The Price of Revenge - A Message

Arbiter scratched his chin, and then stood up to pace around. The Warden-Commander was conversing with Lady Sophia, mostly something about tea but he could feel the tension in the air directed at him. Understandable, he was a stranger, not to mention that he could not mask all of his deformities. He had hoped that his appearance would be too unsettling but alas, he had to deal with this.

The Warden-Commander asked him for more detail and he nodded. "From what we could gather, the women were mostly prostitutes, some were women with little money, others were girls barely adults. They had been torn apart, and their killer left no tracks or clues as to its nature. Some suspect it being a spirit but I doubt that. Ghosts tend to haunt one area, but this one is all over the town." he then cleared his throat, standing up straight again. "They're usually killed when alone, at night. The whores are killed at closing time in the brothels. And my lord requested you, but if you are too busy here, send a few of your people to Orastan to take care of it."

Back-and-forth, to-and-fro, dance around the fireplace, ho! Can't you see, beauty free, the things that you have done to me...

As the Arbiter's boots rapped out their rhythm on the flagstone floor, Sophia let the Arbiter's words paint pictures of the attacks before her mind's eye, shuddering beneath her ribbons as her imagination added touches she would have much rather done without. With each circuit their visitor made around the couch, imaginary corpses danced in his wake like bloodstained marionettes, whispering the secrets that Sophia's musings were beginning to piece together.

Can't you see, beauty free, the things that you have done to me.

"Crimes of desire." She remarked, her tone calm, too calm. "Our wayward beast has a ravenous appetite."

She could empathise. Of all people, she knew what it was to commit atrocity in the name of desire. But...

One of the puppets, a girl who in a year's time might have been called a woman, lifted violated eyes to stare at her. Sophia returned her gaze as best she could, just for a moment, before clearing her mind with blink. Back to reality with nausea twisting in her stomach and ice floating in her eyes.

... there was a line between a symphonies and depravities that she had never crossed. This beast had. And that made all the difference.

Nygozy's head dipped as the Arbiter described what women were attacked and the basics of the results. Even without full information about the crimes it sickened the warden commander to even consider what this all meant. She put down her tea and lifted a hand to her mouth for a moment as she felt the faint flutterings of morning sickness.

Just what I need: my child making doing my job a vomitous affair. I need to remember no more morning meetings.

Her eyes shifted to the shadows where she knew her love to be stalking at the moment and knew exactly what he must be thinking. There was no way he was going to want her going in on this mission.

She took a deep breath to hold down the sickness which could overwhelm her at any moment and gave Sophia a slight glance again. Torture had finished his doggy tea and was sitting up looking at her, ready to clear the way if she required a swift move from where she was.

"I understand. Well then Arbiter, it seems that there is much to do. One of my guards will take you to a room where you can rest from your exhausting travel here. If there is more information that you think of that can help in this mission I would appreciate if you could write it out for me."

Nygozy stood and gave a slight bow to the man, "I will arrange the party to go within the next couple of days. Now, if you will excuse me there are other matters to which I must attend."

Nygozy turned and left the room with as much dignity as she could gather which probably was a fair amount, or so she hoped. Her stomach churned as she walked but she did not turn from her path, "Sophia?" She hoped the lady had come with her, "I need to speak with you about this but I will also need someone who may be capable of discussing this matter as well. Who would you suggest I have called? Garroll, Tamasran, Fremelda?"

She stopped when they rounded a corner and put her shoulder to the wall to wait for some nausea to lift. It was easy for her to fight amongst rotting dead and stenchful creatures yet morning sickness was taking it's due on her today. The dwarven woman waited for a response from Sophia as she allowed her stomach to settle.

"Easy..."

Sophia paused, ribbon-wrapped hands gently rubbing Nygozy's back. Even though she knew how horrible a sustained bout of morning sickness could be, Sophia found herself smiling with a little more warmth than usual. Seeing her Mistress like this brought back memories she thought she had completely forgotten.

"If you have to vomit, then vomit. There's no use in telling your body not to do something that it thinks it has to do, and no mess you can make that a little magic can't clean up." Sophia murmured, all the while carefully watching the colour of Nygozy's face. "You're doing far better than I ever did. When I was pregnant with my first child, sometimes I could barely move all day. My husband was furious. He was Chasind, you see, so we were constantly on the move. Sometimes he would threaten to tie me to a horse like a saddlebag and ride on regardless of my condition if I was feeling particularly horrible, but he never did. At the most, he would ask me to ride behind him and pull the most amazing faces whenever I retched." A fond, sad smile flickered across her lips. "Sometimes I would pretend to be ill just to see if I could coax a new collection of expressions out of him."

She continued her ministrations silently as she considered her Mistress's choice of councellors, turning what she knew about each of them over in her mind next to the information that the Arbiter had provided.

"... I respect the Tamasran's insight." She said finally. "And if this were simply a diplomatic incident I would call for him immediately. But his story is not suited to this one: the killings in Orastan are of shadows, darkness, blood, desire, things that I believe are outside of his experience.

"Garoll is a seasoned soldier who has much experience in dealing with monsters... however..." Sophia coughed delicately, glad that her Mistress couldn't see the faint blush brushing her cheeks, "... I'm afraid that I know little about him besides that... I haven't had much of an opportunity to peruse his story. Though I do know that would rather endure the consequences of a hundred children than sit through another night of his cooking.

"No, for this situation, I would call upon Fremelda. This beast swims through the same shadows she once did, and if anyone could offer advice on how to track it, it would be her. And besides..." Sophia lent forward to whisper, a lock of raven-hued hair brushing Nygozy's ear, teasing, secretive, laughing. "... Fremelda is connected to Orastan in a way that none of the others are, even if she doesn't know it. It would be an insult to everything she is: her name, her past, her way of life, if we didn't give her a chance to participate in this particular dance.

"But no matter who we call, I think we should have our discussion somewhere comfortable." Ribbon-wrapped fingers looped gently through Nygozy's own, a small offer of solidarity. "After all, if one has to vomit, one should do so in the most soothing setting possible. Don't you agree?"

Arbiter placed his helmet and mask back on. He was grateful for the lodgings and voiced this to his hostess. Clapping a fist to his heart, he dismissed himself while she went to converse with Lady Sophia. He was pleased the meeting went well, they seemed like decent people. Maybe there was hope for his master's land. He followed a servant to his quarters, a room similar to his lodgings at Orastan keep. Now that he was alone, he dropped the facade of his face, but kept the mask on.


Meanwhile, Fremelda wandered the halls of Vigil's Keep, her nightmares kept her awake the night, but she masked her weariness to keep up the appearance of being hard-boiled. She combed her fingers through her red hair, wondering about this so called guest they had at the keep, but dismissed it as being something the Seneschal could take care of. She did hear voices near the lobby, the sing-song tone of Sophia along with the much less cheerful Nygozy's. She offered them a nod as she passed them, and continued on her way.

"That is a problem that a commander has to deal with, especially one with as many enemies as I have been, and am, able to acquire just by being whom I am. Vomitting in front of others would be a sign of weakness I cannot display."

Nygozy looked back at Sophia with one eye, a slight smile twitching at the edge of her lips even though she noticeably was working on keeping the sickness back, for now, "That can be dangerous especially around those I cannot trust."

Suddenly the little woman turned her head, knelt down and retched. Sitting on her heels she choked out what little food and drink she'd had then spit a few times to get out the rest, "Well that makes an announcement for you." She stated as she rolled her head to the side to rest her cheek on Sophia's hand, "A soothing setting would be great at this point."

Nygozy noticed Fremelda passing them and said quietly, with some relief and tiredness to her voice, "Her too."

"My, my..." Sophia laughed softly, gently helping Nygozy back to her feet. "Are you saying that you don't trust me?" But the light in her eyes was warm as she flicked a handkerchief from her pocket, wiping the little Warden's mouth before she could protest. "There," she murmured, ribbon-wrapped fingers lingering for a moment on Nygozy's cheek. "If there is any sign of weakness there, I do not see it. Oh, I almost forgot... here." A small silver cup, filled with water, was pushed into Nygozy's hands. "I know how horrible that taste can be."

Really, it was strange how feelings could develop. In Sophia's experience, it all depended on how she viewed a specific person, or rather, how many different sides of them she was allowed to see. Her Mistress had always been strong, the living embodiment of the legend who had slain the Archdemon. In many ways, Sophia thought, it would be reasonable for the little dwarf to assume that showing weakness was a luxury she could not afford, and in many situations that was certainly the case, but...

... that little bit of weakness had shown that Nygozy was still mortal. And that little bit of trust made Sophia, just for a moment, love her more than all the legends in the world. Beaming, the willowy mage busied herself for a moment kindling a cloud of sparks around the mess of the floor, taking just long enough about reducing it to ash to regain her doll-like composure, but she couldn't disguise the sparkles dancing in her sapphire eyes.

Trust could be intoxicating.

"Now... why don't we go outside? The courtyard gardens are quite lovely in the morning sunlight." Taking Nygozy's hand, Sophia began to lead her gently through the corridors, pausing as she noticed Fremelda passing by in the opposite direction.

"Now, now, no escape." Aria soared sidewards, wrapping itself firmly about Fremelda's waist. Sophia tugged on it, grinning mischievously at her captive. Really, why couldn't every day be this much fun?

---

While it was true that the gardens were still a little sparse, the desultory efforts of workmen and servants alike were beginning to work wonders. Plots for vegetable patches and herb gardens had already been laid out, for the eventual convenience of healers and kitchen-hands alike, but the area that Sophia had chosen was a tiny bower nestled in a nook between two of the Keep's walls, where a fair-sized ash tree held court in the shade. Around it, delicate arrangements of various sorts of flowers bloomed shyly between mossy rocks, dipping their blooms as the three women approached. A passing thought tugged at Sophia's hairband, keen to expound upon the idea that this tiny piece of sweet-smelling tranquility had been laid out by one of the Keep's previous occupants (human, obviously, though the idea of Darkspawn tending to the soil, trowels in hand, made Sophia giggle,) but the willowy mage brushed it aside. There was no use in dwelling on the backdrop when the story itself promised to be much more interesting.

Resting beneath the tree was a stone bench, shaped perfectly so that the spreading trunk of the ash made a smooth, comfortable backrest. Sophia guided Nygozy towards it, settling down herself with a hum of contentment... but making sure to leave enough room for her companions, of course.

"Welcome to the Bower. Make yourselves at home."

((Sophia ---> Nygozy: Approval +7 ^^

Fremelda froze in place as silky steel wrapped around her waist and pulled her towards Sophia. She placed her free hand on the hilt of Thorn for a moment, leveling a glare at Sophia. She didn't like being forced into moving but she cooled, remembering her place. Nygozy looked ill, probably because of the growing life within her. Fremelda sighed. "What do you want with me? And where are we going?" she asked. No one answered her but eventually they went into the gardens? Odd choice, really but Fremelda shrugged. "So what is it you want?" she asked her two companions.

Nygozy chuckled at Sophia's teasing and took the water thankfully. It was just what she needed to settle out her tummy and get rid of that horrid taste. She drank slowly and left her trust in Sophia to bring her somewhere pleasant to settle into and she was right. This garden was perfect. With the natural beauty returning, waving in the light breeze as if the plantlife was waving at the sun, one could almost believe there had not been anything wrong here.

She sat down on the bench, leaning against Sophia and allowing the feel of the woman's shoulder to be a comfort while she waited for the turmoil to settle in her system. Kai was likely furious with fear for her giving such belief in Sophia but she felt this woman could be trusted.

Finally she sat up with her back against the natural back of the bench and whistled. Torture bounded off to watch the perimeter as the little woman gave Sophia and thankful smile, "Thank you, Sophia." It was not a big display but her eyes said all the thanks she needed. The help during these moments was always respected and the gentle touch to that help even more so.

Between a breath and the next Nygozy turned back from the thankful mother to be into the commander, her head turning to look at Fremelda, "I asked Sophia whom best for counsel and she chose you from my list of whom I wished to choose from."

"Orastan. That is why we chose you."

Sophia's hooded eyes flicked over to rest upon Fremelda, even as her hand remained resting lightly on Nygozy's upper arm, a silent returning of the trust the little commander had shown. Inwardly Sophia couldn't help but giggle: she could almost imagine Kai's hands tightening on the handles of his daggers, tensing to leap if she dared do anything more. It would be something he would have to get used to. As precious as Sophia guessed she was to the elven assassin, Nygozy still deserved friends, and if one of those friends happened to be a certain storyteller then so much the better. She could only hope that he would rise above his paranoia before he overreacted and tried to slip a knife between her ribs.

But she could muse about that later. Slowly, Sophia focused the whole of her attention upon Fremelda, leaning forward to rest her chin on the back of a ribbon-wrapped hand. Watching with the utmost care to see how she should react.

"Someone in Orastan is hunting in the same shadows you used to haunt, my dear Fremelda. Someone who treats his wanton slaughter as little more than an game. And the shadows this someone is hunting in belong to an Arl Gerrik Dragonis, who sent a silk-tongued servant especially to ask for our aid..." She paused, all but laughing, sapphire eyes dancing. "Can you see why I thought you might be interested, Fre-mel-da?"

Fremelda had her arms folded over her chest, patiently watching and waiting for her to be addressed. In the mean time, she noted where Kai was hiding, as he always was around wherever Nygozy went. She regarded the beautifully wrought garden, steel blue eyes gazing around until she heard Nygozy finally return to business. Her eyes flicked back to the dwarf.

And then her blood turned to ice.

Orastan.

The mention of the word made her tense up just for a moment, but she forced her face to remain neutral. Sophia knew things about her. Things she shouldn't. She kept her past long buried and well hidden. She feigned ignorance. "Sounds like someone wants to cause trouble for another worthless noble." Her voice had the faintest hint of shaking. Was it fear? Anger? Elation? Impossible to tell with her stony expression. All she did know is that the mere mention of the Arl's name sent goosebumps up her spine, and a red haze in her vision. This feeling of blood lust... she had never felt it so strongly as she did now.

(Music for effect)

She sighed. Sophia was systematically peeling away her carefully crafted facade in front of the Commander. She unfolded her arms and rested her right hand on the pommel of Thorn. Her posture changed, she stood up straighter, legs closer together, her chin held high. It was like falling back into a long forgotten habit. "Looks like the storyteller is going to enlighten you anyway, so it may as well be me who says it... My name is Fremelda. Fremelda Dragonis. Arl Gerrik is my brother." she said, her manner of speech also changed mid sentence. She didn't use the harsher commoner accent of the streets of Denerim, but the more refined method used by the nobles of Amaranthine and Highever. "I was abandoned by my parents when I was ten. I do not know why, but I do know that every inch of me burns with the desire to get revenge for it. I've been nursing this grudge for fourteen years."

Nygozy kept her thoughts to herself as Sophia spoke to Fremelda informing the woman about why exactly they wanted to offer her the option of going on a mission. Sophia have a tendency of being rather ambiguous about many things especially when it came to Fremelda. This was a curious matter which made Nygozy wonder many a time what it was between these two women.

This time however Sophia seem to be working in a more direct manner or at least one could be called more direct considering that this was Sophia. So Nygozy's spent a few moments getting her stomach back up in order and then watching the expression on Fremelda's face.

Even though Fremelda's sounded as if she was ignorant of the situation and actually thought that it was only a noble she had no knowledge of there was a hit in her reaction which made it very clear that this hit Fremelda's heart.

Fine for melded put her hand on top of her weapon and took on that stance in which you knew came from someone born of a noble birth yet did not grow up completely within that environment.

"So it seems like your past has come back to roost." Nygozy put a hand on Fremelda's shoulder and shook her head, "I do not care who we your family was are who they are; however, I do care about you. With this being the case you do know this situation more than anyone else and you would be best for the job. The problem is: are you OK to do it? If you believe you can then you will be the captain of this mission. If you do not wish to go there I will find other missions for you to do. If I had too few people then you would have to but there are more than enough people to deal with what is going on. It is your choice Fremelda."