Chapter 50

Gavin picked at his clothes, smoothed non-existant wrinkles and then finally turned to Jethann only to find the elf smirking at him. "What?"

"You look fine, why are you so nervous?"

"Despite my years living at the estate, I never really got comfortable being the lord of the manner," the mage sighed. "I'm not sure I can successfully carry out this ruse. Fenris being at my side should be enough to deflect the interest of any Templars we do meet."

During the voyage they had discussed ways to blend into the Ferelden populace. Gavin knew the freedom he enjoyed in Kirkwall was unusual. There was no country in the world where it was standard practice for mages to run free, with the exception of Rivain whose Circle Mages were pretty much allowed to come and go as they pleased. Even in Ferelden mages were not allowed to move freely on their own. They either were a member of the Mages Collective and abided by their rules, or they resided in the Tower subject to the supervision of the Chantry. Thus with his freedom at stake, they had come up with the idea of having Gavin pose as a wealthy merchant and the three elves as his servants.

"We've gone over this Gavin," Jethann shook his head. "You are a stranger here and that means you will fall under greater scrutiny. Fenris' lyrium tattoos may muddle the senses of templars some, but it's not enough to hide you from any prolonged or determined inspection. However, people generally tend to see what they want to see. A well dressed human with three elven servants is a common sight. They will not see a mage because they will not be expecting a mage."

"In other words, you shouldn't have to do much to convince people that you're a wealthy merchant," Fenris clarified. "You've interacted enough with the nobility to see how they treat their servants and wealthy merchants pretty much behave the same way. Just do as you've seen them do. I don't mind pretending to be your body servant if it means avoiding any situation that would result in you being locked up in some templar cage."

"Once we've made arrangements to travel to Lothering, we can all drop the act," Jethann said reasonably. "I know you have enough on you to be able to buy a horse and cart to take us."

"If there's one available," Gavin worried.

"There is always something like that for sale in cities of this size, trust me," Jethann rolled his eyes. Unless they could calm him down, Gavin would give them all away.

Orana stepped forward and bowed her head, "It will be alright Master. Fenris and I both know the proper behavior for servants and have instructed Jethann well. Just remember to act pompous and pay no mind to us as we follow you and no one will be suspicious."

"And remember, people see what they want to see," Jethann reminded him.

"Okay, then let's get this show on the road," Gavin sighed and went up to the deck. Once there, he stood straight, threw his head back and then swaggered down it to where the gangplank was being lowered. He felt Fenris at his back and resisted the urge to look behnd him.

Once the gangplank was lowered, he made his way down to the dock and then to the city streets. Spying a group of boys hanging about he walked up to them. "Where can I find lodging in this city?" he asked peremptorily.

"The Crown and Lion is the best there is Messere," a brown haired lad of about twelve said with a slight bow. The others crowded behind him staring avidly as he gave directions.

Digging into his pouch, he pulled out a silver for the boy, "Here you go." He tossed it to the boy and then strode away as arrogantly as possible.

"Arrogant, cheap bloke," the boy grumbled. "He's got three servants and all I get is one silver?"

Jethann held back a chuckle as he heard the words. He liked being right and he couldn't wait to tell Gavin so. He tensed a little as he saw a group of Templars coming in their direction, but they spared no more than a curious glance at Gavin. Fenris however got a second look from one of them.

"I've not seen an elf armed that way," the man muttered. His captain glanced back at him.

"Probably from Antiva," the man stated simply. "The Crows have a lot of elves in their organization and often provide escort to wealthy merchants, for a sizeable fee of course. Best not to look to closely, eh?" That last caused the young man to swallow and hurriedly avert his gaze.

"This is working better than I thought," Jethann told Orana in a hushed voice. "I think we'll be okay."

She looked nervously around and whispered, "I hope so." She had never liked cities. In Tevinter, they were crowded with Magisters, mages, slavers, and all sorts of nasty types. There were too many ways to mistep in cities and earn a punishment. Though she'd been a free woman for a while now, she still felt nervous and insecure.

They reached the inn with no problems. Gavin drew the attention of a few patrons who were lounging about the common room, but was mostly ignored. Stepping up to the bar counter, he addressed the man polishing it. "Are you the Innkeeper?"

"Yes messere," the man glanced from him to the three elves and back again. "What can I do for you?" his tone suddenly more fawning as dollar signs danced in front of his eyes.

"I require a room for myself and my servants," Gavin said and saw the eyebrows rise a little.

"We have room in the stables-" the man began.

"I require that my servants be available to me at a moments notice," the mage responded haughtily. "They certainly can't do that from the stable now can they?"

The innkeeper swallowed and his tone got even more fawning, "I meant nothing by it, forget I said anything. I do have one suite available. It has a small dressing room next to the bedroom that your servants can bed down in. I can send up cots for them."

"No need, they have bedrolls," Gavin waived away the suggestion. "How much?"

"Twenty silver a night, or one gold for a week," was the answer.

Gavin opened his pouch and gave the man forty. "I'll being staying for two nights at least. If I need to stay an extra day or two will that be a problem?"

"No messere," the innkeeper smiled. "Stay as long as you wish." He yelled for a serving a boy. "Marcus, show this gentlemen to suite two on the third floor."

"Follow me ser," the boy bowed at the waist.

Gavin and his companions accompanied him to the room where Gavin gave him a couple of silvers for his trouble, earning him a brilliant smile. He closed the door and then leaned back against it with a sigh of relief. "I hope we can find a cart quickly. Amaranthine seems to have almost as many templars as Kirkwall."

Jethann shrugged and then told the mage what he'd seen and overheard. "Most likely the story going round about at the moment is that a weatlhy merchant from Antiva is in town."

"Okay, go ahead and say it," Gavin snorted. At the elf's puzzled look, "I told you so?"

Jethann snorted, "You said it not I." All he got was a muttered comment about being cheeky. "We should get settled and then see about food being brought up."

"Listen, I can still ask the innkeeper for cots for you," Gavin said, suddenly feeling guilty about having a comfy bed for himself and Fenris.

"I'll go down to the kitchen and see about it right now," Orana said as she rolled her eyes at the mage. This was a task and role she was familiar with and thus quite comfortable handling.

"What's with the eye rolling?" Gavin looked after her.

"A wealthy merchant wouldn't care about his servants comfort, only his own," Jethann chuckled. "She knows that. We're fine with our bedrolls."

"If you're sure," Gavin still hesitated.

"Positive. Now, I will go back down to the ship to see about getting our bags delivered," Jethann told them as he hurried out. Though they didn't have much, they had decided to leave their bags on the ship until they found lodging and then send the 'servants' back to get them. Thus, the illusion that Gavin was a wealthy merchant would be reinforced. One couldn't be too careful.

Fenris watched them go and then grabbed the pen and paper he'd seen earlier. Dipping the pen in the ink well, he carefully wrote a message on the paper. While waiting for it to dry, he searched through the desk until he'd found some wax. Putting some on the back of the paper, he walked to the bedroom door, grabbing Gavin's hand on the way. He pulled the mage into the bedroom, slapped the note on the door and then shut it firmly behind them.

Gavin had watched this with some bemusement, wondering what his elf was up to. It wasn't until Fenris was leaning back against the closed door that he found his wits. "What are you up to?"

"I put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door," the elf growled. "I've waited two weeks and I don't intend to wait any longer. Strip and get on the bed."

Gavin was instantly hard and hastely removed his clothes. His side had stopped hurting a while ago, and he had wanted badly to make love to Fenris, but couldn't because there was no privacy. He would have probably done the same thing if Fenris hadn't beaten him to the punch. He didn't bother folding his clothes, simply let them fall where they would.

Fenris licked his lips as his beautiful man bared all for his avid gaze. Sometimes he still found it hard to believe that a mage could make him feel this way. He set his sword to the side and then moved to stand beside the bed, his eyes never leaving Gavin's. He slowly removed his own armor, enjoying how his mage's vivid green eyes began to blaze with love and lust. The knowledge that the mage had absolute trust in him enhanced his own desires.

"Fenris, if you don't get on with it soon I'm going to die from frustration," Gavin pleaded.

Fenris' smile was feral as he climbed onto the bed. "Hold on tight love, you're in for the ride of your life."

Half an hour later, Jethann returned from the ship with their bags to find Orana pacing and wringing her hands. "What's wrong?" he asked and saw her point to the bedroom door.

When he was close enough to read the note he started to chuckle. The sound of a bed squeaking and the low moans coming from inside had him struggling to keep from laughing aloud and disturbing the room's occupants. "Everything's fine," he said as he turned back to the elven woman.

"When you asked me if I wanted to learn to read I didn't really think I would need such a skill," Orana said quietly. "I mean, you don't need to read to haggle at the market or do chores or hold conversations. If I needed something read, then I had you. But, when I came back and saw the door closed and couldn't read the note they left, I realized that maybe you were right when you said it couldn't hurt. I really didn't know what to do. Supper is being prepared now as we speak!"

Suddenly Jethann understood her anxiety. All her life, until she got to Kirkwall, she had seen how masters treated their servants, punishing them for the slightest of mistakes. He could only imagine the punishment for not informing a master when supper was ready. Even though she'd had severals months to see that Gavin wasn't anything like the others, she was still nervous.

"Listen, I think that those two will be busy for a while," Jethann smiled reassuringly at her. "They would be upset if you did disturb them right now. They'll get something to eat later so relax."

"I guess you know Master Gavin best," she smiled at him.

"I do," he nodded. "Now, lets see about unpacking our clothes. We need to see what needs to be laundered so we can have it done before we leave here. From what I understand, good inns are few and far between here in Ferelden."