Chapter 81

A hand gently cupped her cheek, stroking softly. Her lips curled into a smile at the feel of his familiar touch and she lazily opened her eyes. She wrapped an arm around his waist, letting her fingers slide over his firm skin. "Good morning, love. How are you feeling?"
One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. "I'll be all right. At least I've got some closure now." His fingers fidgeted with her hair as he tried to find the right words. In the end, he kept it simple. "Thanks for last night."
She laid a warm kiss on his lips. "Anytime, love."

-x-

After breakfast, a small team, including Leliana, made their way across the marketplace to Marjolaine's hideout. Emma gritted her teeth as the annoying Orlesian woman tried to convince everyone that she didn't want Leliana dead, and when that failed, she attempted to discredit the red-headed bard. "She will use y-"
A small throwing knife buried itself in Marjolaine's head and there was a stunned silence as she toppled backwards and hit the ground. All eyes turned towards Zevran, who smiled and shrugged. "What? Surely, you did not wish to hear the rest of her slanderous comments?"
Before anyone could answer, the remainder of the mercenaries attacked. The fight didn't last long without Marjolaine aiding them, and after looting the place, they left. Leliana grabbed Zevran by the arm and dragged him away. Emma, Aedan, and Alistair glanced at each other when it became clear that the two rogues were having a heated discussion.

"Do you think we should do something?" Emma asked, hating to see them fighting.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Alistair said as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to look anywhere other than at the arguing couple. All of a sudden, Zevran grabbed Leliana around the waist, pulled her close, and kissed her hard. She struggled briefly before succumbing to his charms. The two rogues then dashed off after deciding that a quick trip back to Eamon's estate was in order.
"I think they've sorted out the problem," Aedan said with a laugh.

With the departure of Leliana and Zevran, the three Grey Wardens were left a bit short-handed for their trip to the Alienage. They returned to the estate, and after collecting Shale, Sten and Wynne, they made their way over the bridge and into the Elven Alienage. The stink of dirt and rubbish was prevalent, making everyone wrinkle their noses in distaste. "Why can't we go to some place where it smells nice? Just once," Alistair joked.
They reached the centre of the alienage and came upon a large group of elves arguing with a lone female elf, while mages stood guard at a door. Aedan started a conversation with Shianni, who explained about the plague and the Tevinter mages that were supposed to be helping. A low growl sounded from Sten. "Vints!"
Oh crap! It hadn't occurred to Emma that he'd be pissed at seeing Tevinter mages; to be fair, she couldn't remember that ever happening in the game. She noticed the bloodthirsty glint in his eye which promised a lot of slaughtering, and stepped in front of him. "Sten, you can't just-" Carefully, he picked her up as though she weighed nothing, and moved her to one side before continuing towards the mages.
"Do I need to stop him, Angel?"
"I guess not. We would have killed them eventually. Hopefully, the elves will have the sense to move out of the way."
Emma guessed right. At the sight of Sten's gleaming sword leaving its sheath, the elves scattered back to their homes.
"I've spent hours trying to get them to leave," Shianni said, "but it seems all I needed was a giant with a large sword."
A few warriors had joined in the fray, and although it seemed a safe bet that Sten would eventually kick their asses, Aedan decided to join the fight.
Five minutes later the Vints were dead. Emma used the key she'd found on one of them and unlocked the front door. Before searching the main area, she led her companions to the adjoining room, and after Aedan had picked the lock, the incarcerated elves clambered out of the cell mumbling words of thanks, and then they were gone. Searching the large room didn't take long with there being one table pushed in a corner, and a few crates scattered around. On the scratched surface of the table lay a piece of paper which listed how many elves were being shipped to Tevinter. Aedan cursed and tucked the evidence in his pack. Emma curled her lip in disgust as she glanced over Aedan's shoulder and read the note. This quest always roused her anger, even more so after she'd played Dragon Age 2, and learnt what Fenris had gone through during his time as a slave to Danarius. No one should have to go through that; the very thought of slavery sickened her, and she looked forward to the fight with Caladrius.

They exited into the back alley, and Emma yelped as a large rat ran over her foot before disappearing into a pile of rubbish. They hastily entered the next building and walked through the corridors, checking rooms and finding only destruction and the occasional sick elf. They took out numerous slavers and mercenaries, and by the time they reached the final room, they were all eager to take down the main man. Aedan immediately declined any conversation with Caladrius, and the fight got underway. Sten leapt over the railing of the balcony and brought his sword down in a massive blow on the soldiers below. Two were dead within mere seconds.

Emma glanced over to Shale. "I think we could just sit back and leave Sten to it."
"He is something to behold, isn't he?" Shale replied in a wistful voice as she smashed one guard in the face. As Emma cast Mana Clash on Caladrius, she thought of Shale's future... or lack of it. The golem's story never got a real ending; true, she briefly appeared in the Dragon Age novel: Asunder, but after that, there had been no mention of her fate. While casting another spell, she debated about what she could do to help Shale when a stinging pain across her upper arm reminded her to concentrate on the fight at hand. She used Mind Blast to push the soldier away, and then Fist of the Maker to slam him into the ground. A few minutes later Caladrius dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.

Emma and the companions joined Aedan just in time to hear the slaver make his offer. He would give Aedan more power by taking the lives of the remaining elves, and in exchange, Caladrius would walk free. A pulse jumped in Aedan's jaw as he ground his teeth together, and then without a word, he slashed his dagger across Caladrius' throat. The slaver landed face-first in a pool of his own blood.
As Sten walked past, he looked down at the dying man. "That was a no, by the way."

Emma collected the proof that incriminated Loghain and handed it over to Aedan, He read the document and shook his head in disbelief. "How does the Hero of River Dane become an accomplice to slavery?" No one could provide an answer, so it was lucky that Elder Valendrian took that moment to introduce himself. They left behind the den of slavery, and at the Elder's request, they joined him at his home. Valendrian expressed his sympathy for the loss of Duncan, and after some minutes of conversing it was time to leave.