Okay, so this chapter is a bit longer than the last one, mostly because I wanted to fit Anders in. I'll also be throwing in sections with his point of view along with Hawke's from now on. Cool? Cool! Also, thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it!
"Now, if you were a smuggler where would you be?" Varric asked, squinting in the afternoon sunlight.
Though the beardless dwarf had offered his help to her in her mission to scrounge up fifty sovereigns, Astrid did not think he would be so ready to assist when she took him up on his word in the Hanged Man three days later, with Aveline and Bethany in tow.
As Varric walked beside her, boots trudging through the white sand of the Wounded Coast, the young archer decided she liked him. He called Bethany "Sunshine" and wasn't put off by Aveline's stern demeanor, despite her near interrogation of him. He simply raised a single eyebrow in question as she went on and on about complaints the guards had received from the Merchant's Guild. Astrid had shrugged in response. She'd gotten used to Aveline's guard-like ways before the woman had even become part of the City Guard. Hopefully the man would come to understand her charm.
"Just up ahead, waiting to ambush," the guardswoman replied with a frown. "Now stop talking."
"I would be on ship to Orlais, on my way to starting a new life," Bethany whispered despite Aveline's admonishment.
"Hmm. I like that, Sunshine. What about you, Hawke?"
Astrid considered the question. "I'd probably be smuggling something."
As it turned out, Aveline was correct. Suddenly a dozen men came pouring from the surrounding hills and rocks that dotted the area, all of them wielding sharp and pointy weapons and hollering various war cries. Astrid was a bit disappointed. She had imagined that smugglers would be more subtle.
The small group worked well together however and took them out with ease. Astrid fired arrow after arrow and Bethany twisted and flipped her pointed staff, shooting off spells that froze, burned, and stunned anyone who got remotely close to them. Aveline meanwhile wielded her sword and Ser Wesley's shield in her powerful hands, sending heads flying. Varric's contribution was also impressive and Astrid found herself staring at his crossbow, Bianca apparently, with envy.
"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. Sorry Hawke, but she's very particular," the dwarf said as he pulled one of his bolts from the shoulder of a corpse.
"I think she'd like me," Astrid replied, eyeing the weapon with interest before shooting its owner a grin.
Varric let out a laugh. "That's what I'm afraid of. Not a chance, Hawke."
Pouting, the girl turned to where Aveline was kneeling, searching one of the raiders. "Well equipped for bandits," she noted. "But dead is dead and the road is clear."
"Definitely dead," Astrid agreed, staring at the dead man's pale pink tongue that had lolled out of his mouth. "Yuck."
Bethany, who was looking rather yellow, averted her gaze from the corpses. "I suppose we should loot them for money for the expedition, right?" she asked, sounding like she'd rather do anything but.
"Exactly. Leave it to me, sister," the blonde Hawke instructed her with an easy smile.
While Bethany was certainly a fighter, she did not enjoy killing and did not like to see the results of it. Astrid however, had no problem with it. She didn't savor the feeling of watching one of her arrows pierce a man's neck or stab into his chest, but when the battle was over and her family and friends were alive and the enemies fallen, she could not help but feel a swell of relief and success. Everyone had to make a living, including herself. Astrid understood why they didn't just surrender, but she hoped they understood in turn why she had to kill them.
Aveline frowned. "Are you sure this expedition is the best thing for you to get involved in, Hawke? It seems…shady."
"Well, there's not much else to do for a profit, besides killing people, and I don't want to do that for the rest of my life." Astrid thought of Meeran and the cool, almost bored way he told her what Big Bad Man she was assigned to kill this week as if talking about something trivial like the weather. She shuddered. No, she did not want to be like that. She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about killing, but apathy was not it.
"Don't fret, Aveline. We'll go down there, slay some darkspawn, find treasure, and head back to the surface. There's nothing to lose!" Varric said. "Well except for our lives, and fifty gold. But Hawke is a professional. Look at her!"
Astrid stood in a mock heroic pose, tilting her head up and shoving her chest out like a statue with her hands on her hips. Bethany snorted and gave her a small hip check. The guardswoman let out an unintelligible grumble but continued searching the bodies for coins and valuables to sell at the Lowtown market.
"Varric, how do we even get down to the Deep Roads? It's not as if an entrance is sitting in the basement of the Chantry….is there?" Bethany asked suddenly.
"I bet there's a lot of strange things in the basement of that Chantry, Sunshine, but yes, I was going to discuss it with you two at the Hanged Man later if you're free. Guardswoman, you're welcome to join as well."
Aveline paused and actually seemed to consider for a moment but then shook her head. "I need to speak with Guard Captain Jeven about the bandits, and I have rounds tonight in Hightown. But thank you," she added with a small smile.
Normally Astrid would pester the woman a bit, exclaiming that she never had any fun, but she thought maybe it was for the best that her friend was busy. Then at least she couldn't object to anything, and wouldn't tell her mother about the expedition.
When Astrid and Bethany arrived back at home-no, Gamlen's house, she corrected herself; this was not home- Leandra was perched on her brother's favorite chair, reading an aged looking book. She smiled as they entered the apartment and pushed her fine grey hair out of her thin face. She was still beautiful for her age, if a little tired around the eyes. For all that she had been through, the death of her husband and child, it was surprising she didn't look like some of the more haggard refugees Astrid had seen in the Darktown area.
"Hello Mother," Bethany chirped. Astrid followed suit but tried to propel her sister towards the bedroom before Leandra took in their appearances. But alas, it was too late.
Leandra let out a gasp, dropping her book on the floor as she rose to her feet. "Girls, is that blood on you?"
"Blood? Not on my new breastplate!" Astrid exclaimed in horror, staring down at herself.
The old woman stared at them both, causing Bethany to bit her lip. Dammit, Beth! Astrid cursed internally. Her sister could never lie properly to their mother. Leandra's soft eyes narrowed. "Don't try to fool me, young lady. What have you two been up to?"
"We were just helping Aveline on her rounds, Mother," Bethany answered in a soothing tone. She was always the best at calming their mother down while Astrid and Carver were always too busy fighting about who had stressed her out in the first place.
A sigh fell from Leandra's lips. "I don't like the idea of you two getting into trouble. You just finished a year of servitude thanks to your uncle."
"Where is good old Uncle Gamlen?" Astrid asked curiously, looking around the room as if he were hiding under the kitchen table.
The matron Hawke shook her head. "Who could possibly know? Hopefully not adding to his debts, Maker help him."
"The Maker has better things to do," Astrid muttered before crouching down to the massive pile of brown fur panting on the carpet. "You'll scare away any of dirty old Gamlen's debt collectors, won't you Precious?" she exclaimed, rubbing the dog's belly as she rolled onto her back with glee.
Leandra smiled at the site but wasn't ready to drop the subject, crossing her arms over her chest. "Astrid, I don't want you out doing...whatever it is that you do and getting hurt, especially with your younger sister."
"Mother, I'll be fine!" Bethany protested. "Astrid, Aveline, and Varric are there to protect me. Besides, it's not as if I'm completely defenseless. Father taught me everything he knew about magic."
The woman softened at the mention of Malcom Hawke. "Alright. Just be careful. I don't want to lose you girls like…like Carver. You're all I have left."
"We'll be okay," Astrid replied with a confident smile. "And I won't let Beth out of my sight," she added with determination, thinking of the night with the rough young man in the Hanged Man. Speaking of…. "We really must go though. We said we'd meet Varric!"
With a kiss on the cheek, Astrid headed to the door, Bethany close behind. Leandra stood looking perplexed. "Wait, who is this Varric?"
"No time to explain, Mother!" Astrid called over her shoulder, and with that they were gone.
Anders
The mage repressed a yawn as he looked over at the young boy stretched out on the small wooden examination table in his clinic. Between his stress over not hearing from Karl and the amount of refugees pouring into his clinic everyday he had gotten very little sleep. But the last thing he wanted was for the boys' parents, who were standing by with concern, to mistake the gesture for boredom rather than exhaustion.
"He's taken a serious beating," he said, spreading his magic out to detect any injuries. "You said another group of boys did this?"
The father stepped forward, running a hand over his short black beard. "Yes. He said they took all the money he had on him- a mere two coppers a Chantry sister had given him the day before last! The blighted bastards."
Anders frowned. The depravity of the city no longer surprised him, but never failed to shame him. The boys who'd beaten him were less at fault than the horrendous conditions they had likely grown up in, raised to hurt and steal and sneak just to get by.
We can fix it, an all too familiar voice announced in the corner of his mind. Not just the mages, but the common people. They must all have justice. We will make them see.
Anders hoped so anyway. He'd been in Kirkwall for a few weeks already and so far all he'd done was heal. While that was certainly important, the Mage's Plight had been expressed very little and Karl was still trapped in the Circle. He had to take action soon. But for now the pummeled boy needed his help.
After downing a small lyrium potion, Anders summoned a surge of glowing blue magic to his fingers and began moving his hands just above the boy's skin. Slowly but surely with the mage's utmost concentration, the bruises along his arms disappeared, just as the broken rib stitched back together and the concussion in his head was alleviated. Finally the boy sat up with a smile to hug his mother, who promptly began sobbing into the child's hair. The father meanwhile gave the mage a thankful pat on the shoulder while Anders let his body sag with the amount of energy depleted from his tired body.
Just as he was about to rest however, he sensed movement at the entrance of the clinic. Not the familiar pitiful sound of sick refugees, but solid footsteps, several of them. Intruders, the voice inside him warned, ready to strike at any moment.
Turning around with Justice just barely in control, he confronted the group, staff in hand. "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?"
This group was…not what he was expecting. Once again he had thought the Templars were at his doorstep, ready to drag him to the Gallows. Instead, a tall girl decked out in brown leathers with hair lighter than his own, faced him with a surprised look on her face. On her right was a beardless dwarf with gold earrings adorning his ears, not much different looking than the one Anders himself use to wear. Slightly behind the young woman was another girl, this one with dark hair and a red bandana around her neck.
"I'm just here to talk," the blonde girl, apparently their leader, said.
"We're interested in getting into the Deep Roads, and rumor has it you were a Warden. Do you know a way?" the dwarf asked.
The Deep Roads. Anders nearly cringed at the words. Why would two beautiful women and a dwarf possibly want to go down there? Something seemed off.
"Did the Wardens send you to bring me back? I'm not going." The man furrowed his brows in frustration. "Those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pounce-A-Lot. He hated the Deep Roads…" The last was said in a murmur, mostly to himself, but it seemed that the apparent leader had heard him.
She was looking at him as if he had drunk a few too many lyrium potions as a child and addled his brains. "You had a cat named…Ser Pounce-A-Lot….in the Deep Roads?"
Suddenly self conscious of her forest green eyes studying him, he shrugged. "He was a gift, a noble beast. Almost got ripped in half by a genlock once. He swatted the bugger on the nose. Drew blood too, "Anders declared proudly with what was almost a smile. It was good to think of Pounce. He had been avoiding similar thoughts since his arrival in Kirkwall.
The girl laughed, a musical sound with a hearty quality that surprised him. "What ever happened to him? Please don't say a refugee ate him. That would just ruin my night."
"The blighted Wardens said he made me too soft. I had to give him to a friend in Ameranthine, " he explained, his small smile quickly faded.
"I'm sorry," she stated, actually sounding genuine. "I don't know what I'd do if we lost our dog." The girl exchanged a meaningful glance with the dark haired girl, who had moved to her side. The dwarf also gave her a look, but one with more urgency.
"If you don't mind me asking, I always thought it was 'Wardens for life,' 'darkspawn killing forever' and all that," she continued. "How did you get away?"
The mage laughed darkly. "That's only partly true. The hopelessly tainted by the darkspawn and plagued by nightmares about the archdemon parts don't go away. But it turns out if you hide well you don't have to wear the uniform or go to the parties."
Pity seemed to tug down on her rosy lips, and while she stared at him for a moment he feared that she would point out that he didn't truly answer her question. Thankfully she didn't mention it. "Grey Warden parties, huh? I wonder what those are like."
"Very doom and gloom, and someone always ends up spiking the punch bowl with darkspawn blood. Plus there are never many pretty women there," he replied, more flirtatious than he intended. He eyed her subtly then, amber eyes pausing once at her hips and again at the blush coloring her cheeks.
She coughed awkwardly then before continuing and Anders suddenly felt like a fool. She wanted to know about the Deep Roads, not about his cat and the lack of attractive women in the Wardens. Besides, what business did he have flirting with this girl? She was probably spoken for anyway. A year ago he might (probably…most definitely) have perused her, but he was different now.
"I'm part of an expedition to the Deep Roads. Any information you have could save people's lives." She gazed at him expectantly with those big eyes, imploring him for his maps and expertise.
It was tempting to help her-this was perhaps the longest conversation he'd had in months and he found himself enjoying it-but would giving her his maps really be assisting her?
"I will die a happy man if I never think about the bloody Deep Roads again. You can't imagine what I've come through to get here." He gestured to the hovel they were standing in. "I'm not interested in-"
The young woman raised an eyebrow at his pause. "The Deep Roads aren't so bad after all now, I take it?"
"A favor for a favor," Anders said. "Does that sound like a fair deal? You help me, I'll help you." He couldn't believe he was proposing this, to a total stranger, but it was his only option. If this woman thought she could make it in the Deep Roads, she might be able to help him against the templars.
"Let's be more specific. I don't do anything involving children or animals," she joked, however there was an edge of seriousness to her voice. She wasn't playing with him.
"I have a Warden map of the depths in this area but there is a price." He began pacing and she stepped closer towards him. "I came to Kirkwall to aid a friend- a mage, a prisoner in the wretched Gallows. The Templars learned of my plans to free him. Help me bring him safely past them and you shall have your maps."
The young woman seemed to almost shiver at the mention of the Gallows but the determined expression that her face had taken on did not falter. Taking the hand of who Anders thought could only be her sister, she said, "You've convinced me. What's your plan?"
Anders could not help but feel a bit guilty. Roping another into this could be dangerous. He barely knew the girl, but to see that her pretty face behind bars could possibly haunt him forever. You must save Karl. This may be the only way, Justice pointed out.
"I welcome your aid," he said solemnly. "I have already sent word for Karl to meet me at the Chantry tonight. Join us there and we we'll ensure no matter who is with him, we will all walk away free."
"We have a deal, Anders" she replied, surprising him. She must have got his name from Lirene. "I'm Astrid Hawke, and this is my beautiful apostate sister Bethany," she said with a grin, gesturing to the other girl, who curtsied. "And this is Varric Tethras, the only dwarf I've ever liked."
The dwarf extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Blondie."
"Likewise." Anders raised his brows but didn't question the nickname. Meanwhile the two sisters were giggling.
"Anyway, we'll see you at the Chantry and your friend can know freedom," Astrid exclaimed with a wide smile as they reached the door.
Finally the mage was alone and was able to collapse onto his stained, stiff old cot, feeling better than he had in months, maybe even in a year. A girl with an apostate sister who was willing to help his cause. And because of her Karl would be free. It seemed almost too good to be true.