They came upon the large double wooden doors. A padlock dominated the center of the joined doors. Tallis worked quickly to open the doors. When it quietly clicked open, Tallis turned towards Hawke and smirked. "Ready?" Hawke and Jennifer nodded and they all stepped into the fortress. "What in the name-?" A lone guard stood before a second set of double doors and turned, surprised to see Jennifer, Tallis and Hawke step in.
Tallis walked forward, arms outstretched, "There's no need for you to die today, friend." Jennifer turned towards Tallis and blinked. "Just move on." She shook her head. "You never saw us."
The guard scoffed and turned, cupping his hand next to his mouth as he began to shout. "Sei- Agh!" His command was cut short when a small knife inbedded itself into the guards neck. He gurgled a moment and Tallis slowly let her hand down as she walked forward.
"He could have walked away." Tallis exclaimed as she knelt down next to the guard to retrieve her knife.
"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked.
"There are other paths. They do not all need to lead to the same destination." Tallis looked sadly down at the guard and quickly removed her knife from his throat. "Enough, we are here for the Heart." Tallis quickly stood with a determined look upon her face. "I'd like to do this quietly, alert as few guards as possible." Both Jennifer and Hawke agreed and Jennifer knelt down and gently closed the guards eyes.
It was painstakingly slow, finding keys, staying quiet, trying not to alert the guards, on more than one occasion Hawke was almost spotted, Jennifer rolled her eyes as Tallis pulled Hawke into a shadowed corner by the collar of his shirt.
The fortress itself was richly decorated with deep reds and starling golds that glinted off the candle light. The balconies were breathtaking in their views and it was slowly getting dark, and no one except for Jennifer seemed to realize how hard it was to sneak around in a very uncooperative dress! Maker's breath…
When Jennifer at last entered a room with several tables and chairs and large red carpet, she looked around, the desks were covered with intriguing artifacts and Jennifer's eyes glanced over a strange gold amulet with a large green jewel pendant. Hawke stepped up to her and smirked, "That's a fog warrior's necklace."
"Fog warriors? You sure?" Jennifer asked lightly grazing her fingers along the pendant. Hawke smile and nodded and Jennifer stuffed the necklace into her dress. They continued on. Jennifer was looking for more things to get for Fenris, she knew the Fog Warriors were a place of sorrow but of joy as well. So she glanced around every chance she could as they continued towards the vault. The key leading to the hall where the vault was located was locked inside a room surrounded by two guards, they alternated their patrol and Tallis and Jennifer had to work together to distract them while Hawke hurried inside to retrieve the key.
When all was said and done, Jennifer was exhausted as they came upon the vault. Her legs cramped from squatting so long and feet were sore. They stepped into the vault and a portcullis closed quickly behind them, Hawke glared at Tallis and she raised her hands defensively. "I swear I didn't know!" Tallis looked about at the room. "There must be some sort of switch.:
There were, several in fact, and the triggers in the floor needed to be set off at different times, it was a big puzzle that gave Jennifer an incredible headache. She was done, but when she noticed another amulet of the Fog Warriors she reached through the portcullis and snatched it from atop a chest, stuffing it into her dress with the others. Finally the last opened, and the way to the door was clear. They all stepped inside and Tallis looked around with a frown on her face. "Something wrong?" Hawke asked as she continued looking.
"I don't know." Tallis moaned, scratching her head. "Yes." She sighed and they all turned quickly to see the Duke standing at the door to the vault.
"Don't fret, my dear." The guards did not waste time, and soon they surrounded the three, Tallis and Hawke, having places within their clothing to hide their weapons, drew them as they turned towards the guards, Jennifer raised her fists but had no weapons to speak of, she closed her eyes. Fenris is going to be so mad…
"I see the party's moved indoors." Hawke quipped.
"It's not over yet." Countered Tallis as she swiped at a guard but missed…. Narrowly.
"Oh but it is over." The Duke tutted. "I knew who you were the moment you arrived, assassin."
"Assassin? I knew it!" Hawke scoffed.
"You… did?" Tallis blinked back at Hawke, lowering her weapon slightly.
"Have you met my friends? All of them are crazy and most of them are killers." Hawke smiled.
"Clever girl." The Duke folded his arms as Cahir raised his axe. "have you also deduced that your elven friend is Qunari?"
Jennifer quickly turned towards the elf and her eyes grew. "You're qunari?" Jennifer asked in disbelief.
"It's complicated." Tallis shrugged.
"Everyone got to have a job, don't they?" Hawke replied, eyeing the guards warily. One came close, snatching Jennifer by her hair and forcing her to the ground. Tears welled up at the corner of Jennifer's eyes as she clawed fiercely at the metal clad hand that twisted into her short reddish brown hair.
Tallis turned quickly towards the Duke. "I only wanted to stop the Heart from doing something we will all regret!" She pleaded with the Duke, pointing at Jennifer. The guard grabbed Jennifer's arm and twisted it behind her, before others clamored around Tallis and Hawke. "Asae hassatra mas!" Tallis cursed at the Duke.
""Mas avasstras Ukulon." The Duke smirked and Tallis spit at him before she received the butt end of Chevalier's blade. The guard holding Jennifer twists her arm again as he forces her to stand and Jennifer hears a definitive pop in her shoulder and clenches her teeth as needle like pain radiates from the joint to her finger tips, they drag Tallis behind them as they shove the three into a cell within the dungeons of the fortress, down below the belly of the building.
-ooo-
Fenris straightens when he hears the guards shouting, Isabela looks at him questioningly as they peer around an alcove in the wall. Fenris curses and his marking glow dimly in the shadows. "Fasta vas… they've been caught." Fenris peers around the corner and sees the two guards patrolling they corridor.
Isabela smirks and holds a small bell shaped vial in her hands. "It was bound to happen. That's why I came prepared." With a questioning look from Fenris, her smirk widens and she tosses the vial at the feet of the two patrolmen. The vial shatters and smoke erupts from the carpet, surrounding the Chevalier's. They cough and sputter before finally collapsing on the ground. Isabela toes them with her boot.
"How many of those you do you have?" Fenris asked with a lift of his brow. "And where do you hide them all?" At Isabela's leer Fenris held up his hand and shook his head. "On second thought, I don't want to know."
"Spoil sport!" They darted through the fortress, keeping out of sight but with the urgency to move quickly.
They soon found the halls within the dungeons to be difficult in navigation. Everything was identical, they quickly searched through the halls and stopped after half an hour of searching. "So… we're lost?"
"Definitely." Isabela sighed.
Fenris looked around, trying to get a hold of his surroundings. "Now, what do we do?"
"I could try to guess the color of your underclothes again." Isabela smirked, and they ran off down the corridor. They weaved through the long halls and the stone walls, struggling to navigate the dungeons.
-ooo-
Jennifer clenched her teeth tightly, Tallis stood behind her holding her hand and her elbow tightly. Hawke wrapped his arms around her head and waist, holding her close. He nodded to Tallis and Jennifer closed her eyes. Tallis twisted and pushed on Jennifer's arm, and a solid pop echoed throughout the cell. Jennifer screamed out a pain filled growl, turning her head sharply into Hawke's chest. She squeezed her eyes tightly, tears leaking through the corners of their own volition. Her lip quivered as she drew in a shaky breath.
"I think that having to reset my shoulder hurts worse than getting stabbed." She sobbed erratically.
"We'll see the next time you get stabbed what you say to that." She chuckled before tearing his sleeve from his tunic and ripping it into strips.
"I don't plan on getting stabbed any time soon." She scoffed.
Tallis moved forward taking the strips from Hawke one by one, as Jennifer straightened, clutching her arm to her side. Tallis gently, but securely wrapped Jennifer's arm, tightly to her body. Jennifer winced, turning her head and whimpering a tense, 'Thanks.' Tallis stood and sighed. "We need to get out of here."
"The other's should be along soon." Hawke helped Jennifer to her feet before squaring his shoulders to Tallis.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm officially tired of waiting to be rescued." She smirked as she walked to the cell bars and kneeling before the grating. She mechanism clicked and Tallis lifted the gate with ease.
Jennifer blinked and barked with laughter. "Why didn't you just do that before?"
"You said your friends were coming." She shrugged her shoulders and gestured out of the cell. "After you."
They walked out of the cell just as Fenris and Isabela ran towards them. "There you are," Fenris looked over Jennifer. "Are you hurt?" When Jennifer shrugged and caught her breath in pain, Fenris looked at her sternly, his fingers twitching to touch. "What happened?"
"I'm fine. Just a little manhandling from the Chevaliers." She grinned ruefully.