Timeless Tower

"Hikaru is quite a happy person, that is true but she just went through a bad experience in the Tower. Thankfully Nygozy and I were there to intervene." Zevran got his shirt on and put his towel into the hamper.

He glanced to the side and shrugged, "This one takes a bit to get used to. She is intelligent, no doubt about that, but is ... easily distracted and nervous with others."

"I see.." Kai tossed his used towel in with Zevran's as he thought about this quietly. After a moment he looked up at his leader. "Then I shall take my leave to prepare for tomarrow morning's journey, if you will give me your leave to do so"

"Yes by all means get your rest. We will meet at my rooms at ten. That is when Jezarine should be there." Zevran stated and nodded, "I will see you then."

Kai nodded, he adjusted the eyepatch on his eye. "Ten it is Ser Zevran." With that Kai left the room to find his room. The assasin sighed quietly as he enteed, after being raised as a Dalish and traveling he'd become used to sleeping out doors and near the trees. Sleeping in a bed, especially in a shemlen palace was noy something he was fond of.

Zevran went to bed and slept well, dreaming of the slight mage with a delightful smirk. This one would not be easy to capture, that was sure, but he knew she was rather attracted to him which would make it easier. The hunting would be the most fun. Hikaru would take time to woo but he could wait.

When morning came he bathed and readied himself for the breakfast that would come and sat at a table looking over some papers the King had wished for him to see.

Backpack? On back and ready. Herb pouch? On belt and perfectly organized with potions and concoctions to use at an instant. Knives? Hidden but there just in case.

She hand one hand closed between her breasts, holding onto something that hung from a thick leather rope around her neck. Her feet kept going as she looked up and about at the adorned walls, still quite amazed at the majestic tapestries and brick work. It was all so much to take in and she'd had nowhere near enough time to take a good look at many of these pieces even though she'd been at the castle for some weeks now. There were so many books that she had been caught up in those more than anything else.

Now the Dalish keeper would be off with some strange person she had no clue about and going towards goodness knew what.

"Why did I volunteer for this?" She asked herself quietly as she got to the assassin's door, right at the time she should be there.

Hikaru awoke the next morning feeling a mixture of emotion. She was both excited and nervous, what would her family say to her? Would they be glad to see her? Are they All right? What would they say about going to the palace? Many questions like these flooded the mage's mind as she readied herself. The most important worry on her mind was how they would react to the news of her conscription.


Kai was up and prepared, his weapons were secured in their holders at his side and he was ready, or at least as ready as an anti-social person could be, to meet the person he was to travel with. It Relaxed him just a bit to know that the woman was a dalish like himself, though Zevran said she needed patience, Kai wondered what that meant exactly. Was this dalish a bit solw? Maybe, He wasn't sure, but he would find that out as it was just about the right time for her to arrive.

As Kai opened his door, he was a little surprised. There stood a dark skinned elf, she was right on time. That was something that pleased Kai, he did not like to be set back in a schedule. "So.." The assassin began to quickly look the woman over, she appeared to be a dainty young woman. He noticed a pouch for herbs and potions all settled in neatly on her belt, a healer? That may prove useful. "I assume you are the Dalish I am to travel with?"

There was a knock on Hikaru's door and the sound of someone speaking with the guards in the hallway.

"So... I assume you are the Dalish I am to travel with?"

The man who came out of the room astonished Jezarine as he had on an eyepatch and she had not expected another Dalish. He wore dark clothing and seemed to have weapons but it was a bit odd. He was not wearing heavy armor like most guards would and that is what she expected out of someone who would be protecting the Hero of Fereldan.

"Oh ... ah ... yes. I suppose you are the guard? You ... well you don't look like a guard though. Or maybe you are undercover so no one suspects!" Was there something she missed here?

Hikaru finished her preperations just as there was a knocking at her door, "Just one moment!" The mage ran over to open the door.


"Oh ... ah ... yes. I suppose you are the guard? You ... well you don't look like a guard though. Or maybe you are undercover so no one suspects!"

"You may believe that I dress this way for undercover purposes if you wish. The truth however, is that light clothing like this is easier to move in. Where as a heavier armor would weigh me down and make it harder to reach the hero if needed. The darker coloring of this outfit also serves a purpose, it allows blending in to the shadows easier. I perfer not to be seen if I can help it and hiding allows me to both keep an easy eye on suspicious activity and catch any threat by surprise."

A man stood there waiting for her, "You are requested at ser Arainai's room for breakfast, if you will. The room is two doors down here." He pushed a cart towards the room then knocked on Zevran's door at which point the assassin called out for whoever was there to come in.

Zevran looked up from his papers and smiled, "Good you are here. Come have breakfast." he said as he took one page out of a folder and started to read while he held his chin with the other, looking intent.

"You may believe that I dress this way for undercover purposes if you wish. The truth however, is that light clothing like this is easier to move in. Where as a heavier armor would weigh me down and make it harder to reach the hero if needed. The darker coloring of this outfit also serves a purpose, it allows blending in to the shadows easier. I perfer not to be seen if I can help it and hiding allows me to both keep an easy eye on suspicious activity and catch any threat by surprise."


This man spoke clearly with information that Jezarine had never considered but the fact stood out plainly, "To be able to blend in and give the illusion of her being alone would be quite advantageous in diplomatic matters as well. You could also watch for possible assassins easily that way. I never really thought of it before, that kind of stuff is more strategic than I normally see but I have seen those kinds of tactics used by some of the assassins around here because I can watch carefully."

A thought entered her head and she clasped what she was holding tighter and her eyes opened a bit more.

"Oh ... ... oh my. Are you an assassin? Not that I'd have any problems traveling with you if you are but I am not sure about assassins because I haven't been around any before coming here and it's a little, or maybe a lot ... it's kind of nerve wracking because someone could have a hit on me but no no one would do something like that on me I mean who would have a reason to do that? It's really nothing against you and I'm sorry if I even said anything and I'm rambling aren't I and I can't stop too easily please you're not gonna kill me for rambling are you it's not a sin or anything horrible against anyone but some people really hate when I go into a rambling fit because they don't know if I'm even breathing and it drives them crazy and oh my gosh I must be annoying you I'm so sorry I don't mean to be upsetting or anything ..."

Hikaru nodded with a blush ans she came from her room into the assassin's. She sat in a chair that was placed at the table, her eyes quickly glanced at the folders befor turning to Zevran. She wondered what they were for and why he was reading them so intently, but she did not ask. Instead the mage turned her eyes to something else in the room, hoping that she wold not be causing him trouble.


Kai stared at the woman for a moment, he was surprised by how much the woman could go on....and on...and on. She was a very chatty girl for sure, great. That was just what he loved oh so much... After a while kai fainly decided enough was enough, he wondered if this is what Zevran meant when he said that she required patience.

The assassin began walking down the hall, as he passed around the elven woman he clasp his hand over her mouth "We have a hero to get to don't we? Let's get going" he sighed to himself, knowing that he might regret it later as he continued "We can talk more during the travels"

"You are being shy again." Zevran pointed out with a smile as he put down a file, "You are curious?"

He stood and walked to the back of her chair, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Now now we can't have you being all shy. What is it you wish to know?"

When Kai went to go past her, Jezarine tensed up but when he clasped his hand over her mouth she squeaked in fear.

That does it. Everyone told me that if I kept yammering like I do that someone would kill me. I guess they were right.

"We have a hero to get to don't we? Let's get going. We can talk more during the travels."

His calm attitude and simple statements startled the dark Dalish into silence for a few moments. This man was intent on his job, at least that was for sure, and he'd been hired by King Theirin so it should be fine. Nothing would come to harm the Hero with this man on the job.

"Oh. Yes. Off to the stables then. I wish they had halla instead of horses."

"W-well, nothing really, I just sort of wondered what it was you were looking at...."

Kai walked towords the stables with this dalish girl and listened as she again spoke, he was glad when she stopped rather than going on and on again.

"Oh. Yes. Off to the stables then. I wish they had halla instead of horses."

"I may be dalish myself, but honestly I hold no preference over a halla rather than a horse. It is true that a horse is a shemlen mount but at least it still serves the purpose that it is supposed to. As long as we get where we're going that's all that matters."

"W-well, nothing really, I just sort of wondered what it was you were looking at...."

Zevran smiled, "They are just papers the King wished for me to look at. He is not very good at writing to some people and wanted to make sure that he did not upset the intended party." He walked to the side of the room and pulled a rope then went back to the table to fold and put a letter into an envelope then seal it with wax, "It is not perfect but this one is better than any of the others."

A page came into the room and the assassin handed him the envelope, "Make sure this goes with Jezarine and Kai. It is to go into the official package King Theirin must have ready by now."

The page took the letter, nodded and ran off.

"Now, we have breakfast and get ready to see your family." He smiled as he lifted a lid over some food.

"I may be dalish myself, but honestly I hold no preference over a halla rather than a horse. It is true that a horse is a shemlen mount but at least it still serves the purpose that it is supposed to. As long as we get where we're going that's all that matters."

Jezarine followed while fingering the object in her hand, "I have ridden both and find the halla easier on the rump. They have a different stride."
She kept moving and looked about, "Oh. We should see the King first. I remember now. He has a package for us to bring."

Kai nodded, he respected the girl's opinion though he stuck to his own. "Then I suppose we should go see the king right away." He did not wait for a response from the girl as he began to walk down towords the kings rooms. The assassin walked tall and confident, as he moved he was silently oberving everything. Any shadow that moved did not escape his one eye, any sound did not escape his ears. Even in the saftey of this kings palace Kai's guard was always raised


Hikaru nodded quietly as she nervously ate at a few bits of food, "I am sure that Alistairs writing is not that bad." she smiled, while she conversed her mind ran with familiar questions concerning her family, she smiled and spoke of other things so that she would not seem nevous still. However the mage knew she could be bad at hiding things and was sure she did not fool the assassin.

The nervous nod was sweet, a tender thing from a tender little woman and it made Zevran smile. This sweet Elf would be lovely to capture but unlike other men he would not try to force anything. If it came it did but he certainly wanted to see what type of person she was and go from there. Maybe he could have someone to share some comfort with for a time.

"I am sure that Alistairs writing is not that bad."

A pleasant smile was presented after her comment and then she seemed rather nervous. It was nothing unusual for a person who had not seen their family in many years to be nervous.

"Alistair can certainly write his own letters ... when it comes to state matters. When the matters are closer to home and he does not wish to hurt someone then it is different." Zevran shook his head, "No. There are some things he needs help with from a friend, and that I am if more so to Nygozy than himself. Now that we have finished breakfast, shall we depart?"

In a moment he was up and putting out his hand to help her to her feet and smiling, "We should see your family before you die of fright."

Hikaru took Zevran's hand and stood, "Yeah I...I guess we should..." the mage felt herself growing even more nervous as the time to see her family got closer, she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. It didn't help much...

As the two started out of the room Hikaru mentally scolded herself, she had been reassured time and time again that the meeting would go just fine yet she could not shake her fear and worry.

The little elf glanced to Zevran, she wanted to try to have a canversation with the man. She hoped a little small talk would keep her mind off the nervous feeling growing in her chest, the mage opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly, she couldn't think of anything to say.

Zevran walked calmly with Hikaru, realizing that she was tense and concerned so he stayed quiet for some time in order to let her get her thoughts in order and to become a bit more reassured. After some time he realized that she was still having trouble coming up with a topic so he smiled down at her.

"Please, tell me of your childhood and your family. I wish to know more about them so I can be as polite as possible." He smirked, "I do like to have some information upon those I am sent to ... meet."

"Then I suppose we should go see the king right away."

The man moved with such speed and languid gait that Jezarine had a difficult time keeping up with him. His assured attitude made her wonder how tough the man was. He certainly knew how to move about but it was a deadly motion which scared the timid healer.

"Uh ... how long do you think it will take for us to get to where the Hero is? I hear she is around the mountains somewhere and I have a map to tell us where to go but I'm unsure of how long it will take but you must have traveled a fair amount as you're Dalish as well, or I suppose you are as you don't look to be a city Elf, and I've traveled too but not much in Fereldan as my clan was mainly a northern clan and seldom came too far south as it was quite a distance to navigate and few of my clan really knew much about Fereldan and there were lots of rumours about how people would be kidnapped to be slaves, especially from the Dalish clans and that seemed too dangerous to be dealing with and oh my I just thought, what if we did see people who are slavers but how would we know that they are slavers? Is there a way you can tell if someone enslaves others?"
The speech was not broken up, was at a slightly faster than normal pace and it seemed like she had not taken a breath.

"M-My childhood and family?" Hikaru thought fo a moment "Well, the first part of my childhood was spent in Denerim's Alienage with my parents and my sister. Those days were spent working for the human who owned our building, my father did most of the work with my mother's help."
The girl paused briefly as the memories returned. A sadness started to show in her voice, though she tried her best to cover it as she proceeded.

"My mother has always been kind of a frail woman though, so if she wasn't feeling well enough to help one day I would usually try to help. Of course my father never wanted my sister or I to have to work labor and he would end up working long ours to get everything done."

Again the elf paused trying to think and remember what everything was like those years ago
"Both of my parents are very kind people though, they always put my younger sister and I ahead of themselves."

"My father, I believe, was a very strong person, he always did all he was asked, and he did it with very few complaints. But when the templars came to take me to the tower he'd tried very hard to stop them, ignoring his orders and fighting them despite the punishments and threats the humans used."

"And my mother, she always seemed to smile no matter how bad she felt or how hard the work was, she was very loving and would play little games with not only my sister and I but the other children as well. She always told us that everything that went wrong would eventually turn around, even if it took years."

This time Hikaru looked at Zevran briefly "I'm aftaid I can't tell you much about my sister, she was not very old when I was taken, so I suppose I don;t know hwer well at all"

(Will post kai later)

Kai winced as the Dalish started to speak Here we go again he thought, it took all of his focus not to go cover her mouth again, but his fingers stll twitched with the urge. After what seemed like an endless eternity the woman stopped and Kai let out a near silent sigh of relief.

He continued walking in silence, thinking. The woman asked Kai numerous questions (Okay, so like three....but it's Kai) And answering them was not an activity he wanted part in, but he did so anyway, only barely trying to conceal the irritation in his voice.

"I would have to look at this map of yours in order to tell exactly how long the journey will be, as it depends on the hero's exact distance from us to get a precise time. And yes, I'm Dalish and it is true that there are slavers. They're not difficult to spot...Well..."
Kai turned briefly to look at the girl, his one blue eye seeming to peer at her with a sense of coldness from between his blonde bangs. After a quiet moment of observation he spoke again

"They might be for you, you look to be a bit of a nieve girl. But should we face any there will be no trouble, I did not earn the title of 'assassin' just because it sounded interesting."