Promises: Chapter Twenty

Disclaimer: Dragon Age and all assorted characters/places/etc belong to Bioware, not me.

After the battle was done, it was an easy matter to follow Brax's tracks back to his main compound. There were a few slavers still guarding the entrance but between the three of them, the companions had no trouble with getting rid of those slavers. A couple of the guards had run away at the sight of them. While Fenris had wanted to give chase and hunt them down, both Hawke and Zevran insisted they waste no time in freeing the captives.

The small group entered the compound, all of them keeping their weapons close at hand just in case they ran into more slave hunters. The only other slavers they ran into, however, were a pair of unarmed guards taking a break in the larder. Despite their lack of weapons, Fenris showed no mercy to them. He took them down before they had a chance to react, not needing any assistance from his companions to rid Thedas of a few more slavers.

Hawke raised an eyebrow when he turned back to her but otherwise didn't comment on his viciousness. Any misgivings that the mageling might have felt were erased the moment the companions stepped into the holding cave. Hawke gave a sharp gasp of horror at the sight. Captives were crammed into each cell, and it was obvious that they had been on short rations for too long. However once Hawke got over her initial shock, she turned out to be the one most trusted by the captives amongst the three of them. Fenris knew that he was foreboding and not a few captives visibly shied away from him. Zevran might have been able to charm the slavers' victims into trusting him but he had disappeared after making an offhand comment about needing to find his lost recruits. Thus it was Hawke who reassured the men and women they freed that the three of them were there to help and that this wasn't just some elaborate hoax. Hawke had an aura about her that made people trust her, and it served her well as she and Fenris went from cell to cell, freeing the captives and giving them directions to both the larder and the exit.

All in all, they wound up freeing several dozen captives. It took the work of hours to set all of the prisoners free, especially as not a few of them went on and on about how grateful they were. Frankly Fenris wished they would show their gratitude by following their directions and fleeing at once. While they had slaughtered all of Brax's gang, he knew that it was not uncommon for there to be flare-ups between different groups of slavers. It was unlikely that any other gang of slavers would attack Brax's group, but Fenris was never the sort who liked to leave things to luck. He wanted to leave and the sooner the better.

"I think I'm losing my voice," Hawke croaked as she waved good bye to the last set of captives.

"That wouldn't surprise me. You've been talking non-stop for most of the afternoon," Fenris agreed. At Hawke's sharp look, he hastened to add, "That wasn't a complaint. Far from it, in fact. I am glad you were here. There were not a few captives who I thought wouldn't leave for fear of this being all a trick."

"I know. They were here too long," Hawke said, her eyes darkening with sadness. "Thank the Maker I was able to convince them otherwise. Hopefully they can get back home and avoid slavers from here on out."

"Speaking of which, if we wish to do the same, it would be best for us not to linger," Fenris said.

"I had no plans of lingering, especially not when we have a reward to collect and the rest of Thedas to explore. Where is Zev, anyway? Don't tell me he's going to try and skip out on us!"

Fenris bit his tongue. He hadn't thought of that. Given how easily the assassin had stolen from his friend Isabela after the raider had taken pity on him, Fenris wouldn't put it past the other elf to try and avoid paying them for their help. "He said something about looking for his recruits. They must still be around here somewhere."

"They better be," Hawke said grimly, and Fenris grunted approvingly. There were benefits to taking down Brax—after all the master slaver had a huge bounty on Fenris—but they needed to get paid. They hadn't taken on any other jobs while they were with Zevran, and so Fenris' coin pouch was on the light side.

Fenris and Hawke scoured the cave before wandering outside. There, off to one side of the mouth of the cave, they found Zevran. His hands were on his hips and a scowl was on his face as he lectured the recruits in a stern tone. To Fenris' surprise, the Crows' recruits were young. Very young, in fact, as even the eldest appeared to be a few years younger than Hawke.

"Why they're just kids! Zev never mentioned that his recruits were children," Hawke noted sotto voce to Fenris.

"No, he did not," Fenris agreed. With Hawke a step behind him, he approached Zevran as the assassin continued to scold the children who apparently were Crows-in-training.

"—an absolute disgrace to all Crows living," Zevran bit out, a dark scowl marring his handsome features. "Never, ever has there been a set of recruits captured, much less captured so easily. From the traces we found, you hardly put up a fight."

"But, sir," one boy interrupted the blond elf's tirade, braver than the rest, "there were so many of them—"

Zevran gave a short, mocking laugh. "Ha! Their numbers would have meant naught if you all had managed to stay hidden and struck from the shadows like good assassins do," he said, scoffing openly at the excuse the Crow-in-training had tried to feed him. "But enough of this. I wash my hands of the lot of you. You are to head back to Antiva City post-haste and report to Taliesin. I have business in Rialto, and so I cannot be bothered to escort you."

"However," Zevran continued as he wagged his finger at the recruits, who were now bunched up together, "let me warn you against making any side trips to visit family or friends. You are in enough trouble as it is. If we find out that you didn't head straight back to Antiva City…." Zevran slashed his finger across his neck.

"Now go!" the assassin said sharply. The recruits didn't need to be told twice, and they almost fell over themselves trying to get away from Zevran and his dark mood.

"That was harsh, Zev," Hawke said, stepping forward so that she was now at Fenris' side. "They're just kids. Surely you didn't need to be so cruel especially since they've probably received punishment enough by being captured by slavers."

Zevran turned so that he was facing Hawke and Fenris before answering. "You obviously know nothing of the Crows' training methods, little one. They are harsh for the Crows have no use for weak assassins." A sudden wistful look fluttered across his face. "Ah but you are soft and kind—too soft and too kind much like my friend who was training these children. Her softness did not wind up serving any one well."

"Still we just freed them, Zev," Hawke persisted in her arguments. "Surely you could allow them some time to recuperate before sending them back."

"No," Zevran replied flatly. "I can't. They've had enough of a vacation from their usual training as it is. The Crows pay good coin for their recruits, and so they own each and every breath those children take."

Fenris' heart dropped to his stomach over those words as an expression of dismay settled upon Hawke's face. The assassin had just implied that—Fenris shook his head to clear it. Perhaps Zevran had misspoken or perhaps he had misheard what was actually said or perhaps—

"That's a bad way to put it, Zev," Hawke said haltingly. "You make it sound like the Crows actually buy their recruits rather than…well you know, recruit them."

Zevran tilted his head to one side. "Actually I think I put it just right because that is exactly what the Crows do to gain the majority of their 'recruits'." He rolled his eyes at Hawke's sharp intake of breath. "You shouldn't be so surprised, little one. While the life of a Crow may seem glamorous and exciting to those who do not know better, in reality it is harsh and full of danger. There aren't enough fools in the world willing to volunteer for such a life. The Crows' ranks would never be full if they didn't purchase the most promising of children from the slums and whorehouses of Antiva. This is especially true given that most fledgling recruits do not live long enough to become assassins. Surviving the Crows' training is an accomplishment in and of itself."

"But that would mean—are you saying that we saved those children from one set of masters only to return them to another?" Hawke cried.

"I think that is exactly what he means," Fenris growled. He had known something was off about the assassin from the start, but he had never expected this.

Zevran scratched his skin as he considered their accusations. "Well yes, you could put it that way. I prefer to see it as returning those children to their rightful place."

"Their rightful place? That would be with their parents!" said Hawke.

"With their parents? Ha! Don't make me laugh, little one. Who do you think sold them to the Crows?"

"You can't—"

"What? It's not that hard to believe, is it? Considering that whores sells their bodies every day, it comes naturally for most of them to be all too willing to sell the fruits of their bodies as well, particularly when such a sale means they no longer have to worry about feeding and clothing their children. It's one of those rare situations where everyone wins."

"Except of course for the children who can't take the Crows' training and die," Hawke pointed out to the assassin.

Zevran shrugged his shoulders. "It's the way of the world. The weak die while the strong survive."

Hawke's hands were clenched into fists at her side, and Fenris could almost see the steam rising from her head. Those were all the clues he needed to tell that Hawke was about to do something foolish. He decided to intercede and give his mageling to think things through before acting rashly.

"If the Crows believe their recruits' lives to be so worthless, then why bother with all this?" Fenris waved a hand behind him at the cave. "Why bother to send anyone after Brax much less those children?"

"It's a matter of pride. The Crows get the first pick of Antivan children. Tevinter slavers have to wait until we're done. It has always been this way. It would set a very bad example if we let him get away with such a transgression." Zevran grinned wickedly. "I think I told you before that rescuing the recruits was just an afterthought, yes? My main goal was to kill Brax, and now that I have, my reputation will only improve amongst the Crows. I intend to be a master assassin one day, and no Crow has ever become a master by not taking on the most dangerous of assignments. That I was able to help my friend by seeing the recruits she lost returned to the fold…well I am lucky bastard indeed."

"Bastard is right, but there are far worse things that I can think of to call you. How can you bear to live with yourself?" Fenris was taken aback by the sheer level of disgust in Hawke's voice.

The assassin, however, took her disdain in stride along with the death glare she was leveling at him. "How can I stand living with myself? Why there are days that I hardly do. It is better than the alternative, however, and so I persevere. It's one of my more admirable qualities, I think."

"There are some things worth dying for," Hawke declared with a determined lift to her chin.

"Are there?" Zevran asked. "Don't answer that. I'm willing to concede there may be rare occasions when dying might be worth it, when one's death would make a real difference. But putting my life on the line for some abstract principle just to go down in one last blaze of glory? Such things make very good tales, I admit, but the problem with such stories is that their heroes are never around to hear them."

"And I can see that you're thinking about doing something very foolish," Zevran went on before Hawke could answer him. "I would advise you not to. You and your grumpy friend might be able to take me out—well actually you probably could although you wouldn't escape unscathed—but you have no hope when it comes to going up against all of the Crows of Antiva. You should take this victory for what it is and cherish it."

"This? This is no victory—"

Fenris sighed. It was past time for him to put an end to this. "That's enough, Hawke," he told her.

Hawke turned her eyes towards him, eyes brimming with outrage. "Fenris! You heard him! We rescued those children only to return them to their original slavers. Surely you can't be happy with that."

"I'm not," he said. "I should have known better that to accept the assassin at his word," he said, sneering in Zevran's direction. "But it is done. We cannot change things, and so we should just accept this for what it is."

Hawke's eyes flashed and he could tell that he needed to convince her further. "It is not a complete loss, Hawke," he said gently. "While this…this outcome isn't what either of us wanted, we did put an end to a notorious master slaver as well as save those children from being bled dry by Tevinter magisters. It is…enough."

"No, it's not!" Hawke cried. "It isn't enough!"

Suddenly Fenris lost all patience with his mageling. Allowing her to continue along this path would only lead them to their deaths. Like Zevran, Fenris wasn't ready to die just yet, and he certainly wasn't about to let Hawke die. "No, it isn't. But then it's never enough," he ground out through gritted teeth. He knew he was being harsh on his mageling, but he needed her to understand. "No one can ever do enough. Not even Andraste herself did enough for despite the rebellion she led, blood mages still rule the Imperium and its slavers haunt every last corner of Thedas."

Hawke's mouth snapped shut and she reeled back from him, as though his words were a palpable blow. For a second, Fenris feared that she was going to continue to argue with him. However, she surprised him by whirling on her heel and marching away from the assassin. "Let's go," she said. "I can't wait to get out of this blighted country."

Author's note: My thanks to everyone who has stuck with this fic so far. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.