The Thieves Guild

Okay, problem number one, the qunari was holding Faren's hands, so even if he released himself from the shackles (which he could at anytime now since he unlocked them), Faren wouldn't be able to escape. They were deep in the sewers now, taking the paths Faren could see was marked by his uncle.

Most smugglers tended to pay a fee to the Thieves Guild to get through, although some did manage to avoid doing so and sneak their way in, but the Thieves Guild pretty much owned Denerim. It was their hangout. If anyone in the underground side of the world mentioned Denerim, the Thieves Guild and the Dark Wolf weren't too far off being mentioned too.

Which is why this situation was daunting as fuck.

Problem two was that the Thieves Guild had them surrounded, and were all aiming arrows as their heads, with the exception of Faren of course, these guys thankfully recognised him.

"You've got your hands on the wrong elf," Alyndra Surana said as she stepped out in front of the crowd of thieves. She was staring at them, despite being blind for as long as Faren could recall.

Aunt Alyndra was married to Uncle Kerth, and they had both been great friends with his mum during her thieving days as the Dark Wolf.

"Long time no see, Alyndra," the human male greeted cheerfully.

"Amell." Aunt Alyndra scowled.

Faren flinched. "Amell?"

The human winked. "Yep, Damion Amell, pleasure to meet you properly, wolfie."

"I thought you were in jail for smuggling," Alyndra said.

Damion's smile fell. "Yeah... well... after everything my father did to try save me..." Damion shrugged, back to cheerful again. "Well, can't waste my life rotting in jail. Gotta make that Amell family fortune back!"

"You realise you kidnapped one of your niece's Grey Wardens, right?" Alyndra said, then tilted her head. "In fact, you took two of them."

"Well I knew that, her name is on one of the bounty posters," Damion said. "I didn't have her kidnapped, so it's fine."

The elven woman next to Damion sighed. "This was supposed to be an easy job, Damion."

"It was an easy job, Nymeria!"

"I bet Kosh and Arador disagree," Nymeria huffed.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be taking my pretty, gorgeous wife on a date after this, Damion. I need the coin to do it," Arador, the dwarf, complained.

"I need it for my son," the qunari, Kosh, agreed.

Damion sighed. "Look, I'm not taking the little wolf anywhere else but to you lot, but I want payment for him."

"You're ransoming Faren, Adaia's son, to us?" Alyndra raised a brow. "Adaia, who was your friend, for many years?"

"Yes, that Adaia," Damion scoffed.

Alyndra sighed. "You're trying to get your riches back, the dwarf is after a date, the qunari is trying to get money for his son, and you, Lavellan?"

Lavellan?

Nymeria shrugged. "Adventure."

"And what is a Dalish elf doing hanging around a human, dwarf and a qunari?"

"Getting grey hairs apparently," Nymeria said dryly.

"As am I," Alyndra sighed.

"Alright, alright, as amusing as this all is..." Uncle Kerth strolled out of the shadows, smiling, eyes bright with amusement. "I want my nephew back now, and his friend, before his mabari bites you all."

Damion blinked. "Mabari?"

"GAH!" Arador yelped, as Calenhad sat down next to him. "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!"

"Cousland is at thirty souvergns, and Faren has twenty set on him, so I'll double both for those two to have them handed back now, thank you," Kerth said. "And the only reason you're getting paid in gold, instead of arrows, is because we were friends once, so don't try negotiate with me, Damion."

"No, that's fair." Damion grinned. "Thanks, Kerth."

"Fuck you," Kerth scoffed, tossing the bag of coin over.

It sounded very heavy, and Faren's fingers twitched at the sound. He wanted it.

"Am I putting down the Cousland?" Kosh asked.

"Please," Faren sighed as he released his shackles, letting them clatter to the floor.

Damion stared at him, then cackled. "You could unlock them this entire time?"

"Yep." Faren winked.

He slung Cobian's arm over his shoulder and made his way to Uncle Kerth's side, who smirked and ruffled Faren's hair on the way past.

Calenhad was on Faren's heels, barking away happily, while Aunt Alyndra followed after them. Faren only helped Cobian sit down once they were safely behind his uncle, with plenty of thieves standing guard around the tunnels, and began picking the shackles binding Cobian.

"And I thought the Cousland would have been the scarier one considering his bounty was higher," Damion chuckled.

"You should be scared of all of them, Damion," Uncle Kerth said. "They're Grey Wardens."

"Still managed to capture two."

"And you have the rest running after your heels right now. They're a day out, despite you lot being on horse back," Uncle Kerth said.

Damion laughed. "You've been keeping a close eye on Faren, huh?"

"He's my nephew. Of course I have." Uncle Kerth then surprisingly softened. "You should take better care of yourself, Damion."

"I've been trying, but after what happened to my father and Revka..." Damion's fists clenched. "I need to get money, Kerth. My house is falling apart. All the wealth went to fucking Gamlen and he spent everything."

"Meet up with me later for a drink at the Raven's Wing," Kerth ordered.

Damion frowned, then nodded. "Aye, will do."

"We'll meet up again later. Go through the tunnels. You know the route," Uncle Kerth said, nodding his head.

Faren had Cobian's shackles undone by the time their conversation was over, and Alyndra was feeding Cobian an antidote. He was still out of it, but at least with the antidote he should now be able to start to come to properly again. Uncle Kerth approached them once the four bounty hunters were gone, deep within the tunnels.

"So you were friends once?" Faren asked.

"Still are in a way, but he fucked up majorly by kidnapping you," Uncle Kerth said. "Or maybe he thought because it was you it would be safer. Not sure. I'll ask him tonight what's going on in that head of his, then decide if I need to punch him or not."

"I'm..." Faren grimaced. "Sorry you had to spend so much coin on getting us back-"

Uncle Kerth sighed and knelt down to his side, ruffling his hair. "Do you really think I care more about gold than I do you, Faren?"

Faren startled. "Well, no, but you work so hard-"

"It's coin. I can make coin any time I please," Uncle Kerth said. "What I can't get is another one of you, or anybody here."

"If I ever regain my home..." Cobian groaned as rubbed his head. "...I'll pay... and if not? I'll buy drinks..."

Uncle Kerth smirked. "I'll take the drinks, Cousland." The smirk faltered. "Howe hasn't been... careful... with your house's finances, even with the Queen having secured as much as she could."

Cobian sighed heavily. "...That makes sense..."

"How are you feeling?" Faren asked.

"I've got quite the headache, and the room is slightly spinning," Cobian admitted. "But I am much more coherent as I was, even if there are two of you, and two Calenhads."

Calenhad barked.

"Speaking of which, how in the world did you get here?" Cobian raised a brow at him. "You were in the tower."

Calenhad barked happily.

"Yes, following my scent was a sound idea... but you should have gotten the others to help you..."

Calenhad whined.

"I know, but that fight would have been one on four, unless Faren could get free," Cobian argued. "The best thing I could have done was throw up on someone's boots..."

"As long as it wasn't mine, and instead the enemies, then we're good," Faren teased.

Cobian chuckled tiredly, then laid his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. "Do you think the others would have followed us?"

"They already are," Uncle Kerth said. "I'm going to try have Alyndra intercept them and bring them to us."

"Sending out the blind woman?" Aunt Alyndra huffed.

Uncle Kerth smirked. "You're using that as an excuse, love. You just want to go shopping."

"There were a pair of earrings I liked..." Aunt Alyndra sighed. "But fine, I'll play fetch, but you owe me, love."

"You have an entire day to get the earrings," Uncle Kerth pointed out.

"Fine, then I don't wish to walk around in my best shoes outside Denerim."

"Those aren't your best shoes."

Faren fought off the urge to roll his eyes at those two. The amusement died off though as he thought about how lucky they had just gotten. If it hadn't been an old friend of Uncle Kerth's and his mum's, then Faren and Cobian could be in Fort Drakon right now, under arrest as Grey Wardens, or worse than Fort Drakon. Cobian might have been handed over to Howe if he got very unlucky, and Faren could have been handed over to Vaughan.

The thought almost made him gag.

Cobian nudged his shoulder. "We're going to Orzammar next," he muttered. "Our bounties won't count there."

"But Narascha..." Faren reminded him.

Cobian grimaced. "I'm not sure if she would even want to go in... she might stay away..."

"I guess some of us can keep her company outside," Faren said softly, then perked up. "Or go after that lead on that Brother guy Lady Isolde was after. We need to seek out the Urn of Sacred Ashes after all."

"The what now?" Uncle Kerth blinked.

"That will be worth a lot of money-" Aunt Alyndra's eyes lit up.

Fuck. Did he really just say that in front of a bunch of thieves?

"It doesn't exist!" Faren lied. "It's just a side project to keep Bann Teagan on our side."

Uncle Kerth's eyes narrowed. "You believe in it."

"Nope." Faren shook his head. "It's a fantasy, but it would be amazing if it was real."

"And if it was..." Uncle Kerth began, his voice soft, but Faren could feel it, the hopefulness in it.

Faren groaned. "I have a Chantry Sister in my group who travel with us. She'd kill me."

"If she's too holy-" Aunt Alyndra tilted her head.

"She was also a bard in Orlais," Faren added in dryly.

"Ah." Both Aunt Alyndra and Uncle Kerth nodded.

"How does that make any sense to you people?" Faren groaned.

Uncle Kerth frowned thoughtfully. "Hang on, a Chantry Sister who is from Orlais? A former bard?"

"Yeah?" Faren tilted his head.

"Was her name Leliana?"

Cobian looked just as surprised as Faren at that.

"How do you even know that?"

Uncle Kerth smiled. "I think there is a story I should remind you of. Nobody would have reminded you of it in a long time, and it only just occurred to me now."

Faren blinked. "What story?"

"Of the time when Leliana saved Adaia."