Taal crawled very slowly along the forest canopy; years of practice ensured he did not disturb a single leaf or twig. His oval shaped eyes scoured the area for any sign of a curiosity, maybe a thing to hunt or something to entertain him. Taal spent most of his time hunting, he was very skilled at it, it was partly due to practice and partly because his biology made it so. His skin was pale and could blend in easily to the darkness; his oval eyes had very thin pupils so he could see a deer at midnight. His ears were pointed and thin to hear even the slightest sound, and his armour was virtually weightless and dyed a muted green so he would be invisible in the forest.
Taal was an elf of the fabled Dalish elves, his growing up in a clan had made him an excellent fighter and hunter, the Dalish had no land to farm or lawmen to defend themselves. Everything they ever had was either bartered or stolen, they had no other choice, most people feared the Dalish, and the human Chantry, which did not approve of the worship of the old elven gods, had propaganda rumours against them. The Dalish no longer cared for such accusations, they knew that even if they gave evidence to the contrary the humans would always fear and despise them; you could not educate someone who did not wish to learn. It was also the case that the rumours of banditry were not entirely untrue.
On occasion, if supplies for the clan ran scarce and there was no other way for the clan to supply itself the Dalish would occasionally resort to banditry, usually one big raid and then the clan would move on, again this was partly due to the fact they had no choice, but some Dalish, such as Taal had secretly begun to enjoy harassing the humans in any manner possible, the humans would not have thought twice about doing it to the Dalish, so why should they have different morals? But of late the Keeper of Taal's clan had advised that the hunters should stay away from the humans as much as possible. They seemed to be growing more resentful of the Dalish, even more so then usual. What had been minor skirmishes had grown into more like battles, and now many lords now paid bands of mercenaries to rid their land of the Dalish, no matter the cost. Tensions between them and the human nations were escalating, and many Keepers feared it would lead to war. Taal's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed something, there were numerous trees that had been hacked down, and he paused to investigate.
The stumps had defiantly been chopped down by some sort of crude blade, judging by the various nicks and other marks along them. Yes, this was definitely done by humans; Dalish blades were quick and chopped cleanly. Taal turned his head and noticed that there seemed to be a trail of hacked down trees, all chopped down with crude blades, why was there a trail? Taal didn't know of any large villages nearby, and there was no need for a large demand of wood. And why this particular batch of trees, they were located in the middle of the forest and had no particular significance.
Taal drew his bow, being sure to keep out of sight; he was going to investigate this in case it was a threat to the clan.
He passed along the forest for some time before he discovered anything, what he did notice was how quiet the forest was, not a single leaf was trod on or a single bird sung, not a sound at all. This was incredibly unusual and Taal did not want to speculate on why this was so. He stopped when he discovered two large torches across the path of the chopped trees. These posts were about eight feet high with the top end of them was wrapped in flaming rags. Since there was no other reason for them Taal guessed that they were to mark an entrance to someone's territory and deter any possible intruders, Taal was going to have to be very careful.
The path was so far deserted, it struck Taal odd that there were no scouts or guards, surely some bandit lord would have wanted to ensure his fortress was kept safe, when Taal reached the end of the path he found out why there were no scouts, the occupants did not need them. This was not a simple den of bandits but a massive fortress of warriors. The walls were strong and made of fine stone so that no one could penetrate them, there was plentiful arrow slits and spaces among the walls which had been designed for the defenders to fire without fear of retaliation and the gates were made of a thick oak wood which would be very difficult to smash. There were fierce looking bandits patrolling the walls and casting weary glances into the forest, the whole area around the fort had been cleared and Tall now saw the purpose of the chopped wood, there was a field of sharpened stakes all around the fort which made it impossible for an army to besiege. The walls were daubed with the strangest symbol Taal had ever seen, the fact that it was daubed in blood did not help matters, it was a symbol which made Taal's eyes hurt, it made his senses nervous and his fear heightened, it was a symbol of great evil, there was no doubt of that. But what was strange was this fortress and its inhabitants, this was the most deadly fortress Taal had ever seen, mere bandits would not have been able to occupy it. Taal mused on his options, a responsible Dalish hunter would go back to his clan and tell his Keeper, but still, Keeper Macha was such a cautious one lately, the merest sign of danger and the clan was scurrying off. This would most certainly happen should Taal report back, and his curiosity was simply too much, he had to investigate the fortress, besides; it was getting dark so he had a reasonable chance of sneaking in undetected.
Taal crawled into the field of pikes and crept skilfully through them, such defences were of no use against one as skilled as he. He took stock of the walls, they were built with a perfect flat surface, and there was nothing he could grab a hold of. Taal tied a rope around an arrow and fired it over the walls, he crept up silently, not willing to chance any noise, when he looked over the parapets there was no one at his current position, he climbed over and hurried to collect his arrow, he must be fast. The darkness was a good cover but it was only a matter of time until someone discovered the rope. He crept down the stairs fast until one made a squeaking sound, Taal cursed silently and hoped over the stairs to hide under them. These guards were certainly efficient, barley a second had passed when two heads creaked over the battlements to inspect the sound. These heads were clearly human, the round face and dirty facial hair made it obvious, Taal had never seen a dwarf but he knew their faces were more rounded and their beards were well kept. He noticed they seemed scared rather then suspicious, as if they feared what that sound was and hoped it would not be something that Taal did not know about. He was able to catch a few hurried whispers of a conversation.
'I can't see a thing down there!'
'Forget it! If it's down there it can't come up here and get us!'
Taal was curious, what did they mean but 'it', he realised that the rope and arrow was still uncollected and hurried out into the open. He did a special method of creeping that was taught to every Dalish hunter, to the guards he would appear as a dancing shadow, they would rub their eyes to check what they had seen, and by then he would have been gone. He picked up the arrow just as the wide gate doors were opening, Taal scurried of to the shadows and watched a band of humans come in, they carried filthy looking weaponry and armour, Taal guessed that these were the ones responsible for the tree felling. They reported into what appeared to be the main part of the castle, and one of them foolishly left the door partially open.
Taal crept inside slowly, every one of his movements cautious because he was now in a well lit hallway, there were many doors and passageways and he couldn't guess which one the bandits had walked down, for the briefest of seconds his rational mind told him to exit immediately, he was inside a large fortress with many hostile looking bandits and Creators knew what else. But his thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
'There was a large group of elves sir, 'bout three hundred or so, out in the forest' an unintelligent voice reported, and a growl was the only reply.
'The Dalish, so it is true that they come here, this complicates matters' a more intelligent but evil voice mused ' I doubt the Dalish will attack this fortress, but one can never be to cautious, I will report to the master and see what he has to say' it hissed, there was the sound of a large door closing.
Taal peered into the room, it was a large great hall but lacked any of the finery such a place deserved, instead there was large barricades obstructing a door almost as large as the one outside, it was clear that somebody did not wish to be disturbed. There was only a few guards manning the fortifications, the rest had clearly gone to rest, defying the rational part of his mind for the third time that night, Taal crept forward to inspect the gate. He slid behind the first guard and drew his dagger, like all Dalish craft it was a beautiful object, to the Dalish, the quality of a weapon mattered as much as its purpose, he leapt up and sliced the guards throat, true to its heritage, the blade cut across the bare flesh silently and efficiently, the guard fell without a sound, Taal dragged him to the edge of the barricade where he would not be noticed. The second guard was on the other side of a room, with ease born form years of practice Taal drew an arrow and fired, the shot predicted the guard's eye neatly, he crumpled silently, but unfortunately the other guards noticed Taal's victim fall and so rushed to investigate. Taal grumbled and peered inside the large door, it was not what he expected to see.
There were several figures in robes the colour of blood milling around a large pedestal, on this pedestal was a naked human tied down as such that he could not move a muscle, but he thrashed wildly at his restraints nonetheless. The robes figures moved in a circle around him chanting words which made Taal feel uncomfortable, it was as if no creature was meant to pronounce these words, they gave a feeling of sickness in Taal's stomach and made his ears sting. An individual came out with the same robes as the others, but with a cloak of black material fastened with Halla horns, he raised his hand and the chanting stopped.
'We have received word the Dalish are in the vicinity of this fortress, I pondered leaving them alone but the master wishes us to capture them, they might prove valuable test subjects, speaking of which' the man turned his head towards the captive with an evil smile.
'Dear sir, I thank you so much for kindly volunteering yourself for the future of the world' he mocked. The captive, mad with fear, began thrashing at his restraints, the leader stood apart from the others and spoke 'begin'
Immediately the figures swarmed around the captive, they poured blood carefully to make distinctive marks, this was no ordinary blood, it was as black as sin and when it touched the captive's flesh it burned, leaving ugly black tattoos. Once this process was done they raised their arms and chanted the man's head tilted back, he was no longer in control of his body, the tattoos glowed and began to spread all over his body, and then the screaming began.
The captive writhed and screamed as his body changed, his skin grew as hard as chainmail his eyes grew larger and moulded into the eyes of a predator, his teeth and nails grew long and black, Taal averted his eyes, not daring to look until the transformation was complete. When he looked back the captive was no longer a man, but the spawn of evil. The leader nodded and seemed pleased with the result, his eyes wandered lazily until they spotted Taal.
'Who is this!' he roared as the other figures turned to face Taal, he noticed that they all wore the same mark as was on the gate. 'Guards! Seize this intruder!' the leader spat.
Taal was up and running, outside two guards still remained, he notched and fired two arrows faster than any human archer ever could, the guards fell down in undignified heaps. Taal sprinted into the courtyard, by now all the guards had noticed him and sprinted towards him, there was no way he could get through the main entrance, so he sprinted up to the battlements he dodged a clumsy sword swing and slashed the enemy across the face with his dagger. When he was secure he tied the rope to his arrow and fired it into the woods beyond. The other end was tied to the walls and Taal swung down into the darkness of the woods, but before he could do so the rope was cut and Taal fell into a sprawling heap. He cursed, that was a finely made Dalish rope, no time to recover it, the clan's Craftmaster Elian was going to kill him. Taal checked his wounds, only minor; he turned and fled as the arrows of the defenders landed around him, one missing his head by scant inches.
Taal ran to one of his favourite trees and climbed up high, the foolish humans would never be able to find him now, he sighed and tried to stop his bleeding, he even managed a sly smile. Even though he put his life at risk, Taal had never had so much fun in his life! But still, duty to the clan came before personal matters, even Taal accepted that. He would have to report to the keeper, no doubt the clan would have to move or fight soon.
Val Rouyux
'Stop that thief!' a finely dressed man shouted to some guards as a hooded figure ran down the street with some papers in hand. The guards were finely dressed like anything else Orlesian and they pursed the figure with haste, but they could not hope to capture the figure as it was too fast. It jumped across several carts and onto the side of a building; it scrambled up the building with the skill of an expert and soon was running along the rooftops. The guards decided to bring out their archers and soon a withering volley was soaring up to the figure. It dodged them expertly and managed to leap to another rooftop, but the storm of arrows did not falter. The figure took a chance and ran onto the rooftop surrounding the market, at this time of day it was bustling and there were many people around.
The arrows stopped, the risk of hitting someone was far too high, instead the guards tried to climb up the buildings to engage the thief in melee. It was of no use, the thief was too fast and quick and easily disappeared of into the shadows before it could be caught. The thief loved the marketplace at this time, not only because the market of Val Royoux was a fine place where one could by almost anything in Thedas, but because it was a very easy place to lose the guards and be hidden, that was why the thief had made her headquarters in one of the buildings there. Once she was sure she was out of sight she quietly made her way into the top widow of the building and slid through. She came into what appeared to be a perfectly normal attic, and that was just how she liked it, she was fairly sure that no one would breach this attic, but one could never be too careful. She sighed happily now that she was home and removed her hood to reveal a pink rounded face, great blue eyes and vibrant red hair.
Her name was Leliana, bard of Orlais, expert scout, assassin and thief and former companion to the Hero of Ferelden. She sat down in her favourite chair to rest after the days excursions; she would need her strength to face another job scheduled later. She decided to take a brief look at the notes she had stolen from the noble, they read.
Meet us at this location tonight, it is critical we gather the funds to accomplish the task; it might be worthwhile to convince the Empress to provide the funds.
Included in the letter was a detailed map of the industrial part of the city, it was located in the poorer quarter, Leliana cocked an eyebrow, this was certainly interesting news. What did they mean by the task? And how much would the funds be? She mused she would have to investigate this later? For now she would rest and think about things. Her life had changed so much when she came back to Orlais.
Firstly, she had been personally summoned by the Divine, the head of the Chantry and the most important woman in Thedas. She had been invited to discuss the visions she had of the Maker, when he commanded her to aid the wardens in the blight. She was also to speak of the location of Andraste's Ashes and confirm that they were indeed genuine. Currently a force of templar's and Chantry scholars occupied the town of Heaven, they had swept aside the last members of that sinister cult that dwelled there and was pouring over their research, as well as investigating the Ashes themselves. And visions from the Maker? This was indeed a revolutionary concept, current Chantry view was that the Maker stayed aloof from all beings, for both the actions of the Tventer Imperium and for betraying his beloved prophet. But to learn that the Maker still acted in this world, and that he deemed certain causes worthy enough to give aid through visions, this was indeed fascinating. Already entire philosophical concepts were being formed and many claimed to have received visions from the Maker. Leliana was now regarded as something of a prophet of the Maker, and she was well respected as such. Leliana also came back to hunt down Majorline, her old mentor had betrayed her to further her advancement and continued to pester Leliana wherever she went, she had attempted to assassinate her and her friends back in Ferelden, but the merciful Krieger had let her leave on the condition that she never bother Leliana again, she should have known better then to trust her.
About every few weeks an Antivan Crow or a band of mercenaries had attempted to assassinate her, thankfully so far she had always managed to best them, on their bodies she had always discovered a little note from her former mentor mocking her, she had sworn to come back to track her down. Once in a while she thought about Krieger, she sighed, she missed that noble Dwarf. Her best friend, her saviour and lover and above all, the person who had helped her gain a second chance in life. How often had she lain at their camp thanking the Maker for her brand new life, she had good health, a whole group of friends and a purpose, and it was all thanks to a Dwarf, Leliana chuckled at the absurdness of it. She resolved she would try to contact Krieger soon, she had not seen him since the Blight had been defeated. For now, she had decided she was fit again and so went to her wardrobe, it contained the most fashionable Orlesian dresses, Leliana always wore a hood when she did bard work, and she wanted people to think she was just a Chantry scholar and noble. She packed away her armour and dressed in an elegant sky blue, the colour most in fashion at the moment, and strolled out of her hideout, looking to all world like a noble on a shopping trip.
The market of Val Royoux was one of the largest in the world, Orlais currently still held the largest empire in Thedas and it was not shy about showing this. Almost everything Orlesian was considered fancy by the standards of other nations and many former colonies still traded with Orlais, so in the capital one could find almost anything, as long as one knew the right places to look. She strolled about the stalls searching for certain items, she bought a few healing poultices and some potions to give her more energy, she thought she would need it soon. Then she went to a stand that sold several herbal ingredients and gave the merchant a secret wink, he nodded and then pointed to a small box under his table, Leliana looked to find it contained several poisons, she picked several of them and paid the merchant a handsome amount before locking and hiding the box. All Bards needed certain contacts to survive in the Grand Game, and it was quite common for certain merchants to provide goods on the side for a little extra coin. Then she went to an armour shop and purchased several specially made daggers, they were incredibly small but very sharp and could pierce almost any armour. Once she had finished shopping she travelled across town and ventured into a small apartment. Her old friend Sketch lived there and she usually visited him for information. Sketch was a shy mage and member of the secret Mages Collective, he had been there when Leliana had been betrayed and had helped her escape, they still mourned over the loss of their old friend Tug, the Dwarf had sacrificed his life so that Tug would be spared. Often shying away from conflict, Sketch had instead worked up a network of contacts to ensure he always had valuable information for sale; very often nobles paid him a visit to gain an edge over their enemies.
As Leliana entered she noticed something strange, the door was open, Sketch usually kept the door locked three times over, she called out his name but received no reply, something was definitely up. She entered the apartment and noticed there was a strange lump on the floor. She moved over to it and found Sketch, his eyes were rolled upwards, his skin was pale and he was bleeding from a fatal stab wound in his chest, the blood was a mix of red and dark green, an indication that he had been stabbed with a poisoned blade.
'Sketch!' Leliana wailed for her murdered friend, he was a good person, he did not deserve such a fate, and she sat there for a while, tears coursing through her eyes. After a long time, she found the strength to stand up; she looked around the apartment but could find nothing to indicate who did this.
'I swear Sketch, I'll find whoever did this and make them pay!' she shouted over Sketch's body, she took a moment to clasp his hands for the last time, sang a prayer for the deceased, her friend deserved no less, and then clasped his hands over his heart. When she left she alerted the guards to the body and left instructions for him to be buried in the Chantry, no friend of hers was going to die unmourned and forgotten. She went back into her apartment to change back into her armour, as soon as she was done the door burst open.
Three mercenaries, well armed and armoured stormed into the apartment and began to attack, Leliana dodged the axe blow of one and rolled back, flinging a dagger as she did so, his head snapped back and he fell to the ground. Another came with armoured with sword and shield, he stabbed at her and Leliana had trouble deflecting them, there was little space to move around and daggers made poor parrying tools. He thrust again and Leliana dodged and stabbed him in the eye, he too fell down without a sound. This was Leliana's preferred style of fighting, quick and fast, never a prolonged struggle but always making maximum advantage of the weak points. The third one was more cautious; he kept his weapon ready and slowly advanced on Leliana, his eyes never leaving her for a second.
Leliana smiled cruelly 'as you can see, you're no match for me, tell me who hired you and I will allow you to live'.
The mercenary snarled 'I'll take my chances' and lunged at Leliana, a huge broadsword swinging in a vicious ark.
What happened next came so fast, Leliana rolled to dodge the blow and found a weak point in the mercenaries armour, as such she was easily able to hack his arm off. The limb rolled of neatly and the mercenary fell to the ground, eyes wide with shock. Leliana held a dagger to the man's throat.
'I'll ask again, who hired you, tell me!' she roared.
The mercenary, his mind numbed with pain and fear, spoke in a hurried voice, 'it was someone called Majorline! She ordered us to kill the elf mage then said we would find you here! She then said to kill you! That's all I know! I swear!'
Leliana rewarded the mercenary with a painless death, she sliced his throat, he died instantly, 'That was for you Sketch' she whispered.
Leliana thought about the situation, she doubted that Majorline thought the mercenaries could take her; she only used them, like she used everyone, for her own ends. Leliana's hideout had also been compromised; she now had no safe place to go, except, she thought, she did have Ferelden. Her friend Alastair was currently reining as King, and Krieger was well respected among the Ferelden folk. Leliana decided that she would be safest in Ferelden. But first she had some business to attend to, it was getting dark and the business with the letter was to be conducted soon, Leliana packed as much equipment as she could carry and strode of into the darkness, one more job and then she would be reunited with Krieger again!
As she took off into the night she comforted herself by whispering 'soon my love, soon'.
