Amell rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"Sten, why in the Maker's name am I visiting you in the brig?"
"I do not know, kadan. Perhaps because you wish to do so," came the serene answer from the other side of the bars.
The mage responded with a level look. Sten was not the least bit cowed by this. He sat on the small cot in the cell, still covered in blood (most of it not his own, fortunately), completely unperturbed by the fact that he seemed to have ended up imprisoned once more.
"Sten, you almost killed a man."
"Yes. Quite a failure on my part. I would have surely succeeded under different circumstances."
"Sten," Amell repeated more harshly, slipping back into the commander's role easily. "This is serious."
"Yes, it is," the Qunari agreed. "And I will require your assistance."
"I'll talk to the captain," Amell nodded, "I'm sure I can convince him--"
"It is appreciated, kadan, but that is not the type of assistance I had in mind," he interrupted.
"Not the--? Sten, you're locked up!"
"A minor inconvenience, for the moment," Sten gestured towards the filthy cell. "No, I require something else from you."
"Oh?" Amell folded her arms expectantly. "What do you want me to do, then?"
"Acquire knowledge of the Tal'Vasoth's activities in Ferelden."
Amell froze in place, a look of disbelief on her face.
"You want me to-- You-- the-- what?!" she stuttered, then recovered herself. "Why would you think I could learn any of that? Where would I acquire this knowledge?"
"Most likely, from the ashaad," Sten opined.
"And why would he tell me anything?" Amell continued, growing increasingly more annoyed and frustrated.
"Because he is young and inexperienced. And because I've made the Tal'Vashoth curious about you," Sten replied.
"You've made them curious about me?" Amell repeated pointedly.
"Yes. Curiosity is a weakness that can be exploited."
There were several things Amell would have wanted to say to that. Why did you do this without my permission? And You can't possibly be serious about this! And Curiosity isn't a weakness. And What exactly did you say about me? In the end, she settled for,
"Why can't you do it?"
"They will be guarded around me. I am their enemy and therefore dangerous. You are only a small woman from a backwater country. With me out of the way, they will think you harmless and they will grow careless."
Amell rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked in the end, sighing in defeat.
* * *
It would have been easy to dismiss Sten's plan as ludicrously insane, go up to the captain and use the considerable persuasive skills she'd gained the past year to convince him that it would be best to let the Qunari go. It would have been the sensible thing to do, as well. But she didn't.
Maker knew why, but she didn't. Sten had never been the most patient of traveling companions, but in the end, he'd gone along with her on the long and twisted journey to slay the Archdemon. Perhaps she felt she owed him.
Ah, yes. That would be much better, Amell thought. She did this because he was her friend and friends often did foolish things for each other. Yes, that made her actions seem much less unnecessarily dangerous. Why, it made them seem almost noble.
That evening, the ship was scheduled to dock in the port at Ostwick. This was the farthest Amell had ever gotten from the Circle Tower; all the way across the Waking Sea. This was also exactly one third of the way to Cumberland, the ship's final destination. From what Amell understood, they were to then take the Imperial Highway through Nevarra, then through the Tevinter Imperium and take a ship from Minrathous across the Nocen Sea to finally reach Seheron.
But this was no time to get ahead of oneself.
As she made her way across the ship that day, she could sense she was being watched. The perpetrator was most likely Ashaad. It was clear enough to her that he was seeking an opportunity, some kind of opening, but she could not know for sure what would spur him into approaching her again. For now, he seemed intent on observing her from a distance, and if he did that, then how was she supposed to learn anything?
She mulled over this issue. Afternoon turned into evening and Ostwick became a distinct brown shape on the horizon, so she decided it was time for a gamble.
If Ashaad was going to follow her around, then he'd also follow her into Ostwick. Probably. And if he did...
Well, then she'll just have to improvise, won't she?