Fandom Dragon Age: The Antivan Short Fuse (TheMoose + Thanny)

[Thanny]

Infiltration had very much been a success. Slipping inside with documents forged by a trustworthy contact, she had managed to get past the templar forces with smiles on their faces and a smile even on her own. Truthfully, it had been easy to get into this place. She did happen to wonder, however, how difficult it would be to get out.

Weaving her way through a number of corner streets, past a series of what appeared to be hastily crafted guard posts, and on the other side of a fair amount of armoured bodies, she wondered how far she would have to travel to find him. As she continued to look around, the scenery gradually became more and more beautiful, like the estate-littered districts of Antiva City below the extensive fortress that loomed overhead. To some the old fortress was a bastion that can hold out against anything, proven in the days of yore when the Chantry not yet born or in diapers. A strong show of Antivan might (even though it was built by the Tevinter Imperium), a swell of pride of the people, a representation that, yes! they can repurpose anything beautifully -- and while all of that is true she saw it for what it was: a gilded prison. Mages used this as their Circle, but the true power, she felt, lay within the captors. Magic-resistant templars ensured no unsanctioned mages left the walls of the Circle, and if they did, well . . . they had better hope that they were not followed.

However, if she wanted to find him, she would first have to find out where he lived or was. She could not ask specifically for him -- it would not be prudent for a newly arrived person in servant's attire to inquire after a certain mage -- but she could be pointed out where they reside so that she could start her live-in work. Donning the mien of an aimless maid searching for her work location such as she was, she was answered by a polite and closely shaved guardsman of the whereabouts of the mage living quarters. She thanked him in gushing gratitude and made her way close to the living quarters.

As she approached, she wondered for what felt like the millionth time what exactly she was intending to say when she saw him, and she stopped as a result. What was she to say exactly to her brother? "Hey, how's it going? I'm here to get you out of here." She would have to come up with something if she were to see him immediately, a difficult task when there were a thousand and one things she intended to mention to him. Head up, her elven ears still tucked away beneath the softness of a servant bonnet, she forced herself through the entrance.

((Feel free to insert your character anywhere, TheMoose . In the case you cannot find a good place to insert, I can connive some way to have them meet, *wink*.))

 

[TheMoose]

It wasn't the first time Rell had looked out the window of his eighth-storey bedroom and wondered if he could survive the fall.

He had no intention of simply jumping out, of course. His life was far from perfect, but he wasn't quite miserable enough to fling himself from a tower onto the crashing waves far below. But as a child he'd spent countless hours fantasizing about escape through this window - silently rappelling down the wall like a master assassin, discovering a brand-new magic spell to grow wings and fly out into the bay, all sorts of ridiculous daydreams. He'd put those fantasies behind him years ago, but with the current state of the Circle he'd found his mind returning ever more often to the damn window.

Giving his head a shake, as if to physically clear it out, he turned around and began gathering the research notes scattered across the small desk he shared with his roommate. Lodovico was already gone for the day, probably because he kept a reasonable schedule. Rell, by comparison, had spent the late hours of the previous night reading, waking up mid-morning with the dense book pressed to his face. The candle by his bed had burnt out in his sleep, the faint acrid smell of tallow still lingering in the air. Great, and that had been the last of his allotted candles for this month, too. He picked up his robe where it was strewn across the floor and pulled it over his head, then went to the basin at the foot of his bed and splashed a bit of water on his face. Stuffing his books and notes into his satchel and slinging it over his shoulder, Rell pushed open the heavy wooden door and headed out into the hall.

The route to the commons involved a long trek down a stone spiral staircase, weaving around stationary gaggles of apprentices. Rell caught bits of their conversations - mostly the usual childish gossip, who Paolo was caught kissing behind the greenhouses and oh, did you hear that Clara was transferring to Ansburg? But others spoke more seriously, murmuring to each other in tight-knit huddles.

"Then he's lying. Jacopa would never run away without telling us."

"He complained about Corporal Bruno last week and now he's a dangerous blood mage? Bullshit."

"Fine, die in your stupid cage. Hope the templars'll save you."

The dining hall took up the entirety of the tower's ground floor. Long wooden tables with benches were spaced widely apart, interspersed by thick stone columns, and lit by the sunlight filtering in through narrow windows. Most of the mages had finished their breakfast, so the room was sparsely occupied and oddly quiet for its size, with Rell's footsteps echoing loudly as he walked. He picked up a bread roll off a nearby table, biting into the dense, mealy loaf on his way toward the massive double doors that led to the courtyard. There was a servant coming in, no doubt to help clean up for lunch. It must have been Rell's mind playing tricks on him, but the young woman looked eerily similar to-

The shock was enough to make him choke on his bread. He doubled into a coughing fit, eyes wide as he stared at the woman across the hall. She was older than he last remembered, of course, but it was unmistakably his sister. Standing back up, he glanced around for nearby templars - there was only one, leaning idly against the far wall and clearly not paying attention - and then gave Vewyn a little wave.

 

[Thanny]

Vewyn, as that was her name, looked about the inside of what appeared to be a mess hall for the mages, almost derelict due to the hour. The mages seemed to either be outside and walking the grounds or in other buildings or maybe just up in their living quarters -- she had no idea, truthfully, as she just got here and had no idea of what life here was like -- but the sheer grandeur of the buildings was impressive. Flowing shapes carved into wood and stone alike impressed her only marginally. It was the size that baffled her more than anything, a sharp and drastic difference from her familial home that seemed like a cupboard in comparison to this one room.

However, something was amiss. The coughing! She turned only her head and not her whole body to avoid suspicion, but did not expect to see that he, her brother, was before her. Her eyebrows raised, and elation flowed within her, but she did not let it surface. The room was still too crowded for her tastes to let her guard down too much. She would have to be cautious, and, looking both ways, decided to continue playing the part of an errant maid. She trotted in Rell's direction with a bounce in her step, and upon coming close gave him a bow. He was about a hair or three taller than she was, which surprised her. How did her little brother get so tall in these stunting walls? The years had been a blessing to him in that department, it seemed.

"Hello! Excuse me, are you all right? I hope so. Would you happen to know where I can find the lead of the serving staff? I am to work here now," she asked in quick succession with a subtle wink and a smile on her face, her words soft enough that it would not carry throughout the whole room and loud enough to not raise suspicion.

A stare and a nod to the left soon followed, as if to notion that they should move somewhere else if possible. She wondered if her little brother would understand the gesture.

 

[TheMoose]

Rell's eyebrows creased in confusion for a moment. "Wh- oh. Um, of course. I'll show you." He returned Vewyn's nod, pointedly glancing at the doorway she'd just come in through.

He walked outside and down the front steps, keeping his eyes carefully glued ahead. It was difficult not to look back at her, just to be sure that his sister really was there. It must have been, what, eight years since they'd last spoken? She was shorter than he remembered, she'd always seemed to tower over him when they were kids, and there was a worn-out look to her face. What could have possibly brought her here now, after all that time with no word from his family?

The courtyard was mostly empty, save for a few templars stationed by the doors. Rell gave them a terse nod as he passed, heading to a building opposite the tower and holding the door open for Vewyn to follow behind. "We can talk in here," he said, voice lowered to a murmur.

He strode down a narrow hallway, between walls made of the same red brick as the building's facade. Passing by closed doors, he could faintly hear the sounds of teachers lecturing. At the end of the hall, hidden in a shadowed recess on the ground, was a trapdoor. Rell gripped the rusted metal ring, looking around for witnesses before pulling it open. It took more effort than it should have, the hinges squealing so loudly that Rell almost stopped for fear someone might come check on the noise. He descended a set of creaky wooden steps that led to a pitch-black basement, glancing back to check if Vewyn would follow.

Once his feet touched down on the cold, hard-packed earth floor, Rell cupped his hands together and whispered a few words into them. They filled with a pale blue light, flooding the room in a cold glow. He was standing in an abandoned cellar, empty save for a few dusty barrels stacked against the far wall, the air stale and dusty from lack of circulation. It wasn't a particularly nice spot for a family reunion, but at least they wouldn't be overheard. He turned to Vewyn, the light in his hands casting a haunting glow across his face. "What are you doing here?" Rell spoke quietly, his voice hoarse with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

 

[Thanny]

Vewyn followed all the while, gladdened that her brother had taken her suggestion and yet sad that their meeting had to be of a clandestine nature. Her eyes roaming around worriedly, she followed him about two steps behind and kept a gaze before her while also keeping watch on templars in the periphery of her vision. Nobody seemed to take notice. That was good. Then again, perhaps her fears of getting caught were overly rationalised.

Led outside, inside a building, and down a secretive hatch, she was relieved to not be under the scrutinous gaze of others. Privacy was something she valued highly, especially now, and if they were to be discovered there was a squeaky door to undermine anyone eavesdropping. That was excellent.

"I figured you would know the answer to that question, considering how private this place is," she answered with a smirk, but that quickly faded into gravitas. "Well, perhaps not. It might be odd after this length of time. I want to get you out of here. Eight years is a long time to be without a brother, and to Mother a son, plus with recent events"--she licked her lips tentatively--"I do not know what news you heard, but in Kirkwall the Chantry was erased by magic. Poof!" Her hands opened before him thematically. "In seconds to a minute both the building and its people rose and exploded. Templars since have been buzzing like maddened hornets, restricting mages and eager to sting, and I fear for you, Rell. That's why I want to get you out of here. I don't know if you like it here, but bad things are about to happen. I feel it!"

Vewyn wondered if she sounded like a crazy person, saying all of this. She studied Rell, wondering how he would respond and hoping he would respond well, that they could leave in a heartbeat and leave all of these entrapments behind.

 

[TheMoose]

Rell let out a bark of surprised laughter. “You’re here to rescue me.” Not wanting to insult Vewyn, he quickly pursed his lips shut. “Look, I appreciate this. Really. But...” He looked around, searching for the right words. A part of him wanted to agree at once, to pack his things and take whatever plan she had in mind to get out of here, but that wasn’t an option.

“I know about Kirkwall.” Hard not to, it’s all anyone’s been talking about for weeks. “And sure, things are a bit... tense... right now. But I’m fine. More than fine, I have a good life here. I keep my head down, and the templars know better than to mess with a healer.” For now, at least. The infirmary mages were just barely trusted to tend to the templars, and there was already talk of replacing them with mundane doctors, but he wasn’t about to mention that to Vewyn. “And even if I did leave, where would I go? I’d be a fugitive apostate for the rest of my life. You and Mother would be the first people they suspected of hiding me, and I don’t want your lives ruined for my sake. It’s good to see you, and I’m sorry you went to all this trouble to find me, but I can’t go with you.”

“But I’m curious.” Don’t ask, he told himself, you’ve already said no, just drop it. “What was your plan for hiding me? You know, if I had agreed to escape.”

 

[Thanny]

Vewyn felt flagellated at first and tensed at his laugh, but listened carefully to what he had to say in return wordlessly, her face softening as time went on. Beneath the skin and within the eyes, though, there was something boiling within, but she held it in to the end. Blowing out a breath of air, she averted her gaze from the cutting light of the blue glow in his hands and his face above it. Whether it was out of embarrassment or irritation that he was comfortable here, it was tough for even her to say, but her words soon lashed out.

"My plan was for you to lie low somewhere outside of the Templar gaze, Rell, not directly return with us, but yes, 'rescue' is a fine word for it. However, I never would have expected my brother to be complacent with a jail. Are you saying you would rather stay here under a weighted collar? This is not going to get better, but if I can't have you go with me I will do the next best thing."

She looked back up at him with dark eyes, scooping up her servant bonnet with a pair of fingers and dangling it between both of their eyes.

"This attire is not just for show. I was half-serious when I was going to apply here, hoping to stake out some manner of escape for you, but if I can't convince you I would at least like to visit you now and again."