Lyrium Greed
Chapter 1: All In
After seven months of careful planning, the hunter found herself yet again in Kirkwall. Tracking down the relic had been tough work. Her contractor had managed to give her a drawing of how the relic was supposed to look like. It did not make her job any easier, though. Her first stop: Orzammar. She had hoped the dwarves would be able to answer some of her questions and provide further information about it. Much to her disappointment, the trip had revealed little. Their ancient history spoke of many lost treasures scattered in the dwarven thaigs. However, none of the antiquities mentioned by the history appeared to be the one she had been tasked to find.
Then, she tried her luck with the local legends. Her search only became more tedious. She had listened to most, if not all of them, even to the ones which sounded the craziest, hoping to be more successful. Among all of them, only one stood out; it did not even speak of any specific relic. The Primeval Thaig was the last option. It talked about a place untouched by the darkspawn, where its secrets had never been revealed before, where treasure was just waiting to be found by those courageous adventurers who would dare to disturb the peacefulness of the thaig.
It was a long shot. A great risk to take. She had no guarantee of finding the relic. She would go in blind, something which she used to avoid at all costs. The countdown kept ticking. It made her nervous, maybe a bit careless. It weighted on her shoulders to transmit the message: time was running out. It was her last chance. Either she took it or prepared to lay low in a remote place.
Her last step had been to find a crew in which to travel. Hiring someone herself was not an option. She may have been paid well by her contractor, but she did not have unlimited resources. Organized expeditions were scarce and they would never venture as deep as she needed to. The Blight meant a huge advantage in her search and she was not going to waste the opportunity. Bartrand's expedition had been among many others, yet it was one of the few prepared to take a dive into the Deep Roads. The dwarf's ambition proved beneficial for the hunter.
When she approached Bartrand in Kirkwall, he still lacked some crew members and funding. At first, he had been reluctant and did not trust the real intentions of the hunter when she offered her combat expertise and experience tracking down ancient relics. The hunter was not willing to offer enough money to buy her way inside the ship. Her last alternative came down to telling the truth, another move she did not like to do. What finally convinced him was her claim of not being interested in anything else but what she sought. And, unfortunately, some coin as well. Still, less than she expected. Once the agreement was settled, she was directed to the ship they would be sailing in and where she met Bartrand's brother, Varric.
Soon after, the ship was ready to sail. Well, almost, since they still did not have enough coin to finally set into the sea or at least that was the last thing Varric had told her. Both rogues had taken a liking for each other soon after meeting. He had been interested in the hunting stories she had shared during one night when the crew decided to drink together. It had been certainly entertaining when the hunter kicked some groins as soon as drunk men tried any funny business on her.
The hunter had been wandering around Hightown one morning when Bartrand called for a briefing.
"We've chosen one of the hidden entrances" the dwarf began. The hunter was not paying much attention, though
"I didn't think we'd be ready so suddenly" she commented in a whisper to Varric, who was next to her
"Me neither" he replied "but Hawke solved that problem"
"Oh, so he became a sponsor, then" The hunter had heard his name around.
"He gave up more coin than you did. He gained more privileges."
"Lucky him." she paused for a moment before changing the topic. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"
"Are you jealous?" he replied with a smirk.
"Of them?" she chuckled "There's no one aboard the ship who can amuse me with delusional tales of far away heroes. So maybe. A little. But keep it a secret" The hunter refocused her attention on Bartrand.
"Who invited an old woman?" he yelled with a frown in his face, interrupting his own speech.
The hunter watched as she asked to speak with her children. Hawke and another young man approached her. The hunter could no longer hear clearly their conversation, but she was not going to mess with somebody's family issues. Bartrand continued his speech.
"Before we set sail, I want to remind everyone of something important. Once we're out there there's no turning back. The better you do your jobs, the less time we'll spend inside the Deep Roads" he surveyed the crew with a critical eye. "Good. Now, let's get everything ready. I want to sail in less than half an hour."
The crew members dispersed. Some headed to the ship, others to the nearby market. Only Hawke's companions remained still, awaiting for further instructions from their leader. They had stayed and listened to the mage talking with his family. Bartrand demanded to know who had he chosen to bring with him on the journey. Hawke hesitated a few seconds before making his final decision.
"Aveline, Isabella, we have some caverns to explore."
"What?! What about me? Are you just going to leave me here?" protested Carver
"I'm sorry" Hawke was not going to change his mind "But mother is right."
"You need me down there and your know it!"
"I'd stay if I could, brother. We're not going on a picnic."
"So I get left behind to mind the chickens. Right" Carver left before anyone else could speak
Hawke looked down in regret for a few seconds before bidding farewell to his mother.
"Personal drama over with? Check." The hunter said
"Then let's get underway. The Deep Roads await!" Bartrand announced. Everyone followed him to the docks.
Once the whole crew had checked in and all supplies were loaded, The Revenant set sail with the wind in its favor. Aboard, everyone was assigned tasks, with the exception of Hawke and his companions, a fact which none of them liked. If they were going to spend a week in the ship, at least they wanted to have something useful to do. However, Bartrand argued against them, saying they would be a nuisance for the rest of the sailors. Hawke did not fight back. He did not want to make the dwarf regret his decision of allowing them to come.
Right there and then, Hawke met the hunter.
"I find it surprising that someone would complain of not having work to do..." she approached the group
Hawke raised an eyebrow "Then would you rather be the one with nothing to do for the next week?"
"Certainly. Besides, it is the sea who usually presents entertainment. Pirate raids, storms, mutineers..."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Vega" Varric intervened
"True." she offered her right hand to Hawke with a smile "Elora Vega, bounty hunter and fellow sponsor, or so I'm told"
"Ah, you are the woman he mentioned" he pointed at Varric with his head, while shaking her hand firmly.
"I am."
"Wait" Cassandra Pentaghast interrupted Varric's story, confused. "Vega? You're telling me the hunter was her?"
"What's it to you? My stories never mentioned her identity, it was never important to know how she was called...-"
"She was declared a fugitive by the Templars."
"By the Knight-Commander of Kirkwall" the dwarf laughed loudly. The woman stared at Varric, knowing what he had meant with those words but trying to find out if he was lying again.
"She was a criminal" she insisted. She could not hide the hesitation in her voice, though.
"I wouldn't be here if you had all the facts right, seeker."
"Then why did she also disappear?"
"You Chantry folk usually first kill, then ask questions. I'd like to think she was smarter than waiting for you to come looking for her"
"These are not ordinary circumstances." Cassandra concluded as she moved around the room, uncertain, with a hand on her chin. "Continue"
For the last two days, the ship had been navigating forward without problem thanks to calm water, steady wind and clear weather. Hawke had a feeling it was a matter of time before things went south. Trouble tended to follow his shadow closely. His instincts were right.
The third night appeared like any other. A soft breeze touched Elora's face to keep her awake. Her shift would be over soon. She was not really watching out for any suspicious activity in the main deck, but the bell noise alerted her.
"We're under attack! We're under attack!" someone yelled as loud as he could.
"Gunners, to the cannons! Everybody else get ready for battle!" the Captain ordered
Everyone spurred into action soon after. The hunter searched for their enemy until she found it a couple of miles away. She saw the first cannon ball crash through the ship's railing, and thankfully, land in the sea. The second one tore right through their hull, disabling one of their cannons. Elora rushed to the hatch as she avoided incoming debris.
"Vega!" Hawke shouted to make her stop running. "What's happening?"
"Maker, didn't you hear?! Pirate ship! Get your staff, see if you can redirect some of their fire!"
The hunter continued to the lower deck while Hawke looked for a target. He prepared his spell, then threw a Stonefist, hitting one of the cannonballs which missed their ship. Luckily, the gunners started firing at that moment. Even though the enemy sailed faster than The Revenant due to their smaller size, it was no true match for its crew's marksmanship. Each shot fired damaged the pirate ship heavily and it started to sink quickly.
"Another ship! Prow!" warned someone, a bit too late.
A.N: Thank you very much to all of the people who read the prologue! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, even though I know it must have been even a bit confusing. It's hard to write in a foreign language, but I hope time will make me write better. If I don't write, then of course I won't improve!
If you detect any mistakes, pointing them out is always helpful! I don't always realize when something is wrong, sorry.
And yes, I took very long, but I am a really slow writer. I enjoy it a lot, but it takes me a lot of time to write even something simple. I'm saying this now so you know what to expect. I am NOT going to abandon this story, of course. It's just started, and I know where everything's going. Updates should not take longer than a month, unless I am busy with college. I will warn you on an author's note if it happens!