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[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 40



Kai and her friends had been spending the days in quiet moments of much needed relaxation, waiting for word back

from Ignacio before they moved to Highever next.  Eamon and Teagan had rejoined them all at the farm hold after

their lengthy and trying two-week meeting with Anora.  It had not put Eamon or Teagan in a good mood, and they were

even less happy that everyone was still there.  But Kai had pointed out that necessity was the mother of invention,

and with the new alliance being birthed between Antiva and Ferelden, it dictated that she stay close to Denerim. 

This was the closest safe house after all.  Add to that, she and Zev were still recovering from their injuries. 

The mention of which, and how she had received hers, nearly sent Eamon into an apoplectic seizure.  Kai almost felt

sorry for the man, but she was trying to get a pretty little viper off the throne, and that meant danger.  Vipers

had venom and fangs after all.  

Zev still slept in the same bed with her.  And his injuries, according to Wynne, were almost completely healed. 

His bruises left the barest hint of yellow, if you knew what you were looking for on his warm honey skin.  But his

psyche seemed to be something else all together.  He wasn't cold, but he wasn't warm and close as he had been.  He

didn't touch her much, only in passing.  There was nothing like the friendly intimacy they had shared, not even the

sexual innuendo.  He was holding back, a wall was there, similar to the one he had up before he made the decision

to follow her and spurn Taliesen, and in some ways worse.  It was a wall she couldn't seem to penetrate.  Wynne had

said he was at war with himself.  She figured she should just stay close, be his friend and wait to see what side

would be the winner in his internal conflict.  The only problem was Kai was not sure what was involved in his

internal war, so she didn't know which side or sides to hope would win.
Kai had gotten together with Eamon, and Teagan, after Eamon had calmed down enough.  She explained to them about

the ex-Crows, now Scath, and their waiting for word back from Antiva.  She also showed them one of the chests they

had gotten from the ship 'Wave's Promise' and the mercenaries.  Much to her disappointment, Eamon and Teagan had no

idea where Anora was getting the money.  She was making money by forcing all the banns, arls, and teyrns to over

tax their people.  But this was more money than that.  A lot more.  This had led Kai to send out Naseel to the

Scath in Denerim with new assignments for the ones like Lelyth who were working in the castle.  They were missing

an important piece of information, and they needed it badly.  In the meantime they were distributing the money from

the chests found on board back to the poor and to those nobles who had been loyal to Kai and the Theirin line.  All

of which was done by the 'Silver Griffon' of course.

But their days of relaxation were quickly over.  It was a beautiful sunny Ferelden Spring day, when the breeze held

only the barest chill left from Winter, and Kai and her crew were all hiding out in the gently sloping hills around

the now mostly evacuated village of Swallow's Point.  This village sat at the edge of Bann Loren's lands.  Bann

Loren was the villain who had imprisoned, tortured, and then executed King Cailan's honor guard, Elric Maraigne; a

move that had lead Kai and Alistair back to Ostagar.  Indeed, Loren was firmly in the Anora toady camp.

Kai had her Scath keeping a close eye on the banns and arls who were either too cowardly to oppose Anora or were

slobbering sycophants.  Bann Loren was definitely sycophant material.  He had followed Cailan until he had fallen. 

Then when Loghain had become regent, he followed him.  Now he followed the little viper.  Kai wondered if he just

went in whichever direction the wind blew, even if it was going to blow from the direction of the children of

Alistair Theirin, bastard grandchildren of Maric Theirin.  Kai snorted to herself.

They had gotten word that Bann Loren had proposed a plan to Anora to trap the 'Silver Griffon,' the person who was

giving the pretty little viper such heartburn.  The plan was to leak that the town's men were being conscripted by

Anora.  The 'Silver Griffon' would, of course, ride to the town's rescue and thus find himself caught and

subsequently executed.  End of problem.  Well, it would be if the 'Silver Griffon' were a person and not a group of

people all working towards Anora's downfall.  Kai laughed into her own head.

They had decided to employ a tactic similar to the one they had used in the Alienage.  Those villagers, mostly the

able-bodied men who could and were willing to fight remained out in the open, along with a good number of Scath,

Zev and Naseel included.  They were all dressed in everyday work clothes, giving the impression of a village going

about its day to day.  The village was a sort of rectangle, built around one village square with the main road

traveling through the middle of it.  The soldiers, those not “conscripting” the villagers would be surrounding the

square once the Griffon made his appearance.  Or so Loren's plan stated in the orders that her Scath had

intercepted.

Kai had Jarren, her Scath, ready to play the part of the Griffon and come riding in with a small band of Scath to

“rescue” the villagers.  Loren's men would surround them, and then she and the rest of the Scath would in turn

surround Loren's men.  She expected them to fight.  Loren's men had shown great cruelty towards Cailan's man,

Elric.  As always, her plan was to spare those she could, but not at the expense of the others.  So they waited. 

Her Scath rogues had crept back to tell her that Loren's men were on their way.

Kai watched as a group of armored men walked into the village, grabbing men and pushing them into the square,

rounding them all up, even the elves like Zev, which was just fine.  She didn't think they would like the surprise

when their docile and cowed elven servant showed his true abilities.  Kai smiled at that.  Naseel and the other

female Scath were playing the alarmed females afraid for their men to perfection.  Kai felt her trap ready to

spring shut and cause the little viper to develop yet another ulcer, but her feelings of confidence evaporated when

a man and a band of soldiers rode into the middle of the square.  They were not Jarren and his crew.  Blast it! 

Who the hell had crashed the party?  Kai watched as the handsome young man at the head of the party rode in and

started shouting at the soldiers.  Kai was too far away to hear what he said, but she figured it was something

along the lines of “cease and desist.”  Sod it!

Luckily, Kai knew her Scath were some of the best and most disciplined.  They would roll with this, that included

Jarren.  So it looked as if this young man, whoever he was, would play the part of the Griffon for them.  She only

hoped he was smart enough to see what the lay of the land was once the game started.  She had no desire to kill him

or his men, but she had even less desire for him or his to injure or kill hers.

Kai continued to watch as Loren's men figured they indeed had their 'Silver Griffon' and gave a shout which brought

the troops from outside the village to began surrounding the group and closing in.  Kai watched the young man whose

eyes got wide.  He said something else which she could not hear, and he and his men drew their own arms.  There was

a clash of metal on metal, and the game had begun.  That was her cue.  Kai made hand signals to ready her Scath and

her friends.
They all began to move forward in a circle around the village surrounding the group in the square.   Loren's men

suddenly found themselves fighting not only their real quarry, but the villagers themselves.  The soldiers found

themselves having to fight at their flank as well.  The hunters had become the hunted.

With the help of Shale and Argus, Kai started cutting a swath towards the young man who, now that she was closer,

looked awfully familiar though she didn't have time to really put her mind to why.  She found herself facing a man

in plate who very effectively blocked her way. "Hello, girly girl," he leered at her.  Kai swiped her dagger across

his face slicing his eye before he even had a chance to raise his sword.  When he raised his hand to his face, she

stuck him in the armpit, where his armor had an opening, right into his lung and heart.

"Bye," she told him as he gasped like a fish and went down.

Shale just tossed armored men about like rag dolls or pulled back an enormous fist and knocked men across the

square.  Argus knocked one man down and ravaged the man's face as it was not covered by a helmet.  The man shrieked

and tried to fight the Mabari off.  Argus waited until the man raised his head enough to give him an opening to the

man's throat, and the shrieking ended in a burbling choke.

Finally, Kai made it to the young man's side.  She parried a sword blow aimed for his unguarded back.  She let the

attacker's sword slide along her own black metal blade making little sparks where they clashed.  She felt the

vibration down her arm.  Kai went down on one knee as the man's weight pressed her backward.  She saw him grin at

her, triumph sparking in his eyes, then his eyes got wide as Kai snaked out a quick fist and punched the man square

in the place of his hopes and dreams.  He was wearing armor, but Kai had dwarven steel across the knuckles of her

leather gloves.  Punch metal to metal hard enough, and it would cause damage.  His sword clanged to the ground as

he started to fall to his knees, grasping himself and taking great gulps of air like a fish on land.  Kai stood up

and took off his head with a double-handed swipe.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but thanks!" she heard the young man say before he was occupied by another

soldier intent on capturing the Griffon.

"I would say you are welcome, but I am just a bit irked."  Kai kicked out at the man in front of her catching him

square in his unguarded jaw with a sickening crunch as the bone broke.  The man squealed like a piglet as blood

flooded out of his broken mouth.  She stuck her dagger in his chest between the ribs and pushed him off with her

foot.  She turned to look for her next opponent and found that the square was covered in bodies.  She was happy to

see that most were in plate mail.
Her first priority, as always, was her own people.  She called the Scath and did a head count, as well as making

sure she could see her friends all standing or sitting.  Wynne and Fiona were already hard at work, while those who

were not as injured were using potions and getting out bandages and poultices, setting up an area for first aid. 

That included any villagers and this man's men as well.  Kai motioned to Naseel to check and see if they had any

civilian casualties.  They had this routine down now.  She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one, their

familiarity with tending the wounded and dying.

Kai turned to the man who had almost ruined their whole operation.  It kept nagging at her that she knew him.  "Old

boyfriend?" Alistair's voice teased her.

"Very funny, smart guy.  You know all my lovers by name.  Except I can't quite remember the last bloke....hm. 

Albert, Alfred, no... hmm what was his name?"  Kai laughed at him.

"Oh, you are so evil!"  Alistair mock grumbled at her, then laughed into her ear.

She watched as the young man tended not only to his people, but helped with the villagers.  His hair was similar to

Alistair's in color, a little more on the brown side.  He had a goatee and green eyes and a face that probably made

the other nobles’ daughters swoon.  He was obviously in shape, and he knew how to wield his weapons.  He wasn't

just some slothful noble's brat.  It was obvious that he was a noble, since his armor was excellent and his men

were equipped quite well.  It was also the way he carried himself.  She and Fergus had the same kind of carriage. 

It was drilled into them at an early age.  But this noble seemed to be slumming it.

He turned to her and grinned.  "You look awfully familiar.  Have we met?  At a Landsmeet maybe, or just in my

dreams?"

Kai rolled her eyes at him.  "Don't bother with the charm, ser, it has been tried by better men than you."  She

caught Zev moving forward out of the corner of her eye.

The man’s grin widened.  "I am Keiron Ceorlic, son to a long line of traitors it seems.  I was here hoping to

redeem the family name."  He grinned wider.  "My father loves to straddle a fence, must be what he uses that split

in his arse for.  I overheard him talking to Bann Loren about this little trap.  I had hoped to stop the ‘Silver

Griffon’ from being caught and to meet him.  I want to sign up for the cause."

Kai looked over at Zev and Naseel, who were standing near by.  Then she turned to Keiron and laughed.  "Well, today

is your lucky day."  She waved a hand to encompass all the Scath and her group of friends.  "You just did."  She

grinned at his confused look and clapped him on the shoulder.  "Let’s sit down and talk, shall we?"

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 07:56 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 41



After the battle at Swallow's Point, Keiron Ceorlic was now a part of the cause.  He proved a very able warrior,

and even with his laissez faire attitude toward life in general, he took Ferelden and getting Anora off the throne

very seriously.  Despite his rather obvious attempts to charm Kai, he was a rather pleasant addition to their

growing group of troublemakers.

His constant innuendos reminded her of the way Zev used to be towards her.  In a way, it was a painful reminder of

their damaged relationship.  But aside from the innuendos, he was not like Zev in the least. He always made Kai

think of a big enthusiastic Mabari puppy – overly friendly, but good in a fight.  She was sure he fancied himself a

bit of a knave or a highwayman or a pirate.  She suspected his nanny raised him on such tales as a child, and he

had taken the “dashing hero” bit to heart.

Zevran seemed less than thrilled with him outside of a fight.  Whenever Keiron was in the same room with Kai, he

would watch him with wary amber eyes.  But as he still seemed embroiled in his internal struggle, Kai wasn't going

to read too much into that.  He seemed just as wary looking at her any time she caught his eyes on her.  He wasn't

freezing her out, neither was he warming at all.  Kai didn't know what she could do to start building a bridge back

to what they had been.

Kai and the Scath had been informed by Zaeed via the procul globe that the negotiations had finished and she had

gotten what she wanted, all of it and then some.  What “some” meant she didn't know, as Zaeed had grinned and said

it would be better if she saw it.  The rest of the Scath and all of the money, weapons, armor and anything

belonging to House Vimaro would be packed and coming to Kai and the Scath in Ferelden.  Zaeed had already started

the packing process at their headquarters.  He told her they would all be coming with Master Ignacio.  That ought

to be a fun trip, Kai thought.

Kai's wound had not completely healed when she went on her little foray to Swallow's Point.  So, she was spending

time having Wynne fuss at her while redressing it.  Secretly, she thought that Wynne enjoyed having a reason to

cluck over her like a mother hen.  They were interrupted by Zevran coming in to get out some of his daggers for

target practice.  Today was his day to see to the Scath's training and practice sessions, and since Kai was

forbidden to do anything that would open up the wound again, she couldn't partner up and help.  Zev went to one of

the chests along the wall that held armor and weapons.

Wynne had finished bandaging Kai and helped her slip on a cotton tunic shirt over her leggings.  "No helping Zev

train the Scath.  I am serious, young woman!  You may watch, but no helping."  She looked at Kai with her lips

drawn in a firm line.

"Yes, mom."  Kai grinned at her.

"Don't get sassy with me, young lady.  If I catch you doing something that can open up that wound again, I will

have Shale sit on you."  Wynne smiled at her.  "Now go on, get out of here before I change my mind and turn you

into a frog until it heals."  Kai mock saluted the mage and started to leave the room when she noticed that Zev was

standing in front of one of the chests holding the cotton shirt she had worn on the mission to the ship with the

mercenaries.  She had forgotten all about it.  She had meant to try and clean the blood out of it and mend the cut

in the cloth, or get Wynne to mend it since the mage had better sewing skills.

"Try whining, it always worked for me," Alistair's voice teased her.

"I think she might turn me into a frog with all the healing I have made her do lately.  I don't think she will be

to receptive to fixing my rent garments.  But thanks for the advice, beloved," Kai teased him back.

Zev's face was unreadable; he had his mask firmly in place as he looked at the large brownish stain that covered

almost the whole front of the shirt and a good bit of the side going towards the back with one long angry looking

drip line curling around where she had collapsed on the floor.  "Sorry, Zev, I shouldn't have put that in there, I

wasn't thinking.  It needs cleaning and mending, as does the cuirass.” Kai went to bend down to reach for the

leather in the chest, but Zev's hand on her arm stopped her.  He gave her arm a little squeeze and a quick rub with

his thumb, then reached in and got the armor out for her.  It was the most affectionate touch he had given her

since his fingers in her hair.  It made her heart flutter and hurt at the same time.  She smiled at him and

motioned towards the belt with her daggers sheathed in it.  "Might as well sharpen them too since I am not allowed

to play today."  Kai wrinkled her nose at Wynne, who wrinkled her own nose back at Kai, before giving Zev a

thoughtful look.  Zev handed the dagger belt to her, his long fingers brushing her own; Kai looked down, flushing.

Kai went out the door and was so occupied in her thoughts that she found herself bumping into Keiron so hard she

dropped the armor and ricocheted off him to land against the wall with a grunt.  His big hands reached out and

grasped her arms to steady her, but instead of letting her go he kept them there.  He grinned at her with that

rakish grin she had no doubt he had been practicing since he was little boy stealing from the larder.  "Well, today

is my lucky day!  I get bumped into by an exceptionally beautiful and talented woman.  This is the way a man should

start his day.  The only thing better is to wake up next to her in the morning."  His grin got wider as Kai gave

him an eye roll.

"Ugh, I believe I told you not to bother.  I have had flirting and seduction tried by better men than you." Kai

just kept her arms down at her sides.  "You can let go, now."  She looked pointedly to either side where his hands

were.

Keiron grinned more but let her go. "You mean the elven fellow?  Do you two sleep together, or do you sleep

together?"

Kai felt herself flushing.  "What if I told you he is the best lover in all of Thedas?"

"Then I would say I don't believe you because I never hear any noise coming from the room at night."  Keiron's

green eyes sparkled with laughter as Kai started to blushed harder than ever.  Really, the man was unbelievable.

"You stand around and listen at my bedroom door?  What kind of weird voyeur are you?"  She cocked an eyebrow at

him.  Kai was pleased to see him blush this time and look down.  He looked nothing more than a little boy, blushing

and shuffling his feet.

"I don't!  I mean, I'm not!  I was hungry one night, and I passed by the door," he mumbled at her.

"You should know better than to tangle with Kai, she is too much woman for you to handle, Keiron," Zev's voice came

from behind the warrior.  Kai felt herself blushing so hard her ears were burning.  Andraste's flaming knickers,

were they both setting out to see who could make her blush the hardest?  Kai started to bend down to grab the

fallen cuirass while holding her dagger belt like a shield to her chest.  Zev walked over with his face unreadable

watching Keiron and bending down to get the armor and hand it to Kai.

"Um, right I am going to go now.  When you two are done dancing with each other, I will be down in the courtyard

watching the Scath and sharpening my daggers."

Kai stalked off towards the stairs.  She was just about to start down them when she heard Keiron ask Zev, "Do you

think she means to sharpen them to use on us?".  She didn't wait to hear Zev's response or even if he made any. 

Really, she was tied up in knots.  The one man she never used to feel awkward around made her more awkward than

before, and the other was a big puppy who made her feel awkward in his exuberance.  She should have stayed in the

Fade, Maker's blood.

"Well, it could be worse," Alistair's voice told her.

"How could it possibly be worse?" Kai asked dryly.

"Oghren could be in love with you too.  Especially after that lovely costume you wore while in the Gnawed Noble

Tavern and hanging all over him."  Alistair laughed in her ear.  Kai couldn't help but laugh with him.  Alistair

always made her feel better.  Even in the Deep Roads and with facing the Broodmother, he had always managed to make

her spirits rise.

She made her way downstairs and through the Great Hall to the front doors and out to the courtyard where they had

set up dummies and targets.  Sten and Oghren sat on hay bales, both sharpening their respective weapons.  Oghren

had a mug of ale which he swigged from in between swipes with a whet stone.  Morrigan and Fiona were deep in

conversation.  Fiona looked to be teaching Morrigan healing spells.  Kai raised an eyebrow at that.  Argus was

getting Naseel to play tug of war with a piece of knotted rope.  Shale was watching the activity in the courtyard

from behind Oghren and Sten.  The Scath were all practicing, with Leliana helping to correct stances while waiting

for Zevran to show up.

Kai sat on the hay bale next to Oghren and grabbed the extra whet stone he had out and sprinkled it with honing

oil.  She applied a dagger blade to the stone, and the repetitive motions soon had her mind settled and quiet.  It

was like a meditation, and it helped her to settle herself after that incident upstairs.  Zev eventually came out

the front doors to the courtyard.  Kai had a momentary flutter of panic when Keiron didn't show up right behind

him.  Had the big puppy gotten on the assassin's nerves one too many times already?  But Keiron showed soon enough,

chewing on an apple and winking at Kai.

Zev was just gathering the Scath together in a semi-circle around him to start the day's lesson when a clattering

of hooves and the sound of footsteps made everyone stop what they were doing.  Kai was expecting to see someone on

a Ceffyl, instead she saw why everyone was gaping.  It was a Halla.  The deer like creature was as white as

moonlight on snow; not even the dust from the road seemed to dim it.  The horns were carved and curled in spirals

and soft undulating waves on top of its head.  It had no bridle and only a small blanket across its back.  A small

blanket on which a young, golden haired, elven woman with a beautiful intricate tattoo on her face sat.  She wore

hunter's leathers with a bow and a quiver of arrows slung across her back.  That along with a small dagger of

ironbark sheathed at her side spoke of a Dalish hunter.  Though what a Dalish elf would be doing so far from her

clan and the Brecilian forest Kai had no idea.  Nor did she have any ideas about how the girl had found her.

But, she was not the only strange visitor to their little farm hold.  The elven girl was glaring at a man with dark

brown hair, a beard, and glowing bright yellow eyes.  His ears were slightly pointed, but not in the way of the

elven.  Almost like cat ears.  Kai recognized him, Swiftrunner the former werewolf.  Kai and her friends had

managed to set Swiftrunner and his fellow werewolves free from the curse placed on them by a Dalish clan elder

named Zathrian.  Zathrian had lived centuries by using his blood and binding the spirit of the forest called "The

Lady" to a white wolf named Witherfang.  They had been two sides of the forest, one gentle and loving the other

cold and brutal.  A bite from the wolf had brought the disease of lycanthropy to the humans who lived near the

forest, a curse for the rape of his daughter and the torture and murder of his son.  The werewolves had attacked

Zathrian's people and passed the curse to them in the hopes that Zathrian would end it to save his own people. 

Unfortunately, Zathrian’s hatred was still not appeased, and he was afraid to die after living so long.  With the

help of “The Lady,” Kai had convinced Zathrian to break the curse after so many centuries, to end his hate and go

to his rest, freeing both his people and Swiftrunner’s clan.  Swiftrunner and his clan had taken off to live

amongst humans once again.  Yet here he was, glaring back at the Dalish hunter.

"Warden, we need your help!" both the girl and Swiftrunner began at once, before breaking off to glare at each

other.  Swiftly, each drew a dagger and faced off with each other.  Oh boy! was all Kai could think before the two

had crossed their blades.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 08:06 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 42


 
Kai jumped in between the elven girl and Swiftrunner just as both of them went to strike at each other.  Kai's Qun

martial arts had her knocking both of their armed hands aside, feeling a little stitch in her wound as she did so. 

Maker, Wynne was going to kill her!  Kai then threw open handed blows to their chests, knocking them both away from

each other.  Sten grabbed Swiftrunner and held him by both arms while the man growled at the young woman, his eyes

glowing an intense yellow.  Keiron had grabbed the elven girl the same way, his apple sticking out his mouth.  The

situation would have been comical but for the seriousness with which they were going after each other.

"Bloody hell!  What is going on here?"  Kai reached a hand to feel the bandage on her side.  "And how did you two

find me?"  Zevran had come over and gently lifted her shirt to look at the wound.  His fingers making her skin

tingle.  When he shook his head, his look told her the cut had not opened up again.  Kai felt herself flushing, but

she let out a sigh of relief.  She smiled in gratitude at him before turning her gaze back to her two visitors. 

They both started to talk at once.  Kai held up a hand.  "Swiftrunner?" Kai turned to him.  He shifted his glowing

golden eyes to her.

"My clan went to live in Gwaren after you freed us, lady...."

"Your clan, more a pack of filthy killers no matter what skin you wear."  The elven woman glared at Swiftrunner.

"ENOUGH!" Kai roared, and she was glad to see everyone flinch but Sten and Shale.  "I have had enough of your

sniping and trying to kill each other.  If you want my help, you will either behave yourselves, or I will kill you

myself."  Kai glared at the girl and Swiftrunner in turn.  "Your being here could put us all in danger."

Kai heard a thump as Keiron spit out his apple.  "She is magnificent!"  He stage whispered to Zev, while grinning

his big goofy grin.  Kai rolled her eyes.

"Continue, Swiftrunner.  You and your clan moved to Gwaren?"  Kai nodded at Sten to let the man go.

"Yes, my lady, your generosity allowed us to move back with our fellow humans.  It has been difficult sometimes,

there is so much we have had to relearn.  But we have been accepted, we are doing well. However, Gwaren has been

taken over by people from Tevinter and they are protected by Anora's men.  They are moving great quantities of

lumber onto ships."  Swiftrunner's face frowned in concern.

"They move great amounts of lumber, lady, because they are chopping down parts of the Brecilian Forest and our

home!"  The elven girl, whom Keiron had released his hold on, glared at Swiftrunner before turning her worried gaze

on Kai.  Voices started to buzz in the courtyard amongst the native Ferelden Scath.  Some of them were obviously

explaining what that meant to their Antivan counterparts.

Kai looked at Zev, "Grab Eamon, Wynne and Teagan.  Have them meet us in the Great Hall.  He nodded and slipped back

inside.  Kai nodded to the elf and Swiftrunner, "Follow me, please."  Kai motioned for the Scath and the rest to

come as well.  They made their way into the Hall.  Kai had her guests both sit at the long dining table.  The Scath

and the rest of her friends all found places to sit or stand.  Kai grabbed a servant and asked for refreshment for

their guests to be brought.  She waited until Eamon, Teagan and Wynne had seated themselves before making

introductions.
 
It was Eamon who spoke first, "I want to know how you both found out Kai was alive and how you found us before we

go any further.  I need to know if we must leave here now."  Eamon's face was deadly serious.  Before they could

both began talking again, Kai waved her hand at the elven girl.

The girl flushed and looked at Kai.  "My name is Alariel, lady.  And I give the word of myself and my clan's

keeper, Lanaya, that no one else but she and I know you are alive and where you are.  Well, and the mad mage who

hides in the forest, but he is not going to be talking to anyone but Aneirin."  Alariel gave a small smile.  "As

you know, the clans only meet once every few years, and in between we wander.  Our clan happened to be in the area

a few miles outside of Gwaren at the foothills leading to the Kocari Wilds.  When we saw what was happening, we

didn't know what to do.  We have been destroying their tools, their wagons, creating mayhem in any way we could,

but the human queen sent more men to help guard the shem who are destroying our home.  Some of ours have been

killed; they hang the bodies from trees to rot as a message.  They keep us from cutting them down to give them a

proper burial and return them to the forest.

We sent Aneirin to speak to the mad mage in the Eastern part of the forest.  He was always friendly to Aneirin.  We

sought his magic to help us.  Of course the shem is too deranged to be of any help.  He is too paranoid about a

“them” finding him.  But he told us that there was one who could help.  A dead woman who was not dead.  The woman

who had given him the silver ring he wore in trade for an acorn.  He said she had been kind to him, she had given

him food and blankets to keep him warm and a book to read.  He had magicked the ring to tell him where she was. 

She had told him she would come back some time and visit him.  Apparently, lady, he thought of you and Aneirin as

his only friends.  You made a good impression on him, even in his addled mind."  The girl grinned at Kai across the

table.  "We had thought you dead, lady.  That is what we heard from ours who trade with the shem.  Imagine our

surprise when the mad mage showed us the ring and how it worked.  We had to trade for it, of course, and promise to

return it to him.  But it will be worth it if we can call upon you once again, lady."  Kai smiled at her.

"Well, I had no idea he would even remember me once we left him.  He really is quite mad, the poor bugger.  I need

to make sure he gets some supplies."  Kai looked at Eamon.  "Feel better, Eamon?"
 
"No, as the gentleman has not answered how he came to find you."  Eamon looked at Swiftrunner.
 
"The village mayor is basically a prisoner, and Anora has not put another teyrn in charge of Gwaren since her

father was executed.  It remains leaderless and is under marshal law.  No one is allowed to leave.  I take it if

word got out to the other banns, arls and the Teyrn of Highever, there would be an uproar?"  Swiftrunner looked at

Eamon who nodded.  "Well, the villagers all met in secret.  Because I am most agile, I was chosen to sneak out of

Gwaren and try to find the 'Silver Griffon.'  We all heard stories before the village was locked down.  We had even

received aid in the Winter from the Griffon.  I was to take the Brecilian passage and go to Denerim to discreetly

inquire at the Gnawed Noble Tavern.  It was our only lead.  So I went there.  I asked the bartender, who acted as

if he did not know what I was talking about.  But he gave me a key to a room there and told me to spend the night. 

I did, but I must admit I was confused.  I am still learning human facial expressions and body language.  I went to

the room and settled in.  I got a visit from a person dressed all in black who put a dagger to my throat and

demanded to know why I was asking after the Griffon.  I explained, and he told me where to find you and gave me

this."  Swiftrunner pulled out a silver medallion with three crescent moons back to back with the third moon

pointing downwards while a triple knot with the point upwards connected the moons in the middle.

It was the symbol of the Scath.  Kai had it designed and all wore a ring, a pendant and carried the medallions

secreted on their persons.  The medallions were to be given to those who were in need of help from 'The Silver

Griffon' or the Scath.  As a means of alerting each other, they could even draw three arcs back to back with their

feet in the dust if in a public place.  As a test to see who might be part of the cause, they could draw one arc

and see if the person in question knew to draw the rest.
Kai fingered the cold metal that Swiftrunner had carried.  Well, it seemed they would need to travel to the

Brecilian Forest.  Kai motioned Naseel over, "Naseel, get on the procul globe, tell Zaeed to take his time packing

up.  Then, get all the Scath here ready to go."  Naseel smiled, nodded, and saluted before turning on her heel to

go upstairs.

Kai turned to Eamon, “We will need use the Brecilian passage.  It will be our quickest route after leaving the West

Road.  Do we have any safe houses close to the forest for the twins?"

Alariel broke in to their conversation.  "I know that you may stay with my clan, lady.  Your children will be safe

there, I swear it.  My clan owes you our very existence.  We will protect them with our lives.  Though the only

threat we have is the Tevinter, and they do not know where we are camped.  We have made sure of it."

Kai smiled at her.  "I thank you and your clan, Alariel.  We will be taking Swiftrunner with us.  He can help

fight, and he has as much at stake as you do.  His home is invaded and his people threatened as well."  Kai raised

a hand before she could protest.  "Alariel, Zathrian cursed Swiftrunner's ancestors, Swiftrunner himself and his

people were not trying to kill your people.  They wanted to be free from something they had nothing to do with,

just as your people are free from shems.  Can you honestly tell me you and yours wouldn't have done what they had

to do to be free?  That your people haven't?  You are more alike than different, Alariel.  It is time to forgive

and move on, don't you think?"  Kai could see the girl thinking on what she said.  She hesitated a moment and

nodded.  Then she put out her hand to Swiftrunner, who looked at it for a moment before taking it in his.

"Good, now that's settled.  Well, now we know what Anora is doing to get all that money we found.  We all need to

pack and get moving.  We have a village to rescue, a forest to save, and Tevinter bastards to drive out of

Ferelden.  No pressure," Kai laughed.  "Let’s go save the world."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 08:19 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 43


There was a light misty rain falling from the overcast sky.  It made the daytime feel like twilight.  The sound of

rain dripping from the trees was the only sound in the forest.  Kai and a group of her Scath were hiding in the

trees along a logging road that the Tevinters had cut through this part of the forest to transport logs to Gwaren

for shipment.

They had discovered that things had much worse, but in some ways better than they thought.  It was better in that

only a few square miles had been deforested so far.  But what had been logged, was completely stripped.  It was

also worse in that after Swiftrunner was found missing, as punishment the whole town of Gwaren, children included,

were being forced to help strip the forest by cutting down trees or stripping logs and moving them to carts. 

During the night, the villagers were rounded up and shoved into a couple of large warehouses on the docks with the

lumber being loaded the next morning.

Lanaya, the clan elder, had accepted Swiftrunner as a guest and kept her people from causing trouble with him. 

Alariel's acceptance of him had helped.  The other hunters in the clan had all taken Kai as their leader without

complaint or apparent trepidation.  So, she had some of the best archers in Thedas not only in her Scath, but also

in the elves scattered about the trees.

The old leaves on the ground were wet and soft and made no sound when walked upon.  It would make what they were

about to do much easier as would the overcast, cloudy weather.  Kai and her Scath were all waiting just past the

bend in the road as it rose up a gently sloping hill.  They were waiting on a group of three wagons loaded down

with felled trees that were coming down the road.  The wagons would be guarded by Anora's armored men, Tevinter

soldiers and at least one Tevinter mage, maybe two.

Her friends, except for Leliana and Zev, were all around the bend and down the hill prepared to circle in and

surround the last wagon after the Scath had dealt with the first two.  The word had gone out – the Fereldan

soldiers were not to be harmed if possible.  She wanted to see who all she might recruit as she did with Kylon's

men.  If she could appeal to their sense of national pride against their fear of the little viper, she might just

be able to get more help for the cause.  The Tevinters she didn't hold out any hope for and figured them to fight. 

After all, they didn't give a damn about Ferelden or its people in so much as what they were getting out of the

arrangement in the form of lumber and slave labor.

Kai heard the prearranged signal, the caw of ravens echoing through the trees as the Scath further down let her

know that the first wagon was going to be coming up the hill and around the bend.  Naseel, crouching next to Kai,

cawed back.  The idea was to overtake the first wagon while it was out of view of the second, drive it into the

wood a ways, and obliterate the tracks.  They had covered nets with leaves and twigs to go over the wagon, making

it look like another part of the forest.  They would do the same with the second and then ambush the third.  The

netting was something the Dalish did to camouflage things, including hiding under smaller versions to shoot at

unsuspecting prey, humanoid or animal.  Kai and her Scath were employing this tactic for this little project.
Tevinter mages were to be shot with arrows outright.  Kai hated that, but if mages couldn't speak, they couldn't

cast.  So, the archers were hidden in trees, bows nocked when the wagon came into view.  Only one mage was sitting

with the driver who looked to be one of the villagers from Gwaren.  There were five soldiers, four on either side

of the long wagon with one man in the back following.  The soldiers were all on foot, but they didn't seem

particularly worried or alert.  If anything, they seemed bored.

They waited until the wagon got to the flat part of the road and was completely out of the view of the second

wagon.  Kai cawed three sharp calls and an arrow shot out of the trees to catch the mage in the throat.  The

driver's eyes got wide, and he jumped off the wagon and dove under it.  Another arrow shot out to hit the soldier

nearest Kai in the leg, causing him to go down on one knee.  Kai and the Scath materialized like smoke out of the

trees and put swords and daggers to the throats of the other soldiers before they had even finished drawing their

weapons.  Kai motioned for the Scath to lead the soldiers into the woods away from the road; some would stay with

them and keep them quiet.

Naseel had bent down and grabbed the driver, making soothing sounds to him, "Good man, the Silver Griffon has sent

us to help.  We are here to rescue you all.  Please don't be alarmed.  Drive the wagon off the road until we tell

you to stop, then do as you are directed.  OK?"  Kai smiled at the man reassuringly.  He grinned and nodded before

jumping into the wagon and driving it past Kai into the forest while she and the Scath obliterated the tracks of

the soldiers and the wagon, finishing up just as the next set of caws started.  Kai made hand motions that said,

"Scath vanish!"  and they melted back into the trees.

This time when the second wagon appeared over the hill and started forward, it stopped as the soldiers  realized

the first wagon had disappeared.  Kai could see them all looking at each other and talking.  There were two

Tevinter soldiers along with a young woman mage.  The soldiers were grabbing their three Ferelden counterparts and

gesturing angrily.  Kai noticed the young mage pat the obviously frightened villager on the arm in comfort.  Not

something she had been expecting.  The mage then looked around just as Naseel gave the signal.  The girl twisted,

and the arrow meant for her throat caught her in the shoulder instead.  She heard the mage grunt in pain as she

ducked, pushing the driver down as well.  Kai and her Scath materialized and grabbed Anora's men.  One of the

Tevinters was felled with a quick couple of arrows to the back.  The other had turned and was going to run when he

was hit with a bolt of ice and frozen where he shattered upon being hit by Jarren who had been about to stop him. 

Kai spun around to find the young woman standing with one arm dangling uselessly, but the other hand glowing with

white snow and a look of hatred on her face.  She extinguished the power and put up her hand in surrender.  Kai

cocked an eyebrow and gestured for Jarren to get behind the mage with a dagger at her throat as a precaution. "One

false move, my lady, and he will slit you from ear to ear."  The girl nodded and sat back down next to the driver

whom she patted on the arm again.  Jarren directed the driver to go off the other side of the road while Anora's

men were rounded up; only one looked to be wounded.  Again Kai and the Scath cleaned up the site as quickly as

possible.

Of course the shattered parts of the soldier were left alone.  There was no time or real need to clean them up as

there was only one wagon left followed by a small group of soldiers as an escort.  The small group followed behind

watching for Dalish marauders, as Alariel had told Kai they tended to attack them from behind as they were leaving

the forest hoping to discourage them returning.  Their numbers being small, it was the best they had been able to

do beside destroying tools and causing any kind of damage they could in the logging camp itself.

Again, Kai and her Scath heard the signal as the third wagon repeated the process of coming to the top of the hill

and the flat area only to stop.  This action was not only because the other two wagons had vanished into thin air,

but because there were large and small, white, frozen pieces of person, including his head which someone had place

in the middle of the road in plain view.  One of the soldiers walked over and picked up the frozen head and carried

it back to show the others.  The soldiers from behind and on either side of the wagon started to fan out.  The two

mages with the group found themselves hit with arrows, one in the eye, the other in the chest so that blood filled

his mouth, keeping him from speaking.

The soldiers all turned quickly looking around, and Kai stepped out into the road.  "Gentlemen, I do hope we can

avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness."  Kai's face was covered by the veil attached to her cloak hood so she

pitched her voice to carry.  "I come to you from 'The Silver Griffon.'  I am going to make an offer to any here who

wish to take it.  Stop this madness.  You are selling your own country to foreigners.  You are enslaving your own. 

All of this for a spoiled mad woman.  You are Fereldans, some of you even fought in the battle against the Blight! 

The Theirin line lives, the throne can and will be taken back!  Join the others who have joined the Griffon."

"Who are you to offer this?  We have paid good coin for what we are getting here.  This isn't your business!"  One

of the Tevinter soldiers stepped forward, but an arrow in the dirt at his feet stopped him.

"Perhaps you heard of the Blight?  The fight against the Archdemon here?"  Kai looked the man in the eyes.

"So?  What does that have to do with you or this situation?"  The man sneered at her.  Kai removed her veil and

threw back her hood.

"Because the 'Hero of Ferelden' asks it of her countrymen, that is what."  Kai allowed her gaze to fall on each of

the Ferelden soldiers.  "Join me once again.  Your country needs you.  As for you from Tevinter.  If you don't

fight you may return home, unharmed, but be assured that I will kill you if I have to."
"You and what army?"  Anything else the man was going to say was lost as one of the men with Anora's heraldry on

his armor stuck his sword in the man's chest.

"This army."  And he turned towards Kai placing his sword on the ground and bowing.  "My lady, I follow you."  The

rest of the Tevinter soldiers dropped their weapons as the other soldiers bowed on one knee before Kai while the

Scath emerged from the forest.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 08:37 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 44



"I can't believe you.  How do you not get yourself killed taking in former enemies?" Alistair's voice sounded in

her ear.  "I mean really, the Antivan assassin, then a whole group of former Antivan assassins.  Now you have a

Tevinter mage and a bunch of Anora's men!"

"Clean living?" Kai asked him sweetly, and laughed when he huffed into her ear.

It turned out that the Tevinter mage, Verina, they had picked up with the wagon heist had no love of what her

people were doing.  In fact she hated it, all of it.  What they were doing to the land, killing the Dalish. 

Especially when they had enslaved the villagers and their children.  She had been causing mischief herself,

freezing the metal of the saws so they became brittle and broke.  Same for the chains holding the great logs

together, causing them to break and allowing the logs to tumble apart.  Wagon wheels and axles would break at bad

times.  Small things here and there to cause problems.  When she had seen what Kai and her Scath were doing, she

wanted to help.  It had been sheer luck that she had turned at the last moment and the arrow had missed killing

her.  She told them she had been going to stand up to stretch and had started to slip on the wet boards of the

wagon.  It was that slip, and that alone, which had kept the arrow from lodging in her throat.

It was Verina's information about how the villagers were gathered together at dusk and forced back to the

warehouses in Gwaren along with the intel from the Scath on the layouts of the warehouses that had Kai and her

group waiting on the darkening docks for the townsfolk to be secured for the night.  It was also her hope to use

the soldiers who were willing to follow her to her advantage.  They had unloaded the wagons and covered the logs

with the camouflaged nets so that Caled and his men could return as though the wagons had been unloaded in Gwaren.

Verina had agreed to accompany them to add veracity to the story that they had been attacked by the Dalish again

and that some were wounded or dead back in Gwaren.  Verina's own wound added to the “truth” of the story.  Kai

hoped it would give the soldiers time to spread the word about the Theirin line and the cause to remove Anora from

the throne among their own.

Caled assured her that almost all were disgusted by what was going on.  Fereldans held honor higher than anything,

and this was not honorable.  Add to that no one seemed to like Anora much unless they were her sycophants.  Those

who weren't toadies were mistreated, underpaid and had their families threatened.  The few that were her loyal

followers were men and women of higher rank who were getting special favors and rewards from her.  They would fight

with the Tevinters.  Caled estimated there to be about thirty, altogether.

Caled had told her that number also included a particularly nasty piece of work named Bardock who was in charge of

all the Fereldan soldiers.  Bardock and a Tevinter mage named Eudokia, who was the representative for the

Imperium's interests here, were the leaders of the operation.  Caled warned that Eudokia was a cruel and vicious

woman who enjoyed torturing the town mayor just for amusement.  Bardock apparently liked the lady's company.  They

were staying in the mayor's house on the hill.  All but three of the high ranking officers would be there too.  It

seemed that they liked to enjoy good food and fine drink while the townspeople starved and the soldiers made do.

The plan was to rescue the villagers first; if any could fight, they would be welcome.  Mostly, Kai wanted them

safely out of the village and into the Dalish camp.  The elves, despite their misgivings about shems, had agreed

that this problem, like the Blight, was bigger than all of them.  They would give the villagers a safe haven until

Kai could get them all dispersed to the Bannorn, the arlships  and even Highever as she had done with Kylon and his

men.

So, Kai and her group sat behind crates and piles of logs that had yet to be loaded onto the three waiting Tevinter

ships.  Kai had been told that only one ship was half full as of yet.  It seemed to Kai that they had come at the

right time or more of the forest would have been lost.  A lot more.  They heard the wagons with the villagers

drawing up to the warehouses.  They were waiting until the soldiers had put the villagers in the warehouses, just

to be safe in case fewer men than Caled thought would be on their side and more fighting ensued.

Kai snuck a quick look around the pile she was sitting behind and watched the men with torches as they made the

villagers file in.  She recognized some of Swiftrunner's pack.  She waited until they had closed and locked the

doors of the warehouses.  Kai spotted Caled who moved the torch he held in the prearranged signal.  Kai motioned to

the Scath, and they all came out of the shadows.  All but the three men that Caled had indicated wore shocked

expressions as weapons from all sides were drawn on them.  One was a mage in Tevinter robes. "What is the meaning

of this?  Do you know with whom it is you fool?" the bald man spat out at her.

"Tevinter scum who thought they could buy hunks of my country and enslave a village?" Kai asked with mock

sweetness.

"You barbarian ****!" was all the man got out before a thrown dagger lodged in his mouth.  He gurgled and went

down like a sack of beans.

"’Barbarian ****’ am I?  Well, this barbarian **** just made your life a lot shorter.  You should have stayed in

Tevinter."  Kai looked at the other two men, dressed in expensive armor.  "You sell out your country and countrymen

for what?  For that viper on the throne?  For money?  For fancy armor and weapons?"  Kai felt ill.  She motioned

for the Scath to release the villagers.  "Even the children?"  Kai made another motion with her hand, and the men

in question followed the mage in pools of their own blood.

She turned to the villagers.  "You are all safe.  'The Silver Griffon' has sent us here.  I ask those who can fight

to fight with us.  We must clear the village and then disperse.  You will be safe in the Dalish camp.  The Dalish

have kindly allowed you all a warm place to stay until we can get you to the Bannorn, arlships, and Highever."

"We have to leave Gwaren?" one of the villagers asked in a frightened voice.

"Yes, but I promise, only until Anora is no longer queen.  The Theirin line lives.  It will be done.  But until

then, Gwaren must be abandoned.  Anora must not know what happened here.  If you stay, she will send more men to

find out why.  She is mad with power, so do you really want to see what she will do when she finds her plans have

been thwarted yet again?"

"How do we know this is true?  You say that the Theirin line lives, you tell us we must trust you.  How?" another

voice asked from the crowd.  Kai took off her hood and her veil, grabbing the torch from Caled so they could see

her face.  She heard a little gasp from the crowd.  Some of them had seen her in Denerim when she made her

appearance on the balcony of the Royal Palace.  She heard the murmurs and snippets of “but she is dead,” and “we

saw her fall.”

She smiled at them.  "As you can see, I am not really dead.  Anora thinks that I am, and I need to keep it that way

a bit longer.  I also assure you that the Theirin lines lives; I gave birth to the true Hero of Ferelden's

children.  They are at the Dalish camp right now."  She moved around so that all of them could see her.

It was Swiftrunner and his pack who came to stand beside her.  "It is true, she is the one who saved us.  And we

will fight with you, lady. We will take back our home."

Alariel came forward to put a hand on Swiftrunner's shoulder.  "I too say this is the woman who saved my clan.  We

would not be here otherwise; we would not be offering you our camp to stay in if not for this woman.  We need to

stand together or all will be lost."  Alariel looked at Swiftrunner and smiled before turning her gaze to the

villagers.  "Those that can and want to fight, we have arms for you.  Those who cannot and the children, some of my

clansmen will take you to the camp.  You will be safe, I swear on the blood of my clan."

The villagers began to separate into those who were going to the Mayor's house and those going with the elven

escorts.  Several of the villagers grabbed arms and armor off the fallen soldiers.  One young woman grabbed a

sword, strapped on a helmet and with a cocky grin went to stand with Kai's group.

They all made their way with Scath rogues scouting the way ahead to the mayor's house.  Kai had sent some of the

Scath to the house earlier to get ropes into position to climb the walls and to remain at the tops of the walls

until the signal was given.  Others were to position themselves on the rooftop.  The guards at the gate were lured

out by Verina, the Tevinter mage, and dispatched by the Scath.  Some of the villagers put on their armor and took

their posts.  Kai and the others began sneaking into the yard from the front gate in small numbers and hiding in

the shadows.

Kai found herself leaning against a wall crouched below a window where light shown onto the grass in the yard.  She

was joined by Keiron a moment later.  He grinned his big goofy grin, which reminded her of Argus when he sat with

his tongue lolling out.  In fact, Argus was sitting next to him doing just that.  They could be brothers.  Keiron

grinned harder when she rolled her eyes at him.  "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met.  You know, we

could die tonight.  I would hate to leave this world without out at least tasting those perfect lips once before I

go."  He leaned in, and Kai put her hand on his face and pushed him away.

"Don't you ever leave off?" Kai whispered to him.

"Not when it involves winning a prize like yourself."  He whispered back, and just grinned again as she blushed. 

Then, he did a crouching run to the other side of the building to get into position.  Kai just huffed to herself

and shook her head.  She looked at Argus.

"The next time he tries something like that, pin him to the ground and lick his face off."  Argus did a silent bark

and lolled his tongue out more in what looked like a doggy laugh.

"I hope you mean only when we are not about to engage in battle, my dear Grey Warden."  Kai almost started.  She

had no idea Zev had come up behind her.  She looked into his amber eyes, which shone in the light of the window. 

He actually looked amused for once.  It had been a while since she had seen him like this.  Maker, how she had

missed it.

She looked at him and smiled, "Shall we crash their party?"

He smiled back with some of his usual warmth, "Si, I think it is rude they did not invite us."  Kai grinned and

gave the signal for the games to begin.

The fight was long and drawn out.  It spilled out onto the grass of the walled-in yard.  Kai had felled one man

with a two-handed slash to his neck, almost taking his head off.  She turned and saw Naseel trying to fight a woman

in mage clothes who was casting a spell which sent frost snaking along the girl’s skin.  She watched as Naseel

started to collapse.  "NASEEL!" Kai heard herself yell.  She started to run forward heedless of those who got in

her way.  One man she simply cut across the face as she went by.  Two others came at her from opposite sides, and

she leapt up doing a forward tumble over their outstretched blades which they then embedded in each other.  Their

target was already gone, back up on her feet and running forwards.  She felt a burning sensation across her back,

but she flipped her daggers in her hands, driving them behind her and hearing a surprised grunt as they found their

mark in a soft, unprotected abdomen.  Without looking back, she continued forwards.  She reached the mage and

Naseel just as Eudokia was about to cast another spell at the young woman.

"Hey, ****, why don't you dance with me instead?"  Kai cold-cocked the woman.  She was so angry.  All the stress

of everything she had been through, including her worries about Zev and herself, had finally come to a boil.  The

mage went flying to the ground.  No finesse, no grace.  Kai simply walked over to the fallen mage and put her

booted foot on Eudokia's neck before grabbing her head, twisting it and breaking her neck with a sickening

crunching sound.  The woman's eyes just stared in amazement, even in death.  The detached part of her mind that

always sat back in these moments wanted to giggle at how anti-climactic a death that had to be for the witch.

Kai turned and went to Naseel.  The girl had frost on her armor, and some of the skin on her face and hands had

cracked and bled from the cold.  Her left arm dangled uselessly at her side, but she was conscious and alive.  She

smiled at Kai.  "Thank you, Scathach."  Kai smiled back at her and touched the girl's cheek.

Kai looked around to find that once again the battle was over.  There were bodies everywhere.  All of her friends

were standing, sporting various injuries.  Some of the Scath and villagers were sitting, but all seemed to be alive

at least.  Keiron had a gash on his head which was bleeding down his ear, and he was holding his ribs with one arm

wrapped around them, but he was grinning at her again as he murmured to Zev, who was standing nearby bleeding from

various cuts himself, "Isn't she magnificent?".  He gestured with his sword, and Kai looked at the swath of bodies

she had made getting to Naseel, snorted and leaned over and emptied her stomach

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 08:45 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 45


The rain made soft ticking sounds on the roof of the large Dalish tent as it fell from a sky laden with lead

colored clouds.  Occasionally, louder popping sounds would interrupt the gentle ticking as a leaf encumbered with

the weight of too much water released its burden only to start collecting it all over again.

The tent was large, round and very spacious.  It made Kai wish they had them when they were walking all over Thedas

during the Blight.  They would have been a lot more comfortable than the tents they had had.  It wasn't just the

fact that you could have furniture in them, but that one could actually stand and get dressed.  Or stand at all

without bumping one's head onto the canvas.  The tent that clan keeper Lanaya had given them was furnished with a

bed and table with chairs and soft rugs covered the entire floor over a round mat woven of soft reeds.  It had big

floor pillows as well.  All of which Alariel had shown Kai folded up or could be packed up tight to fit in the

aravel, or landship, and took up little or no room.  It was extremely clever.  Lamps hung from the poles on special

hooks and made the tent light up like daylight and cast away the gloom.  Special braziers made cooking on rainy

days, like this one, possible and also provided warmth to keep out the Spring chill.

All in all, it was a very cozy little nest, and Kai actually preferred it to the farm hold.  It was mobile, and she

doubted very much that Anora would ever be able to find them, even if she had a mind to.  Which she still didn't,

of course, as Anora had no clue Kai lived.  Add to that, packing everything and moving it all in aravels drawn by

hallas had its advantages.  They had been able to move away from Gwaren deeper into the Brecilian Forest after they

had unloaded the one Tevinter ship that had had any lumber on it.  They sent packing what few Tevinters were alive

back to the Imperium with their tails between their legs.  They had scuttled the other two ships, sinking them in

the harbor.  Being able to move quickly after that had been a bonus.

The tent also reminded her of some of her happiest moments when it was just the group of her friends and Alistair

in camp.  Camp had always been filled with laughter, food, stories, music and, with Oghren along, alcohol.  It had

also been where she had fallen in love.  "I also remember the cold, hard ground, having rocks poking me in the

back, and the lovely night that the Archdemon sent his darkspawn 'tax collectors' to attack the camp," Alistair's

voice teased her in her ear.  "Not to mention having to take watches, second watch being the worst.  Oh, and then

there was taking turns cooking.  Or even worse, eating the cooking.  Oghren and I being the worst of the lot in the

cooking department, I am surprised no one died from it." Alistair laughed into her ear.

"Aw, I thought your blackened rabbit stew was a culinary masterpiece." Kai teased him back. "And there were nights

when you didn't notice the rocks poking you in the back."  She could almost see him blushing at that last

statement.

"More like a culinary disaster."  She could hear the smile in his voice.  "And you are a cheeky monkey!"  Kai

laughed.  "You even make me blush in the Fade.  And now your mother is going to want to know why.  Thank you so

much!"  Kai gave him a mental grin and a giggle.

Kai was standing and dressing Zev's wounds while he sat on a chair.  Or rather they were taking turns dressing each

others' wounds.  Neither one of them had come out of the fight with anything really bad this time.  Not even any

broken bones.  And she counted it as a miracle that neither one of them were comatose, especially herself.  Since a

couple of her Scath, a  few of the villagers and one Dalish were in worse shape, Wynne and the Dalish healers were

with them.  Everyone else was left to tend to themselves with potions, salves and bandages.  Fiona was on reserve,

conserving her mana as they were low on lyrium for mana potions at the moment.  She needed to send a someone to the

mage tower to buy some.  She made a mental note for later.

Argus lay on the floor, legs in the air, twitching in doggy dreams.  Fiona sat on the bed with the twins, taking

turns holding them up standing and in between lifting them up like flying birds and then pressing her lips to their

tummies and vibrating them.  Their giggles, laughs, and little chirps filled the tent along with the soft sound of

the rain.  It was all so normal.  Well, except for dressing the deep gouge across Zev’s chest.  But other than

that, it was a day where Kai could imagine she wasn't trying to save Ferelden.  Where she could just be.  There

were so few of those.  She intended to make the most of it.  Playing with Fi and Duncan, and reading to them. 

Maybe napping with them for once.  Kai went through a mental list of things she could do where she was just “Kai.” 

Not “The Scathach,” not “The Hero of Ferelden,” not one part of “The Silver Griffon.”

Maybe she could even try her hand at making a special meal.  Alistair's talk of cooking in camp had brought it to

mind.  Nan had taught her how to cook, the joy and challenge of it.  Despite the domesticity that cooking implied,

Kai really enjoyed it.  Not that while they were fighting the Bight, she had had access to good ingredients when it

was her turn to cook.  Supplies had sometimes been limited, to say the least, money too.  But when she did have

access to really good ingredients, it gave her great satisfaction to make something others would delight in.

Nan had always likened it to alchemy and art.  Putting together ingredients to create something that would be a

thing of delectation took talent and time.  Kai had seen some fresh and wonderful ingredients at some of the market

stands here in the Dalish camp including Kai's favorite ingredient, mushrooms.  She was already planning a nice,

succulent set of rabbits in a mushroom and garlic gravy for dinner.  She would split the meat with a knife and tuck

cloves of garlic in the slits as well.  Then, she would let them bake in a little cast iron oven that was meant to

dangle over the brazier.  Just imagining the smells that would infuse the tent had her mouth watering in

anticipation.  Maybe some potatoes and carrots to roast with the rabbits.  She figured when she was done doing

first aid, she had best go shopping, and then play with Fi and Duncan.  That way she could just set the rabbits to

roast slowly.  Just the fact that she could consider cooking instead of some strategy to save the world gave her

another satisfied little glow.

"You look awfully pleased with yourself, my dear Grey Warden.  And what could that devious mind be thinking of

now?" Zev gave her a slight smile.  Kai was very glad that after seeing her bloody shirt and after her pushing

Keiron away by his face, Zev was slowly making his way towards warmer relations.  He still didn't touch her much. 

But, his conversations were more like they had been at the beginning when she had first invited him to join them. 

She didn't care how long it took, as long as they were making progress.  The way she figured, starting at the

beginning again was better than having him shut her out as he had been doing.

"My devious mind, as you put it, was contemplating roasting rabbits in a garlic and brown mushroom gravy along with

potatoes and carrots."  Kai grinned at him.  "That and playing with the twins and reading.  Maybe a nap."

"Ah, very calculated and underhanded plans."  He grinned at her.  "I also saw some lovely greens that in Antiva we

call espinaca.  I have no idea what the Dalish call it.  They are really tasty with a vinegar and oil sauce.  I

could make that.  We can make a feast of it.  Shall we invite our usual miscreants from the old camping days?  They

may be more inclined to come since we are doing the cooking rather than,  say, the dwarf?  I will even see if I can

find a nice wine to go with it."

"I was just thinking about that.  This reminds me of old times."  Kai laughed

"Oh si, but for the fact we don't have to sit or sleep on the ground.  I find this arrangement much more to my

liking."  He smiled as he put on a shirt.  "Then I shall go and invite the rest for dinner tonight.  And I will

even do the shopping."  He gave a little salute to her and Fiona, put on his oil skin rain coat, and slipped out of

the door to the tent.

"He seems to be warming up a bit."  Fiona's words echoed Kai's thoughts.  She smiled and walked over to the bed,

picking up Duncan and making him “fly” by spinning him around while he giggled.
 
"I know.  I need to regain his trust, prove myself.  It is the least that I can do, and what I should do.  And what

he deserves."  Kai turned Duncan over and blew her lips on his belly as Fiona had been doing, causing his little

face to light up as he giggled.  She looked at Fiona.  "My father always said that anything worth having is worth

working hard for, and nothing free ever holds its value."  Fi, being held by her grandmother, started to make her

own burbling and chirping talk as if she agreed.  Duncan started putting his own burbles in as well.  Kai laughed

at them and got on the bed so she could kiss Fi's little chubby cheek.  "I guess they agree."  Fiona laughed with

her.

"You know, he forgot to take a bag with him."  Fiona nodded toward a leather pouch on the table.  "He might need

help carrying it all."  And she winked at Kai and looked towards the door.  Kai grinned and put Duncan down with

his sister and grandmother.  "We will be waiting for you to get back.  I think these two need a bath and a change

anyway."

"Thank you for taking care of them, by the way."  Kai stroked the woman's cheek.  "I don't know what I would do

without you."  Fiona smiled at her and grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"I get to be with my grandchildren as I never got to be with Alistair.  It is I who should thank you.  But I

appreciate the gratitude, especially when I am changing diapers."  Fiona laughed at her.  "Now go before Zevran has

to carry everything back in his rain coat so that he winds up wet and miserable."  Kai laughed and grabbed the

leather bag off the table and slipped out the tent door herself.

Kai stood for a moment enjoying the light misting rain and the sense of twilight during noonday that always made

her feel relaxed and cozy.  Kai always loved this kind of weather, and she didn't mind getting wet.  Poor Zev, he

really hated the rain.  Kai started walking towards the open area that the Dalish had set up as a market square. 

Some of the aravels made up the storefronts.  And some of the booths rested against a huge boulder that had been

carved in spirals by, she guessed, the elvenan long ago.  It had ferns and moss growing on top and in some of the

spirals.  In this overcast light, the green of it and the grass she walked on almost glowed against the gray sky

and the even darker gray stone slicked with moisture.  Every sound seemed muted in this weather, even the elves

calling to each other against the soft hissing of the falling rain.  Kai noticed little white wildflowers growing

in the grass at her feet.  She let out a contented sigh as she continued forwards to meet up with Zev.

And then the world shattered with a large and horrendous BOOM!  The ground shuddered beneath her feet.  Kai turned

to see what had caused it.  Her first thought was maybe the blacksmith had been working something that had

exploded?  But the Dalish worked with wood, not metal or ore that might have some impurity which could do that. 

Another explosion along with screaming rocked the silence of the once quiet day.  Again the ground shuddered. That

explosion was followed by another and then another.  Kai watched in horror as tents and, Maker, people were tossed

into the air with dirt and debris.  The already gray sky was becoming darker as dirt filled the air and yet another

explosion, closer this time, made the ground shake again.  It was then she saw armored men spilling from the woods

around them.  One came running for her, and she had just enough time to register that he had the heraldry of Bann

Loren on his armor.  She was unarmed, but her Qun training took over.  As the man swung his sword upward behind him

in a double-handed swing, Kai used the heel of her hand to push the bones of his nose into his brain.  He went down

twitching.

"Kai!" Alistair's voice sounded with alarm in her ear.  "The twins!"  Kai didn't bother to answer, she was already

running for all she was worth back the way she had come.  She was just in sight of the tent when another loud boom

sounded and she watched as the tent was blown into the air in a shower of ripped canvas, broken furniture, and

dirt.  Kai was flying backwards just as she had on top of Fort Drakon.  And just like Fort Drakon, she was

screaming, “NO!”  She landed with a thud on the soft wet ground, which gave under her when she landed.  She didn't

register the fall.  She just kept screaming No! into her own head, her babies!  She ran forward again to see a

smoking crater.  Another explosion and more screams, along with the alarmed yelling of those in the Dalish camp and

a clashing of metal as the armored men met resistance.

Kai didn't care, overwhelming despair engulfed her.  The world could burn, her children were dead.  She started

trying to get to her feet.  She would find the nearest fight and let them kill her.  "Kai, they aren't here!"

Alistair's voice sounded relieved in her ear.  Kai barely registered that he was speaking.  "Beloved, they aren't

here.  They aren't in the Fade, them or my mother.  She must have taken them to safety!  KAI!"  Kai shook herself.

"Are you sure?" Kai could barely let herself hope.

"Yes, my love, you showed up instantly, they would have too.  They aren't here.  But you need to fight and find

them!"  His worry broke through her fog.  Yes, fight, find them, protect them.  And find out who had led Bann

Loren's men here.  Kai turned and started back towards the fighting.  One man saw her and came forward; she didn't

even blink but went down on one hand and spun in a leg swipe and knocked the heavily armored man on his back where

he sank into the soft ground.  She crushed his windpipe with her foot.  She took his one-handed sword and kept

going toward the market area where the majority of the fighting seemed to be going on.  Kai thought she heard

someone calling to her, but everything sounded muted due to the proximity of the explosion at the tent; she felt as

if her ears were stuffed with wool.  She felt a hand grab her arm, and she swung around ready with the sword and an

upraised fist.

"Scathach!" Naseel jerked back before Kai could swing.  Kai grabbed her by her leathers.
"Find Fiona, Argus, and the twins!  Find them and get them back to the safe house with Arl Eamon!  Look to the

woods near the tent.  Give Argus the command 'cosain,' it means 'protect,' he will obey as only I use that word. 

Find them for me Naseel!  Do it now!"  Kai released the girl's leathers.

Naseel nodded and saluted.  "It will be done Scathach."

"And Naseel, if I don't make it, you are the Scathach.  Do you understand?" Kai pulled off her ring with the garnet

in the middle of the open space in the knot.  "Now go!"  She watched Naseel
 disappear into the shadow of the woods.  Kai spun on her heel and kept going.  She came upon pockets of fighting –

the Dalish, the villagers from Gwaren, Swiftrunner's pack, Scath, all fighting armored men.  She saw Morrigan

making a blizzard which caused a large group of the men to start to freeze in their own metal armor.  Leliana was

picking off them with her bow from atop an aravel while they squinted and yelled in the storm the witch had

conjured.  Sten had blood all over him as he cut swaths of men down with Asala.  Kai only hoped it was mostly the

other guys' blood, not his own.

Kai couldn't see Oghren, Shale, Zev or Keiron.  It gave her a momentary hint of panic before she buckled down and

shoved it aside to focus.  She had her own little fights to occupy her mind soon enough, including saving a group

of villagers.  Kai found herself a little away from the crowd fighting a couple of men at once when she heard a

familiar voice behind her.  "Leave her to me."  Kai spun to find Erys, one of her Scath, standing there with a

smirk on her face.  The men nodded and left to go find another fight.  "Hello, Scathach."  The young woman smiled

again.  "I had hoped to get you with my little surprise while you were in your tent.  I had hoped to kill, what,

three birds with one bomb?"  Erys laughed.  Kai growled and launched herself at her with a clanging of blades. 

They traded blows until Erys caught her on the jaw with the pommel of her dagger, sending Kai slipping on the wet

grass and backwards with her jaw throbbing and her ears ringing.  Her lip had split and was dripping blood down her

chin, and she had blood in her mouth where the inside of her cheek had been cut by her teeth.

Kai just grunted with the impact. "What, you won't ask me why, Scathach?"  Erys walked towards Kai who looked to

see where her blade was.  It was lying a little ways away.  Kai flipped over and dove for it rolling over and

putting it up just in time to parry Erys' next blow.  Their blades clanked together, and Kai kicked the woman in

the stomach hard, knocking her backwards and away so that Kai could get to her feet.  Maker, she was tired; she

could feel her muscles vibrating with the strain.  Erys apparently had not been fighting all this time.  “Fresh as

a daisy” as her old nan used to say.  The detached part of her mind giggled.

Erys recovered quickly and came at Kai again, giving her a nice slice on the forearm when she was a little slow in

raising her arm to block.  The cut was followed by another kick which caught her in the ribs, knocking the breath

out of her.  Erys just walked in a circle around her.  She was playing with Kai, but Kai was not in the mood.  Erys

was just dying for Kai to ask about her reasons for the betrayal.  Kai figured the **** would have a long time

waiting to get that satisfaction from her.  If Erys wanted her know, she was just going to have to spill it on her

own.  Or, they could just keep on trying to kill each other.

Erys allowed Kai to recover before pivoting and swiping her across the back, adding another cut to go with the one

on her forearm.  Kai could feel the blood trickling down and wetting the leather shirt she wore.  She gave Erys a

cut across the woman's thigh as she passed her, but Erys was in full Scath leather armor; the cut was shallow and

barely caused a reaction.  Erys spun back again and put her elbow into Kai's already wounded back and knocked her

down on the ground.  Kai again felt her breath go out in a whoosh, and she grunted when she hit the ground with her

chest. Then, the pain became excruciating as Erys put a boot into her back, grinding it into her wound and pushing

her into the muddy ground.  The dark mud became gray sky as the boot kicked Kai squarely in the ribs of her right

side, and she felt some of them give as pain lanced through her torso.  The force lifted her up and over onto her

back as the bones cracked.  The boot was pushed into her chest this time.  Her wounded back and her ribs were

screaming at her.  Her sword was too far away to reach even if she wasn't pinned down.

"Ask me, oh great Scathach." Erys pressed harder, but Kai only grunted, grinding her teeth together to keep from

screaming.  "No?  Well then, I suppose I shall just take your head.  I had promised to hand it to those nice men

down there.  I promised Bann Loren he could have the head of 'The Silver Giffon' in exchange for providing the men

to crush part of the rebellion.  I didn't tell him that I planned to take the credit for it all, leaving him with

nothing.  I didn't tell him that you were also the Scathach and the 'Hero of Ferelden.'  I wanted to see how much

larger a reward there would be when I actually presented your head to Anora myself.  Before I headed back to

Antiva, of course, and became the master of the cell of Crows belonging to the noble house of Ines Aldonza."  Erys

laughed.  "Say something Ferelden ****!"  Erys took her boot off Kai's chest and kicked her in the undamaged ribs

of her left side.  Again, there was an unpleasant snapping adding another layer of pain.

"You really should have brushed up on your Antivan politics.  You see, Lady Aldonza is the mother of Adulfo

Cresconio."  Erys crouched down to look Kai in the eyes.  "It was a political marriage, and she kept her own name

and her own house.  It ended tragically when Osoro Cresconio was assassinated by, well, some Crows of course. 

Think of it as an Antivan divorce."  Again Erys laughed at her own joke.  "Lady Aldonza adored her son, the one you

had killed.  Madly and beyond reason she loved him, and he could do no wrong.  Her only child too."  Erys smiled

and brushed dirt off of Kai's shirt.  "She was convinced it was all Vimaro's fault that her son was delving into

unsavory habits and sexual practices.  She wanted Vimaro watched.  So, she hired me to watch him, to look for an

opportunity to rid her son of his bad influence.  I was to take over Vimaro's house, but some Ferelden **** just

couldn't leave well enough alone.  The Lady Aldonza had me stay to exact revenge upon you for her son, for myself

too."  Erys reached out and pulled Kai's head up by the hair and slapped her while putting her knee into her

chest.  Kai's ribs and wounded back flared with pain, and her vision went white before coming back into focus

again.  She hardly felt the slap.
"Any last words, Scathach?"  Erys smiled down at her as she rose up to pull a long sword from its sheath, the edge

of the metal making a hissing sound as it passed across the leather.
"Little girls who play with blades should always watch for poison."  Kai grinned back through her bloody lips. 

"You may have gotten me, but I got you too."

Kai watched as Erys' face took on a puzzled look before she touched a hand to her nose, which had started to

bleed.  Erys just growled and raised the sword to aim at Kai's neck when the coughing started, causing the woman to

drop her sword to try and breathe.  The trickle of blood from the woman's nose started flowing in long ropey lines,

getting thicker.  It was followed by more wet coughing and blood began to fountain out of her mouth.  Erys just

looked at Kai with disbelief, bloody tears falling from the corners of her eyes, as she fell to her knees and

gasped for breath in liquid gurgling tones.  Kai watched her collapse onto her stomach.  Kai slowly got to her

knees and crawled to the long sword laying in the grass next to Erys.  She used it to get herself up on her feet,

leaning on it like an old woman does a cane.  She limped over to the body, which had stopped breathing and pushed

her over with the flat edge of the sword.  The woman's empty eyes stared up at her while blood leaked from the

corners, slowly mixing with the rain still misting from the sky so that she looked as if she were crying.

"That was close, my beloved.  A good thing you learned poisons from Zevran." Alistair's voice held fear tinged with

relief.  "Apparently Erys missed that lesson."  Kai was so busy putting one foot in front of the other she almost

didn't answer, she just gave him a mental smile.  Or at least a grimace and stopped for a moment.  She needed the

rest anyway.

"Or the woman thought that she would kill me easily without it, as I was already tired from fighting.  I put it on

the blade to give me an advantage.  She thought she already had one."  Kai continued moving again.

"Her mistake." Alistair's voice sounded fierce.

Kai kept walking slowly, using the sword as a cane, back to the area of the market place.  In her beaten state, she

was lucky she didn't put the point in her foot.  Somehow, she managed not to.  She passed by craters in the ground

surrounded by debris and, in some cases, body parts.  Kai wanted to empty her stomach, but the thought of heaving

with broken ribs made her buckle it down.  Though the nausea was horrible, she kept swallowing.  She could still

hear some fighting, but it didn't seem to be much.

Kai was so intent on walking she almost didn't hear the whispered voice calling her.  Kai stopped and looked

around.  There were bodies everywhere.  Men in plate, elves, humans.  Maker, the body of a child.  Kai's stomach

didn't allow her to stop this time, cracked ribs or no.  She thought she might pass out right there.  But, the

voice called again, "Scathach."  Kai looked for the source.  She saw Lelyth – sweet faced Lelyth who had ridden

from the castle to join them in the forest to save Gwaren.  Lelyth who had joined the Scath to save her little

brother and sisters from starvation when they lost their parents due to Anora's petty madness.  Lelyth who had

wanted to take Ferelden back.  Lelyth, betrayed by one of her own and the leader who didn't see it coming.

Kai lowered herself down next to the girl.  Her side was one big mangled mass of blood and burns.  It looked as if

an explosion had caught her, she was like a broken doll.  Kai tried to put her hands on the wound to stanch the

bleeding, but it was like sinking her hands into the girls ribs.  "No, Scathach, I cannot feel anything.  I am...,"

her eyes fluttered and her breath got light, "I am broken on the inside.  Please, make sure my brother and sisters

are taken care of.  Tell them I did what was right."

Kai felt the tears running down her face.  "You will be okay.  You can tell them all about your adventures

yourself."

Lelyth smiled a peaceful smile.  "It has been an honor to serve Ferelden and the Theirin line.  But most of all, it

has been an honor to learn and work under someone like you, Scathach, Kai, my lady.  You will save it all."

"And you will save it with me, do you hear?  With me, with me."  And Kai gave her a small shake, but the big, blue

eyes were vacant.  When the last of Loren's men had finally been brought down, they found her cradling her Scath in

her arms whispering, “with me.”

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 08:59 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 46



Someone put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a shake.  Her ears still felt as though wool was stuffed in them, so

she must not have heard her name.  Or maybe it was being caught in her own world of loss and despair.  Kai looked

up, her eyes still filled with tears.  They just wouldn't stop, or was it the rain?  She realized that they must

have been surrounding her for some time.  She gently lay Lelyth's body back on the ground, since she had been

cradling it.  The red of her blood on the green grass was so bright in this light.  For how long had she held her? 

It could have been years.  Kai felt old, old, old.

It was Zevran who had shaken her.  He was sporting more cuts, including a nasty one that had blood trailing down

his arm.  Sten stood behind him with what looked like a hole in his shoulder, a gash across his abdomen and another

across one large muscled thigh, all of which he seemed oblivious to.  Morrigan had minor cuts, but the deep dark

circles under her eyes told Kai her major injury was that she was depleted of mana.  Leliana apparently had not

been able to keep all her opposition at bay with her bow, as she too had several gashes that suggested she had to

do close in fighting.  Her Scath stood around them in various states of trauma.  She did not see Shale, Oghren, or

Keiron.  Wynne bent down to try and minister to Kai's wounds, but she waved her off, "Save it for the others. 

These injuries are nothing I have not had before."

"Really, or is it that you want to punish yourself?" Wynne asked her crisply.

"Both."  Kai just kept looking at Lelyth's body and then at her hands and shirt sleeves which were covered in the

girl's blood.  Kai used her bloody fingertips to close Lelyth's unseeing eyes which had filled with rain, making

her look as though she were crying as well.  Crying over her betrayal and a leader who should have done better by

her.  Kai was reminded of her nightmare, just one more body to add to the group on top of the nightmare Fort

Drakon.  “Betrayer, you betrayed us all,” and she had, hadn't she?  By not seeing a snake in their midst.  "Where

are Shale and the rest?"

"Keiron is wounded badly, but he will live," Zev's tone held the barest undercurrent of "unfortunately" in it. 

"Oghren is taking care of Shale.  She was shielding some villagers from a bomb."  He put a hand on her shoulder to

keep her from jumping up.  "Oghren found some of that plaster cement mixture that the Dalish use to fix broken

statues of their gods on their travels.  We have used it before as a bandage for Shale; the living stone will

heal.  It is getting her to stay still that is the problem.  I estimate you have lost maybe one third of the Scath

who came with us, including Lelyth.  Others sport injuries varying in degrees; one has lost his arm, but he will

live."
 
"You will need to include Erys in that number, as I killed her."  Kai still sat looking at her red hands and blood

splattered sleeves and her blood soaked pants.  She heard the intake of breath and the mumbling of her Scath behind

her.  She explained without taking her eyes from her hands and lap what had happened.  How Erys had told her about

Lady Aldonza.  How Erys had planned on killing her in her tent with the bomb.  How it was Erys who had betrayed

them all, for power and revenge.

"Had she told Bann Loren who you are?"  Kai felt Zev squeeze her shoulder hard with concern.

"No, she told him she would give him the head of 'The Silver Griffon' in exchange for men to stop the rebellion. 

She meant to betray him and present my head to Anora after finding out how much of a reward there would be for 'The

Hero of Ferelden’ instead.  And with the deaths of my children, Anora would certainly have given her a bonus."  Kai

looked up at the still, gray, cloudy sky with the softly misting rain.  A part of her mind was fascinated that it

was still falling as it had been just a few hours ago.  Really?  It felt like an eternity since she was stepping

out of the tent thinking of nothing more than cooking rabbits for supper.  Kai felt as if she were moving in slow

motion.  Zev's hand squeezed harder and shook her.

"Kai, the twins!"  She heard his fear.

"They are fine, as far as I know.  They are not in the Fade.  Alistair told me so."  And if they had been you

wouldn't be talking to me right now, she thought.  "Fiona must have taken them and Argus out of the tent before the

bomb went off.  I sent Naseel to find them and take them to the safe house back near Denerim."

"Or at least that is what the Scathach told me to do, but I am afraid that the lady mage had other ideas.  And

Argus would not leave her or the babes," Naseel’s exasperated voice came from behind her.  Kai did heave herself up

with the sword as a cane again as she watched Fiona, carrying the huge handled basket that they often put the twins

in for transport, come striding forward with Argus and Naseel at her heels.  Fiona walked up to Kai and put the

basket down gently.  The top was covered with a blanket to keep out the rain. Kai reached out a hand and gently

lifted it to see Fi and Duncan sleeping peacefully, their little thumbs in their mouths. She swayed with relief as

Zev's hand grabbed her upper arm, steadying her.  She started to reach out and touch them, but the bright red of

her bloody hand against the blanket stopped her.  She was not going to touch them with death on her fingers.  She

put the blanket back.

"I heard the first explosion.  I have heard that sound before when I was in the Tevinter Imperium on Grey Warden

business.  The Qunari were attacking with their cannons," Fiona told her.  "I got the twins, put them in the basket

and grabbed Argus.  We went and hid in the woods.

"It is a black powder my people call 'The Lion's Roar,'” Sten explained.  "Apparently this Erys had some.  It needs

only to be put in a bottle or jar with a rag that has been dipped in something flammable.  One lights the rag, and

when the fire gets to the powder, it explodes.  It is best not to hold it once it is lit"

"Well, it is very effective."  Kai's voice sounded bitter to her own ears.

"Indeed."

"Fiona, we need a safe place for the twins. Argus, 'cosain.'  Naseel, I need you to talk to Zaeed on the procul

globe.  Tell him that Erys betrayed us and that she was working for Lady Aldonza.  Tell him to inform Ignacio." 

Naseel nodded.  "Then I need you to ride to the mages' tower, we need lyrium for mana potions."  Kai realized she

didn't have any coins on her, and what she had in the way of money was probably scattered around the area as it was

all in the tent.  She was about to hand Naseel her 'cane' to sell when Zev handed her the coin pouch containing all

the money they had brought on this trip.  She had forgotten he was going to do the shopping for their meal.  Well,

at least something was going right, thank the Maker.

She dug into it and handed Naseel a handful of different coins.  "We are going to need not only lyrium, but flasks

and reagents.  Pick up some supplies for health potions and injury kits as well.  Anything that will help with

this.  Bandages too.  I know the Ceffyls won't have run away.  Ride as fast as you can.  We are close to the

Imperial Highway from here and closer to the mage tower than I had hoped.  If anyone offers to come and help, ask

to speak to Head Enchanter Irving only.  We can trust him, the others I do not know about.  Definitely not the

Templars, do you understand?  Take Wynne with you, as a mage from the tower, it will keep them from giving you any

grief.  In fact, see First Enchanter Irving right off."  Naseel nodded, bowed and strode off to the pens where the

hallas and the Ceffyls had been put.

Wynne opened her mouth to protest.  Kai interrupted, "Your mana is almost gone, I can see it on your face.  The

sooner you go, the sooner you get back.  It will help smooth the path to what we need, and you can drink a mana

potion while you are there.  Please, just go."  Wynne nodded, her mouth a thin line, and followed after Naseel.

Kai turned to two of her Scath, telling them where Erys' body was and asking it be brought to her.  She turned to

Fiona, "Please heal Sten.  Sten will you watch over the twins with Argus?"  The Qunari nodded, his lavender eyes

watching her.

"I do not require healing magic, kadan."  His eyes never left hers.  She waved a dismissive hand and nodded to

Fiona.  Kai barely registered that more people, human and elven had started to join the crowd already around her.

"Then we are going to need you Fiona, as you were on reserve, so your mana levels are good?"  Kai looked at Fiona

who nodded.  "And everyone who can do first aid, bandage each other first.  Anything that can be made into a

bandage use it.  Make sure it is as clean as you can.  Someone needs to look for poultices and potions.  We also

need to start finding survivors and taking care of them.  If you find any healing poultices or if you know how to

make them, then use them on those most grievously injured first."

"And who are you to be giving orders?" an angry male voice demanded from her left.  Kai turned and the crowd parted

to reveal a man holding the limp, dead body of a little boy.  Kai thought her heart would stop; she had a vision of

Oren lying on the floor in Highever the night he died.  "You promised us we would be safe, and my boy is dead! 

DEAD!" the man screamed into the murmuring crowd.  "You made us leave our home.  You said we would be all right! 

LIAR!  We came here live like animals with knife ears.  And what did it get us?"

"Knife ears?  You dare insult us, shemling?  We let you use our home and look what it brought us!  Are shems the

only ones dead?  I can't find my sister!  You shems with your bullying and your destruction. Then you mewl like

infants when your lives show the least little bit of sorrow or hardship, while my people know hardly anything but

sorrow and hardship.  You shems, acting as if the world belongs to you and only you!  You are the animals, not us!"

an elven man in hunter’s armor stained with blood and wet with rain glared at the villager.  Angry murmurs and

yelling back and forth began to rise over the group of elves and humans.

Kai felt as if she had been struck; in fact if the man had used his fist, it would have had just as much impact. 

Kai could only bite her lower lip as tears started to flow down her cheeks again.  She felt sick to her stomach. 

He was right after all.  They both were.  She had told them they would be safe.  The elves had let them here

because of good will towards her.  "You are both right."  She said it so quietly that everyone went silent just to

hear her.  She spoke more loudly.  "You are both right."  She just looked at the little boy; she started to reach

out a shaking bloody hand to touch him and thought better of it.  "I told you to leave, that you would be safe. 

And one of my own betrayed us all.  But it was my responsibility.  The elves let you all here despite their

justified mistrust of humans because of me.  If you must take your anger out on someone, let it be me.  Not each

other."  Kai looked all around the crowd.  "I failed you all, and I am sorry for it.  I will never be able to make

amends for it.  I know this."  She just let the tears slide down her cheeks.  She handed the sword to the elven man

in front of her.  "I am the one you should turn your rage on."

What was there to say?  She thought appealing to the best in people would work.  But more the fool her.  Had her

run-ins with the likes of Concha and Vimaro taught her nothing?  Or even the darkspawn?  Some did not have any good

in them to be appealed to.  And who had paid the price for her folly?  Not her, no, not Kaidana Cousland.  No,

everyone else.  This man, his son, the elves, Lelyth.  Maker, Lelyth and her siblings all paid.  Kai felt

overwhelming guilt swamp her, threatening to swallow her whole.  Zev reached for her, but she shook him off.  She

hardly deserved any comfort or kindness.  She had brought them all to ruin.

"Then I failed you as well," Alariel strode through the crowd and stood by Kai.  Kai shook her head and started to

protest.  "Do not tell me, shem, what I must do or say.  You do take so much on yourself.  Even for a shem you are

very odd and maddening in your desire to take all the responsibility."  Alariel turned back to the man.  "I told

you that you would be safe.  I promised on the blood of my clan.  The fault also lies with me.  The Warden asked

you to leave, she did not make you leave.  There was certain danger if you stayed.  She gave you a choice when you

did not have one before.  Do not fault her that the choice was not all it should be.  Life rarely is.  My people

have learned this.  We have all lost today, including her."  Alariel gestured to Kai's bloody clothes, her bloody

lip and battered face.  Then, she pointed to Lelyth.  "I know you grieve, shem, my people know what grief is.  I

say we must focus on the ones who really caused it.  Bann Loren and the shem Queen Anora."

The crowd began to murmur, whether in agreement or dissent, Kai could not say.  "It is as my clanswoman says.  We

all have our parts to play.  And Bann Loren and Anora were the biggest players in all of this," Lanaya the clan

keeper spoke from the back of the crowd.

"But it was one of hers that betrayed us, how can we trust any of them?"  The man was not yet ready to give up on

his anger, nor did Kai blame him.

"Can anyone truly know the heart of another?  Our clan elder before me lived with us for centuries.  He guided us,

protected us.  He even rescued me from shem bandits.  We thought we knew him.  But he kept his hurt and grief over

the terrible deaths of his children to himself.  He let it fester, and he did a fearful thing.  He cursed the shems

who did it, but his curse did not just affect those who deserved it, but those who were innocent, as curses so

often do.  He did not care.  And when the curse came back to affect his own clan, the people he supposedly cared

for, he would have let us suffer rather than let go of his sorrow and anger.  He cradled those feelings in his

heart, turning it black, letting it putrefy like a rotten wound.  He did not tell us, not any of us, though he

claimed we were his family.  We did not know his true heart.  And my people knew him for centuries.  It was the

Warden who convinced him to release the curse.  He and she saved us all.  In the end, he was a hero because he let

his despair and rage go.  But, he fooled us all, and we knew him for so long.  She knew this one only a little

while."  Lanaya gestured toward the body he carried, "You could be like him, like Zathrian, let your hurt and

animosity fester and rot.  Turning your anger on those who are not to blame.  Or, you can grieve and in time it

will heal.  And if the Warden is successful, justice will be done.  Of that I am certain."

Lanaya walked up to the man, she put her hand on the boy’s forehead briefly and then she touched the man's cheek. 

"Because of this shem Warden, we have learned that as the elvenan, we too were holding our grief and anger too

close.  If we don't let it go, we will never truly be free.  Treaty aside, that is why we sent an elven army to

help stop the Blight.  It is why I agreed to have you all stay with us.  And I hold no regrets over my decision to

do so."  Lanaya looked at Kai with a sad smile.  "I do, however, hold anger at the targets who deserve it.  I

understand that the Warden killed the one who betrayed her and put this in motion?"  Kai nodded at her.

"The body is being brought to me." Kai gestured in the direction of it.

"Then, one has justice.  The others may take time, but by working together, I am certain that they too will be

brought to their proper reward.  We Dalish will help with that.  Let that sit in your heart instead.  Let it sit in

all our hearts!"  The elven leader let her gaze work its way slowly around the crowd.  "Now it is as the Warden has

said, we need to find survivors.  We will need to tend to the dead and move from this place."  Lanaya touched Kai's

arm, and the crowd started to disperse.  The elven hunter handed Kai back the sword, touching her arm as well

before turning to go.

Her Scath arrived carrying Erys' corpse.  They lay it at her feet.  Zevran crouched next to it and examined at the

body, "Ah, you used the poison 'Blood's Bite.'  Very effective and fast acting, and very painful.  You chose

well."  He started searching the body, pulling out papers, and a velvet sack with a round object in it.  "Well,

well, a procul globe.  No doubt the Lady Aldonza has its mate."  Zev also removed the Scath jewelry.  Then, he

stood up and looked at her.

Kai gasped at the effect swinging the sword had on her broken ribs.  She swung it anyway and severed the head from

the body with such force that the sword stuck in the wet ground.  Or could it be that she was too tired to pull it

out?  She grunted again with the grinding of bones on one another as she bent down and grasped the head by the

hair.  Turning to her Scath, she held it out for one of them to take.  "Strip the body of armor.  Dump it in the

woods, let the animals have it.  Put this head in a sack, take it to Bann Loren's estate.  Take one of his men's

pieces of armor with his heraldry on it as well.  Make sure he gets them both.  Make sure he knows they are from

'The Silver Griffon.'  Let’s give him a message that will make him lose sleep at night.  Be creative.  Two of you

should go, one ex-Crow, one Ferelden Scath.  I want you to work together, watch each others' backs.  I know what

Erys did may cause you all to look at each other with suspicion.  We will address that later.  Now is not the time

for it."  Kai felt even older.  So much to do, and it had been a day for relaxation so short a time ago.  "For now,

we are still family.  Remember, 'dileas go deo,' always faithful.  Erys never stopped being a Crow in her heart. 

She was not family after all."  Two of her Scath looked at each other and then bowed and started towards the pens,

carrying the head.
Kai looked at the others; Fiona had already begun work on Sten.  "The rest of us need to get bandaged and help. 

Let’s not stand around."  Kai took one last look at Lelyth's body and limped off to towards the tents still

standing to look for bandages.  She had a really long day still left ahead of her.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 09:07 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 47



Kai had managed to find more health poultices and bandages in the tent Erys shared with some of her fellow Scath. 

In fact it was her Scath that had a substantial cache of the same since they had, as Crows, been trained to always

be prepared.  She was trying to make sure that they kept up the good habits of their former training and left the

bad behind.  She had the other Scath go to the tents of those she had sent on errands, as well as their own, to

collect what they had to bring back to the tent she was in.  She wanted to make it the first aid tent, with the two

neighboring tents next to it as well, if they needed them.  Maker, she hoped they wouldn't, but even she knew that

it was probably going to be necessary, with likely another tent added as well.

She began by bandaging Zev again and made him take a small swallow of a health potion for the nasty gash in his

arm.  She didn't like the look of it.  When she was finished, she started to grab some supplies to see if she could

help with other survivors, but Zevran was not about to let her leave without a look over.  "My dear Grey Warden,

just where do you think you are going?" Zev's amber eyes watched her intently.

"To see to the other wounded.  And we need to set up one of these tents as a first aid station.  I wanted to use

this one, since the potions and bandages are here.  We need to tell Lanaya so she can spread the word.  You all

will need to clear out the furniture, except for the beds, and find more beds to fit in here."  Kai started to limp

away.  She began putting a few bandages and poultices for any wounded she might come across into a bag she found. 

Zev reached out and grabbed one of her wrists, holding it tightly.  "I am fine, Zev, really."

He just studied her with those unreadable amber eyes and then gave a quick, firm tug on her wrist, eliciting a

small cry of pain when the broken ends of her ribs ground against each other.  "Fine? I think not.  Drink from this

and do not argue."  He pressed the health potion she had made him drink from into her hand.  She grimaced and took

a small sip.  "That was hardly anything. More, my dear Warden, do not in your weakened state make me force you to

drink it.  Not in front of the Scath."  His voice took on a teasing edge as if to say “not in front of the

children,” and he grinned at her.

"‘Tis a very nasty cut across her back where the bandage from the first did not stop it, and ‘tis covered in filth

and mud.  T'will need to be cleaned out carefully."  Morrigan had come behind her while she was swigging from the

bottle.  Kai felt cool fingers removing the bandage that covered her other cut.  "I have sent the bard to the elf

leader to tell her your plans for the tent.  She will also inform Fiona.  And the other Scath will take out the

furniture.  You will stay here, sister, and have your wounds tended to."

"We really don't have the time, we need to help the elves and the villagers."  Kai started to protest, but Zev had

not let go of her wrist.  Instead, he pulled her across the tent (her broken ribs protesting the whole way) and

made her lie on the bed on her stomach, while his quick hands took a dagger and cut the leather shirt wide open

from the hole already in it.  "Zev, I can't go around the camp topless!"  Kai wanted to protest and started to

rise, but his hand held her pinned firmly in place.
"My dear Warden, you do not see what we see, and it is not pretty.  We will not lose you to your own stubbornness

and an infection.  This wound gets cleaned out now, not later."  Kai felt Zev straddle her hips, his weight

pressing her further into the mattress.  The potion seemed to be working on the ribs, it didn't hurt when he put

his weight on her.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Morrigan's skirt as she worked with Zev, handing him a

basin of what she guessed was water.  She felt his breath close to her ear as he bent to speak to her.  "This may

hurt, but I will try to be as gentle and as quick as I can, my dear friend."  She felt a quick touch of his fingers

in her hair rubbing the nape of her neck before they withdrew.

She felt water at first and then pain as he scraped the wound with a wet cloth.  Erys must have really ground in

the dirt and mud.  Kai just grunted and ground her teeth together.  It took several basins of water to get it all

cleaned out.  Finally, she felt his nimble fingers gently stroking salve into the wounds.  That part was so

pleasant, she drifted between sleeping and waking.  It was the barest touch of what she thought were lips at the

junction between her shoulders and her neck, sending a shiver down her spine, that had her wide awake in a blink. 

She wasn't sure that was what she felt, maybe she had been dreaming?  Before she could puzzle it out in her own

head, Zev gently lifted himself off of her.

Kai pushed herself up, clutching what was left of the shirt to her chest.  Morrigan began putting clean bandages on

the newly cleaned wounds.  When she was done Kai found Zevran holding a tunic out for her to wear along with some

leggings, since the ones she wore were covered in filth and blood.  Kai could only look at them, wondering if they

were Erys'.  They were in her tent after all.  Kai figured she would rather run around in her small clothes than

touch anything belonging to that reptile, let alone wear it.  Zev must have read her face.  "It is not anything of

hers.  One of the elves donated these for you to wear.  Have no fear, my friend."  He knew her so well.  Kai took

them and quickly stripped out of her ripped and bloody clothing.  Her small clothes had blood, Lelyth's blood she

reminded herself, on them too.  But the clean outer garments were better than nothing.
"Thank you both."  Kai smiled at them.  "Morrigan, would you mind staying here and helping direct things?  The two

tents next to this one can be used for first aid as well.  I...I don't know what we are going to find out there." 

Kai clenched and unclenched her fists and looked away to collect herself.  Morrigan just stroked her cheek and

nodded.  Kai turned and looked at Zev and motioned towards the door of the tent.  Time to get to work.  Maker, this

was going to be hard.

When she and Zev got outside they found a group of people leading the wounded like Keiron, whom they knew about,

and the ones that had been found to the first aid tent.  They were going to need more than one.  Kai took deep

breaths of air, gulping to keep herself under control.  Zev just put his hand on her shoulder.  She turned away to

go down the hill and find out where Alariel was directing people to search, she hoped to join one of the groups.

In the market place, which had not been hit except by debris and dirt, Kai and Zev ran into Swiftrunner and a young

elven woman with what looked to be all of the children, both elves and humans.  The young elven man who had argued

with the father of the dead boy came running up.  "Lana!"  He grabbed her and hugged her tight.

"Tythen!"  She hugged him back.  "I was watching the children today.  Swiftrunner was close by when we heard the

explosions.  He grabbed me and insisted we round up the children.  He helped me do so. We ran into the forest as a

bomb went off right where the children were playing.  He saved us all.  And when he saw the men in armor, he had

the children and I cover ourselves with leaves and hide while they walked by.  But I couldn't find one of the human

children, Caven.  Liradeth told me he went back to his family's tent to get his toy knights to play with so they

could share.  He is the only child I cannot account for."  The girl's eyes got wide and filled with tears when he

told her that Caven was dead.  "I should have gone with him or sent another adult.  He might still be alive if I

had," Lana sobbed.

"No, it is my fault."  Lana turned to look at Kai as did Swiftrunner.  Kai explained about the betrayer in her

Scath.  The explosions, the soldiers.  That Erys was dead along with so many others.
"My love, you take too much on yourself.  It was not all your doing," Alistair's voice tried to soothe her.

"It is mine to take, I am the leader, it falls on me."  Kai gave him a bitter chuckle.  "Maybe I didn't play

'Wicked Grace' against Andraste as well as I thought."  Maker, she felt a thousand years old and so tired.  She

wanted nothing more than to lie down on the grass and go to sleep and forget about it all.  With any luck when and

if she woke up, she would no longer be the one everyone looked to.  "I understand why you never wanted to lead, my

beloved.  What was it you asked Shale once?  'Have you ever been responsible for someone else's life or a nation or

a lot of lives?  No?  Then shut up.'  Sometimes I want nothing more than to tell them all to shut it."  Alistair's

voice had nothing to say to this. What could he say?  Kai gave another bitter laugh.

Kai explained that Lanaya and Alariel were directing others to help with the search and to help gather up the

dead.  Or pieces of the dead, Kai thought viciously at herself.  And who had done that?  Ah, yes, she had.  She

told Lana that the others would want to know the children were safe and they should probably take them to Lanaya,

who was most likely at the tents, so she could tell the rest.  Lana just nodded, and she and the rest turned

towards the tents.

"Kai, what is it that you are doing?"  Zev grabbed her arm and spun her to face him when she turned to walk behind

the others.

"Whatever do you mean, Zevran?" she asked him with mock sweetness.

"You cannot take the entire burden of this upon yourself."

"Oh, can't I? How am I supposed to trust any of my ex-Crows?  How am I supposed to trust myself?  Maker, Zev!  I

begged them not to send me back from the Fade, as all I do is cause death and destruction!  But oh no, I had to

come back!  And to what purpose?  More death, more suffering.  How many of those children are going to be orphans? 

How many, Zev?  How many people are going to be missing a mother, father, sister, brother, husband or wife?  That

man lost his child!  And who sits at the middle of it all?  Oh yes! ME!"  Kai was shaking.  She buckled it down. 

"If you can show me anyone who could have done worse, good luck with it."  And she turned and strode off to find

Alariel to start collecting the dead.  At least she couldn't hurt the dead anymore.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 09:14 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 48


 
By the time all the dead had been gathered, or parts of the dead, Kai was a mess again.  Then came the painful part

of identifying them.  Kai had taken it upon herself to identify her Scath.  Zev had been correct; they had lost a

third to Erys' treachery, both native and ex-Crow alike.  At least that might help bridge the divide of suspicion

that was sure to be in the making.  It was something she would be sure to bring up.  Erys hadn't targeted one over

the other, and she had grown up with her fellow Crows.  Again, Kai felt guilt and her own twinges of doubt and

distrust.  Not just for her ex-Crows, but mostly for herself as a leader.  If she hadn't see it coming, how the

hell was she of any use to anyone, let alone Ferelden?

She shoved that aside and helped arrange the dead for the pyres they would be lighting.  Swiftrunner and his clan,

several villagers and elves, and Oghren were all gathering wood to make the bonfires.  Luckily, it had been raining

so they were unlikely to burn the forest down.  Kai let that bitter joke hang in her thoughts.

Wynne and Naseel returned and promptly went to the first aid tent to deliver their materials and goods.  Irving and

two other mages had accompanied them.  Apparently their talk with him had gone well.  Kai was just pleased to see

no Templars had insisted on coming along for the ride.  They were joining Fiona and Morrigan who, for whatever

reason, had learned some minor healing spells from the Warden mage.  She was glad Morrigan had done so, now.

Zev had trailed her and helped, keeping his mask in place but watching her out of the corners of his amber eyes. 

Kai just kept it all locked down, each person or body part was just another object to be put in a certain place. 

She might not have been able to keep up that facade in her own head if she had collected Lelyth's body, but someone

else must have done it, because she went to where it had lain and only a bright stain in the green grass had

remained.  Kai had stood and watched the bloody pool as the rain had made it overflow and smaller rivulets traveled

outward, staining even the white wildflowers that she had found so beautiful earlier.  Was that today?  Really?  It

felt like a lifetime, or two, or three.  Kai wondered if Zevran had made sure someone else had taken care of it. 

It would be just like him; he never missed a trick.  All the bodies were covered once they were identified and set

beside the ever growing piles of wood, to go with the ever growing piles of bodies.  Which of the coverings held

Lelyth, she could not say.

Kai's only break from corpse collection was to feed the twins.  She had washed herself in a basin of water

thoroughly, watching it turn brown with a good amount of red.  But even feeding them hadn't given her the usual

blissful feeling it did, which only compounded her feelings of guilt, as she felt she was cheating her own children

out of a bonding act between them.  She had kissed their little faces, handed them to Lana who was still watching

all the children, and put back on her soiled shirt and walked back out to start all over again.

What did she feel?  Absolutely nothing.  It stunned her, there really was nothing there.  Not the numbing wall she

felt after Alistair and Fort Drakon.  The wall behind which her grief and anger had hidden close to the surface. 

This was nullity, as if the abyss and everything else had just turned into a void, black as the space between the

stars.  It had her blinking in surprise.  She was not sure what it meant.  Since she had too much work to do, gory

work at that, she didn't look too carefully at this new development.

As the day ground itself towards the evening, the overcast day and its silver and granite clouds made the twilight

appear more shaded, muting everything into even hazier versions of their original forms.  It was as if the world

were trying to slip sideways into another realm, taking them all into the Fade, perhaps.  Dusk seemed to come early

with the rain laden atmosphere that had started out so cozy and become so somber.  Kai decided to visit the first

aid tents.  She wanted to see her wounded Scath.  Even that clown Keiron deserved a visit though she was sure she

would smother him with a pillow at the first sign of his usual hero worship.  She really, really couldn't take that

at the moment.
She started towards the first aid tent with Zev following silently behind her.  She was surprised he did not try

and stop her as she had been so intent on her blaming herself earlier.

"Maybe he figures you will go anyways, as you are so pigheaded.  And he should just stay close, I want him to stay

close.  My beloved...."  Alistair's concern was palpable, but she cut him off.
"Don't, just don't.  I am not going to do this right now."  Kai just kept on walking.  She pushed the doorway to

the first tent aside.  Lamps were on their hooks in the tent.  The brazier in the middle of the room gave off a

welcome heat, keeping out the chill that was settling in more heavily now that night was falling.  There were five

beds total.  Where one bed should be stood Shale.  She had multiple large swaths of cream colored plaster

'bandages' along her back, coming around a little on her broad shoulders and her legs.  Some of her augmentation

crystals were broken and chipped, and they were not glowing a bright green as usual.  Even the magical symbols on

her forehead and her forearms were not their usual bright, almost white light.  They were dimmer and muted.

Shale said she never slept, but she had never been wounded this badly before.  It seemed to Kai that if she was not

sleeping, then she was shut down in some way.  Maybe the golem had a kind of shut-off-in-case-of-dire-injury mode. 

Shale was, after all, made of living stone.  Wounds healed eventually on Shale, just like a person, provided they

weren't too grievous.  Kai decided not to “wake” her stone friend.

Kai felt more guilt.  Shale had been hurt very badly, more than Zev had let on.  Badly hurt because the golem was

protecting villagers who should not have needed it from a bomb that should never have been thrown.  Kai clenched

her fists and unclenched them a few times.  She made a note to buy Shale a new set of crystals as soon as she

could.  Aside from the fact the crystals enhanced Shale’s fighting abilities, the golem loved to sparkle.  After

all, there was a female dwarf inside the stone skin.

She took a tour around the tent, stopping by bedsides to see each person – villager, elf, former werewolf, or

Scath.  Kai stopped by a bed where Naseel was sitting holding the hand of one of Kai's quieter and younger Scath. 

He was the one who had lost an arm, and thank the Maker he seemed to be in no pain and fast asleep.  His name was

Rajed, and he was so shy that Kai had had a hard time getting him to even look at her, let alone talk to her at the

safe house or the Scath hideouts in Denerim.  He had reminded her of someone, but she could never quite place who. 

In fact Kai had wondered how someone so shy and sweet had become a Crow in the first place.  He always made her

think of a younger, less suave Zev.  She wondered if this was what her friend had been like when he was a little

boy, as opposed to this grown man.  It was when they were at the hideout in Denerim before the raid on the

mercenary ship that Naseel had explained that Rajed was Zaeed's little brother.  He had only become a Crow because

the brothers had refused to be parted, and Zaeed had helped shield his brother from Vimaro's torture and

mistreatment as best he could.  It was the only reason that Rajed had made it as long as he had in Vimaro's house. 

Now she was going to have to tell Zaeed about his brother and his injury.  Maker, would it never end?

Kai stroked Rajed's cheek and put a hand on Naseel's shoulder.  She vowed that Rajed would not be made to feel cast

out or unwanted just because of the arm.  They were family, dammit, Scath took care of their own.  Naseel smiled at

her and reached into the pouch tied to her leather belt.  "I have your ring, Scathach.  It belongs to you."  Naseel

handed the black iron ring with the three crescent moons and the triple knot back to her.

"I need to tell Zaeed about his brother, Naseel.  I...."

"Please, Scathach, I told him already.  He is just happy his brother is alive.  I told him how well he is being

cared for.  Zaeed is comforted and said he knew that it would be so.  You had so much on your mind already,

Scathach, and you have been working so hard, it was the least I could do to ease your burden.  The healers say he

will make a full recovery."  Naseel smiled at her, and then stroked Rajed's forehead.  "Zaeed told me to tell you

all is well, and Lady Aldonza would be dealt with.  Master Ignacio was livid.  They will be on their way the day

after tomorrow."  Kai just swallowed and nodded.  She hesitated to put back on her ring, the ring with the garnet

in it, the ring of the Scathach.  But she slipped it on her middle finger, looking at the words "dileas go deo" one

word each written in the curve of each crescent, “always faithful.”

Her next stop was Keiron.  He was sleeping leaning up on pillows.  His muscled torso was shirtless and a large

swath of white bandages with spots of red blood seeping through covered most of his abdomen, his chest and a white

line of bandage wrapped itself up over his shoulder diagonally down his back to be attached back to the bandages on

his chest.  One of his hands was wrapped up and a good part of the wrist.  He was pale and appeared to be

sleeping.  Kai was about to pass by quietly, but his green eyes opened looking a little dazed.  He saw her soon

enough.  He smiled a slow smile, not at all like his usual cocky grin.  "My lady, I am glad to see you are all

right.  We were all worried about you."

"Looks like you should have been worried about you."  Kai teased him.  "You look like a picture I saw in a book

once of how the Qunari wrap their dead in strips of bandages and put them in sarcophagi."

Keiron gave her a slight grin, but it faded fast.  "Ah, well I feel as if I could go into one of those, if only to

sleep for a really long time.  But at least I didn't go comatose, for...what was your record?"
"Two weeks."  Kai grinned at him.

"Yes, two weeks."  And then his eyelids drooped and he was asleep again.  Kai just pulled the blankets up around

him and tucked them in.  Again, more guilt swamped her.  This poor sod, as annoying as he could be, just wanted to

do right by his country.  And he got stuck with her.
Kai walked outside the tent into the cool, wet, Ferelden night air.  She started to turn to go to the next sick bay

tent, but felt Zev's hand on her arm.  He had been so silent throughout her little tour that she had forgotten he

was shadowing her.  "I think it is time for the services," he reminded her.
Torches were lit on long poles of wood to light up the funeral area.  Smaller bonfires were lit around the area as

the gloom had deepened.  While they were in the first aid tent, the night's shadows had lengthened and blurred

together, stretching like cats from under the trees until they finally all met, and now it was as if they were

standing under a giant, black, velvet cloak.  There were no stars shining and no moon; the bowl of night was as

black and empty as she felt.  Kai poked her head into the tent to tell Naseel the services were about to begin.

Wynne, Leliana and Morrigan joined her and Zev.  She watched as Swiftrunner led the oldest children down the hill

to the place with the biers.  Apparently, Lana would watch those infants like the twins and those too young to go.

The sky continued to release its moisture as a fine mist that clung in beads to eyelashes, eyebrows and one's hair

and glistened like gems in the firelight.  The occasional plop of fat drops from dripping trees accentuated the

popping of the burning, wet wood.  Smoke rose from the smaller fires which made little islands of orange light

where people stood talking.  The bodies had all been put on the biers.  There were three large pyres at an angle

leaving an open area between them where a larger round bonfire had been lit.  Lanaya and the man whose son, Caven,

had died walked up to the area to stand.

Oghren, who had minor injuries and had been working on the pyres all day, came up to stand with Kai and the rest. 

Kai asked Oghren which bier held Lelyth.  She wanted to take some ashes for Lelyth's siblings to have.  Kai felt

the world begin to tilt, and she buckled the feeling down.  They stood while all the others gathered and the mist

continued to fall, showing only when it got to the light of the fires and torches, making it feel as if the sky

were sitting right over their heads.
Lanaya waited until everyone had gathered in close.  She called on Falon'Din god of the dead and fortune to guide

those elvenan who had been killed.  And then she reached out and grasped the man's hand and gave him a sad smile. 

He in turn called on the Maker for all the humans, his voice breaking on occasion.  There were sobs and sniffling

heard all throughout the crowd.  Then he and Lanaya gestured for them all to grab the unlit torches lying on the

ground next to the bonfire and light them to start setting the biers on fire.  Kai grabbed one and went to the bier

that held Lelyth and the other Scath that had died.  Kai started lighting the wood that had been doused with some

sort of accelerant.  She watched as the flames lick at the wood.  Black logs were shadows against orange flames in

the night.  Kai watched as the fire burned upwards and made silhouettes of the bodies on the biers against the

blaze.  The misting rain made hissing noises as water met fire, causing the rain to turn to vapor which floated

over the bodies as though the souls of those being put to the flame were hovering and watching.

Kai just stood and watched the fire.  She felt a small tug on her arm and was startled to find Caven's father

standing before her.  The man looked...embarrassed?  He shuffled his feet and looked down before speaking to her. 

"My lady, I...I am sorry for my harsh words earlier.  I have been speaking to Keeper Lanaya, and she is right.  I

can hold onto my hurt and anger, or I can let them go.  I can blame an innocent person, or I can put the

responsibility where it belongs.  With the one who has already paid, Bann Loren and Anora.  I will not even call

her queen.  When you remove her, when you save Ferelden, I know there will be justice.  You have been nothing but

honorable, lady."  Kai froze as he touched her arm.  She could feel her hands shaking.

"I thank you for saying so, but I am no innocent and part of the responsibility is mine.  Though I thank you for

your...absolution."  Kai almost choked over the word.  The man held out his hand to her, and Kai's shaking hand

grasped it.  "I don't deserve it, but I will try and see that justice is done."
"My lady, I am not the only one who needs to forgive; you should start with yourself I think."  Kai looked away and

gave a low laugh.

"That is perhaps harder than killing an archdemon."  She threw the torch she still held on top of the bier and kept

her eyes on the flames.  That overwhelming void seemed to be getting darker inside of herself.  Kai caught a motion

out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a small elven child holding a wooden halla with wheels for the feet

attached to a toy aravel.  The child tugged on Caven's father’s shirt sleeve and looked up at him.

"I wanted to give this to you.  He wanted to get his soldiers so he could share with me because he really liked

playing with my toy.  I was going to give it to him, I knew he loved it.  So, now I am giving it to you."  The

little girl just held out her cherished toy to him her eyes wide.
Kai watched as Caven's father got down on his knees in front of her and hugged her tightly with tears in his eyes. 

"I think you need to keep it, little one.  I know he would want you to continue to play with it.  I am just glad he

had such a good and kind friend."

Without thinking, Kai just turned and started walking away into the woods with absolutely no destination in mind,

just off.  She felt nothing, and so she was walking into nothing.  Almost running to nothing.  Her mind was blank

with no thoughts, no feelings, no destination.  She would just keep walking until she dropped.  It was a big hand

on her shoulder spinning her around that stopped her forward course.  She could see that she had traveled some

distance into the forest as only the barest glow from the fires could be seen from here.  It was Sten who had

stopped her.  The clouds parted and the moon shown down, lighting his white braids and making them glow.  Kai, as

if she were doing things involuntarily, found herself striking out with her Qun martial arts.  The black void

turned out to be anger.  Anger at Erys, at the Maker, at Andraste, at all the fools who followed her.  But most of

all, an absolute rage at herself.  Her hand struck out in a blow, but Sten knocked it aside in a block.  Kicks were

the same.  Apparently, he had known of the fighting style all along or he had been learning by watching her

practice with the Scath.  Their sparing continued, with Sten doing nothing but blocking or avoiding her blows.  She

barely registered that others had come up behind him, including Naseel.  Then there was a loud “crack!,” and Kai

felt herself propelled backwards to hit a tree with a little grunt of expelled air.  Blood trickled from the corner

of her mouth and her cheek suddenly felt very hot.  Sten's deep voice broke the silence, "Parshaara!"

"That was perhaps harder than necessary," she heard Zev say as he came to stand next to Sten.

"She was panicking as I did when I lost Asala."  Sten continued to stare at Kai with his lavender eyes, his face

immobile as usual, but for the slight crimping of concern at the corners of his mouth.

"You mean if someone had slapped you, you might not have killed all those farmers?" Zev asked with a slight grin.

"Perhaps. Or I might have killed them regardless. But the Warden is not me; her target is always herself before it

is any other.  I thought it best to put a stop to it before she hurt herself."  Sten looked at Zevran.

Kai watched the exchange between Zev and Sten, and she couldn't help it.  Laughter started to bubble up from her

lips.  It started as a giggle and then just started coming out in loud guffaws from her belly while tears ran from

her eyes, and she bent over and put her hands on her knees.  It wasn't until Zevran had come over and put his hand

on her back, along with Wynne, and Morrigan had knelt down in front of her that she realized her laughter was

really choking sobs.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 09:58 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 49


Kai, when she seemed to come back to herself, had found she was on her knees curled over in the wet leaves of the

forest floor, and she had been pounding her fists into the dirt as she had mud and leaves caked on them.  She

didn't know how long she had been sitting like that.  She felt empty.  No, she corrected herself, lighter.  Like

when she had carried heavy packs with supplies and tents for miles only to take them off and sway with the

sensation of being suddenly buoyant.  She had a similar feeling, but emotionally.

It was Zev who grasped her by her upper arm and started her walking back to the camp with the others following

behind.  Kai could hear Leliana playing her lute and some other instruments were being played as well, while the

bard sang “In Uthenera," the old elven ballad about death not being something to fear or hate.  Leliana said it had

been sung at her mother's funeral, and she had sung it at camp for Kai and the rest during the Blight.  It was

beautiful and sad, and Leliana's voice along with the elves who were participating made it even more so.  The

clouds had abated, and the moon was out.  Its cool white light was mixing with the orange glow of the flames and

the black smoke rising into the night sky.

Zevran walked her to a tent that had been set up while she and the others had been collecting the dead, gathering

wood, and tending the wounded.  He walked her inside, led her to a chair, sat her down and went back out again. 

The warm air from the brazier hit her, and she suddenly felt exhausted.  She even found herself dozing off, her

chin hitting her chest.

She felt his fingers caressing her hair and came awake with a start.  "My dear Grey Warden, it is bath time, and

then you need to sleep."  He pointed to a small tub which had been filled with steamy water.   Zev had even hung a

line of rope across from one post to another and covered it with blankets in front of the tub for privacy should

anyone come into the tent.  She supposed it was for her privacy from him as well.  She would never have guessed

when she met him that he had such a gentleman inside him.  Not with the way he talked.

He had been busy while she had been napping.  She was going to protest but looked down at her filth caked shirt and

decided a bath would probably be necessary unless she wanted to sleep on the floor rather than get the bed dirty. 

Kai shot him a grateful grin.

She got undressed and removed the bandages on her back and went to the wooden tub sitting next to the brazier.  The

tub was only big enough to sit in with her knees bent and it had a sloping back, like on a chair, where one

leaned.  It wasn't as nice as a big stone tub where one could soak up to her neck, but it was far better than a

rag, a bucket of water, and a bar of soap.  Kai eased into the warm water and felt her muscles almost sighing. 

"You will find Leliana donated some bath salts she had.  And I have salve and more bandages and a night shift for

you to sleep in when you are done.  Luckily you cannot fall asleep and drown in this tub, otherwise I would have to

watch you closely, no?"  She could hear the flirty grin in his voice as she heard him undressing himself.

"Hah!  But what are you going to do?  And when did you set all of this up?"  Kai was curious as he had been with

her all day.  Kai poured in some of Leli's bath salts, and a lovely mixture of rose, lavender and cloves scented

the steam rising up from the tub.

"My dear friend, you were a little preoccupied in the first aid tent.  I slipped out and made inquiries.  You are

not the only one who should try and think of these things.  I have noticed in all of our travels that you always

think of everything and everyone else before yourself.  If I had left it to you, you would have slept on the cold

hard ground tonight.  So, I made sure you would not."  She heard him dipping what sounded like a rag into a bucket

from behind the blanket.  "But I dare say, no matter how you feel about yourself, the others here would not have

let that happen.  I had barely begun to ask about lodging for you when I was told of this tent, and several others

began to hand me clothing and food.  And someone else assured me of a bath for you."

She heard more splashing.  "As to what I am doing, I am washing off with water and a rag.  It is late, so warming

more water just for me to use the tub is a waste.  Besides, I have stayed in far worse places, which you know as

you dragged all my adventures out of me in our lurid past together.  I will be clean and dry and comfortable

enough.  And after being wet all day, I find I am not so interested in being wet longer than I have to, even if it

would be relaxing."  Kai let out a chuckle.
"Zev, you remind me of a cat."  Kai cupped water in her hand to pour over her shoulders.
"Why, because I am handsome, sleek and agile?"  She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Um that, but I was thinking more that you and cats don't like getting wet."  Kai leaned back again and closed her

eyes.

"You wound me!"  She smiled.  "Are you hungry at all, my friend?  I did get some bread, cheese and fruit.  Oh, and

some wine which someone gave me without asking."

"No, I can't say I am hungry.  Though if Wynne finds out I am turning down food, she is going to cluck at me."  Kai

felt a glass being pressed into her hand.  She looked up to see Zev's hand from around the blanket passing it to

her.

"Well, I am going to sit here at the table and eat a little and enjoy a glass myself."  Kai just gave him a “hmm”

as she sipped her wine.  Between it and the hot water, she found herself getting droopy eyed again.  The wine on an

empty stomach hit her faster than usual.  She started when she felt the blanket moving, and Zev's hand appeared

holding out a piece of cheese.

"Here, now you need not worry.  If Wynne asks if you ate something, you will not lie.  You just don't need to tell

her how much you ate, no?"  Kai laughed.

"You are a devious fellow."  He returned her laugh with a chuckle of his own.

"Si."  And she took the proffered piece and nibbled it between more sips of wine.  It helped settle her stomach,

which was a little queasy.  His hand appeared again with a piece of apple, which she took without thinking.  Then

bread followed that.  It wasn't until she was on her second piece of cheese that she realized he had been sneakily

pressing food on her and getting her to eat.  She rolled her eyes, slippery Antivan assassins, they bore watching. 

She gave a little snicker at her own private musings.

"May I ask what is so funny, my dear friend?"  His hand appeared again with a round purple grape between his

forefinger and thumb.

"I was thinking you bore closer watching in future as you are so slick you could slide out of your coffin, as the

saying goes.  Wynne will be proud of you getting me to eat."  Kai smiled as she took the grape and popped it into

her mouth, chewing around the seeds.

Kai was pleased when he gave a full throated laugh.  "Well, it can be our secret then.  Wynne does not have to

know, hmm?"

"No, I think she doesn't.  Besides, she likes it better when she can nag me about being too thin and not eating

enough. It makes her happy."  Kai decided to get out of the tub before she turned into a raisin.  She stood up

letting the water make a splashing noise and run in streams down her body.  She found a towel and a night shirt had

been hung over the top of the blankets.  Kai dried herself off and put on the shirt.  She grabbed her wine glass

and pushed the blanket to the side to find Zev sitting in a chair at the table cutting up more cheese and bread and

putting it on a plate with apple slices and grapes.  She sat down across from him as he pushed the plate in front

of her with a grin.  She couldn't help but grin back.  She set her wine glass down and Zev poured more into it. 

"Trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me?"

"I prefer my conquests to be awake and in possession of their full faculties.  There is no challenge in drugging

one's potential lovers.  I prefer to seduce with skill."  He chuckled at her.

"At which you are very adept, no doubt."  Kai snorted.

"My dear Grey Warden, you wound me most grievously!  Si, I am most proficient in seduction.  Did I not make that

clear when we met?"  His grin got wider as he popped a grape into his own mouth.  Kai laughed.  She had missed this

Zev since they had had their fight, Maker, how she had missed him.

"I can't go without saying something, Zev."  She looked down for a moment.  "I am so sorry I hurt and betrayed

you.  It will be one of the biggest regrets in my life.  I hurt you not because I didn't trust you, but because I

didn't think of how what I didn't say would look."  She swallowed and tears beaded on her lashes.  "You see, it

wasn't you I didn't trust, I didn't trust myself.  I...I thought I was going mad after all I had been through and

the burden to be 'the strong leader.'  The one everyone looked to, that everyone expected so much from.  The

pressure was enormous.  I couldn't mourn my family, too much to do, and it would have looked weak.  I couldn't show

how afraid I was, it would be weak, et cetera, et cetera.  I thought I had to be perfect.  But no one knew how

close I came, so many times, to just throwing my weapons away and running screaming to the nearest cliff just to

get it over with.  Sort of like I was doing tonight.  Alistair and you, all of you, kept me from doing it.  But you

especially, my dear, dear, friend, after he was...he was dead.  More than any of the others, it was you.  I

couldn't have made it without you after he was gone.  You kept me going, before the funeral and after.  And I

thought I had finally gone around the bend after I lost him.  I was so stupid.  And then when I got back from the

Fade, there was so much going on, and I was pregnant, and we were moving around, gathering support.  And by then

talking to him was so normal, I just didn't think about it, it was second nature.  I should have told you.  I know

you may never forgive me, but I wanted to tell you I am so sorry, my true friend.  I am deeply ashamed to have

betrayed you in that way."  She felt the tears sliding down her cheeks, but she looked him in the eye.  Her father

always told her that is what you did when you were apologizing.

His amber eyes and face were unreadable.  He thumbed away her tears and leaned in and lightly stroked her cheek

before putting his forehead to hers while he stroked the nape of her neck, holding her to him.  Kai felt some of

the tension she had been carrying around lessen.  Especially around her heart.  "Thank you, my one and only true

friend."  They stayed like that for a moment before going back to a comfortable silence while eating.  Soon Kai

found her eating slowing and her eyes getting heavier.  She hadn't realized she was dozing off again until Zev

grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bed.  He sat her down rather than laying her down, but before she could

say anything, he was lifting the back of the night shirt.

"Trying to undress me after all?"  She teased him.  "Zev, the twins?"

"They are with Fiona, and she assured me that as they sleep through the night now, you could have a night without

them in the bed making you sleep crooked."  He smiled at her.  "As to me undressing you, I wish, but I need to put

bandages on before we can both sleep.  It has been a long day for both of us, no?"  His breath tickled her ear as

he leaned in to talk to her.  Kai obliged him and helped lift the back of the shirt while holding it around her

front.  She felt his quick fingers put on salve, and he placed fresh bandages back on the wounds.  "Now, my dear

friend, put yourself under the covers.  I shall take care of the lanterns.”  Kai pulled down the covers and got

into bed, watching the walls of the tent darken as each lantern was extinguished except for the one on the small

table next to the bed.  Her eyes were getting heavier when she felt him get into bed, and the tent went dark except

for the glow of the fires still burning outside, which cast an orange glow on the walls.  She felt his arms slide

around her, and he cradled her head on his chest while stroking her hair until she fell asleep.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 10:11 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 50



  Kai was swimming in the pool while the moon made the water sparkle like white diamonds.  The waves created by the

small waterfall that was coursing over the rocks from above.  She could smell grass and night blooming flowers and

fragrant trees.  She could even hear night birds, and crickets.  Kai was treading water lazily looking at the moon,

white and full, just beyond The Black City hovering in the star filled sky.

  She felt him as she always did, even before any physical contact.  The meeting of the other half of her soul,

where everything in her just lifted and sighed.  She felt Alistair's warm body through cool water as he put his

chest into her back and his arms encircled her holding her up.  He was able to stand on the bottom as he was a good

foot and half taller than her.  She felt his face buried into her neck.  She her head back onto his broad shoulder

while her arms encircled his around her waist.  She was just relaxing when she realized he wasn't kissing her as he

would usually be doing at this moment.  Those few precious moments they stole with each other in the dream side of

the Fade.  And she realized that her shoulder was very wet and getting wetter. “Ali, what's wrong?”  She heard a

sob and she broke away so she could face him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders.

 “Love, what is the matter?”

  He just looked at her, and then down again, with tears running down his cheeks.  “I thought they were dead too,

and I-I kept expecting them to show up here.  My mother and the twins.  And then you, and that ****, Erys,

fighting.  And all I could think was that our children would grow up without you.  They would never learn about, or

from,  their beautiful, strong, resourceful mother.  And they would never see me through your eyes.  And I am stuck

here, I can't help you, or protect you, or them!”  He started sobbing in earnest now. And it struck her, as it

never had, how really courageous he was.  She had always known he was, even when he didn't.  But his strength was

even more formidable than even she had recognized.

   To know what was going on, and be able to do nothing but be a bystander.  He could withdraw to be sure, and had

done so, but he must have felt compelled to watch when she was in danger, or they were.   And that he loved her so,

he had had to watch while not being able to protect her or them.  And protecting is what Alistair did best, it was

one of his defining  personality traits.  And being a shield warrior had only enhanced and refined it.  She then

realized that what she thought of as a sacrifice for her, going back from the Fade from death, had been even more

of a sacrifice for him stuck behind there. 

   She felt tears filling her own eyes in response.  Her heart hurt for him.  “Oh my love, I have done you such a

great disservice.”  She stroked his hair and  beloved face.  “I kept thinking, I had to sacrifice and go back, I

had to stop Anora,  I had to try and save Ferelden, I had to bear the Theirin line.  But you are the true hero, now

as when you slew the Archdemon to stop the Blight.”  She flooded his face with kisses.  “You are the hero, not me. 

You support me, you love me, you watch and can't be their with your shield to bash the bad people throwing them to

the ground like you used to.  And I never thought how much it must hurt you not to be able to do so.  I have been

so selfish.  You were so wrong, you are stronger than me, so much stronger.”  She smiled at him while stroking his

cheek.  “I am so sorry mi' gra, my beloved, my heart. I am so very, very sorry.  I love you so much!  More than

ever, more every day. When I look Fi and Duncan I see you.   Andraste's flaming knickers how did I get fortunate

enough to share a soul with one such as you?”  She tried to brush away his tears.

  “Clean living?”  He asked giving her a wobbly version of his lopsided smile.  She grinned back at him while

stroking his cheek.  “I am just glad all of them are there for you.  They all help keep you safe, and sane.  But

especially Zevran. I never thought that after you woke him up, after trying to kill us, that I would be grateful

you wanted him along.  But I am. He watches out for you and them.  I know he will protect all of you, he turned out

to be as good a person as you told me he was.  I am glad you are good friends again.  And I love you too, Kai, so

much.”  He touched his lips to hers lightly.


   “You do realize that this usurping the little viper, Anora, is still going to be dangerous. And I will have to

deal with her little sycophants afterward as well?”  She grasped his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes. 

“I can't help that what I do is risky, sometimes very risky.” 

  “I know, I just needed to vent.  And I can't tell your mother, she goes apoplectic.  And  I do tell your father,

but then your mother grills the both of us.  I talk to Duncan about you, but you know him.  He is stoic and calm

and has the utmost confidence in you.  Which makes me feel like an over reactive horse's ass.  He could always do

that you know, when I got scared about something.  Like taking the new recruits out to the Kocari Wilds.  So, I

really don't have anyone I can just let go about it all with.”  He smiled his lopsided smile at her.  “So that

leaves you.  Isn't that lovely?  Come to the dream side of the Fade, see The Black City, and have a grown man cry

on you shoulder, meh!  Makes going to sleep to dream worth it doesn't it?”  His hands were wrapped under her legs

and his big hands were sitting in an enticing way, which made it worth it to her. 

  She laughed at his sarcastic tone and rubbed the end of his nose with hers.  “Come to the dream side of the Fade,

meet the other half of my soul, the better half, by far.  Meet with the man who gave me those two beautiful

children.  The man who is so good, and so kind, and who got stuck with me.  Poor sod.”  She smiled at him while

looking at his handsome face. “I can think of only one reason to come back to this realm over and over again.  His

name would be Alfred?  No Albert?”  She snickered at him while batting her eyelashes.  “No, wait I will  remember

his name in just a moment,  hold on.”

  “Oh you are just full of cheek!  And evil, did I mention evil?” And he started tickling her ribs and then he

dunked her under the water.  She responded by swimming under the surface and grabbing him by the ankles and pulling

him under with her.  They tussled like children, dunking and splashing each other.  It ended with Kai pulling him

under yet again, where upon he grabbed her and their lips met under the water as they broke the surface.  “You are

bloody Selkie in the water.  Luckything I am already dead or you could easily drown me.”


  “Hm, drowning is not what I had in mind at all for you.  But I have heard that it can be almost like dying when

it is done right.  And we always do it right.” She gave him a cocky grin. 

   “Really-y?”  His lips claimed hers, making her head spin as his kisses always did.   She felt her whole body

just vibrating.  And the water felt warm around them.  Alistair leaned her up against the  smooth rock wall behind

the waterfall, water sluicing down his muscled shoulders. His lips were tracing their way down her neck leaving

trails of fire, as he freed one hand to caress her breasts causing her to quiver with pleasure. She nibbled and bit

his muscled shoulder only to slick it away with her tongue.  Her own hands were roaming down his abdomen, skimming

over his muscled stomach and even lower, causing him to moan against her neck before his mouth devoured hers again.

 She opened for him and he filled her, body, heart, and soul.  She closed on him and wrapped her legs around him,

as one of his muscular arms braced against the rock wall behind them.  And as always she felt like her lungs were

going to give out in one last gasp, and her heart would explode. But her body just released in one intense sensual

overload, as their lips met and their breath mingled.  He gasped against her lips as she felt his on body convulse

and  release echoing her own.

  “See, I told you.”  Her breath was coming out in little pants. She kissed his face ending with her lips on his.

His own mouth responded as his weight pressed her against the rock keeping her upright so he could cup her face

with his hands.  She had one arm wrapped around his broad shoulders and the other fisting her hand in his wet hair.

 She was wondering about starting round two, when she felt herself being pulled out of the Fade.
 

  Sod it!  As always the change was jarring when she had to leave him, and it left her feeling as desolate as she

had felt on top of Fort Drakon when she cradled him in her lap.  The pain of it, was so sharp and strong, it always

had her gasping. And the emptiness was so deep she thought the entire universe could fit inside of it.  Not to

mention the ache of a physical body that was denied the action that her soul was having in the Fade. It was like

dreaming about eating a feast, and waking to a growling, empty stomach. 

  It was with tear filled eyes that she looked on the reason for her waking.  Fiona had come quietly in with twins

who were making little fussing noises.  The noises they made before they started their full throated howl about the

unfairness of their situation; no food, diaper dirty, no mommy, or just because.  Kai wiped away the tears and

smiled at Fiona, who put a finger to her lips and pointed to Zev who was still fast asleep.  Kai nodded and sat up

carefully so she could take them and get them fed.  Fiona grabbed a chair and sat down to watch Kai and the twins. 

   Kai loved looking at them. They looked like her, she supposed, maybe a little. Others said they did.  But all

she ever saw, even as they had gotten older, was how much they looked like Alistair and even Fergus, her father,

and her mother.  She loved that she saw all of her loved ones in them.  It helped fill the emptiness of their being

in the Fade.  Or in Fergus's case, separated by distance and circumstance.


     She and Fiona got them burped and changed.  She really just wanted to sit and play with them today.  But she

had so much to do, as always.  Oh for a day where all she had to do was spend time being mommy.  She was looking

forward to Winter again when the snows might allow her to do just that.  Here she was, just over the long cold

snows, and she wanted them back again. She gave a mental head shake. She hugged them and kissed them, and put them

back on the bed next to Zev.  While she went around the makeshift curtain Zev had put up last night to see about

clothes.  He had mentioned that he had been given some when he had left the first aid tent last night.  She only

hoped he had meant more than just a night shirt.  Otherwise she was going to have to put back on the filthy bloody

clothes from yesterday.  She was not relishing that.

  She found a stack of clothing laying on a chair next to the table. She found two sets of leggings and cotton

shirts.  Poor Zev was going to be cold in the thin tunic.  The Spring air still had a little of the Winter's bite

still in it.  Kai got dressed and pulled on her muddy and blood splattered boots from yesterday.  Her intent was to

find the armory tent, provided it had not been blown up.  And get her Scath armor on.  She expected her two Scaths

sent out to Bann Loren with the message from 'The Silver Griffon,' back today.  She needed to address what had

happened with Erys before too much time had passed.  And again offer them the opportunity to leave the Scaths if

they felt they could not trust her as the Scathach to lead.  She would not blame them, and they had that right. 

  Kai went back to hug Fiona and kiss the twins again.  “If you want to leave them with whomever is watching the

children, please do.  I know they may need you to do more healing in the first aid tents today.  I know Lanaya is

hoping to get all those wounded healed enough to travel.”  Kai whispered  to her. 

  “No need to whisper my dear ladies.” Zev's voice came  from behind her.  “I assure you I am already awake.  Zev

sat up and put out a finger for Fi, whose little face had lit up and started smiling at him the minute he moved. 

She obliged, taking his finger in her little fist and tried to shove it into her mouth. Duncan burbled at him, so

Zev stroked his little belly. 

  “Sorry Zev, I hope we didn't wake you.  I was just getting dressed to go see about getting my Scath armor on.  I

need to speak to them all when the others get back from Bann Loren's.  I need to address what happened with Erys,

and I want to at least look like a leader, even if I haven't proved to be much of one.”  Kai clenched and

unclenched her fists, trying to control her emotions.  Maker, this was a wound that would take a long time to

recover from.  She doubted it would be any different for her Scaths.  “I need to reiterate that we are a family. 

And that we have to trust one another.  I need to let them know they are free to leave if they feel they can't.

Trust each other, or me that is.  I know that might cost us  in numbers.  But I won't have them staying because

they have no choice.  I am not Vimaro!”  Kai spoke that part a little more forcefully than she intended.  The worry

and fear bursting out of her before she could lock it down again. 

  “Indeed you are not, my dear friend.  You are as far from Vimaro as the moon is from a fleck of dirt.”  Zev

smiled at her.

  “Thanks Zev.  But be that as it may, I need to talk to them.  Then, if any still stay with me, I need to have

them send word to the banns, arls, and my brother about more people joining them.  That means more shelter, and

more mouths to feed.  I am just glad we got that money from the mercenaries. It will help.”    Kai sighed.  “So, I

am off, if I find out that our armor hasn't been destroyed, would you like me to bring yours?”

  “No my friend, give me a moment and I will dress and join you.  We can buckle each other up and see to rounding

up the Scaths.”

  Kai laughed at him.  “Buckle each other up sounds like a euphemism my devious friend.  I will wait.”    He

laughed with her and gave her a little salute and went behind the curtain.  Kai sat herself on his side of the bed

feeling his lingering body heat.   Fiona looked at her and smiled, cocking an eyebrow towards the curtain were Zev

was dressing.  Kai just smiled and shrugged.  Fiona's smile got wider and she nodded back.  Kai just sat and

listened to the twins going their little baby chortles and chirps that sounded like real conversations while she

cooed at them.  Zev came around the curtain. 

  “If you are ready my dear Grey Warden?”  He grinned at her.  “Fiona, always a pleasure to see you.  A man

surrounded by such beautiful women is far too lucky indeed.”  And he started back towards the door of the tent.

   “Did he just hit on my mother?”  Alistair's voice asked in mock surprise.  “No one is safe, the rascal.”  And

she heard him laugh in her ear.  “Love you.”

  “Love you too, Albert.”  Kai gave him a mental smirk.

  “Ugh!”  But she could hear his grin.  Kai followed Zev.  Kai counted all of them lucky.  The armory tent hadn't

been hit.  That would have been expensive indeed.  And it would have meant repairing Erys's armor they had stripped

from her and wearing it instead.  Kai was grateful that emotional stress was something she could avoid.  She and

Zev grabbed their armor and helped each other get strapped in.  She decided to strap on the two black steel daggers

that had been made by a casteless dwarven smith Oghren knew, who worked outside of Lake Calenhad.  He, and his

family, had made all of their Scath weapons, tools, and armor.  And unlike a lot of merchants, he really did give

it to them a discount, as he was a supporter of the cause.  He had made Kai's Scath daggers and given them as a

gift, refusing any money Kai had tried to press on him.  He had handed her a wavy dagger he called 'Amhran Bran,'

or 'raven's song. But his eyes had sparkled with pride when he presented her the second dagger, shaped like a

sickle and he called it 'Dubhsgaelach' or “black moon.”  He had told her he was inspired by her Scath symbol.  Kai

also grabbed a small leather pouch to put some of the ashes from Lelyth's funeral pyre into it for her siblings. 

Kai intended for them to have something to remember her by. 

  They made their way outside and Kai went down to the still slightly smoking ashes.  She bent down next to the

pile that had held Lelyth and put a handful of ashes into the pouch.  The rest she let be blown off her fingers by

the wind.   She looked down and they were colored gray like the sky had only been just yesterday.  It seemed like a

lifetime ago.  Zev just put his hand on her shoulder in comfort while she looked at a sky which had suddenly become

blurry. 

  She was trying to collect herself when she heard Naseel's voice behind her.  “Scathach!”  Kai turned to see not

only Naseel, but all of her Scaths including the two whom she had sent to Bann Loren's, and Morrigan.  Morrigan? 

Kai wondered what that was about.  “Scathach, we need to speak to you.  We-”

  “If this is about Erys, and my poor judgment. I have been meaning to speak to you all.  I know I did not do well

by you all.  In fact, I failed you, and in one of the worst ways.  But I-”  It was Naseel's turn to cut her off. 

  “Scathach, you did not fail us.  It is we, who were Crows who failed you.  We should have been watching each

other more closely.  We knew our former master, we were taught to compete, to take, to be ruthless.  Erys learned

at his hand too.  We should have been our own watchdogs.  So we have come up with something all of us have agreed

to, to prove our loyalty and to ensure another Erys is not amongst us.”  Naseel had all the Scaths, Ferelden and

Crow alike stand before her.  She waved her hand and they all opened their shirts at the top, to reveal a dark blue

woad vallaslin skin tattoo, or 'blood writing' as the Dalish called it.  All had three crescent moons with the

triple knot in the middle.  And all had the motto 'dileas go deo' in the crescents.  Their skin had the red

irritation around the vallaslin, showing they had just gotten them.  The tattoos rested above the area of their

hearts.  “It is more than it seems Scathach.  We asked your witch friend here to make a blood magic spell on the

ink.  If any of us should betray you, or our fellow Scaths, then we forfeit our lives.  The ink has a poison that

will be released upon any act that forsakes you, our cause,  our group, or each other.”  Kai could only look down

the line at her Scaths.  “All who join will be asked to get this writing on their skin.  Those who refuse, may not

join, but walk away.”

  “Tis a brilliant piece of magic if I do say so myself, sister.”  Morrigan's golden eyes glowed with amusement as

her lips curved slightly. “Though twas they that came up with it all on their own.  Twas simple enough to make

their request a reality.  That and one of the elves who paints skin made it a reality.  And never fear, I have been

writing my own grimoire, so any mage may learn this magic.” 

  “And those of us who are able to paint or draw, will learn from the Dalish how to makes this vallaslin.” Naseel

grinned at her.  Kai felt more tears forming in her eyes, but with pride and a humble gratitude. 

  She brushed the tears away and smiled broadly at them.  “Well then, I suppose your Scathach had best get herself

to the elf that does this.  I need my own vallaslin.”

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 51


Kai along with Zevran, Leliana, Naseel, Jarren, and the few Scath who were stationed in Denerim had taken up the two back rooms in the Gnawed Noble Tavern and reserved the front room for Ignacio.  It seemed fitting to her to have their meeting in the same room once again.  It had a certain symmetry.

Since Kai had shown up first to their previous rendezvous, she would give Master Ignacio that privilege this time.  She didn't figure him to try anything after all the trouble that he had taken to make sure her demands were met.  Besides, Zaeed and a few of the ex-Crows that had been in Antiva City would be with him.  They would be asked to stay, while the rest would be taken to one of their hideouts in the city to get their vallaslin tattoo.  Kai had Zaeed inform all the Scath of the vallaslin before they got to Rialto.  Kai had told him that if they didn't want the vallaslin, there was no judgment; he was to simply give them money and book passage for them back to Antiva City.  Those who continued would be getting their tattoos when they got to Ferelden.

Kai absently rubbed her own vallaslin gently.  It itched slightly, like any skin wound.  She had expected it to react that way, as it was like the vallaslin adorning her face.  The Dalish used tools made from wood and a bear's tooth for the more solid, larger areas and a wolf's tooth for smaller, detailed work.  The sharpened teeth with little prongs sawed into them at the ends had been dipped in woad and then tapped into her skin with a small wooden mallet.  It had been a whole new pain experience and an interesting one at that, years back when she had had her first one done.  It had been a prolonged pain that caused her brain to shoot chemicals into her system similar to feeding the twins.  It had become an almost meditative experience, with the repetitive tapping, followed by pain, and then endorphins.  Her vallaslin on her chest was more complex than the other Scath as hers represented her rank as Scathach.  It had knotwork with spirals inside the crescents.  Again, something her Scath had devised on their own.  She allowed a small smile to play along her lips at the thought of their ingenuity and loyalty.  She couldn't be more humbled and proud to be counted amongst them, aside from the fact they still wanted her as their leader, which to her was amazing indeed.

They heard a soft knock on the door, and Jarren stuck his head in, motioning to them that Master Ignacio was ready to meet.  Kai and the rest followed Jarren down the hall and into the room.  Jarren and Leli walked in first with Kai in the middle and Zev and Naseel flanking her at the rear.  Kai walked in to find Ignacio sitting in the same chair he had occupied in their previous conversation.  He too had a chest next to his chair.  When she sat herself before him with her back to the fire, she saw he had another flanking his chair on the other side.  She noticed the room had a particularly pleasant perfume to it, different from the last time she was in here.  Something the innkeeper had the room cleaned with maybe?

Zevran stood with his back to the fire to her left, and Leli to her right.  Naseel had gone to stand next to Zaeed, whom Kai had recognized immediately, though he was much more handsome when his head wasn't slightly distorted by the procul globe.  In fact he looked enough like Duncan to be related, except his hair was curly rather than straight and he was younger.  It gave Kai a kind of mental vertigo and she wondered, wildly, if Duncan had ever had an indiscretion in his past.  Zaeed sported a goatee and mustache and a small, gold hoop earring in one ear.  He looked like a Rivanni pirate.  He bowed and saluted her with a cheeky grin and a raised eyebrow.  She smiled back at him and winked.  His inner mirth was infectious.

"Would you like me to ask Duncan, my love, if he ever dallied with an Antivan woman?" Alistair's voice sounded with mirth in her ear.

"Don't you dare!  And thank you so much for trying to make me blush when I am meeting with a Master of the House of Crows, you saucy rascal."  Kai couldn't help but laugh at him.
Ignacio rose from his chair, smiled and brushed his lips along the knuckles of her hand.  "My lady, so good to see you again."

"I did not expect you to say that, Ignacio, after our last parting.  I hope you bear me no ill will.  As you Crows say, it was business, not personal?"  Kai grinned at him.  "Except that my business was very personal, I am afraid."  She waved a hand in Zev's direction.  "Though, I have always had a certain affection for you, Ignacio."

Ignacio laughed a throaty laugh.  "I must admit I have nothing but admiration for you, lady.  And great deal of respect from our past associations.  Once I managed to put my stomach back where it belonged, I took the situation as an opportunity, as you so helpfully pointed out I should do when we met.  You are, without a doubt, one of the most formidable people I have ever run up against.  You wield your power like a finely honed blade.  It is a thing of beauty to behold, though I much prefer when it is not being used on me."  Kai grinned even more widely at him.  "And may I say that it makes you one of the most beautiful women I have ever met?"

Kai laughed.  "What is it with Antivan men?  You all flirt with abandon, you must drink charm in the water, and your addiction to danger and beauty is simply amazing.  But neither of us are here for seduction or the art of love making, now are we?"  Kai cocked her eyebrow at him smiling.

He grinned at her.  "I was taught a man should always tell a beautiful woman she is a goddess.  To keep it to myself is a sin.  And I have so many other sins, I do not need to add that one to my list, no?  But you must admit that our relationship has certain rewards."  He walked over to the table in the corner and picked up a round bodied green glass bottle.  "This time I brought the refreshments.  It was only fair as I swigged your fine cognac like it was cheap tavern ale.  I brought another delightful beverage with me.  This one is from Antiva.  It’s a sparkling sweet wine, which we call 'Spumante.'  It goes extremely well with fruit and fish, which we eat a great deal of in Antiva, being so close to the sea.  I asked your Scath to order us these things for our repast."

Jarren walked in with a tray bearing fruit, fish, bread, and cheese.  He set it down on a small table he carried in his other hand to place between their chairs.  He smiled at her and his hand signals told her the food was not poisoned.  Though how he knew that, Kai did not want to think about.  Having one of them be food tasters for her left her with a sour taste in her mouth, even if they had taken it upon themselves.  "I would also ask that you check the bottle for any puncture marks or broken seals."  He smiled and handed her the bottle.

Kai grinned at him and rolled the bottle between her hands while looking at the cork and its wire seal for any signs of tampering.  "I will, though I doubt we went through this dance just so you could poison me when we both just got what we wanted."  She was about to hand it back to him, when Zev's quick and nimble fingers took it from her to give it another look while standing in the firelight.
 
"Ah, Zevran Arainai.  We will be speaking your name with wonder and awe.  I believe you are now infamous.  The man for whom all of Antiva was brought to the brink of destruction.  The one who caused our whole way of...what was that quaint term you used Warden?  The man for whom our way of 'doing business' has changed.  I hope it is not a disappointment for you.  I suspect you always wanted to be infamous for your skills in love and death."  Ignacio smiled a warm smile with no malice in it.  "But it seems Fortune had other ideas for you, no?"  He took the bottle when Zev held it out to him.

"Only if Fortune's name is Kaidana Cousland.  And if I have to be infamous for the change in the Crows, well, I cannot complain, no?"  Kai could hear the smile in his voice.  His hand on the back of her chair had its fingers in her hair, rubbing the nape of her neck where Ignacio could not see.  It was the first time she had ever heard Zev use her given name.

Ignacio smiled at him.  "But before I pour this delicious wine and we break our fast, I believe we have some contracts to look over?"  Ignacio put the bottle on the table next to a set of tall, thin glasses before going to one of the chests and pulling out a stack of papers.  "We each get our own copies.  And there are six copies for each of us.  Six now that there are two fewer houses in Antiva.  Cresconio is no more.  And after you sent word about Lady Aldonza, her house took a sudden downturn when the lady herself suffered a sudden case of death.  And you will no doubt wish to make sure the copies are all identical before you add your own signature and seal to them.  Ignacio handed Kai a stack of twelve papers.  She took one to read and handed the rest to Zev who handed a copy to Leli and the rest to Naseel.

Kai was pleased, it had everything she had asked for and then some.  Antiva apparently wanted to stay on her good side, and it appeared they were anticipating a victory against Anora.  They were offering money and supplies to help rebuild Ferelden when Anora was off the throne.  Money and goods would continue to flow back and forth between Antiva and Ferelden, as long as the contract lasted which was the four hundred years Kai had demanded.  Kai almost choked on her own amazement.  She had just thrown out the number in a fit of cold rage over Zevran's torture.  She had hardly expected them to actually make good on it, but it would secure a working relationship between their two countries for a long time.

What pleased her most were the things she had asked for regarding her Scath.  They could return to Antiva and would not be molested or bothered.  They still had a home to go to when they wished it.  Home, if they lived long enough to retire from being a Scath or if they just wanted to leave.  One should always be able to go home.  It was their way back, she would not have seen that closed off or denied them.  And even though it hurt to think it, that meant Zevran could go as well.

The Crows would no longer make slaves of their employees, all would be free to come and go.  Kai suspected that this had much to do with a monster like Vimaro rising to power by committing horrors on his own Crows and almost bringing about the downfall of an empire.  It had just taken an outsider like herself to point that weakness out.  It appeared that they would be more careful about letting walking abysses take over control of Crow cells in the future.

All of the Crows from Vimaro and some from Aldonza were hers.  It looked as if Kai was inheriting half of Inez Aldonza's cell of Crows.  The rest would go to House Serracino, with their consent of course.  Kai felt her eyebrows climbing up her forehead.  Ignacio just smiled at her.  She handed her contract copy to Zev who handed his, hers and Leli's to Naseel.  She would take all the copies to her Scath waiting in the other room to read over them carefully to make sure they all were identical before Kai signed them and added her Scath seal in wax to bind it all.

"So, my lady, did you like what you read?  I assure you that Lady Serracino and myself worked hard to ensure that you would get all you wanted and more.  Lady Serracino looks forward to having you as her guest sometime in Antiva.  And, she asked me to extend the hand of friendship from House Serracino directly to you and the Scath."  With this Ignacio produced yet two more pieces of paper and handed them to her.  Kai looked them over, another contract.  A direct alliance of the Scath and House Serracino.  Kai's eyebrow cocked up as she looked at Ignacio, who shrugged at her.  "My lady was most impressed.  She wishes to learn from the woman who bested them all."

"And to secure an exclusive alliance between us which would give Lady Constanza Serracino an advantage over the rest of the noble houses of Antiva would have nothing to do with the offer."  Kai laughed.  She handed the contracts to Zevran to look over.

Ignacio laughed.  "Si, I would be lying to you if I said no.  But I assure you, she is intrigued by you as well.  She has an admiration for you.  My description of what you had done for us here before the Blight and then what you said in our meeting may have had something to do with that."  He just smiled at her.  "Shall we have some of this wine and delicious food while we wait for your Scath to read over the contracts?"

Ignacio went to the table, removed the wire casing from the cork and put his thumbs under its edge.  The cork shot out with a loud 'pop.'  He poured a pale yellow wine which foamed as it flowed into the glass.  He handed one to her, and Kai looked into it carefully, just in case a finger should appear in her glass.  Ignacio must have guessed what she was doing and laughed a full throated laugh.  "No, my dear lady, I did not bring Ines Aldonza's finger for you.  Though that might have been amusing.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, no?"

Kai smiled and took a sip from the tall thin glass.  The bubbles tickled her nose in a pleasant way as the slightly sweet wine bubbled on her tongue.  "Do you like it?"  Kai nodded at him and took some fish baked in butter and spices on a piece of bread, while Ignacio handed glasses of Spumante to everyone in the room.  "Shall we have a toast?"  Ignacio raised his glass.  "Salud!"

He sat down and looked at Zevran.  “So, does the contract pass muster with our former Crow?"

"Si, I see nothing here that could potentially hurt Kai or the Scath, which makes me wary."  Zevran handed her the papers, but with a reassuring smile and a nod.  Kai took them after carefully wiping her fingers.  Leliana handed her a quill and ink and some sealing wax from the table that had held the wine.  She signed the papers and melted the wax over a candle flame after pulling off her Scathach ring.  When the wax was ready, she dripped it onto both contracts and pressed her ring into it.  She smiled and handed them back to Ignacio.

He grinned and put them into his shirt, walked over to the table and reached under it.  He pulled out a beautiful climbing rose that had petals the color of a sunset in a copper pot.  The blooms had soft red outer petals, going into orange, ending in a heart of golden yellow that almost glowed in this light.  It was the source of the lovely perfume she had detected earlier.  "This, my dear lady, is a rose from the cutting of the original bush that has belonged to and is a symbol for House Serracino since the founding of Antiva.  This rose comes from one bush, which the Lady Constanza's family guard jealously.  She is giving you one as a symbol of her good will and her veracity.  This rose is the only one of its kind existing outside of the family and Antiva itself.  We hope it prospers, as we hope you do."

The door opened and Naseel walked in holding the contracts.  "They are all good, my lady."  Naseel looked her with shining eyes.  She handed them to Kai and watched as she repeated the process of adding her signature next to those of all the noble houses of Antiva and the masters of their Crows.  Kai also put her seal into wax on every one.  She handed them to Ignacio with a smile.  "I suppose our business is finished, then?"

Ignacio smiled.  "Almost, dear lady. In this chest," Ignacio put his hand on the chest to his left, "Are the trinkets and papers Vimaro thought most important.  This chest has a few gifts I wanted to give you.  One of which you asked for to give to one Zevran Arainai, no?"  Ignacio smiled and went to the chest on the right and put the chest on his chair, opening it.  He pulled out a big glass jar with the head of whom she guessed must be Adulfo Cresconio.  And in honey no less.  Kai laughed.  Ignacio grinned at her and handed it to Zevran.  "She demanded proof that she could hand to you, my dear fellow.  And I do not ever want to disappoint this lady."

Zev took the heavy jar and looked at it, his mask in place, but for the cold smile on his lips, and his amber eyes unreadable.  "Hm, he looks a little shorter than I remembered."  And he put the jar down on the floor next to Kai's chair with a slight nod to Ignacio.
Ignacio reached into the chest once again and handed Kai a stack of papers, which had the stamp of the country of Antiva.  Kai opened up the first of the folded papers; it turned out to be three different documents.  One was a birth certificate for one Zevran Arainai.  The other was a contract listing the sale of same from a ****house called The Golden Fan to the Crows in House Cresconio.  And the third document was Zevran's own slave papers marking him as a Crow for that house.  Slavery all made to look so official and business like.  Goods and services, not really owning other living beings, no not all.  They are tools, toys, chattel.  It took everything she had not to crush the papers she held in a fist and then toss them into the fire.  Well, all but the birth certificate.  However, they did not belong to her.  They belonged to Zevran, and now he was truly free.  That freedom was a gift she was not going to let her temper sully for him.  She gave the rest of the stack a quick look; the whole stack looked to be all the papers on her Scath.  Hadn't she told Ignacio to bring them?  The man was as good as his word.

Kai simply handed the stack of three to Zevran behind her without looking.  Part of her wanted to know what his expression would be.  Happy?  Would he consider truly leaving now?  She had asked him to wait on getting a vallaslin.  She had told him she wanted him to hold off until after they met with Ignacio, for just this reason.  She wanted him to be really free before he made any decisions about his life.  She had always wondered if his choice to stay after killing Taliesin had been made on the spur of the moment due to the Blight and how fast everything had been moving to a head before the Landsmeet.  She worried that he had made it out of a sense of obligation, just as he had made their earlier bargain to save his life.  To Kai's mind, that still wasn't a real choice.  He should have all the cards in his favor, with no outside pressures, and the time to come to the first real choice regarding which way his life would go.  The first, she hoped, of many he would make in a lifetime.
"I have one more thing, lady.  It was actually Zaeed who found it while packing up the things from Vimaro.  He thought you might like to have it."  Ignacio handed her two more pieces of paper, both with the wax seals of Vimaro and Cresconio, and one with the royal seal of Ferelden.  Kai felt her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.  She opened the first to find the contract on her and Alistair.  It was signed by Vimaro, Cresconio, Loghain, Arl Rendon Howe, and one Zevran Arainai.  The other was the contract signed by Taliesin to kill Zevran Arainai; he had never intended to let Zev go back to his life after all.  "Since all the parties involved with these contracts are dead, save one, and that one has no intention of fulfilling it, I would say the contract in null and void, no?"  Ignacio laughed.  “Consider yourself the only person to actually have avoided death by The Crows of Antiva, dear lady.  The only one so far in our assiduous and quite lengthy time of doing business.  Do you understand why we hold you in such esteem now, mi querida?"  Ignacio smiled and removed the chest and sat back down.  "So, shall we drink to that and so much more?  I brought two cases of Spumante, and we can have more food for all.  I think this calls for a celebration, don't you, Warden?"

Kai smiled and saluted him with her own glass. "Indeed it does, my dear Ignacio, indeed it does."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 11:43 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 52


After their meeting with Ignacio in the Gnawed Noble Tavern, Kai and the rest had gone to the one of their hideout

for the Scath.  She had introduced herself to the newest members.  They happily showed off their new vallaslin.  Or

rather those that had theirs finished showed them off.  Some were still sitting down getting theirs.  She then

distributed all their papers.  They well and truly belonged to themselves first, and they belonged to the Scath for

as long as they wished, second.  That was the salient point Kai made to them all, irregardless of the vallaslins

they were willing to put on their skins.  No one would ever own them again.

It was also while they were there that Zaeed had pulled out the jar containing Vimaro's head from the things packed

from their old house in Antiva City.  He handed it, along with a note from Master Ignacio to Zev.  Zaeed had

shrugged and given his infectious grin.  "He said it wasn't important, just a gift from him to Zevran, since the

head was no longer needed as a demonstration device.  He told me he figured it should go to Zevran first."  Zevran

had taken the note and read it, and then handed it to Kai.

Zevran Arainai,
Both of you shall be legends in our country's history.  The Grey Warden who survived a contract by the very Crows

themselves, and the assassin who was sent to kill her for whom she was willing to destroy all of Antiva.  I hope

you understand just how monumental was the task that she accomplished.  One that transpired on your behalf, no

less.  She is beautiful and persistent, your friend.  And truly amazing in so many ways.
Even though she gave it to me, this object truly belongs to you.  I, for one, am envious of you for many reasons. 

And I would say Fortune favor you, but how much more favor can Fortune show you than she already has, no?  You

should let Fortune have some time for the rest of us.
Live a long and prosperous life,
Master Ignacio

Kai snorted.  "I would wonder if it is just an Antivan thing to romanticize everything, but Orlesians do it too. 

It must be we Fereldans who lack this ability to over embellish simple situations."  Kai felt herself blushing. 

"And what is it with the persistent sexual implications?  It always makes me feel like a doe being chased by

wolves."

Zaeed's grin got wider.  "I would say that if anything, you Fereldens take the most complicated and dangerous

situations and make them all sound like simple things.  You dress them down and put them in plain clothes and brush

them off as if they are something anyone could have done.  Especially you, Scathach, seem to be good that.  Either

you really are not aware of just how amazing you are, or you are playing at false modesty.  From what Naseel has

told me, and Rajed and the others, I would say it is not false modesty."  Zaeed turned to Zevran.  "How is it that

she has no idea?"

Before Zev could reply, Kai broke in.  "I don't do it on my own, Zaeed.  I have a lot of talented help.  That would

include help from Naseel and yourself.  Really, I am doing nothing more than what needs to be done and trying not

to muck it up too badly along the way.  Now, gentlemen, we have packing to do.  We leave tomorrow."  And with that

she turned on her heel, blushing furiously including her ears, as she felt two pairs of eyes on her.  Andraste's

knickers, really!

The next morning they traveled back to the farm hold safe house to pick up their wounded but recovering Scath,

Keiron, and Shale, and then on to Highever.  Fergus had greeted her with a big bear hug and a grin a mile wide.  He

got them all situated into rooms and had warm food waiting for them in the dining hall.  With food being delivered

to those still recovering like Keiron and Rajed, Fergus had come back with her to the room he had made ready for

her and was lying across the bed and playing with the twins who laughed and “talked” him, sounding so much like

they were telling him of their adventures.  "I have missed you, little sister."  He grinned at her while she

unpacked and put things in chests and armoires around the room.

She grinned back at him.  "And all this time I thought you found having a little sister underfoot a bother."

Fergus gave her a throaty laugh.  "Just because I said I wanted a Mabari instead!  You still hold that against me. 

I was only a child, as you recall."

Kai laughed back at him. "And yet I am the one the Mabari imprinted on.  I am truly surprised you didn't resent me,

brother dear, while we were growing up."

"Who could resent my sweet sister?"  Fergus smiled affectionately at her before tickling the twins on their

bellies.

"Who indeed, she even makes assassins sent to kill her and the heads of governments she threatens to topple, admire

her," Zev followed his own voice from the doorway into the room carrying more bags.

Kai snorted.  "I doubt that Anora would share your sentiments, gentlemen.  Though I appreciate the flattery."  Kai

smiled at them both.

"Kai, I left Vimaro's chest of important papers and trinkets in the Great Hall.  I assume that is where we will

meet tonight after supper, no?  I had thought we might go through it then."  Zevran put down the bags and rummaged

through them to pull out nappies and clothes for the twins.  He walked over and handed them to Fergus.  "And I

think they could use a change, no?  Uncle Fergus?"  He laughed and walked out the door.

Fergus mocked grimaced at Kai before grinning once again with laughter in his voice.  "Slick, sodding bastard."

Kai feigned shock at him.  "Oh my, dear brother, what would Mother say about your language?"

Fergus just wrinkled his nose at her and started to get Duncan undressed and ready for a clean nappy.  Kai laughed

at him and did the same for Fi.

"To be honest, dear sister, I have missed you all so much.  And I know I have been through this before with Oren,

but they get so big so fast don't they?"  Fergus grinned at Duncan's smiling little face and blew his lips on the

round naked belly eliciting giggles.

"And they are starting to eat some solid foods, well mushed of course."  Kai took a moment to enjoy her brother

enjoying his nephew, before tickling Fi's feet and grabbing them and putting them in her mouth to take them out

again.  "And they sleep the whole night, now.  Which is very nice, to say the least."  Kai kissed Fi on her little

belly.  "And if I may burden you Uncle Fergus, would you mind babysitting?  I need to go find Naseel and Zaeed."

Fergus grinned and nodded.  "Now I know why you wanted to come home!  Your motivations are transparent, sister dear

– diaper changer, babysitter.  I should have guessed!"  Fergus's voice was full of mirth.

"Of course!  That you get to play doting uncle means you hate every minute right, brother dear?"  Kai wrinkled her

nose at him and laughed.  "I could always ask Morrigan if she would like to help you, just in case you run into any

trouble."

Fergus grinned and threw a pillow at her.  "Oh, I should have insisted Mother and Father get a Mabari instead. 

Little sisters are evil, evil creatures!"  Kai ducked, stuck out her tongue at him, laughed and left the room.  She

walked down the hallway and reveled in the sounds, sights, and smells of home.  She made a mental note to try and

go to the garden with the bees next to the orchard with Fi and Duncan while they were here.  After finding one of

her Scath and a servant, she discovered that Naseel and Zaeed had last been seen going across the training grounds

headed for the armory.  Kai was on her way there when she caught Zevran trying his assassin sneaking skills.
"It is a good thing I don't startle easily, don't you think?" She asked with a sly grin at him.

"Si, if you did, your Qun training would no doubt have me flat on my back, provided you could catch me."  He

grinned back at her.  "If I thought it bothered you, I would make my presence known as I used to do in camp.  I

find you are a good target for stealth practice.  You almost always discover me.  It forces me to try harder."  Kai

laughed at him and shook her head.  "I take it, my dear friend, you are searching for Naseel and Zaeed?"

"Yes, I wanted to speak to Zaeed about Rajed.  I want to assure him that Rajed is welcome to stay with the Scath,

and I had a thought about training him with some of the Qun arts.  They can be done with one or no hands, say if

hands were tied behind your back, or someone had grabbed one.  I think we can build on some of those moves to

include holding a weapon, so Rajed should be able to fight as well he ever did.  It is something I have been

working on in my head."  Kai put a finger to her lips as she slipped into her own thoughts.

"Ah, my dear Kai, always with the devious plans!"  Zev grinned at her.  "There seems, however, to be something else

going on in that magnificent mind of yours."

"Well, a new weapon idea, one specifically for Rajed that can be used with those Qun martial arts moves.  There is

a certain set of kicks and spins that I taught you, the ones called the 'Dance of the Dust Devil?'”  Kai looked at

him out of the corner of her eye.
 
"Yes, the one with much pivoting and precise kicks.  It requires one to be agile and limber, but it is very

effective against multiple targets surrounding one."  Zev looked thoughtful.  "You propose a weapon to use with

that set of skills?"  Kai nodded and described her idea – a double edged blade with a slight curve, on the end of a

long thin chain that could be twirled and spun back out again by the movements of the wielder.  If it was done

right, it would require only one arm and the use of one's legs and body to direct the chain at a target.  Zevran

laughed out loud.  "Very crafty and very unpleasant for anyone on the receiving end of that weapon.  Many people

will underestimate its user."

"I wanted to have Naseel and Zaeed help me tell Rajed about it.  He always seems so uncomfortable when I try and

speak to him at all.  And I owe Zaeed an apology for his brother's injury.  ‘Apologize in person,’ my father always

said."  Kai gave Zevran a small smile.

"You always take too much responsibility for the actions of others and none of the credit for your own

accomplishments."  Zev gave her an appraising look with a raised eyebrow.

"The responsibility is mine, Zev, however appealing it might be to pretend otherwise."  Kai felt her cheeks

flushing and was relieved to find they had arrived at the training grounds where the armory was located.  Kai and

Zev made their way across the courtyard of Highever, knights and Scath all practicing with various weapons.  They

went to the armory door and opened it.  Kai and Zev, who was right behind her, walked into the weapons room to see

Naseel with her legs wrapped around Zaeed's waist.  Zaeed had one hand in Naseel’s hair while he held her up with

the other and was obviously in the process of kissing her breathless.  Kai grinned and looked at Zev who was also

grinning with a cat-that-ate-the-canary expression.  Kai found herself coughing slightly and watched as Zaeed

turned so he could see who it was without letting Naseel down.  The girl was blushing so hard Kai thought a tomato

would be less red.  Zaeed set Naseel down on the floor.

Kai tried unsuccessfully to keep from laughing and then to keep the smile from her lips.  "I wanted to talk to you

both, I hope it isn't a bad time?"  Kai heard Zev chuckle slightly.  Zaeed only grinned more widely, causing Naseel

to blush even harder and mumble something that sounded like “No,” but Kai wasn't sure as the girl's face was

pointed at the floor.

"Not at all, Scathach!"  Zaeed gently touched Naseel on the cheek, causing her to roll her eyes, but she finally

looked up.  Kai started to make her apology about how grievously his brother had been wounded, but he cut her off

with a fierce look.  "I will not have you taking responsibility for that, Scathach.  That was Erys' doing, and she

paid, you saw justice done.  That is all that is required.  What I will say is that you have taken care of him,

seen he was healed, treated him like a human being, a person of value.  For that I will give you all the praise you

deserve.  It is far more than Vimaro would ever have done."  His fierce look was replaced with a look of quiet

gratitude.  "And from what I understand, the Scath who took your ‘message’ to Bann Loren planted the head of the

traitorous **** in his bed along with a breast plate from his men.  When he pulled back the covers thinking she

was lying there, he found just a head accompanied by a piece of paper with a silver griffon drawn on it.  They told

me he squealed shrilly enough to wake the dead."  Zaeed gave a feral grin.  "That will do until you see he is given

his full reward, no?"

Kai just shook her head, well, she had told her Scath to be creative, hadn't she?  She wanted to laugh but held

back.  "Well, that leads me to the next thing about your brother.  Provided he still wants to be a Scath."  And she

went on to explain her idea for training Rajed and creating a weapon made just for him.  She asked them to help her

talk to the poor lad, who seemed to have a chronic case of shyness where she was concerned.  Zaeed just grinned,

and without missing a beat, strode across the floor towards Kai, whom he swept up in muscled arms before he planted

his lips firmly on hers.  She was so shocked, she did nothing, and he had set her down before her mind had any time

to really process what he’d done. 

"Um, well, uh..." Oh yes, Kai old girl, way to use those communication skills.  Kai felt her own blush mirroring

Naseel's.  When she dared dart a look at Zev, he was smirking at her and starting to laugh.  "What is that,

something you Antivans do as a greeting, a thank you?  Great Maker, how do you all get anything done?"  Kai just

flushed harder as Zevran laughed with Zaeed.

"I have no doubts, even if I had had any to begin with, that to follow you, Scathach, is an honor and a

privilege."  Zaeed bowed with a flourish.  Kai snorted.

"Yes, well, you may not feel that way when we actually have to confront Anora.  You may wonder what the bloody hell

you were thinking."  Kai grinned despite the blush.

"Scathach, something does worry me a little."  Zaeed gave her a concerned look.

"What is that, Zaeed?"

"I don't know how good a warrior you are.  I know you know politics.  But politicians can be nothing but smiling,

soft creatures.  How about a little sparring match?  It would also be good for me to prove what I can do, no?" 

Zaeed gave her his cheeky grin.

She laughed and nodded.  Zevran helped her get into her Scath armor as Naseel helped Zaeed into his.  Kai let Zaeed

pick the weapons they would use.  He chose for them to fight one handed with daggers.  They went out to the

training grounds and found a somewhat empty spot to start in.  Zaeed and Kai began dancing and weaving along the

training area, exchanging blows, testing each other before starting in earnest.  Soon, all the others in the area

had stopped practicing to watch them face off.  Kai obviously had the advantage, which surprised her, until she saw

Zaeed grinning.  He blocked her blow but just barely, and it only made him grin wider.

"What is so amusing?"  Kai just continued to circle around with him, again blocking his blows and getting in her

own.

"Oh nothing, except that you are marvelous, Scathach!  I admit it, you are far better than I!"  Zaeed smiled wider

at this.

Kai couldn't help her curiosity.  "Then why are you grinning like a cat who stole the cream out of the larder?"

He laughed.  "Because I know something you do not know."

"And that would be?"  Kai asked as she blocked yet another blow and got in a swipe with her own blade.

His grin got cocky.  "My dear leader, I am not left-handed."  And he flipped the dagger over in a spinning toss to

catch it by the pommel with his right hand as he took aim at her again.  His sudden improvement and change in style

caused Kai to grunt with surprise as she redoubled her efforts to parry and thrust.  They continued that way for

some time with the others watching, now cheering and catcalling.  She even thought she heard betting going on, but

it was hard to say as she was concentrating on not getting sliced up.  She was also getting a good assessment of

his fighting style and skill.  He was very, very good.  She allowed a smile to play along her lips.

"Zaeed, I think there's something that you should know."  Kai found him using his advantage, pressing his weight

against her forearm with the dagger point aiming for her throat.

"Oh, and what is that, my dear leader?"

"I'm ambidextrous."  Kai twisted by pivoting on her heel and swinging her hip letting Zaeed's own momentum cause

him to pitch forward.  She spun and gave him a kick to help him keep going away from her.  "And I fight dirty." 

The fact that he started to trip, but was agile enough to recover after a few stumbling steps spoke volumes to

her.  She was very impressed.  When he had turned around, she flipped her own dagger up and behind her back

catching it by the pommel in her right hand, bringing it in front of her while spinning it in her fingers.  It was

all show of course.  With a real enemy she would have just changed hands, but she thought Zaeed might appreciate

the dramatic production.  Some in the audience apparently didn't.  It sounded as though some were regretting their

bets.  She grinned harder.

Zaeed saluted her with a broad smile, and they returned to sparring.  It ended when Kai did a spinning kick in a

no-handed somersault and knocked Zaeed to the ground.  He found her on top of him, pinning the arm holding his

dagger under her knee, while her dagger was at his throat.  Both of them were panting, sweating, and out of

breath.  "I yield gladly, my lady."  His dark green eyes sparkled with respect and mirth.

"Isn't she magnificent?"  Keiron's voice came from behind her, and she saw he was still sporting most of his

bandages and was being led by Wynne to sit outside and get some fresh air.

"Young man, I remind you that you are still wounded and not to get too frisky.  Not to mention the fact she still

has a dagger in her hand."  Wynne set Keiron down on a hay bale.  Kai rolled her eyes.
 
"On one hand, I am glad you are better, on the other, not so much."  Kai snorted and got up and gave Zaeed's

armored chest a couple of slaps before she held out her hand to help him up.  "Don't make me get Argus to lick your

face off."  Which earned a happy bark from the shade near the wall where the Mabari had been napping.

"Well, Zaeed, I hope your concerns are laid to rest?"  Zaeed just grinned and nodded.  "Maybe then we can go speak

with Rajed.  All my Scath should get back to practicing then, no?"  Kai grinned at the crowd.

She, Zaeed, Naseel and Zev all walked back to the armory.  As Zevran was helping to unbuckle her from the leather

covering, she cocked an eyebrow at him and asked in a whisper, "So, how much did you make?"

Zev gave her a wide, sly grin, "Almost thirty sovereigns, with some silver of course."

Kai almost choked.  "Thirty sovereigns!"

"My dear Kai, I must teach you how to work a crowd and have them believe you think the one you want to bet on is

going to lose."  Zev laughed.  "You didn't think I only learned how to kill people did you?"

"So slick you will slide out of your coffin, Zevran."  Kai grinned at him
 
"Si."  And he chuckled and continued to help her out of her armor

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 30 mai 2010 - 11:41 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 53


After their sparring session, Kai and her little entourage made their way to the room where Rajed was resting and

recuperating.  It took a moment to realize Wynne had joined them to see to her patient.  They all filed in the room

and found Rajed sitting up reading with one shoulder heavily bandaged where his left arm had been.  His face lit up

when his brother walked into the room, followed by Naseel.  When Kai walked into the room, he blushed and looked

down.  Well, so much for making him feel more comfortable, she thought.  Wynne followed Zev and went to Rajed's

bedside and started looking at his bandages.  

"How is my obnoxious little brother today?"  Zaeed grinned at Rajed, giving him a gentle punch in the shoulder. 

Rajed smiled at him and spoke so softly that Kai couldn't tell what he said in reply.  She did notice that he kept

looking out of the corner of his eye at her while they spoke.  "All right, mocoso, our Scathach has something she

wants to ask you, and some ideas depending on your answer."  Zaeed grinned at both of them.  Kai cleared her

throat, she felt uncomfortable for making Rajed uncomfortable.

"Rajed, first I am so sorry you got hurt so badly.  It was my responsibility to see what was going on with Erys, to

be more circumspect.  I failed you in that way, and your brother too."  Kai cut off any protests from those in the

room with a raising of her hand.  "So, what I am about to ask you, I really have no right to.  But I am hoping you

will think about it, at least.  I would like you to stay with the Scath.  You have no doubt seen the tattoos, if no

one has explained what they are?"  Kai looked and Rajed was just staring at her.  She felt her heart sink, she

couldn't blame him if he laughed in her face and threw her offer back at her along with a storming rage.  Kai bit

her lip, but she saw Rajed nod.

"I know what they are, my lady, Scathach.  You still want me to stay?"  His voice was so quiet, even awestruck.  He

looked at his brother and Naseel as if to confirm that he was hearing her correctly.  They both nodded at him,

smiling. "I thought...."

"You thought I would cast you out?"  Kai was astonished.  It had never occurred to her that he would actually think

she would toss him out in the cold.  She should have expected his belief considering their treatment in Vimaro's

house, she supposed.  But to her, they were people.  Kai smiled widely at him.  "I would never do that to any of

you, Rajed.  Not ever."  She reached out and grabbed his hand, and she was elated when he gripped her own in

response.  He smiled a shy smile.
"See here, brother."  Zaeed pulled out his and Rajed's papers, handing Rajed's to him.  Rajed's eyes got big and

then he smiled more, his eyes shining when he looked at her.  Kai felt herself flushing.  She pressed on before she

blushed more.  She explained her plans for Rajed's training, if he was willing to try it, if he was willing to take

a chance on her as his leader and stay.  Rajed simply put her hand to his lips and kissed it, the blush on his

cheeks making his dark skin darker.  But he kept his eyes on her instead of looking away in bashfulness.  Kai felt

herself flushing in response.

"I will stay, you will have my one arm as long as it is useful, my lady, my Scathach."  He smiled shyly at her.  "I

am yours to command."  He looked at his brother, and then at Wynne. "Can I get my vallaslin now?"  Wynne smiled at

him and nodded.  And the rest all laughed.

"Well, mocoso, you get to try a new weapon made just for you.  If I had known that was how to get the Scathach's

attention, I would have chopped my own arm off."  Zaeed gently punched his little brother on the arm again causing

Rajed punch his brother back as he laughed. 

"Thank you, Rajed.  When the over-protective Wynne lets you come out and play, we can start your training, yes?" 

Wynne wrinkled her nose at Kai and huffed at her.  Kai laughed, briefly touched the back of Rajed's hand to her

cheek, and left him to spend time with Naseel and Zaeed.

"Well, my dear Kai, you have done your good deed for the day, no?"  Zev grinned at her.  "Perhaps now is a good

time for some relaxation and down time, my friend?  You get so little of it, you should grab it when you can."

Kai laughed at him.  "You mean sparring with my one of my Scath is not relaxing?"  She looked out of the corner of

her eye at him to catch his return grin.  "Perhaps you are right, what did you have in mind?"

He gave her his cocky, mischievous smile.  "Well, I could recommend certain activities...."
She stopped walking and put a finger to his lips grinning at him.  "You are totally incorrigible, and a complete

rascal."  He kissed her fingertip.

"My dear friend, you wound me!  It is you who are incorrigible, I was merely going to suggest we go out to your

favorite garden with the twins and your brother, if he is of a mind.  We could do, what was it you called it when

you told me about it at camp one night while we were on watch?  Cousland Camaraderie Day?  We could sit and read

and relax."  Zev grinned at her.  She just stared at him for a moment.  The man always surprised her.  The things

he remembered.

"It sounds perfect.  Shall we divvy up the tasks so we can meet in the garden?"  Kai smiled at him.
 
"Si, I will go and get the food.  If you will collect your brother and the twins, maybe something for us to sit on

in the grass?"  He smiled and saluted and turned and left toward the kitchens.  She just watched him go.  How was

it possible that she had been so lucky to have her life filled with wonderful men?  Her father, her brother,

Alistair, and Zevran.  Fortune had favored her indeed.  She shouldn't forget Sten and Oghren either.

"At least I am not last on that list, my love."  Alistair's voice laughed in her ear.

"Alistair, I wanted to ask you something."  Kai started walking back to the room.  "I know you said you wanted me

to have a physical relationship.  But that was a while ago.  And Zevran and I are close friends again, but he had

not reminded me of my offer in the chapel, so...."

"Thank the Maker.  I hated you two being at odds."

"I know, but Ali, I still think you haven't thought about this you know.  I mean, you can see and feel what I do. 

So, really I think that your idea is a bad idea, no matter who it is.  Wouldn't that be kind of creepy for you, not

to mention for me?"  Kai felt herself flushing.

"Ah, my love, I can block you out so that I know nothing.  Remember the day of the funeral?  I didn't know despite

your stress that you hit Isolde, twice. I was going to leave you completely alone, but I...."

"Couldn't help but check in?  Don't you worry that you will do that in this case?  Really Ali, I am fine.  I can

live without, well, you know."

"Licking lampposts in Winter?  No, you can't, nor should you.  Kai, my love you could live to be an old woman.  Are

you really telling me that you want to spend the next, what, fifty to sixty or so years without someone?  Or do you

really think I would be selfish enough to let jealousy keep you from having a real world life?  That is, if you

don't get yourself killed trying to usurp Anora.  I do wish you wouldn't put yourself in danger, since I can't

defend you.  And I can't help but watch while you go through said fighting and danger.  But I think we can manage. 

It certainly is a different kind of situation.  But my beloved, we still meet in the Fade.  And that brings me to

the other thing, besides the waking up wanting, and yes I know you do after we meet.  You do notice I am not

allowed into every dream.  And some nights you don't remember your dreams even if I could be in them."

"Any dream with you would be remembered, my love."  Kai turned the corner walking to the doorway of the hallway to

their quarters.
 
"Be that as it may.  We don't get to meet every night, even if that were fulfilling enough for you physically,

which it's not.  I told you what I think.  I love you, nothing changes that.  It would make me the cruelest person

to deny you a life in that plane.  I can't and won't do that.  So, my position hasn't changed.  And Zevran is a

good man.  But if you prefer, you could always try and seduce Sten or Oghren instead."  She heard him laughing.

"Huh, even when he was stone cold drunk and thought I was hitting on him, Oghren turned me down.  He is mad for his

Felsi, and he should be.  They are good for each other in a weird, disgusted-with, but still-mad-for way.  I don't

get that, but it makes more sense to me than him and Branka.  And if it works for them...."  Kai gave him a mental

shrug.  "As to Sten?  Ah, yeah, no.  I still don't know if he was just shining Morrigan on about having to wear

armor and have a hot poker to get his attention when he started to 'nuzzle.'"  She could hear him laughing as if he

was holding his sides.  She couldn't help but join him.  "You are making a lot of assumptions about Zev.  He may

talk seduction on every breath, but he has never been anything but a gentleman.  He may not be interested in me in

that way, you know.  I did turn him down once long ago.  Maybe one turn down is all it takes."

"Sounds like wishful thinking to me.  Just do me one favor, don't tell me he is a better lover than I am."

"Ali, that is not possible.  What we have is more than sex, we are part of the same soul.  Remember what boogity

boo lady, I mean Andraste, told us?  I am afraid I will be disappointed with anyone else."  Kai walked down the

carpeted hallway to the bedrooms.

"Nice, but you still don't get out of considering what I have said.  If you do, well, start something.  Just

picture a lamppost covered in snow in your head.  I will make sure I am gone and preferably nowhere near your

mother.  I might blush and then...."  He mentally mock shuddered, making her laugh.  She put her hand out towards

the door to open it.  "Uh oh, speaking of your mother, she wants to know what I am finding so funny.  Later, my

love."  And he was gone again.

Kai opened the door to find Fergus napping with the twins.  She was about to step quietly back out, but Fergus woke

up and blearily looked at her and smiled.  She explained what Zev had planned.  Fergus grinned and nodded.  He

helped her gather a blanket and instructed a servant to get pillows for outside and to set them up along with a

table and chairs.  Fergus went to the library to grab a book after he got Kai and the twins settled.  Zevran met

them in the garden, and it was just what Kai had needed.  It was all so lovely, 'live, love, laugh,' as the door

said.

They stayed in their retreat until the sun dial showed it was time to go and eat at the dining hall.  Kai snuck off

to feed the twins first before taking them to the dining hall for some mushed food possibilities.  Fiona then took

over, setting them in little high chairs that had belonged to Fergus and herself.  They seemed particularly fond of

mushed peas and carrots, but got more in their hair, down their fronts, and up their noses than in their mouths. 

The twins, already full from Mommy feeding them first, were starting to get fussy, so Fiona and Wynne grabbed them

to take them off for a bath.
Kai pushed her own plate back and went to the Great Hall.  Zev had said something about the chest of Vimaro's

papers and trinkets being there.  Kai figured now was as good a time as any to take a look.  Though truth be told,

her Antivan was a little lacking as was her Orlesian.  Her old tutor would be appalled, and she could almost hear

the old sage chastising her.  She walked in to find Leli already working on what she guessed was another ballad,

causing Kai to grimace.  She only hoped it wasn't about her again.

She found the chest and pulled it over in front of a chair so she could sit down and opened it up.  It held a

smaller box, locked, and stacks of parchment.  The documents were in Antivan, Ferelden, and Orlesian.  Kai sorted

the piles.  She put aside all the ones in Ferelden for herself to go over.  The ones in Orlesian she asked Leli to

look over.  The pretty bard obliged and walked over to sit on the floor and go through them.  Fiona and Wynne had

brought the twins in and put a blanket down on the floor next to Kai and Leli.  They began a conversation about

magic.  Morrigan soon entered the room with Fergus, and the two of them went to a quiet dark corner of the hall. 

Kai grinned at that.  Sten, and Oghren came in on their heels along with the dwarven checker board, the bag with

the pieces, a pony keg, mugs, and cookies.  Kai couldn't help but smile at them.

Kai wondered where Zev had gotten to.  She really wanted him to look at the papers in Antivan.  Otherwise, she was

going to have to muddle through them with a stilted childlike reading, and she might miss something.  So far, the

papers dealt with contracts already fulfilled.  Vimaro apparently liked to relive the kills his Crows had made, for

along with the contracts were notes written in Antivan describing the sometimes horrible ends that their marks had

suffered.  She could at least get the gist, even with her limited abilities to translate.  Kai felt ill.

She decided to turn her attention to the little locked box.  She picked the lock with a lock pick she kept stashed

in her boot.  It was a habit she had picked up while traveling during the Blight.  The chest opened up and in it

were different objects.  A bag of marbles, love letters, a scrap of lace, a wooden ball with the constellations

painted on it, a ragged well loved doll, a string of dirty buttons.  They looked to be beloved keepsakes.  She

carefully and respectfully pulled out each and every one.  These must have been treasures that Vimaro stripped from

his Crows.  He took precious things in cruelty and coldness to make his Crows less like people and more like

tools.  Kai felt her eyes swimming with tears, and her heart filled with anger.  If she could resurrect Vimaro and

kill him again, she would, a thousand time over.  She was still taking out objects when Zev came in with a chest

bearing the Calvados cognac.  He must have been digging it out of storage.  Kai smiled at him as he poured her a

glass after warming it with a taper.  He was so damn thoughtful; he must have figured she would need it to go

through Vimaro's things.  She felt dirty just touching them.
She smiled at him in thanks.  "Zev, would you mind looking at these papers?  My Antivan is, well, lacking.  I doubt

there is anything really important in them.  So far what Leli and I have found isn't all that exciting.  Vicious

and cruel, but not exciting.  I don't want to leave anything undone that might put my Scath in danger."  He nodded

and started reading, taking the stack of papers with him as he sat on the floor next to the twins.

Kai continued to take out items from the box.  She thought she had hit the bottom as it was dark but her fingers

brushed something soft.  She reached in and pulled out a pair of beautiful, dark green, leather gloves.  They were

a woman's gloves, made for dainty long fingered hands.  The gloves were lined in soft, gray, rabbit fur.  The

expert embroidery picked out with thread delicate vines, flowers, and little birds and rabbits bordering the edges

of the cuffs.  They were exquisite, and they made her heart hurt.  They were Dalish, and except that they were more

intricate and made for a woman, they were just like the gloves she had given him.  The ones that she had bought for

him from the Dalish in the Brecilian Forest during the Blight.  She had bought them as a gift for him after he had

told her of his dead mother's gloves and how they had been taken from him as a little boy new to the Crows.  She

stole a glance at him and was surprised to find him just holding a piece of paper and staring into space.

She touched him on the shoulder and he startled.  "Zev, are you all right?"  His mask was in place, and he just

nodded.  "Zev, I think I found something that belongs to you."  She smiled and handed him the gloves.  He took them

and looked at them, then at her, his face unreadable.  Without a word, he got up clutching the paper and the gloves

and left the hall.  Kai looked at Leli, who shrugged.  Kai cocked an eyebrow and looked at the twins.  Leli nodded

and motioned towards the door.
Kai found he had quite a head start on her, and she had to practically run to keep up.  He went straight to their

room and went in.  By the time she got there and opened the door, it was to find him throwing his things into a

bag.  She felt her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.  So, he had finally decided to leave.  She stood with

her back to the door without really seeing, while he rummaged through chests.  Her mind was going a mile a minute. 

He had not been like this earlier.  If anything he was more affectionate, more at ease.  Kai decided to go against

her own policy.  He was going to have to talk to her before he was free to leave.  She locked the door and slipped

the key into the pocket of her leggings.

He spun around when he heard the key twist in the lock.  "Give me the key, Warden."  His voice was cold and biting.

"No.  Are we not friends again, Zev?  What is wrong?  You were fine only a moment ago, and now you are packing? 

What did you find in his papers that upset you so?"  Kai looked at him.  She felt as if she were fighting a battle,

and she didn't know the enemy.

"It is not your concern.  And there is no being friends with me, Warden.  You should have killed me  when you had

the chance.  Since you will not, I will take myself away from you."  He started going through one of the armoires

closest to him.  Kai flinched – his voice was the cold assassin voice she had heard him use only rarely around her.

Kai went over to the table and picked up the piece of parchment sitting under his mother's gloves.  She began

reading it, cursing her slow reading in Antivan.  When she was done, she looked up to find him staring at her, his

amber eyes shuttered and his face set like stone.  "Do you understand now, Warden?"

Kai merely stared at him.  "It says that Vimaro had a contract with Taliesin to make you kill Rinna."  Kai

shrugged.  "That is if I am reading it right.  He wanted to break you.  He apparently hoped you would be shattered

and would get yourself killed on your next contract out of guilt when you found out her ‘betrayal’ wasn't true. 

Which means Vimaro was planning on a win-win for himself.  You were a threat.  Too good to stay in the lower ranks,

too good not to be a master.  You could have fought him and been the master of your cell.  So, he involved your

supposed friend Taliesin.  When it was all over, Taliesin would be Vimaro's second.  And?"

"And?  And!?  Warden, is that all you have to say?  I am nothing more than what he says I am.  Look what I did to

the woman I loved, and I was manipulated.  To have been manipulated by Vimaro was to be expected.  He was a

monster, it was what he did.  But to be played like a cheap fiddle by Taliesin, that is not.  He and I had been

together since we were boys.  He protected me from the others when I first came to the Crows.  If he could kill the

woman I loved so coldly, and I could let him, then I am no better than either of them, and perhaps less

trustworthy."  Zevran turned back from her and began to continue going through one of the armoires.

"Zev you know that is not true...."  Kai jerked to a stop when he slammed his hand down on the table with such

force that everything on it jumped and rattled.

Then, it struck her.  He was afraid.  Afraid as he had never been of death.  When he was a slave to the Crows,

death would have been a way out.  When he had been captured by her, he simply saw an opportunity to get out from

under the Crows without having to die to do so.  Even then, he was being hunted by them, and he had only traded one

master for another by swearing to serve her.  Then there was the Blight followed by Vimaro’s hunting him.  No time

to choose, not really.  Now here he was with a true choice about whom he wished to be, and it frightened him.  He

was afraid that his past and  what he had had to do had made him into a creature like his so-called friend

Taliesin.  So, he would punish himself.  He was even afraid of what he felt for her too, a reminder of his Rinna. 

She would just have to show him he was a different man from the one he saw on a contract between two monsters.  And

that man deserved to be free from a past that was not of his choosing.  He deserved to forgive himself.

She kept her voice even and neutral. "So you think, what?  That you are nothing but an assassin who takes from life

and takes lives?  The man who charmed and bedded many of his victims?  The man who watched a mark go through all

seven stages of Lanthrax poisoning?  The man who let himself fall in love and watched while his beloved got her

throat slit because he thought she was a traitor?"  Kai stepped towards him, still keeping her voice

conversational.  "Oh, you are the man who did all those things to be sure.  But shall I tell you who you really are

Zevran Arainai?"  She cocked her eyebrow at him while tilting her head.

"Stop saying my name like that, as if you really know me, Warden.  You do not know me at all."  His voice was quiet

and cold.

"And why should I not?  It is your name.  It says so on your birth certificate."  Kai waved her hand at the stack

of papers sitting on the table.  "As to knowing who you really are, I have known who that person is since I first

met you, Zevran Arainai."  She spoke softly and started walking towards him.  He stepped away, keeping the table

between them.

"Stop saying that you know me, Warden!"  His face was still stony, but his voice had warmed slightly from his cold

assassin tone.

"Or what, Zevran?"  Kai shrugged.  "Where were we?  Ah yes, what made the man I know?  What kind of man is he, this

Zevran Arainai?  Shall I tell you about the man you are so afraid of?  Because that is what this is, no?"  Kai

gestured with her hands.  "You fear who you really are.  Rinna knew the real you, so do the others downstairs, as

do I, Zevran Arainai."  Kai kept her face as neutral as her voice.  "The little boy whose mother died bringing him

into the world.  She could have ended the pregnancy, but she wanted you.  I know I would have died to bring Fi and

Duncan into the world.  She wanted you."  Kai stepped forward again, and he retreated.

"And then what?  Ah yes, the ****house, the...what was it named?  Ah, The Golden Fan, where they could have dumped

the babe out on the trash in an alley.  No one would have cared.  Newborns take time, feedings, nappies, so they

figured on keeping you for slave labor, an investment.  And this sweet little innocent baby grew into a little boy

growing up in a place seeing things he shouldn't.  Being used to clean up after the ****s and their johns, no

doubt.  No one to really care about you.  And what did this smart, fast, bright little boy do?  Why, you taught

yourself to read and write.  And one day while holding your mother's gloves, did you think of running to her

people?  Surely she loved you so much, that one of them would do likewise, protect you and be there for you.  But

to them you were just a 'flat eared' bastard whose mother hadn't the good sense to stay with her clan and had run

to the city to be a slave to Shem.  I bet you received a less than warm welcome."

"Stop, stop now, Warden."  Kai thought she heard cracks in the wall he had built around himself.  In for a copper,

in for a sovereign.

"Oh, but I am just getting started, Zevran Arainai.  You want to know the real you, don't you?  The one we all

know.  You should get to know this fellow.  Now where was I before you interrupted me?"  Kai put a finger to her

lips as if she were thinking.  "Yes, so what did you do?  The only thing you could do; you went back to the only

life you had ever known.  Even if it was a horrible life, there was no choice, not for you.  So what happens when

little boys hit growth spurts and need more food, which costs money?  The Golden Fan decided to sell you; one less

****house brat to feed before said mouth got bigger and needed more was their goal to be sure.  So, they sold you

into slavery with the Crows at the tender age of seven.  Again, you had no choice.  I am quite sure the life you

knew, as horrible as it was, would have been preferable to the one they sold you into so cold heartedly.  And not

just any cell of Crows, mind you, but the worst cell, run by the youngest, most vicious, most cruel person to ever

walk in Thedas, Vimaro.  Even at seventeen, he was an abyss on two legs."  Kai stepped forward again, speaking

softly.

"What you describe, Warden, should only solidify why I am not who you think I am."  He tried to put a sneer in his

voice, but Kai was a rogue too.  She heard the falsity behind the tone, another crack in the shell.

"I was also there in the hideout where Vimaro kept his toys.  I know what kind of 'training' he liked to do.  That

and a box of beloved keepsakes taken away, but not thrown away.  Vimaro loved to look at those objects and gloat. 

I bet he even showed them to you all sometimes, just to remind all of you who owned you.  He relished that, didn't

he?"  Kai stepped forward again.

"Then again, I say that you should only see more clearly what kind of person he trained me to be."  Zevran looked

away, another little crack.

"You mean the Zevran Arainai who once told a certain bard regarding the art of killing that when the prey is

caught, it deserves a good death, a clean death?"  Kai cocked an eyebrow at him and moved forward again.  "Now, I

see papers downstairs that tell me that is not what Vimaro or Taliesin thought.  But you are so much more a horror

than they, aren't you Zevran Arainai?  Or do you mean the monster who fell in love despite the torture and mental

abuse meant to make him cold and unfeeling?  Or are you a fiend because you let Taliesin slit Rinna’s throat?  And

what about that?  Even after you felt she betrayed the Crows, and more importantly you, it was not you who pulled

the blade across her pretty throat to let the warm blood flow.  If you thought that she had lied about loving you,

why was it not you who took her life from her?  That was what was supposed to happen.  It couldn't be that, even

after your heart got crushed, you couldn't do it, now could it?  No, not that, since you are so cruel and cold." 

Kai just stepped forward again.

"Enough, Warden!  I could kill you now and prove you wrong."  Kai noticed he looked ill and slightly feverish.  Ah,

the wall was falling.  Part of her hated hurting him so, but this was a battle and she intended to win it.  They

had not let her get away with persecuting herself, she could do no less for him. It struck her, again, how much

alike they were.

"So you think killing me would prove once and for all, who you really are?  Prove me wrong, and you right?  Prove

that you are undeserving of friendship and love?  Well, then let me help you."  Kai went over to one of the chests

along the wall and dug into it for a moment until she had what she sought.  She came up with Vimaro's fancy, sharp,

curvy bladed dagger with jewels in the hilt.  She had a moment to be thankful she hadn't had a chance to sell the

damn thing.  She pulled it from its scabbard with a slick hiss of metal on metal, ending with a clang as she tossed

the scabbard away with so much force that it hit the wall.  She didn't take her eyes off of his.  Her own personal

dare.
"Well then, it is a good thing for you, the abyss that you are, that you didn't get a vallaslin after all.  Then

this would be moot for both of us, no?  But now you can prove you are everything your former master wanted.  He

will win, you will win, and you will get the key and walk away having finally fulfilled your contract, no?"  She

saw him pale under that honey skin.  "You could take the contract to Ignacio, even, we have it here.  I wonder if

they would still pay you?"  She saw him clench his fists as he flinched.  Kai walked up until she was standing

right in front of him and held her open palms up with the dagger resting across them.  "Though I am loath to tell

an expert of death and cruelty like yourself how to implement the demise of a mark, may I be so bold as to point

out my own vallaslin provides the perfect spot to put the blade?  I recommend sliding it between the ribs and

giving a quick flick of your wrist to sever the aorta.  You will get less blood on you that way, the bleeding would

be internal mostly.  You know, so the others won't get suspicious.  You could walk out the front door and be

gone."  She allowed herself a low chuckle and was pleased to see him cringe and take a slight step back.

"Whatever is the matter, Zevran the beast?"  Kai let a smile play on her lips, pitching her voice low and cruelly

seductive.  "Perhaps it is as you told me once.  Some people do need to die, no?  Would it help if I told you that

I too am a monster?  Did I ever tell you what I did in a little town we went to after the fall of Ostagar?  A town

called Lothering.  It was horrific, packed with people fleeing the darkspawn. The bann had left, taking all the

soldiers and any able-bodied men in the town to Denerim to Loghain, to replace the army he helped decimate. 

Refugees were sleeping in gutters and on the floors of the Chantry and the inn.  You could hear weeping and

moaning, children crying.  It was filled to the gills, with not enough food.  And people were getting sick from the

filth.  There was lawlessness, bandits were everywhere.  Bears and wolves were attacking, themselves driven north

by the darkspawn and sensing weakness in the humans.  The Templars couldn't do anything.  The suffering was

unimaginable.  Loghain had put a bounty on any Grey Warden survivors.  While we were there, a group of men in

tattered clothing with dull, cheap weapons they hardly knew how to use, confronted us.  It was just Alistair,

Morrigan, Argus and myself at the time.  They were going to collect the bounty.  And I slit one man's belly open. 

You should have seen his eyes, Zev, when he watched his own guts spill out in long ropes that he tripped over.  I

killed them, the others did too, but I was the leader, even then.  I killed them all.  And all they wanted was to

fill their crying children's bellies.  I left their wives widows and their children fatherless, all for the

audacious crime of wanting to eat.  I left them in pools of their own blood in a field, and I didn't look back. 

But I have done so much more than that, just as horrendous and cruel.  Would you like to hear everything, or will

that one moment of savagery be sufficient for you to feel I need to die?"  Kai stood staring at him.  He seemed

frozen to the spot.  She grabbed his hand and thrust the dagger's pommel into it forcing him to curl his fingers

around it.  "There is a certain ironic completion for you to use your old master's dagger, isn't there?"  She just

gave him a raised eyebrow and a cold smile.  Then she leaned in close. "So, what exactly are you waiting

for...monster."

He seemed to be fixed to the spot, not even breathing.  Then he looked at her and uttered a feral growl as he flung

the dagger away.  Kai had only a moment to register the clang of the metal as it hit the stone floor with such

force she would be surprised if it didn't chip a stone or break the blade.
Then his lips were on hers, hot and devouring, and she had a moment to picture a lamppost covered in snow before

she found herself otherwise occupied.  Her whole body was suddenly acute as if every cell had been set ablaze.  His

hands were tearing at her shirt as his lips seemed plastered to hers, tongues meeting in a kind of fight of their

own that mirrored their hands.  Her own were reaching under his shirt to rake nails along his back, which elicited

a deeper growl and a more fevered rush to get her shirt off.  His mouth biting her neck caused her to groan, which

seemed to spur him on as he nibbled and sucked as he carried her to the bed.  She couldn’t have cared less, bed,

floor.  Her poor body which had been denied for so long had a mind of its own.

Sod it, Alistair had been right, she hadn't felt so alive in ages.  To be touched and taken and driven to a kind of

physical madness, oh this was one of the joys of a corporeal body.  She bit and licked any skin of his she could

reach, while clawing like a cat.  His fingers were bruising in their intensity, grasping her hips as he drew her to

him, a mirror of their emotional sparring.  One more battlefield.  He pushed her arms over her head while he

feasted on one breast then the other until her breathing was nothing but ragged little gasps and she arched under

him.  When his teeth raked one swollen nipple, eliciting a cry, he fumbled and tore at the rest of her clothing as

she tore at his.  The key was completely forgotten.  They came together as he entered her with determined luscious

abandon.  This wasn't slowly climbing a spinning mountain, so much as sliding on ice at breakneck speed.  Their

mouths, hands and bodies meeting in a kind of war, who could take more, push more, make the other feel more.  When

the climax hit her, it wasn't like an arrow from a bow so much as it was a ball from a Qunari cannon.  All her pent

up emotions – sorrow, fear, anger – had all been released one explosion of lust.  It left her barely able to

breathe.  Her heart was pounding madly as she quivered underneath him, her body still riding waves of energy as if

it had been so constrained for so long that once allowed to release, it couldn't stop.  His name was like a mantra,

“Zev!”  She was helpless to do anything but surrender to it, and she felt his own body shudder in response as he,

too, lost himself.

When the currents had finally subsided, like the tide on the ocean going out, they were replaced by a boneless

sensation as if she had been cut open and her entire skeleton removed.  She felt so soft!  She was reveling in the

feeling to such a point that she hadn't realized she was dozing off, until she heard a slight sob and realized that

her shoulder was getting wet.  Just like with Alistair in the Fade.  She just wrapped her arms around Zev's naked

torso, holding him tight.  She didn't try and make patronizing, soothing tones or phrases.  Just as he never done

with her.  He had always quietly been there to support her and let her grieve and get it out.  She just stroked his

skin and kissed his shoulder.  To grieve for it all, especially his Rinna, and to let the guilt go.  Eventually, he

rolled to the side and pulled her to him, saying nothing.  She just put her head on his chest and snuggled in.  She

fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 31 mai 2010 - 05:03 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 54

Kai woke up with sunlight streaming in the small windows in the bedroom.  She had to admit she had not slept so

well in a long, long time.  She rolled over to see the bed empty, Zev must have gotten up early.  She was about to

just drift off again when she realized the bag he had been packing, all of his papers, and the gloves were gone. 

The table was empty of anything that had been sitting on it last night.  She felt her heart beating painfully in

her chest.  She leapt up and grabbed the nightshirt and robe still lying across the foot of the bed.  She was going

to go to the stables and see if Rhia was gone.  Maybe the stable master would know how long ago he left, and in

what direction.  But as she reached for the handle, the door opened, and he walked in with the Fi and Duncan, one

in each arm.  Zev kicked the door closed with his foot.  "They are almost too big to carry together, my dear Kai,

unless you are Sten that is."  She almost wanted to laugh with relief.  "Kaidana, what is it?"  He looked up and

must have seen her face and thought something awful had happened.  She almost thought something awful had.

She felt herself blushing with embarrassment.  "Nothing, really."  She looked away from his gaze while taking

Duncan from him.

She felt his nimble fingers, now freed from holding one babe, grasp her chin and lift it so she would look at him

again.  "Did you really think I would leave after you saved me from myself, Kaidana?"  His voice was soft.

She flushed harder and looked into amber eyes that had been so cold last night; they were nothing but warm now. 

"Well, you weren't in the most steady of moods last night.  And I may have pushed at you really, really hard.  All

right I did push you really, really hard.  And well..." she let that trail off.  And then we had sex.  Really,

really hot sex, which always changes the dynamics of a relationship, she thought to herself.  She gave a mental

huff.  Anything else she might say would just sound lame.  Well, okay, lamer than what was already coming out of

her mouth.  She just blushed harder and chewed on her lower lip.  Maker, she hadn't been this bungling and inane

after she and Alistair had, well...she let that trail off in her own head as well.  Wasn't she just a smooth talker

today?

"No, Kaidana, you gave me the chance to choose, and I choose you."  He leaned forward and effectively stopped her

from chewing on her own lip by nibbling on it lightly himself.  Those words, and strangely enough his Antivan

accent saying her full name, made her heart beat faster and made her warmer in, well, certain places.  Oh, and what

he was doing to her mouth too.  She had never liked the sound of her full name until now.  Of course that could

have had to do with hearing it only when she was in trouble for something when she was growing up.  When he pulled

back, he had a cheeky grin on his face.  "Provided, of course, Alistair still doesn't mind sharing.  You know, I

always imagined a three-way with you, but it never involved a dead person.  I had imagined it with you and Leli, or

you and Isobel, or...."  Kai rolled her eyes and laughed while she put a finger to his lips, stopping him.  He only

kissed her fingertip and tilted Fi up to kiss her on the cheek when she burbled at him.  “I thought the little ones

might like to have some breakfast from you and maybe some porridge downstairs with us.”

He helped her and the twins get situated on the bed.  While she was feeding them, he went to the armoire to get

clean nappies and clothes for them, and a tunic and leggings for her.  "Since you were fast asleep, my dear

Kaidana, I cleaned up our mess from last night.  Though I fear we will have to ask  Wynne to help repair some

rather abused clothing items."  Kai blushed.  "Ah, I love it when you flush so, reminds me of when you flushed last

night."

"Zev!"  She blushed harder as she yelped his name so loud that it made the twins fuss at the disturbance.  Focusing

on them gave her a chance to try and get her skin to go back to its normal coloring.

He only gave her a full throated laugh.  "My dear, am I not allowed to appreciate your skin's delightful ability to

suffuse itself with a rosy glow when embarrassed or...."

"Or when I have intimate relations with a man who is entirely too brazen for his own good?"  Kai laughed at him. 

"Yes, you are not allowed in front of the others.  I would never get the blush to go away or be able to look them

in the eye!"

"My dear Kaidana, you wound me yet again!  Such rules, such restrictions!  Oh well, if I get to stay with such a

goddess, then I will just have to learn how to live with such harsh decrees.  I am sure I can make the most of

it."  He grinned at her as he came to sit on the bed next to her and gently stroked Duncan's hair.

Kai's smile faded fast.  "Zev, about last night, I...I am sorry.  I was cruel.  I didn't know what else to do.  You

were not yourself...."  He shook his head and put his finger on her lips this time.

"No, you are my only real, true friend, as Taliesin never was.  That is all I really had to know for me to

differentiate between who I thought I was and who I really am.  The others are my friends, too.  If I had only

thought about it, I would have realized that they aren't just friends with me because of you, which I had always

believed to be the case.  They volunteered to rescue me from Vimaro; you told me that, I just did not process it at

the time.  I had an epiphany last night, my dear Kaidana, thanks to you.  I had not been as observant as I should

have been about the more important things, and what I had discovered, I hid from myself.  There were things I

blamed myself for that I had no choice in.  Similar to a certain Warden I know, no?  I didn't think I really was,

or even deserved to be, the person you see.  But it was truly fortunate that I had a friend that does know me, no? 

A friend who apparently saw the real me all along and refused to let me displace him."  He smiled at her and

stroked her cheek.  "And you did what you had to do to make me understand that the person I was not willing to look

at was really the person Rinna loved and that you love.  The person I really am."  It was his turn to blush, which

Kai had never seen him do.  She leaned in and rested her forehead against his.

"You just needed to forgive yourself and see yourself as we all see you.  As I see you."  Kai kissed him on the end

of his nose.

"You know, I ought to go back to the fortune teller in Antiva and give her a handful of gold.  She said I was one

of the luckiest people whose palm she had ever read."  His smile got wider.  "At the time, I thought she was a

terrible fraud.  She told me, an assassin and a Crow, that I would live to be an old man.  I did not pay her

enough, I think."

Kai laughed. "I would love to see Antiva, sometime.  Maybe we can make a trip of it?  But, no ****houses!"  She

broke in as his mouth opened in response.

"My dear Kaidana, I was only going to say that I know a place that serves the best seafood chowder in all of

Antiva.  That it happens to be a ****house is not really the point, no?"  He gave her a sly grin.

"You are just a scoundrel aren't you?  Help with them, and we can go down to the hall and eat."  She grinned at

him.  He chuckled at her and helped her get the twins changed and dressed.  Then she got herself dressed.  Kai put

Fi on one hip.  She could see what he meant about carrying both of them.  They made their way down the hallway,

through the atrium, and around the corner to the dining hall.  The smell of breakfast had her mouth watering and

her stomach growling.  The buffet table was set up with various food items, including sticky buns again.  Everyone

was there eating and talking, including Shale, who was finally allowed to move now that her injuries had mostly

healed.  The sight of the big stone golem made her very happy indeed.

All conversation stopped as they walked in, and all eyes turned towards them.  Leliana and her brother Fergus both

had wide and sly grins, like cats with cream droplets on their whiskers while sitting in the pantry next to broken

crockery.  Leli looked particularly smug.  Kai felt herself turning pink, but she continued to walk across the room

and put Fi into her highchair and tie a bib on her.  Kai ignored them all and went to get a bowl of porridge and

some sticky buns.  Kai handed the bowl of porridge to Fiona who was already occupied with the twins and grinned and

winked when she looked at Kai.  Kai blushed harder and went back to get her own bowl of porridge sweetened with

honey and sprinkled with spices.  She grabbed a spoon and sat herself down next to Morrigan.
Though she could still feel their eyes on her, she tried to concentrate on spooning up porridge as Zevran sat next

to her.  Schooling her face in what she hoped was a neutral mask, she looked up to find her brother smirking at her

and trying not to laugh.  Sten and Shale wore their usual stoic faces.  Oghren too was grinning at her and

chuckling.  Even Wynne was trying to hide a smile, and Morrigan cocked an eyebrow at her with the slightest of

curves to one side of her pretty mouth while she tilted her head.  Kai just huffed and kept on eating.

Leliana's lilting, accented voice broke the silence.  "You know, the door was locked last night when we tried to

bring the twins by.  I do hope nothing was wrong."  The pretty red head just licked her lips and smiled wider.

"Everything was fine, Zev and I just had to...talk."  Kai blushed harder.  "I am sorry to have left you with

babysitting."

Fiona grinned at Wynne.  "Oh, it was no trouble, Wynne and I were happy to keep them while you two talked."  Kai

groaned inwardly.  She didn't even try to look at Zev, afraid that if she did her head would explode with all the

blood rushing to it, the blush that would finally kill her.

She could feel them all continuing to stare.  "Fine, fine!  We did more than talk.  We..." Kai was interrupted by

Oghren.

"Rolled your oats?  Forged the moaning statue, polished the footstones?  Aye, Warden, we guessed that."  He winked

at her.  Kai rolled her eyes and wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table.
 
"What, do I have a sign on my forehead?  Does Zev?  Maker, what a bunch of busybodies!"  Kai's ears were burning

with heat.  "You would think my friends would be polite enough not to mention it."

"Aw, but you and Zev make a cute couple.  We couldn't help but notice what a beautiful glow you have this morning,

and you look more relaxed."  Leli's pretty voice broke in.

"That and the fact that you have a few, um, marks on your neck, dear sister."  Fergus grinned harder as Leli

smacked him on the arm.  "Oh, and the glow of course."  Then he started laughing.

Shale's gravely and amused voice had a smile in it.  "So, it has succumbed to the painted elf's charms and bedded

it?  This is inconceivable, as I myself have always found it to be most annoying."

Sten too gave Kai what passed for a smile on his stolid face.  "It is inconceivable that Kadan thought we wouldn't

notice."

"What is truly inconceivable is that the fool Templar would do something as practical as allowing his lover to seek

the pleasures of the flesh with another. ‘Tis a shock he could be so pragmatic."

"Huh, what is inconceivable is that they haven't been at it like nugs before this.  I mean, the Warden ain't bad

lookin' for a human."  Oghren punctuated his comment with a leer and a bite of sausage.
 
Zevran's voice was filled with laughter.  "You all keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it

means."

Kai rolled her eyes and sighed.  She resisted the urge to pull her shirt up higher; it would do no good now

anyways.  She finally braved a look at Zev, who did not look embarrassed in the least.  Andraste's flaming

knickers, she should have known he wouldn't be.  Which left her as the only target for their combined amusement. 

She was just about to get up and leave in a huff when her daughter flung porridge, hitting Sten right between the

eyes.  They all turned to see how the giant Qunari would take it.  He simply wiped his face off with a napkin,

reached out and tickled her with a big finger, eliciting a giggle from her.  Fi and Duncan just loved Sten, and Kai

suspected he loved them back, not that he would have admitted it.

It was just the outlet for her embarrassment that she needed.  "You know Sten, you looked good with that oatmeal on

your face.  I think Fi had the right idea.  Some of you need to wear it too."  Kai laughed and flung her own

spoonful catching her brother Fergus in the side of the head.  "In fact I think you all need some."  And Kai

started flinging more at all the others.  Fergus flung his scrambled eggs at her.  Soon, everyone was circling

around the room trying to get more ammunition or keeping each other from same, all the while ducking and bobbing

and trying to avoid being hit.  Even Shale had joined and had picked up the whole big kettle of porridge and held

it up to throw at Kai.

"Now Shale, you don't want to fling that whole thing.  It wouldn't be fair after all."  Kai held her hands up in a

placating gesture.  But she watched Shale’s stony face grin wide, and she flung the contents of the pot forward. 

Kai, her rogue instincts taking over, ducked.  The oatmeal arced out over her head and behind her.

When Kai turned to see where it had landed, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud.  It had hit

Sten full on.  He was covered head to toe with gruel; it ran down his immobile face and dripped off his high brow

bone and the end of his nose.  His face was completely still.  Kai put a hand on her lips to try and stop the

giggles which were already escaping.  He looked at her and then he grabbed her up and started wiping handfuls off

himself and rubbing it in her hair and face while she squealed and laughed.  "Sten, put me down, you're supposed to

throw it, not capture someone and rub it all over them!"

"If I am to be covered in this, is it not also allowed cover the enemy?  Though the rules of this war exercise were

not explained to me, I thought that was the goal, was it not Kadan?  There were no rules that said how one had to

cover the enemy in food."  Kai could only laugh harder and nod her head.  He had her there.  Kai took a look around

the room.  Fiona, Wynne, and the twins were nowhere to be seen.  The dining hall was a complete and utter mess. 

Food was everywhere.  All of her compatriots, save Argus who had been under the table the whole time, were covered

in various food items, even Morrigan.  Kai was pleased to see her sister looking not annoyed or angry, but amused

as she tenderly  wiped off the jam covering Fergus's face.  Argus was busy licking up all the food he could reach

off of chairs or the floor, even the others.

Suddenly, she was hit with an overwhelming love for all of them.  Her family, Maker, she was so lucky.  And she

found she didn't even mind them teasing her about her and Zev.  In fact, it made her love them more.  It showed

they cared about her too.  Hm, making love and a food fight had served to help her heal from everything that had

happened since Alistair's death, culminating in Erys's treachery.  She looked down and realized she still had a

sticky bun in her hand.  She took a bite and smacked Sten in the forehead with it causing him to drop her in

surprise as she made a break for the door, laughing.  She darted around the corner making her way to Highever

lake.  She was going to get all this food off, then get a bath.  Then, she was going to get a bag of coins together

for the servants as a bonus for having to clean up the mess she started.  She grinned, it would need to be a very

big bonus.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 02 juin 2010 - 05:54 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 55


Kai had managed to get the oatmeal out of her hair mostly.  She had dunked herself in the cold clear water of the

lake and gotten the major clumps off.  The fish in the lake had even helped by nibbling the porridge, eggs, bacon,

and other food bits off of her.  She had dripped her way, shaking with cold, back to the castle and into her room

leaving a trail of wet footprints.  But at least it wasn't a trail of food, which would have been even more work

for the servants to clean up.  She had a moment to wonder what the others were going to do.  It caused her to grin

and chuckle to herself.
In the room she ran the tap for hot water into the stone tub in the room.  Once again she was in awe of the dwarven

engineering that her grandfather had the foresight to commission.  According to her father, it had been quite an

undertaking.  On this day in particular she was especially grateful.  Other nobles had scoffed, her father had

said, at hiring casteless dwarves.  But they didn't scoff when they came to visit and had hot and cold running

water without waiting for servants to heat and pour water into the tubs.  She let the hot water fill the tub part

way and then ran the cold.  She dipped her hand in and swirled the water around until it was the right

temperature.  She added the bath salts Leliana was fond of making and had given her back in the Dalish camp.  Again

the lovely scents of lavender, rose, and cloves rose up to meet her on the steam.  She got undressed and lay her

clothes over the edge of the tub so they wouldn't mildew before stepping into the warm water.  The shock to her

cold skin made her gasp before she quickly became used to it.  She rested against the edge of the tub and found her

eyelids dropping down, and she slipped into the Fade.
And there he was, naked and in the bath with her, smiling.  Kai leaned forward and planted her lips on his.  He was

the candle, and she was the moth.  As always his big hands and strong arms encircled her, and she wrapped her arms

around his neck so she could run her hands through his hair.  She loved his hair.  She loved everything about him. 

She sighed contentedly against his lips.  He was nibbling down her neck, and she felt herself beginning to blush. 

"Um, Ali?  I hate to belabor a point but...."

"You had sex with Zevran; yeah, got it when the lamppost appeared in my head.  No, I didn't peek; your father and I

played chess."  He kept nibbling on her throat and his hands were roaming along her front.

"But..." Kai started again.

He smiled his lopsided smile at her. "Mi' gra, I am trying to concentrate; I have the most beautiful woman in all

of Thedas, who also loves me, here in the dream Fade, and I want to play.  If you are going to ask if I am jealous,

yes.  But not of Zevran himself.  I am jealous of a situation.  He gets to be there with you, and I don't, not only

to share a physical life, but to protect you.  That has always been my job.  But you are going to come to me in the

Fade beyond the Black City again.  You are my heart and soul.  My gradhag, my beloved.  So, I just have to be

patient, as do you.  Now will you please stop worrying?  I like Zev.  Truth be told, I liked him a lot at the end,

the rascal.  I admit it, I was totally wrong about him, and you were right."

"Oh, I should have you tell Andraste to mark it down, I was right!" Kai grinned at him, teasing him with his own

words.

He laughed. "Ha, very ha!  And I like him even more as time goes by.  I see what you see, remember?  I have seen

his concern for you.  His concern for and protection of our children.  How he is thoughtful and treats you the way

you deserve to be treated.  He even keeps you from persecuting yourself too much, for which you have a knack. 

Really, if I could have handpicked someone who was good for you and them, and who is able to protect you all, then

it would be him.  Even if he doesn't use a shield to do it.  You were right.  Teagan was not the man for you.  And

your father agrees, by the way."  And with that statement he went back to nibbling on her neck.  Kai was stroking

his shoulders and arching once again under his hands when her eyes flew open.

"My father agrees?  You told my father I am sleeping with Zev?"  Kai thought she might stop breathing, except this

was a dream.  If you stopped breathing in a dream, would it make you stop in the physical plane she wondered

wildly.

Alistair blushed when he looked at her.  "Not in so many words.  I told him about Zevran protecting you all and

being your best friend.  How he takes care of you.  I think he just inferred the other part."

Kai blushed harder. "My mother doesn't know does she?"  Kai felt her eyes getting as big as saucers.

"No, mi' gra, definitely not!  Luckily I have learned a trick or two from your father about deflecting your

mother's questions.  I am becoming quite good at it.  You would be so proud."  He grinned at her. Then his smile

left.  "Uh oh, time for you to go."  And before she had a chance to ask him what he meant, she felt a hand on her

shoulder, and she was pulled out of the Fade once again.

Sod it!  Kai woke with a start as it was Zevran's hand that had grasped her shoulder.  "My dear Kai, you were

saying Alistair's name as you slipped under the water.  I don't think he meant for you to drown yourself."  Zev

grinned at her.  "Though after that food fight you started, the servants may want to drown you."

Kai burst out of the water.  "Maker, the servants!"  She grabbed a towel and began to dry off as quickly as she

could.  "I intended to give them bonuses for cleaning all that mess.  Andraste's knickers, they probably hate me." 

Kai scrambled to search through one of the armoires for clothes.  She was hurriedly dressing when she noticed that

Zevran 's hair was wet, but he was clean and dry as were his clothes.  "Hey, how did you get cleaned up?"

He gave her a catlike smirk.  "First of all, my dear friend, I did not allow myself to get hit as much, nor

captured by an oatmeal covered Qunari"  He chuckled low in his throat.  "As to how I got clean, I snuck into the

laundry and found some of my clothes.  Then, I made my way to the barracks near the armory.  I have been exploring

your home, my dear.  Highever is amazing, like you, in so many ways."

Kai grinned at him.  "Charmer."

He laughed.  "Si! But your grandfather who had the indoor plumbing installed was a man ahead of his time, no?  His

invention of putting enamel coated metal drums in the barracks bathhouse with holes punched in them that fill from

the pipes and then drip water down like rain was ingenious.  I dare say I was cleaner faster than you.  As to the

servants, I already slipped them a little gold for cleaning up our mess."

Kai just looked at him.  "How did you know I was thinking of doing that?  And what did you pay them with?"

"My beautiful Kaidana, I know you.  You have never treated anyone as other than an equal or with anything but

fairness.  You would have felt guilty for all their hard work with no reward.  I simply made sure they got what you

would have given them.  And I paid them with some of the money I won on the fight between you and Zaeed."  He

grinned at her.

"Oh Zev, I will pay you back.  Just tell me how much you gave them."

He walked over to her and stroked her cheek.  "There is no need. How many times, my dear friend, have you spent

your money on the rest of us?  Paintings for Sten, and strange and exotic alcohols for Oghren.  Pretty baubles for

Morrigan, and shoes and that ugly nug for Leliana.  Even for me, gloves and boots and simple bars of precious

metals.”

"But Zev, some of those things were spoils of battles fought.  I didn't buy all of it; if I had, we never would

have eaten during the Blight."  She smiled at him, taking his hand and kissing it.

He put a finger on her lips. "Be that as it may, you spent plenty on everyone else, including me.  But never

yourself, unless it was equipment.  It is my turn, and the least I can do."  He leaned over and kissed her lips

before continuing.  "Now, I had a thought, my dear Kaidana.  We really need to get Rajed's weapon made.  Wynne says

he is healing fast and should be able to start moving about.  I suggest we have his brother and Naseel help him

with balancing exercises.  He is going to be a little off his center with the loss of his arm.  I thought it might

help him mentally and emotionally if he has their support while he figures it out again.  In the meantime, we can

ride to Lake Calenhad and speak to our friend the dwarven smith about the new weapon.  We should also take any that

might need repairs, no?"

She grinned at him.  "Well, then let me get some parchment and some charcoal, and I will draw out what I had in

mind for the weapon.  That way we have something to show our smith friend.  I figure if we ride Rhia and Luna

Negra, we could be there in a day.  I better get a wet nurse.  Oh, and I figure Oghren might like to visit with

Felsi.  I know he can't ride on his own, but he does all right as long as he rides in front of one of us."

"Hm, yes, as long as you can stand the smell and the grumbling."  Zevran laughed.  "But, I have dealt with worse. 

Why not?  I would not deny our dwarven friend a chance to get lucky."  Kai laughed and went to the desk to grab a

piece of parchment and a stick of charcoal coated in thin layer of wax.  The wax kept the charcoal from getting on

the fingers of those using it.  She took them over to the table and began to draw several pictures from different

angles so that the smith could get a good idea of what she wanted. 

"That is very good, I had no idea you could do that."  Zev looked over her shoulder at her sketches.
"Hm, oh, well I was always good at drawing and painting.  Horrible at embroidery or sewing or weaving.  This and

cooking were really the only things I ever took to which came close to being noble and 'ladylike'.  And I kept this

and the cooking a secret from the nobles and their sweaty handed, panting sons.  I wasn't trying to land one of

them.  The less ladylike and noble I was, the better."  Kai grinned at him.

Zev only laughed a rich, full throated laugh.  "Well, I for one am glad you are not like a typical noble lady of

Ferelden, and especially not like those in Antiva."

"I am afraid my parents ruined me, my father in particular.  Mother wanted me to be happy, but she also wanted more

grandchildren, and she was in despair of ever finding me a husband before she...well, before Howe."  Kai still

found it hard to talk about that night.  Zev just grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze.  She gave him a small

smile and shrugged.  "My father always called me his 'fierce girl' and told me I had the right to choose whom I

wanted to be with.  He just wanted me to be happy.  He still calls me that, in the Fade.  Anyways, I learned all

the courtly things and the non-courtly ones as well.  Some took, some didn't.  Guess which ones didn't?"  She

laughed.

"Hm, the ones you found boring and useless?" Zev chuckled at her as he started to pull out bags and clothing. 

"Well then, my dear Kai, let us be on our way to get a special weapon made."

And so it was that Kai found herself sitting in The Spoiled Princess tavern's common room nursing a mug of mead two

days later with her light cloak's hood pulled up, while Zev sat next to her drinking a local wine.  Argus lay on

her feet under the table snoring in doggy dreams.  Jarren was drinking something which was supposed to be whiskey,

but had the dubious distinction of smelling like paint thinner, and if his grimaces were anything to go by, tasting

the same way too.  Oghren and Felsi were in a dark corner snogging like a couple of teenagers, punctuated by

occasional insults to each other about surly brontos and nug droppings.  Felsi was supposedly on duty, but as there

were only four people in the inn besides her, Zev, Jarren and Oghren and since Kai had paid the innkeeper a

handsome sum for his finest rooms and his blindness about who they were plus a stipend while they were away, he

didn't snap at Felsi as was his usual wont.

Kai, and she had no doubt Zev and Jarren were too, was observing their fellow guests.  Three were locals, wearing

the simple clothing of the fisherman here on Lake Calenhad, probably here after a hard day working on their boats

or the docks.  They were a bit drunk, but not rowdy, at least not yet, though if the empty mugs in front of them

were any indication, they were headed there fast.  The fourth person was an elven woman who sat in a dimly lit

corner watching the room with dark eyes.  Her hair was a white blonde that cascaded over her shoulders and shone

brightly in the scant light of her chosen seat.  She was so small that Kai had taken her for a child at first. 

However, when she walked up to the bar from her corner, Kai had seen that she was indeed full grown, if the curves

in the leathers she wore were an indication.  It was then that Kai had seen the gently tapered ears as well.  She

was so petite that her eyes could barely look over the bar, and she had to climb the bar stool to see the owner and

get another mug.  She was exquisitely beautiful, even by her race's exotic standards.  Elves all tended to be

beautiful, but this girl was beyond even that.  She was also cautious, suspicious and wary.  She had taken her mug

back to her table and sat watching the room, much the way Kai herself was doing.

It was some time later when much drunken slurring, joking and back slapping commenced.  Much of it was done while

looking at the elf in the corner.  It became apparent that one of the fishermen had drunk enough courage to stagger

to the girl's table.  Kai watched as the girl kept her face impassive.  The man slurred something loudly that Kai

couldn't really hear, but she could interpret well enough from his gestures to the doorway leading to the rooms. 

The girl simply raised an eyebrow and said something Kai couldn't hear while shaking her head.  The girl then

gestured to one of the man's fellows and allowed a small smile to play on her lovely lips before leaving her seat

with her mug, headed to the bar again.  Whatever she said, it made the man angry and his already loud drunken voice

rose to a yell.  "You elven slattern, how dare you!"  As the girl walked past him, he made to grab her. Both Zev

and Jarren, even Argus, were about to rise and get involved.  Kai put a hand on their arms and stayed them.  Almost

too quick for the eye to see, the girl had a small, sharp little dagger out and poking between the man's legs, her

face cold.

"Elven slattern, am I?  Niquer te m'ere.  Any closer, round ear, and I will change your religion."  She cocked an

eyebrow and gave the man a small, nasty smile.  Kai heard her accent; it was very familiar.   Kai also recognized

the Orlesian expletive, as she and Fergus had both learned all the profane words of the other languages they

studied before they learned anything useful to say.  It was something along the lines of buggering one's mother. 

Kai wanted to laugh.  She looked at Zev out of the corner of her eye to see him smirking.  He clearly knew that

expression as well.  The girl tapped the dagger on the inside of the man's leg.  "Now, be a good boy and run along

and sleep it off."  And she continued to the bar.  By now his friends had started to rise; they apparently sensed

the lay of the land and were too drunk to care.  All they cared about was the blow to their friend's ego.  They

started advancing on the girl who reached over and grabbed a bottle by the neck, breaking it on the end of the bar

and holding it like a sword in one hand with the little dagger still in the other.  She crouched slightly and

shifted her weight to the balls of her feet.  Her eyes watched the men, observing calmly without letting the

adrenaline take over.  Kai motioned for her friends to get involved.  Argus knocked one man down and stood over him

growling.  Zev and Jarren had daggers on the others.

"Gentlemen, the lady doesn't want your company.  Go home to your wives and your children before she cuts you up

into chum to feed the fish in the lake," Kai smiled at them.  "Because if I tell my friends to back off, she is

going to cut off everything that sticks out from your bodies.  Walk away."  Kai made a gesture, and Argus released

the man under him.

The men nodded, their eyes wide, as they backed away to the door.  They all filed out, and the door closed behind

them.  Kai turned towards the girl who still held the bottle and her knife.  "I did not need your help, round ear. 

They should have learned their lesson.  It is as you say, I would have cut off all that stuck out from their

bodies, no?"  Now that she was close enough, Kai could see the girl's eyes were the dark blue-purple of the gem

iolite.  Her lips and her cheeks were the color of the centers of apple blossoms, her skin smooth and creamy.  Kai

had never seen anyone so lovely.  But for the crude speech and the attitude, she was exquisite, like living doll. 

Which was no doubt why the diminutive girl had the mien she had.  She was undoubtedly treated like an object for

her looks and her race.  It made Kai like her more; she was spunky.

"May I buy you a drink by way of apology then?  My name is Kai."  And she stuck out her hand to the young woman.

The girl looked at Kai’s hand and down at the broken bottle.  She grinned at Kai, shrugged and threw the broken

bottle over her shoulder so that it hit the wall behind her, shattering.  Before the innkeeper could protest, Kai

slapped a sovereign on the bar while grinning without taking her eyes off the lass.  She took Kai's hand and shook

it.  "Gnat."

Kai thought she had heard her wrong.  "I am sorry, but did you say ‘Gnat,’ as in a small biting insect?"

She smiled at Kai's confused expression and nodded her head.  "Gnat.  That is not my, how do you say, proper name? 

But it is the name I go by.  The name I like to use.  I grew up on the streets of Val Royeaux.  I was an orphan,

and I refused to live in the alienage with a bunch of chatte whipped elves or to be a **** for some nobleman's

pleasure.  I am a thief and a cutpurse.  And sometimes, I am a killer."  She grinned even more widely at Kai.  "I

suspect you and I are similar, are we not?"
Kai was about to answer when they heard high-pitched, terrified screams outside the inn.  Kai drew her daggers and

called to Argus.  Oghren, who had missed all the fuss with the fishermen, now grabbed his axe from the corner

behind Felsi.  Zev and Jarren already had their blades out as well.  Kai and her crew went running out the door.

She smelled them before she saw them.  The smell was a peculiar stench of rot coupled with dust and mildew.  Sod

it!  Darkspawn!  And she had not been able to sense them.  She had forgotten that part.  She had been so happy to

have that blackness crawling just under the surface of her skin and the constant hum in the back of her head gone,

she hadn't given them much thought, just like most Fereldans.  She had forgotten, and gladly, their nightmare.  She

counted four genlocks on the rise of the hill leading out from the lake.  Looked like three hurlocks.  One of the

hurlocks was just finishing sticking its warped, spiked sword through one of the fishermen.  The other two

fishermen were lying in pools of blood which looked black in the moonlight.  The hurlocks’ bald emaciated heads

with their patchy, leathery, mummified skin turned towards Kai and her group.  Lipless faces with black, pointed

fangs grimaced at them with hissing noises.  Kai felt her blood run cold.  "Argus, Zev, Oghren, genlock archers. 

Jarren, with me, don't be intimidated.  They are tough, but they do die.  They just take more hits than a normal

target.  Your best bet is to cut off their heads.  They don't survive that.  Don't get the blood in your mouth." 

Kai saw Jarren gulp and nod out of the corner of her eye.  Before she could move forward, she glimpsed a blur of

movement, and Gnat was on one of the hurlocks with a screaming war cry.  She ran up the hurlock and sliced it

across the throat, doing a backwards somersault off its chest before it even knew what had happened.  She then

hamstrung it and stuck her dagger through its mouth into its brain while it screeched in pain.  The battle had

begun.

After that things went in slow motion.  The fighting was familiar and so was the fear.  If anything they smelled

worse on the inside, their blood reeking of carrion and bile, like vomit and excrement and dark spite.  If she

listened closely enough, Kai could almost hear their blood humming just like hers used to.  A part of her mind

wanted nothing more than to run into the lake and wash all the blood off of herself RIGHT NOW!  But she ignored the

feeling and kept slashing and cutting.
Finally, they had only one left, and Kai was just beginning to feel relieved when the overwhelming stench of a

hundred privies in the hottest days of Summer sun hit her.  She smelled it before she even felt the vibrations in

the ground under her boots.  Maker!  Kai turned around and felt her heart drop into her stomach.  There it was, as

tall as the inn, hugely muscled with dark blue skin, a mouth full of fangs, and a head adorned with enormous horns

which could knock down a building.  "OGRE!"  Kai yelled.

Oghren stepped into the fray with Argus biting at the ogre's heels.  Kai, Zev and Jarren circled around its

flanks.  Gnat was following her lead.  Quite frankly, Kai was impressed that Gnat was still alive.  The girl had

talent, even if it was the rough fighting skill of a barroom brawl.  Kai and her compatriots kept working on

cutting the ogre from behind.  Their slices were a way to weaken it so Oghren could get in a killing blow.  Let it

bleed from a thousand cuts until it became sluggish.  They kept circling, dodging when it got angry, like a bear

swiping at the bees stinging it.  Kai watched Oghren as he dodged his giant foe, swinging his axe and slicing more

chunks of ogre flesh off the creature, blood shining black in the moonlight, splattering outwards.  She heard the

dwarf growling at the ogre, "Never pick a fight with a dwarf, nug humper!  Pound for pound, toughest ****ers on

Thedas.  Know why?  'Cause we like PAIN, nug humper.  Think about it.  Lichen ale?  We make it from crap found in

sulphuric pools.  What sort of sodded up people even invent that ****e?"

The detached part of her mind wanted to laugh at Oghren.  Kai was stabbing the creature’s thigh.  Gnat was next to

her and under the ogre's tree-trunk sized legs, and Kai watched her aim a dagger for the ogre's scrotum before Kai

could stop her.  The slash only enraged it.  Kai watched as the monster turned around, aiming to crush Gnat with

meaty fists bigger than the girl herself.  Kai pushed the diminutive elf out of the way while giving a cry to get

its attention.  The ogre stopped, screamed and head butted her.  She saw rather than felt the impact of those

massive horns, hurtling her backwards.  Well, that might have been a very bad idea, she found herself thinking as

she was airborne.  Kai thought she might be okay, if she just used her rogue acrobatics and rolled with the fall. 

Unfortunately for her, a tree put the kibosh on that little plan.  Kai hit it high enough that she saw the fir

needles and smelled the sap before she found the ground rushing up to meet her at an alarming speed.  She tucked in

her shoulder, which she hoped would help relax her into the fall, but the sudden stop knocked the breath out of

her.  She felt her shoulder give with excruciating pain, making her world go white.  Ribs snapped like twigs.  Sod

it, not again!  She would have cried out in pain, but breathing was very difficult.  She knew the fall had knocked

the breath out of her, but it didn't seem to be getting better with time.  If anything, it was getting worse.

"Mi' gra!  Hold on, love, just hold on!"  Alistair's voice sounded in her head from far away.
Other than Alistair, she couldn't really hear anything much.  It was as if she were watching a play with no sound. 

She could, however, see everything in exquisite detail.  The ogre's mouth opened wide, but she heard nothing.  She

watched as the petite girl stuck her daggers into the ogre's back, using them like claws to climb.  The ogre

stopped attacking Oghren and started trying to claw whatever was hurting it from behind, but the girl was so tiny

it couldn't reach her.  Anytime it got close, she stabbed its hand with her free dagger before plunging the blade

into its back again.  The ogre was so focused on getting the little clawing thing off its back that it was walking

around in circles.  Gnat, that was her name, right?  Kai was having a hard time focusing.  She watched as Gnat

reached the ogre's neck and stretched around to plant both daggers into the beast's eyes just as its big clawed

hands reached up to pluck the object of its ire off its neck.  Kai assumed it screamed in pain.  She really

couldn't say.  Once it was blinded, it didn't take long for them to bring it down and kill it.  Maker, finally that

was over!  How she hated those things.  She saw Zev running over towards her.  He was saying something, but she

couldn't hear him.  She tried to speak to tell him to talk louder, but she felt warm liquid leaking from her lips;

breathing was all she could really manage at the moment.  She tried smiling at him, to reassure him, but he just

looked more frightened.  She thought he might be shouting her name, but she really couldn't tell.  She was so

tired, she wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep, but Zev kept slapping her cheeks.  She was about to simply

ignore him when she felt her head lifted and a bottle held to her lips.  Kai tasted a health potion and felt the

strangely cooling sensation that they always caused right before the uncomfortable warmth of bones knitting and

organs healing.  She was tired of swallowing, but Zevran wouldn't let her take a break, damn him.  Finally, when

the last of it was gone, her eyelids got heavy, and the blackness of nothing engulfed her.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 02 juin 2010 - 06:25 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 56


Kai saw him standing there, and she ran towards him, her heart felt so light and free.  It was filled with that

overwhelming sense of love she always felt upon seeing his handsome face.  She felt her grin about to split her

face in two.  As she got closer she saw her parents, Oriana, and Oren behind him.  She felt such happiness.  She

drew close, and she hit an invisible barrier.  She put her hands on it seeking any way to penetrate the smooth

surface.  He just looked at her with a worried look.  "No, my love, you can't come here.  Not yet.  You have to go

back."

Kai pounded her fists on the surface, tears running down her face.  "NO!  Please, let me come home.  Let me come

home."  She crumpled, sobbing, at his feet with the clear barrier between them.  "Please, please, please," her

voice broke in wrenching cries.  But when she looked up it wasn't Alistair and her family standing there, but the

hurlocks she had just been fighting.  They reached for her, hissing, and she found herself crawling away backwards

as fast as she could go, until she bumped up against something.  When she looked up, she could have wept with

relief.  Duncan's face looked down at her.

"There you are, child.  It is time for your Joining."  Duncan smiled down at her, and she looked around, dazed. 

She was in the columned area in Ostagar where she had met Alistair for the first time and later had had her joining

ceremony.  In fact, she was there and so were Ser Jory and Daveth.  Even Alistair was there.  She looked at her

hand, and it held a snow globe with little figures of her parents and Ali in it.  She started to crawl away, but

Duncan caught her by the foot and pulled her on her stomach across the stone floor.  "Oh no, young lady.  You must

Join again.  We never let anyone leave the Grey.  You should know that."  He drug her to the table where the silver

Joining cup sat.  The snow globe fell from her hand and rolled away while she scrabbled to dig her fingers into the

stones trying to gain purchase.  She was grabbing with such desperation she was leaving bloody trails where her

skin was peeling off against the rough surface. Duncan brought her to the table and flipped her over onto her

back.  Daveth and Jory grabbed her under her arms and pulled her upright while Duncan reached for the Joining cup. 

Kai struggled and sweat broke out all over her body, running in rivulets down her skin.

"Ali, don't let them do this to me!"  She looked at him, her eyes pleading.  He only started repeating the Grey

invocation that was part of every Joining.  "Join us, brothers and sisters,...."
"No, Ali, don't let them do this to me, not again, please, please, please...no, no, no, NO!"  She was sobbing in

earnest now as Duncan put the goblet to her lips.  Kai struggled harder....

And found herself in her room in The Spoiled Princess with a familiar voice filling the room. "’Twill not work if

we cannot get her to drink it.  The fever is very high; ‘twill kill her or turn her into a vegetable if we do not

get it to go down."

"In case you have not noticed, my beautiful and dangerous Morrigan, I cannot hold her down when she thrashes in

such a state of fear.  And her skin is slick, making it very difficult to hold onto her." Zev's voice sounded hot,

annoyed, and afraid all at once, as if he was just keeping it under control.  Morrigan's voice too had that hot

glass tone which indicated she was trying to keep her emotions in check.

"I am awake, so no fighting, all right?  Your argument is moot."  Kai's head throbbed, she felt as if someone had

kicked her in the back, and every joint hurt due to the high fever she seemed to have.  She was wet, her night

shirt was soaked through, and the bed sheets were wet too.  Her mouth felt dry, as if sand had been poured into

it.  "I will drink whatever it is."  Kai tried to reach out, but her arm didn't stay aloft that long; it was also

damn hard to do so.  She found herself clutched in Zev’s arms, her face buried in his chest for a moment before he

cradled her torso while Morrigan put a cup to her lips.  Kai drank it without even really tasting it.  She felt

Morrigan's cool hand on her forehead.

"She is still too hot.  We must find a way to cool her off, or ‘twill kill her."  Morrigan's golden eyes looked

into hers with love and fear.  Kai found herself plucked into Zev's arms and swept from the bed.  She had vague

impressions of being carried down the hallway, down the stairs, through the common room and out to the lake.  She

heard splashing as Zev waded into the shallows of Lake Calenhad, and she felt the cold water surround her.  It felt

like bliss.  A sigh escaped her lips.  Maker, the water felt so good.  She found herself slipping between dozing

and waking.  She came fully awake when she realized poor Zev was shaking with cold.  The lake was not so pleasant

for him.

"Zev, you can let go and get out.  I can swim well, and any infant can float."  Kai smiled at him.
"My dear Kaidana, you are too weak to hold a thimble, let alone swim.  And I am not about to let you try and float

out here by yourself.  You might float out into the lake, and I understand there are nasty things out there due to

the potions dumped into the water from the Tower."  He continued to clutch her to him.  She huffed to herself.  She

hated putting them all to so much trouble, and yet she kept on getting them in these positions.  It was a wonder

they didn't all throw their hands up and walk away.  Or run away screaming.

"How long was I out?" Kai asked in a small voice, not really wanting to hear the answer, as it was usually days or

weeks.  His answer surprised her.

"Only about three hours."

"Well, that is certainly an improvement on my usual track record."  She smiled at him.  He did not smile back and

only grasped her more tightly.  She found herself shivering like him.  "Um, Zev, I think we can get out of the lake

now.  I am freezing.  And I think I can walk."  He narrowed his eyes at her and scooped her up once again to walk

to the inn.  They got to the room to find Morrigan had Jarren and the innkeeper replacing the rather damp mattress

with a dry one, including dry pillows, sheets and duvet.  When Jarren and the innkeeper had left the room, Morrigan

and Zev got her dried off, dressed in a clean shift, and tucked back into bed.  Zev got himself dry and dressed and

got into bed beside her to cradle her head on his chest.  Morrigan sat in a chair next to the bed, feeling her

forehead.

"’Tis much better.  I think the fever the health potion induced is gone now.  The old biddy will be disappointed

she came too late to do anything, I think."  Morrigan got up and poured a cup of water, bringing it to Kai as she

sat down again.  She held it to Kai's lips for her to sip from.

"You mean Wynne is coming?  Why?  You're here."  Kai felt herself flushing at all the fuss she was causing.

"When the fool Templar wakes me from my rest yet again to come to your rescue, ‘tis prudent to tell the others. 

So, my sister, I told Wynne and the rest what Alistair told me in the Fade.  I shifted into an owl and flew here. 

Wynne is riding here because she is so special The Fade shines out of her bum, the old bat.  The rest are waiting

for my report, which I shall make shortly now that your fever is gone."  Morrigan stroked her cheek.  Kai wanted to

giggle about the witch's comments on Wynne, but refrained.  The rivalry between mage and witch had been a source of

amusement ever since they all came together.  The two women were like cats who tolerated each other, barely.

"You said health potion induced fever?  I have never had one do that before."  Kai took the cup of water from

Morrigan's hand with both of hers.  She was able to drink from it with trembling hands, but at least she was able

to hold it.  She considered that an improvement.

"’Tis not something that usually happens, unless one drinks a whole potion at once in the space of a minute.  ‘Tis

why one drinks some potion and has a healer work on the rest."  When Kai felt Zev stir as if to say something,

Morrigan only reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder.  "’Tis not that you had any choice, Zevran.  If you

had not made her drink the whole thing, you would be burning her along with the darkspawn."  Morrigan gave him a

slight smile.  "Despite the fact that the phallic symbol sitting out in the lake not half a mile from shore is

filled to bursting with healers, ‘twould have been too late if you had taken the ferry to get there.  Again, the

result would have been to burn her with those nasty creatures outside."

Kai felt her heart race.  "You did tell the innkeeper and any others to cover their faces and stand upwind when

burning them didn't you?  I don't want anyone turning into a ghoul!"  Kai started up as if to rise, and Zev's arms

tightened as Morrigan's hand went from Zev's shoulder to Kai's, pushing her back.

"My dear Kaidana, we traveled with you during the Blight; we knew to tell them all.  Even Jarren and Gnat have been

educated on darkspawn now.  You really must worry about yourself, sometimes, and not everyone else."  She felt Zev

put his face in her hair.

She flushed and bit her lip.  "Sorry."  Morrigan only smiled wider at her and shook her head.
"’Tis your way, sister.  I should go and inform the others that you are well.  How long before the new weapon will

be ready?  The others will want to see you in the flesh before they are comforted, no matter what I say."  Morrigan

huffed.

"The smith said maybe two more days.  Not only is he good, but he is fast.  He was impressed with our dear friend's

sketches which he said helped speed the process.  He will also do the repairs.  I would say maybe four days and

half of one to travel, no?"  Zev smiled at Morrigan as she rose, kissed Kai on the cheek and went to the door.

"Fah, this foolish inn with its rooms dug into the hill.  A window would be welcome."  The witch sighed.  "I shall

go and inform the others.  Try to keep her out of trouble."  Morrigan smiled and turned to walk out the door,

stopping when she reached it.  "And speaking of trouble, sister, I do not trust this 'Gnat.'  ‘Twould be prudent to

watch her more closely.  An Orlesian who is obviously new to Ferelden in the inn you and some of your Scath

frequent?"  The witch shrugged.  "But then, I have always been a wary soul.  I love you, sister."  And then she

walked out the door closing it behind her.

"Our deliciously dangerous witch is correct.  She is more than what she says, not that she has said much.  Now

sleep, my dear friend."  And Zev got up to put out the mage rune lights before he slipped back under the covers to

wrap her in his arms.

She was standing in the garden at Highever, and she felt him before seeing him, as always.  She realized her

nightmare Alistair was nothing but a wooden cut out in comparison, no matter how real her fear had made it seem at

the time.  She spun around and ran to him, burying her head in his broad chest as his arms came around her.  "Oh

Ali, I hate darkspawn so much!  They frighten me so.  They always did, but you there fighting with me made it

tolerable."  Anything else she was going to say was lost in sobs.

"I know mi' gra, my beloved, I know."  He just held her, stroking her back and kissing her hair.

"I am so sorry if I scared you again.  Thanks for getting Morrigan.  I can be such a damn burden to everyone!  I

hate that."  Kai found herself sobbing harder. 

Alistair lifted her chin.  "You are not a burden.  You are the one with the burdens.  We are all just trying to

make them easier for you.  You can't help that sometimes you get knocked around or hurt, as much as it scares the

rest of us.  Did you find it a burden to take care of any of us when we got hurt during the Blight?  Did you find

it a burden to rescue and take care of Zev?"

"Well, no, of course not.  I would do anything for any of you.  They and you are my family, my heart."  Kai looked

into his gray eyes.

"Well, it is the same for us.  You can't help that we worry about you.  It comes with the caring about you, the

loving you, part.  At least I could do something this time.  I could grab witchy-poo."  He grinned.  "I do have to

admit I get a certain kick out of interrupting her dreams and waking her up.  Though, the dream she was involved in

this time had your brother Fergus in it."  Alistair laughed as he sing songed 'Fergus'.

Kai laughed.  "Really?  I think they were snogging in a corner of Highever's Great Hall a few nights ago.  I wonder

if I should bust Fergus's chops just a little."  And it struck her that Alistair had done it once again.  He had

raised her spirits and made her laugh.  He was truly the amazing one, not her.  She reached up to put her lips to

his as the dream world melted away.

"I really hate when that happens," she told him in her head.  "I love you so very much."

"Me too, my beloved.  Love you too."  She felt his smile.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes.  Zev wasn't there, and she had no idea what time it was.  The rooms to The Spoiled

Princess were dug by dwarven engineers into the hill behind the wooden front rooms of the inn.  All the rooms were

spacious and lit by magic rune stones like those used in carriages and at the Circle Tower.  It was a clever use of

space.  Even the tubs in the rooms were sunk into the floor. There was no need for fireplaces as the rooms stayed

the same temperature no matter the season.  It also meant no sunlight to gauge time.  Kai walked towards the softly

glowing switch on the wall to make the room light up.

This inn was so amazing.  Kai hoped that when all this business with Anora was done, her plans to free the mages

would draw more people to stay here visiting their relatives at the Tower and would encourage traders to visit

here.  It was one of many long term goals she had for Ferelden.  If she survived long enough, that is.  She groaned

as she sat herself on the edge of the bed.  She felt like one big bruise.  She was tender everywhere, but she had

felt worse.  So, she got herself up, gingerly tested her balance and got dressed.

She was just making her way down the stone hallway headed toward the junction with the hallway leading to the

doorway and stairs to the common room when she heard a woman's voice and Zev's reply.

Kai snuck a look around the corner to find Zev leaning against the wall, arms crossed, one leg bent, foot resting

on the wall in a casual pose.  However, Kai had known him a long time; there was a certain tension in his pose

which meant his assassin training was working.  The female turned out to be Gnat who was practically plastered to

Zev while she ran a hand down his arm and stood on her tip toes, curving her pretty neck back as she looked him in

the eyes.  Hers was a seductive pose meant to show off that skin, the graceful neck and to invite him to kiss those

lips.  Kai had seen Leliana use that trick before.  Kai ducked back behind the corner and listened.

"I am new to Ferelden, and what do I find but a very handsome elven man sitting in a little inn in the middle of

nowhere in a country that smells like wet dogs and rotting garbage.  My luck is starting to look up, I think." 

Gnat's voice was pitched low and practically purred.  It sounded like velvet with her Orlesian accent. "I have

heard so many stories and rumors since I arrived here, I don't know which ones are true.  I could use help in

making my way around, knowing what not to do and what not to say to these Fereldans.  They can be so touchy.  You

saw what problems I had last night."  Kai peeked around the corner again to see the exotic girl blinking those big,

dark, iolite eyes at Zev's amber ones.

"Oh, my lovely friend, I am flattered.  But from my accent, you can tell I am also a stranger to this land.  I hale

from beautiful Antiva City.  What could I possibly tell you?"  Zev reached out a hand and wrapped some of Gnat's

long, white-blonde curls around his nimble fingers, lifting them to his nose as Gnat leaned in even closer.

"Are we friends then, Zevran?" Gnat smiled at him, those pink lips getting closer to his.

"Oh si, my dear.  But again, pet, what could I tell you that you don't already know?  These Fereldans are not a

complicated people.  Not like Antivans or Orlesians.  They are simple, their tastes are simple.  They value honor

above all else, besides their dogs.  Don't insult the Mabari, and you should be fine."  Zev kissed the silvery

tress he held and smiled.  "As to last night, it seems you are well able to take care of yourself, no?"

"True, but I have heard rumors of the Blight and the dead Grey Wardens, which are frightening enough.  But I have

heard another name I do not understand; my Ferelden is, how you say, poor?  I am not sure I heard it correctly.  In

Orlesian it would be...um...Greif Argent, but I do not know if this is correct.  And what I heard is this person is

a bandit, stealing from the Crown and the nobles.  I do not wish to run afoul of another, more powerful thief,

no?"  Gnat leaned in even closer, her lips a hair’s breadth away from Zev's.  Zev's hand reached out to stroke her

cheek and then down the girl's throat, as if he were going to pull her in for a kiss.

It happened in a blink.  Zev's hand had grabbed Gnat under the chin, lifting her off her feet and spinning her

around to pin her to the wall while the other hand held one of his daggers to her heart.  "I trust, my dear Kai,

you heard everything?"

"I certainly did.  My Orlesian is, how you say, poor?"  Kai used Gnat's own words in a mocking fake Orlesian

accent.  "Our little friend here is asking after 'The Silver Griffon.'  Now isn't that interesting?"  Kai walked

up, patted the girl down and removed all her weapons, including the well hidden ones.  "By the by, my dear.  If he

really were your friend, he would have told you to call him ‘Zev.’"  Kai just smiled at him.  "I think we all need

to have a little private chat."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 02 juin 2010 - 06:47 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 57


Zevran set Gnat down on her feet; the girl rubbed her neck where his hand had squeezed 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 is 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 ****** 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.

"**** 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.  She turned them on

Kai.  "Vache!"

"Well, when she is 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 ****

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 ****, 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.  I needed

money to go home.  Cutting purses takes time, especially in a country so poor.  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

**** for some nobleman.  They said that was all I was good for.  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 had been scuttled.  It was said that most of the mages and soldiers had been 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 had 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 had 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.  And then came 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 had 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.

"Wait!  I have proof what I say is true.  My boot, on the right.  Twist the heel, it is a hollow compartment. 

There are papers there."  Zev went and stood behind her, his dagger at her throat.  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 had 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 both

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."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 03 juin 2010 - 07:58 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 58



Kai handed the letter and the contracts to Zev.  "You can let her up now.  She finally speaks the truth, and what a

twisted labyrinth it was just to get to it, bloody bards."  Kai grinned at Gnat to take any sting out of her

words.  "She really made us work for it.  And I thought Crows were the only slick ones."  Gnat grinned back and

snapped the heel of her boot back into place.

Zevran chuckled at her.  "You wound me, my dear friend!  Of course, you Fereldans are plain speakers and straight

to the point.  You have not learned the art of word craft."  Kai grinned at him and gave her hand to Gnat, pulling

her out of her chair.

"I don't know about you two, but I am famished.  Almost dying by ogre and that fever from the health potion has

left my stomach chewing on my backbone," Kai lamented.  "Not to mention playing psychotic interrogator as well."

"I meant to thank you for pushing me out of the way of the ogre.  I admit, I have never fought one before; I did

not know how fast something that large could move.  I am sorry you were injured because of me."  Gnat's creamy skin

flushed.

"I couldn't let the ogre make you shorter, you’re are already small enough."  Kai grinned at her and gave the

girl's hand a little shake.  "Though you were impressive in fighting the darkspawn.  If you ever did want to be a

Grey Warden, they would gladly recruit you.  Though they would be me, I suppose, as the Warden-Commander of

Ferelden.  So, let me know if you ever honestly want to Join."  Kai chuckled.

"I think being a bard is enough for now, though I am flattered.  The Grey are a worthy group."  Gnat grinned back

at her.

"I shall go and see to getting food and drink sent to the room.  I will also check on Argus, who has been banished

to the stables as he is a bit ripe, and make sure he is fed.  One of the servants here offered to bathe him.  I

agreed, but we need to make sure he does not take off the poor man’s face.  And Wynne arrived here while you slept,

my dear Kai.  She is in her own room sleeping after a long journey.  Our delectable witch friend stopped her on the

road to tell her you were well."  Zev grinned at both of them, gave a salute and walked out, shutting the door

behind him.  Kai noticed Gnat's eyes lingering on the door a few seconds after Zev had left, and the look gave Kai

an uncomfortable twinge.

Then Gnat turned back to her.  "So, you and he work for this 'griffon' I take it?"

"You could say that."  And Kai went on to explain about 'The Silver Griffon,' and the Scath and about what they

were attempting to do.  She filled in the details of the stories Gnat had heard about the soldiers’ disappearances,

the Tevinters and the Crows.  Kai left nothing out, and the tale was quite lengthy.  It left her wondering just how

big the book of Leliana's songs on her adventures was going to be.  She shuddered to think on it.

Gnat's dark eyes got bigger.  "You mean to say you are the one who did all those things?"
"Well, I didn't do them alone.  I have a lot of talented help.  Zevran, Oghren, Jarren, Morrigan, my Mabari Argus,

all of whom you met.  I have others who are helping me too.  You will meet them later.  And, I have my own group of

spies and assassins, the ones that ‘disappeared like smoke,’ as you said.  I guess you could say I am the organizer

of it all."  Kai shrugged.

"Don't let her fool you, Gnat.  We are only as good this woman who leads us."  Zev's voice came from the doorway as

he entered the room followed by some of the inn's day staff with food on trays and pitchers with cups.  They set it

all down on the table in the room and left.  "She has taken a group of people with different vocations, disciplines

and personalities and brought us all together into a cohesive group.  She really is quite amazing."  Zev grinned,

and Kai felt herself blushing.

"Well, why don't we sit and eat, and Gnat can tell us how she came to be such a good friend of the Empress of

Orlais."  Kai walked quickly over to the table and sat down in the hopes of changing the subject.  Gnat and Zev

followed and seated themselves.  "So, what is your story Gnat?"  Kai asked as she broke off a piece of bread,

buttered it and dribbled honey on top.

"I did, as you surmise, grow up on the streets after my parents were killed by Chevaliers for simply being elven

and getting in their way.  I was only six years old.  Even at six, I wanted justice, I wanted someone to do

something.  But the elves in the alienage, they shook their heads and told me to learn to live with it.  They told

me that we are the lowest of the low and to accept it."  Gnat's hands clenched into fists.  "Bah!  I accepted that

they were a bunch of chatte whipped people who would lick the hands of those who beat them, just like any cur.  And

as quickly as they could too.  I ran away.  If I died on the streets, at least I was free, yes?  It was a miserable

existence.  I lived off of stolen clothes and rotting garbage.  I spent more days hungry than I care to remember

and even more nights cold, hungry and afraid. I had to fight other children and even adults for the least rotted

foods or best places to sleep.  It is an animal's existence.  I think it is partly why I did not grow much, food

being what it was.  Then, Madoyne found me when I was eight.  She was the leader of a den of thieves, including a

lot of orphaned children.  She found me, took me in, trained me.  She loved us, taught us to read and write, taught

us to respect ourselves and each other.  She gave us a place, the outcasts of a society that forgot us, or tried

to."  Gnat looked down at her plate.  Clearly it was a sad memory.

"What happened to her?"  Kai asked her softly.

"One of her orphans, one I grew up with, betrayed her to the Chevalier and the Chantry.  He did it to get money and

power and curry favor with our body politic.  He wanted more, thought he deserved more."  Gnat's face became

fierce.

"Sounds like the man who killed my parents."  Kai gave Gnat's hand a little sympathetic tug.  "When I confronted

him, his dying breath was spent saying he deserved more."

"I was sixteen then, a master thief and cutpurse.  I watched as they brought her out from the dungeons to the

chantry steps to display her.  It was obvious they had raped and tortured her.  I watched while they broke her

hands with a mallet and cut out her tongue in front of everyone.  They threw her down the steps to lie in a puddle

of filth.  I had to leave her there until nightfall, when no one could see me, to fetch her.  She was still alive,

though I know not how.  She scratched with her foot in the dirt two words, 'kill me.'  And so I did.  I stuck my

blade between her ribs into her heart.  She gave me such a look of love and gratitude.  I tracked the one who did

it; I killed him slowly."  Gnat's eyes had become a dark blue, so dark they were almost black.  One lone tear made

its way down her cheek.  Kai doubted she even knew it was there.  Or if she did, she was ignoring it.  Zev put a

hand out and wiped it away.  Gnat smiled at him.  Again, Kai felt that twinge, of what, jealousy?  She huffed

mentally into her own head.

"So how did you go from thief and cutpurse to bard and close friend of the most powerful person in Orlais?"  Zev

smiled at Gnat, while handing Kai a peach that he had cut up.  Kai took it but watched his face as he watched Gnat,

wondering at herself and her uncomfortable thoughts.

"Well, she wasn't the most powerful person in Orlais when I met her.  And I use the word 'meet' in the loosest

sense of the word.  Celene is a good person.  Her uncle, the former emperor of Orlais, and her cousin Meghren were

not good people, as you all know.  Meghren, your country had direct experience with, yes?"  Gnat glanced at Kai.

"But the emperor was just as bad.  Meghren was his lover and displeased him. As punishment he was sent to the

'backwater' kingdom of Ferelden to rule it.  Celene always hated her uncle and his actions.  He was a spoiled man,

petty and cruel.  Meghren and he were cut from the same cloth.  Celene hated what her uncle and Meghren had done to

Orlais and Ferelden.  When I met her, she was trying to take the crown.  She was fourth in line to get the throne

if the emperor should fall."

"I had heard that she arranged for his untimely demise.  And that she outmaneuvered three older cousins to take the

throne."  Zev grinned.  "If this is true, then Orlesian politics are just as messy and dangerous as Antivan

politics."

"Oui, they are 'The Great Game,' which is not so great.  And it is very dangerous for anything labeled with a name

as innocuous as the word 'game.'  Celene has never confirmed to me the rumor that she indeed had his life cut

short, though she would if I asked.  For her safety, should I ever be caught or tortured, I do not ask that

question of her.  But I would not blame her if she did.
“I had heard that before he died, her uncle was planning on invading Ferelden once again, to crush it once and for

all.  He planned on selling the citizenry to Tevinter as slaves and repopulating Ferelden with Orlesians.  It was

to be partially as revenge for Meghren and also for the embarrassment to Orlais.  All I know is that he died and

there were three cousins fighting each other over the throne.  She was only seventeen when she put in her bid to

rule.  She managed to outmaneuver two of the cousins, but the third was far more cunning and dangerous.  He hired

bards to eliminate her on two separate occasions.

“I met her when the first attempt was made.  She was in the market.  I was picking pockets.  I was thinking of

taking her purse.  She did not warrant as much protection back then.  She only had two guards, and I did not know

who she was.  As I drew near her, I noticed a man dressed like a beggar with one arm and a rag over one eye.  He

was holding a begging bowl, his one arm holding it close to his body.  Because of my height, I saw what the others

did not.  His other arm was not missing, but his hand under the bowl held a very small dagger.  I knew it had to be

poisoned.  Celene was about to put coins into his bowl, getting close enough to get scratched.  I pushed her away

from him, knocked the bowl out of his hand, and grabbed his 'missing arm' revealing the dagger he held.  It was a

good thing I am quick or her guards would have killed me on the spot.  When they confirmed what he had been about,

they gave the man to the Chevalier.  Then, she took me to her home.  She fed me, gave me pretty clothes to wear,

and we talked all through the night.  I never left.
“Have you ever met a person and felt as if you had known them all your life?  Well, Celene and I are sisters of the

heart.  From then on, I was her personal confidant and her guard.  Celene sent me off to be trained by one of the

best bards in Orlais.  I also spent time learning from the acrobats who perform shows for the nobles.  I learned to

be more flexible, to roll, to tumble, to climb.  I learned how to spy and to assassinate.  My skills as a cutpurse

and thief were built upon.  The second attempt on her life went no better than the first.  I killed them easily. 

And her cousin, well, he died suddenly and tragically.  And at such a young age, too."  Gnat shrugged and grinned. 

"Poor man died in my arms, in fact – so sad."

Zevran laughed, and even Kai had to chuckle.

"When she took the throne, Celene began changing the way politics work in Orlais.  She felt she needed to clean up

at home first.  When she had, she started to correspond with your King Cailan.  She wanted to make amends, to seal

a lasting peace between Orlais and Ferelden.  Celene's father does not approve of this at all, but that does not

stop my lady.  My lady, ce est formidable, no?
“Cailan also felt that the trouble with Orlais should be left in the past, that they should look to the future. 

Their letters became more personal.  She told me she fell in love with him when they finally met in person.  It was

a very brief meeting, only a few hours.  She told me he was funny, kind, brave and thoughtful.  They discussed

Cailan’s setting Anora aside to marry Celene and produce an heir, or heirs, of both their bloodlines.  This would

tie the two countries together better than any treaty on paper.  And they discussed the Blight that both she and

Cailan knew would be coming.  He told her that his father Maric had been told there would be one and he wouldn't

live to see it.  Cailan didn't want to panic the people."

"One of her letters mentioned that her Warden-Commander told her it was a Blight and that it threatened both our

countries.  I saw that Celene felt the way Cailan had, that our unhappy history was just that, history.  And

speaking of Maric, I believe he would have agreed with Cailan.  Maric was a forgiving soul.  It was Loghain who was

not."  Kai shrugged.  "In fact I believe, no matter how Loghain tried to convince himself otherwise, that part of

the reason he quit the field was to execute Cailan for what Loghain saw as treason.  He judged Cailan guilty of

seeking aid from our former enemy, thereby laying Ferelden open for another Orlesian occupation."

"You did not get to ask him?"  Gnat raised her eyebrow.

"He would have just denied it.  I think there was a part of him that could not believe he had let his best friend's

son and his king die.  He could not face it, no matter how he justified it.  I had heard he had taken to drinking

heavily.  And Alistair, the only other Ferelden Grey Warden, fought him in a duel and summarily beheaded him.  So,

even if I had thought he would answer truthfully in the end, it is rather hard to get a dismembered head to talk." 

Kai gave Gnat a wan smile.

"Is he the Warden who died killing the Archdemon?"  Gnat looked at Kai, who found herself with a catch in her

throat.  Still, it affected her this way.

"Ah, mi’ gra."  Alistair's voice spoke softly in her ear.

"Can't help it, beloved, it still hurts."  Kai gave him a small smile.

Out loud, Kai replied, "Yes, and now we have Anora to deal with.  She has turned out to be worse than her father

and the Blight put together."  Kai grimaced.  "And lucky you.  You find yourself right in the middle of it with

us."

Gnat laughed.  "Well, I am just glad I found you at last.  I had been losing hope.  No one seemed to know how to

find 'The Silver Griffon.'  And being Orlesian and elven didn't help, as people were suspicious."

"Yes, I apologize for that.  I am afraid along with everything else we need to work on rebuilding, the rebuilding

of the intangible things will be the hardest."  Kai laughed.  "Well, Zev, Jarren and I were all going to visit the

small town here and deliver some food, money and goods, courtesy of 'The Silver Griffon.'  Would you like to join

us?"

"Oui, I will get into my armor and meet you and Zevran in the common room, yes?"  Gnat smiled at them.  Kai nodded.

"Call me ‘Zev,’ my dear.  That is what my friends call me after all."  He grinned at Gnat, and she blushed.

"Then I will meet you and Zev in the common room in a few minutes."  Gnat smiled and left the room.  Again, Kai

felt that twinge.

"So, our tiny friend dropped quite a pretty little bombshell on us, no?"  Zev grinned at her.  Kai just nodded,

lost in her own very uncomfortable inner landscape.  Zev gave her a look.  "What is going on in that head of yours,

my dear friend?"

"I don't know; you seemed very friendly towards her."  Kai shrugged and blushed.

"I am not sure I understand what you mean."  Zev stared at her, not blinking.

"Nothing, I don't mean anything by it, really."  Kai felt herself blushing more and wanted to end the

conversation.  So, she got up and went to the chest to get her own armor.

"You are jealous."  Zevran continued to stare at her.

"No...I...well, yes."  Great way to speak in complete sentences, Kai.  Kai felt herself flushing harder.
"And why should you be jealous?  If anyone should be jealous, it should be I, should it not?"  Zev's voice was

quiet.

Kai bit her lower lip.  She was ashamed.  He was right.  She should have known that it wouldn't work.  If she

needed someone to...well...be physical with, she should just go to The Pearl.  "You are right, Zev.  What happened

with us was not planned, I swear on my parents’ honor.  I don't ever want you to feel like, what was it you said to

me?  Like an Antivan **** to pleasure me and kill for me?  You are not that, not now, not ever!"  She clenched her

fists.  Maker, this was so hard for her to talk about; Fereldans just didn't talk about sex.  She thought her ears

would catch on fire, they were burning so badly, but she pressed on.  "And I won't have you put in that position. 

What happened between us was due to...well...pent up emotions and not having physical relations with anyone in a

long time.  We can just leave it at that.  You are my best friend, and I won't ruin it again.  Your friendship

means more to me than anything.  I have no other claim on you, and we have not pledged anything more than

friendship to each other."  She looked down.  She didn't dare look at his face, what if he was angry with her again

as he was after his rescue?  She didn't want to go through that again, or lose him.  What she was about to say made

her heart squeeze painfully, but it needed to be said.

"So, if you and she, Gnat, I mean.  If you and she want to...well...you know.  Well then...um...just tell me so I

can make myself scarce.  And...um...maybe tie a scarf or something on the door handle?  So I know to stay away. 

That way I won't accidentally...well...interrupt...um...come in the room before...."  Kai let out a huff of

breath.  "She is gorgeous, not something I would ever be accused of.   And she has a lot in common with you,

childhood wise.  And she is an elf, so that is something else you have in common.  I think it would be lovely." 

Kai wanted to choke on those words.  "I mean I think she is very attractive, and I don't even go for women.  Not

even Leli or Isobel when they offered.  But Gnat is something else entirely.  And she is obviously interested in

you outside of trying to get information from you.  So, I say go for it."  Kai blushed harder and felt tears

creeping into the corners of her eyes.  Sod it, why should this hurt so?  "Not that you need my permission, that

isn't what I mean!  OK, I am just babbling, and I hope you aren't mad at me...."  Anything else she was about to

say was lost when his lips covered hers, hot and devouring, while his hands cupped her face.  She was wondering if

she should picture a lamppost, though they really didn't have the time with Gnat meeting them in the common room,

when he stepped back.  His amber eyes held amusement and exasperation?

"You have to be most infuriatingly arousing woman I have ever met.  There is no other woman like you in all of

Thedas."  Kai, her lips tingling, blushed harder.  "Of course I am jealous that you and Alistair have a bond that

transcends death.  But I am not jealous of your love for him or his for you.  I understand how he feels

completely.  And I know you love me, my dear Kaidana, you have already proven that."  He stroked her cheek.  "As

for something more pledged between us, you bring up a very good point."  He reached around his neck and removed one

of the earrings that she had hung on a leather thong back when he was comatose.  He held it up to the light where

the silver hoop with the translucent golden stones glimmered.

"You want me to have that?  Oh Zev, are you sure?  It was hers.  I don't want to take it from you."  Kai reached

and cupped the earring in her hands.

"It is not taking if I give it, with my heart, to you."  Zev put it in her hand and curled her fingers over it.  "I

have only loved two women in my life.  So, it is fitting that they both have worn this earring, no?"

"Only one problem, I don't have pierced ears.  I mean, I considered it once.  There is an elven jeweler at

Highever.  He makes jewelry that looks like plants, silver ivy that trails around your neck or **** willows in

gold and pearls.  He is so popular that nobles’ wives and daughters come from all over Ferelden to have his work

adorn their necks and ears.  He made a necklace and earrings which looked like the branches of the rowan tree in

silver, with garnets for the berries.  It was the only time I lusted after jewelry, which I never really wore.  I

had considered asking my father to get it for me as a birthday present, but he was killed before that could

happen.  And I am babbling again."  Kai flushed harder and looked at the earring sitting in her palm.  The light

hit the stones, making them glow like honey or solidified sunshine.  "I guess I could wear it around my neck."
"You don't understand me, my dear Kaidana.  I want you to wear one in your ear, and I will wear one in mine."  He

smiled at her.  "Then, you will only have to touch it to remind yourself that I am wearing mine, and my heart

belongs to you."  He laid his lips tenderly on hers before stepping back.  "As to piercing your ears, and I think

one up in the curve of your ear for this earring.  And I can take care of that."  His fingers gently played with

her earlobe.  "But you are going to have to return the favor and pierce mine, no?"

She smiled and nodded at him.  "I guess I can do that.  I love you too, Zev."  She blushed more, but grinned at

him.

"There is one other thing I would ask of you, another promise.  Then, we had best get ready to meet Gnat; I

wouldn't want to keep her waiting too much longer, or she might think we are doing explicitly sexual things instead

of talking, no?"  He laughed when Kai blushed harder.

"What can I do for you, my dear friend?"  Kai touched his cheek.

"I want you to put the vallaslin on my skin."  He smiled and kissed her and went to the chest to get their armor.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 03 juin 2010 - 07:49 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 59



The town, if it really could be called one, had no real name; it had just grown up around the inn and the Tower at

Lake Calenhad.  It basically consisted of houses, a small marketplace and the smithy up the hill past the ruins

from the inn.  It was clean and well kept, and the buildings were in good repair, thanks to “The Silver Griffon.” 

Kai remembered how bad it had looked when she had first come through on her way from Redcliffe to one of the other

safe houses, right after Anora had tried to poison her.  When they had passed through, the houses had been falling

apart.  The darkspawn had trampled and tainted everything.  The gardens and crops were black and dead.  The people

had been starving and sick.  Many had died, mostly the elderly, the frail and the young.  There had been so many

fires burning that the air had been thick with a greasy, black smoke and ash.  The combination left oily smears on

everything when one tried to wipe it off.  One incident in particular stayed in her mind.  A man named “Timothy”

had been holding a bundle in his arms.  Kai had thought it was a little doll, but it had been the corpse of his

infant daughter.  The babe had obviously starved to death.  The man had been so broken, he had refused to let

anyone take her from him.  They had finally had to knock him out so they could take the poor little mouldering

corpse and cremate it.  Kai, who was newly pregnant herself, had been sick and extremely angry that Anora had not

even moved to do anything for the people.

It was that journey that started Kai on the idea of “The Silver Griffon.”  She had remembered a childhood tale of

“The Black Fox.”  And from then on, any monies reacquired from the nobles who were over taxing their people and

taking those taxes before they reached Anora were all to be distributed back to the people of Ferelden instead of

being used to build one monument after another to Loghain.

She had met the dwarven smith who lived here while in Denerim.  He had helped one of Kai's people who had been

waylaid in a small back alley by a gang out looking for easy pickings, since Anora's idea of law and order

consisted of her own personal army dedicated to her own personal protection.  The rest of Ferelden could happily

rot, for all she cared.   One Scath, an elf from the Alienage, had been a ripe target for a bunch of drunken men.

The dwarf, Talan Hennslin, and his son, Aulber, had helped beat off the men with weapons they had made to sell in

the marketplace.  They had started talking with her spy, and he had found them sympathetic to the cause.  Both

dwarves being surface born, they considered topside their home, and they had not liked what was going on with

Anora.  So, they had been let in on “The Silver Griffon” and the Scath and the Scathach.

Talan had moved his wife, two sons and one daughter to the town outside of Lake Calenhad.  They had all helped the

people rebuild their homes and had built the smithy.  On the surface, the smithy made pots, pans, tools, parts for

wagons, carriages and shoes for Ceffyls, among other sundries.  He also repaired all of those things.  But behind

the scenes, he made weapons and armor for Kai and for all the men and women soldiers Kai had allied with.  He was

the one who made her daggers.  His daughter was the leather worker and made all the leathers that any Scath rogue

wore.  And it had been her idea to put thin bands of dwarven steel in the knuckles of the gloves, the elbows, the

knees and the toes of the boots.  Not enough to make them too heavy, but just enough to hurt an opponent.  Kai

meant to see her about putting secret compartments in the heels of their boots like the one in Gnat's boot.

She, Zev, Jarren, Argus and Gnat all made their way up the path past the arching ruins and into the town.  Jarren

made his way to his assigned houses to distribute monies to the families.  Kai and Zev made their way to the

unofficial mayor of this little community.  People out and about doing the day's business waved and smiled at them,

even at Gnat.  Kai was struck once again by how much respect and trust she was given by these people.  It always

made her squirm, that they would give her that much power over their lives.  She made a mental note, as she always

did, to respect their trust and to never forget it.

Her father always said that the people they were leading (and he always called it “leading,” not “ruling”)

commanded respect.  They were the strong back and the legs the kingdom stood upon.  He had taught her that the

station they had been born to, one of privilege, came with certain responsibilities.  Responsibility had been

drilled into Kai’s and Fergus’ heads at a young age by their father and mother.  Her parents had always told her

that servants were people, with families and lives.  They got sick, lost loved ones, had bad things happen.  They

were not tools or furniture, but people, and that included non-humans as well.  The alienage at Highever was not

really a separate place, walled off from the rest of Highever.  It was more like a part of town where most of the

elvhenan chose to live.  But the mingling of humans and elves and the casteless dwarves all took place in peace. 

Kai and Fergus had both taken the lessons of their parents to heart.  Kai was glad to see that the town here had

accepted Talan and his family and fit them in as seamlessly as if they had been here all along.

Kai walked on looking for the “mayor” and found Timothy at the fountain in the town's square.  He looked like a

completely different man from the grieving, starving, tormented individual they had found clutching his dead infant

daughter.  He was talking to a young man, Khenys, one of the townsfolk.  Kai had meant to wait until he was done

speaking before getting his attention, but the young man saw her first and his face split into a wide grin. 

Timothy spun around to see who was there, and his own face lit up in a brilliant smile.  He swept Kai up in his

giant arms for a breath-squeezing hug.  "My Lady Cousland!  It has been too long!"  Kai laughed and patted his back

until he put her down.  "How are you?  I heard about the darkspawn and that you were hurt.  I am glad to see you

are up and about.  We burned the bodies, especially that ogre.  And we were very careful."  He held up a hand in

case she should make a comment.  "We are just glad not to be burning you along with them."

"You and me both, Ser Timothy."  Kai smiled at him.

"I will echo that sentiment, my good man." Zev grinned.

"Hm, I find myself agreeing with Zevran more and more," Alistair's voice said in her head with a mental smile of

his own.  She just chuckled at him.

"Timothy, how many times have I asked you not to call me 'my lady,' or 'my Lady Cousland’?  Honestly, a man who

hugs me like a rag doll need hardly stand on such formality.  I am just ‘Kai,’ for the Maker's sake."  Kai jokingly

admonished the man.
 
"My lady, that you would throw all the rules of the classes aside and allow us all such informal access to you is

wonderful even as it is, odd, shall we say?  But some decorum must be kept.  I call you 'my lady' as a sign of

respect, for you, not your title as a Cousland of Highever, nor even as 'The Hero of Ferelden,' or at least the

living hero."  Timothy grinned harder as she blushed.
"You sound like my mother, Timothy, when you speak of decorum.  Are you sure you aren't related in some way?" 

Timothy gave her a hearty laugh.

"Of a certainty I am not.  If I were, I would brag about it to all and sundry."  He grinned at her and gave her

hand a shake.  "So, I take it you are here for 'The Silver Griffon's' usual delivery?  And I have heard that

apples, honey and potatoes are all coming from Highever.  I have a missive from Redcliffe that salted fish and

flour are to be arriving soon by ship from the lake.  Your idea of trading for the goods that our dwarven smith and

his family makes has been genius, and as you can see, we are doing well."  Timothy waved a hand to encompass the

village.  "If this keeps up, we will have to come together and name our thriving community so we can officially be

put on the map."  Kai grinned at him.  "I also understand that our stout friend has been working on some things for

you, my lady.  The good news is that he is doing so well, he now has three apprentices along with his two fine

sons.  Khenys is one of his newest.  So, the repairs to the armor and weapons you brought should be done sooner

than expected.”

“And one of his sons has taken on the merchant duties and travels, taking his father's wares to different places. 

He is in Orzammar now.  I also know he has been unofficially spying for 'The Griffon.'  As a merchant, he hears

many things that people do not think he hears.  They talk in front of him, forgetting he is there – a part of the

background, if you will."

"It may be you should make him a Scath, no?  Not all of your spies have to be warriors or rogues.  I had not

thought of that myself, but why not ask a merchant to be one?" Zev's voice held a musing tone as he looked at Kai

with a raised eyebrow.

"I had not thought of it either.  It is something we can propose to him when we see him next."  Kai smiled at him.

"As well you should, my Lady Cousland.  We are all on your side should you ever call on us."  Timothy smiled a warm

smile at her.  "We will not forget what you have done here.  Did I tell you?  Nila and I are expecting our babe in

the Fall!  If it is a girl we want to name her Kaidana.  And if it be a son, Alistair."  It was Timothy's turn to

blush.  "Nila and I hope you don't mind."
Kai could only gape at the man.  She didn't really know what to say.  He really wanted to name his child after

her?  Alistair she could understand, he was the true “Hero of Ferelden,” not to mention being part of Calenhad's

line.  But her?  "Why ever would you want to saddle the poor lass with such a name as mine?  Better to name her

Rowan after Maric's wife and a true hero in her own right."  Kai felt her own blush deepening to match Timothy's.

"Ah, my love, I know exactly why he wants to name her after you."  Alistair's voice was tinged with love.

Timothy's blush abated and he laughed.  "You are far too modest, my lady.  You saved this town, you saved me from

doing myself harm.  You are saving our country.  I know of no name better suited then yours.  May I please have

your blessing to do so, my lady?" he asked her softly,  Kai blushed more, but nodded.

"I hope she isn't as much trouble as I was growing up."  Kai joked with him.  Kai heard Zev chuckle, and she turned

and grinned at him.

"My lady, there is another matter which I would beg you to look into.  It is a sensitive matter and involves the

tower and, I am afraid, the Templars."  Timothy gestured for them to follow him.  He led them to his house and went

in.  Nila turned from the table where she was cutting up vegetables and meat for the evening's meal.  She greeted

them with a smile.  Timothy went to her and kissed her while putting a hand on the gentle swell of her belly.  "My

love, I have another visitor for you."
"My lady, it is a pleasure!  And you brought your friend Zevran."  Nila held out her hand.

Kai shook it, and Zev brushed his lips over Nila's knuckles.  "It is a pleasure to see you again, dear lady."  Zev

used his most charming voice, making Nila blush.

"Oh ho, I see why you like seeing him again, my wife!"  Timothy grinned as he teased her.
"Hm, more men should take a page out of his book, husband."  Nila wrinkled her nose at Timothy.
"See what you do, causing marital strife everywhere you go."  Kai jabbed Zev in the ribs with her elbow, causing

him to grin and chuckle out loud.

Timothy laughed, smiling at Zevran.  "It is good to see you again, friend.  And I see you have a new face following

you today."  Timothy stuck out his hand to Gnat.

Gnat took it and winked at Timothy, who seemed enraptured by Gnat's exotic looks.  "I am indeed newly recruited to

help 'The Silver Griffon,' good ser.  You may call me Gnat."

"Oh ho, husband.  I see I need to watch you around this one."  Nila laughed as Timothy blushed.  "And did you say

‘Gnat’?"

Gnat nodded and laughed.  "It is what I go by, dear lady.  I am small, and my daggers bite.  So, that is the

nickname I was given.  I have been Gnat for so long, I would not recognize my own, proper name if you called me by

it."  Gnat grinned, and Nila laughed and shook Gnat's hand.

The exchange had given Timothy time to collect himself after meeting someone as exotic and beautiful as Gnat.  "My

love, I thought that our lady would like to meet our guest.  I thought maybe she could help."

Nila nodded.  "She had been sleeping, poor thing.  And no offense, but she is a little, well, touchy around men. 

With good reason.  So I hope that Zevran won't mind staying out here with my Tim."  Zevran shook his head and took

a seat at the table to wait.  Nila led Kai and Gnat back to a second bedroom where she knocked on the door.

A small voice bid them enter.  Nila walked in first, and Kai and Gnat followed.  A heavily pregnant young girl was

sitting up in the bed.  Her rounded face and her tight belly had her in her eighth or the beginning of her ninth

month, from what Kai could estimate.  The girl had to be all of sixteen years old, if she was a day.  And, Kai was

willing to bet, just barely sixteen.  The girl wore the mage robes of the tower.  She looked frightened, and Kai

didn't blame her.  Wynne had had her own son taken from her when she had given birth.  It was one of the long tally

of things that Kai had on the special "Reasons-I-Hate-the-Chantry" list she had running in her head.  "These are

friends, Drysi.  In fact they work for 'The Griffon.'  I know it will be hard for you, but I want Kai here to know

what happened.  I didn't want to tell your story without your permission."

"I am so ashamed," Drysi flushed and bit her lip.  She looked down and started to cry.  Nila just stroked the

girl's hair and back.

"You have nothing to be ashamed for.  It was not your fault."  Nila handed the girl a handkerchief and lifted her

chin.  "You were powerless, and you had no choice.  I think that my friend here can help.  May I tell her?"  Drysi

nodded and looked at Nila, her face flushing before she looked down at her swollen belly.  "I guess I should begin

at the beginning.  A young male mage, named ‘Anders,’ I think, and Drysi showed up in our village about two weeks

ago.  He had managed to escape the Tower; he told us this was his seventh escape, in fact.  On this get away, he

took Drysi with him."
"Is he the father?  Did he abandon you?" Kai asked the girl gently, who shook her head vehemently and sobbed

harder.

Nila shook her head.  "No, in fact he helped her destroy her phylactery.  He found hers when he went searching for

his own.  Then, he helped her escape with him. He knew the Templars were coming, so he drew them off, knowing they

were looking for him.  He said he had information that some of the phylacteries had been moved for safety from the

Blight.  His was one, but he didn't know where, so I have no idea where the young man went.  But he told me to keep

Drysi safe, and he left as quickly as he could, like a fox hunted by hounds.  The Templars came through and kept on

going, thank the Maker.  He was a very brave soul.  No, a Templar did this to her, the rotten bastard!"  Drysi made

little mewling noises.  Nila just rubbed her back and told her to try and sleep while she motioned for Kai and Gnat

to go back out.

Kai and Gnat went back out to the main room, where Zev and Tim sat, to wait for Nila while she got the girl

situated.  "So you know?" Tim asked her.  Kai just nodded.  By the time Nila came back out, Kai's personal tally

had just gotten longer, and she could feel the cold, cold anger of her own personal abyss infringing on the edges

of her humanity.

"Do you think you can at least get that Templar taken care of?  I doubt Drysi is his only victim."  Nila's eyes had

an angry look that mirrored hers and Gnat's.

"Be sure of one thing, dear lady.  I think our dear Kaidana will make sure that he is 'taken care of.'  I know that

look.  And if you are talking Templars, then a trip to the mage Tower is in our future, no?"  Zev gave his cold,

hard, assassin smile.

Kai's own smile was frosted with Winter.  "To be certain, my dear friend.  We have a Knight Commander, a Head

Enchanter, and one child-raping bastard to have a little chat with."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 03 juin 2010 - 08:10 .

[Gilgamesh1138]

Ok so I posted on FF but not showing yet, or sending out the email alert that I did.  Sorry folks.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 60



Before going to the Circle Tower, Kai wanted to meet with Talan's daughter, Hulda, about putting compartments into

boot heels like Gnat's.  And she was hoping Hulda might be able to accommodate her with the boots she and Zev wore

today by looking at Gnat's boots as an example.  She was hoping to hide some tricks on her person when walking into

the Tower.  They couldn't walk in in full armor and armed to the teeth.  She might be recognized for one thing. 

Plus, without a Blight and with Anora on the throne, she wasn't sure how much visiting by anyone the Templars would

allow, let alone someone with daggers strapped visibly to them.  She wanted to have hidden surprises should she

need them.

Kai found Hulda in her leather working shop attached to the smithy.  The stocky dwarf was beautiful, with almond

green eyes and russet hair.  She had the look of a short, clean milkmaid.  But Hulda could cut off a man's arm

before he had time to blink.  She didn't just help her da' and her brothers making armor and weapons, she knew how

to use them too.

Hulda liked the new compartment idea for the boot heels.  She went to work immediately on Kai’s and Zev's boots,

using Gnat's as the example.  The result had them all sitting in a row on a work bench with their bare feet

dangling.  Kai found it fascinating and a little disconcerting that her feet were the biggest, then Zev's, with

Gnat's being the size of a ten year old child's.  Zev's foot reached over and stroked her own, causing her skin to

tingle and her face to flush, but she looked at him and grinned.  Gnat, who had been watching, caught the look and

blushed herself.  "Ah, why did no one tell me?"

"Tell you what, my dear?"  Zevran looked at Gnat.

"That you two were bedding each other."  Gnat narrowed her eyes at Zev.

"And why would that be important information, pet?"  Zev blinked his amber eyes at her in mock innocence.

"Because I was, what is that term you use here?  I was going to, sodding try and see if you would bed me!"  Gnat

laughed

Zevran laughed.  "Dear Gnat, whatever made you entertain such an idea?"

Kai snickered.  "Oh, please."  Zev grinned at her.

"Other than being handsome and an elf?  Having a man lift me off my feet and pin me to a wall with such dexterity

and strength, I consider that an audition.  Or, foreplay?"  Gnat batted her eyelashes at him and laughed.  "But

alas, I do not poach.  However, should she ever kick you out, you know where to look, yes?"  Kai blushed at their

open talk, but had to chuckle at Gnat.

"Oh, si.  Though such a lovely offer does make getting in trouble that much more enticing, does it not?"  Zev shot

Kai a sly grin and a sideways look as his foot stroked hers again.

"Oh indeed, it makes me want to get into trouble so I can run to Gnat."  Kai wrinkled her nose at him while Gnat

laughed.

"You are very beautiful, for a Shem."  Gnat grinned at her.  "So, I make the same offer to you as well."

"This could be remedied.  No one needs to get into trouble.  We could all...."  Kai blushed and put her finger on

his lips.  He just kissed her fingertip the way he always did and grinned.  Gnat laughed harder.

Kai was saved from further embarrassing jokes by her two miscreants, Maker they were so much alike, when Hulda came

back with their boots.  She looked very pleased.  She showed Kai the garrote she had put in one boot, and the small

dagger and vial of poison in the other.  Hulda said that the compartment had sparked other ideas, which she would

begin working on to show Kai later.  She would have designs for Kai's approval as soon as she could.  They put on

their boots.  Kai gave hers a test, pleased she could feel no difference in the weight of the boot nor did the

items stored there make any noise.  Hulda, as always, refused any payment for her services.  The whole family would

not take so much as a copper if Kai tried to offer it.  So when she wasn't looking, Kai slipped some coins on the

work table and hurried out before Hulda could catch her and give it back.

Now that task was over, Kai and her group could go to the inn and collect Wynne and Argus.  Kai also wanted to go,

if not actually in disguise, at lease in civilian clothes.  She did not want to be recognized as “The Hero of

Ferelden” by anyone other than Irving.  At least, not until she got the lay of the land.
By the time they had walked back to The Spoiled Princess, Kai had worked out what she hoped was a plausible cover

story for them to use.  Gnat would be Kai's daughter, and Zev her elven servant.  Wynne would just be Wynne and a

family friend.  Kai figured the fastest way to get to see Irving would be to tell them they were worried that Gnat

was showing magical talents.

Kai hoped the story would allow them all to see Irving and get his impression of Knight-Commander Greagoir.  When

Kai had been at the Tower last, she had the unfortunate timing to come in when Greagoir had locked down the Tower

and was sending to the Chantry for the Rite of Annulment, which would have given him the right to “purge,” rather

murder, all the mages in the Tower.  He was in a bit of a panic, and Kai had not been about to let Greagoir kill

possibly innocent mages who had not turned into abominations.  It was her group that had braved the Tower and met

up with Wynne.  They had saved the Tower by escaping a sloth demon's prison in the Fade, killing an abomination

named Uldred and saving Head Enchanter Irving in the end.  Kai had found it disgusting that the man had given up so

easily on saving people he had known for years.

Kai had found Greagoir a little puffed up, stuck on duty and not much of an innovative thinker.  He was very much a

man who loved rules.  However, he was an honorable man despite those shortcomings.  She didn't have any idea how he

was handling Anora's rule or if anything really had changed for him.  She felt it best to err on the side of

caution where he was concerned.  She would speak to Irving first.

They got to the inn to find Wynne sitting in the common room with a cup of tea and a book.  Argus lay at her feet. 

She looked up and smiled upon seeing Kai, but the smile quickly faded when she saw their grim faces.  Kai

introduced Gnat to Wynne and then went on to explain what had happened with the Templar and Drysi.  Kai told her

that they had his name; Nila had convinced Drysi to give it to her after much persuasion.  Kai explained her plan

for getting into Kinloch Hold to see Irving.  Wynne agreed, since Irving was sympathetic to them and knew which

mages could be trusted, as he had proved by coming to the Dalish camp after Erys’ treachery.  Kai asked Wynne to

wait while they all got out of their armor and into their “disguises.”

Kai and Zevran quickly got dressed in the “civvies,” as they liked to call them in the Scath.  Kai started to

giggle when he turned around.  She was not used to seeing him in what would be considered “peasant garb.”  When he

was in comfortable clothing, it was always finer stuff, a fine wool shirt and breeches, for example.  He spun

around and gave her an impish grin.  "I would not laugh too hard, my dear Kai.  You look like a farmer's wife

yourself.  Though, there is something entirely wholesome about that outfit.  It tempts me to try to corrupt you." 

He grinned as he ran a finger down her neck and over the bodice of the plain dress while he leaned in close, his

lips just a breath away.

"Hah, I have already been corrupted remember?  I am a mother, and I do know what causes it."  She kissed him, then

grasped the finger he had been trailing down her front and gave it a quick little bite before grinning at him. 

"You are a complete scamp."
"Si!" he laughed.  "I think I might ask you to wear that outfit sometime.  We can role play."  His grin got sly.

"Ugh, you are incorrigible!"  She kissed him again and laughed while playfully pushing him away just as there came

a knock on the door.  Kai went and answered it while Zev secreted small, poisoned daggers in hidden sheaths in his

clothes and his boots.  Gnat came in, and Kai almost didn't recognize her.  She had braided her hair in two

pigtails, but in such a way that it covered the tapered ends of her elven ears.  Her outfit was that of child, and

she had managed to hide her womanly curves.  If Kai didn't know better, she would think Gnat really was a ten-

year-old child, but the illusion was complete when she spoke in a quiet, breathy, little girl's voice.

"Mommy!"  Gnat grinned at her.

"Oh, that is just too strange.  Don't do that until we get to the Tower," Kai laughed at her.  Gnat only grinned

more widely at her.  Kai threw on a light cloak and pulled up the hood.

"Shall we go talk to old Kester and get ourselves to the Tower?"  Kai smiled at them.  "We have a Templar to speak

with."

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 03 juin 2010 - 10:29 .

[MireliA]

I've been following this on FF and here and really enjoying it.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Thank you so much! And your reviews have been so wonderful there! I can't believe it. 60 chapters and 200 reviews! I am so humbled.

[Gilgamesh1138]

Chapter 61



Kester the ferryman rowed Kai, Zev, Argus, Gnat and Wynne across the cold, dark waters of Lake Calenhad to Kinloch

Hold.  The water acted like a mirror and made Kai feel as if they were sailing in the sky among the clouds.  Only

the gentle murmur of the water as it dripped from the oar when Kester raised it and the sound of it plunging back

into the water, breaking the surface in a burble, kept Kai from feeling like dwarves who see the sky for the first

time.  She felt that if she were to fall from the boat, she would actually be falling into the sky to be lost.

It certainly lent an air of mystique, as the mage Tower seemed to sit amongst clouds rather than in dark water that

harbored who knew what.  It struck her that the tower was, indeed, a haven of good and light.  It was also a haven

for the dark and unknown.  It was filled with mages like Wynne and Niall, who had died in the Fade trying to save

the Tower.  And it was a beacon for demons wanting to control mages and the mages who might let them.  But then,

wasn't that the way of everyone except the darkspawn?  Who didn't have inner demons that wanted to be in control? 

Or the spirits of their better natures?  These deep philosophical thoughts only solidified Kai's vow that the mages

should be free to make their own way, good or ill, and suffer the consequences just like everyone else.  Her plans

for the Templars to be the “gendarme” as they say in Orlais, the constables of the mages rather than their jailers,

crystallized.  It also might mean fewer chances of something like what had happened to Drysi happening again.  Kai

added it to her ever growing list of things to do when Anora was off the throne.  She gave a mental sigh, What a

mess.  Had she really agreed to come back from the Fade?  Maker, what had she been thinking?

"You were thinking of saving Ferelden and having our children, my love," Alistair's voice teased her.

"Ah, yes, that." Kai got a warm feeling thinking of Fi and Duncan, followed by an overwhelming sense of longing to

see them.  "They were worth this whole hullabuloo."  Kai gave him a mental smile.

Kai had left Jarren behind to speak to the townsfolk.  It had taken a lot of persuasion for him to stay behind and

complete his assigned tasks there.  He was to gather any desires or needs the townsfolk may have that “The Silver

Griffon” could work on.  Kai was both amused and proud.  As a Crow, disagreeing with one's leader was strictly

unheard of.  However, her ex Crows were quickly becoming independent people who would follow orders but would speak

their minds as well.
Oghren, too, had been scarce.  Once he had heard that she would survive the Ogre attack, he had been noticeably

absent.  Kai was fine with his playing hooky on this one.  Coming up with a cover story that included a belching,

farting dwarf who smelled like a brewery would have made things more complex.  The elven male, the “child” and the

war dog already in the mix were more than enough.  Stories could only get so far before they became “fish tales,”

as her grandfather used to call them.  Besides, it was as Zev had said; she could hardly begrudge the dwarf’s

getting lucky, though that thought was leading to some uncomfortable images.  Kai gave herself a mental head slap. 

Not going there!

"Ah my love, just think what you could have had!  Now Felsi has him.  You really missed out!"  Alistair's voice

laughed in her ear.

"Ha, very ha!  But remember, my beloved, you feel what I feel, see what I see.  Do you really want me to start

imagining Oghren naked?"  Kai gave him a mental head tilt with a smile.

"Great Maker, NO!"  He gave her a shudder.  "I give, I give!"  She could feel him grinning.  "You really are evil,

you know that don't you?"  Kai laughed at him.

Kai was interrupted from her inner conversation as the boat skimmed into the cavern under the tower where the docks

were.  Magical rune lanterns lit the interior as Kester guided the boat with practiced ease to the wooden pier.  He

tied off the boat to keep it from floating away, and then got out and offered his hand to Kai, helping her out of

the boat and giving her a conspiratorial wink where the Templars, guarding the entrance to the stone steps leading

upwards, couldn't see.
Gnat, true to her role, put up both arms with a little impatient bounce, like a child asking to be picked up.  Kai

could only muse to herself how good Gnat and Leliana were at acting a part.  Must be the bard training.

"It is also a little bit creepy, considering she chatted up both you and Zev," Alistair's voice gave her a mock

shudder.  Kai laughed at him as she bent down and picked up Gnat, lifting her up and setting her down on the dock,

grabbing her small hand in hers.

Zev and Argus came next, while Kester extended his hand to help Wynne.  Kai made her way towards the two Templars,

a man and a woman, guarding the stone stairway leading to the antechamber before the big hall.  They immediately

stepped in front of Kai to bar the way, but Wynne strode up and pushed between them.  "Honestly, this woman needs

to see Head Enchanter Irving right away.  Her daughter may have magical abilities!"  The two Templars moved back

into their previous position.

Gnat spoke out in her “little girl” voice.  "Mommy, I don't want to go in there."  Kai had to chew the inside of

her cheek not to laugh and give them away.

Kai pitched her voice higher and dropped the accent of her noble training.  "Hush, poppet, it will be fine."  She

bent down and smoothed a hand over Gnat's forehead, and the elven woman took the moment to wink and give a small

grin.  Kai stood back up looking at Zev and Argus and waving an impatient hand at them.  "Oh, do hurry up!  And

keep Snuggles out of trouble this time.  I don't want Head Enchanter Irving putting us in the Tower dungeon because

that dog chewed something up."
Argus whined and tilted his head.  Zev just nudged him with his foot while averting his eyes and bowing at Kai. 

"Yes, mistress."  Kai just huffed at him in mock annoyance and climbed the stone steps holding hands with Gnat. 

They reached the small antechamber before the big double doors leading to the large hall.  Wynne opened them and

beckoned them all through.

The last time Kai had been through these doors, there had been Templars running to and fro in a panic.  Some had

been lying on the ground, wounded.  Now, the huge hall was mostly empty save for two Templar guards flanking the

doors she had just walked through and two standing by the now open doors leading to the apprentice's quarters and

the hallway that ran the length of the rooms and led to the stairway to the next floor.  Wynne walked with

authority through the doorways and into the hallway towards the stairs.  Kai kept having mental vertigo.  The Tower

was repaired and so very different from her last visit.  The fleshy, organ like growths that had covered the walls

were gone.  There were no dead bodies to step over, no pools of blood to slide in.  The Tower seemed to be one of

the few places in Ferelden doing better under Anora's rule.

As they made their way up the Tower to the Head Enchanter's office, they passed the occasional Templar and various

mages, but no one stopped them to ask who they were or what they were doing.  Kai let out a small sigh as she

followed Wynne.  In fact, they made it to the Head Enchanter's office doors without so much as a hand raised in

greeting.  Kai didn't know whether to be relieved or more wary.  She didn't know what she had been expecting, maybe

a Fade demon to jump out and start eating everyone?  She bit back a laugh.

Irving had his doors open and sat at his desk writing on parchment.  His grizzled gray head was bent so low in

concentration that his beard rubbed the front of his robed chest.  Wynne tapped gently with her knuckles on the

wooden door to get Irving's attention.  "Irving, I have someone to see you.  She is worried that her little one

here may be showing magical ability.  Kai shoved Gnat through the door just like a mother pushing a reluctant child

forward.

They all filed into the room, and Zev shut the door behind him.  Irving had risen from his seat and come around his

desk to greet her.  He put out his hand to shake hers, and she slipped him one of the metal disks with the sign of

the Scath on it.  Irving took a discrete look at the disk and raised his eyebrow at her slightly.  He then spoke

loudly enough to be heard by the Templar outside his door, "Welcome to the Tower.  This little one has been showing

signs of knowing magic you say?"  He then pitched his voice lower as he hugged Kai.  "Hello, child.  I am so sorry

about what happened at the Dalish camp."

"Thank you, Irving.  I just appreciate your coming in person and bringing some help.  It really made a difference

in the number of lives we lost.  I owe you a debt."  Kai smiled at him.

"Child, I still owe you for what you did here, saving all of us left in the Tower from Uldred.  My debt is hardly

paid so that you would owe me.  We still have a long way to go before we are even on my side of the ledger.  So,

does this child really have magical abilities?"  Iriving grinned at her.
"Hardly, ser."  Gnat gave him a soft laugh.

"Ah, and hardly a child either."  Irving chuckled.

"And no human either, shem."  Gnat shook Irving's proffered hand.  "But we needed an excuse to get past your

sentries."

"We weren't sure how difficult it would be to get in here.  Last time I came, it was easy.  Or at least once I

volunteered to stop the demons, it was.  I wasn't sure what it would take this time.  I am still dead to Anora, and

I like it that way."  Kai sat down in one of the chairs in front of Irving's desk as he went back around to seat

himself.  Gnat and Wynne both took extra chairs from around the long table in his office.  Zev and Argus stayed

near the door on watch.

"Actually, life here has been kept as normal as possible, for the most part.  Knight-Commander Greagoir has been

trying to ensure that it remains so, as you are dead and freedom for us is not forthcoming from Anora.  But this

has not come without consequences for Greagoir, I'm afraid," Irving sighed.

"First, let me promise that I will keep my word, Irving.  I can't stand to see anyone treated unfairly or as second

class citizens.  I won't have slaves in Ferelden, I don't care if you can shoot lightening out of your fingers.  No

one should be penalized for being the way they were born."  Kai held up a hand to halt any protest Wynne was going

to make about incremental changes and trust.  It was an old argument that she, Alistair, Wynne and Morrigan had had

around camp many times.  "And now you have me intrigued.  What has happened to make Greagoir's life difficult?"

"Anora, with the help of the Grand Cleric, is using the Templars as her personal army.  Greagoir objects, of

course, as do I.  We may be oil and water, but he is an honorable man.  He is also a man who has been doing some

uncomfortable thinking and reassessing his own views.  His arguments against what Anora has been doing to Ferelden,

coupled with his arguments with the Grand Cleric about the Chantry's sudden close relationship to the Queen, have

cost him.  He is persona non grata with the Chantry, and even the Revered Mother refuse to hear his concerns.  Add

to that, Anora and the Grand Cleric have opened up conscription to the Templars, lowering the standards of who they

will accept.  Training, if you can call it such, has been accelerated so they can be sent out more quickly. 

Troublemakers and such have been sent here.  Some are just young, inexperienced and uneducated.  Greagoir has had

his hands full trying to complete their training.  Others who have been sent here are simply less than savory,

shall we say?  Anora has promised to expand and build onto the Chantry in Amaranthine, making it a Cathedral that

will rival the one in Val Royeaux.  Of course it will bear a plaque honoring Loghain, as all of Anora's projects

do.  This means more money for the Grand Cleric and more prestige."  Irving grimaced.  

"What?"  Kai got out of her chair and began to pace.  "But how does she intend to pay for all of that?"

"She will continue to over tax the people of Ferelden, I suspect.  From what I gather, she is spiraling even

further out of control and into her own little world of madness.  She does not live in the real world where her

people starve or buildings and roads crumble."  Kai could feel Irving's eyes as he watched her pace.  "I know not

what other plans she might have to generate that kind of funding.  Especially since you, my dear girl, have been a

fly in Anora's ointment, shall we say?  Or rather 'The Silver Griffon' has been.  Though, it does worry me what she

might be doing to get together the kind of money that would attract the greed of the Chantry."

Kai gave him a grim smile and nodded.  "Well, I am glad to hear that Greagoir is still an honorable man, as I am

afraid that I have bad news that involves both of you."

Irving sat forward in his seat.  "Would this have to do with our two missing mages by any chance?"
"In a sense, but only one of the mages really.  Drysi, whom I have no doubt you are aware, is very pregnant, but do

you know the story of just who the father is?"  Kai cocked an eyebrow at him while her hands grasped the back of

the chair.

Irving shook his head.  "She would not say once she started to show and the questions and speculation started

flying.  I am sure you know such relationships are discouraged, but they do happen.  As do the results of such

relationships."  Irving shot a quick look at Wynne.

"Be that as it may, Irving, I was not a fifteen year old child, nor was I forced."  Wynne's voice retorted crisply.

"She told you she was raped?  The rumors around the tower had the mage, Anders, whom she ran away with, as the

father even though he had been in isolation for over a year at the order of the Grand Cleric.  I knew he couldn't

have done it, though he is a bit of ladies' man."  Irving sighed.  "We thought that maybe she had fallen in love

and had an affair with one of the mages her own age and simply didn't want to name him.  Alas, this is more

disturbing than any scenario I had thought of."

"Oh, it is about to get more disturbing, perhaps you should pour yourself a glass of wine."  Kai gestured to the

bottle sitting on his desk with a glass next to it.  "I said it involves both you and Greagoir, as the child raping

bastard is a Templar."  Kai's hands gripped the back of the wooden chair so tightly, her knuckles whitened.  Irving

did pour himself a glass of wine now, from which he took a large swig.

"I think we had better send for Greagoir."  Irving rose and motioned for Zev and Argus to come away from the door. 

He opened the door and spoke to the young Templar outside before returning to his seat.  It took about ten minutes

before there was a knock at the door.  "Come in, Gregoir."  Kai kept her hood pulled up as she turned to see

Knight-Commander Greagoir enter the room.  He looked worn and tired.  He had dark circles under his eyes and more

lines around his mouth.  His hair looked to be more silver than the last time she had seen him as well.  Things

were not well with the man.  Kai had an extra flare of pity; what she and Irving were going to tell him would only

add to his burdens.

Greagoir walked in and looked at the group staring at him.  "What is it Irving, you know I am really busy trying to

make these whelps the Grand Cleric keeps sending me into real Templars.  I really don't have time for someone whose

child may be a mage.  That is your department."  Greagoir pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That isn't why he called you here Knight-Commander."  Kai threw back the hood of her cloak.  Greagoir's eyes got

wide, and he just gaped at her for good long moment.
"Maker's breath, I thought you were dead!  I watched you collapse on the balcony.  Anora announced that you had

been assassinated."  His face broke out into a genuine grin.  "Oh blessed Andraste!  I am so glad to see that it

wasn't true!"  Greagoir reached out a hand to her and Kai grasped his forearm while he grasped hers in a warriors

grip.

"You may not be so happy that I am alive when you hear the news I bring."  Kai gave him a small smile.  She went on

to explain about Drysi and the Templar, named Veyryl, who had been molesting her.

Kai watched as Greagoir's face became red and angry.  "You are sure of this?"

Kai nodded.  "Absolutely certain.  It took a lot of persuasion to get her to tell us who; she is ashamed and blames

herself.  He threatened to kill her and say that she had been practicing blood magic.  She is terrified of him;

even though he cannot touch her, he haunts her still.  So yes, I am."

Greagoir's face went stony as he nodded at her.  "He is one of the noble's bastards they sent to us to be a

Templar.  He is spoiled and thinks he is beyond the rules that we all live by.  He is about to find out how wrong

he is."  Like Irving before him, he went to the door and spoke briefly to the Templar outside the door, then he

closed it once again.  A few minutes passed and a young blonde Templar came in.  He was handsome but for the

arrogant twist lips and certain coldness in his eyes.  He looked Kai over and licked his lips.  Kai just crossed

her arms and cocked an eyebrow at him.  It took everything she had not to take out the hidden garrote in her boot

and use it on him.  "Veyryl, there has been a serious accusation brought against you."

The young Templar waved a dismissive hand and snorted.  "By whom, this chit?  What, is she claiming the little brat

next to her is mine?  Can't be, never saw this woman before in my life, though I would like to see more of her. 

What do you say, sweetness?  Care to play with a Templar?”

Kai laughed in his face.  "I would rather have my insides washed with acid, than be touched by you."  Kai watched

as his face got red and he started forward.

"You little ****, I will show you what it means to insult me."  But Greagoir stopped him with a hand on his

chest.  Kai just smiled a cold smile at him.

"You have been accused of raping the mage Drysi."  Greagoir shoved the young man back.
"That ****?  She wanted me.  And now she wants to accuse me of rape?  I only gave her what she asked for."  His

eyes narrowed, and his mouth pulled down in a growl.

"You mean a fifteen-year-old child asked to be molested by you while you threatened to kill her if she didn't

comply?"  Kai snorted.  "You must be a lousy lover indeed if you have to resort to raping children and threatening

them.  Maybe you are just unable to perform with adults."

"****!  I only threatened her because I got tired of her crying.  She was the one who made cow eyes at me whenever

I was on duty, and then she tried to say no when I finally gave her what she want...." Whatever he was going to say

got cut off when Greagoir’s gauntleted fist slammed into his face.

"ENOUGH!  You will be dealt with."  Greagoir picked him up and shoved him out the door, closing it behind them.

Kai felt her own blood boiling.  She looked at Irving.  "Drysi is free of the Tower, unless she wants to come

back.  Do you understand, Irving?  I will make sure she is protected from any Templar who might try and visit her."

Irving nodded.  "Her phylactery?"

"Destroyed already.  And I want the hunt called off on the mage who helped her."  Kai clenched her fists.

"I can't, nor can Greagoir do that unfortunately.  The lad is a good lad, but the Grand Cleric hates him with a

passion.  He has embarrassed her by escaping seven times.  Each punishment she has ordered has been worse than the

last. She sent her own personal Templar, a woman by the name of Rylock, to hunt him.  Rylock shares the Grand

Cleric's feelings toward the boy.  We can only hope he finds his phylactery and eludes them."  Irving grimaced.  "I

am truly sorry, dear girl."

Kai nodded, then it struck her. Where exactly was Greagoir going with Veyryl?  "Irving, where do you think the

Knight-Commander was going with our rapist?"

"To the dungeons I would think.  Why?"

"Which way would he go when he left the room then?"  Kai's felt her eyes getting wide.
 
"To the left.  He would have to go down."  Irving looked at her confused.  Everyone else seemed to have the same

expression.

"Then going right would mean he is going up?"  Irving nodded at her.  "Is there an entrance to the top of the tower

on the outside?"

Again Irving nodded.  "It is a doorway by the stairwell leading to the Harrowing Chamber."
"I think he is planning on executing his own punishment on our molester."  Kai pulled her hood up and ran for the

door.  She didn't even look to see if the others followed.  She ran to the stairway leading up, barreling through

more chambers with startled mages and Templars alike.  She ignored them all to finally, Maker, reach the room where

she had once found the Templar Cullen trapped by Uldred.  She had never seen the doorway under the stairs, being

otherwise occupied at the time.  The door was already open, and she found a narrow, steep set of stone steps

curving with the walls of the tower and leading up.  Kai followed them, starting to get dizzy before she finally

came to a trap door that was likewise opened, showing a patch of blue sky dotted with white clouds.

Kai didn't want Greagoir to cause himself more trouble by killing the noble's brat.  He was already having troubles

enough.  She was just emerging when she heard a terrified scream.  She leapt up to the tower's floor and turned to

find Greagoir standing at the edge looking down.  Kai ran up to him.
 
 "So, where is Veyryl?"

He turned to her with a calm look on his face.  "Learning how to fly."

Kai kept her face a mask.  "So, how's he doing?"

Greagoir looked over the side before turning back to her.  "Does bouncing count?"

Kai grinned at him.  "No."

"Then I am afraid he is not doing well at all."  And Greagoir gave her a broad grin.

Modifié par Gilgamesh1138, 03 juin 2010 - 10:52 .