21Chapter 18: The Antiquarian's Deal
Lyna led her group over the rough and rocky terrain. The Dalish paused every so often, just to make sure that they weren't being followed. It might have seemed overly cautions, but since she had left the Vigil nothing had seemed to go as she expected.
Arrow and Lady scouted ahead, while Kierhen took up the rear. Bok and Royce stayed close to Sister Esme and Findel, the two acted as guards, just in case the Free Marches turned out to be as dangerous as that Hawke girl said they were.
The warden frowned.
Soon they would be in the thick of it. This was their little group's first mission together. She hoped that they would return victorious, and that they would be able to deal with this matter quickly and return to Kirkwall unscathed.
Unfortunately she was not that much of an optimist.
Her luck did not run that way.
She glanced back at her companions. She was still not entirely sure what she was leading them into.
Lyn pursed her lips.
She seriously doubted that this would all go down easy.
She felt as she had during the Blight, lost. Those feelings had faded with time and with experience. She had come to know Ferelden very well during her travels during the Blight and her brief time as warden commander. The Free Marches, Orlais, these places did not have the same feel as the world she had grown accustom to.
For a brief moment, she questioned her decision to take up this journey in the first place. She had planned to travel in secret, to move outside the view of the world and the powerful that ruled it. Yet since leaving her post, all she had found were eyes watching her, and plots and schemes swirling around her.
Her brow furrowed.
She had never meant this journey to be the chore it was turning into. The others had been helpful, but part of her feared that she was leading them down a path that none would return from.
Her elven ears drooped slightly at the thought.
Lyna looked back at her companions. They all knew that they had no obligation to go any further on this journey then they chose to. Bok was here for profit. Royce stayed out of a sense of loyalty to her former station. Findel and Sister Esme had nowhere else to go. Kierhen was…
She pursed her lips.
She was still not entirely sure why Kierhen had decided to stay. They had now moved far beyond the places he knew, and yet he still insisted to remain.
She sighed and shook her head.
Despite their motivations their reasons for joining her, these were good people. She had been around enough bad ones during her time in Amaranthine to recognize the difference. She had no desire to see any of them suffer and die, and yet she feared that was exactly what might happen if they stayed with her, too many were now aware that she was out here. It was only a matter of time until someone caught up with them.
She had thought she was done leading others into danger and death, this quest was supposed to be hers and hers alone, yet if she had not taken on allies; this trip likely would have ended before she had left the Dirth. She would have been dead or dragged back to one of her mysterious enemies, and Creators only knew what would have happened to her then.
She had been trying to save those she cared about. She had been trying help them. Nathaniel, Oghren, Sigrun, and Alistair…
She felt a shudder go through her frame.
She had lost one man she had loved to the taint; she had no desire to lose another. It did not matter that they were driven apart by their various duties. Lyna knew how she felt.
She would never abandon someone she loved, not if there was the smallest chance of making their life better.
Alistair deserved better than the calling. He deserved better than to die in some dark hole surrounded by darkspawn corpses. When his end came, she wished that it would be peaceful, perhaps from extreme old age, surrounded by friends and loved ones, that he would find peace under his god's sky, and bright golden sun.
She took a deep breath and centered herself.
This journey was not about her, it was about them, the people that she loved.
She would be damned before she let them suffer needlessly.
"Is everything alright warden?"
Sister Esme made her way over a large hill, using her staff to find her balance as she moved over a large gray stone. Royce remained behind her should she have fallen. Perhaps part of him actually hoped that she would, Lyna thought. It would give the man a chance to hold the sister in his arms.
She smiled at the thought. Esme would have probably turned scarlet had she heard what she just been thinking, Royce might have denied it, but then again…he might not have.
Esme sighed with relief as she found her footing. A gentle breeze tussled the sister's dark hair, and ruffled the fur collar of her travelling cloak. Her eyes radiated a concern that could only come from someone who dedicated their life to helping others.
Lyna appreciated that, but it really was unnecessary.
She had survived far worse than a few dark thoughts.
"I'm fine," Lyna sighed, as the sister came to stand at her side.
The Dalish smirked at her.
"I'm just trying to figure out how I managed to get myself into this mess."
Esme smiled slightly, clearly seeing at least some of the amusement that the Dalish felt.
"I suspect that such tasks are common place for you?"
Lyna snorted at that.
"You have no idea sister," she said rolling her eyes.
"It seems like this kind of thing is all I ever do."
IOI
Hawke had been true to her word. The day after Royce had finally recovered; the group had set out for the Black Emporium. The mage, as it turns out, did have an open invitation from Xenon the Antiquarian. Hawke had done business with the being several times before, and insisted that she was more than happy to make an introduction.
Though she was grateful for the help, the Dalish now found that she had other questions, not just about Hawke but the rest of her companions. Finding out that Merrill had left the clan came as a bit of a shock to her. For as long as she could remember, all Merrill had ever talked about was the honor and burden that it was to be Keeper Marethari's first. There had clearly been some falling out between Marethari and Merrill, but Hawke did not know the details. Whatever had happened, Merrill now resided in the Kirkwall Alienage, venturing out with Hawke and her companions for coin.
Anders had all but vanished after that first night in the Hanged Man. Clearly, her old friend and fellow warden was avoiding her. She had asked Hawke to take her down to the clinic that he had opened to help the refugees of Darktown, but when they arrived they found the place empty, the lantern doused, and protective spells used to seal the door.
Lyna reached out with her warden senses, trying to feel if he was hiding inside, but that search came up negative. Anders was clearly not home, and considering that she could not even sense his presence, it was clear that he was nowhere nearby.
Hawke tried to apologize for his rudeness, Lyna dismissed it with a wave of her hand. She knew how stubborn Anders could be when he wanted to.
She had so many questions. Before she left Kirkwall, she was determined to have a sit down with Anders, find out what happened the day he had fled Amaranthine, and more importantly, what happened to those Templars and Justice.
Anders was the only one who had been there when all that had gone down. Only he could tell her what had occurred,
And she intended to make sure that he did.
As for her current mission, she was bound and determined to learn everything that Xenon the Antiquarian had told Brother Marcelle when he had visited Kirkwall years ago. Anything the strange being knew about the blight, and the darkspawn in general had to be investigated.
When she and Hawke had finally reached the Emporium, Lyna had almost been shocked speechless. Xenon was like no other creature she had seen before, and she had seen many strange beings in her travels. For starters she could barely tell the difference between the Antiquarian and his chair. The ancient scholar almost seemed to have bonded with it. His body, so old and wizened barely moved as Lyna and Hawke approached him.
When Xenon finally spoke, his voice had a certain disembodied sound to it, it seemed to both emerge from him, and from all around them at the same time. All around the Antiquarian sat displays of both the wares he had to sell, and the various ornaments and knick-knacks he had picked up during his very long life.
When she tried to approach him, a large golem stepped out of the shadows and warned her back. Hawke said that she should not be insulted by the creature's reaction. Thaddeus, as she called the golem, did that to all first time visitors to the emporium.
Xenon grew extremely interested in her when he learned who she was. He had never gotten to meet a Blight Queller before, most died in the act of killing an Archdemon.
He was curious of just how she managed that.
Lyna had responded as politely as possible. She insisted that her survival was a warden secret, and needed to remain that way for the good of Thedas. Whether the Antiquarian believed her or not was not readily clear.
He insisted that he would discover what happened one day, if he had anything these days, it was time to spare.
Lyna frowned.
If ending up like Xenon was the price of immortality…well she would happily stick to her taint shortened life.
A life she hoped to save her fellows from…if she could.
She asked Xenon about Brother Marcelle, surprisingly enough, the being remembered the Orlesian, he had been…impressed with the man's curiosity, and his willingness to probe into what most grey wardens would consider forbidden matters.
According to the Antiquarian, Marcelle had paid handsomely for the right to copy several manuscripts that were not a part of Xenon's private collection. Xenon was willing to offer her copies of her own in exchange for two small items.
Lyna, who had spent a lot of time in noble circles, tried to probe the Antiquarian's desires before she said yes to anything. If ruling Amaranthine had taught her anything, it was never say yes to a deal too quickly, the price sometimes outweighed any possible reward.
Xenon chuckled at her attempts to be political, or maybe he was having a coughing fit.
It was hard to tell with the strange being.
It was unlikely that Lyna or her friends could pay the price for the items she wished for in gold; Xenon acknowledged that, however, he was more than happy to trade. The information in the manuscripts was quite hard to come by.
He required payment, as equally hard to acquire. Though it would not be hard given Lyna's skills and abilities, or so the Antiquarian insisted.
Finally, she submitted to his wishes.
It would be a trade for the manuscripts.
Xenon was extremely pleased to hear that.
Before she could say no, he revealed his terms.
The first item was simple yet surprising. A locke of Lyna's hair. The warden felt it was a bit on the creepy side, not to mention stalkerish. Xenon assured her that it was nothing menacing. There were collectors who desired to possess anything dealing with the Hero of Ferelden and the Fifth Blight.
A single lock of hair would cover half the asking price for what the warden wanted.
The second half of the deal with a bit more complicated, possibly dangerous too, and like other dealings the warden had been involved with in the past, and it began with a single phrase.
"I hhhhhaaaave ahhhh tassssssk for you," Xenon almost purred.
The warden had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.
Why not ask me to get something for you, she thought.
Everybody else does.
The warden sighed.
It seemed like the 'Lyna Mahariel service of doing random shit for the Rich and Powerful' was open for business again.
She nodded her acceptance of the deal.
A small boy, a street urchin really walked up behind Lyna and snipped off some of her hair with large silver sheers, it was all she could do to keep from drawing her weapon, had Hawke not been there she might have actually done it, golem or no golem standing by to squash her like an over ripe melon.
She took a deep breath and tried to cool her temper.
"Okay messere," she said calmly.
"What do you need me to do?"
