In the Name of my Ship [complete]

[Mariana]

Mariana pouted sexily when Alistair mentioned separate beds, but got up to go with him anyway. Perhaps on the way... And it was really very nice to have her hand in his again. Not that it meant anything, of course, his hands were just so big and warm and callused, and it was very, very easy to imagine them holding some other part of her...

But she was getting distracted, and that was bloody dangerous. She almost didn't hear the stealthy movements through the shadows until it was too late, and she just had time to pull Alistair close to her side when heavy smoke filled the room. She tugged him to the table, dumping some of his very fine wine on a couple of his equally fine cloth napkins, and shoved one into his hand to breathe through.

"You might consider serving water with dinner," she choked through the napkin she was breathing through. The wine was strong, though not nearly as strong as the stuff she was used to drinking, and most of what it did to clear stop the smoke was undone by the fumes of the alcohol. Still, it was better than breathing the smoke.

It was a damned good thing she was familiar with smoke bombs. Having used them herself she was well aware that the smoke was made to be heavy and linger closer to the floor so as to better hide those using it. She didn't waste any time in pulling Alistair toward the raised dais the king would normally eat at, trying to get to clearer air.

Her eyes and lungs burned as she choked on the acrid smoke, holding Alistair close against her side. She wasn't sure he still had his sword, and even if he did it was risky to use it in the thick fog. Mariana, on the other hand, fought with daggers - short enough she could actually see the end of them. Better, she was more used to the smoke, though she'd have killed for one of the herb-lined half-masks made to filter the smoke, and her breathing wasn't quite as laboured as the king's. If she was having a hard time breathing, she didn't think it would be long before he started to get dizzy - or worse, pass out.

Wrapping one arm around his waist so he could lean on her if he needed to, she drew a dagger with her free hand. Not the ideal way to fight, but it would have to do. She used her ears to navigate through the blanket of smoke, muffled though the assassins' movements were by the dense fog. It was the best she could do at the moment, blind as she was, and each time one of the attackers approached she managed to lash out in time to push him back.

"Almost there," she promised Alistair, still pulling him toward the high table and, hopefully, the king's exit. As far as she knew there should be a door somewhere behind the high table where they could get out - if the way was clear. If the assassins were very clever, that's where they'd be most concentrated.

Drawing him down to crouch down with her where the smoke was thickest, she pulled him close to whisper in his ear. "Whatever happens, hold my belt and don't let go." She held back a violent coughing fit, slipping the king's hands through her belt.

Rising again, she drew her other dagger and started forward, the smoke getting thicker as another bomb smashed. Mariana held her breath to keep from coughing and giving away their position, hoping Alistair was smart enough to do the same. There - she could see one of the assassins guarding the door just in front of their noses. He probably had friends on his other side, but the smoke was too thick to see that far. Melting back into the smoke, Mariana moved until her shoulder was nearly touching the wall and followed its line to the door, slipping quietly behind the assassins.

This would be the tricky part - could she open the door without alerting them? She sheathed a dagger, took the handle, and prayed.

[Alistair Theirin]

As the smoke bombs became more intense within the room, Alistair was given a cloth to breathe through and Mariana stepped forth to protect him, knowing quite well how to handle assassination attempts. Alistair was surprised, not only to see his guest defending him, but also because assassins had come so far into the palace without being noticed. It sure seemed true what Mariana had predicated, it was far too easily to get inside without being discovered, especially with so few guards standing watch. All because Alistair had insisted that he could handle himself, although now that it was happening it was far more dangerous than he had thought, even he had witnessed many dangerous situations in the past as a Gray Warden. He had forgotten his sword; one of the servants had taken it while they were eating and now he was defenseless. Seeing the guards dead on the floor made Alistair feel guilty, but the more his eyes tried to look through the thick smoke the more difficult it became for his eyes to see.

Being pushed around by Mariana as she tried to protect him, Alistair tried to stay focused from fainting, feeling more sick and dizzier by the second, sensing the assassins was very near from discovering him in the thick blanket of smoke. Then suddenly he was pulled down to crouch on the floor along with his Rivaini guest, where the air was better to breathe and where it was clearer to see, comforted by Mariana`s whispering words as she tried to protect him from being killed. Alistair`s hand was guided to hold onto Mariana`s belt, but as it slipped down it slipped further down than he had expected it to and he came in touch with her delightful ass, which was both firm and warmth. However Alistair moved his hand back up to hold her belt and as they crouched on the floor, they tried to sneak for exit door. Standing up again, using the smoke for their own advantage, they moved toward the wall where they placed their back`s against it, trying to sneak passed the assassins who stood nearby. Then as Mariana were about to open the door, an assassin came jumping against them with both his daggers held high and fixed on where Mariana was standing. Seeing what was about to happen, Alistair dragged Mariana back by the belt so that the assassin missed his target, saving her again from being killed.

Acting on what happened; Alistair ran in front of Mariana and grabbed the assassin who struggled to release his daggers out of the thick wood, slamming him in the door before he took the chance of opening it, seeing the assassin falling unconscious to the floor behind him. Alistair took Mariana by the hand and as he opened the door a new assassin appeared in front of them, with three more suddenly appearing behind them, all with their weapons ready to attack, clad in outfits that was designed to hide their face and who they were, only allowing their eyes to be seen.

[Mariana]

Mariana arched a brow when Alistair's hand brushed her ass. She could appreciate a man who took an opportunity, but still. People were trying to kill him after all! But he followed instructions well enough, holding her belt and following her as she led him through the room.

She had her hand on the door handle, about to open it, when suddenly Alistair yanked her back by her belt. She choked back a yelp at the sudden movement as she landed hard on her ass, Alistair leaping once again to her rescue. He dispatched the assassin quickly, but noisily, and as he pulled the door open they had not the one in front of them but three more behind, boxing them in.

"I vote we kill these ones quiet, yeah?"

Pulling out her other dagger, Mariana moved so that Alistair was between her and the wall. Three... Hopefully they weren't as fast as they looked... Well, either way she bet she was faster!

"Get low Alistair," she hissed at him, forgetting to use some mocking form of address in the heat of the moment. "And don't bloody let them cut you, they're blades are probably poison."

A little poison would be good about now. Just a touch on the edge to give her a leg up on the competition. Well, she had no poison right now, so she'd have to make up for it with speed. Her daggers flashed as she attacked, dancing forward and back, avoiding each strike of the assassins' daggers entirely all the while keeping their attention off of Alistair. If he was smart, he'd run...

[Alistair Theirin]

With one assassin in front and three assassins behind, Alistair listened to the words Mariana spoke as they were being boxed in. "I vote we kill these ones quiet, yeah?" In return to those words Alistair simply nodded with a worried look back at her as the assassins came closer. Then suddenly the one assassin who blocked the exit threw a knife against the King and just in the nick of time, Alistair and Mariana dodged it, causing the knife to fly and hit one of their own assassins, leaving only three against the two of them. After the incident, Mariana shouted to Alistair to stay low and out of harm, being told that their blades were poisonous. Both Alistair and Mariana were forced against the wall, though she stepped in front to protect him. Seeing that Mariana ran to fight and protect the King of Ferelden from certain death, made Alistair feel nervous and in awe. She sure was brave and unafraid, but could she handle three assassins at once, he doubted it, especially seeing how skilled they were compared to her. If she did not avoid those blades she would be the one that got poisoned and it all would be his fault, as it was him they were after. Alistair knew he had two choices; either assists his Rivaini guest or run and let her fight the battle for him, although he was no coward, nor did he betray his friends in need and then as he stood there watching, he came to think of the two daggers which lied on the floor, which had been left untouched since Alistair had thrown one of the assassins into the door.

Looking for the perfect moment, Alistair leaped and took a chance, gliding on his knees across the floor as he picked up the two daggers, arching his back backwards as knifes sliced above him. It was a risk worth taking and as he came over and managed to pick those up with both his hands, he could see Mariana was having some trouble fighting and to aid her he stabbed one of the assassins in the back of his leg with the knife Alistair held, slicing him up his spine as Alistair stood up to face another assassin whom came running at him. Handling two duel knives was not usual for Alistair, he was a warrior, a fighter with sword and shield, but having served as Gray Warden and having fought against Darkspawn he had learned to use any weapon and any opportunity to survive.

Once the assassin who came running reached Alistair, the King was forced to avoid the fast slicing knifes, falling on his ass and back on the floor, crossing his blades to prevent the death stroke from above by the one assassin. Looking around for help, Alistair looked at Mariana as she kept on fighting and then back at the assassin who clashed his knife against Alistair`s, getting closer and closer toward his face before Alistair used the opportunity to kick the assassin thigh. A kick which forcing the man backwards so that Alistair could stand up, moving back to back against Mariana as the assassins again surrounded them.

[Mariana]

Well, the king was apparently not especially smart, but he was good with a blade. A bit slow, though, and if Mariana didn't finish the last of them off he'd be done. Her blades flashed as she moved, dancing to the rhythm of battle, wearing away at each of her opponents as the waves wear away stone. A nick here, a cut there, drop by drop the assassins left their blood on the floor.

She wasn't fighting to distract them anymore. No, now she knew Alistair wouldn't run and that meant three quick kills. Spinning out of the way of one blow, Mariana lashed out with one blade. A single, quick thrust and a spurt of blood marked the end of the assassin harrying Alistair, the artery in his neck neatly severed with only the smallest wound to show for it. Another flash of steel and a scream, and her dagger sliced a clean line across the second assassin's stomach as she dropped to a knee to avoid his poisoned blades. He was dead, he just hadn't figured it out yet.

A spin and a kick had the last man's daggers clattering to the floor. A kick, a shove, he was pinned against the wall. A sharp yank, and he was on the floor, Mariana's blade pressed against the back of his neck. She leaned over him, her voice sultry and sweet and savage as she whispered in his ear.

"Who are you love, and who sent you here? Hmm?" The man was sobbing. Not a crow, then, or if he was a very young assassin. He'd probably never been on a job before.

With a glance at the dying assassin and a practiced flick of her wrist, Mariana sent her free dagger through the air to bury itself in the man's chest. A mercy really. And now that she had a hand free, she could get some information out of the man that was left...

Her free hand slithered around his waist, up his stomach, resting intimately on his chest. Pulling him close against her body, she trailed her hand back down even as she kept her dagger pressed against his neck. His breath caught as she trailed the steel around so that the edge of her weapon was resting threateningly against his throat.

"Who are you, and who sent you here?"

He gasped as she nipped his ear, trailing her fingers down, ever lower, until she was tracing little random patterns between his legs. She smiled darkly at the growing bulge she felt there, and his terrified breathing stuttered. Good. He would find it very, very difficult to lie like this... He'd talk.

[Alistair Theirin]

“Oh…please, please don`t hurt me charming one, I beg you!” The threatened assassin answered with an Antivan accent, nervous as he sobbed, feeling that his life were soon to be taken from him. Although as he noticed the woman leaned over him and began to move her hand further down his body, toward his precious parts while playing with his elven ear, he could not resist but to smile of the feeling, remembering the lustful woman of Antiva. “Mmm, you are a charming one aren’t you?” He said with a spark of charm in his eyes, believing her to be very skilled and very lustful. “My name is Lorenso da Virenni, member of the Antivan crows…I was sent among my friends to kill the Ferelden King, but it seems we failed.” The Antivan continued as he looked around carefully with his gaze, seeing his friends all dead around him, before turning back to look at the Rivaini woman, slowly placing his finger on the tip of her dagger pushing it away from his throat. “You should be careful; you can hurt someone with that.” He smiled teasingly as he loved how she treated him further down his body, feeling more relaxed by her great skills with her hand.

“You know, I will tell you everything you want to know, only if you spare my life and treat me good.” The assassin said as he reluctantly wanted to tell everything at once, wanting to hold the cards close to his chest such that he could live to fight another day. He was still young and had still much to learn, but he knew that the secret to live was to not tell everything once; even he knew some Antivan Crows went at it in a different approach, although he however would not risk such a thing.

After having defeated all of the assassins, all except one who now was threatened with a knife at his throat, Alistair stood not far away from him and Mariana as they awaited his answers. The young elf was smart, even he was very young and nervous. He did not want to tell them everything, but it was clearly he was an Antivan and a member of the Antivan Crows, Thedas most deadly assassins. Who could have hired such assassins Alistair thought to himself, could it be the Orlesians, the nobles? Well he sure was not sure, but Alistair intended to find out some way or another. Hearing what the Assassin said surely made Alistair curious, but seeing that Mariana held her knife close and seduced the young elf was very strange, even he knew quite well already she was one who was very direct when it came to her sexual lusts.

[Mariana]

The Antivan was a brazen bastard, trying to push away her dagger as he was. With an arched brow, she pressed the blade back against his throat hard enough to draw blood this time, and gave his bits a vicious squeeze for good measure. The elf yelped, and when he promised to tell them anything his voice sounded a bit more high-pitched.

"Sing sweet, love. I don't have many friends, so I don't take it well when people try to kill the ones I've got." Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear in a voice both so sweet and menacing she could feel the chills run up his back. "Who sent you sweet? I want names."

Mariana was angry. No, she was livid. And the fact that she shouldn't be so angry only made her angrier. She had no reason to be so worried about Alistair, but she'd be damned if she let anything happen to him now. So she twitched her blade a little, just to scare the elf, and gave him a little more prodding.

"I know the Crows'll kill you for failing... You might just as well tell us. Whatever we do you're no worse off." Here she stopped to give his ear an angry twist. "And I'm not known for patience love."

He was sobbing again, all the bravado he'd shown lost when Mariana remained unimpressed. Sex and booze were usually the best ways to get information... but sometimes good old-fashioned fear was the only productive way to go. And pirates were very good at fear.

[Alistair Theirin]

As Mariana became more aggressive toward the young Antivan assassin, he again began to sob as she made clear she was angry because of what he had done, even she liked playing with him for the fun of it. “Aye alright, alright…I will tell you what I know!” The assassin answered nervously in an Antivan dialect, looking at the angry woman in front of him as she threatened him even more. “I and my companions were hired by our master to kill the King of Ferelden, but I don’t know who paid for it, I am just a simple assassin, new one in fact, if I might add…please show me mercy beautiful lady.” The Antivan pleaded as he told what he knew, hoping she would spare his life; even he knew little of whom hired the assassins. “If it helps, perhaps I could give you the name of my master…he who sent us...?” He suggested and hoped she would accept the name for his life, not wanting to die.

While Alistair stood behind Mariana looking at the individual who had tried to kill him, and seeing him pleading for mercy made Alistair pity the man, and just when Mariana were to speak in more anger, Alistair stepped forth calmly and patient. “Tell us and we will spare your life...” Alistair said and his gaze turned to Mariana, seeing that she was both confused and shocked by the his decision, but he had his reasons and he did not like to see men die needlessly, especially he who seemed to be young and ignorant.

“Give me your word that you will let me live…” The assassin requested before he wished to speak any further, looking at Alistair with a spark of hope in his eyes and in return Alistair nodded and answered. “I promise.” The Antivan was relieved and he knew the King would keep his promise, as he had heard he was a good and an honorable king. “His name is Ignacio, find him and you might get to know whom hired us…” The Antivan said and believed he now would be free, making himself ready to stand up and go, but realized the Rivaini woman did not lossen her grip and he became worried…would they not let him go after all?...

[Mariana]

The boy wouldn't know anything. It figured - Mariana's luck just wasn't that good and neither, it seemed, was Alistair's. The boy - Lorenso knew only his master's name... Mariana sighed. It was a start. Finding this Ignacio could prove difficult, but they'd have to at least make the attempt.

"The Crows will kill you for failing you know," she told the boy. "It doesn't matter whether we kill you or not, we'll just kill you faster." She sighed again. He was a fool, and royally pissed her off, but he was young. Maybe he just didn't have other options. Ugh, when had she turned into such a bloody soft touch? "Some advice? Find a good captain and get work on a ship. One that'll be at sea a good bloody long time."

With a shake of her head, she relieved Lorenso of all his weapons... Some of which were very creatively hidden. She wouldn't kill him, but she wouldn't have him trying again, either. Roughly yanking him to his feet, she steered him back the way they'd come and out the palace gates. They got a lot of odd looks on their way out, but Mariana was still fuming and the would-be assassin still had tears running down his face as he pledged her his undying gratitude.

Giving him a shove out the door, she pinned him with a hard look. "Try again and I won't be so bloody nice about it."

[Alistair Theirin]

The young Antivan assassin was shown mercy as he was promised, but had to leave the palace without his weapons. Mariana was right; they would not need to kill him, the Crows would make sure he would not survive anyhow. The crows did not like failures, his life was sealed, no matter what and if he was to survive he would quickly need to flee and find shelter, or he would not manage to live long. Having no weapons would make it worse, but the Antivan understood that they would not let him leave with weapons such that he could try and kill the King again, he promised himself that he would survive and he was thankful that the King and the Rivaini woman let him live. Leaving the palace, he fled into the shadows of the alley from where he had come and disappeared.

Alistair and Mariana were now standing upon the entrance floor outside the palace and they could see the evening was growing darker, it would be time for them both to sleep and Alistair was happy to have spent most of the day with a woman such as Mariana. She was beautiful, talented and an interesting woman and had she not been a skilled pirate, he would have thought her to be a Gray Warden. Looking at her as she stood beside him, he could not help but to smile as his gaze met hers. “Thank you for saving my life from those assassins, you have my gratitude and my favor, I will not forget this.” Alistair said with a calm and a gentle voice as he carefully took her hand in his, rubbing it gently with his thumb before continuing. “Come; let me show you your room.”

Holding Mariana`s hand, Alistair guided her again through the palace, but this time instead of heading toward the dinner hall, he was taking her to the western part of the palace where the guest rooms resided. Walking ahead, Alistair kept his gaze on the path but also looked upon Mariana when he could. He smiled back at her and she could probably see how happy he was to have a new friend like her, even she was a pirate he trusted her, and he wanted her as a guest no matter what Teagan or Anora would say about the matter. He knew they would complain about his safety, and that they could not trust a stranger whom he barely had met, still Alistair would refuse to listen as he believed Mariana to be a good woman, one whom had saved his life from almost certain death.

Arriving the door which led into the room Mariana would have, Alistair stopped and turned to look at her as he took both her hands in his, looking straight into her eyes still smiling. “Ah here you go; your own room within the palace.” Alistair said in a happy tone and waited on her reaction as he grabbed the handle of the door and opened it, showing her the room that she would stay in.

[Mariana]

Mariana's eyes got very round as Alistair opened the door to her room, assassins forgotten. This was a bedroom? She'd never seen anything so grand before she met Alistair unless she was on business, and she'd never been given her own room. It was huge, and even the sturdy Ferelden furnishings were so fine she was almost afraid to touch them lest she soil them somehow.

Not that she was much bothered by it. She swaggered in with her usual confident irreverence and flopped gracefully on the bed, rolling onto her side to prop her head up on her hand. "I could get used to this. All I need now is the ocean moving the bed around and I'll be perfect! Or maybe just some ginger to settle my stomach, I always feel queasy when I'm on land."

Rolling onto her back, Mariana folded her hands behind her head and gave herself a little wiggle to get settled. If the move looked a bit... sensual... Well that was entirely coincidental. At least, that's what she'd tell Alistair if he asked.

"You coming in or you just going to stand there gawking?" She asked him with an arched brow. "And shut the door, love, I don't like people looking in. Unless you think I'm up to something untoward?

Tracing the toe of her boot slowly up her calf, she most certainly was up to something untoward, but she rather had a feeling Alistair wouldn't go for it. He was very... noble. And it just bloody well figured she'd find herself attracted to a married man with morals.

[Alistair Theirin]

Seeing the expression on Mariana`s face as Alistair opened the door to her room, he could see she liked it and that she would enjoy staying at the palace as one of the King`s personal guest and friend. Alistair would provide her with whatever she needed, because he cared about her and he wanted her to have a good place to stay, rather than to get into trouble again with some angry men in the city of Denerim. Stepping into the room with Mariana, he watched as she went to lie down on the bed, seeing that she appreciated the comforting bed a lot, which was for sure far better than any other bed outside the palace.

Alistair listened to what Mariana said, and he smiled even more happily as she mentioned she could get used to living like a royalty, although she rather wanted to have the bed moving as it did on the open seas. With his gaze fixed upon her, Alistair moved closer and the way she moved around on the bed attracted Alistair in ways that could lure any man to sleep with her, but Alistair was a noble man and he would not give in that easily. Then as she asked him to join her, Alistair became all fussed and he became uncomfortable with what was about to happen. She was hitting on him, and Alistair wanted it. Still he refused, and he replied. “Eh…I`m glad you like this place, but….I should be going, really…it’s getting late. We will talk again, tomorrow…goodnight.” Alistair said nervously as he quickly went for the door, closing it behind him as he left Mariana alone on the room.

(This thread ends now I think. )