Chapter 4: Hanged

The Hanged Man was packed by the time Isabela made her way back.

Lowtown's busiest establishment, the Hanged Man was an institution. It was here that anything could be found pleasure, hired muscle; even information was available to those who knew how to ask.

Isabela had no use for any of those things tonight however.

Tonight she wanted only one thing.

She wanted to get drunk, totally and utterly shit-faced.

"I need a pint Corff," she told the bartender, "Your strongest brew, keeping coming, and don't stop."

The man chuckled and filled her mug; she downed the drink in a single gulp.

She gestured for a refill.

What did Leandra expect of her? Did she think that she and Hawke would…?

Maker she hoped not, that was not what she and Hawke had…she couldn't have that…

She did not want to have that!

The pirate massaged her temples, after she had…escaped her late husband; she had sworn to never to find herself in that position again. No matter how comfortable she felt, no matter how much she came to care for those around her…

She was bound and determined to never be bound to anyone, not ever again.

It had been an easy promise to keep when she still had her ship, but since the call had been destroyed, she had been forced to rely on others for simple survival.

Hawke knew that what they had wasn't anything serious. They were friends with benefits, nothing more. She…she did not want to a part of anything but herself.

Even her ship had been an extension of her; she had no desire to throw away her freedom, not even to Garrett Hawke.

Though she hated to admit it, it was tempting. To make a new life with him, to wake up in his arms every morning. To be held, to be cared for, to be Lo…

NO! THE L-WORD HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! IT WAS A TRAP!

Isabela was good at evading traps, she would evade this one.

She was on her third drink, working up a pleasant buzz, when two more of her companions came through the door. The first was a small elven woman with a tattooed face, and dirty leather robes. The second was a beardless blonde dwarf in a duster coat, his trademark crossbow strapped to his back.

The first was Merrill, a Dalish mage she referred to often as the kitten. The second was Varric Tethras, the most talented bullshit artist she had ever known.

Isabela managed a weak smile, it was good that some of her companions had come a calling.

She suddenly found that she was not in the mood to drink alone.

"Evening Rivaini," Varric said.

"Hello Varric," she said with a smirk, "How is business?"

"Not bad," the dwarf chuckled, "I think four of my cousins are plotting to kill me, and take over the family. Which is not a bad, considering last month I had eight looking to see me check out of this world permanently."

Isabela laughed, "That is what I like about you Varric, and your family life is more off kilter than mine ever was."

The dwarf grinned at that.

Isabela turned to the dalish, he lips parted in a wicked smile.

"What about you kitten?" she asked, "Any chance some handsome young elf has come and swept you off your feet?"

Merrill gave her a puzzled look.

"Oh no, Isabela," the dalish responded, "The keeper warned me to stay back during a fight, a keeper is no good in a fight if she is on her back, she…"

The elf paused; both Varric and Isabela were giving her that look again.

"I just missed something again didn't I?"

"Nothing to important kitten," Isabela cooed.

The three ordered drinks and sat down together, Varric pulled out a deck a cards and an impromptu game of wicked grace began. Varric never played with Isabela's cards anymore; he had gotten too smart for that.

Now that she had a slight buzz going, Isabela felt herself starting to relax. The rather uncomfortable feelings that she had been experiencing faded in light of the chaos that was the Hanged Man.

"Anyone seen Hawke today," Varric asked discarding a card, "I have some info for him?"

Isabela winced, so much for trying to forget.

"He is with his family," Isabela said, "Carver just arrived today. Oh and some Carta dwarves attacked the mansion."

Varric almost dropped his drink.

"Andraste's ass Rivaini," the dwarf growled, "why didn't you tell us?"

"I just did," the pirate said blandly, "besides, I'm have drunk here, you don't expect me to remember everything."

"Is Hawke all right?" Merrill asked; her large green eyes darkened with concern.

"He is fine," she sighed, she showed the others her hand.

Varric cursed, even half-drunk Isabela had managed to beat them.

He scooped up the cards and reshuffled them, now he really needed to talk to Hawke. The information his contacts had given him seemed more critical than ever.

Merrill shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she…she had a question for Isabela, one that had been plaguing her the last year.

"Isabela, did…did you see Carver?"

The pirate nodded.

"Is he well, after what I heard about the deep roads I…Well…I was concerned,"

Isabela gave the elf a sympathetic look; she needed to tell her what she had seen today.

"Carver is fine kitten," she said, "Being a grey warden suits the lad if you ask me, and he has a girl with him. They are…together now."

"Really," the elf said with a quaver in her voice.

"That is what the girl said anyway, and Carver confirmed it."

Varric chuckled, "So Junior found himself a warden girl, good for him."

Merrill stared intently at her cards, she…she should have expected this. It is not as if she and Carver had ever done anything, they had flirted from time to time, but that as it.

It is better this way, a voice in the back of her head reminded her; it frees you up to help your people, to restore the mirror as you have always planned.

Merrill nodded, yes, that was what she would focus on now, the Eluvian needed to be finished,

She had more important things to do than moon over some shemlen.

The future of her people was at stake.

That is what mattered most.

IOI

Shortly before midnight, Hawke, Carver, Arika, Lin, and Fenris arrived at the Hanged Man. The place was still jumping of course. Corff prepared drinks while his serving girls hurried around taking them out to the customers. The usual crowd of mercenaries, cutthroats, smugglers, and thieves glanced up as Hawke entered but turned away just as quickly.

Those who frequented the Hanged Man knew to mind their own business.

Hawke had changed into what he liked to call, his play clothes, leather trousers with a leather vest over a chainmail gambeson. It was not exactly a set of mage's robes, but that would be ridiculous for an apostate running around in robes all over hightown.

Even the Templars weren't that blind.

Isabela nodded dismissively to him but said nothing,

Carver shook his head, this place had not changed in the year he had been gone.

It was still a shithole.

Arika grinned; this place reminded her of her favorite little bar in Ansburg. Dirty, violent, and loud, the tempo of the place made her blood race.

Like the warden's rest, you did not have to look hard to find trouble here.

Lin saw nothing; she had eyes for only one thing, the handsome elf at her side. She…she was not sure what had happened. She never acted like this, she…she did not believe in being smitten at first sight.

It appeared that she had been wrong.

Fenris was oblivious to the warden's attention, he scanned the room for threats, Carta members sometimes came in here.

It would not do to get caught in an ambush here.

Hawke motioned to Varric to meet him upstairs, they had business to discuss. The dwarf excused himself from the game, and followed Hawke to the apartment he kept upstairs.

Arika slid up to the bar, ordering an Antivan brandy. The meal she had shared with the Hawke's had been all well and good, but the wine the lowlanders considered good was the weakest she had encountered.

She needed a real drink.

A dirty longshoreman crept up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"If you like that hand I suggest you remove it," the reaver said blandly, "before I take my sword and do it for you."

The man slunk off, with fear in his eyes.

Arika smiled to herself, she loved places like this.

Carver came next, he stood next to her his hand gently touched her waist.

She allowed it; Carver was the only man she allowed to touch her now.

"I never understood why Garrett spends so much time here," her lover said quietly, "It certainly isn't the booze they serve."

Arika laughed.

"It is the atmosphere my dearest, it is like a fire just ready to explode, "the reaver sounded outright giddy, "Can you not feel the danger in the air, the blood the heat?"

She rubbed up against him; this place had gotten her blood pumping.

Carver smiled.

"You say this dwarf friend of yours will help us find out who sent the Carta after us?"

"Varric may be a pain, but he knows Kirkwall," Carver assured her, "If anyone can find out what is going on, he can."

"Good," the reaver purred, "then we shall track these bastards down, and show them the reason why you do not attack grey wardens. We shall feast on blood and death beloved."

The young warden smirked; Arika had a very unusual idea of what she felt was romantic.

The sad thing was it was starting to turn him on.

"I love it when you talk dirty," he purred in her ear.

"Later my dearest," she grinned, "I will definitely make it worth your wait."

Carver could not help but feel a little eager about later.

IOI

"I need you to find out why the Carta attack us," Hawke ordered Varric; "I don't like people hitting where I live."

"I don't know the reason why Hawke," Varric informed him, "but I do know the where."

The apostate gave him a curious look.

"One of my contacts today informed me the location of the Carta's new stronghold in this area," Varric informed him, "Useful info sure, but the contact suggested that this was information I would want to pass on to you as soon as possible."

"When was this?" Hawke asked him.

"This morning, before the carta hit your home, did my contact know that was going to happen? I cannot say."

Hawke considered this, Varric's information was reliable more often than not. If the carta had moved, why would someone risk their anger telling Varric, who would almost certainly take that info to Hawke himself?

The carta would not be pleased with that person…or would they?

"Is your source still in the city, the one who told you this?"

"He got out quick," Varric shrugged, "To be honest; I don't know why he even came to me. He has turned me away in the past, and this time I did not even have enough coin to buy this information, he could have done better selling it to the guard or the Coterie."

"Unless the carta wanted us to have this knowledge," Hawke said suspiciously.

"I thought about that too," the dwarf grumbled, "If something is too good it usually is."

"So we're being played," Hawke said grimly, "this is some kind of trap."

"That is a good possibility Hawke," Varric confessed, "But what choice do we have, they will just keep sending more people after you."

Hawke growled at the thought, he had no intention of letting this attack on the estate slide, the next time the carta might try kidnapping mother, or something else, something more drastic.

He would not allow that to happen.

"Carver offered to bring his fellow wardens into this," he informed Varric, "He said the dwarves that attacked Ansburg were tainted, and that the one that tried to attack him on the road was as well."

"Well that ain't good," Varric agreed, "And that does not make sense either, none of this does. Where is the profit in attacking the wardens? The carta has been acting squirrelly for months. Business has suffered. Whatever they are after, it isn't gold."

Hawke nodded, he agreed with Varric, none of this made any sodding sense.

The dwarf gave him a concerned look.

"So…how is Junior, he blame you for what happened in the deeps?"

Hawke winced.

"He says he doesn't, but Carver…he….he has changed Varric. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. He seems calmer, but some of the things he told us about at dinner and this reaver girl…"

'Junior is bedding a reaver now?" Varric perked up at that knowledge, his storyteller mind had been awakened.

"Apparently," Hawke sighed, "Whatever has happened to my brother is my fault Varric. I let him go with us."

"And it could have just easily been any of us that had gotten tainted as well," Varric reminded him. "At least Junior has started to make a life for himself with the wardens.

Hawke shrugged, he supposed that made sense.

Varric sat back in his chair, lost in thought.

"We might want to bring Blondie into this as well," he suggested, "he know more about this warden stuff than any of us after all."

Hawke shifted uncomfortably, things were tense between him and Anders, the former warden turned apostate had been drawing a lot of heat to himself by associating with the mage underground here In Kirkwall.

It was attention that Hawke had tried to avoid.

"We can talk to him," he agreed, "Whether he will agree to help I don't know. HE avoids the wardens as much as he does the Templars."

Varric snorted, Hawke had a point, Anders had graduated from simply avoiding the Templars to putting little stumbling blocks in their path. So far they had not taken notice, but how long could that last?

It wasn't like his clinic in darktown was a secret.

More trouble in a city full of trouble, Hawke thought with an irritated sigh.

Then there was Isabela.

He wasn't sure what had happened at the mansion, one minute they were standing united, and the next she was running for the hills.

She could be a frustrating and confusing woman.

If she wasn't so good in bed, he would think it would almost not be worth it.

Almost.

"So where are these carta hiding?" Hawke said grimly, they had paid him a visit to his home, he was eager to return the favor."

"A small settlement in the Vimmark wastes," Varric informed him.

"That is a bit far out of Kirkwall?" Hawke said surprised.

"That it is," the dwarf agreed, "But as I said, none of this made any sense."

"I guess the only way we will get any answers is to go there, and deal with this ourselves." Hawke said his voice turned to steel, his body tensed as it did before a fight.

Varric nodded.

"It will take us a few days to reach the place," he said quietly, "Should give us time to get the supplies we need."

Hawke nodded, just a few more days.

Then…then he intended to make the dwarves of the carta wish they were never born.