Claustrophobia. (Alia/Open)

[Alia Nauvre]

Freedom, huh? Well she already had a ton of that, as an assassin. It wasn't too difficult to do what one wanted, so long as they had money to live. Sure, more...respectable people might get themselves constrained by her morals, but not she, except when taking on jobs that involved those she deemed innocent. Merchants targeted by actual corrupt merchants fell under that, though only if the merchants were not corrupt themselves.

And if her client happened to be evil, well, all she had to do was kill them and take any money they might have on them; typically it was enough to cover her expenses for a while, though in rare cases it was not. "So...basically you're a hero to everyone, then? Must make it really difficult to be all sneaky, huh? After a bit, the whole hero thing must affect how you carry yourself, after all," she chatted idly as she ate. It was nice to be able to relax like this, it somewhat lessened the fact that, probably the very next day, they would be heading into the Deep Roads, an area of extreme danger to most nearly everyone, even Grey Wardens such as this man.

After all, if they weren't dangerous at all, the Grey Wardens likely would have exterminated every last darkspawn hiding out down there. The girl couldn't help but wonder just what was so deep in the Deep Roads that caused the darkspawn to congregate there in hordes, if there even was anything. Perhaps they just used the Deep Roads because anything above ground would let them be seen easily. That was possible. "And don't worry, I've got a good head on my shoulders, or so I'd like to think. You can be the one that charges in there as bait, and I can be the one that attacks from behind," was how she joked once more.

Seriously though...if worst came to worst, she wouldn't abandon him. She was an assassin, yes, but one with morals, though he didn't know that much about her, so he had no way of knowing she wouldn't truly abandon him. "Why would bedding a mage be any different from bedding someone else?" she couldn't help but ask curiously. You'd think it'd be even MORE dangerous to bed a mage, what with the fact that they could be possessed any second. Magic was some pretty freaky stuff, in her opinion.

[Arley Voegeli]

"Yes, we are Guardians against the Darkness, I feel I have a duty to uphold not only to the people but to myself as well. Most may not take it as such but, a Grey Warden is a guardian of man. We help everyone, atleast thats how I see it, there isn't always a Blight, but people do always need help." Arley explained to her, though most had their own views on being a Warden, but from his experience thats how most seemed to feel also. "That is why we are neutral; so when the time comes, we act, for what is right, not for what we believe or what others tell us we should believe in."

Arley took another huge bite of his steak, and a pull of his ale, dwarven ale tasted horrible, but it does take the edge off. "Actually most see me as a random nobody, I'm not the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke or anything so my face isn't known far and wide, I can use discretion when it is needed, but it does change how I carry myself, people ask me for help because I look like I would or could help them, but its nice to have a purpose in this world, and I dont need Andraste or the Maker to do it." Arley laughed, he loved bashing pointless religions.

Arley roared at her joke, "Yeah I would be charging into my death! Though outside of Orzammar the Roads are lit, but once we make it a few miles out it will be complete darkness, and the Deep Roads dont offer many hiding places, I hope you are good at one-on-one combat. Oh and watch out for the clicking sounds, those are the spiders, they hiss too, its really creepy. Also! We will need to stick together, being seperated can be the difference between life and death, my mentor, the one who made me a Warden died in that manner. We got seperated for 30 seconds, thats all it took for the Darkspawn to overwhelm her." Arley stated, she was an assassin, people who were used to working and fighting alone.

"Ah yes, that. Well I'll give you an example, say I bedded you, and you got pregnant. I am tainted, in turn so is the child. Now if I wanted to have a child, atleast this is what I heard talking the the Senior Wardens in Vigil's Keep, I would have to bed a Mage, because the magic could stop the taint from killing the child. Magic allows access to some strange things, I learned that in the Keep; Mages, even blood mages, have the capacity to be good. That and they are great at killing Darkspawn!" Arley exclaimed, fire works wonders against Darkspawn. "But yes, somehow their magic protects the baby from the taint, which really makes no sense at all but Magic is a mysterious thing."

[Alia Nauvre]

They helped everyone? Somehow she had to doubt that. After all, there had to be a reason they were called the GREY Wardens, and not, say, the White Wardens. True, the latter sounded much stupider, but the Wardens probably had a lot more on their plate at the time than thinking up a name that sounded good. Grey Wardens just kind of fit them. What they had to do was probably as morally grey as what she did. Even if she was killing people, corrupt people, it was still murder, something she wished she didn't have to do. Even if the ones she killed were corrupt, she still hated herself for doing it.

She was just as bad as the ones she killed, in her eyes. Beyond redemption, any chance of savior. And being allowed into the Grey Wardens...wasn't that some form of redemption? As long as it was for the right cause, a Grey Warden could do whatever they wished with literally no retribution. She wasn't sure she would be able to handle that, not with her viewpoint as it was, so she hoped he wouldn't begin speaking of making her a recruit, again.

As much as she liked hearing about them, she wasn't sure being a Grey Warden was for her. "Well, you don't have to be a Warden to help people...look at me, what I do. I get rid of bad people, to make it simple, so that they can't hurt others," she stated, watching him as he ate, and drank. How he managed to stand that dwarven ale was really beyond her. She definitely could not handle it in a million years...she couldn't really handle much alcohol at all, though she doubted she would ever have much of it. It impaired one's senses, and an assassin had to be ready at all times; there was no telling if someone might try to send their own assassins after you if you, say, killed their business associate.

That had happened once to her, and it hadn't been particularly entertaining at all to fight them. Of course, she had been young then, and hadn't covered her tracks well. She did so now, of course. "So...stick together, watch out for the spiders, and be good at one on one combat. Think I can accomplish that...though the spiders are gonna be kind of creepy. I'm not scared of them, exactly, but...giant spiders. Hard not to be scared of those," she commented as she continued to eat. For a place known primarily for its drinks, Tapster's had fairly good food, she had to say that much. "And I guess that makes sense...somehow. Still kind of weird, but that's magic for you. And of course blood mages can be good, just...a ton of them often aren't." she said in reply to him. What a person was didn't define them, it was who they were.

[Arley Voegeli]

((OOC:If you dont mind Im just going to skip to the Deep Roads after the bar conversation.))

Arley felt that he may have used his words wrong, "Well, we can't help everyone, but I help whoever I can, we are Guardians of Men, and the darkness, that has to mean more than killing darkspawn right? Though I am a bit of a bad Warden, I am supposed to be completely neutral in all things political, but I think what the Templars is doing is wrong so I support the mages." Arley smirked, "Yes, I don't think what you do is wrong, but I'm a Grey Warden, so it wouldn't matter to me either way. Though, I do have morals, and standards." Arley chuckled, taking a bite of his food.

"Oh, they are scary, very scary. I will admit that I am afraid of them, but that fear keeps me alive in the Deep Roads, its a scary place in general, please try not to get bitten or anything like that, and avoid their blood." Arley stated, he didn't want her getting tainted. "Magic is facsenating but it is a complete mystery to me, and yes most blood mages are pretty bad, but everything is a means to an end right?" That was a rethorical question but it wouldnt matter if she answered it. Looking down at his plate he noticed his food was gone, and his ale was low, it was time to leave, finially.

They had left the bar and proceeded through Orzammar, then into the Deep Roads. There was a certain...cold about the place that Arley couldn't explain, maybe it was because he was a Warden he could feel it, he didn't know. The dim-light from the lava made the rocks show orange, you could tell you where on a road, there were even signs. As he walked the dust and ashes from the years curnched softly under his feet, it had the smell of death. "Well, I guess we better get started looking. I would say we go toward Caridin's Cross, thats the least closed off way, and its way safer, though down here that doesn't mean much. Though we should set up camp before the lights end." Arley said walking cautiously.

[Alia Nauvre]

"A Grey Warden with morals?" Alia couldn't help but say. How could she not say it, considering the fact that Grey Wardens were expected to be fairly impartial when taking a side? That aside...why exactly was she thinking about what a Grey Warden was expected to do? Well mostly it was because of the fact that she herself had to keep her morals to herself, most of the time. She didn't want to turn off any potential employers, at least not until she ascertained whether their target was as bad as they made them out to be. And also because if she turned off employers who had malevolent intentions towards a specific person, it meant that she would not be able to deal with said employers.

Say what you would about her, but she couldn't just allow evil like that to fester, even if she could easily not involve herself in it at all. "And that's a dangerous way of thinking that you have, Arley. Worse people than you have thought that it doesn't matter how you do it, just that you do it. I...don't agree with that. You can't just do bad things, whatever you want, even if it's for a good goal in the end," Alia decided to bring up this subject on the way to the Deep Roads, even if she was a hypocrite for saying so. After all, she murdered men, and women, an act she didn't find as morally right. And yet she justified it by saying that it was for the good of everyone.

The ends justified the means. The truth of the matter was, she could find some OTHER ways to make sure people like that didn't do bad things, it was just that killing was all she really knew how to do. Besides sing, but...she doubted anyone would want to hear her sing. Not when they had no idea she even could. "And whatever you think is best, Arley. You surely must know more of this area than me, at least." she said, offering him a compliment. She knew, generally, where these casteless were out. Even she was not fool enough to decide to just randomly search the Deep Roads, so after arriving at Caridin's Cross and camping, she would tell Arley where this casteless was at.

[Arley Voegeli]

"Yes, a Grey Warden with morals, I do whats right, though, sometimes it does get me in trouble, I am not without consequences. And it may be a dangerous way of thinking, and it may be that way, but I know whats right and I won't stand by and let the Templars oppress the Mages just because they don't understand is rediculous. But people have their views, they can take it how they want." Arley chuckled, frustration flared up a tad but it was fine. "I have no justification for my actions, I just know that in the end, my actions will benefit all sentient beings.

"It is only best if that is where you need to go, unless you don't know that is, then we have a problem, but I know partly where to go. Its not a place I like to remember, but thats not the point we should have no problems until get past the Aeducan Thaig, then it gets dark. I am going to an old Thaig past Caridin's Cross, that is where the mage is, if he is still alive that is. Though I heard he was a healer so I should find him just fine. But we have a few miles untill we get to Caridins Cross, and we may find much resistance, but we will be fine I am a Grey Warden, and thats what I do. Remember it only took 3 Wardens to end the last Blight, so this may just be a fun trip!" Arley exclaimed sarcasticly, the Roads where dark even with the lights, and the came up to an opening there was light, but it was very dim and you couldn't see too far in any direction.

Arley looked at Alia, and put his finger on his lips. "We need to be very quiet," Arley whispered, then he heard it. Already? It hasn't been but a few miles! Damn it! Arley swore under his breath. The faint clicking started, and it grew louder and louder as Arley inched foward. "Those are spiders, we have to be careful, weapons at the ready," Arley drew both daggers, ready for anything.

[Alia Nauvre]

"That's not what I meant by a dangerous way of thinking. I meant that blood mages using that kind of magic to achieve something isn't really a good thing, in my opinion. There are other ways to accomplish tasks, without blood magic," Alia said to him, though she wasn't sure if what she was saying was true or not. She had never cared about magic, not really, and so was mostly pulling examples from things she knew. The girl felt that there was always another option to things, with no exceptions. There was never really only ever one way to do things. Still, yet again what he had said resonated with her.

What she did was for the benefit of people as well. In the end, she knew that, but still...what a hypocrite. Even as she said there were other ways of doing things, she still felt that doing what she did, killing people, was the best way to stop them from harming anyone else. It probably was, but...was there no way to make it so they hurt no one else WITHOUT killing them? Going by what she had said mere moments before, there had to be a way.

She decided to stay quiet after that, even as Arley continued to converse with her; she was not fool enough to talk back to him. Any sound at all could alert the spiders to their presence, and if at all possible, Alia would like to avoid encountering them. Impossible? No. Difficult, though....well yes, it could definitely be seen as difficult. Then again, she was an assassin, she was used to things not being exactly easy. Alia was used to some kills being more difficult than others and, well, this could be classed as that. These spiders in the tunnels might as well be bodyguards for the casteless she was hunting down.

Or rather, they might very well have killed him already; that was possible too. That was when she heard the clicking, and then the next moment, he spoke to her. "No, really? Could have sworn it was something else." the girl said sarcastically, perhaps too sarcastically, before drawing out two daggers made out of grey-iron and awaiting for the spiders to show themselves. She would let Arley charge in, mostly because he seemed more capable of taking hits than her.

[Arley Voegeli]

"Ah...Well yes, blood magic is just a means to and end, no? Yes there are other ways than blood magic, but from what I've seen, the Maleificarum are extremely powerful, though the last Warden we had who was one got turned into an abomontation and we had to kill him. But he was good at killing Darkspawn. Though I will agree it is wrong, there is always another solution." Arley had to agree with her. But for now they needed to be silent, as they pressed foward the clicking got louder, a sense of fear shot through Arley's body.

He turned around to see what he had heard behind him, it was one of the spiders. It hissed as its dripping maw dripped with something...Finially it sprung and went to attack Alia. He took on of his daggers and threw it at the spider, it his as a strange ichor poured out of it. Quickly he jumped to retrieve his blade, stabbing it in the head he backed up towards his companion. "Remember stay close," Arley reminded her, then another spider lunged at them, Arley ducked, and barely missed getting pinned by the horrifying creature.

He turned around expecting the spider to attack, but it had dived itself into one of it's own webs. Arley didn't wait for it to break free he stabbed it a few times so it would bleed out before it could attack him again. The clicking of the spiders got smaller, but he could feel the corrupted spiders all around them, they would encounter Darkspawn soon, he could feel it. "We need to be careful, Darkspawn are close, we have more to worry about than just spiders. I hope you know what you got yourself into," He warned, inching foward. He could feel a stronger presence though, stronger than a Hurlock, or a Spider, he was thinking they might face an Ogre, or a one of their mages, but he couldn't be sure.

[Alia Nauvre]

Was he...even aware of what he was saying? Sure, that Warden had been powerful, but that power had came at a price, namely his own life. Mages walked a fine line between becoming monsters and staying, well, relatively human. And honestly, Alia thought blood mages walked an even closer line, though that was just her own thinking, not reality. Alia didn't speak up about their earlier conversation, however, and focused on the sounds. Definitely spiders, Arley had told her that much already, and she kept her eyes peeled to the area. She was used to the dark, her eyes were used to seeing in them, and so she saw the spider long before Arley did.

However, for whatever reason, it...paralyzed her. Not the spider itself, just she wasn't expecting it to be THAT creepy. She had seen spiders before, of course, but those ones had been little, tiny. Not at all like the behemoth that was right in front of her. However, she quickly recovered and was about to slash at it with her dagger when it leaped towards her and Arley intervened. "I could have handled it," she huffed, frowning at him like a child might after having something taken from her.

"I know what I'm doing. I told you that before, didn't I?" Alia retorted to the male after he spoke to her, though she made sure to keep her voice low. She followed right after him as he moved, keeping a very closer eye on their surroundings. Now and again a spider came up from behind them, but she managed to fend them off with her weapons. They might be creepy and horrifying, but they were not hardly as challenging to fight as a human opponent might be. These spiders were smarter than the average ones, true, but not as smart as a human was.

[Arley Voegeli]

He watched as she fended off the spider single-handedly, he figured she knew what she was doing, but she still seemed to get angry. "You may have been able to handle it but that was a corrupted spider, you would be either dead or turned into a Darkspawn. I don't want that to happen, this is not a game." Arley snapped, he didn't have time for this, he was in his most hated place. He hated being here, and he treaded carefully. They were finially coming out of the open room, back into a lit road, but the roads wouldn't be lit for long, they were getting deeper.

He sensed Darkspawn getting closer, and he was right they ran into four of them, their ugly deformed looking faces looking at them as if they were prey, but they did sense what Arley was, and they hesitated, Arley sprung into action, he dropped his daggers and pulled out a Freeze Bomb, he threw it in the center of the spawn, they all froze, like shiny stone. He quickly pulled out his bow, knocking an arrow he pulled it back as far as he could, and released. One of the Darkspawn shattered into a million peices, he readied another arrown, and shot again, shattering the other. "Would you like to the the rest of the honors?" Arley asked with a horrbile Antivan accent, but it him trying to keep his and her morale up. That and she got mad at him for saving her the trouble of having to kill one.

It they really needed to press foward, he slung his bow around his back and picked his daggers up, ready for either Darkspawn or the spider coming out of the room. He must of spoke to soon because he heard the hissing of a spider, quickly he confronted it, it swung one of its hairy legs feeblely at him and he stabbed it multiple times, he could not hear anything else so he turned to see if Alia had disposed of her enemies yet.

[Alia Nauvre]

"Excuse me? I think you need to calm down a little. I didn't even do anything that should have set you off," Alia retorted, frowning at his back as she followed after him. Seriously...all she had been doing was defending them from the spiders; was that what he had gotten angry about? The female really doubted it, judging by how he had talked about hating spiders earlier. So maybe he just had anger issues or something like that. Alia knew she had done nothing to deserve what he had said to her, after all.

Unless he wanted to be horribly maimed by spiders, of course. Then he had cause to be angry with her, but really...that was silly. Aside from her retort to him, she did not speak a word more as they advanced, though she paused when he did and saw the darkspawn. Alia had seen them before, of course, but to see them like this, in a combat situation...it was completely different. The fear that had paralyzed her in Denerim was not there, at all. No, her mind instantly went to work, and soon after Arley had downed two of them, she sprung forward.

One of her daggers was thrown towards one of the darkspawn, the one furthest from her, while the one dagger she had left in her hand was swung in the general direction of the other frozen darkspawn. Were they not frozen, she knew she would definitely be having a more difficult time of this, especially in the case of the thrown dagger, so she made a mental note to thank Arley afterwards for freezing the foes. Once the attacks connected, Alia made sure to gather up her thrown dagger, and then she hastily returned to Arley, making sure to not make more noise than was needed to move. "Thanks for freezing them like that." she told him, keeping a wary gaze on their surroundings.