BioWare owns all except what I made up. : )
For those of you who play WoW, you will understand my little joke. For those who don't, smacks self in the back of the head, there. : ) GOOD NEWS EVERYONE, I fixed the broken slime pipes! Oh wait, no, the good news is hubby is doing his play through on his other characters, delaying my playing the expansion, which works for me, because I am totally addicted to writing this story, LOL! To tell you how bad it is, my office manager is at home, so I take a notebook and write parts of chapters at work, I write copious notes, and I do research and write it down too, then I read and edit at work when there is downtime. And I jot down chapter ideas, mostly during my lunch break. Then I come home, I throw something together for dinner, feed the cats, and sit down to write. My house plants almost died because I forgot to check on them and they needed watering, ROFL. So, I am sure there is some kind of mental illness that hasn't been named regarding my addiction to my own story. I am a psychological paper in the making! : ) There you have it fans, E is nuts, but you probably guessed that by now, right? So on with the show!
Kai is not going to be down and out for days or weeks for once, though she is not at her 'A' game and is a little on the weak side. And our little Gnat turns out to be a biting insect to ogres, and someone asking about things she shouldn't. So what are her motivations and what kind of person is she really, good, bad? How would she react to the suffering of others? I reveal more about our little addition in this next chapter. Oh, and while I found this uncensored French dictionary for the cuss words, I apologize in advance to any actual French speakers. I know Greif is really the German word for Griffon which is French, but I wanted a foreign word there, and it fit. My German is better than my French. If you want to offer me help, if I screwed anything up in French really badly, please let me know so I can fix it. : )
A shout out to Night Hunter MGS, as Phoenix Fire Lady said, you deserve a big one my clever friend, and a cross continental hug back at ya! : ) You really do read my mind, I swear, oh, and NH MGS, there will be more Fergus/Morrigan. ; )
SPOILER alert, for those who may not have done Return to Ostagar yet, I mention some things from it that are revealed by opening Cailan's chest, just FYI. : )
Again, thanks for all the inspiration from your reviews. You all just make this so much fun. Lisette57 thank you so much, sweetie, for your comments about my story and the new expansion. Wow, and I was worried that the expansion would kind of ruin this for ya, and no worries about reading 55 early. I just wanted to make sure you all got the news that I really worked harder on it. I want you all to have my best, you deserve it, and I hadn't given it. So, I beg your indulgence and wanted to let you know to give it another go. Misame thanks for the love of my author's notes and your review too. I am humbled really, guys, I know I say it all the time, but I appreciate every one of you. : )
Blessings!
Zevran set Gnat down on her feet. The girl rubbed her neck where his hand squeezed her throat and coughed. He and Kai walked her back to their room, where Kai closed and locked the door behind them after turning on the mage runes. Zev kept Gnat at knife point while sitting her down in a chair.
"Well, well, you are new to this country and yet you ask about 'The Silver Griffon', now why would that be?" Kai gave Gnat a cold little smile, "Surely you are smart enough to know better, unless you had some plan maybe on getting the bounty?" Gnat just stared at her, her face impassive. "Perhaps you didn't catch it when you were so busy flirting with him to get information, but my friend mentioned he is Antivan, no? And unless you have been living under a rock or are a Fereldan, then you might want to consider what that means. Shall I give you another hint, he's really good with his daggers and is a master with poisons," Kai smiled again.
Gnat's eyes widened, and she stole a look at Zev who gave her his cold, assassin smile, "You know, my beautiful Kaidana, there are some poisons the Crows use that do not kill right away, they take time, but while they are working their way through a person's system, they loosen her tongue." He chuckled a low in his throat, "People will tell you all their secrets before they die, in agony. They break all their confidences." He looked at Kai, "Maybe we need to use one of them on this little elven piece?" Kai shrugged and nodded, drawing her own dagger and holding it on Gnat.
Zevran went to a chest to get the leather bag filled with his vials and bottles. He came back and emptied it out on the table in front of Gnat, making a show of perusing the bottles and vials. He picked up some, opening them to sniff gently and putting the corks back in while shaking his head.
Kai suppressed a smile. She knew he knew each and every bottle by touch alone, this was all for Gnat's benefit. Finally, he found the one he wanted and took the cork out, carefully placing it on the table. He took a small needle tied to a bundle of string and dipped it in the bottle, before placing the cork back in. He walked towards Gnat holding out the needle, and despite her best efforts, the girl's eyes got big, and she squirmed in her chair.
To her credit, she waited until Zev got close enough to prick her before she broke, "Merde, fine, I will get the money some other way. It will take longer by picking pockets, but it isn't worth dying over, stop!" Gnat was leaning as far back as she could, away from Zev and his needle.
Kai nodded to Zev, who proceeded to lick the end of the needle and shrug, "Honey, it makes some poisons easier to administer without notice, it covers the bitter taste. We always have some in our arsenal," he gave a full throated laugh.
"Putain de merde, you...you tricked me, moliffi! You and your...your pouffiasse va t'faire enculer chez le darkspawn!" Gnat's eyes, normally dark blue purple, had become almost lavender in her fury and she turned them on Kai, "Vache!"
"Well, when she's angry, her language skills definitely take a turn for the gutter." Kai laughed, "My poor Orlesian at least includes the more colorful phrases. I believe, my dear Zev, you are a bastard, and I am a bitch and a cow, and basically we can both go get buggered up the arse by the darkspawn" she grinned at him.
"But I am no bastard. I have a birth certificate that names my father." Zev put on a mock hurt tone, "Now if she had called me the son of a whore, she would have at least been correct, no," he grinned back.
"True, my dear friend, very true" Kai stopped smiling and grabbed Gnat by the chin, "So why, exactly, are you trying to get the bounty? Think carefully before you answer, I would prefer the truth. This is your second chance," Kai let the abyss surface in her eyes, "Don't expect a third."
"Bah, I wanted to go home, that is all! I came to this smelly, Maker forsaken country to find the Grey Wardens here, I wanted to join!" Gnat's iolite eyes were wide, "When I got here, I found they were no more and I needed money to go home. Cutting purses takes time, especially in a country so poor, but I saw the bounty being offered on the Chantry board. I thought to make some quick coin to book passage back home, with extra for my trouble, it would allow me to eat and stay warm this winter."
"Why didn't you just join the Grey in Orlais" Kai kept her eyes on Gnat's.
"Connards, all of them, I tried to join there, they looked at me and turned me away. They only glanced at my face and my body, They made a judgment based on my looks and not on what I can do. They told me to go and be a putain for some nobleman. They said that was all I was good for. But I know what I can do, why should I not have a chance to prove it? I do not want to spend another winter eating broth made by boiling leather while I try not to lose my fingers to frostbite. I heard rumors that there were Grey Wardens in Ferelden, I took a gamble and spent what I had to get here to find them. And when I did, it was to find a country poor as can be and to hear that the Grey Wardens, all two of them, were dead." Gnat shrugged, "My heart sank, I will not lie. I thought, ah Gnat, you will starve drinking soup made from boiled leather in a country colder than Orlais, and you will lose your fingers and your toes, and all for a rumor. Then I saw the Chantry board, it had a bounty for a master thief called 'The Silver Griffon.' Le reine, Anora, she is very interested in getting this 'greif', this 'griffon.' She is paying very well for the privilege of having the man's head decorate the castle wall in Denerim." Gnat looked at her from under delicately lashed eyelids, like a small and wayward child.
Kai clapped her hands slowly in mock applause at Gnat, "First, you may drop the use of your small stature to give the impression of being a child. I watched you fight, a child you are not." Kai smiled sweetly at Gnat, "As to your story, oh it's very good, very inspiring indeed. Just enough detail to be plausible with just a hint of 'pity me' affected past history to pull at the heart strings. Truly a work of art, don't you think Zev?"
"Oh si, most impressive this one," Zev jerked a thumb at Gnat and grinned at Kai.
"I mean I always knew the bards of Orlais were most talented at singing, spying, killing and the spinning of tales, but this is truly a masterpiece of fiction!" Kai smirked at Gnat as she circled the chair where the girl sat.
"And just enough hints of truth to be believable to most" Zev chuckled. "Growing up an orphan, I would say, is true, and spending her formative years on the streets of Val Royeaux as a cutpurse is also true, thief, si, killer, of that I have no doubt, Bards are meant to be spies, but spies sometimes need to kill too, no. I am sure this one has had her hands dirty before. It is especially obvious by the way she fought the darkspawn." Zev ran his dagger lightly down the front of Gnat's armor, stopping with the point right over her heart.
"Well, well, well, I wonder who would need a spy from Orlais, Anora maybe, I mean, she does not hold the hatred for Orlais her father did, or maybe Bann Loren didn't get 'The Griffon's' message the last time? Or one of Anora's other sycophants is trying to curry favor with her, or some other sinister shadow has come into play, so which is it, I wonder?" Kai bent down to whisper in Gnat's ear from behind, "I told you the truth was what I sought; now you are out of second chances."
Kai walked around and looked at Gnat, whose face had become a neutral mask, only a slight crimping of the corners of her pretty mouth showed annoyance. Interesting, annoyance at herself, or them for discovering her true nature, or both, but no fear, Kai walked over to the table with the vials and bottles of Zev's potions, "Well, if you aren't going to cooperate, then I am afraid we have no further business with you. Zev, pick one," Kai gestured at the table. "Pick your favorite."
"Oh, that is difficult, my dear friend, that is like asking me to choose one from among a roomful of beautiful women, all are equally lovely, but with different skills and talents." Zev looked over at the table, "The green bottle, it holds 'Andraste's Blade.' I think it will do nicely."
"Good choice, though I might have gone with 'Death's Grace, or 'Crown of Flames' myself." Kai smiled and grabbed the green bottle, "But you are the professional assassin." She carefully uncorked the bottle, put one drop on one side of the blade and used a little brush amongst the pile to tease the poison along the edge of the blade. She repeated the process for the other side, "Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?" Kai walked over to Zev, "Luckily, she is small. We can roll her up in the small rug in front of the bath to dispose of her body. Where should we dump it, though?"
"I am thinking we should take a boat and dump it out in the lake. We can weigh it down with stones, but I suspect some of the nasty creatures in the lake will take care of it before it has a chance to float" Zev smiled at her.
Gnat sighed, "Very well, you have exposed me, I am a bard from Orlais, and before you give a smart arsed answer, I know you know. I am not here on behalf of anyone in Ferelden, but I am here on behalf of someone very powerful in Orlais, someone who was working out a deal with your King Cailan before he was killed, someone who has bards in many places with ears put to many doors and eyes peeking through many keyholes. This person heard rumors about Loghain and his treachery regarding Cailan, this person heard about the death of the Grey here, the death of 'The Hero of Ferelden.' When Anora shut down any communication with the royal court of Orlais and refused any offers for the Grey there to come here, my employer became more suspicious" Gnat gestured with her hands.
"Then, news came to my employer's bards in Tevinter where it was reported that two ships which were here on business with Anora were scuttled. It was said that most of the mages and soldiers were killed by a group working for a mysterious person going by the name 'The Silver Griffon.' All cargo and money had been stripped from them. The work was apparently done by a group of shadows who disappeared like smoke, allowing only a few to escape with their lives. And still more rumors flowed in, elves from the alienage in Val Royeaux snuck across to their fellows in Denerim to have a wedding and to trade, they talked of a whole army of soldiers disappearing without a trace. And then there were rumors that our bards heard in Antiva City. The city was like a bee hive that had been kicked over. Oh, it would have looked normal to all the citizens, but the conspiracy mongers in the dark dens of depravity that abound in Antiva City, they were all talking."
"Ah, such lovely places those dens, and such good places to get information. If one is willing to sift through the manure to gather the gems there." Zev laughed, "That and put up with the lunatics, of which there are many."
Gnat nodded, "That is very true, but what gems we found. There was talk of a foreigner usurping a whole cell of Crows, and that the death of the noble who owned that cell was connected to that act. There was buzzing about Antiva almost collapsing as a world power, all because of one outlander Fereldan. Then followed the sudden death of another noble who ran a cell of Crows, which would not have been remarkable as such things happen amongst Antivan nobles all the time. But this noble happened to be the mother of the one whose cell had been taken over, the dissolution of her house and the dispersing of her Crows and the power amassed by House Serracino – all such amazing developments, no? And all roads led back to Ferelden, back to this little, barbaric country that had been recovering from its previous occupation, then a Blight. And is now saddled with Anora, my employer became intrigued. How do you say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend? My employer wants to hurt Anora and see her usurped as much as it seems this 'griffon' does. I have been sent here to find 'The Silver Griffon' and to offer my employer's money and power, to offer an alliance, under contract of course, and to offer my knowledge and my talents as well."
"The only person in Orlais that I know of who had a deal with Cailan before he was killed would be one Celene, your impèratrice, your empress, no?" Kai smiled when Gnat's eyes got wide in surprise, "You see, I am one of the ones who found the papers and letters between them."
"But to do that, you would have to kill more darkspawn, large groups of them, larger than what we faced here and under the control of the archdemon." Gnat's eyebrows shot up, "To do that you would have to be a..."
"A Grey Warden, my, but you are a clever girl." Kai gave her a cold smile, "But clever or no, I don't believe you, you have lied too effectively one too many times. I really hate killing, but like you, I am good at it, and I do it if I have to. Put her in the tub, we can drain and wash out any blood, I hate a mess. I will make it as quick as possible" Kai grimaced at her.
"Wait, I have proof what I say is true. My boot, on the right' twist the heel, it's a hollow compartment, there are papers there." Zev went and stood behind her, his dagger at her throat, while Gnat stuck out her boot, and Kai knelt and twisted the heel. It came away with a slight pop and inside was parchment folded down to fit the concealed compartment.
Kai was already planning on using this device for her Scath. Leli apparently had been wearing too many pretty little shoes while working as a bard to ever use this trick. Kai unfolded the papers, one was a letter, the other two were contracts, both signed and with the official seal of Orlais and the personal family seal of one Empress Celene.
To The Silver Griffon,
I, Celene, Empress of Orlais would like to extend my help to you in unseating Anora. What my country did to yours was unspeakable, and there is no excuse. Meghren was a monster, a self-centered, cruel man-child, he deserved to die. My uncle, who put him in power, was no better.
I worked very hard to take the crown of Orlais, avoiding my own death twice, to right the wrongs if I could. It was this desire that led to the correspondence between Cailan and me, and it was these letters which led to my falling in love with him. I think he was fond of me too. Cailan loved Anora, but she frightened him, it wasn't just that she produced no heirs, for if that were the case, he would have put her aside long ago. Rather, she has always had a kind of darkness in her stemming from her father's treatment of her and her mother. Cailan spoke of such things to me when we met in secret the only time we had the opportunity to do so before the Blight.
I hoped to help unite our countries after the Blight was over, but more than that, I wanted him. Now, he is dead due to that woman's treacherous and traitorous father, and your country is once again besieged from the inside by poverty and a petty tyrant. I think Cailan would have wanted me to help you stop her, he loved her, but he loved Ferelden more.
I know that my being Orlesian makes me suspect in your Fereldan eyes, and I know not if any of Cailan's papers or letters to do with our communication survived his death. So, I now offer you a contract, signed by me with the seal of Orlais and my personal seal, one copy for you, one for me, to show that I mean what I say. If these contracts or this letter fell into Anora's hands, it would mean war between our two countries again, I hope this further allays any concerns you may have. Also, the bard who carries these papers is a very special friend, one I hold dear. She has agreed to stay as your collateral, should I prove false. I hope that she has found you safe and healthy.
If you sign the contracts and put your seal on them, she will know how to get my copy to me. I hope to hold it in my hands, and I hope to help you stop Anora any way that I can. Cailan and your country deserve that, and so much more.
Empress Celene I of Orlais
Kai raised an eyebrow and handed the letter to Zevran, "Well, it seems we have yet another powerful, how do you say in Orlais, ami?" Kai laughed, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend indeed."