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With an oath, Herren raced to the back of the shop, dropping to the floor beside Wade and throwing his arms around the little man. Wade was keening now, a high-pitched wail of pain, and it made my jaw ache from how hard I was clenching my teeth. I found myself wrapped from behind in Alistair's arms just as I felt Wynne rush past. Aedan joined her, and Herren let the rogue herd him a few feet away while Wynne tenderly grasped Wade's mangled hand. Looking at it, I was sure that without healing magic, he would never work again. I felt Wynne's magic flare, and in moments the screaming stopped. When she released his hand, it looked back to normal.
Wynne helped him up, and he stood shakily, holding his hand out and staring at it in shock. Herren ran over and grabbed Wynne in a bear hug, spinning her around the room, and we all chuckled. Wynne's face was red but she looked pleased despite her embarrassment. The rest of us finally made it to the back of the store and officially met Wade and Herren. After introductions had been made -- using first names only, and avoiding mention of the Grey Wardens -- Herren hurried to the front, had words with the guard, who was ignoring the commotion and leaning lazily by the door, and after some yelling the guard left. Herren stuck his head outside, I assumed to talk to the two stationed there, and then came in and locked the door.
They actually offered us tea and to have a seat in the back room, which was where they lived. I was right -- they were a couple, at least if only one bed was any indication. We all crowded into their tiny living area, Wynne being given a chair while the rest of us sat on the floor, and Herren poured us tea. Only then did Wade go into his tale of woe in typical Wade style, with much gnashing of teeth and bemoaning his fate.
He told us that several weeks prior, Loghain had withdrawn his troops and most of the guards from the market. He had been using the army to maintain the peace, supplementing the few token guards (and many incapable younger sons of Denerim's nobility), but with riots in the streets and even the nobles in direct conflict, he had withdrawn all but Kylon and a handful of guards and thrown everything at protecting the Palace and quelling unrest in the area where most of the nobles resided. As a result, for a while, petty theft and organised crime had risen, most of the servants who worked outside the noble district stayed away, and the streets hadn't been swept or the sewers unclogged in weeks, thus the smell. The merchants had all taken to hiring mercenaries for protection. Of course, the more mercenaries there were in town, the more crime increased, and then the mercenaries had started banding together and extorting money from their former employers.
Street violence had rapidly disappeared -- no one wanted to pickpocket one of the mercenaries, and the different mercenary bands had fought their way into some sort of agreement -- but the extortion was ongoing. Wade had been distracted by the 'guards' they'd hired, who were now expecting protection money and not really protecting him anymore, and his injury had been the result.
They hadn't heard any news of what was happening in the noble's district, and the docks were unchanged, though many of the mercenaries had banded together and rented warehouses to bed down in instead of inn rooms, to my relief. I had suddenly pictured us unable to rent rooms. The Alienage was still closed, though it was apparently not that hard to sneak in given the lack of guards. Vaughn Kendalls had been reported deceased, and Howe was the Arl of Denerim.
To my surprise, Aedan admitted to Wade that they were Grey Wardens. He'd been the one most adamant that no one blurt that secret. I didn't think Wade and Herren would turn us in, especially with Wynne having healed him, but it still made me a bit nervous. Both men, however, were quite welcoming. They told us that one of the biggest bones of contention in the city was Loghain's claim that the Grey Wardens had betrayed the King -- apparently several of the nobles who'd been with the army vanguard had survived and contradicted his assertions. A couple of the more outspoken ones had been imprisoned within the Arl of Denerim's estate.
After much discussion, we got down to the business that had brought us to the armourer in the first place -- armour. Wade insisted on doing the repairs on our armour for free, and after salivating after the drake scales and dragon scales we had brought, insisted on making armour for Aedan and Zevran from the drake, and some heavy plate for Alistair from the dragon scales. Aedan offered him money to bump our orders to the top of his list, but he refused that coin as well. They also offered to pay us quite well for the scavenged armour we were planning to sell -- Herren thought he might be able to pay the mercenaries in armour, and the pieces Wade couldn't repair he could use for parts. Wade and Herren were effusive in their thanks to us for Wynne's healing, and even Herren refused money, but we all felt a little like we were taking advantage.
Aedan looked thoughtful while Wade was discussing the weight of the armour with Alistair, and seemed to make up his mind on something. I raised my eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head. Wade took measurements on everyone whose armour he was making or repairing; for me, all he was doing was making some adjustments to the breastplate and repairing one torn bracer. Aedan had tried to convince me to get a heavier set of armour, but Wade actually helped me talk him out of it. Not only was I not strong enough to wear it, but what little skill I had in battle came from being mobile. His adjustments to my armour were mostly to enhance that mobility; decreasing it with heavier armour just didn't make sense. He loaned Leli a spare pair of leather pants until hers could be fixed.
Once we were finally set, we thanked Wade and Herren for their help and the information. We headed out, and I saw Aedan pull aside one of the mercenaries and talk to him quietly while we all filed through the door. We formed up and headed out into the chaos of the market. Now that we knew what was going on, things were much more obvious. The merchants were afraid of their own guards, and small groups of more heavily armed, intimidating looking mercenaries were circulating, stopping to talk with individual merchants. They didn't even try to hide the pouches of coin changing hands. Aedan's shoulders stiffened, and I knew we were probably all equally irritated.
Even the Chantry had only a few templars guarding it, and standing in a line in front of them were more mercenaries. I wasn't religious, and definitely not Andrastian, but it sickened me to know that these people had so little respect as to shake down their own church. And that the church was afraid enough to allow it.
Aedan headed us out of the market towards the docks. We wandered initially through wide thoroughfares, populated only by small groups of people scurrying along; no one made eye contact, and several people skirted around us like we were wild animals. It didn't improve our impression of the mercenary groups any, if everyone was terrified of anyone in armour. Further from the market, the roads got narrower, and muddier. A few sketchy back alleys gave me the creeps, but either we looked intimidating enough or we just got lucky and we were left alone.
As we approached the docks, the areas we passed through got seedier and seedier. There was garbage in the street, the buildings were ramshackle and some looked like they were one strong wind from total collapse. I'd warned Alistair that we were headed to a brothel, much to everyone's disappointment --they had all been looking forward to watching Alistair figure it out on his own, but as amusing as that would have been, it didn't feel fair -- but despite that, his posture got more and more rigid. I couldn't see his face with the full helm, but I could imagine his eyebrows rising into his hairline. It made me giggle, and something similar must have occurred to Leli because she started giggling too.
We finally reached the Pearl, which was obvious from the hanging sign of an open oyster with a pearl in the middle. I tried not to shudder too hard when I realised they'd tried to make the pink part of the oyster resemble a woman's nether regions. Gross! I crossed my fingers that Alistair wouldn't notice. Mind you, given that he's probably never seen a woman's nethers, I doubt I have much to worry about. There were a couple of large, armoured men standing outside the door, letting people in. In contrast to the mercenaries in the market, these ones looked huge, alert, and efficient. I had no doubt these were the enforcers hired by the proprietors to protect their staff, not mercenaries. One of the men put a hand on Aedan's shoulder, and he threatened grave bodily harm if we misbehaved inside. Aedan nodded stiffly; I was guessing he was weighing the relative merits of beating the man to a pulp, but decided not to.
Anxious, I followed everyone inside.
I'd never been in a brothel. It was illegal, where I had lived, and even had it not been, it didn't hold a whole lot of appeal for me. The Pearl was nothing like I'd expected. At first glance, I'd have thought it was an Irish pub. It smelled of beer -- or was it ale? I'd never been much of a drinker and I wasn't clear on the difference -- and while the light was dim, you could still easily see. There was a duo playing music on a little stage in the corner, one with some sort of pipe, the other with a lute. There was a dance floor, and couples reeled around, laughing gaily. Most of the tables were cozy booths with candles in holders.
When I looked again, though, certain things stood out. The tables were occupied by far more men than women, and it was clear few if any of the couples dancing were actually together -- they changed partners with almost every dance. The women were dressed provocatively, at least by Ferelden standards. There were none in lingerie, but the dresses were low cut in front and had high slits up the side, and garters with stockings were visible on most. And if you watched, asses were being grabbed all over the room if the women didn't jump quickly enough.
There were also what I assumed were male prostitutes, but they were a lot less prominently displayed, staying to the back, avoiding the dance floor. They were dressed sort of ridiculously, overall, in lacy clothes and tight pants, and there were one or two clear cross-dressers as well.
Periodically, after a whispered conversation, someone would grab one of the prostitutes and disappear through a door at the back, only to return several minutes later looking somewhat disheveled. Often the return was greeted with jeering and catcalls from the person's friends. The place wasn't completely full, but there was no shortage of clients, which surprised me given it was only mid-afternoon.
As we moved as a group across the room, the only one appearing even vaguely comfortable was Zevran. I clung to Alistair's hand, and Leliana and Wynne stuck close to the guys too. We drew a few speculative looks, but the armour made it clear we weren't working girls, and Alistair's and Aedan's hands on their weapons were clear enough threats that we were left alone. We approached the bar, and Aedan exchanged words with an older looking woman who I assumed to be Sanga, if memory served. They talked for a few minutes, and some coin was exchanged, then Aedan was handed three keys and we were pointed towards a different door leading to a steep set of stairs. There was a narrow hallway, and our rooms were at the end, clumped together. Wynne and Leliana were sharing a room with two narrow beds, while Aedan and Zevran shared one and Alistair and I shared another. No one had even looked strangely at Prince, and he followed Aedan into their room. We agreed to meet downstairs for supper in a couple of hours.
And then I was standing in front of my room, key in hand, with Alistair lurking over my shoulder. I was suddenly, inexplicably nervous, and I fumbled with the keys a couple of times as I struggled to unlock the door. I finally got it, and the door popped open, swinging wide to show a good sized room with a large bed, thick throw rugs, and a small curtained-off area I presumed contained a chamber pot. There was a large armoire, which we opened and put both our bags in, and a small table near the door with one wooden chair.
Still somewhat nervous, I looked over at Alistair, who'd removed his full helm. His face was red, his ears almost fluorescent, and he was avoiding making eye contact. I took his helm from him, tossing it carelessly on the bed, and stepped close to him, putting my arms around his waist and burying my face in his shoulder. He hesitated only a moment before he wrapped his own arms around me. We stood like that, just enjoying the comfort of being together, for a few minutes, until we heard knocking on the door.
"Sierra? It's Aedan. We're going to ask to have our clothing laundered. Want to send yours down too?"
I opened the door and let Aedan in while we dug through our packs and piled up dirty clothing. I ducked behind the curtain and quickly changed into a relatively clean dress, sending my armour to be cleaned as well. Alistair then shucked his plate, and changed out of his under-armour clothes behind the screen also. Alistair helped Aedan carry the pile of clothes downstairs, and I took the opportunity to hand wash my own underwear and bras. I couldn't imagine what the washerwomen would have thought of spandex and elastic.
When Alistair returned, I was sprawled across the large bed, enjoying the feeling of having an actual mattress with real pillows for a change. Alistair cracked up when he entered, but closed the door and joined me without delay. I scooted over to make room, and we laid facing each other on the bed. Looking at his handsome face on a pillow from such a close vantage point gave me butterflies in my stomach, especially when I thought about the plans I had agreed to with Leliana for the night. I kissed him to quell my nerves, and his gentle hands on my face and back calmed my fears. How long we laid there I couldn't guess.
We separated to have baths; the Pearl had amazing bathing facilities with sunken tubs that could have comfortably held four at a time. I tried not to think too hard on the fact that they probably had, and frequently did, hold more than one. At least the water was fresh; they had some sort of pulley system outside the window and a dedicated fire to heat water below; a young man brought an enormous bucket of steaming water through the window and filled the tub while I watched. They had a variety of soaps and shampoos, and I enjoyed soaking in lavender-scented water. When I got out, I even spent a few minutes fixing my hair; it was still damp, but I arranged it in soft curls around my face as the servant at Redcliffe had, smiling at myself in the mirror as I put my dress back on.
I was finally interrupted by another knock on the door. I opened the door to an impatient Leliana with a wry grin on her face.
She squealed when she saw me. "You look so beautiful! Alistair won't know what hit him." I blushed and she continued. "But what do you have on your feet? Those wretched boots again? Tomorrow we are going shoe shopping. I mean it. Anyways, the reason I came up is that we're hungry! Everyone's downstairs already waiting for you. Hurry, yes?"
I sent her on ahead, needing to use the facilities anyway and being too embarrassed to do it with Alistair around. I did my business, resorting to using some leaves I had left over in my pack when I discovered that what passed for toilet paper was a well-used stick covered in woven fabric. I cringed and tried to avoid looking at the offending implement as I emptied the chamber pot out the window. This was apparently standard; I made a mental note not to linger underneath any windows in Denerim, ever. Finally set, I headed down the stairs.
The light was a little dimmer than before in the main room, and I assumed the sun was low and being blocked by neighbouring buildings. I paused at the bottom of the stairs letting my eyes adjust. I spotted my friends at a table along one wall, but with a quick headcount realised there was an extra body at the table. I watched for a moment, confused by the presence of an unknown brunette on the bench next to Alistair. Her skin was olive, her hair tied back with a loose handkerchief, and as I heard her laugh heartily at something Alistair had said, I realised I had forgotten a very important thing about the Pearl: Isabela.
Chapter Forty-Two: Piracy
The pirate looked a little like a cross between the original game version and the sequel, and I could see that with different clothes and hair she could go either way. One thing that was the same between both was the amount of skin on display. As I moved around the room, I could see Isabela wore a white shirt, unbuttoned down almost to her navel, and I was curious about what sort of undergarment made her cleavage strain like that yet not allow a boob to pop out. She wore a skirt that was really a glorified belt, boots that came just above her knees, and nothing else.
As she talked to my companions, she casually leaned into Alistair's side, and I figured from the movement of her arms that she'd just put a hand on his thigh. His expression was a mix of discomfort and embarrassment, his face was beet red, and he leaned away as far as he could without falling off the bench. I was seeing red; not angry with Alistair, who was clearly completely out of his element, but still jealous as hell. I slipped behind him, and my movement caught Aedan's eye. He smirked at me, and I realised the rest of my companions were watching with equally obvious amusement at my poor Chantry virgin's plight. My glare at Aedan netted me only an unrepentant shrug. I'll get you later, brother. My vision hazed a little more scarlet as I understood that any of them could have rescued him.
I walked up behind Alistair, coming around to the side of the bench he sat on. I put one hand on his shoulder, swivelled to put my knee on the bench at his side, and before he could even react, swung my other leg over to straddle his lap. I barely even heard the amused chuckles of everyone else at the table as I plastered myself to Alistair, my lips crashing down on his in a passionate kiss. After a brief hesitation, his arms surrounded me, one hand tangling in my hair and the other holding me close at the waist. Either his surprise was short-lived, or his relief at being saved from Isabela's attentions was just that intense, because his response was enthusiastic. His tongue probed at my lips insistently, and I moaned as I opened my mouth and let him in.
The chuckles from behind me morphed into catcalls and cheers, and I reluctantly pulled away, instead cuddling my cheek in to Alistair's shoulder, facing the Rivaini pirate. She appraised me with one eyebrow raised, and her gaze raked over my body.
"Hey Isabela?" I spoke loudly enough for the entire table to hear, even over the music. "Get your own. This one's spoken for, and I don't like to share."
Isabela smirked. "Oh, I apologise, sweet thing. Had I known he was with someone..."
"You did. And you didn't care. And you'd be just as happy to bed the both of us. I know. It's okay, I forgive you. I don't even blame you -- he's gorgeous, isn't he? Just keep your hands to yourself, and maybe we can be friends."
She laughed. "Fair enough. Though, just out of curiosity...is he as good as he looks?"
I grinned. "Better. Much, much better." I licked my lips lasciviously, feeling smug as pure jealousy flashed across her face. I felt Alistair startle under me, and squeezed his arm reassuringly. I lowered my voice. "You might want to try Zev and my brother, Aedan. They're a little more...adventurous than we are." I nodded across the table towards the two men, who were absorbed in a quiet conversation now that their entertainment was over.
