get them into the city. Provided they would work for her gang for one year upon entry, running deliveries past the guards or Templars. Gamlen of course would have gotten them out of the Gallows by swinging around the Amell Estate, if he still had the estate. Having lost the family fortune years ago to some disreputable miscreants to whom he owed a lot of money, Galmen now lived in a Lowtown shanty working a new get-rich-quick angle every week.
His contacts however had given the Hawke family a chance; Athenril had even been excited at the prospect of two former soldiers and a pair of apostates under her employ, provided that the risk was worth it.
She would get them into the city if they could pick up a delivery of refined Lyrium from a Tevinter supplier and deliver them back into her hands. The run was of course a test to see what they could handle just as much as it was something Athenril most likely did not want to have to do herself. If they succeeded she got a full shipment of top quality Lyrium. If they failed and got caught by the city guards or the Templars, nothing could be traced back to Athenril or her gang.
"Didn't know you were into Elves, Carver," said Bethany, teasingly taking on an overly fake seductive pose.
"Uncle Gamlen did what he could," said Garrett. "And she's way to much woman for you," he smirked, leading his group around a dark corner, where the street illuminating torches did not reach, only to stop short as a massive, wrought iron gate loomed before them, blocking their way to the docks.
"This could be a problem," said Aveline, rubbing her bare arms to warm herself in the frigid mist rising from the deep bay from which the Gallows rose.
"No need to worry," said Garrett with a grin, summoning a flame to life with a snap of his fingers just to show off and a little happy to be using magic not involving blood or demons for the first time since leaving Fereldan.
Flushing ever so slightly in the light of Hawke's fire, Aveline put her hands down, not wanting to be seen as a woman needing a man. "I appreciate the concern Hawke but you don't need to keep me warm. We have a job to do."
Blinking in surprise and chuckling as he realized what she meant, Garrett marched over to the gate and nodded at Bethany, "Give me a hand here," he knocked on the metal, getting a feeling for it. Standing back, he whirling his arms in a fiery arc with his sister joining in the dance until the pair sent their hands down in unison with a chopping motion, their flames cutting through the metal with the force of raw heat.
Kicking down the bars of the section they had cut loose with a grunt, Garrett ducked his head as he stepped through. "Sorry Aveline, wasn't trying to insinuate," he smiled, panting from the magical exertion as he peaked back through the hole at her. Aveline scowled, turning bright red with embarrassment as Bethany and Carver both followed their brother through the gate, Carver patting Aveline on the shoulder as they passed.
"Won't the Templars find this?" asked Aveline as she followed them, grimacing as her shield clanged loudly, banging on the iron bars as she stood a second too soon. Pulling her husband's shield around she nervously checked the Templar sigil for scratches or dings, overly protective of it.
"Does it matter?" asked Carver in response. "The Templars will think it was a mage trying to escape and as far as any of them know none of us are mages," he shrugged. "Plus they'll be looking outside of the Gallows by the time we're already back inside."
"Aren't you the criminal mastermind?" said Bethany with a sarcastic smirk at her twin brother. "We've only been at this for a few hours."
"Says the newest blood mage in the family," Carver scoffed, only to take a smack on the back of his head from his twin. Wincing, he decided it would be best to keep quiet as they crept toward the docks. Ducking behind barrels and into alleyways to avoid the occasional guard or gangster.
Stepping silently as they crossed a large path toward the warehouse Athenril had marked on Garrett's map, he knocked twice loudly then five times in rapid succession as instructed so that the Tevinter would know they were there for the pickup and not to arrest them.
After a brief pause, the tumbler in the door's lock clicked and the door slowly slid open with a terribly painful creak. Stepping inside ahead of his family, Garrett pushed the door the rest of the way open, the moonlight, thankfully no longer full, was barely able to illuminate much of anything in the room that lay beyond.
"We're here for the Lyrium, let's make this quick," said Garrett, his eyes shifting from shadow to shadow looking for movement. Listening for sounds, he could only hear Bethany's nervously hastened breathing beside him.
"Where is Athenril?" a deep and heavily accented voice rang out from the darkness. Slowly, a man emerged from the murk, his crimson, black, and tan robes kicking up dust as he moved. His skin was dark with a full beard of black hair covering the bottom half and a black and gold turban sitting atop his head.
"She is the one who sent us," said Aveline, her tone betraying her impatience.
"Do you have my gold then?" the man asked, suspiciously eyeing the group of refugees up and down, his gaze lingering for a few extra moments on Bethany and Aveline.
"Right here," said Carver to cut off the man's ogling as he held up a leather pouch, bouncing it in his hand so that it produced the sound of rattling coins.
"Very good," their contact grinned, "Just hand over that gold and I will get you your Lyrium," he started to approach them with a casual swagger. Carver leaned in with the sack of coins to hand them over but froze as Garrett threw his arm in the way.
"What the bloody hell?" asked Carver, stepping back in indignation.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Garrett asked the Tevinter. "We can all tell that my brother is an idiot but I'm not," he glared. "I want the Lyrium before you get near this gold."
"I'm insulted," the man raised his hands, feigning hurt.
"So am I," Hawke challenged. "The Lyrium, now."
"You should watch you tone," the Tevinter turned cold and serious, "Insolent errand boys like you don't last long with smart mouths like yours," he picked up an ornate staff of polished wood and silver leaf. With a quick spin of the staff he launched a burst of blue magical energy toward the Hawkes.
"Get down!" Garrett shouted, pulling Bethany to the floor with him as Carver and Aveline ducked to either side of the room. Standing quickly, Garrett pulled out his own staff of gnarled wood with a curved blade at the end. Spinning his ancient weapon, he retaliated with a massive fireball.
The Tevinter just laughed as he batted the flames aside, holding out his arms as a sound of gathering energy grew to a crescendo of lightning bolts fired at all four of them. Loud explosions that would probably wake half of the Templars in the Gallows rang out as barrel exploded into a rain of splintered shrapnel.
Miraculously, Garrett was unharmed where he knelt but quickly realized that he could not move. As the smoke cleared, he saw that Carver, Aveline, and himself were all surrounded by swirling vortices of magic that had deflected the razor sharp debris.
Tentatively, Bethany peaked out from behind Aveline, having used the other woman's shield as cover when she cast barriers on her allies to protect them from harm. Standing, she banished the warding auras with a wave of her hand, holding up her staff as she faced down the Magister.
"Clever move," he clapped slowly, mocking them, "Though your powers are nothing compared to a Magister of Tevinter," he snapped his fingers, a cue to the hired mercenaries hidden in shadows and side rooms to get ready for a fight.
"More targets just make it easier for you to get hit," Garrett grinned, nodding to his siblings. Bethany stepped forward, standing back to back with Garrett as Carver pulled Aveline back out of the way, knowing and dreading what was about to happen.
Spinning her staff and slamming the weighted end onto the ground, an explosion of flames shot toward the ceiling, coming back down as a rain of fiery blasts that demolished the ranks of the Tevinter guards. As his men fell in droves, screaming as they were burned alive, he did not notice as Garrett produced a decorative knife his father had given him as a child. Running forward through the flames, he leapt into the air and drove the blade into the other mage's throat, sending him to the ground coughing and gasping for air as he died.
Surveying the scene, Garrett watched Aveline and Carver kill the remaining mercenaries and put the still burning men out of their misery. "That could have gone better," he sighed, perking up as he spotted two small crates marked with the sigil of the Imperial House that Athenril had said was delivering the Lyrium. "On the other hand, we got the goods and get to keep the fee for some spending money," he draped and arm over Bethany's shoulders, proud of her quick thinking, "My baby sister deserves a new dress for that showing back there," he doted.
Blushing a deep red, Bethany squirmed out from under Garrett's arm, "Maybe we should use it for breakfast once the sun rises. I'm starving."
"Oh Maker please food," Carver gave an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes as he picked up the first crate. With Lyrium being as rare and expensive as it was when not controlled by the Chantry, the small amount here would fetch an easy hundred sovereigns from Templars feeding their addiction or apostates needing the magical potion for anything from a quick power boost to fuel arcane rituals.
"Do you always think of your stomach first?" asked Aveline as she picked up the other crate, casting an icy glare at Garrett before he could offer to take it for her. She may have been a widow but she would be damned before letting a man treat her as though she were weak.
"Only when I'm hungry," Carver said with an aloof shrug before kicking the door open and leaving the warehouse, eager to get back to Athenril without being seen. Aveline merely shook her head and followed him.
As Bethany moved to follow them she stopped as Garrett's hand clamped down on her shoulder. She silently chided herself for wearing a dress that did not cover her shoulders as his calloused hand felt like sandpaper on her skin.
"What?" she asked defensively, shaking him off.
"We need to talk," said Garrett, somber and serious as he crossed his arms.
"About?" Bethany asked, now rather annoyed that they were not running like hell from a room where they had just murdered a dozen people.
"The other night, when I was changing," he sighed, "I wasn't going to be able to hold onto being Human. I could tell that the beast was going to take over but then the curse lost hold and just fizzled out until I had it under control."
"So then what's the matter?" she asked, suddenly concerned, her heart racing under her chest.
"Bethany, I saw the bandages on your hand and Carver told me about you cutting yourself before blanking out for a moment," He stared right at her in a way he never had before.
"What do you want me to say? That I shouldn't have saved your life? You know that Carver really would have killed you if you turned," she began to storm away but stopped short as Garrett snapped at her.
"Exactly as he should!" he followed her and took her hand in his own. "You are my baby sister and I never want anything bad to happen to you because of me," he turned solemn, "Promise me that you will never, EVER, use blood magic again. Even if it means my life."
"But you use blood magic all of the time," she protested, stepping outside and peering around for anyone who might see them.
"Because father taught me how to use it responsibly," he replied, following her back toward the gate they had cut earlier. Looking around he could tell that the sun would rise soon as the walls and empty stands began to regain traces of color.
"You could teach me then," she shot back at him, ducking through the hole in the iron gate. Carver and Aveline had obviously already passed through.
"Not a chance," said Garrett, "Blood magic is extremely dangerous no matter how skilled a mage you are. I will not risk losing you to a demon, ever."
As he uttered the word demon with venom and spite on his lips, Bethany felt a pang in her heart. Both of guilt and fear as she remembered the purple demoness, the memory of it's lips on hers fresh in her mind.
"You don't have to worry, I'm stronger than you think," she turned away from him in a huff as she touched a pair of fingers to her lips. Walking swiftly back toward their tent in the darkness, a subtle flash of violet light consumed her eyes before fading slowly away, a distant, feminine laugh rising from the back on her mind.