Rumlbe in Lothering
THE COLD MORNING AIR CREPT in through the flaps of her tent bringing the first dancing rays of sunlight with it stinging her in the eyes.
Sinniralin groaned displeased and rolled over, but found that now when she was awake it was too cold to just lie there. Had she slept between furs it might have been different, but her flight from Denerim hadn't really allowed her to be picky so she'd only brought her most important things. The shadowcloak, her daggers and poison, the tattered woollen cloak she wore and her leathers. The rest had to be left behind. She couldn't afford a heavy backpack slowing her down anyway.
"Blasted…" She muttered as she rolled on to her back. Lying on her back she went over the previous night's details. The answer was always in the details and was it something she had missed she would most certainly find it there.
Looking to her side she saw the parchments lying unfolded on the mossy ground. She had thought they would be unsigned copies or at least forged, but they were both signed and branded with the teryn's crest.
She had studied the documents thoroughly last night marvelling at the authenticity. She wondered why Loghain had trusted she wouldn't just take off with the documents, but figured she'd find out sooner or later. If it was one thing she had learnt it was that everyone always had a back-up because no matter who you were, sooner or later you were always betrayed. This was an insight she learnt after her first year working the dirty backstreets of Highever. For now this would have to do. At least she wouldn't be hunted for quite some time now.
She decided she'd been stretching far too long and crawled out from the small tent. The campfire had given in to the cold night and damp morning dew, nothing but glowing embers of coal remaining. Moving over to where she had stacked some old sticks and branches for the fire the night before she stopped dead in her tracks.
The black Harpia sat stoically watching her. The bird was covered in black slate feathers and a black band ran across its wide, white chest up towards its neck. Its black head crowned by a double crest. It looked magnificent where it sat sizing her up with its black beady eyes.
"Well hello…" She said. Carefully scanning the camp for her daggers.
The Harpia didn't move, but sat like frozen. She tried moving slowly to her left, one step at a time. Nothing but its sharp eyes moved as they followed her.
Reaching for one of her daggers the bird's crests rose and stood like a crown on its head.
"Ok, not happy about that I take it, hm?"
Peering closer at the beautiful, but quite fearsome bird she saw something glint on its chest. She narrowed her eyes.
It was a bronze buckle fastened to two leather straps crossing its white chest.
"Huh, so much for dinner." She muttered, realizing the bird must be a messenger bird of some kind.
The Harpia was quite the rare bird so this couldn't be just any messenger bird. She walked up to it carefully, all the while it was studying her intently.
A small leather bag had been strapped on to its back. She opened it carefully knowing that the giant bird was known to take off more than just a couple of fingers with its beak. One of the thieves she once worked with had had his whole hand ripped off. It had not been a pretty sight and what good was a thief without his hand?
She dug around the bag and pulled out three vials of lyrium and a map.
"Tsk, tsk… Spoiling a girl with gifts." She mused to herself as she unfolded the map. A red circle had been drawn round the Imperial Highway. "So I guess that's where I'm off to…"
She turned to the bird. "Ok, you've done your part. Off you go."
It didn't move.
"Oh, sure you want something to deliver." She looked around the camp. Finally she tore off one of the corners of the map and scribbled with chunk of coal from the campfire.
You're a doll – S. She folded it up and put it in the bag. "There. Now scoot!" She did a shooing gesture at the bird who did nothing but stare back at her.
"What? Are you just going to stare at me all day?" She asked, hands on her hips.
"Oh..!" She chuckled when she realized the bird's purpose for simply sitting there.
"Very clever teryn. Well, looks like it's you and me then whether I like it or not, but just so you know I'm not much of a listener, so if you could keep quite that would be just fabulous." She said and fired off a sly grin.
.
"So." She said as she finished collecting her things. "What use will you be to me? I know you serve the teryn to make sure I don't run off with these." She said waving the parchments in her hands in front of the bird. "But what will you do for me? Hm?" She eyed the bird.
"You bake bread perhaps? Catch rabbits on demand? No?" She scoffed. "Come along then." She said motioning for the bird to follow her.
The bird spread its giant wings soaring high into the sky a shrill cry echoing through the forest. Sinniralin followed its flight watching it circle her. At first small circles then the circles grew wider and wider until it took the bird nearly an hour to come in to view again.
.
.
Night had fallen when the large bird came swooping down at her when she was drawing close to Lothering.
"Oh, you're back." She said secretly a little happy about the company.
It had something in its beak, hopping up to her it stared intently.
"What is it?" She asked holding out her hand.
It dropped a ball of something sticky in her hand. As she eyed it she realized it was part of a torn and shredded scalp, the flesh and hair tangled up in a bloodied mess. "Lothering?" She asked and the bird tilted its head.
Tossing the fleshy bit on the ground she pulled out her shadowcloak and one of the vials tucking it into her leather trousers. The cloak was sewn together at the chest and over the shoulders, below the fabric parted and split into long strands of fabric layered on top of each other. Twisting and turning it created the illusion of the bearer being part of the surroundings. "You keep this safe." She said and stashed her bag behind a large trunk before pulling her hood up creeping up towards the city.
.
.
The stench was unbearable even for Sinniralin who had lived and worked a great part of her life in the dodgy underworld of Ferelden and the backstreets of many cities where the stench was not very pleasant at all. The air reeked of burned, and decayed flesh and the small houses blazed with fire.
She uncapped the vial and downed its content. Scurrying across the large yard where tents had been trampled to the ground she pulled at her magic. It flared up without much effort and she opened her mouth sending out sparks of magic, trying to detect enemies.
She rounded a corner and found the remnants of a chantry. It had been brunt and defiled, its followers pinned to its burning skeleton, beheaded or gutted. She did not particularly like the chantry for more than one reason, but no one deserved a fate such as this.
Crossing the bridge her magic pushed into something unfamiliar and she stopped. Scanning the area she saw the group of genlocks.
She crouched down on the bridge seeking shelter in the dark shadows. Her shadowcloak flickered around her legs letting her become one with the shadows, disguising her perfectly.
Singing soundlessly the magic swirled and twisted around the genlocks like tiny sparks. There were at least a dozen of them – she lost count after a while. Letting the magic soothe them into a near stunned state she dashed towards the group of darkspawns, her eyes set on the spellcaster near the middle standing with his back towards her.
Thrusting with her left hand she backstabbed him. Using his body as counter-weight she swung her body up in the air kicking the hurlock next to the spellcaster square in the face as she sliced the spellcaster's throat with her right hand, tainted blood spraying all over her. The dagger released itself from his back as she swung herself in a circular motion.
Landing in a squatting position she pulled at her magic bending time slightly forcing it to slow down then she pushed with her feet in a swift movement charging at the third monster plunging both her daggers into its chest, drawing dark blood from it. Kicking him in the chest she pulled her daggers free, sending him crashing to the ground as she flew towards the next enemy, all the time she was pulling at her magic pushing it against her enemies, stunning, confusing, and slowing.
Redirecting the magic towards herself she enhanced her powers as she dodged a sword flying towards her slicing the flesh below her ribs.
She flinched and bare her teeth at the Alpha hurlock. Lashing out with her magic, using up what little she had left she sent the Alpha sprawling, then it exploded into a fleshy downpour.
Another came charging at her knocking her off her feet with its shield.
She groaned and rolled over flipping to her feet, feeling a chainmail boot hit her between her shoulder blades. She stumbled forward wincing in pain before regaining her balance.
Snatching a vial tucked into one of the small pockets sewn into the legs of her leather armour she tossed it on the ground and it shattered. Green smoke rose like flames causing the darkspawns to choke and cough. She darted around, twirling in a frenzied death dance the monsters falling at her feet.
Grabbing another vial tossing it as she somersaulted to her side she saw the remaining three darkspawns freeze and she cheered in delight as she pulled out her longbow. Strapping three arrows to it she drew it, aimed it then released it with a sharp twang.
The arrows surged through the air penetrating the frozen monsters with such force they fell to the ground. She was dashing towards them when something large shot out from her side knocking her over. She slammed into a wall hitting her head against it nearly knocking her out.
Crawling to her feet she swayed wildly as she stood up, her head spinning. The dark shadow came looming towards her in an ominous manner. It was huge and rose above her like a clock tower and scaly round body wobbling back and forth as approached her. It stared at her, its large yellow eyes burning straight into her soul.
She screamed and squeezed her head with her hands. It burned with such ferocity. She crumbled to her feet as it loomed above her.
The ancient magic reeked from it and it bent its neck.
Horror surged through her body when the massive dragon lowered its head, staring at her. This was no normal dragon. She wasn't even sure this was a dragon- in its physical form perhaps, but something within it burned with such hatred and wickedness she could not believe it was just a dragon. She fought the excruciating pain, her body protesting at the harsh treatment.
She thought she heard it whisper, or maybe roar, then the whole world swam in front of her and she fell into darkness.
Disclaimer: BioWare owns Dragon Age chars, places and names. Not Sinniralin though. She's mine all mine!
A/N: I wanted to get this post done last night, but I wrote chapter 5 for Tread Carefully, and it seemed my brain got fried and I couldn't finish this chapter off. Anyway, now it is done, and I hope you enjoy it. :) Hang in there for when Sin runs into the wardens, it shall be interesting to see what she does. :)
And a little trivia: this chapter is named after my childhood hero Jackie Chan's movie Rumble in the Brinx. ^^
Review if you feel like it – it'll make my day. :)
Thanks for reading!