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"What is keeping them?" Aveline huffed, shifting from one leg to the other.
They had been waiting in the courtyard for some time. Dusk had long since passed, sweeping in the chill of the night. To make matters worse, it also seemed to have swept in a murky drizzle, which was not helping the Guard-Captain's mood.
"They're making us wait. Trying to intimidate us… make us worry."
"And how do you know that?" The red-head snapped.
Hawke shrugged. "It's what I'd do."
"Bullshit, Hawke. You don't plan intimidation, you're just late."
Hawke rolled her eyes, though she couldn't fight the smirk. "Donnic kept up you late again, eh?"
Aveline's face matched her hair, Hawke briefly wondered if the vein in her friend's head was about to pop. "… my relations with my fiancée have nothing to do with…"
"Really? Because I don't remember you saying that when I was running all over the Wounded Coast lighting…"
The Guard Captains hands raised in defeat. "Alright, alright… sorry I snapped. But this is worrying, Hawke. Surely you can see that?"
Hawke sighed heavily. Aveline was right, if this stone meant so much to them, why weren't they here already? This was a trap. It had to be. She briefly wondered how Fenris and Varric were doing, but her thoughts were pulled from her when several mercenaries came in to view. Heavily armed, striding with purpose. Hawke grunted, fighting the urge to put her hand to her sword.
She counted ten men clanking towards them, and at the front was a woman in dark leathers and an even darker stare. Even with the distance between them, their eyes seemed to lock. This woman needn't have made them wait to put her on edge, she had done it with a stare. Hawke sensed Aveline tense. "Hawke, there are too many."
"We're alright." She smiled at her friend. "We can always fall back on my winning charm."
Aveline gave her a look. "We're dead." She concluded a little too quickly for Hawke's liking.
"Rude." She muttered to her companion as the group came to a halt in front of them. "Greetings!" She smiled at the group with as much energy as she could muster. "I'd ask how you are on this fine day, but we seem to be decidedly into night now so…"
"And rain." Aveline interjected bluntly.
"And rain." Hawke agreed.
"You must be Hawke?" The woman sneered. "I was told you're a bit of a clown…"
"Has Isabella been complaining about my jokes again?" Hawke kept her tone smooth. This woman clearly didn't like her. But she struggled to recall her face to think of why that might be. Yet the look of pure hatred Hawke was on the receiving end of was unmistakable. This must have been Ija, the woman Fenris' contact had warned him about. "Speaking of which, how are our dear companions? You seem to have forgotten them."
"They aren't here."
"Well, I can see that."
"The stone. Now." The mercenary demanded.
Hawke and Aveline looked at one another and the blonde knew her friend's hand had fallen subtly to her sword. "You demanded this trade." Aveline replied sternly. "Return our friends and we'll give you the stone. Those were your terms. I strongly suggest that you honour them."
"What right have you to speak to me of honour? You're just the Viscount's dog."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
Hawke put a hand on her friend's arm to calm her, Aveline all but growled but fell silent.
Hawke looked to 'Ija'. "My apologies, you seem to have us at a disadvantage. You seem to know all about us but we know nothing about you."
"You don't need to know my name, because you're about to die." As if that were the cue, the men behind her hefted their weapons and she drew her blades.
Hawke sighed with some irritation as her hand went to the hilt at her back. "Well I suppose that puts a halt to negotiations then?" She grumbled.
…..
"Hey, get your mind in the game, Elf." Varric hissed to his companion.
Fenris was pulled from his thoughts, though they yet lingered. Was she alright? He grunted, putting his attention to the task at hand. "Sorry. How does it look?"
"Looks like they're pretty cleared out. Hope it's not more than our ladies can handle…"
Fenris risked peering around the wall to see their target building before answering. "Hawke and Aveline? What do you think?"
"Tch… true…" The dwarf admitted. "Even a Blight couldn't take those two down." He chuckled. "Looks like we're good to go, let's just take this nice and easy."
Fenris nodded. As they made their way in to the darkened square. His heart pounded, he willed it to slow. So many thoughts coursed through his mind. How many were there? If there were so few here, how many was Hawke facing? If there were so few here, surely Isabella and Sebastian would be capable of escaping themselves? What was he doing here while Hawke was fighting?
"I see I've made skulking in the shadows somewhat appealing." The voice intruded his thoughts.
Both men jumped and turned. Ebony stood on the edge of the shadows barely visible. Varric cursed and turned back to the house to make sure they hadn't attracted any attention. He seized Fenris' arm and slid back in to the alleyway.
"Maker's breath…!" He turned to Shadow, seeming both perturbed and impressed. "You need to teach me that trick, my dear. Not many people get the drop on me…"
"And yet I've done it twice." She stated simply, though Fenris thought he could sense scorn behind the comment. He had known Ebony for a few years now, though the last two days had shown him a different side to his fellow ex-slave… and it wasn't one he was sure he trusted.
"Ebony… what are you doing here? I thought…?"
"Ija had all the bodies she needed. My services were not required."
Fenris frowned. Something wasn't right, he was sure of it. "Then why are you here?"
Ebony stepped towards him so he could make out her features. She had never had a 'soft' face, her eyes always seemed to be searching for something, taking in every detail with ruthless calculation, her lips although often curved into a smile made it seem more a sneer. But there was a coldness to her now that he had always taken as a front. An indifference that made him feel he could not read her intentions.
She had dropped her guard around him a few times in the past, she had cried when they had killed her former master. Cried again when remembering a child she had killed by order. But yet, that person did not seem to be the one standing before him.
Her head tilted slightly. "To help you, of course. Where else would I be, Sweetness?"
Fenris' jaw clenched. He had no reason to doubt her. So what was making him wary?
"You're helping us? I can live with that." Varric smiled. "Hell! Why don't you just go in and sneak them out for us? I mean… you helped us find where they're being kept."
"… I'm an assassin, not a damn wizard."
"Knew we should have brought, Blondie…" The dwarf muttered under his breath. Although it was meant as a humorous comment, it did nothing to thaw the cold. Varric looked at them both in a measured silence before sighing, "I'll leave you two alone for a moment, but don't be long about it Elf… moonlight's a-wasting." He wandered away a few feet before Fenris looked back to Ebony.
"You have something to say, so speak." He didn't mean it to sound harsh, but Varric had been right, time was not on their side.
"You promised me a new life, Fenris."
"I believe I said 'fresh start'."
"I want you to come with me." She said abruptly. "I've already gone against Ija for you… if I go in there with you, I'm done for. Unless I run and run far. If you come with me, you can break away from Danarius. We'll disappear."
"I will not run. I will not disappear. I'm tired of looking behind me." He answered firmly. "But if you help us now, we can protect you from this woman… this I promise you."
Fenris thought he saw the flicker of something in her eyes, but it was gone as fast as he had realised. "You're choosing her over me?" She asked flatly.
Yes, he thought curtly. "It is not a matter of choosing. It is a matter of deciding. And Danarius stopped deciding my fate the minute I came to Kirkwall…"
"The minute you met her?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
Ebony went to say something, but her words would not come. Fenris would have felt guilty about causing her upset, but never once had he expressed a desire for anything beyond companionship with his fellow elf. She had leaned on him in the past, yes, but he had never leaned on her for more than information… information he had always paid for if memory served…
"I do not insist you come in with us," He sighed, he went to offer a comforting hand on her shoulder as he had seen Anders do earlier, but he decided against it. Knowing the mage's feelings towards Hawke, the gesture was not likely to have pure motivations… "But if you do, I promise we will protect you."
"Alright," she said, her tone had taken a harder edge to it, even more so than before, "let's go. I'll go in first and deal with the watchers. I'll wave you in once I'm done." He snatched her arm before she could advance. He didn't like this. She gave an irritated grunt before he could voice his thoughts. "They know me. I'm better going in alone, it will draw less attention. Unless, of course, you've suddenly decided you doubt my skills?"
He released her arm and nodded. "We will await your signal."
Ebony stole back in to the darkness beyond, only to emerge in the light just beyond the decrepit building that was holding their friends. As much as she was silent in the shadows, she strode in the light, he couldn't say she held her head high, but it was the tallest he had ever seen her stand. She banged on the door three times, it was opened and she was allowed passage inside to several surprised murmurings from what he could tell.
"So Elf…" a smug voice intruded on his contented listening.
"…what is it?" He sighed.
"Are you and Gloomy going to brood off in to the sunset together, then?"
Fenris glared back at his short friend. "You were listening?"
"Of course I was…"
Fenris fought his irritation. He didn't know why he'd bothered asking. Rather than show the merchant his annoyance, he turned his attention back to the lighted doorway. "Then you will have heard my answer."
"I did… pity Hawke didn't…"
"You want to talk about this now?!" Fenris all but barked, strongly resisting the urge to turn his attention away from the door. "YOU were the one telling me to get my head in the game…"
His sentence trailed away when he saw the unmistakable silhouette of Ebony framed in the doorway, beckoning them forward.
"That was quick." Varric commented, already shifting his crossbow.
"Yes it was." Fenris frowned, his arm reaching for his hilt.
He didn't like this.
But nevertheless, he moved forward after Varric. It wasn't a far stride to make it into the building. Though it was a welcome break from the rain once the door had closed behind them. Fenris almost had to remind himself that they were on enemy territory and not returning from a mission. There were two men beside the door out cold, swords still sheathed. Either she was fast or…
"Down here!" Ebony hissed, making towards a door at the end of the hall, "hurry!"
Fighting his instincts to check if the men were merely sleeping, he followed his companions. The door yielded a dark winding path of stone stairs, if the walls in the house stank of damp, this was enough to knock him sick.
"They're being kept down there?! Choirboy is not going to be happy…" Varric chortled, turning his head for some relatively fresh air.
Ebony looked curious, "What about your other…?"
"She's paid to be in nastier places than this." They both chorused. They gave each other a knowing smirk before pressing on down the stairs.
It was difficult to navigate, the stairs were slippery and full of moss, and there was a pressing darkness. With such a large weight across his back, Fenris found it difficult to balance at times, but he focused on the low golden light at, what he hoped, was the bottom of this seeming pit. Ebony, he noticed, seemed to traverse the stair case with great ease. Almost as if she'd been down here many times. He shook those thoughts from his head, she wore darkness as her mantle and she used to work for the Flint Company, of course she wasn't having trouble.
When they reached the bottom, Ebony turned to face them, he could only make her out slightly in the gloom. "Your friends are in there." She whispered.
"What? We don't need a key?" Varric grunted. Fenris could tell the dwarf was out of his comfort zone. So was he.
They were rewarded by a sound of jingling metal. "Got it." She said, turning the key into the lock on the middle cell. "I started as a pickpocket…" she said with some mirth.
He didn't like this. Why were their companions not making any sounds? They must have heard them approach. But he heard the door swing open before he could even decide on what his concerns were, let alone voice them.
"This way."
It was too late to back out now, he realised. He had placed his trust in her. She in him. As she had told him, she had placed a death warrant on her own head by leading them in here. So why was this feeling in his gut? He swallowed his feelings down and followed her forward.
A few steps in, he realised this was no cell. There was air flowing in here, and the whistle of the wind and the sound of the rain was too far away to be in such a small room. When he looked up, the grate was too high… "Ebony… where have you brought…?"
He didn't like this.
Lamps were suddenly lit, framing shadows of large men charging them.
Fenris tried to take it in as swiftly as possible.
A large room. Twenty men. Isabella and Sebastian gagged and held towards the back of the space. Sebastian sagged in the arms of his captor, unconscious from what he could tell. Isabella looked at each one with murder in her eyes. If he could get to her… she could get out. He could hold them off. As for Varric… he was always a gamble… but they needed someone to get to Hawke and tell her what had happened… and as the only close ranged fighter it wasn't likely to be himself.
He took the grip of his hilt, hefting the weighty blade in his grasp.
It was with satisfaction he heard each one of Varric's arrows thunder forth, quelling four of the large men before they had even gotten in range. What a pity… only sixteen for him.
Fenris threw his full force at his first attacker, throwing him off balance before slashing forward. He felt his blade connect with the man's throat and red sprayed forward. The swordsman knew instinctively he wouldn't be a problem anymore and began pressing down upon the man advancing Varric. He caught the blade before it could hit the merchant, though the force of the blow forced Fenris to his knees, every muscle in his back tensing with the pressure. The dwarf reloaded quickly and shot the man in the eye over the elf's shoulder. The attacker sagged to the side, though there were plenty more to come.
"Varric, take Isabella and run…" Fenris huffed out, as he took his battle stance again.
He heard the unmistakable clink of Bianca reloading. "And how the hell, Elf, do you want me to get to the Rivaini?!"
"I'll distract…"
"…. You'll distract?! Sorry Elf but we're a bit outnumbered here. How about it, Gloomy? Fancy stepping in?...Gloomy? Shadow?"
Fenris could only afford a swift glance behind him to see the assassin had gone. Shit.
"Well… wish you'd stuck at your first girlfriend, Elf," Varric snorted between firing, "she's a lot more reliable than your new one."
"Oh shut up!" Fenris felt his lyrium brands flare and poured his rage forward, splitting the next fool's head in two. Rage that he'd put his faith in someone he obviously didn't know. Rage that he'd not listened to his gut. Rage that the dwarf was right… and rage that he'd let Hawke down. It took a moment to dislodge his blade, but the next thug had already set on him. He wasn't ready. His arms tensed with the strain of lifting his blade from its angle, but he knew it was already too late…
The man fell to the floor before he reached him. Fenris felt the sigh when he saw Isabella atop the fallen man, a knife in his back.
There was a fury in her eyes that Fenris was not used to seeing, but a rage that he understood only too well. She fell back to their ranks swiftly. She had been beaten, that much was certain, though he doubted that was the reason for the pure wrath that she seemed to exude.
"Good to see you, Rivaini. You got your stuff back?" Varric panted, levelling his crossbow and firing at the next attacker.
"Not enough to win, but enough to keep going if you need?" She panted.
"What…?"
"I stole what I could." She said almost defensively, holding a crude looking dagger in her right hand. A far cry from the quality she normally wielded.
Fenris took one look at her bruises, her dented blade and her flagging stance. "Get out of here."
"I'm staying here." She said defiantly.
"We need someone to get to Hawke! Do it!" He barked, parrying the next blow. He parried down, so he swiped up, taking away a section of the man's cheek. It was difficult to tell in this light. The shadows seemed to yawn and lengthen at every action he took, making it almost impossible to see.
He felt a blow connect to his side, a hammer, not a blade, but it knocked the air from his lungs. He seized the man's attacking arm and swung across with his blade. The screams told him it would no longer be a problem and did the drops of blood that splashed on his face.
"Rivaini, go!" He heard Varric urge. "I need to look after this idiot. Hawke'll kill me if I don't."
"True." She seemed to smile as she swept away. But he couldn't think about that. He met the next blow with his sword. He dropped to his knees again with the weight of the swing, but he recovered quickly, sliding to the side to allow his opponents sword to drop. He tipped his blade and slid it up his opponents taking a deadly swing at his adversary. He dropped. Like Fenris knew he would.
How many had they taken down now? He'd lost count. He'd certainly lost count of the number of arrows that had flown passed him.
A sudden cold press of steel against his neck stole his thoughts. A curved blade curled around his throat. He turned his eyes to its owner. Ebony. His mind reeled in shock, though his long-tempered discipline kept his body from betraying it. How could he not have seen this coming? He should have listened to his instincts. Instincts that were currently telling him to turn around and punch through the woman's chest.
Before he could act on the impulse, she spoke. "Drop your weapon, or see both your friends murdered in front of you." Her tone was measured, indifferent. Reluctantly, he allowed his sword to clatter to the ground.
He let the echoes fade before speaking. "I've done what you asked. Now let them go."
If she had any mirth she might have laughed, but instead she only smirked. "I told you you wouldn't watch them die, I said nothing of letting them live." She paused, then offered, "You promised me a fresh start, and that's what you've given me. Thank you, Fenris." There was a force to his head, and Fenris faded into darkness.
….
Anders watched the battle unfurl, his hands shaking. He should be down there.
Yet as relentless as their enemies were, Aveline and Hawke gave no quarter. Watching them engage, it was obvious how they had fought their way out of Ferelden together. Hawke's measured swings supporting Aveline's charges. Any attack from the swordswoman being guarded by the Guard Captain's shield.
The healer winced as Hawke advanced, her high swing cleaving into one of the mercenary's shoulders. There was a spray of blood. He almost called to her that there was a man to her left, ready to charge her, but as the cry rose in his throat Aveline interceded, bashing in to the man's chest with her shield. He was knocked, very ungraciously, on his arse. The shieldswoman took full advantage with a quick jab of her sword. Anders was certain the man would never stand again.
The dark haired woman who seemed to lead the attackers stood at the back, apparently content to lurk on the periphery of the battle. Anders frowned. Why was she not engaging? By the way she held herself and the cruel smile on her face, he could tell she wasn't frightened, even from where he stood. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
His eyes returned to the fight. Hawke swung her blade in a wide arc and the three remaining men were repelled, landing on their backs.
"You'll face me! I stand for all of us!" Aveline's trademark cry came as the blonde swordswoman charged their leader.
Almost as if expecting it, the daggers were in her hands within a second, catching Hawke's blade as it bore down on her. She was knocked back slightly by the force of the blow, but never once looked like she might lose her footing. She was fast, no doubt about that. As swiftly as Hawke swung, the dark haired woman dodged and parried. She seemed to say something to the blonde, which changed Hawke's expression from one of concentration to anger.
He frowned. Was she goading her? Hawke was nothing if not easily riled. This was already an evenly matched duel from what he could tell, and if Hawke lost focus…
Yet whatever the woman had said seemed to make the swordswoman slow down. She circled her quarry, her sword raised in front of her, shielding a large part of her body. The dagger wielder attacked, slamming forward with one knife, seeking to duck under Hawke's defences with the other. Anders breath hitched in his throat. However, his blonde friend had clearly anticipated this, sliding her body to the side and throwing her weight forward so that her forehead slammed straight into her attacker's nose.
The dark haired woman was forced back again, and this time her balance faltered, though she did manage to keep her footing. Hawke pressed her advantage; she swung the giant blade high to force her attacker to duck under the blow, then followed with a sudden twist and spun her blade in a low arc. The woman let out a bloodcurdling shriek as she crashed to the ground, but the lack of blood suggested that only the flat of the blade had connected.
Hawke stood over her victorious, the tip of her blade close to the woman's neck. Hawke was clearly trying to get her to yield, yet all the mercenary seemed to do was scream and wail. Not a cry of sadness or fear however… a howl of fury. Anders knew he should be relieved that the battle was won, but somehow that comfort would just not settle.
He watched Hawke twist to check on Aveline, now poking one of the fallen men with her boot. She shrugged at what he imagined was Hawke's confused expression making her way to the blonde.
Anders heart stop when he saw the light burst from the fallen woman. A mage?!
Hawke and Aveline were sent flying some distance before crashing to the ground.
"HAWKE!" The scream tore from his throat, and before he knew it, Anders was running down the stairs.
A mage?!
He threw the front door open and raced to where the women fought. He summoned the fire before he had even reached them and hurled it at their attacker, hopefully giving the swordswoman some time to stand.
Although the woman dodged, her eyes turned with some shock towards him.
"Fire?!" She spat. "Is that the best you can do?" With another scream of rage she began to channel.
Anders heart stopped in his chest. He knew that spell. A wall of flame. And it was aimed at Hawke.
Anders sprinted to where the blonde was still struggling to stand, shaking her head as if willing out the fog caused by the knock back spell.
"HAWKE!" He screamed, throwing himself on top of her as the firestorm erupted.
