A/N: I apologize for the delay in this chapter, I had a bit of a family crisis that delayed things for a bit, but I will be back on track from now on! Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter - there is a fair bit of DA plot in this one, and there will be a lot of important thing happening in the next few chapters, as we're coming up on the Landsmeet and the final battle.
Thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed, and read the story so far, I'm happy you're enjoying it!
Extra special thanks go to my loyal reviewers, Asilyessam, Candle in the Night, Akakoken, Trojan20, WolFang1011, and ARavingLooony. I always love hearing from you guys!
GIFT FIC TO 200th REVIEWER SO PLEASE REVIEW, EVERYONE!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Dragon Age's original characters or dialogue, just the rest of the story!
Chapter 49: Pirates and Slavers
She shouldn't have been surprised, really, Ayla thought as she dodged backwards, avoiding the blow directed her way by the White Falcon mercenary. After all, when had one of their missions ever gone simply? They had been specifically asked not to kill the men by Sergeant Kylon, but only to beat them down if necessary to get them to leave. Asking them and then threatening them had not worked as hoped; so they were now fighting the ten men that had been in the Pearl, and all without trying to kill the oafs.
Which was more difficult than it sounded, particularly for someone like her, whose fighting style relied more on speed than strength, and lethality more than brute force. Alistair had taken two of them down shortly after the fight began by cracking their heads together, and had his shield to knock someone out with, besides. Wynne had put another two to sleep with a spell, and Oghren had tripped one up with his axe and then head-butted him to knock him out. She hadn't seen what Zevran or Leliana had done, but she was still working on her first mercenary. If she didn't have to worry about not killing him, she would have been finished with this one already.
Seeing an opportunity as she skipped backwards across the brothel floor, she shoved a chair in the path of the oncoming mercenary. He tried to dodge around it, but as he'd been charging straight at her, he couldn't move fast enough, and tripped over the chair, landing hard on the floor in front of her. She kicked him in the face before he could get up, and then cracked a pommel over his head just for good measure, satisfied when he passed out shortly thereafter.
Before she could regain her bearings to see what was happening elsewhere, someone slammed into her back, causing her to stumble. She rolled out of the way, dropped a sword, and came up flinging a dagger on instinct, which landed in the shoulder of the man who had bumped into her, making him cry out and turn to look at her, as he had apparently backed into her. She cursed silently; she hadn't meant to throw a dagger, but then she frowned in confusion. The man wasn't bearing the crest the other mercenaries had been.
Looking past him, she realized that she'd managed to stumble into an entirely different fight; a dusky-skinned woman in a revealing white outfit was fighting off another two men, wielding a pair of daggers with excellent skill, directly behind the one who'd just ran into her. After glancing at the fight behind him, the man cursed, then turned and ran toward her, apparently deciding she was now the preferred target.
She shrugged and grabbed the chair she'd just used on the mercenary, flinging it into this man's path, as well. Though he succeeded in spinning out of the way of the chair, doing so distracted him enough that she was able to do a sweeping kick to pull his legs out from under him before cracking him in the head with both her pommels, knocking him unconscious also.
As soon as he was out, she took a moment to look around her. Wynne was casting a defensive spell on Leliana and Zevran, while they harried one mercenary between the two of them; Alistair was fighting another, whom he bashed in the face with his shield, and Oghren had just succeeded in tripping up a third mercenary. None of the other White Falcons were currently conscious. Deciding the others had it well in hand, Ayla turned to see how the fight she'd interrupted was going, just in time to see that the other woman had finished off the remaining two men by herself.
"I thank you for the help, sweet thing," the woman said, smiling as she sheathed her daggers and came up to Ayla, adjusting the blue handkerchief that contained her dark hair, "though I could have taken care of all three of them myself."
"Oh, I don't doubt it," Ayla replied as she sheathed her swords and pulled her dagger out of the man's shoulder, tucking it away. "It was more of an accident, really. I kind of stumbled into your fight while taking care of my own."
The woman glanced down at the unconscious Falcon. "I can see that. Those mercenaries were getting annoying; just as well you took care of them before my men and I had to." She nodded at a group of men that appeared to be sailors sitting at a table nearby, who looked more amused than concerned that their leader had just been in a fight.
Before Ayla could reply, she heard Zevran calling out as he came up behind her, "Ayla, my dear, it seems everything – " he halted abruptly as he stopped next to her.
"And look who we have here," the dark-skinned woman said, recognition clear on her face as she planted her hands on her hips, staring at Zevran. "Come to apologize for leaving me bereft of my lord husband and vanishing without a trace?"
Ayla turned in surprise to look at Zevran, who was grinning and shrugging in response. "You know it was just business, Isabela. Business that turned out well for you, I see. You inherited the ship, I take it."
The woman, Isabela, glared at him for a second longer before she broke into an answering grin. "I suppose I never did like the greasy bastard. And the Siren treats me far better than she ever did him."
Zevran had killed this woman's husband and she wasn't even upset about it? Ayla wondered, glancing back and forth between the two. It obviously hadn't been a happy marriage, then, and judging by the looks they were giving one another, that hadn't been the only aspect of their relationship. "I take it you two know each other, then?" she prompted mildly.
"Indeed. This is Isabela, queen of the eastern seas and the sharpest blade in Llomerryn. And Isabela, my dear, may I introduce my deadly sex goddess, Ayla," Zevran concluded, sweeping a dramatic bow as he gestured at Ayla.
"Zev," Ayla groaned, burying her face in her hands. No matter how many times she'd asked him to stop calling her that, he seemed to take a particular delight in using it whenever he could. "Sorry," she added, looking up at Isabela, who seemed highly amused. "I've told him to stop calling me that."
"Well, I'm certain it's a well-earned name. I've seen the deadly part for myself; I certainly wouldn't mind getting to know you better and finding out if the rest of it is true." Isabela winked at her, the flirtatious heat in her eyes unmistakable as she gave Ayla a slow once-over.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I have to decline," Ayla replied politely, elbowing Zevran who was chuckling quietly next to her.
"My goddess has her Grey Warden," Zevran explained to Isabela, gesturing behind them to where the others still were. "He takes very good care of her."
"Zev!" Ayla exclaimed, torn between amusement and embarrassment. She couldn't help looking back, however, to see just where Alistair was, and was in time to catch his gaze as he turned away from the Pearl's owner, whom he'd clearly been talking to after the battle. When he saw her looking, he smiled, starting towards her and Zevran, the others following him.
"Oh, I'll just bet he does," Isabela murmured. Ayla glanced back at her, seeing that Isabela had followed her gaze to Alistair, and was watching him with a hungry expression. "I don't suppose you'd consider sharing him?"
"No," Ayla said coldly, surprising even herself with the hard edge of temper in her tone. She knew it had only been a casual question, not meant to offend, but she couldn't help the possessiveness that flared up in her at the look on Isabela's face when she saw Alistair. "He's mine, and I don't share."
Isabela's eyes widened briefly at the challenge in her gaze. "Of course not, sweet thing, I didn't realize," she answered easily, turning to Zevran, who was grinning broadly at the exchange. "Well, Zev, since no one else wants to have any fun, what about you? For old times' sake?"
"Isabela, my dear, I believe I may have to take you up on that offer." Zevran turned as Alistair came up to them. "As long as you're willing to give me a little time off, my Warden friend."
"Sure," Alistair replied, looking slightly puzzled as he glanced between the three of them, while Ayla willed herself to relax, realizing that she may have overreacted slightly. "By the time we get back to the market place to meet Aedan, I doubt there will be enough time left for us to go to the alienage today. And I suspect I won't be able to get Oghren to leave here anytime soon, either. Feel free to do as you like, Zevran."
Ayla grinned, the last of her sudden temper melting away as she saw that Oghren had gotten distracted partway across the room and was now talking to one of the brothel workers, a goofy look planted on his face as he stared up at her. No, the dwarf wouldn't be leaving here anytime soon.
"Well, come on then, Zev. I'm sure you'll find my ship as comfortable as you remember it," Isabela drawled, beckoning the elf after her as she turned to leave. She stopped briefly in front of Alistair. "Ayla tells me you're hers, and I can't borrow you. Which is a shame, because I've heard such interesting things about Wardens, but I don't trespass."
Ayla looked up at Alistair, stifling a grin as he flushed bright red at the Isabela's innuendo, even as he nodded in response to her words. "I am hers," he agreed, smiling down fondly at Ayla as he slipped an arm around her waist, dropping a kiss on her head as she leaned against his side. "So, no, I'm afraid I can't be, um, borrowed."
Ayla thought she caught a brief flash of sadness in Isabela's eyes as she studied the two of them, before the pirate grinned suddenly. "Didn't I hear that there were two of you Wardens running around Denerim? Maybe I can borrow the other one."
"Ah, that would not be wise, Isabela, my dear," Zevran said as he slipped past them, heading towards the door. "I am afraid both Wardens are already claimed, as it were. And Morrigan is even more frightening than my goddess, here. I, however, am free to join you. Shall we go?"
Isabela shrugged. "Well, it was worth a shot. It's not every day I meet a Warden. Good luck with the darkspawn and everything. I think I'll be leaving Ferelden in the next day or so, just in case. It was a pleasure to meet you," she finished, before heading after Zevran as they both left the Pearl.
"We, uh, should get back to the marketplace," Alistair said, letting go of Ayla as he turned to look back at Wynne and Leliana, who'd been watching the exchange with incredulous looks on their faces. "Aedan and the others are probably there waiting for us. The owner has already sent someone to get the guardsmen and have them take the mercenaries away, so we should be free to leave now."
"Are you sure it is wise to leave Oghren here?" Wynne asked doubtfully as they all began heading towards the door.
Alistair shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be fine, and I doubt Aedan will want to go to the alienage now that it's getting so late. He'll find his way back sometime tonight, I expect."
"It's wiser than trying to get him to leave," Ayla added. "He'd be complaining the whole way back."
"I suppose you have a point," Wynne conceded grudgingly as they left the building and began to make their way back through the alleyways.
"I take it Zevran knew that woman," Leliana said, looking over at Ayla as they walked. "In fact, she seemed to be rather a lot like him."
"Oh, she definitely is," Ayla agreed wryly. "Before she asked me if she could borrow Alistair, she asked if I wanted to get to know her better."
"What?!" Alistair exclaimed, looking down at her in shock, his eyes wide. "She did? Really?"
Ayla couldn't help but be amused at his reaction; she could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he thought about it. "I notice that you seem more intrigued by the idea than jealous."
She watched his face turn bright red again as he began fumbling for words, shaking his head in denial. "No, of course not, I – I was just thinking about how it would . . . uh, work, I – I mean . . ."
"Honestly, Alistair, I'm ashamed of you," Wynne said sternly, though Ayla could see by the sparkle in her eyes that the older woman was merely teasing.
"No, I – I didn't . . ."
"Perhaps you should have taken her up on her offer, then," Leliana added, straight-faced. "It seems Alistair would not have minded."
"It looks that way," Ayla agreed, stifling a laugh as Alistair spluttered some more. "I turned her down because I didn't think he'd want to share, either, but it seems I was wrong. I bet I could catch up to her." She started to pick up speed as though to catch up to Isabela and Zevran, but Alistair grabbed her arm before she'd taken more than a few steps, pulling her back so she stayed next to him.
"Oh, no you don't," he said firmly, though his face was still a flaming red up to the tips of his ears. "I'm not sharing you, not even if it's a woman asking."
"Oh, that's a shame," Leliana sighed dramatically from Alistair's other side. "I was going to ask if I could come with you."
"You what?" Alistair whipped around to stare at her incredulously, and Ayla could no longer contain herself; she burst out laughing, as did the other two women. "Ohhhh, I get it. Let's all make fun of Alistair. Well, I'm on to all of you now."
"I'm certain you are," Wynne replied gravely.
"Especially you," Alistair said, pointing sternly at the mage, who merely smiled at him. "That frail old lady act isn't fooling me anymore."
The three of them took pity on Alistair after that, and refrained from teasing him anymore on the way back. Once Leliana and Wynne had fallen behind a little more and were out of earshot, Alistair leaned down to whisper to Ayla, "I'm going to make you pay for that later, you know."
She gave him a heated look, loving the way his eyes flared in response. "I sincerely hope so."
They picked up the pace after that, and it didn't take them much longer to get back to the marketplace and meet up with Aedan and the others. As Alistair had guessed, Aedan elected to wait until early the next morning to visit the alienage, and they all returned to the Arl's estate to relax for the remainder of the night.
Early the next morning, Ayla followed the others to the alienage, curious to finally see what sort of condition the place was in after all she'd heard about the treatment of elves in Thedas. Aedan had elected to bring her, Alistair, Morrigan, Zevran and Leliana along. Though Oghren had also returned late last night, he was far too hung-over to be going anywhere, so he had been left behind with Wynne to look after him. Aedan had also decided to leave Sten and Striker behind, as he didn't want the group to be so large as to intimidate the elves.
The alienage was in its own separate section of the city, walled off from everywhere else; the entrance was a gate in the corner of the marketplace that had been barred last time they were here. This time, however, it was open, and the single guard waved them through. They had to cross a bridge made of stone to reach the actual alienage, and pass through another gate, this one made of wood. The alienage itself was a place of tiny, run-down wooden buildings built up against the stone walls that surrounded them, a crowded, noisy, smelly place full of dirt roads and puddles, with an immense tree in the center of it all, looming above the buildings. Ayla could hear shouting in the distance as they entered.
She was frankly appalled by the state of the place; it smelled horrendous, and didn't look much better. She'd never seen so many people crowded into such a small space before. It was so different from the beautiful valley where the elves lived in Fallor that she could barely stand to look at it, and wondered why anyone would even agree to live here. As if echoing her thoughts, Morrigan muttered," And these elves allow themselves to be herded together in this filth, why, exactly?"
Zevran glanced back at her, frowning. "Perhaps because they do not wish to die?" He tapped a sign plastered on one of the wooden walls; Ayla saw that it was a notice not to bear arms – that any elves who had swords would die upon them. What could the elves have possibly done to deserve such treatment?
"There are some things worse than death," Leliana remarked quietly from the back of the group.
"As it happens, I agree," Zevran replied soberly, nodding at the bard, "but not everyone thinks that way."
Before anyone could reply to him, they rounded a corner and came upon the source of the noise that Ayla had been hearing; a large crowd of elves, all of them dressed in rough brown garments, appeared to be shouting at one another outside one of the larger wooden buildings across from the tree in the center of the alienage. Two human mages stood outside of the door leading into the building, keeping a careful eye on the teeming crowd of elves.
"I've got children at home! I can't wait out here for another day!" An elderly, white-haired elven woman shouted as Aedan halted their party a few feet away.
"So go home!" A young, red-haired elven woman shot back at her, frustrated fury lining her face. "The best thing you can do for your children is not trust these charlatans!"
"Everyone remain calm," one of the mages called out to the crowd. The robes he wore were different than most of the ones that Ayla had seen so far; they were bright and colourful, a patchwork of fur, cloth and even bone in some places. "We will help as many as we can today, so long as we can do this in an orderly fashion," the man continued.
The red-haired elf whirled on him. "Oh, you're 'helping' us, are you, shem?" she snarled. "Like Valendrian and my uncle Cyrion, you helped them, didn't you? Helped them never to be seen again!"
The mage gave a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head. "We've explained this to you before, girl. More whining will not persuade us to let you into the quarantine to carry plague back out to the Alienage."
"Quit trying to get us all killed, Shianni!" another elf shouted in the crowd. "Some of us have still got things to live for."
"If this spell of theirs works, why are half the people they quarantine perfectly healthy?" Shianni demanded in turn, but no one in the crowd answered; they all turned away from her as though determined to ignore her.
"Well, she looks like the best person to get information from," Aedan muttered, before walking up to the elven woman to address her. "What's going on? Is there a plague here?"
Shianni scowled at him. "What's wrong, shem, did you get bored and decide to come watch the elves die of plague?" Before Aedan had a chance to reply, she took a closer look at him, frowning, and then looked past him at Ayla and the others. "Wait . . . Soris told me about you. You're the ones who freed him from the dungeons."
Aedan nodded. "Yes, that was us. He didn't deserve to be down there. Would you mind telling us what's going on here?"
"These foreigners say they're here to help with our outbreak of plague," Shianni answered. "Funny thing, though, all the people they 'help' disappear."
"That's not true, and you know it, Shianni!" the elderly elf from earlier interrupted, obviously overhearing the conversation. "Both my sisters got the Tevinter spell cast on them, and they're fine."
Shianni whirled on the woman, hands planted on her hips. "Where's your niece, then? And my Uncle Cyrion? And Valendrian?"
"Just slow down and explain to us exactly what's going on," Aedan prompted her quietly, turning her attention back to him.
"These foreigners have token dozens of elves into that house over the last few weeks, and none of them have been seen again," Shianni explained, pointing to the wooden house behind her where the mages stood guard along with a few other men in plate armor. "One of them was our hahren, Valendrian. And I don't know what we're going to do if we don't get him back."
"Do the city guards know about this?" Alistair asked her, frowning as he came up next to Aedan.
"They have to know about it. The hahren complained, and so did I. They just don't care, or . . . something worse," Shianni finished quietly, and Ayla couldn't help but notice that no one looked surprised at the fact that the guards weren't doing anything. Here was another place where the balance of this world was distorted.
"Then it might be a good idea for us to take a look inside," Aedan replied quietly, glancing at the mages and the door beyond them.
"They won't just let you in," Shianni protested.
Aedan shrugged. "I wasn't planning on asking." He studied the door for a moment, considering, before looking at Shianni again. "Is there any other way into that house?"
She nodded, pointing to a gap between the house and the one next to it. "There's a side entrance in the alley. It's got only one guard."
"Let's check it out," Aedan said to the rest of them, gesturing for everyone to follow him into the alley. True to Shianni's word, there was a door around the side of the house, with only one elf in silver plate mail standing guard.
"'Tis odd that mages of the Imperium would be here using their magic on alienage elves," Morrigan murmured as Aedan approached the guard to talk their way in.
"What do you mean, mages of the Imperium?" Ayla asked. "Those aren't Circle mages from Ferelden, then?"
Morrigan shook her head. "They are not. They hail from the Tevinter Imperium across the sea, a country where mages are free to rule themselves. 'Tis most unusual for them to take an interest in Ferelden, particularly a place like this."
"There is something not right here, that's for sure," Ayla agreed. All her instincts screamed that those mages were up to no good. At that moment, she heard a surprised grunt, and looked up to see that Leliana had managed to sneak up on the guard while Aedan talked to him, knocking him out with a blow to the back of the head. Aedan caught the elf before he hit the ground and dragged him off to the side.
It took only a moment for Aedan to find the key the elven guard had on his person, and after he had unlocked the door, they entered the house. Ayla was one of the last to enter, and by the time she'd gotten in the door, Aedan and the others in front had already been attacked by three guards inside. The guards were down before she'd even had a chance to help, however.
Aedan wasted no time in directing everyone to search the building; the area where they'd entered was one large, open room, with little decoration beyond a few scattered rugs on the floor and one desk in the corner. Zevran was the one to find a note on the desk. "Bring eight males and six females for the next shipment," he read aloud, scowling as he got to the end of the note.
"That . . . isn't what I think it is, is it?" Ayla looked uncertainly at Alistair, who frowned, looking disturbed.
"It . . . sounds like an order of people . . . for slaves," he said quietly, looking as though he'd rather give her any answer but that one.
"Well, the Imperium is well known for keeping slaves," Aedan mused, though he looked disturbed as well. "That could explain what those mages are doing here."
"There's another door over here," Leliana called from the corner opposite the desk. "There are elves in this room!"
Ayla followed the others as they hurried over to the door Leliana had just opened. The room beyond was a tiny one, a fraction of the size of the one they'd just been in, and there was nothing in it but two cages packed with elves. Ayla halted in the door, horrified. Were they really keeping people in cages to sell as slaves? How could anyone do such a thing?
"Help us!" a male elf cried as they entered. "Please, we're not sick. Let us out of here!"
Aedan turned to look at Morrigan, who held up a hand glowing with magic, apparently scanning the people in the cages. "They appear to be telling the truth. As far as I can tell, they are quite healthy."
Aedan nodded. "Then let's get them out of there. Zev? Leliana?"
The two rogues quickly went to work on the locks on the cage doors, and had them open in no time, releasing at least a dozen elves from the confines of the cages. Most of them fled out of the room immediately, but Aedan stopped the one who'd spoken first, a male elf with long, dark hair and a black eye. "Do you know what happens to the people they take?" he demanded.
The male elf shook his head, looking frightened. "I don't know, and I don't want to find out. We're leaving. Maker keep you." Without waiting for an answer, he followed the other elves out the door.
"We'd best be prepared to be attacked again." Aedan led them back out of the room, towards the other door out of the building that would lead them directly into the crowd. "They'll be bound to notice those elves leaving. We'd better get out there quickly."
Aedan led them out, and sure enough, as soon as they emerged, the two mages attacked, along with the armed guards Ayla had spotted earlier. Alistair kept one of the mages busy, while Morrigan took on the other; Ayla took advantage of the distraction of the mages to take them down from behind while the other three confronted the guards head-on. Though there were one or two close calls with the spells of the Tevinter mages, the combination proved effective enough to get them through the fight with minimal damage.
Though most of the elves had fled the scene as soon as the fighting began, Shianni ran up to them as soon as all of the guards were defeated. "What happened?" she demanded. "Some of the elves ran out . . . but I didn't recognize any of them! Where are all the others?"
"They were the only ones inside," Aedan replied, frowning. "We didn't find anyone else in there."
Shianni threw her arms wide, looking alarmed. "How is that possible? They've taken dozens of us into quarantine. Where else could they be? It makes no sense!"
"We found this note . . ." Aedan said reluctantly, handing her the slip of paper Zevran had found on the desk.
"Let me see that," Shianni grabbed the paper from him, reading through it quickly before glancing back up, alarmed. "What does this even mean? They can't be shipping people, can they? Shipping them where?"
Aedan shrugged uncomfortably as their party all exchanged glances. No one really wanted to be the one to bring up the possibility of slavery. "I'm not sure the where matters so much as the why. Do you know how they could have been getting the other elves out of there without anyone noticing?"
Shianni paused, clearly thinking it over as she studied the building they'd just exited. "They could be moving through the back alleys. There are all sorts of buildings back there, they could be using one as some sort of . . . warehouse? Staging area?" When Aedan nodded encouragement, she continued, "There are apartments off the alleys. I would go to the back of the hospice and maybe follow the alley from there. If you find any more information, please let me know. I refuse to accept that they're all simply . . . gone."
"We'll do our best to find out as much as we can," Aedan promised before heading for the back alley again, gesturing for the others to follow. As they entered the alley, he glanced over at Ayla, asking in a low voice, "Any chance you can track them?"
She shook her head. "It's too small of a space with too many people wandering it daily. I'd need a specific scent to track, and that's if I could smell it over everything else in this alienage, which I doubt. We'll just have to look the regular way."
"Of course," Aedan sighed. "It couldn't be easy, oh no."
However, it did turn out to easier than they'd expected; there weren't a lot of doors that accessed the back alley, and it took only a few minutes of the six of them searching to find the door that led into a shabby set of apartments with white plaster walls, cracked stone floors, and narrow hallways that led to small, cramped rooms. A dark-haired male elf, one of the few people they found in there, eventually confessed to Aedan that he'd seen several elves being brought through the landlord's old office, including the elder of the alienage, Valendrian, that Shianni had been looking for.
After discovering that information, they made their way through the apartments, coming across a group of armed guards in one of the larger rooms that attacked them on sight. The guards were hardly a match for them, however, and after the fight they discovered a key on one of the bodies. Eventually, after more searching, they found the locked door the key belonged to, and with Aedan in the lead again, made their way through.
The door led them back outside, and no sooner had they exited than a man in rogue's leathers confronted them, saying, "What's this, another shipment already? We weren't – " He halted as soon as he got a better look at Aedan and the rest of their party. "Wait, you're not Tevinters. Who are you supposed to be?"
"We're looking for the missing elves," Aedan replied coolly, reaching for his sword before he'd even finished the sentence.
"Quick, get them! Hurry!" the man shouted, gesturing to another group of guards clustered around the small open area that was ringed by more buildings.
This group was no more trouble than the last, especially as they had been taken by surprise, and they were soon moving on through the only other door in the area. In the next building, they were met by an elven woman with black hair and an immense bow strapped to her back. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. She was flanked on either side by another four guards, Ayla noted, and this group looked to be more skilled than the others. "We were told that there would be no interference from the authorities!"
Aedan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You were? Isn't that interesting?" He exchanged a grim look with Alistair, and Ayla suspected they'd just found the evidence that they were looking for; Loghain had to be behind what was going on in this place. "So what exactly is going on, here?"
"You simply fought your way in here to ask questions, did you?" the woman asked scornfully. When Aedan merely shrugged in reply, she went on, "You will regret this, you know. Believe it or not, we have been given dispensation to do our business here. You Fereldans talk a great deal about how very wrong slavery is, but isn't it funny how quickly the smell of gold overcomes such ideals?"
"So you are slavers." It was a statement of fact, not a question, and Ayla could hear the disappointment ringing through Aedan's voice when he said it. She couldn't blame him; she was disgusted by the thought of selling people into slavery, herself. Such a thing was unheard of in Fallor; she'd heard rumors it was still practiced across the sea in Aberhard, though she didn't know how true that was. She could see that the rest of the party was equally disgusted, as well, particularly Zevran, who looked darkly furious.
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to acquire new blood?" the woman was saying, seemingly uncaring of their reactions. "These slaves will fetch an excellent price in the Imperium, and we are paying handsomely for this opportunity. But enough. I am here to halt your slaughter, nothing more."
Ayla could see the muscles working in Aedan's jaw as he glared at the woman, and she was expecting him to give the order to attack at any moment, but he surprised her by snapping, "Then step aside, or we'll go through you. We intend to rescue the elves, no matter what."
The elf woman frowned. "I am no fool. I can see that you are capable." She shrugged, stating, "So be it. I will let Caladrius deal with you while I fetch the Regent's men. I suggest you leave while you still can."
Aedan stepped aside, allowing the elf and her guards to pass, and though Ayla was incredulous, she did the same, as did the others. As soon as the door was closed, however, Ayla demanded, "You're just letting them go?"
"We're here for information, not to kill everyone," Aedan replied, sounding weary. "Besides, she looked capable enough herself; if she was willing to let us through to the elves rather than fight, I'd rather not take the chance that anyone could get hurt. Especially as I suspect there will be at least one more fight to free the remaining elves."
"Oh, all right," Ayla sighed. "I suppose that makes sense." She still didn't like it; slavers were worse than bandits, in her opinion, but she could see Aedan's point. Zevran didn't look happy either, but he didn't say anything.
"At any rate, it looks like Loghain is the one responsible for the problems in the alienage," Alistair said, frowning. "I'd like to say I can't believe he's letting slavers take the elves in exchange for gold, but at this point, I'd believe anything of him. And if we can find some sort of proof . . ."
"Then we should have everything we need for the Landsmeet, now that we've got those other nobles on our side," Aedan finished, although he looked more tired than pleased. "Let's get this finished with."
They made their way through the rooms and hallways of the warehouse they'd entered, fighting their way through various Tevinter soldiers as they picked their way past various barrels, crates, and traps that Zevran and Leliana disarmed. Finally, they entered the last room through two separate doors, coming out on a balcony of sorts that had two sets of stairs leading down into the rest of the room. It was larger than any of the rooms they'd been in previously, the floors set with stone, and two cages full of more elves set up down on the floor below.
Between those two cages, in the center of the room, was a bald mage with a brown beard, wearing the colourful Tevinter mage robes splashed with yellow. He was surrounded by several guards, and turned to face them with an easy smile as they entered. "I am Caladrius. And you, I assume, must be the Grey Wardens I've heard so much about."
"Just how do you know who we are?" Aedan demanded, staring down at the mage. Ayla could tell just by the tension vibrating in his stance that he had no intention of letting this man go, and she was glad of it. She was spoiling for a good fight.
"One can hardly get a word out of Regent Loghain besides 'Warden' these days," Caladrius answered smoothly. "It surpassed even gold in popularity."
Aedan frowned, looking unsurprised at the mage's answer, though he asked, "How is that you know Loghain?"
"Yes, you would be curious about that, wouldn't you?" Caladrius drawled. "I have heard that you are trying to erode Loghain's support. It must be a difficult task, yes? Like washing away a mountain. Perhaps you could use some help."
"Oh, this should be good," Aedan snorted, looking down at the mage with open skepticism.
"Sarcasm is beneath us both, my dear Warden. Truth be told, there was always a limit to how long we were going to be able to operate here. We've paid for many of Loghain's troops, but once the Landsmeet is done we become . . . inconvenient." Caladrius shrugged, as if to say it was only to expected, before continuing, "So here is my offer: one hundred sovereigns from you for a letter with the seal of the Teyrn of Gwaren upon it, implicating him in all of this. Then we leave a few days earlier than planned, with our profits and remaining slaves, unharmed."
"'Tis a reasonable enough starting offer," Morrigan mused thoughtfully, though Ayla knew she wasn't serious about it. Morrigan knew Aedan well enough to know he would never take that sort of a deal.
"I suggest you look those elves in the eyes before you agree to have them hauled off to slavery, my friend," Zevran snapped, fury lining his face as he looked back and forth between Aedan and the mage.
"You would not, would you?" Leliana exclaimed. "Slavery is not right; these elves deserve their freedom!"
"We're not really considering this, are we?" Alistair asked uncertainly, watching Aedan, who had not turned to face any of them yet.
"He won't take that deal," Ayla whispered to Alistair reassuringly, though even she was starting to have her doubts when Aedan had yet to say anything in reaction to any of the others. "He's just letting him talk to find out as much information as he can."
"So . . . do we have a deal?" Caladrius was watching Aedan closely, clearly trying to gauge his reaction as he continued, "Even you must admit it's much better than resorting to barbarism, yes?"
"Actually, I have a counter-offer," Aedan replied at last, shifting his stance, and Ayla smiled, knowing she'd been right all along as he reached for his sword. "My offer is: we kill you and take everything for free."
"Now that's not much of a deal, is it?" Caladrius sighed. "Let's do this the hard way, then. Men? Shall we?" He turned towards the guards, gesturing, and as one, they moved to attack.
Their party responded quickly; Aedan and Alistair moved to take on Caladrius together, as they had with Zathrian, while Morrigan cast defensive spells around their party in between blasts of lightning or ice. Leliana fired arrows in rapid succession from atop the balcony, while Ayla jumped the railing along with Zevran to attack the guards trying to defend Caladrius.
The guards went down quickly, in spite of being relatively skilled compared to some of the others they'd faced today; Ayla anticipated Zevran's moves easily, as he did hers, and they made a lethal fighting combination with the back-up from Leliana and Morrigan's ranged attacks. They had just brought down the last guard when Ayla heard the shout.
"Enough! Enough!" Caladrius was crying. He was down on his knees, bleeding from a few wounds, and Alistair had been just about to deliver a finishing blow from behind the mage when Aedan held up a hand from in front, halting him. "It . . . seems your reputation is an accurate one," Caladrius panted. "I surrender."
"Perhaps you should be left to the mercies of these elves?" Aedan suggested coldly, not bothering to sheath his sword as he looked down at the man.
"Wait!" Caladrius protested, holding up his hands defensively as he pleaded with Aedan, "Hear me out, good man! Were I to . . . use the life force of the remaining slaves here, I could . . . augment your physical health a great deal! Allow me to leave this place alive and I would be more than happy to do this little service for you. So is my offer of interest to you? Yes?"
"Blood magic? No, it isn't." Aedan looked over the mage's head at Alistair, and before the mage could say another word, Alistair delivered the finishing blow, taking the man's head off in one clean sweep.
With that, the fight was done; Zevran and Leliana went to pick the locks on the cages, while Ayla helped Aedan and Alistair loot the guards for anything of value they could use, and Morrigan healed up the minor wounds they'd received in the fight. Fortunately, Aedan discovered the proof they needed to implicate Loghain on the mage's body, tucked into a pocket of his robes; contracts and other such documents setting up the agreement between Loghain and the Tevinters.
Leliana and Zevran got the cages unlocked just as that was discovered, and one of the elves approached Aedan as he straightened up from Caladrius' body. He was elderly, with long white hair tied back in braids, and his clothes appeared to be of colored satin, rather than the rough cotton garments on most of the other elves. Ayla guessed that he must be the elder that Shianni had been looking for, as the elf said to Aedan, "You don't look like a Tevinter. Not that it means much. Are you one of them? What happens to us now?"
"You're free now," Aedan replied simply, before he went on to ask, "Are you Valendrian? Shianni was looking for you."
"Shianni . . . did she send you here?" The elderly elf looked slightly taken aback before a smile broke across his face when Aedan nodded. "Praise the Maker! We will not trespass long on your good graces. Come, everyone, let's go home." He gestured to the other elves, who eagerly followed him out the door on the opposite side of the room from where they'd entered, which appeared to lead back outside.
"I thank you for saving them," Zevran said formally to Aedan, bowing low.
"Yes, I apologize for doubting you," Leliana added, looking anxious, though Aedan waved off the apology.
"Of course I did, Zev. I wasn't about to let them become slaves. I just wanted to find out how much Caladrius knew about Loghain's involvement before we killed him. And as it happens, he had the papers we needed already with him." Aedan waved the papers before tucking them in his pouch. "I apologize if I caused anyone to doubt my motives. Anyway, let's get these documents back to Arl Eamon; we have a Landsmeet to win."
Everyone nodded as they followed him out the door to make their way back to the Arl's estate. Ayla hoped for the sake of Alistair and, indeed, everyone in Ferelden, that they'd gathered enough information to remove Loghain from power once the Landsmeet was finally held. She did not want to consider what might happen otherwise.