The Hero and The Queen

Fremelda was finally feeling comfortable with the fact she was to join the Wardens, and decided it was time to meet the Warden-Commander. She dressed herself in her black frock coat with the missing sleeve, blue trousers, and black leather boots. At her hip was strapped the scabbard of her weapon, Thorn. She stroked the basket hilt of the saber idly, feeling the engravings within it. Time to meet her new boss.

She entered the Warden-Commander's quarters after knocking on the door and stood tall, staring down at the dwarf. "Warden-Commander Nygozy am I right?" She asked, her steel blue eyes staring into the Dwarf's eyes.

Two plus the level here and a new road there equals I'm gonna kick his butt for not doing this better.

The table top came up to smack her forehead or at least that was the excuse she was going to go with when she did a royal, painful head desk pounding. The clonk sound was reassuring until the dwarf realized that it wasn't only from her head planting against the wood of the desk but someone knocking at the door. Her eyes lifted to see this human woman standing there looking directly into her eyes.

Nygozy's eyes narrowed when the woman spoke and she could almost feel Kai readying his throwing knives and Torture's lips drawing back from his teeth.

"Did you ever come to wonder what knocking is for? I would assume that you were taught that you knock then wait until someone says you can come in." She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. The commander was much shorter than this woman but she was not a slouch in toughness or expression of disdain. It was bad enough that she was dealing with someone else's paperwork but to be interupted with such ignorance to common respectfulness did not help matters. This must have been someone who was supposed to see her or the guards would not have let her through but that did not mean she was in a good enough mood to let the slip go.

"What would you like and why shouldn't I have my dog rip off your breasts for this intrusion?"

My, this one's fiery Fremelda thought to herself, smiling as she looked over at the one eyed man and tsked. "Keep your blades where they are, kid." she chided. Then she looked down at Nygozy again, smiling coldly. "You have your friend Macha Cousland for blackmailing me into joining the Grey Wardens. I am a Warden recruit." she started, then placed her hands on her hips. "I am Fremelda. Better known around here as the Queen of Thorns. Best assassin in Denerim outside of the Antivan Crows, and that's not me bragging, it's fact." she said her usual introduction.

"Now I have no gripe with you, I just wanted to make an entrance. And it did get your attention, no?" she smirked slyly. She wasn't intimidated by either of them, but she kept a weather eye on the one eyed man who was clearly a bodyguard.

One brow rose as the other lowered and Nygozy snorted loudly at the woman's words, "An entrance can get one killed, best assassin in Denerim or no. However, your entrance has given me cause to deal with some guards who have no clue what their jobs are, or did you give them naps to set up your lovely entrance?"

Kai was glaring as was Torture but Nygozy did not take any note of their aggravation, "Is that so? That tells me why Macha had wanted to talk to me but we have been unable to get together for a discussion."

She walked around her desk noticing how her two watchers, elf and mabari alike, disappeared into the shadows. Assassin or not, unless Fremelda were a shadow walker she would never be able to find Kai now. Torture was no slouch, seemingly learning from Kai, but he still was nowhere near as good as the male assassin, "It is nice to know that I have a warden recruit when I am the one who is the recruiter." She said with a fake smile.

This situation was not making her any happier. She needed cheese and she needed it bad. Where was her complimentary suck up food when she truly wanted it? "Please sit down and tell me the details to this blackmail. I am rather interested in knowing why I should be making someone a warden when they seem to not be wanting such a thing."

Fremelda took note that the one eyed elf somehow disappeared into the wall which caused the assassin to lift an eyebrow. She let out a breath. This was not going so well. "Your guards were very open to suggestion." she said vaguely. "They didn't believe I had an appointment when I told them I was sent by Macha Cousland. You need to kill your bookie. They aren't doing their job." she said dryly before sitting down in the chair across from the Warden leader.

"Well, it seems your friend Macha has some incriminating evidence that may or may not get me hanged for murdering a noble. Honestly, I don't know how she found out because the poison I used was untraceable." she sighed. Macha was certainly sharp eyed for a noble. No one else had ever seen through her disguises before, or her methods of killing before it was too late. "So, she told me that she would conscript me into the Wardens so that I may be free from the hold of the law. So it was either join or see the gallows." she sighed.

"I haven't left Denerim in the last fourteen years. It's going to be hard to adjust to the outside world." she said more to herself than to Nygozy.

Note to self: Beat whoever set up the bookie and douse the person who gave me those guards in flames and toss him to the mabari.

"I will have to discuss the issue of the meetings with the monk hedgehogs so that they will learn that it is not ok to set things up with such bad manners."

That should give the woman something to break her brain for a while. It had been some time since she'd thought of using that kind of joking around but it calmed her even if it probably annoyed this assassin. Or maybe that was why she thought of doing it. Make her think the commander was nuts and smile like a maniac to give just that impression.

But Fremelda's information came as more of an amusement than she thought it would, "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding!"

Nygozy sat hard into a soft chair and burst out laughing, "I never thought she would use that one! Hanged for killing a noble as if we'd never killed one or two that deserved such a thing. Then again, we did it for certain reasons but still ... they are not getting any fresher in the soil."

She laughed even harder, "Well now she got you good. You do know that Machstick has quite a way of finding things out and it looks like you got hooked into a rather good web."

Nygozy curled her legs up under her and leaned forward, hands under he chin, "So. Now tell me what you truly would wish to do. I mean, assassination can be lucrative, especially as a Crow, but if Macha has found the nicks to your confidentiality armour then it won't be too long until others follow that line. Do you think you really could bring anything to the Grey Wardens?"

A frown came to the assassin's face. So this was their plan all along? Sucker her into joining them? She wasn't happy about it. The Dragonis woman rolled her shoulders back and forth a bit, as if to relieve some stress before she lost her composure. "So I've been used. I don't have the diplomatic immunity Wardens do, and now that the Cousland girl knows my crime, she can have me hanged whenever. So why did she send me to you? If you need to know my skills I'm good at disguises and am a fair fighter with a sword, but I prefer just plain fighting dirty. No one ever said assassins had to play fair." She sighed, listing off her qualifications.

"I've been an assassin for seven years now, and have earned a reputation. Everyone fears my title. They don't know my name. I have a network of contacts here in Denerim and some abroad. Just the other day I helped some blonde, half-mad elf find his twin sister." she said, recalling the job she did last week before taking on the assassination of Bann Vannick.

Eyes rolled as she thought about the reference to being suckered, "Oh boo hoo. It isn't like you haven't had a good enough time of what you do. Like I said, if Maacha was able to use her street smarts to find out about you then you would have been found out within a year or two anyway. Her people are good but others' are too. Feel lucky that she found you before others did because others probably would not have considered you beneficial and if they did it would have been in a bad way."

"Meh, if Macha knows all about you then she must have felt there was a reason to try to get you into the Grey Wardens." Nygozy yawned, "The two of us have different styles in those regards though and she knows it. She believes in the old addage that the wardens do all that we require to get the job done. It's a sentiment that can get a knife in the back if you accidentally find someone who resents such an intrusion within their life."

Nygozy shrugged, "She sent you to me because I am the Warden Commander." Her eyes became hard again, "And I am the only one who has the clout to accept you as a Fereldan warden or not. Sure, she could haul you off to Orlais or Weisshapt or whatever but here, this is my territory, MY choice. Thing is that she has good intentions and believes in you. If I didn't believe in her senses then I'd have tossed you out on your head already. Or Torture would have dragged you out. One or the other."

Once again a brow rose and Nygozy shook her head, "So you are the one who helped Maghai. Thanks for the puppy. I think... tossing out is still an option for that. No no. Thanks because of his sister." She wasn't sure if she should be thanking the woman or not but it made Jezarine happy so she supposed it was thanks.

"Ok those are all good skills. Now ... did you want to join the Grey Wardens? Don't go saying you have to because you do not. Maacha will not give the chop call unless I allow it and I won't. Tell me truthfully if you can see anything about the wardens that you would appreciate being a part of."

Nygozy sure was long winded. She smiled, folding her arms over her chest. "Yeah I cant stand the elf boy either. I keep contemplating cutting his tongue out but I'm sure his sister wouldn't appreciate that." she sighed, her shoulders sagging. "At any rate, you Wardens seem like an alright sort, and perhaps can help me find out an answer to a problem I've been trying to solve for fourteen years. That is, if you turn out trustworthy and not pulling my leg for your benefit." she said and sighed.

"I can stand him in short spurts but at least he realizes who the boss is and will behave around me." She shrugged, "And if you cut out his tongue he'd find a more annoying way to bother people and it would upset Jez so don't dare do it."

Nygozy sat back as well, "Trustworhty huh? It all depends on the trouble if we could help. Maybe we can find something but I don't guarantee it. If you joined then we would try our best to help as you would be part of our family. Just remember that the family has it's mamma bear who means business."

The red head smiled a little. "No promises I won't." she said and then stood up, stretching a bit. "Alright so if I join the Wardens, I assume you're the mama bear of the group. Good thing too, I wouldn't want a wuss as a boss." She said with a smile. "Do you need anything?"

Nygozy waved a finger at Fremelda, "Now behave. I wouldn't want you upsetting Jezarine. It's a bad idea to piss off the healer."

"Yes, I am the mama bear so be ready to put up with a protective bitch." She grinned, "I'm not known to be a pushover. So you do mostly assassinations and information gathering. Both come in handy for our needs. Some do not believe so but it is true."