Promises: Chapter Thirty-Three
Disclaimer: Dragon Age and all assorted characters/places/etc belong to Bioware, not me.
After that encounter at the chantry, both Hawke and Fenris were eager to get some distance between themselves and that templar. So it was that they reached the cave the templar had directed them to just a little past midday. "Oh! Now that cave looks ever so welcoming," said Hawke, her voice full of sarcasm as the two of them stood upon a small hill overlooking the cave's entrance.
"And here I thought it looked rather foreboding," Fenris noted dryly. He scanned over the paltry set of guards posted in front of the entrance. "We might have to exert ourselves to get past that lot."
Hawke gave him a pointed look. "Maker forbid that we break a sweat," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Exactly."
"Sometimes, Fenris, I think Zev was a bad influence on you. I don't think you were always this snarky," the mageling said.
Fenris' frame stiffened at that accusation. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, not at all pleased with the idea of the assassin having any influence over him. "I beg to differ," he said slowly.
That earned him a shake of Hawke's head punctuated by a weary smile on her face. "Fenris, you never beg. That's a good thing," she told him. He found that he couldn't take umbrage at that remark. "And perhaps you're right. Maybe you were always the sarcastic sort…I just didn't know it because you didn't talk much at first."
"You talked enough for both of us."
"I guess I did but that's only because I was trying to hold up both ends of the conversation. Whatever the cause, I'm happy you're willing to talk more now. Your voice is too lovely to waste."
Fenris coughed and ducked his head, unused to such compliments. "Shall we get going?" he asked, looking to change the subject. "Or do you still want to complain about having to venture into another cave?"
"Somehow I get the feeling that you're mocking me. And yes, I'm not happy about having to deal with another cave. I don't know why people think they're such great hiding places. They're dank, they're dreary, and all too often they're inhabited by spiders of unusual size." She shuddered at that thought.
"Yes, yes. Spiders of unusual size should leave caves behind and instead live in fields where farmers can pay us to slaughter them. That would make more sense."
"Well an open field is more pleasant than a dark and stinky cave, but that's neither here nor there. My point was that it would make for a nice change of pace for us to go up against someone with enough sense not make a cave their hideout."
"Oh? What would you recommend?" Fenris asked.
"If I was looking for a hideout, I would want some place nicer with natural light for starters. Preferably high up so I can see any potential attackers with defensible walls to hide behind," Hawke answered promptly.
Fenris blinked. Clearly the mageling was thinking of a castle or a fort. While a castle was more defensible than a cave, Fenris was quite happy that he didn't have to go up against one. "You do realize that would only make our job harder, right?"
Hawke shrugged her shoulders. "I know, I know. I don't really want to face a group of bandits smart enough to make fortifications. That being said, it would be nice if there was more light about if only to help us see traps."
"I think not being able to see them is part of which makes a trap effective."
"A trap is only effective if it stops me from getting to you. If I trip it but am able to get out of it, let's just say that I'm not going to be very forgiving when I reach you."
That reasoning was typical of Hawke—convoluted but right in its own way. Fenris knew that if he let the mageling, she could go on all day about the drawbacks of caves. "Shall we get started?" he asked, drawing his sword from its spot upon his back. "The sooner we start clearing the vermin from this cave, the sooner we can leave this place far behind," he said. Then he looked at her sideways. A thought had occurred to him, one that he was pretty sure she wouldn't like. "Of course we could always skip this task and be on our way. If the templar is as devoted to his duty of guarding the chantry as he claims, I doubt he'll come chasing after us."
Fenris was right. Hawke didn't like that suggestion, and she gave him a dirty look. "You know me better than that. I'm not about to leave a fellow Fereldan in that lot's hands."
"I didn't think so, but you were complaining so much about having to enter another cave that I started to wonder."
Hawke snorted and crossed her arms. "I wasn't complaining about the fact that we have to clear out another cave, but rather that bandits and slavers seem to have no imagination when choosing their hideouts. Though perhaps that's just as well as that does narrow down the places where they'll hide. But anyway shall I launch a fireball to start?" Hawke cupped her hands together, gathering her magic to her.
"No!" Fenris said sharply before she could cast the spell, shaking his head vigorously. Hawke dropped her hands to her side at his cry. She stepped backwards away from the mouth of the cave, her forehead creased, clearly puzzled by his reaction.
"While your fireballs are notoriously effective, they also tend to be on the loud side," Fenris explained in response to the unspoken question in her eyes. "That normally wouldn't be a problem but these bandits have a captive that they can easily use as a hostage. We'll need to make our attack as quietly as possible if we want to prevent that from happening."
"I see," Hawke said as her confusion left her face. "That rules out all of my fire spells. Pity that as those are my most effective spells. Any suggestions?"
He scratched absently at his chin as he considered Hawke's question. "Most of your spells are rather flashy. Not that that's necessarily bad," he added hastily at the mageling's disgruntled humph. "Flashy normally works to put fear in the hearts of our enemies, but that's not what we're aiming for here. I don't suppose you could freeze all of the guards in a single shot?"
"If I could get closer, then without a doubt. Ice spells don't travel as easily as fire spells. I don't want to get too technical, but motion tends to heat spells up," was Hawke's reply.
"How about that large ice spell you did when we attacked Brax and his slavers?" Fenris asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't want a flashy spell," she noted. "A sudden blizzard in the middle of spring will most definitely attract attention."
"Not if it freezes them before they can raise the alarm," Fenris pointed out.
"Well it will slow them down definitely. But will it freeze them? That I can't guarantee."
"I see." Fenris shrugged his shoulders. The plan he had in mind wasn't much of one, but it was the best he could come up with on such short notice. An archer would be perfect for this situation, but unfortunately he had no skill with a bow and so would have to make do. "Go ahead and cast that spell when you're ready. I'll take care of any still capable of alerting their fellows."
"But that means you'll have to pass through the area of my blizzard. You'll be affected by the ice too, Fenris," Hawke protested. "I couldn't bear it if—"
"It will be fine," he assured her. "If I activate these," he nodded towards the lyrium brands on his body, "that will provide me with some measure of protection against the cold."
The mageling didn't look happy with him, but she simply wrinkled her nose before nodding her head. A second later, she was gathering the fade to her once more, summoning the magical energies needed to unleash an ice spell in such warm weather. Hawke was ready to cast sooner than Fenris expected, surprising the elf once again with her prowess with primal magic. The mageling glanced once at him to make sure he was ready and then spread her hands apart, sending the fury of winter tumbling towards the guards.
The blizzard spell took the bandits by surprise, freezing several of them in place. A couple of them were left moving, however, and they fell back towards the cave. Fenris was off like a flash, hot on the heels of the spell. He dove into the freezing storm of ice and headed straight towards those two men. He caught one of them just in time, slicing the man in half before he could enter the cave. Fenris then spun on his heel, but before he could attack, he found that he was being pressed by not one but three bandits.
He quickly switched from the attack into a defensive mode, his training making such a change automatic. The bandits were poorly trained and ill-equipped to press him. It was simple enough to parry their clumsy attacks until he saw an opening in their common defense. Quick as a snake, he struck, disarming one before knocking out the other two.
But then there was another man charging straight at him. Fenris planted his feet and lifted his sword up, preparing to meet the man head on. However right before the man reached Fenris, he was struck in the back by another burst of ice courtesy of Hawke. Fenris quirked up an eyebrow and then stepped forward to smash the man to bits with his sword. His eyes scanned the battlefield, searching both for potential enemies as well as his mageling to make sure that she was safe.
His ire was provoked when he saw Hawke had entered the fray rather than staying back like any sensible mage would. Though she wore light armor, Fenris hardly thought that it provided her with enough protection against any bladed weapon. The remaining guards were not complete fools and so were concentrating their attack on Hawke rather than Fenris. With a low growl, Fenris stalked forward. If any of them so much laid a hand on her, he swore to himself, he would personally make sure that they would regret it.
He found out in short order that he had no reason to fear. Hawke was capable of defending herself. She whacked the closest guard on the head with her staff and then shoved him into the path of his fellows, slowing all of them down. Then Hawke waved her staff in an arc around her, sending out spikes of ice that encased all of her attackers.
The mageling offered up a saucy grin at Fenris as he reached her. He bit his tongue, holding back the retorts that wanted to spill forth, so that the two of them could take care of the bandits Hawke had just frozen. "I thought it looked like you could use some help," she told him when they finished.
"I wasn't ever in any trouble," he said firmly. "While you on the other hand—"
"Had everything under control. Don't give me that look, Fenris. While I am by no means your equal, I do have a couple tricks up my sleeves. A staff may not be the most effective weapon but it can be useful in a pinch."
"Of that I have no doubt. However there was no need for you to put yourself in danger."
"And let you take the brunt of the attack? I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." Hawke shuddered at that thought. "But enough of this. We have a boy to rescue, do we not?"
"This conversation isn't over yet, Hawke," Fenris promised her.
"No, it's not. Which is good because I plan to extract a pledge from you to be more careful in battle," she replied with a sniff. She slung her staff on to her back and walked towards the cave. Fenris watched her for a moment, a steady stream of curses running through his mind. Hawke was nothing if not stubborn, and it looked as though she had somehow got the notion she should protect him stuck in her pretty little head. He would have to rid her of such a foolish notion, and the sooner the better.
Fenris set off after Hawke, catching up with her in a matter of steps and taking the lead. He signaled for her to stop in front of the cave as he carefully checked the area for traps. Finding none, they proceeded forward but at a snail's pace. That was another thing Zevran was good for, Fenris reflected. The elven assassin's sharp eyes had spotted many a trap back when they worked together, and Fenris found that he missed Zevran's capabilities now.
He missed Zevran even more the first time he tried to disarm a trap. It did not end well, and he wound up with a leg stuck between the trap's clawed teeth. Hawke squeaked in fright, her eyes wide and large as she sought to free him from it. Once he was sprung loose, Hawke insisted on looking him over and healing him before they moved on. Fenris was grateful for Hawke's skill in the healing arts, although she always insisted she wasn't that good, but he mentally berated himself for the slip. Not only should he have been able to trigger the trap without getting caught in it, given how obvious it was, but it also meant that when he had that promised conversation with Hawke later, she would throw this mistake back in his face.
After that mishap with the bear claw trap, Fenris took to pointing out traps to Hawke so they both could avoid them rather than trying to disarm them. Fortunately the few times that they ran into bandits, there were no traps about and so they were able to move freely when attacking. None of the bandits were very skilled. For the most part, they seemed to depend on their numbers for effectiveness but those numbers were no match for the combination of Fenris' sword and Hawke's magic.
"Is it my imagination, or is taking out these bandits easy?" asked Hawke after they won another skirmish. "I swear that it was tougher back in Antiva, and that was when we had Zev with us as well."
"It is easier. That's the difference between a ruthless, trained band of slavers and a ragtag gang of bandits," Fenris replied. "Still do not let your guard down. They are most likely hoping for a large windfall by obtaining a significant ransom from the Fereldan lord for his son. Given the skill we've seen from this gang, it has been quite some time since they've seen that much coin."
"Don't worry. I'll be careful," Hawke said. "But then I'm always careful. Which is more than can be said for you."
"This is not the time for you to start on that again."
"Oh, I'm not. This is just a friendly reminder to let you know that I've not forgotten about earlier."
Which time was what Fenris wanted to ask, but he knew better than to do so because that would only encourage his mageling more. He would have to distract her later tonight, but he was confident that he was up to the task. Hopefully they would be able to return the brat to the templar before nightfall so that they would have to watch over the child for the night.
Fenris was roused from his pleasant reverie by a sharp hiss slicing through the air. Grabbing on to Hawke's hand, he jerked them sharply to one side. A moment later, an arrow flew by right through the heart of the space they had occupied before, its tip gleaming with a liquid that was undoubtedly poison.
"Was that another trap?" asked Hawke, her eyes wide as she scanned their surroundings.
"No." Fenris focused his gaze on the shadows from where the arrow had come. His eyes narrowed as he spotted a patch of black and gray that didn't quite fit with darkness around it. He carefully maneuvered himself forward so to ensure that he was between Hawke and the archer. Even Hawke as stubborn as she was would have to admit that his battle instincts were better than hers, and so he could dodge any arrows more easily and ably than her.
A flicker of recognition passed through the archer's eyes, indicating that the man realized that he had been spotted. The man melted out of the shadows, his bow drawn and ready. He was tall with dark hair, sallow skin, and a nose that could only be called unfortunate. "I wouldn't recommend taking another step," the man said harshly. "Not unless you want to find out if you're faster than my arrows."
Fenris narrowed his eyes at the man before him. Something didn't quite fit here. He was too skilled to be a member of the same bunch of bandits infesting the cave. "You're not a bandit," he said flatly.
The man lifted an eyebrow up. "No, I'm not."
"Another person who saw this item on the chanter's board then?" Hawke asked, peeping out from behind Fenris. She rolled her eyes. "Too bad you didn't tell that nosy templar first. Maybe he would have left us alone. Anyway if that's the case, then we might as well—"
"I have no clue what you're talking about," the archer interrupted Hawke's rambling sharply.
Fenris exchanged a glance with his mageling. "If that's the case, then why are you here?" he asked.
The man's lips quirked up into a grin. "Would you believe me if I said I was out for my morning stroll when I got caught up by this gang?"
Fenris found that hard to believe in fact, but before he could reply as such, shouting erupted from the cavern just behind the archer. The rogue spun on one foot, and not a moment too soon, for pouring through the nearest archway into the small cavern was the largest group of bandits yet, all heavily armed.
The man leading the charge stopped in his tracks, his eyes wild with desperation. "The prisoner's escaped!" he yelled, gesturing with his knives towards them. "Get him!"
"What about the other two?" asked one of his lackeys.
"Show no mercy," was the response. Then the bandits charged. Once again it wasn't the same as fighting Brax's slavers, who had some notion of how best to work together. The bandits' cooperation amongst themselves was haphazard at best, and none of them had the foresight to try and break through to take out Hawke, who with her magic was the most dangerous foe they faced.
"So you're the captive?" Hawke asked the archer, in between slinging spheres of ice at any bandit who tried to sneak up on Fenris.
"Was," the archer noted stiffly. "As you see, I am captive no more."
"So I suppose that means we don't have to worry about hostages any more?" was Hawke's next question, this time directed at Fenris.
"Not unless they captured anyone else," Fenris grunted. He easily disarmed one bandit, who was then sent running after a fierce growl from the elf, and then moved on to his next opponent. He couldn't help but feel a little put out at the moment. Hawke was always the talkative sort, but he felt that battle was not the time and place for a conversation. Such laxness was most unlike her, and it would not serve her well.
"Well are there any? Other captives we have to worry about that is?" Hawke was focused once more on questioning the lone archer.
"No," was his short reply. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm rather busy at the moment. People to kill, you know, preferably before they kill me," he added, firing off a rapid succession of shots.
"Oh I'm ahead of you on that one."
Fenris felt a surge of light and heat from behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Hawke was summoning what looked to be one massive fireball into life. "Venhedis," he swore as he realized Hawke's intentions. "Fall back!" he commanded the archer. The man obeyed without thinking and fell back just as Hawke released the fireball with a flick of her wrist.
The fireball roared past Fenris, nearly blinding him with its fury and light as it impacted in the center of the remaining bandits. Fenris instinctively dropped down as did the archer just moments before the ground shook violently and the acrid tang of smoke filled the air. The spell was so massive that it didn't stay put in the small cavern but rather traveled out through the archway and into the labyrinth of tunnels behind it.
"What the hell was that?" the archer demanded, jumping to his feet and strode towards Hawke. Fenris got to his feet as well. Though he was annoyed that Hawke had been so reckless, he wasn't about to let the other man lay hands on his mageling.
"That?" Hawke asked saucily, tipping her chin up into the air and sniffing haughtily. "That's what I like to call winning."
The man shot her a gaze full of disgust. "Is that so? Well where I come from, we like to call that unnecessary destruction. So much for me finding any evidence of the bastard behind all this," he ended in a mutter.
"Your gratitude stuns me," Hawke said dryly. "Not a minute before I cast that spell, you were fighting for your life."
A mild headache was settling inside Fenris' head. He decided to intercede before the others' bickering got out of hand. "To be fair, Hawke, a fireball of that magnitude was more than what was needed. Couldn't you have used a smaller spell?"
"Couldn't," Hawke promptly asserted. The mageling held up a hand before he could question that assertion. "I know you want an explanation, Fenris. My only question is do you want the short version or the long version?" she asked.
"An understandable one will suffice."
"Fire is more than just my best element, it's my base element. When I summon elemental energy, that's the form it takes. When I concentrate on non-fire elemental spells, I build up a charge so to speak of fire energy which needs to get released somehow," she explained. "I thought it was better to use that extra reserve in battle rather than lighting the camp fire tonight."
Fenris paled. The idea of Hawke using all that energy to light a fire later tonight was unnerving to say the least. The archer spoke for both of them when he said, "Thank the Maker you didn't do that. Singed eyebrows would be the least of your concerns."
"Indeed, I would be worried about the hillside," Fenris agreed.
"Hillsides," Hawke corrected him. "As it would have been worse this evening."
"Well I suppose you had reason enough to act as you did, mage," said the archer. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see if there's any evidence that's salvageable." With that, he stalked off into the mess of tunnels that Hawke had set aflame.
"Should we go after him?" Hawke asked Fenris. "I mean, we did kind of promise that we would ensure the captive was returned home safely. Even though at the time I thought the captive was some poor Fereldan lad, not a dour sourpuss like my brother."
"I think he can take care of himself," said Fenris. "Unless of course you'd prefer to stay and enjoy the scenery."
Hawke rolled her eyes. "Perish the thought. Let's get out of here. I'm sick of caves."
Author's note: My thanks to all my readers and especially to everyone who reviewed. :D I hope you all enjoyed the first update of the year.