Marni and Idesta had been trekking through the lower climbs of the mountains in the direction Idesta had named "West" for a week before Marni spotted the glint of sunlight on domed copper roofs. She squinted against the glare and wrinkled her nose, trying to make out the distant buildings. "Is that Tevinter?" she asked, both hoping it was and dreading that it would be.

Idesta snorted without mirth. "Don't I wish it," she said blandly. "It's Cumberland. Navarra. We have a long way yet before we'll be in Tevinter, and even longer before we get to Minrathous."

"Who's Minratoes?" Marni asked, imagining a crooked old slave broker who'd look her up and down, and check her teeth to decide if she was fit to sell. She bet he'd smell like cabbage and sick.

"Not a who," Idesta growled. "It's the capital of Tevinter."

"What's capital?" Marni pressed, with an exasperation to match Idesta's.

Idesta's nostril's flared and her eyelids fluttered in that tell-tale way Marni had begun to take as a cue she was about to get smacked for talking too much. "Fasta vass," she spat. "It's the center of trade and government in Tevinter. Alright? Now enough with the incessant questions!"

Marni folded her arms and huffed, wanting to cuss and shout back. "If you didn't use such big nothing words, I wouldn't have to ask," she muttered under her breath.

Idesta's staff came quick and sharp to connect smartly with Marni's shoulder. "You need to figure out that not everything is for you to know," she barked while Marni rubbed her stinging shoulder and bit back tears in her pain and anger. "I'm not here to teach you the geography of Thedas or give you vocabulary lessons. The only thing you need to learn is how to obey and bite your tongue."

Marni whirled on her, face twisted and red. "And how am I supposed to know if I'm obeying right if I don't know what's capital, cabulary, and whatever?" she said, regretting her tone even as she couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. "The way you lot talk, you say 'hivledid the dwagmadoor' when 'stir this pot' would do! Talking plain would save you breath and me smacks."

Idesta snorted and waved her hand. The motion sent a magical force like a hurled stone into Marni's chest, knocking her off her feet and gasping for air. While Marni struggled to breathe on the ground, Idesta rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "Festis bei umo canavarum, she muttered. "'Darktown scum are easy pickings,' he said. 'Life has already taught them their place,' he said. Stupid piss pot. Should have just kept to doing business in the Anderfels. At least they're grateful to get away from the heat, dust, and darkspawn." She sighed. "But you? You're too dense to see the boon this is for you."

Marni didn't have the breath to ask what boon and Anderfels was.

Idesta knelt down close to Marni and an expression that might pass as warmth softened her face. "I wish I could make you understand that this scenario could benefit us both. You should count yourself lucky that I took you away from the sewers of Kirkwall, away from people who would hurt or abandon you. Slaves can have a good life," she repeated for the umpteenth time. "And if you balk at being a slave, you don't have to stay one forever; slaves win their freedom every day in Tevinter, rise up from their lowly beginnings to make something of themselves."

Marni seethed, wishing she could poison Idesta with the dripping venom she was sure was coursing through her own boiling blood. But she stayed quiet, knowing that Idesta was always cruelest after she thought herself kind. So Marni bit her wild tongue and nodded curtly.

"Good," Idesta said, getting up and lifting Marni to her feet. "From Cumberland we can take a barge up the River Cumber. That will save us some time. After that, it will have to be the Imperial Highway up to the coast."

Marni wanted to ask what a barge was and how long the rest of the trip would take, her blistered feet throbbing at the thought of more walking. But she kept quiet, knowing the answer was meaningless. She was stuck with Idesta until she was dead or sold.

Their arrival in Cumberland lifted Marni's mood some. The port city was a dazzling sight of tall buildings with ornate facades and copper roofs that shone like beacons in the sunlight. The cobblestone streets bustled with people energetically talking, laughing, and trading. Under silk canopies, traders called out their wares to passersby, selling jewelry, wares of clay and tin, fruits of every color, and seafood so fresh that it had none of that death smell Marni associated with fish in Kirkwall. At the nearby docks, ships of all sizes, some stretching taller than the buildings, rocked in the gentle pitch of the sea as sailors and pirates stumbled drunkenly on and off deck. Marni had spent her entire life without setting foot out of Darktown, so she was unsure how Cumberland compared to Kirkwall's port. She wondered grimly where they kept their own Forgotten people and if she was walking over their heads now.

"Stay close," Idesta barked at Marni, grabbing her arm roughly every time she got distracted by a new sight. "I haven't put up with you all this time just to have you snatched up by pirates or rival slavers now."

Marni turned her gaze to pirates singing and guffawing on the deck of a nearby ship, thinking they would be a big step up from Idesta's company as long as they kept their parts to themselves.

"Come on!" Idesta grumped wrenching Marni's arm painfully and pulling her along at a clipping pace away from the docks.

They left the frenetic energy of the port for the back alleys winding tightly through the shadows of the tall buildings. The din of the docks and market died down as they followed the darkened twists and turns. The occasional sullen stranger squeezed past Idesta and Marni, the alley too narrow for easy two-way traffic. Marni tried to keep track of the turns they were making: left, straight, straight, straight, right, straight, left… but she lost track. Not that it mattered, Idesta never let her out of sight, so slipping away and tracking back to the docks wasn't really an option.

After what felt like hours, Idesta halted and put a controlling hand on the back of Marni's neck. Marni raised her shoulders in silent protest. "In here," Idesta said, nodding to a nearby doorway, painted red. The windows of the establishment were painted black so light escaped. Above the door hung a sign that read The Wooden Wench, all words that Marni knew, but the combination struck her as nonsensical. Idesta turned Marni's face up to look her in the eyes. "I want no trouble from you in here. Don't say a word, and don't try to wander. You look at the floor and nothing else. You hear me?"

Marni wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes but nodded. Idesta pushed her head down so her chin touched her chest awkwardly. "Oi!" Marni yelled. "I got it! Don't need to get rough."

"Move," Idesta said, pushing Marni forward with one hand, while holding the door open with another.

When the door opened, Marni gagged on the smell of stale whiskey and smoke. Once inside, she kept her head down, but lifted her eyes to get a glimpse of her surroundings. The Wooden wench was dimly lit by a few lanterns, leaving plenty of shadowed spots where hooded figures hunched quietly keeping their eyes on the door. A wooden bar stretched the length of the right wall. A Dwarf behind the bar nodded in their direction. Idesta steered Marni toward one of the shadowy corners where a hooded man sat picking his fingernails with a small blade.

"Was expecting you days ago," the man grumbled as Idesta pushed Marni onto the bench across from him and took a seat herself. "Run into trouble?"

Idesta's nostril's flared. "To put it mildly."

"New pet?" he asked sticking his chin out in Marni's direction.

Marni growled and imagined flaying the man with his little knife.

"Should have left her with your boys. Draws attention you coming in here with a kid."

Idesta snorted. "Believe me, I would have if it were an option. The do-gooder Champion of Kirkwall decided to go for a beachside stroll, kill my people, and steal our cargo. I was lucky to get away with this one. Had to hike it through the Vimmarks to make sure we wouldn't be picked up by the guard or Hawke's band of pests. Never bothering with Kirkwall again, I can tell you. I don't care how good coin is; too much damn risk."

The man whistled through his teeth. "This is it then?" he asked. "One scrawny she-elf?"

"Yes," Idesta sighed. "I expect her to sell for top coin, if I can break her in properly. Still, not exactly the haul I was planning for."

The man chewed on his tongue and stretched his lips across the plane of his teeth. "I'm sure it don't need saying, Idesta, but my rate don't change just because your luck went south."

"What?" Idesta hissed leaning across the table. "Your rate was thirty per fifteen head. You can't expect me to pay that for me and one kid!"

"My rate was for up to fifteen for thirty," he said slowly, his fingers tightening around the little blade. "Thirty is the minimum. Anything less, and risk of ferrying slaves isn't worth the pay off."

"What do you expect me to do?" Idesta whispered frantically. "I can't take her on a passenger or cargo ship!"

He shook his head. "Not my problem. That's for you to figure out."

Marni stiffened at the sight of Idesta blanching. If transporting her was added to the price her value was being weighed against, she suspected her chance of making it to the markets alive was slim.

"Everett, please," said Idesta weakly. "Do you know anyone who might strike me a deal? I'm in the hole as it is."

Everett leaned back slowly. "Best bet is to sell her off here and cut your losses."

Idesta relaxed a little. "Who's looking to buy."

Marni's ears perked. Sell her here? A thrill of fear and excitement shivered through her body, making her skin prickle.

Everett stroked his jaw thoughtfully. "Other Vints come through often enough. But they won't likely pay much, and you'll have to pay for boarding in the meantime. Best bet? The Antivan pirates. They usually willing to buy the young ones, especially the ones with some bite; they know the Crows will pay good enough for 'em back home. And it never hurts to stay on the Crow's good side by throwing them the odd whelp."

So she might be going with the pirates after all, Marni thought to herself. She didn't know who or what the Crows were, though. Surely, though, if they liked bite from their charges, she'd be better off than she was chewing through her tongue with Idesta.

"Right. Right," Idesta muttered, nodding.

Everett looked pointedly at three humans by the bar. One of whom was pinching the other two's bums to everyone's enthusiastic delight. "They're from the Espuma de los Amantes, bound for Antiva city."

Idesta raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "That's their ship name?" Everett nodded. "Antivans," she said with exasperation.

He shrugged. "It's your best bet."

"Fine," Idesta said standing up. She grabbed Marni by the arm and pulled her in close to whisper. "Feel free to be your charming bratty self. The last thing the Crows will want is a mouse."

Marni narrowed her eyes. "You mean look up and loose my tongue?"

Idesta smiled wickedly. "And squirm and complain to your heart's content."

Marni mirrored Idesta's grin and promptly stomped on the mage's toes with all her little might and tried to wrench away from her vice grip. Idesta kept hold and dragged her to where the pirates stood, all eyes on Marni's fruitless tantrum.

"Hello gentlemen," Idesta said with uncommon sweetness.

"My lady?" said the pincher cautiously, in a thick accent.

"Word has it that you are from the Espuma."

He bowed deeply. "Captain Fernando Delgado, at your humble service."

"Andraste's tits!" Marni shouted as she tried to pull away, "You're hurting me!"

"Stop it, cur!" Idesta snapped, yanking sharply on Marni's wrist and making her cry out in earnest. Idesta turned her attention back to the men. "I find myself with surplus cargo, and limited options for offloading her. I hear you sometimes buy unruly children for the Crows, and I wonder if we might strike a mutually beneficial arrangement?"

As much as Marni was glad for the chance to be free of Idesta, she chafed under the appraising eyes of the pirate captain who circled her slowly, looking her over. "How old is she?" he asked.

"Seven years," Idesta said.

"I'm eight!" Marni snapped. "Been eight for months." Idesta glared at her.

The Captain nodded thoughtfully. "It is a fine age, and she has the fire the Crows so love to tame to their purposes." He stroked his jaw, continuing to look Marni over. "I'll pay 20 for her."

Idesta snorted. "Are you joking? You'll get four times that from the crows. Fifty."

The Captain grimaced. "There is no guarantee the Crows will buy her. They've been experiencing… internal struggles of late, and may not have the resources to invest in the training of one so raw."

"She isn't raw. She killed one of my men, severed an artery in his thigh and then bit clean through his nose before we knew what was happening."

Marni smiled broadly, wishing that Idesta's story was the truth of Lycus demise.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "This little one, killed a grown man? Perhaps she is too dangerous for my crew to transport."

"Keep her shackled or locked up in a crate. She's vicious but she's still a child. I'm sure your men can handle her."

"Hmm," the Captain said thoughtfully. "Fifty is still too high. Thirty-five."

"Forty or I'd be better off waiting for another slaver to buy her up."

The Captain kneeled on the ground very close to Marni. He smiled brightly. "What do you say, little bird? Would you rather go to Tevinter to become a nobleman's plaything or come to Antiva to join the Crows?"

Marni was skeptical about having her preference considered. "What's the Crows?" she asked, voice lined with doubt.

"You have not heard of the Crows?" he asked in mock surprise, clasping his hand to his heart. "The Crows are only the finest guild of assassins in all of Thedas." His friendly smile broadened, "They are very powerful and very dangerous. They would temper and sharpen you into a deadly weapon. Does that tickle your fancy?"

Marni's eyes flashed. If Anders could no longer be her unwitting teacher in how to turn her rage powerfully against those who wronged her, perhaps these Crows could. "Yeah, alright," she said, trying to strip the emotion from her voice. "Sounds better than emptying shit pots or being sold for parts."

"Indeed!" the Captain said with a laugh. "And do you suppose you're worth the full forty this lovely lady is demanding? Be honest now."

Marni blew a raspberry. "I'm worth a lot more; but she doesn't deserve a red cent of it! But if it gets her off my arm, I'm all for you paying up."

One of the other sailors clapped the captain on the back and grinned. "You heard her, Delgado! Pay the lady."

The captain nodded and stood up. He extended a hand to Idesta. "Forty it is!"

Idesta took his hand and flushed with what Marni supposed was relief. "Excellent. Thank you, Captain. Shall we go to your ship now? I'm eager to head back to Tevinter."

Delgado snapped his fingers and the third pirate handed him a bulging coin purse. Delgado dumped the contents on the bar, counted out forty gold and pushed the stack toward Idesta. Idesta hurriedly gathered her coin and nodded to the captain in thanks. She didn't so much as say goodbye to Marni who spat at the mage as she turned to leave.

Author's note: I am so sorry for my long absence and leaving people hanging for so long. It will probably be another month before I'll be back at full fanfic power (pwoar!), but it sure felt good to carve out some time and energy to write a little today. I sure have missed my fanfiction people!