Chapter 35
They reached the town of Haven as the sun rose, a grateful addition as the Frostback Mountains were living up to their name. Emma rubbed her hands together as a sharp wind whipped her hair across her face. The greeting from the guard they encountered was no less chilling.
"What are you doing in Haven? There is nothing for you here."
Aedan smiled as if the man had just offered him the key to the city. "We're looking for Brother Genitivi. Have you seen him by any chance?"
The guard's expression became even more hostile. "I don't know of anyone by that name. Perhaps Father Elrik might know, but he's administering to the villagers at the moment and can't be disturbed."
Leliana looked surprised at the man's words. "Father? I have never heard of this."
The guard's contemptuous gaze suggested he didn't care what she thought. "It has always been this way in Haven, and we do not question tradition."
"I think I'd like to talk with Father Elrik," Aedan said, watching the guard closely.
"You may trade for supplies at the shop if you wish. Then I suggest you and your companions leave." The man's face remained stolid, giving nothing away.
Alistair gave a mock shiver. "Did it just get a lot colder? Or is it just me?"
At that moment another blast of wind whistled around them and Emma shivered. "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey; perhaps that's why his attitude is less than welcoming."
The guard stared at her. "What did she just say?"
Aedan shrugged. "You need to get out more, you're missing all the latest sayings."
With that, they walked into Haven and wandered around the village which appeared to be deserted, except for a young boy reciting a ballad. "Why do kids always make the most innocent poems sound so bloody creepy?" Emma said as she eyed the boy nervously.
"I can't say I've seen much evidence of that, but I have to agree with you in this case." Leliana shuddered as the boy stared at them with disturbing attentiveness. After exploring the lower area, they headed up the slope and entered the shop. The storekeeper looked up with the same wary expression they'd seen on the guard. "Who are you? You're not from Haven…"
Aedan's eyebrow shot up. "I'm not? Well, that explains why this place doesn't look familiar." He asked the shopkeeper what he had to sell and spent a few minutes looking over the goods available.
In the meantime, Emma dragged Leliana to a large iron chest and asked her to pick the lock. The bard glanced over her shoulder, and saw the store owner in conversation with Aedan; her nimble fingers made short work of the lock and she opened the lid. Leliana immediately honed in on the pair of leather boots inside the chest, remembering a conversation which had recently taken place around the campfire about Zevran's love of Antivan leather and the boots he'd failed to buy.
"Are these for Zev?" she queried in a low voice. Emma grinned and nodded. "Ah, he will adore them, I think," the bard confirmed. They rejoined the group just as Aedan was wrapping up his transaction.
Zevran spotted the door to the back room. "Hmm, I wonder… the last time we looked into such a room, we found a dead body." The shopkeeper paled and rushed out from behind the counter to stand in front of Zevran. "No! You can't go in there."
The assassin smirked. "I would like to see you try and stop me."
Panicked beyond all sense, the store owner rushed at Zevran, fists flailing at thin air since the assassin had already moved. Zevran rolled his eyes and brought the pommel of his sword down on the man's skull, knocking him out cold. "Now, let's see what he was so keen to hide, yes?" Pushing the door open, the smell of decaying flesh hit them like a sledgehammer.
"Maker's breath! Why do people keep leaving bodies in their back rooms?" Alistair complained as he covered his mouth and nose. Judging from the legs sticking out beneath the cover, the body belonged to a Knight of Redcliffe.
"Poor bastard, he didn't deserve to die like this," Aedan muttered angrily.
As they walked back to the door, Emma remembered the upcoming fight. "We're going to have some pissed-off villagers out there," she warned everyone. With the alacrity of well-trained soldiers, the group readied their weapons, and Aedan opened the door.
They stepped outside and were met with shouts of anger. A misdirection hex appeared around Zevran, and Emma countered with a Glyph of Warding, before turning her attention to the mage who'd cast the spell. She dispelled the magic and swiftly followed through with Mana Clash. The mage screamed as spirit damage tore through him and he dropped dead. Emma blinked in surprise, she'd never used it in the game but had read that the spell was pretty powerful. She grinned, Mana Clash had just become her new favourite spell.
She saw a group of unarmed, yet hostile villagers running towards them, and Emma wanted to knock their heads together. Their fanaticism had driven out all common sense causing them to sprint eagerly towards their deaths. Determined to save as many lives as possible, she cast Blizzard, obscuring their view and freezing them in place. When Alistair and Zevran moved towards them, Emma shouted after the two men. "They're unarmed, let's just keep going and leave them be."
Both warrior and rogue turned to Aedan, who gave a nod of confirmation, and they turned their attention to the men trying to stop them from reaching the top of the hill. Leliana placed an arrow neatly through one skull while Emma froze an archer, who shattered upon contact with a stone fist flung by Wynne. Meanwhile, Aedan, Alistair and Zevran worked their way through the remaining fighters, until they finally reached an odd-looking building. Flames burned brightly on either side of the door, and thick wooden beams, with large thorns protruding from them, curled above the entrance. Emma shuddered; she hadn't paid much attention to the outside of the building in the game, but standing in front of it, she couldn't help but think it would make a great haunted house. The place practically reeked of menace.
"Not very friendly looking, is it?" Alistair noted.
Aedan walked towards the thick wooden door and pushed it open with enough force to slam it against the wall, causing the villagers inside to spin around and glare at the intruders.
"Such a friendly village, I should recommend it to my friends for a holiday location," Zevran joked. The crowds parted as Aedan strode purposefully down the centre of the room. Emma tried not to drool, but damn, he looked sexy when he moved with such confidence and authority. Father Elrik clearly didn't share Emma's appreciation, if the glowering look on his face was anything to go by.
Elrik seemed to compose himself, replacing the peeved expression with something slightly more polite. "Ah… welcome. I heard there were strangers in Haven. Have you enjoyed your visit here?"
Aedan wore a bored expression as he crossed his arms, transferring his weight to his right leg, projecting the perfect pose of someone holding a casual conversation. "Well, let's see; your guards could be a little more friendly, your shopkeeper needs to stop keeping dead bodies in the storeroom, such a terrible smell, you know. Oh, and let's not forget the villagers; don't they know it's the height of bad manners to attack visitors?"
Father Elrik snorted indignantly. "We do not need to explain ourselves to you!"
Aedan straightened and the air of playfulness was gone. "Good, because I'm not in the mood for talking." He smoothly drew both daggers from their sheaths and prepared to fight. Guards closed in as Father Elrik stepped back, giving himself some space to start casting spells.
Emma and Wynne immediately focused on him, recognising the danger he presented. Emma cast a vulnerability hex and Wynne cast Mana Drain causing Elrik to stumble as the immediate loss of mana weakened him. Emma checked that none of her friends were in range before casting Tempest while Wynne conjured up Blizzard and all of a sudden Elrik found himself trapped within a raging storm. Both ladies turned their attention to the rest of the combat, only to find the last remaining guard skewered on Alistair's blade. Lifting his foot, Alistair pushed the corpse off as he muttered. "I hate it when that happens." Eventually, the spells surrounding Elrik died down, revealing his dead body.
Emma leaned over and removed the amulet from around his neck. "That's a little clunky for you isn't it?" Aedan asked.
She chuckled. "We need this to open a door." They checked out the side room, picked up some loot on the way, and then returned to the main area. Emma knew where the door to the secret room was, but she didn't want to ruin their fun and waited to see if someone would spot it. "All right," Aedan said. "Let's take a look around. If they did capture Brother Genitivi, then I guess Elrik would keep him nearby."