Act One

Chapter Twenty-five

Wolf on the Hunt

Paden kept her eye on Anders all the way to hightown, but he gradually regained his strength, so that by the time they reached the mansion in the Hightown Estates he seemed back to his usual self.

They could see Fenris waiting outside the door to the mansion, and he turned to face them as they approached, green eyes reflecting the moon light.

"No one has left the mansion," he said once they were in earshot. "But I've heard nothing within. Danarius may know we're here. I wouldn't put it past him."

"You know, I could stand to know a little more about this Danarius before we rush in there," Paden said.

"He is a magister of the Tevinter Imperium," Fenris said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, is that all?" Varric said with a sarcastic snort. "Nothing to worry about then."

Paden didn't know a lot about Tevinter magisters, but she did know they were powerful mages that held titles and wealth and pretty much ruled the Imperium. For Danarius to own a slave like Fenris, and to so ruthlessly hunt him, he was probably not the nicest person they could run into.

"There, he is a wealthy mage with great influence," Fenris said, pointing North in the general direction of Tevinter. Then he pointed at the mansion. "Here, he is but a man who sweats like any other when death comes for him."

Paden started growing nervous. She did not like fighting other mages. More often than not they were more powerful than she was. She did have Anders at her side, though, and Carver and Varric. They would just have to be cautious.

"We should still go carefully," Paden urged. "He may have prepared some magical defenses."

"They will not keep me from him," Fenris replied. And without further ado, he turned and opened a side door of the mansion, slipping in quietly. The others followed.

They found themselves in what looked to be a storeroom. Crates and barrels and sacks of grain and potatoes lined the walls. Moonlight filtered in through the narrow windows, and that was all the light in the room. They stopped just inside the door to let their eyes adjust to the dimness.

"Danarius!" Fenris called.

Paden arched her eyebrows at him. "Do you really want to alert him like that?"

"He already knows we're here," Fenris said, his deep voice nearly a growl. "You cannot hide from me, Danarius!" he shouted.

Paden hoped this Danarius was here alone, but that was very unlikely.

They went into the adjoining room, which seemed to be the kitchen. The house hadn't been lived in in untold years. Tiles were coming loose from the floor, cobwebs hung in thick curtains and a layer of dust covered everything. The musty smell of decay tickled Paden's nose.

Then a prickle ran up Paden's spine and down her arms, raising goose bumps across her flesh. She and Anders both took their staffs off their backs at the same time, assuming defensive stances as they glanced around the room in search of the source of the spiritual disturbance.

A second later several shades appeared, and Paden reacted by blasting them with fire. Four of them were killed immediately, but four more took their place across the room. Carver and Fenris attacked ferociously with their swords, while Varric fired and reloaded Bianca again and again like muscle memory.

Paden froze an entire row of shades into solid ice, and then Carver rushed over and hacked them to pieces.

Then the fight was over.

"He sends spirits to do his fighting for him," Fenris spat as he sheathed his sword. "Danarius! Can you hear me? Your pets cannot stop us!"

The hatred evident in Fenris's voice was intense, and it turned Paden's stomach a little. She had never experienced feelings like that for herself, nor had she met anyone who expressed theirs so openly as Fenris. She could see how very lethal he was, and she had to be sure she never got on his bad side.

As Fenris walked past her toward the next room he met her eyes, and the angry glare he gave her was very personal, meant just for her, and it sent chills up her spine. He said nothing, however, and walked on ahead. What was that about? Had she done something to anger him? He obviously didn't want to talk about it though, so she let it go for the moment.

They wandered through a couple more rooms of the huge mansion, and then they found themselves in the main hall. A grand, double staircase curved up either side of the room, leading to the private chambers on the second floor. Fenris guessed that Danarius would probably be up there.

More shades appeared as they crossed the hall, this time twice as many as before.

This battle was tough. The shades were much more aggressive and rushed upon Paden, surrounding her in seconds. She cast a repulsive spell, but it had little affect on them. She froze a couple and used her staff to try and block the swinging arms of the others. She threw up a spell shield just in time, as one threw all its weight into her as it came at her with its claws bared. It knocked her backwards and she flailed her arms, trying to catch her balance, but a second later she found herself sitting on the floor without memory of actually falling. The shade towered over her.

Then it froze solid and pieces of ice fell down onto Paden's face. She glanced to the side and caught Anders' eye, silently thanking him for the save. She scrambled out from under the shade and Carver swung his great sword down upon it, shattering it to pieces.

A few minutes later the battle was over and they took a moment to catch their breath. Paden wiped sweat off her brow and tugged the tie out of her hair to regather her ponytail. She paid close attention to Anders and Carver to make sure they were both doing all right. They seemed to be suffering no ill effects from earlier.

Fenris was eager to continue on, so they mounted the steps to the upper level and began searching the rooms. All were empty. But finally they came to one that was locked.

"He's in there," Fenris said. "This is the only room we haven't checked."

"I can try to pick the lock," Varric offered.

"No need," Fenris growled. He lifted his foot—which Paden noticed was bare—and slammed it hard against the door right beside the knob. The door shuddered and cracked. Fenris kicked the door again and this time the wood splintered and the door flew away, revealing the master bed chambers. Before anyone could enter the room, shades and other demons appeared behind them.

"Not again," Paden groaned. She had definitely had enough of demons to last a lifetime. This time she stayed back from the thick of it, up against the wall by the door of the bedroom. Anders stood to her right and a little in front of her, casting spells from a distance as well. The majority of the damage was done by Carver and Fenris this time.

Once all the shades had been killed, Fenris ran back to the master bed chambers, but they were empty. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he looked around.

"Gone…" he said softly. "I had hoped…" He sighed and shrugged marginally.

"I'm sorry, Fenris," Paden said. "Do you think he was ever here?"

"No…I don't know, it doesn't matter any longer." He glanced around at the room. "I assume Danarius left valuables behind. Take them if you wish. I…need some air." And with that he hurried from the room, heading back to the side door they had used to enter the mansion.

Paden watched him go, feeling strangely sorry for him. He had been so desperate to find his old master and be free of him forever. The disappointment evident in his eyes was crushing.

"Did he just say we could take whatever we wish out of here?" Carver asked.

"I believe he did," Varric said. The two of them immediately began looking through drawers and cupboards and chests.

Paden finally forced herself to stop thinking about Fenris, and joined the others in their search. They found some jewelry and a pouch of coins that totaled three sovereigns. In another room they found a few nice knives and daggers, and a couple trinkets that looked like they could fetch a price.

Once they were finished searching the house, they returned to the side door and went outside into the night. Fenris was nowhere to be seen. They walked toward the street, and then were stopped by his voice.

"It never ends," he said, and they spotted him leaning against a corner of the house just off the path, gazing up at the full moon. "I escaped a land of dark magic only to have it hunt me at every turn. It is a plague burned into my flesh and my soul. And now I find myself in the company of even more mages." He turned to face them and his piercing eyes met Paden's with a hard stare.

Paden stared right back. Great, he was going to take issue with her being a mage?

"I saw you casting spells inside," Fenris said. He pushed off from the wall and walked toward her. "I should have realized sooner what you really were."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Paden said. "I usually work pretty hard to keep it a secret."

"Tell me then, what manner of mage are you?" Fenris asked. "What is it that you seek?"

Paden shook her head slightly. "I'm just trying to get by."

"Yet I have seen many crimes done in the name of survival," Fenris countered.

"True," Paden allowed. "You have a particular issue with mages, though?"

"I have an issue with magic and those who are careless with it."

Carver took a step forward and pointed his finger at Fenris. "If you have a problem with my sister, Elf, then you have a problem with me."

Paden gave her brother a quick, appreciative smile.

Fenris looked at each of them and backed down. "I imagine I appear ungrateful," he said, and let out a soft sigh. "If so, I apologize, for nothing could be further from the truth."

"I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help," Paden said.

"I did not find Danarius, but I still owe you a debt," Fenris said as he took a small coin purse out of one of his belt pouches. "Here is all the coin I have, as Anso promised." He handed the purse to Paden.

She felt hesitant to take it, since they didn't capture Danarius, and it was all Fenris had. But she didn't want to insult him, and they really did need the coin. She slipped the purse into her pocket without looking at the contents.

"It is not a lot," Fenris said, his tone apologetic. "So should you find yourself in need of assistance, I would gladly render it."

"Really?" Paden said, arching a skeptical eyebrow. "You weren't all that thrilled with me a moment ago."

He regarded her for a brief moment. "You are not Danarius," he said. "Whether you are anything like him remains to be seen."

"Then I'll keep that in mind," Paden said as she studied him. "We're actually planning an expedition that's proving a lot more difficult to prepare for than we first anticipated. We could probably use some help."

Fenris inclined his head to her. "Fair enough. Should you ever have need of me, I will be here. If Danarius wants his mansion back, he is free to return and claim it. Beyond that I am at your disposal."

"Then I'll likely visit soon," Paden said. "Good night, Fenris."

He gave her a nod and then went back inside the mansion.

Paden turned to face the others.

"Well, at least we got paid," Carver said. "How much did he give us?"

Paden took the purse out and dumped the contents into her hand. A lump rose in her throat and she forced a swallow past it. "Two sovereigns," she said.

"A lot more than I thought," Carver said, obviously pleased. "Combined with what we found in the mansion, this was the highest paying job we've had so far."

"I just don't feel good about taking everything he has," Paden admitted. "Now he has nothing, how will he live?"

"I'm sure he'll figure it out," Anders commented.

"I think it's too much," Paden insisted. "We didn't even do what he paid us for."

"We showed up," Carver countered. "We fought demons for him. He didn't have a chance against them without our help. It's not our fault Danarius wasn't here."

"I actually agree with your brother on this one," Anders said.

Paden shot a glare at him. "Why? Because he doesn't like mages? He's still a person, with needs and feelings. Would you leave him bleeding on the ground too?"

"I didn't say that," Anders replied softly, looking shocked that she had spoken to him that way.

"Look, Hawke, if you're so worked up over it, give him some of it back," Varric said. "But I doubt he'll take it; he didn't think even that was enough."

Paden shook her head and turned to leave. It would be dawn in a couple hours. She had been fighting all evening and she was exhausted. It was affecting her ability to communicate rationally.

"I think this reward was well-deserved," Carver said. "Especially after that trap we were lured into, and me getting all cut up. Or do you disagree?"

"I never said we didn't deserve to be paid," Paden argued. "And if I hadn't taken that job then we wouldn't have been. So maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all."

Carver pointed his finger at her. "We were bloody lucky this time, that's what. But it doesn't seem to usually turn out that way."

"Not every lead I've had has been a bust, you know?" Paden said, raising her voice slightly. She could feel emotion gripping her chest and a sudden desire to flee. She couldn't believe she and her brother were having an argument in front of the others. They usually kept their arguments to themselves, preferring not to cause a scene. But it seemed like Carver had found something new to blame Paden for, and emotions were high and hard to ignore.

"No, not every one," Carver agreed. "Just most of them."

Paden gritted her teeth hard and glared at her brother. "Just for once can't you be on my side? You're always against me, you always have to have to a different opinion. Is that really the way you feel, or are you just keeping up appearances?"

Carver stared at her, but before he could answer that, Paden continued. "I'm doing the best I can, you know? I'm traipsing all over the city and the countryside looking for horrible jobs I wouldn't force a slave to do, with no guarantee of payment at day's end, for something I don't even want! And you know what, Carver? I'm doing it alone." She gestured broadly in his direction. "I've been doing this alone for a long time, because all you do is follow me around like a lost puppy dog; always there, but never really in it with me, never putting in your two bits to take some of the load off my shoulders. But you're so quick to judge me when things don't work out according to your grand plan that you keep secret from the rest of us."

"Hey, now that's not fair," Carver protested.

"Don't you talk to me about what's fair," Paden spat. "Nothing is fair. If life was fair we'd still be living in Lothering, Bethany would still be alive, and you'd be away in the army, out of my life!"

They stared at each other, both shocked by her words. A genuine expression of hurt crossed Carver's face, and tears stung the backs of Paden's eyes as she realized how out of control she had gotten. Before anyone could say anything, she turned around and fled.

"Hawke!" Anders called after her. He jogged a couple steps and grabbed her by the arm.

She spun to face him, throwing her arm up to deflect his hand. "Leave me alone, Anders!" she demanded. And then she ran, as if an army of demons were chasing her.

—

A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short. I've been having some writer's block lately, so it's all I can do to get even this much out of me these days. Not to mention most of this one was action scenes and I HATE writing action scenes. I hope you can bear with me in the weeks to come, as a neck injury has kept me away from the computer a lot, and my motivation for writing has dwindled. I'll still be trying to push through it, though, I just can't promise a new chapter every week like I've been doing. I will try my best though.