Thicker than blood (Mariana)

[Alistair Theirin]

Three days had passed since the ship; the Bastard Kiss had arrived Antiva. It was night and not far from the docks the ship laid anchored, ready to set sail when needed. King Alistair remained on the ship with the crew, as their Antivan friend Lorenso had gone ashore to look for clues concerning a matter of importance, a matter the King of Ferelden wanted solved. The reason why they had chosen Antiva city as a destination to dock during their voyage north, was because Alistair had requested it, he wanted to find clues about why assassins had been sent to kill him and in secret he wanted to know the truth about a rumor he had heard which concerned his lost father, King Maric. To everyone it was common knowledge that Alistair wanted to find out about his assassination contract, but the rumor he kept only to himself, except that he had shared some of the information with Lorenso as he had gone to look for Ignicio.

It was a silent night and the fog covered the vision over Antiva city as it had rained earlier that day, the crew was growing restless and many wanted to go ashore or leave further north, but so far they had been ordered to stay onboard until the elf returned. Some of the crew members believed he had abandoned them or had been killed, although arguable Alistair had asked for them to trust Lorenso and wait a little longer. Some may claim the King was a fool-harded man, yet he was kind and honorable and even though his decisions did not always seem to be the best they often proved to be right ones.

As Alistair dressed himself within his cabin, putting on his golden royal armour which once had belonged to King Cailan, he could hear noise that came from the deck outside. The crew had gathered and many of them was arguing about the situation they were in, many was tired and wanted to leave, yet some showed to remain loyal as they stood up and claimed they wished to stay.

"We be sick o' waitin', we should leave, now!" One of the rebellious pirates spoke as he pounded the wooden club in his hand. “No, t' Captain ordered us t' stay and stay we will.” One of the loyalists said as he showed the fist to the threatening man. The discussion between the pirates then got worse and a brawl were about to begin when Alistair suddenly stepped out the door while he fastened his scabbard to the belt, Captain Mariana and her quartermaster Cinza was nowhere to be seen and there was no other to handle the situation. In hope of settling the matter before it unfolded, Alistair stepped in between the arguing crowd of pirates and spoke out loud. “Gentlemen, please, there is no need for this.”

"And why should we listen t' a Kin', you don`t care about us, only yourself!" Another rebellious pirate replied to the King, as he was clearly frustrated about the situation.

“I know it may seem selfish that we are here, but trust me, it is important. I and Captain Mariana have agreed to go ashore and look for Lorenso, all I ask is that you wait for our return and await your judgment.” Alistair answered firmly as he tried to remain calm, even he in truth was scared of what the crew may do to him. With a tight grip around the hilt of his sword, Alistair stood ready in case the mob of pirates tried to attack.

[Mariana]

(Cinza's actions have been approved by his character)

Lorenso should have been back by now. Really she wouldn't care much how long he took, but the crew was getting restless, trapped in one place without even taverns or whores to keep them distracted. Pirates were pirates because they didn't like to be bored, and Mariana was concerned that some of the crew might try to mutiny. There were quite a few who were loyal - all her officers among them, and those few survivors from her father's ship - but she had been too rushed to get a properly loyal crew as she would have liked. And it didn't help that her most loyal men, those she'd served with on her father's ship, were those most nervous of being in Antivan waters. Not one of them complained, but their furtive glances across the water, the tension radiating from them, everything in their manner only served to make the rest of the crew all the more nervous.

Alistair's presence didn't help, either. Several of the men were convinced that he had them running about in hostile waters on a fool's errand, with no regard for anyone's sake but his own. And that Mariana only allowed it for the sake of what he kept between his legs, as though she needed to bribe a man into her pants. She snorted softly. There were few enough men - or women, for that matter - that didn't want to give her a quick fuck and be off, and Alistair was just so much... effort.

Like now, for example. Even as she'd stood watching from the shadows at Cinza's side he'd managed to inflame the crew, and they had moved from an already hot argument to badly concealed drawing of arms. Well, badly concealed to a fellow rogue such as herself, anyway. Alistair seemed unaware of his danger as of yet, though he was prepared for attack with his hand on his blade. And his bloody stupid golden armour. She would never understand a man who insisted on wearing so much metal on the water, but he was a landsman and as far from a sailor as anyone could get. Still, if he was knocked overboard again there would be no saving him while he was dressed like that so she stepped into the light, Cinza close behind her.

"You know mates, that sort of talk sounds suspiciously mutinous. Now, I know that of course you mean nothing of the sort, but Cinza here is a site more twitchy than me when it comes to discipline." As always he stood just behind her, silent and scowling, and even the most rebellious of the men disappeared to their duties. "Thanks, mate, you're in charge while I'm gone" she said to Cinza before turning to Alistair. "You know, you're the first person I've met who's better at pissing people off than me. Now I'm going ashore to find Lorenso, come or stay as you like." With that she tightened the straps of her armour and hopped in a boat to go ashore.

[Alistair Theirin]

Standing between the angry pirates scared Alistair as he felt little compared to them, even in his royal golden armour. The closer they moved, the more he tightened his grip around the shaft of his sword, but luckily he was saved by the voice of Mariana as she stepped into the dim flickering light with Cinza, her quartermaster. Alistair turned to look at her and he smiled in relief as he again believed she had just saved his life, or at least from being knocked out. Captain Mariana was good at words and even many of her crew disliked staying in hostile water, they dared not to rebel against her, especially as long her loyal Kossith was still around.

Alistair stood in awe as he noticed Cinza and he found it interesting that Mariana would leave him in charge, but somehow Cinza reminded Alistair a lot about Sten who had accompanied him during the Fifth Blight. It made him wonder, did Cinza know Sten? Or had they never met? The question lingered in Alistair`s mind, but he dared not to speak as he noticed how angry the Kossith got by the sight of the crew who almost had started a mutiny. If there was something he had learned in the company of Sten, then it was that one should not make anyone of his race angry.

As Mariana moved closer to where he stood, he remained silent as she took the opportunity to tighten the straps of his armour and intensely he listened to what she said, before he then watched her walk over to the boat that was supposed to bring them ashore. The way she walked and the way she moved her ass caught Alistair`s attention and he stood in awe for a moment, then as he came back to senses he realized it would be best to leave, and in a low voice as he looked around terrified he said; “Eh, right…yes, let’s leave.”

Quickly he ran after her and stepped into the boat which already had been prepared on the side of the ship, whereas he with a broad smile on his face sat down. Then all of sudden as he looked up a big fat ass almost hit him in the face and in shock he moved to the side. “Watch it! The dwarf is coming along too. Can`t miss a good chance for a great story to tell.” Varric said as he sat down next to Alistair excited. With a surprised and worried look, Alistair thought this was bad idea and as the sweat began to run down his face, he asked Mariana. “We are not bringing him are we?”

[Mariana]

Oh, Alistair... He really was charming sometimes, even when he was complaining. Which, of course, didn't have any affect on Mariana at all. No, the broad, goofy grin on her face was purely the result of adrenaline and the excitement of actually doing something again. But Alistair had asked something, hadn't he? Yes, of course he had. He didn't want Varric coming, and Mariana put his pretty little mind at ease.

"Only to shore, Your Heaviness. He's getting off in the city, where it's still not appropriate to wear giant golden armour if you don't want to get noticed or drown."

The little boat landed in the water with only the barest splash, her men too used to smuggling to make a great deal of noise. She was proud of them - the loyalists, anyway. They'd lowered the boat almost without a sound and with no need of the order to do it at all. Good lads. She should bring booze back for them. But that was a thought for later, when she wasn't occupied with locating her wayward first mate, and she grabbed the oars. "Oi, you two, help me row - quietly. And keep in bloody rhythm!"

It was a short haul to shore, though Mariana couldn't quite decide whether it felt like years or seconds. Lorenso, her ship, Lorenso, her ship... they kept flashing through her mind. He could be in danger, which meant she had to rescue him to get the information he'd collected. But her crew was ready to mutiny, which meant she had to stay aboard to control them. But Cinza was more than capable of handling them while she was gone, she she didn't need to stay. But Lorenso could already be dead, and looking for him was a waste of time. Ugh. Not two bloody months ago she'd have let the bastard rot, but Alistair was a bad influence. Making her think about... morals... and... things.

But they were already ashore and she put the thought from her mind. If she didn't think about it, she could pretend this was the most profitable course and not at all altruistic. In fact, as she hid the boat she almost managed to convince herself it was true. Alistair was a king, after all, and keeping him in her pocket could only be a good thing. And Lorenso was a former Crow, even if he had lost miserably to her when they'd first met. Also useful. And as long as she didn't think about the fact that she was probably going to die on this fool's venture she could still pretend that she was the same black-hearted pirate she'd always been.

"You're sure you don't want a quick ride before you go, Skipper?" Varric asked as he turned away, "Just imagine all the things you could do with a man who's head is at waist height."

Mariana chuckled. "Sorry love, but you said no to a threesome. Just something I can't look past."

"You can't look past a threesome, I can't look past him being the third person in it."

"I'll convince you one of these days, just wait," Mariana said with a final wink and grin. An odd sort of goodbye, perhaps, but she hated goodbyes and it was time to be off. Without even looking back at Alistair, she headed into the city.

[Alistair Theirin]

Hearing that Varric was only following them to the shore pleased Alistair, but still he could not ignore the fact that the dwarf could easily discover Alistair`s true intention on the short distance they were set to row. The dwarf was clever and it often happened that he noticed things others did not, which was why Alistair grew pale of worries as he took up the oars and began to paddle with him. What Mariana had said about his golden armour were true, it really was not fitting for what they now were about to do. If he went overboard he could easy be dragged down to the bottom of the sea and drown, or he could be discovered for whom he was once they got into the city. It was something he had not thought of earlier, but she was right and Alistair regretted for taking his armour on. As he sat there, rowing, he really wished he could take off his armour, but unfortunately that was too late and where would he put it? Antiva City was full thieves and he really did not want to lose it to a petty criminal, as it once had belonged to Alistair`s half-brother King Cailan himself.

Trying to hide how he felt, Alistair simply smiled back at Mariana with a weary look and not after long they reached the harbor where they went ashore. The Captain and the dwarf was the first to step on land, while Alistair had a bit trouble getting off the boat. He listened intensely to what Mariana and Varric said to each other in the background and he found it funny, but thought it would be improper for him as a King to enter a threesome with them both, even it certainly would be interesting. He certainly had grown feelings for Mariana over the period they had spent at sea, although he still could not forget the women in Denerim who awaited his return. He was married to Anora, who he knew disliked him more than she would admit and he had evolved an affair with the Orlesian Empress who stayed under his protection, and now he even had gotten the pirate involved. It was a tricky situation and Alistair felt like a bad man, he had not sought such complicated relationships, but such was how love worked and even it pained him to think about it, he felt comfortable and loved in the presence of Captain Mariana.

With his back turned to them both, he said nothing as he placed the oars nice and tidy back onto the boat once he got out. When he turned to focus on Varric and Mariana he noticed Varric was about to leave and with that he said farewell and headed into the city with the woman he so recently had fallen in love with. “Well, seems like it’s just you and me from now on, let’s see if we can find Lorenso. I really hope we find him.” Alistair spoke up as he walked up next to Mariana, hiding his other intentions while he stayed concerned for what may have happened to the poor elf.

[Lorenso]

Meanwhile at Velabanchel, somewhere outside Antiva City.

Upon the cliffs overlooking the sea, a huge tower of stone with two walls stands unbroken. The wind and the waves from the sea clashes against its foundation, whereas the rain from the clouded sky continue to pour down. From within screams can be heard, of pain caused by severe and brutal punishment; torture.

“That’s good Guts, I think he is ready now. Let me question him.” Kieran the she-elf spoke cynical to the Kossith torturer as she touched the tip of her sharp knife, turning her glance at Lorenso who hung with his hands bound above his head. It was time for answers, and only he could give it to her. Standing there in her dark dress, which covered only her right shoulder and which reached down to her knees, she stepped closer with a look on her face that showed clear sign of hatred. The captive had once been her and her dead husband`s friend, but since his death things had changed. Kieran still believed Lorenso had escaped his crimes unpunished and much of what her dead husband had been accused of she blamed him for.

Lorenso was in pain, his entire body was covered of bruises and old wounds had reopened from the heavy punches the Kossith a moment ago had dealt out, but worst of all was the acking pain from the right side of his face, where his eye was no more. Kieran had stabbed his eye out and now there was only a dark hole in its place, which still had not fully healed since he had been taken. The pain that soured from it was worse than anything Lorenso had felt before, even more than the bruises the Kossith had recently inflicted. He knew worse things would come, he had heard stories about the place he now was in and it made him worried. Life was shit and the prison was no different, what Kieran had in mind for him only she knew, although there was no doubt that she hated him with all her heart, even he still loved her.

With only his pants on, Lorenso hung with his bare chest and back open for the torturer to continue his work and already one or two ribs felt broken. Lorenso bite his teeth together out of pain and with his head barely up and his left eye slightly clear with sight, he looked up at Kieran who approached, and was met by her cold knife of steel at his throat when she continued to speak. “Listen…if you tell us what we want to know, we won’t hurt you. However, if you anger me in any way, Guts will fetch his favorite tools.” She spoke firmly as she gave a sadistic look before she turned her gaze at the Kossith nearby, who stood with his arms folded, looking grim and nasty with a scar across his mouth and nose.

The beast said nothing, but gave a sneer and then as Lorenso looked at him, he smiled and replied. “You need him to do your dirty work, can`t do it yourself do you?” He spoke to annoy and just as Kieran heard those words, her anger grew and she pushed her knife deeper into the skin beneath his chin as she whispered with a glare. “Don`t you dare to be funny, you know what I can do, or have you already forgotten what I did to your right eye? Perhaps I shall stab your other eye out too? No I have a better idea.” She said and finished more loudly then she began, and with that she grabbed Lorenso`s left ear and ripped it off. Blood streamed and Lorenso wanted to scream in pain, but instead he cursed to himself and kept his mouth shut to withstand the new pain. The woman was determined to ruin his good looks it seemed, but in that case he would not give her the satisfaction of his screams. Quickly she shortly after grabbed the other ear and questioned. “Tell me, why are you here, why did you come back?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Antiva is my home, why should I not return?” Lorenso answered after a short moment of silence and pain, feeling the blood running and dripping on the left side of his body and head. He knew what he just had said would only anger her more, but at least he would not reveal anything to her. Lorenso had promised Alistair and Mariana that he would not speak of their mission to anyone, and he intended not to break that vow.

“Ah you little!!!” Kieran almost screamed in anger and with that she took the knife and sliced it across his chest as she stepped away from him. With her back turned to him, she put her hands on the hips as she looked out the window where she saw it rained, thus she commanded. “Guts, do your work and let us see if he speaks more once you have had your fun.” The Kossith said nothing in return, but gave a look of satisfaction as he went to pick up an iron tool and with it he grabbed Lorenso`s foot and began the work on pulling out his toe nails, one by one.

[Mariana]

Mariana grinned. "'Course we'll find him. You, however, are entirely too shiny." With that, she grabbed a handful of mud and started rubbing it cheerfully into Alistair's golden armour, making it as dull as she could manage. Well, dull wasn't difficult - even royal armour needed regular polishing to keep it shiny, and it wasn't hard to scuff up. The problem was, even dull gold was still unmistakably gold, and Mariana frowned. "You do realize that we're trying to not draw attention, right? You'd be better off selling that and using the coin to buy an old set of splint mail. At least you wouldn't look so odd going to the places we'll be going."

Waving off her own advice as a lost cause, Mariana turned away and headed straight to her favourite dockside brothel. "Hello ladies and gents, did you miss me?" The reaction was intense and immediate, as nearly the whole population of the whorehouse rushed over to greet Mariana. It was a pleasant surprise, with so many years between her reappearance and the last time she'd been there, but there was no time to linger over a long hello. "I'm sorry my sweets, but me and my mate are here on business."

Before she'd even gotten the whole sentence out, however, she was being pulled into the centre of the room by the fire as the whores fawned over her. "Mariana, we thought you died!" "Did your father get away?" "We couldn't believe it when the Mermaid went down!" "Bloody Navy, you weren't hurting no one!"

Mariana laughed. "Everything's perfectly fine now, sweat hearts, even made a very rich friends who gave me a ship. I am now, officially, Captain Mariana Dacosta, and I'm afraid I'm not here on any very pleasurable business. Our friend Lorenso has gotten into some trouble with the Crows, mostly because he didn't quite manage to kill us. He's an elf with black hair and green eyes, and was looking for his old master Ignacio. I promise I'll take good care of anyone who can help us." She said the last with a suggestive wink and grin before moving on to a different difficulty - Alistair's armour. "I'd also appreciate a new set of clothes for my friend here, and somewhere to hide his armour. nothing shiny, and as much as it pains me we need to hide his pretty face."

The girls - and boys, for that matter - fell to their new talk gleefully, tugging at Alistair and unbuckling his armour as others fetched al different clothes. One young elven man even went so far as to climb up on the table with a box of cosmetics, grabbing Alistair's chin to turn his face in all different directions. "I could darken your skin a bit, thicken your eyebrows, maybe even dye your hair, you wouldn't even look like you after," he muttered as he opened the box. Mariana could only snicker - she didn't imagine Alistair would care for that.

[Alistair Theirin]

Having the golden armour suddenly polished with dirt in the middle of the street was not how Alistair had imagined his arrival in Antiva, but here he was, getting complains about his equipment and his ignorant behavior, although it did not anger him, quite the contrary. Instead he gave Mariana a slight smile and a raised eyebrow, thinking about the situation as well the armour. He wanted to speak back to what she said, but instead he lot it pass, because Mariana was right. He could not walk around with a shiny golden armour like he had on if they were not to be discovered, but what she said kind of worried him, where were they going? They had no clue where Lorenso had gone and the city was a lot bigger than Denerim. Finding someone in it would be like finding a needle in the haystack. So what did Mariana have planned, where would they go to find their missing spy?

Before he knew it, she began to walk and she led him straight to a place he often had been denied by his wife, although a place he often had visited in the past with his fellow Grey Warden friends. The brothel in Antiva was not much different from any other he had seen in Ferelden, but once he entered he was surprised by the scent of flowers that hit him and it made him puff. Mariana quickly seemed to know the place and he was not surprised, and thus there he stood there in his golden armour, now clad in dirt he felt totally out of place. It was unsuited for a King to be in a brothel, and especially a dirty looking King. Still Mariana`s friends seemed not to care, they were happy to see her again and even more curious of the man she brought along, either because of his appearance or because he looked like a man that could give them lots of money for their service.

Mariana asked them to undress him and give him new clothes, and she even suggested leaving his armour there for keeping. Then just as Alistair was about to blankly refuse, Mariana walked off with a friend and suddenly he was dragged along by the women and quickly they began to undress him. He became speechless by their beauty and as he watched them he could hear them giggle around him as his piece of clothes was removed one after another, all until he stood left naked. Then he was dressed up in new clothes, a few which had been left behind by other men and as the whores finished him up, a man came and began to do make up on his face. Alistair tried to speak, however was overlooked by all the powder that spread over his face and the giggles of those around him. In the direction of Mariana he looked, begging for her to save him and as they finished the new look of Alistair, they withdrew and he stood there, looking like a prostitute himself. “Eh Mariana?...I am not sure I like this?” He said confused and wondered what to do.

[Mariana]

Seeing Alistair painted up and dressed in frills like one of the whores was just... Oh that was precious! And hilarious. Mariana was laughing so hard she didn't even hear his complaint, doubled over and clutching at the madam for support.

"That is... it''s just... oh Alistair!"

With that she burst into another fit of laughter, though it seemed to be enough for the girls - and boys, of course - to take the hint. Alistair needed to blend in, not draw even friendly attention. Good thing, too, as Mariana was still too wrapped up in her own mirth to say anything about his appearance.

Oh, he was pretty in makeup... just entirely the wrong type of pretty. She knew goofy warrior Alistair - dressed up whore Alistair was just too strange. Definitely something to tease him about later, though.

A few short minutes later he was washed and re-dressed in sturdier clothing he could wear under a new set of armour. The young elf re-did Alistair's makeup quickly, as well, making it more subtle this time. A bit of powder to darken his skin, shadow and liner to make his eyes bigger, even some sort of cosmetic miracle that thinned his lips and made his nose look smaller. All in all, a job very well done.

"Why Alistair, if it wasn't for that blond head of yours I'd take you for a Rivaini! Now we just need some new armour for you, maybe some heavy chain. That shouldn't draw too much attention if we toss a cloak over it, yeah? Now before we piss off, anyone have any news about our friend Lorenso?"

[Alistair Theirin]

Seeing Mariana`s expression as she laughed where she stood made Alistair feel even more awkward, it certainly did not help him at all. Confused and embarrassed he waited to be rescued from the situation, hoping that someone any moment could step forth and redo what just had happened to him. Oh how Morrigan would have loved seeing him like this, he thought, remembering his past conversation with her when there yet was a Blight to defeat. Standing there in silence, Alistair noticed that the whores took the hint from Mariana`s laughter and soon after they changed him again, doing his make-up darker and better, as well giving him a more fitting set of clothes.

Once Mariana seemed done talking to her friend, she turned to Alistair and spoke about his new look. She told him had it not been for his blond hair he would have looked like one of her people, the Rivaini, a compliment from her part, but it didn`t quite amuse him. What he just had gone through seemed like a lot more than he had asked for, and where was his golden armour anyway, before he knew it they had taken it off and hid it, now he himself didn`t even know where it was, perhaps it was stolen by thieves already. In response to what she suggested next about getting him a new heavy chain and cloak, Alistair answered and joked. “Hmm, yeees, of course. I suppose something like that would be useful, but ah thank the Maker your laughter saved me from further embarrassment, one more minute longer and I swear they would have tried to sell me to a wealthy merchant, an Antivan Prince most likely.“

Then as Mariana`s question about their missing friend Lorenso was asked, it didn`t take long before a female elf approached, one who apparently worked there. “Did I hear you say Lorenso? I know him; he came here to talk to me. He wanted to know if I had seen Master Ignacio, or if knew where he currently lived.” She spoke in a low tone, afraid of the strangers yet talking openly about it.

“And what did you tell him?” Alistair asked, giving a look at Mariana who stood close by before turning his attention back at the elf. How did she know Lorenso and how did she know Master Ignacio? What was the connection? Was she to a contact to the crows, or maybe she was a part of them, it was a question Alistair wanted answered, but didn`t dare to ask.

“I told him I hadn`t seen Master Ignacio since we last met, but that I sort of knew where he lived.” She continued and waited for more questions to be asked.

“Sort of knew where he lived?” Alistair asked again.

“Yes, Ignacio moves a lot, we don`t always know where he is, he is good at that, staying low….He is also a trader, a merchant. And, well…I work for him, sometimes, I am also his…his special girl, you see.” The young blond elf said a bit shy, looking down as the topic became strange. “If you are looking for Lorenso I suggest you go to the market district, rumors has it that he lived somewhere close by, but I am not sure he lives there anymore. “

[Mariana]

Mariana frowned at Alistair's tone when he spoke to the little elven woman that approached them. It wasn't exactly difficult to spot that Doncia was terrified, and the poor thing was the nervous type on a good day. If it hadn't been for her bloody parents...

"It's all right love, go on."

Doncia's speech was halting, only answering direct questions, but they got the information they wanted. More than, in fact, and Mariana frowned again as the elf mentioned being Ignacio's "special girl." She waited just long enough for her to finish speaking before closing the space between them with a few swift steps and gently taking gripping the girl's chin to tilt her face.

"He's hitting you again."

Doncia cringed and nodded, making Mariana seethe. She rather liked these girls, and Ignacio had already royally pissed her off. That man was going to die, and as slowly as she could manage.

"Renata tries to protect us, but the Crows..."

"Aye love, I know. We'll get him."

Mariana turned on her heel and stalked out of the brothel, not even looking at Alistair as she did. She knew where Ignacio lived now, and by the Maker she was going to bathe in his fucking blood until she matched a high dragon's scales.

It didn't take long, at least. Mariana's father had docked in Antiva City often before his ship had gone down and she found the market district easily, then all the broken glass in the street was all the direction she needed to find Ignacio's home. Once inside there was little of note, however, no matter how hard Mariana looked, and she headed upstairs in an effort to find something. At that point she wasn't even sure she cared exactly what that was.

As it turned out, however, "it" was an upturned table and a smashed out window. That was something, at least. When she headed to the broken window she could see what was left of a lovely, ornate crystal chandelier laying shattered on the ground, and if she looked hard enough she could just barely make out scuffs on the edge of the neighbouring roof.

"Looks like the jumped here. Can you make the jump, your prettiness?"

Maybe that was below the belt, but she just couldn't help making a jab at his made-up appearance. If nothing else, it was a good thing they hadn't gotten him a new set of armour - if they had, he'd never make it across.

Backing up for a running start, Mariana hurled herself across the room and out the window, landing neatly on the adjacent roof. Oh, that was fun! It had been far too long since the last time she'd had a good run across the roofs of Antiva.

"Come on, then, they went this way."

With a final wink and grin, she took off at a run across the rooftops, her keen eyes trained on the scant signs left by a careless chase after the hard Antivan rain.

[Alistair Theirin]

It was obvious to Alistair now, the girls who worked at the brothel were close to the Crows and the young elven girl who stood in front of him and Mariana had suffered for it. On her neck and chin she had bruises and Maker know what else, it made Alistair angry and he could sense and see the anger of Mariana boiling. She was in rage and quickly she stormed out of the brothel without even telling she left, standing there left alone Alistair felt abandoned, but before he followed he gave the brothel a donation for their help, and some extra coin to the poor elven girl.

As soon he caught up with Mariana, Alistair remembered he was now all dressed differently, not looking as himself anymore, and that his golden armour still was gone, hidden somewhere inside the brothel. He had no clue where it was, but once they were done he thought to retrieve it. It was strange to look like someone else, but if it kept his identity hidden he would do it. Lucky for him he still had his sword, which had gotten an old scabbard to cover its beautiful features. While walking to the market district, he tightened his grip around its handle, fearing thieves and assassins who could come out from any shadow near them. The streets of Antiva were covered in fog and in the distance one could hear the dogs barking, arguing between neighbors, moaning and snoring.

Antiva was a scary place and it had a lot of crime, where thieves, rapist, assassins, smugglers, bandits, pirates and more lived and thrived. Still it was also one of the wealthiest cities in Thedas, which had grand and magnificent structures. The city itself was divided in two sections, one which was for the wealthy and another for the poor, where between them laid the market. It didn`t take long for Mariana and Alistair to reach their destination from the brothel, once they came to the market square and sought information by looking around, they quickly noticed a torn of chandelier and broken glass in the street, right outside a house that had two floors.

Quickly Alistair followed Mariana upstairs and together they searched for more clues, there was sign of struggle and once it became clear that someone had jumped out the window, onto the other rooftop, Alistair grew nervous. Had he sent Lorenso into trouble, into death? He sure hoped not, if he had it would be his fault. Alistair just hoped he still lived, and that his second intention of sending Lorenso would remain a secret, even though Lorenso in the first place had come to seek out the assassination order which had been placed on him.

Hearing Mariana speaking "Looks like he jumped there. Can you make the jump, your prettiness?" made Alistair frown, what she asked was more than he could do. Such a leap through the window he had to pass, there was no way he would come across and still live. Then again without warning, Mariana took speed and immediately jumped. Alistair was about to reach out and warn her not to do it, but it already was too late. Surprisingly she managed it and in silence he stood in awe, listening to a fading voice; "Come on, then, they went this way." as Mariana ran on further across the roof.

Realizing that Mariana was slipping away, Alistair came back to reality and instead of jumping after her he quickly ran out of the house and followed her on the ground. Looking up he could see she was a fast runner and not afraid of falling down, an impressive woman who seemed to know her way through the city. Then not after long they arrived a house were the clues ended, it was certain that someone had jumped into another`s house window and for them to investigate further they would have to enter.

It was a large house, one which probably belonged to a rich person or family. Slowly Alistair approached the door and knocked on; hoping the person who opened was no madman. Instead there was silence, and as Alistair knocked on again nothing happened. “Hmm, seems like no one is home? What do we do now?” Alistair turned and asked Mariana as he stepped away from the door, but just as did the door opened and there stood a small figure, an old woman who barely seemed awake. “Eeh, apologize madam…for knocking on your door this late, I am…..I am Ser..” Alistair said and became silent as he for a moment had to think, then out of the thin air came up with. “I am Ser Duncan, and this lovely lady is…hmm…my servant.” He spoke and gave a slight smile to the old lady and Mariana, trying to act as different then who he was. With his new dark look he thought it was best to use Duncan as his alias, who once had been his old mentor and Warden friend.

“Hmm, are you Duncan, the Grey Warden?” The old woman said in a low voice that went like a whisper. Once Alistair heard that his jaw literally dropped, taking him fully by surprise, that answer he had not expected, especially from an old woman living in Antiva. “How do you know Duncan?...oh….I mean…how do you know me? I must have forgotten…” Alistair responded in shock, trying to figure who the old lady was and how she knew Duncan.

“Are you sure you don`t remember me? You rescued me from those bandits in Lothering long time ago; it was thanks to you that I came here.” The old woman said with a shaky voice, remembering the past as she moved closer to study Alistair, gripping his cheeks like an old grandmother would do to a child, trying to get a better look. Desperately Alistair tried to move away, waving his arms in panic with a look at Mariana which asked her to save him. “Oh, ah, yes…I remember you now!!” He almost screamed out, trying to step back.

[Lorenso]

“Why where you at Ignacio`s house, what were you searching for? Tell us!!” Kieran asked loud, threatening Lorenso with her knife close to his neck. The torturer had just began his fun and already Lorenso had lost a few nails, for every time he didn`t answer one nail was removed. Now only one nail remained on his feet. Gritting the teeth`s together to withstand the pain, to not scream, Lorenso spoke low in answer as he looked down. “I`ll tell you nothing...” He said and then spit at Kieran`s face, wanting to show he would break no matter what.

Kieran grew furious and as she cleaned the spit off her she screamed in anger again, ordering the torturer. “That`s it, Gut`s find your rustiest knife, I want him to suffer!” She spoke with a voice of hate, and as Lorenso glanced at her, looking at her eyes, he knew why. She still blamed him for what had happened to his friend, to her lover; she thought it was his fault that she had to kill him and that he was the one who had run the shady business of the past. Had she only believed what he told her then she wouldn`t have held such hatred for him, over and over again Lorenso had tried to convince her, but the lies of Claudio Valisti had dug too deep into her mind. Whatever he said, she would never believe it, not without proof, which he didn’t have.

As Kieran stepped back to watch with cold eyes, Lorenso prepared for the worst. The Kossith torturer laid down the item he just had used and as commanded, he picked up the rusty knife. Slowly he approached and once he reached Lorenso`s body, he placed it against his upper back and slowly began to drag it down. The pain immediately rushed through his body as worse and worse his back got, the Kossith continued the same way, until Lorenso had many open wounds.

Lorenso looked straight at Kieran as the pain continued, but still he did not scream. Sweat and blood ran down his body and it mixed together in a pool on the floor, getting worse and worse by the second. “You`ve had it all coming to you, this is what you deserve. You will tell us everything, you can choose the hard way or the easy way out, what will it be?” Kieran spoke cynically and frustrated, waiting for her old friend to scream out the truth.

“I`ve told you all you need to know…blame me as much you want, but it was not I who killed your lover…it was you.” Lorenso spoke in pain, trying to shift the conversation from the questions to their personal past. What he said didn`t help, ripping up the past only made Kieran more thoughtful, more sad, more frustrated and more angry. With a moment of silence as the Kossith did his work, Kieran stood still before she ran at him, grabbed the rusty knife and stabbed Lorenso in the gut. Deep into his eyes she looked and he in hers, seeing her grief and hate while his eyes only reflected pity and pain.

[Mariana]

Ser Duncan Mariana though with a snicker. And Alistair called her a lovely lady! How often did that happen? Wait, no... no, he called her his... SERVANT!?! Ooooh that bloody bastard was going to get if they were going to his, but if they were going to keep their cover she had to play the sweet, demure, subservient little maid.

Bastard.

Mariana greeted the nutty hag with a sweet smile and a sweeter curtsy, positively gleeful at the old woman's response to Alistair. Poor bastard was flailing around looking panicked and his lovely servant had absolutely no intention whatsoever of coming to his rescue. Pardon ser, but it wouldn't do for your knightly honour to be saved by a simple serving girl, now would it? Good Ser Duncan could very well save his own sorry hide.

"Beg pardon miss, but we're here on business, as good Ser Duncan can tell you. We're looking for an elf named Lorenso - he has black hair and green eyes and sort of looks like a pirate." And no wonder, what with him actually being a pirate.

Muttering about presumptuous servants, the old woman shot Mariana a glare and waved them inside. Oh, now the pirate did not approve of that and she shot Alistair a nasty glare as the woman led them upstairs.

"Couple of Crows had themselves a nasty fight this way. Little readhead stabbed your boy's eye out, she did. Probably already dead, but if he's not he's in Valebanchel. Don't bother going there, you won't survive it."

The old woman left with a huff, muttering something to Alistair Mariana couldn't quite hear on her way out, leaving the two of them alone by the window.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'd say we've got a suicide mission to survive."

[Alistair Theirin]

With a serious look on Mariana, Alistair tried to get away from the old woman`s touch as he pleaded for aid. He was desperate, but after having called Mariana a servant she seemed offended and in that moment he felt terribly sorry for what he had caused. However luckily once Mariana asked the old lady about Lorenso, she stopped and Alistair was finally saved. He heard the muttering about the servant and was glad they were allowed to enter the house, although as he followed Mariana inside he was surprised by a sudden spank on the ass. When he turned to look he discovered it was the old woman who had done it and she grinned at him, seeming to be happy that she had Duncan on visit, but unhappy to have his servant around.

Worriedly Alistair looked upon the surroundings and as they were led up the stairs, his gaze met Mariana`s, seeing how angry she seemed after what he had called her. Oh he could expect trouble after that, he thought. Then once they were shown the room Lorenso had last been spotted in and were told about what had happened, Alistair turned both shocked and surprised as he feared the worst. Was he dead or was he alive? They sure didn`t know, but being given the hint from the old woman where Lorenso could be, helped a little. Nervously Alistair watched the old woman leave them alone for a while, and he turned to look back at Mariana as he spoke with a whisper. “I guess we need to travel to Velabanchel then, and see for ourselves how he`s doing…”He said, not looking forward to what they could except.

I never asked for an easy life – fruit every morning, servants cleaning my feet, bedclothes free from crawling things. I certainly wasn`t raised to except it. But this is Velabanchel prison, the house of graves, where the crows lock men away for fun and torture. One mistake and we spend the rest of our lives shackled and forgotten in cells built by long-dead sadists. For the first time I am starting to miss the royal palace.