Chapter 58
Gavin reached the end of the last row and paused to eye the field he just plowed, nodding in satisfaction. The land had been treated a final time and the soil turned enough that his two fields should yield a rich harvest. Not bad considering the damage the Blight had caused. He knew that it was only because of all the gold he'd amassed in Kirkwall that he could afford to treat the land as much as he had. Many other farmers throughout the region were not so lucky. Come harvest time, he stood to do very well for himself.
And that would be good for Orana and Jethann. He'd already agreed to split the profits fifty-fifty with them for all their support and help. He'd also gotten them to agree to allow him to buy land for them and have them pay him back over time. They would know an independance and securtiy that few elves had ever enjoyed. He smiled at that thought.
Realizing there was nothing left to plow, he unhitched the horse and led it off to the stable. He'd go back for the plow once he'd rubbed down the animal. With proper care, the animal would be useful for several years to come. Even though he could afford to buy another horse to share the burden, he didn't want to call attention to himself in that way. Locals might wonder how a simple farmer could afford another animal, especially since he'd paid for three treatments. The third may have been overkill, but he really wanted to not have any problems down the road.
In Kirkwall, he'd been unable to keep a low profile. In Ferelden, he had the opportunity to lead a simple life and wanted that so badly he could taste it. As he rubbed down and brushed the horse, his thoughts turned to the two elves he'd sent off to buy seed. He hadn't realized how much he would miss having Fenris in his bed and waking up with him in the morning. His bed felt too big and too cold without the elf there. He knew Orana felt the same way. But, it had been a week and a half and the two should be back in a couple more days. His thoughts were so consumed by their return that, when he heard Fang barking, he rushed out of the stable with a smile on his face. It wasn't until he reached the front of the house that he realized Fang's bark was not one of welcome, but of warning.
He came to a dead stop and scanned all around trying to see what it was the dog had been upset by. Not seeing anything, he signaled Fang to silence so he could listen. Off in the treeline, he head a twig snap and the sound had him running to the house. Friends didn't try to sneak up on you through the woods.
"Orana, get in your room and lock the door!"
Her head jerked up at the sound of his voice, "What's wrong?"
"Unfriendly visitors," he said shortly as he grabbed his staff from his room. Using it was risky, but he wasn't about to face enemies without it.
Hurrying back outside, he motioned to Fang to follow him, and proceeded into the front field and faced the treeline. He whispered a spell and a protective barrier sprung up around them both. Then they waited to see what approached. The shield would stop any ranged attack so they only had to worry about physical ones. What stepped out of the trees was the last thing he would have expected. He heard Fang whine in confusion as several dwarves emerged.
"The Hawke, it's the Hawke," one gravelly voice boomed across the field.
Well, that means they aren't just lost, Gavin thought. "Who are you and why are you here?" he yelled back.
"We need the blood, the blood of the Hawke," another dwarf cried.
This seemed to be the signal for them to attack. Gavin first trapped them in a gravity ring, and then pummeled them with fire from above. Half of their number went down and never got up. Fang darted forward and took down one that was hopping around trying to put out the flames in his clothes. Gavin quickly dispatched two of the remaining three. The last one, he trapped in a field, holding the dwarf in place for questioning.
"What did you mean about needing my blood?" he snarled.
The dwarf fought against the hold, the look in his eyes one of rage. "Blood of the Hawke. He told us to find the Hawke."
"He who?" Gavin shouted. "Who sent you after me?" he repeated. Getting no answer, he used a little more force magic to break the dwarf's arm. After the scream stopped, he growled, "I will break every bone in your body one by one until you tell me what I want to know. Tell me and I will grant you a quick death." He could feel his spirit's disapproval of this, but ignored her. Torture was sometimes a necessary evil.
"The master, the master," the dwarf gasped. "Don't know his name, don't need to know. Must do as master says. Must bring blood of the Hawke."
Instinct told him that he would get nothing more out of the dwarf and so he kept his promise and cut the dwarf's throat. He stared at the carnage on the field, disturbed by this sudden intrusion into his life. Who was the Master? He knew it wasn't Danarius because that man would be after Fenris's blood, not his. Yet, who else but a Magister would be called Master? He headed back to the house to let Orana know the danger was over.
"You can come out now," he called and heard the lock click and then found his arms full of scared elf.
"Who was it?" she cried. "I can't believe this."
"A bunch of dwarves and apparently they were looking for me," he replied.
"Dwarves?" Orana looked up at him in confusion. "Why would they be looking for you?"
"I don't know, but they were looking for my blood," Gavin shrugged. "I questioned one and he mentioned a master."
"Sounds like some Tevinter Magister is looking for you," she replied. "But, the only ones we know of are Hadriana, who's dead, and Danarius, who's target is Fenris."
"Fenris and Jethann should be back day after tomorrow," Gavin said slowly. "Maybe they'll have heard or seen something to explain this. That many dwarves can't travel around Ferelden unnoticed."
"I suppose we could always message Varric," Orana pointed out. "He always seems to know what's going on, even here in Ferelden."
"Yes, we could do that," Gavin mumbled and sat down heavily into his rocker.
"What's wrong?" Orana knelt at his feet, placing a hand on his knee. "Don't you want to contact Varric."
"All I wanted was to live out the rest of my life peacefully on my farm," Gavin groaned and covered his face with his hands. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to return to the Free Marches if only to figure out who's hunting me now and why."
"That may be so, but it doesn't mean you won't be able to come back here," Orana soothed.
"I wish I could believe that so easily," he shook his head. "It just seems that every time I manage to have some kind of peaceful life, something comes along to take it away. Maybe one of these days I'll reach the point of no return."
"Don't think that way, just stay-" she broke off fearfully at the sound of Fang barking.
Gavin leapt up from his seat, staff in hand, just as the door was thrust open. The sight of the familiar elven faces made him sag back in relief. The next thing he knew, Fenris had hauled him up from the chair and wrapped him up tight in his arms. Dropping his staff, he returned the hug.
"Venhedis love," Fenris cursed. "I'm glad to see you didn't hestitate to use your magic."
Gavin pulled back to stare at him, "That sounded like you knew those dwarves were going to attack us."
"We overheard a converstaion in the Denerim market that roused our suspicions," Jethann told them. "Two merchants were talking about dwarves asking about hawks."
"Only one merchant kept insisting that they were looking for a specific hawk," Fenris added. "They were puzzled why Carta dwarves were looking for hawks in Ferelden to begin with."
"We both got a bad feeling about it and headed back here as soon as we finished paying for the seed," Jethann continued. "As we wanted to move quickly, we arranged for the seed to be delivered."
"I'm glad I gave you the extra gold then," Gavin chuckled, the tension seeping out of him.
"Gavin questioned one of them and they said that their master sent them here," Orana said from where she stood wrapped in Jethann's arms.
"What exactly did they say?" Fenris asked, his voice taking on a hard edge.
"They said that The Master asked them to bring him the blood of the Hawke," Gavin replied.
Fenris frowned, "The Hawke, not just Hawke?" When Gavin nodded he frowned even harder. "You've never been to Tevinter, so maybe they were looking for a different Hawke."
"Just because they said master doesn't mean they're from Tevinter," Jethann pointed out. "Some of the nobles in Kirkwall demanded that their elven servants refer to them in such a way."
"Let's search the remains for any clues as to where they came from," Fenris suggested and led the way out to the field. Unfortunately, his mage had been most thorough and there wasn't much left. Gavin may choose not to use magic most of the time, but when he did, his enemies died quickly and painfully.
"Take a look at this," Jethann came hurrying up to them. He held up small piece of charred paper. On it was a crude map. "They drew a map to this place. It shows where they came from. While the drawing is crude, the writing clearly shows they started in the Vinmark Mountains."
Gavin's stomach plummeted. "That's in the Free Marches."
"Which means that's where we'll find answers love," Fenris said softly. He knew how much the mage longed to just live his life as he chose. Fate had something else in mind for him. "You're going to have to go back."
Gavin turned away and stared out over his farm. He felt like his dream was dying before his eyes. He silently cursed the Maker, wondering what he'd done to deserve this. "I have no choice do I?" he asked, his voice choked with tears.
Fenris motioned to the other two to leave them alone and then wrapped his arms around Gavin and pressed up against the mage's back. "Regardless of how it seems now, you are in control of your life. Yes, if you want answers you'll have to go back to the Free Marches. It doesn't necessarily follow that you'll have to return to Kirkwall."
"Very few ships sail to the Free Marches at this time of year," Gavin shook his head. "Those that do are usually going to Kirkwall. That means we will have to at least sail to that blasted city."
"That may be, but it doesn't mean we have to announce it to the city at large," Fenris said wryly. He turned Gavin around and held him at arm's length so he could look the mage in the eye. "Listen to me and listen well. You are no coward and you have faced every danger head on and triumphed. You will go back to the Free Marches, find this threat, deal with it and then you can come back here. Nothing says you have to stay in Kirkwall if you don't want to."
"I know, but I just get the feeling sometimes that I'll never know what a peaceful farming life is like," Gavin murmured, absurdly pleased by Fenris's faith in him.
"You will love, we both will," Fenris smiled at him. "It will just be delayed for a while longer."
Gavin looked around and groaned, "Hopefully the land hasn't been hurt by all this. I don't really relish the idea of replowing this field."
"If we have to, we have to," Fenris shrugged. "At least you're alive to complain about the mess," he smirked at the mage and got a swat on his butt for it.
"Keep it up sassy and I'll punish you when we go to bed tonight," Gavin threatened.
"Promises, promises," Fenris laughed as they began the long process of cleaning up the mess.
As Gavin worked, he hoped that Fenris was right about his future. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that leaving Ferelden for a time might actually be in his best interests right now. He used magic to deal with the threat the dwarves posed. This kind of magic left signs and sent ripples out that observant Templars could detect. Death would be preferable to being locked up in the Tower.
"We'll get through this together Gavin," Fenris reassured him. "Trust me."
"I do trust you, more than anyone else," Gavin said firmly. "We'll make plans over supper to travel to Denerim. We can at least make use of the king's generosity, even if we have no intention of actually doing what he wants us to," he finished with a smirk.
Fenris laughed at that, "You are far more devious than most give you credit for. I think if our enemies knew you the way I do that they would fear your coming even more than they already probably do."
With the mood lightened, they made quick work of the cleanup and headed into the house to eat and plan.