CHAPTER 20

"Untie him," she said.

Did I hear that right? "Wait, what?"

Elissa laid a hand on Nathaniel's arm. "I'm sure he's got a good reason for sneaking in here. And we already decided that our earlier friend was no Crow."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow and looked her squarely in the eye. "How do we know he's not returned to the Crows? How do we know we can trust him?"

Elissa's wry smile spoke volumes. "Trust me, he's not returned to the Crows. And he never lied to me before, even when he actually did try to kill me."

"Not. Helping." Nathaniel shook his head. "If you say so. But I'm keeping his weapons." He started to untie the unconscious elf.

"Thank you. This means a lot to me. And to him." Elissa helped Nathaniel undo the remaining knots and laid Zevran out on the sofa. While they were applying a poultice to the unconscious elf's rapidly swelling bruise, she continued in a soft voice. "Zev was the only one of my friends who stayed with me after the blight. If he hadn't stayed with me, I would have been completely alone. He kept me from doing something really, really stupid to myself when I hit my lowest point. I owe him the chance to talk as equals."

"Then where was he the past several months?" Nathaniel asked, frustrated. "Shouldn't he have been with us?"

Elissa shook her head. "He thought he had to leave to protect me. He didn't, but he thought he did. He promised to return though, if he could." The elf in question began to stir. "And it seems he has."

A few moments later, Zevran groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He looked up and saw Elissa's face first and put his hand to his head. "Ah, I see I am not tied up. We have made much progress, my dear Warden, since we first met." He gingerly swung his legs off the sofa and sat up. "I see that you have the Howe fellow with you. He is the one who captured me this time, I take it?" Elissa nodded in confirmation. "Quite effective and quiet, that one. Very good at what he does. I feel better that you are in his hands, so to speak."

"Thank you, I think." Nathaniel answered. "But now you have some explaining to do. Friends don't normally break into one's room in the middle of the night." He loomed over Zevran. "This had better be good, by the way."

Zevran laughed. "I can understand your reluctance to trust my intentions. These are, after all, rather odd circumstances, are they not?" he asked good-naturedly. He put his hand into a pocket in his breeches and pulled out a vial. He tossed it to Nathaniel, and waited for Nathaniel to inspect its contents.

Nathaniel opened the vial and smelled it. "It's the antidote to the poison that was in the tea," he informed Elissa. With that, he capped the vial and tossed it back. "That doesn't explain why you knew what to bring, nor why you were sneaking in to bring it."

"That it does not, my handsome friend," Zevran said. "I will explain, then, as I am also sure that our mutual friend is wondering why it took me so long to return to her side as promised."

"I admit, I expected your trip to be much shorter, Zev," Elissa replied. "I'd like to hear what you've been up to."

"Then I shall begin my tale," Zevran announced with a flourish. "I left you not long before you were announced Commander of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden, as you well know. I managed to catch a boat almost immediately to Antiva, where I had planned to set things straight with the Crows. I was hoping to avoid having them come after you to get to me, as you were … not feeling well at the time. The trip went quickly, as the weather was good, and I arrived in Antiva City, ready to face what was to come. Imagine my surprise," here the elf looked at Elissa with a bemused expression, "when I was greeted at the docks and captured."

Elissa's eyes narrowed. "They weren't supposed to harm you," she growled.

Zevran laughed. "Oh, but they did not, my dear lady. They merely detained me to explain that my trip was in vain, as a beautiful woman from Ferelden had purchased me, so to speak, from the Crows and gained their vow that I would not be harmed. And for a great deal of coin! Most marvelous! I believe that they thought, and rightfully so, that I would have started negotiating for my freedom in a less peaceful manner." Zevran looked at Elissa calculatingly. "Quite a clever move, my dear, to contract for my life in this manner! I wish I had thought of it before!" He laughed again. "It is too bad I wasted a trip to learn of it."

"I had just finished negotiating the contract with Ignacio the day you disappeared," Elissa explained. "I had his reassurance that everything was settled in Antiva, and had planned to surprise you with the news and give you the contract later that day. I wasn't sure they would allow me to make that contract happen, so I didn't say anything beforehand."

"I am not quite sure how you managed it myself. Such a thing is unheard of in the Crows. Anyway, with my freedom secure, so long as I agreed to avoid Antiva in the future, I headed on the next ship back to Ferelden. I arrived in Denerim, but too late to catch you heading to Amaranthine. So I found Ignacio myself and asked him about new goings-on." Zevran paused briefly. "I learned that there had been … inquiries … about you, and since the Crows are not accepting any new contracts on your lovely head, the inquiries had not progressed as the clients preferred."

Elissa raised an eyebrow. "Did you find out the clients?"

Zevran shook his head. "Not at that time, no. But I did learn that they came from your new arling, and decided that I would try to repay the favor you had so kindly bestowed upon me without my knowledge. I went to visit Alistair next and got him to hire me to learn where the problems came from and eliminate them."

"I find that hard to believe," Elissa murmured. "You actually got Alistair to agree to hire you out as his personal assassin?"

Zevran laughed again. "Oh, no. I knew he would not agree to such a thing outright. I merely asked him to cover my expenses while I researched the potential problems you could come into with many people still loyal to Rendon Howe. He was concerned enough for you, knowing that you were likely to be attacked, that he was more than willing to have friends looking out for you where he could not."

"Interesting," Nathaniel said. "So you've been in Ferelden for the past several months then?"

Zevran nodded. "Yes. I decided that it would be easier to discover any plots if I was not associated with you directly, so I kept my return a secret. I came to the city, since it is much easier to blend in here, and made my base in the Alienage. I recruited several people to assist me and started operating my organization. You met one of our men yesterday, in fact."

Elissa's eyebrows furrowed for a minute, then her face cleared as she laughed. "You're the Dark Wolf!"

"Indeed," Zevran grinned. "Or rather, each of us claims he is the Dark Wolf. It makes our work quite effective, you see. And many of the nobles' underpaid servants enjoy making extra coin to tell us their secrets, so we do good business. I thought that since I was part of the original Dark Wolf's adventures, I should be able to continue the work done in her name."

"Absolutely," Elissa agreed. "I can't think of a more fitting name to use."

"Exactly, my friend. So, with my network, I began to learn what was what, and who was who. Your elimination of the less clever members of the conspiracy helped greatly, as it gave us time to discover the identities of the remaining members. Unfortunately, it did not buy enough time, as there were plans in motion to try upon your life again." Here, Zevran looked grim. "We managed to take care of the most immediate threats, but still had to discover the leader of this little band. That was most difficult. Also, did you know it is not as easy as you would think to come up with half a dozen 'accidents,' each of a different nature, without arousing suspicion?"

"The accidents that have plagued the nobles," Nathaniel realized. "You were behind them."

"Yes, my men and I have been striking first, so that our lovely Warden would not have to worry about them. But, as I said, the leader had not been found until yesterday. I received word from my men that this tavern had a server who had never worked here before, and that this server had brought Elissa her afternoon tea. She was followed back to Bann Esmerelle's estate, and we apprehended her after she left work for the day."

"Esmerelle," Nathaniel said. "We should have known."

Zevran continued. "The young lady in question still had the vial of poison on her that she had emptied into the tea, and I knew that I had time to give the antidote based on the poison in question. So I decided to … take care … of our ringleader before she could send anyone else to the tavern." Zevran's face twisted into an angry snarl before he composed himself and resumed his carefree demeanor. "The Bann will not be making your appointment tomorrow. She was most distraught this evening over an illicit romance gone awry, and has hanged herself in her despair. I personally made sure of it."

Elissa sat there, saying nothing for a moment. Then, "What next?"

Zevran said, "This, my friends, is where you two come in. I waited until the patrons of the tavern had gone home and came in to administer the antidote. My plan was to ensure your safety and then disappear again in case there are any more plans afoot. I was not aware of your sleeping arrangements. Is this a new development, dear Warden?"

Elissa smiled, and Nathaniel thought he saw faint trace of a blush on her cheeks. "I … yes. Quite new, in fact." She returned to the original subject. "So that's when Nathaniel caught you and knocked you out."

"Indeed. Since you are quite obviously well, I will be taking my leave. My plan is now to make sure that the worst of the conspiracies are ended, after resting from this headache I seem to have acquired. Then I will be making my official, triumphant return from Antiva shortly thereafter, when I will come to Vigil's Keep to help train your recruits, as originally promised."

Elissa nodded. "That sounds like a good plan, Zev. And .. thank you. I'm lucky to have friends like you." She leaned over and patted Zevran's knee.

"No, it is I who am the lucky one, my dear. Although I really wish you had waited for me to start the celebrations. The offer still stands, you know." Elissa grinned and shook her head. "No? Well, it was worth a try." Zevran chuckled and gathered his things. "I hope to see you within the next few weeks, my dear. Until then, I believe you are in good hands." He smiled and bowed before pulling the hood of his cloak over his head and letting himself out.

A few hours later, Nathaniel and Elissa pretended to be surprised when the messenger brought news of Bann Esmerelle's suicide. The Wardens investigated her death personally and, unsurprisingly, found no signs of foul play. With no other leads, the Wardens were forced to conclude that the timing of the accidents was coincidental. They headed back home the following day.