Fenris snorted in derision, "'Manservant.'"
Hawke snickered.
"Aww. Fenris got his feeling hurt." Isabela teased.
"Should be elfservant, if you think about it." Varric pointed out.
"It's only a cover." Tallis told him.
"I'd like to cover him with six feet." Fenris scowled.
"Evidently you haven't met many Orlesian's in your lifetime." Nero said.
"Evidently not." Fenris grumbled.
"I'm still surprised that they wear such bright clothing, and to hunt, no less. You'd think they would rather blend in with the scenery, as opposed to sticking out like a Qunari in an Alienage." Sebastian observed.
"Maybe they just want to stick out so others don't shoot at them?" Merril suggested.
"No, they've always dressed like that." Sebastian said, "pretentious lot, aren't they?"
"You must be right at home then." Nero grinned.
"Why are you always insulting me?" Sebastian demanded to know.
Nero shrugged, "no particular reason."
"I always thought it was because he was easy to insult." Isabela said.
"Well, there is that. And I think the Chantry is ridiculous."
"That must be why you get along so well with Anders." Sebastian said snarkily.
"Last time I saw the man we had a pretty heated argument, I would hardly say we 'get along' anymore." Nero frowned.
"It's for the best, I'm sure." Sebastian told him.
"Uh huh."
They continued down the path in silence, walking past small groups of hunting parties and their hunting hounds. Hawke kept an eye out for the two dogs that a man had asked him to find, saying there would be a reward, but so far he didn't see any dogs that didn't clearly belong to certain men. He sighed. He wouldn't mind making some gold on this stupid venture. He had already been forced to fight three dragons and a small horde of dragonlings, and even had the remains of one in a bag that Tallis had brought. And then there was the blood, that was disgusting, he wasn't sure at all where she got the jar that she put it in, but they had it. Tallis seemed to be full of tricks, she even said she would try to imitate the Wyvern mating call. He couldn't wait for that.
They had also run into a man that has said there was an old shrine that the Avaars head left in the area. Hawke had to retrace his steps to find it, the scholar had said that the Avaars were said to have left a great treasure there, for the goddess to protect it. Unfortunately he had also had to fight a bunch of cultists, priests, and warriors. Oh and the sky horror, that was a blasty blast. The damned thing was a juggernaut and was difficult to kill. But he got his prize, a dagger, a book, and a belt...it hardly seemed worth the effort.
Then suddenly there was a dog, when it saw them it barked and turned around to run slowly away.
"I think it want's us to follow it." Tallis said.
Hawke shrugged and let the dog lead them to another dog that was sick and looked to be dieing.
"Wyvern poison, I'm sure of it." Tallis told him.
"Well, that antidote we made will be perfect for him, wont it?" Nero said.
"Of course it would, but then there won't be any left for us." Hawke said.
"There isn't enough there to treat any of us...except maybe Varric." Tallis told him.
Varric scowled, "I heard that."
"Oh look," Fenris said cheerfully, "Varric is brooding."
"I am not brooding, elf."
Fenris smiled, "oh how the tables have turned."
Hawke sighed, "alright, give it to him."
It didn't take long for the antidote to take affect and a few minutes later both dogs were up and running away, back to their owner, no doubt.
Hawke shook his head at the absurdity of the situation he found himself in and they left the small clearing into a larger one.
"Watch out. There may be ghasts." Tallis said.
Hawke looked at the caves on either side of the clearing and said, "From a hole."
"Cave, technically. "
Isabela snickered.
"What?" Hawke asked
"Ghast hole." She told him with a grin.
"Maker's breath!" Hawke exclaimed, "something I can use so I can swear around children!"
"Why are we standing here and talking?" Nero asked, "I don't know about you, but I'm not eager at all to face those little creatures again. So, uh, can we get a move on?"
As they left the clearing, luckily having avoided the ghasts, Hawke said "for a slaughtering ground, it's actually rather pretty."
"The Montfort family inherited this mountain from a clan of Nevarran dragon-hunters. Well, maybe inherited is the wrong word. What do you call it when you kill someone in order to get all their stuff?"
"Adventuring!" Hawke told her cheerfully.
"You know an awful lot about this place, and wyverns." Fenris said to Tallis.
"It pays to learn as much as you can about your target if you want to get inside easily." She told him, "also, I read a lot."
"You know, my husband used to have hunting parties like this." Isabela suddenly said.
"I'd forgotten you were 's hard to picture you playing the hostess, taking cloaks and kissing babies." Sebastian chuckled at the image.
"No, there were servants for that. I just had to sit there and look pretty." Isabela told him, "if I got out of hand, he would lock me away with a bottle of wine and a dirty book. Told everyone I was indisposed."
"My parents used to do the same thing! Minus the wine. And the, uh, dirty book." Suddenly Sebastian kind of felt like an idiot and said, "you know, It was nice to see you in the Chantry, listening to Sister Etheline's testimony. I was surprised, but very glad."
"I was surprised as well, and not quite as glad."
"Oh? Sister Etheline's words always inspire me. Was it not so for you?"
"You didn't notice I was bound, gagged, and had a contusion on my forehead?" She asked him.
Sebastian gaped, "what?"
Isabela sighed, "just... don't ask for the "bad girl special" at the Blooming Rose."
Hawke laughed.
"Shut up, Garret." Isabela scowled.
"Oh, I'm Garret now? Is this something your going to do when you're angry at me?" He chuckled.
Hawke and Isabela continued to bicker, back and forth, as they continued down the path. After a time they stumbled across a large pile of shit in front of a small body of water.
"Well, I think we're on the right trail." Isabela said. Hawke eyed it warily for a few minutes before bending down in front of it and reaching his hands in.
"Ahh, looking for clues." He said with a sigh.
"Well thats fragrant. I'll be staying upwind from you from now on." Isabela told him.
"Aww, Hawke stepped in a poopy." Fenris chuckled.
Nero gaped at the elf.
"What?" Fenris asked.
"You just said 'poopy'"
"I did."
Nero thought for a moment before smiling, "cute."
Fenris frowned, "I am not cute."
"Not at all."
Hawke pulled a handful of bones out of the wyvern dung and Tallis inspected them. "Ooh, nug bones. I wonder if a nug call would help attract a wyvern." she said.
Hawke narrowed his eyes at her, "you know a nug call?"
"You go elbow-deep in wyvern shit, and I'm the weird one?"
"Well, we've got blood, bits of a dragonling and some wyvern kill, and you can do a mating or nug call...we must have enough to bait a trap now." Hawke said
"In the right spot, no doubt." Tallis smiled.
They continued up a path to their left and after a time they came upon an area with a lot of human bones and wyvern dung.
"What happened to the birds and ...everything. Uh oh..." Tallis said
Hawke kicked one of the skulls as they walked passed it, "next time could we hunt something small and cuddly? Maybe Vegetarian?"
"You would kill something cute and cuddly?" Nero asked.
"I didn't say it had to be cute. I don't think I can kill cute things."
"Isn't he just so sweet?" Isabela teased.
Nero laughed, "I don't think...whoa, this is a rather big clearing, isn't it?"
Tallis looked around and said, "well the trail suggests wyverns love this place to bits. if we're going to find one, it's going to be here."