Chapter 2: Unexpected companions
The Qunari man stares down at me with a look that seems part curiosity and part derision, in a way it reminds me of the way a lion looks as it stares down at wounded prey, I return the gaze unsure what a Qunari is doing this far south. After a few nervous moments Snitch offers a hand and I rise from the mud.
"Thank you ser! A few more moments and we would have looked like pin cushions!" Snitch blurts out with genuine happiness, he's lucky to be alive and he is wasting no time in thanking our saviour for that luck
"Hmmm...I heard I rumours of a Qunari wandering these lands...I had hoped to find a fellow Beresad, instead I find a gutter thief and a woman that thinks she is a man...your blade work was..Sloppy" the Qunari says in a calm but unsympathetic tone
Qunari their arrogance could fill books, father would tell me about them in Rivain on the rare occasions he was home from mercenary campaigns, unlike people such as myself whom are labelled "Tal'Vashoth" these Qunari do not integrate with the people of the south, instead they content themselves with being near silent so as to appear intelligent and to belittle anyone they see as lesser.
"I think you may be lost, Seheron is back the other way" I reply in a cold tone, he may have saved my life but his tone is something I can do without.
The Qunari remains silent, in truth he is not even listening to me; he is too busy cleaning his blade on the slain money lenders clothing to acknowledge me. After a few moments he sheathes his blade and stares at me again, this time he looks more pitying then stern.
"The only thing lost is yourself, wandering human lands and forsaking the Qun...I...Pity you" he says seemingly ashamed of my existence
I do not follow the Qun or its restrictive teachings, as a child my father fled Seheron with me under arm in order to raise me as his own as opposed to a life under the tutelage of the Tamassran, Kurmas my father encouraged me to make my own mind up and cared little what I believed as long as I was sincere about it.
"The Qun is a lie! It enslaves and deceives all who blindly follow it...find your own path whatever that may be, but do not listen to those of Seheron and Par Vollen...they seek to shackle you" my father had said in my youth
Instead I follow the Rivani faith, to a point, those first years of life in Llomerryn influencing me even now. I have met other exiles from the Qunari lands but never one who bowed to the teachings that were the catalyst of our flight, this Qunari standing before me is the first and I can feel the anger rising as he looks on ashamed at my refusal to bow to a faith I know nothing of.
"I know nothing of your Qun, and nor do I care to!" I reply sheathing my blade and signalling Snitch to follow me
The Qunari blocks the gate as we try to pass him, a tattooed hand impeding our departure.
"I have tracked your progress, you will not last a day past this village...And I must...correct your blasphemy" the Qunari said with a mocking smirk
Part of me wants to tell him where to tell this arrogant dog where to take his ideas, but the roads are dangerous of late and there's always safety to be had when you have two armed giants instead of one.
"Whatever just don't slow us down" I reply, he seems to accept this and lowers his hand
"Err I know it's a silly questions but where are we going?"Snitch asks in a nervous voice
I hadn't had much time to think about that truth be told, being attacked by a horde of angry humans has that affect on me, but I am weary of grubby villages and angry peasants. Perhaps it is time to journey to a city again.
I had been toying with the idea of Kirkwall but now that I think about it Antiva city is likely one of the few places a Qunari and a "Tal' Vashoth" would be somewhat welcome, the land crawls with mercenaries and assassins and we would simply be a part of the background in such a place. And so I decide that this will be our destination and with our new companion we should be able to reach it a little more safely, and we can part ways later.
"Antiva city seems as good a place as any" I reply
"Hmmm...You have an ominous choice of direction" the Qunari says
I don't know what he means by that, I don't bother asking either, Qunari from what father used to tell me have a strange habit of being tight lipped and vague about their motivations but if I had to guess I'd say this stranger was some sort of spy, they call them observers in the treaty of Llomerryn but only a fool would understand their role in such a way.
My father was such a person, he journeyed across Rivain and the north, but he soon realised what the Qun denied him as he travelled the human lands and in time he came to realise that he had been blindly following a lie. He fled from his land and for years after warned me of the dangers of men like the one following us now.
"Bringers of lies and destruction, watch them like you would watch a snake, because though the claim to be observing these lands they are merely finding weak spots...I was such a snake...I know full well their purpose" he told me long ago
Still this Beresad is an extra sword in a land riddled with bandits and raiders, so he can stay for now and with any luck I can ignore his fanatical attempts to convert me, at least until we leave the marches.
"Parshera you waste precious time stopping here" the Qunari who calls himself pasala mutters in protest as we stop to rest for the night, if he had his way we would march all night like tireless soldiers
"We need to sleep, I'm sure Qunari do that to" I reply as I lay blankets for the night ahead
He mutters some foreign curse and says something about the corruption of the foreigner but he seems to stop arguing and I am able to settle down and sleep for a time. The dreams come quickly as I rest and I feel drawn to an old memory, it is the house I was raised in during my time in Llomerryn.
Kurmas raised me in the small town house; well at least he did so when he was home, most of the time I was kept safe by an aged Rivani by the name of kora, her parchment like ebony skin and ancient eyes belying a wit and wisdom that could fill libraries.
Now in my dream she sits in my room, always too small for a person of my size, she sits by the window watching the busy streets of Llomerryn with a vacant gaze, I walk towards her on empty legs knowing I must be dreaming. This room and this house were home for so long, yet now they seem like alien landscapes from another age, I find it hard to believe I was ever small enough to sleep in the bed or rush through the corridors.
"beware the place of maggots childe, beware the city of crows, something foul oozes from the world and it will kill all who cross its path, beware the man in the cruel mask, he comes" she mutters in a whispering tone, her back is still turned.
I move towards her one grey skinned armed outstretched to touch her shoulder; I know this is a dream...but it feels so real.
"Kora? Gran?" I ask in a fearful tone, something isn't right
She grips my hand suddenly; her ancient hands holding mine like iron vices, her head turns to reveal a scarred mess where her face had been and her eyes are missing...as if pecked out by crows.
I wake from the dream in a sweat and resisting the temptation to mutter a Qunari curse stare around my heart still racing, it is still night and I am sitting by a fading campfire in a southern wood, the Qunari does not respond to my waking and I wonder if I muttered or cried out in my sleep.
It was a nightmare and nothing more, the house in Rivain is a long passed memory now and Kora died many a season ago...it's all just a bad dream, still I will be more cautious when I enter Antiva now. After all I don't need a dream to tell me that the Crows and their like are a dangerous bunch.