Theyâd been in Llomerryn for the better part of a day, docked at the harbor. Khari was itching to set her feet back on land, but they were waiting for Anais to show up, and apparently it was better if they kept themselves mostly out of sight. Her guts were not thanking herâthey still hadnât settled, even if the boat wasnât really moving much now. It was better if she wasnât below, though. Khari had sprawled herself out on the deck near the helm, arms thrown out to either side, obeying the injunction not to make a spectacle of herself and her bodyâs demand for fresh air at the same time.
The night sky was pretty here, without much around to block the view. Still, she was mostly sure she liked it better at Skyhold. A wave rolled into the harbor, dipping the boat slightly underneath her. She groaned softly when something churned in her innards. The idea of sailing was greatâtoo bad the reality sucked so much.
Zahra stood off a few feet from Khariâs right side, looking every bit the forlorn lover. Arms splayed across the railing. Finger trailing circles around the knots of the wood. Almost as if she were bidding someone farewell for a time. It wouldâve looked peculiar to anyone else, or perhaps, as if she were deep in thought. Not quite so armed as the other group, but prepared all the same, the captainâs bow was strapped to her back and her thin rapier hung at her hip.
Soft footfalls across the deck heralded Rom's approach. He'd been restless ever since they arrived, to say the least. He was out of the comfortable travel clothes and into something more suitable for their mission: near black garb, and next to nothing that would make noise when he moved. He was armed to the teeth as well, even if not all of his weapons were visible. One did not take on even an unprepared portion of the Qunari's military arm lightly.
"She's here," he said softly, giving Khari a squeeze on the shoulder and pointing towards the dock. "About time."
Anais was also out of the usual half-plate they'd grown accustomed to seeing her in, instead wearing nondescript black clothing, including a light hooded cloak, which she currently had drawn over her vibrant red hair. She was accompanied by two others, one who appeared to be her own agent, or fellow cultist, and the other an agent of the Inquisition. It was only Anais who came aboard, though.
"Your Worship," she greeted Rom first, with a respectful bow of her head. Rom impatiently waited for her to finish. When Anais raised her head again, she glanced around at those assembled on the deck. "Is the Qunari mage here? Asala, was it? I've seen to it that the Qunari are expecting a saarebas. Tantalizing bait."
As if on cue, the Qunari woman in question strode out from under deck, her attention focused on the harbor in the distance. She lingered a step beyond the threshold, looking up and down the coast for a moment as if searching for something. Eventually however, she turned and finally noticed that all eyes were turned toward her. She flicked between them as her head tilted quizzically.
âUm...?â
"Saarebas," Anais repeated, her tone indicating a low estimation of Asala's intelligence. "Bait. You're to lead as many Qunari as possible away from their ship, thus giving us a better chance to retrieve the prisoner. This may require you to attack some of them, and it will require some endurance. Are you capable?"
Asala noticably twitched at being called Saarebas, but otherwise said nothing. Instead, she averted her gaze to their feet.
Rom had crossed his arms by this point, leaning back against the mast of the ship. "You won't be going alone," he said. "We'll be splitting up, so you'll have some people to watch your back." He looked expectantly in Khari's direction. "Right?"
Khari gave Anais a sidelong look for all of a second before grinning at Asala. âWeâre gonna go on a merry little chase, you and me. And Capân Zee.â Oh, that had rhymed. Awesome.
She figured she was pretty useless for sneaking around and onto occupied boats. She could be quiet enough, but the armor clanked and there was no way she was going without it for a job like this, so sheâd decided pretty early that sheâd play to her strengths and be a huge pain in the ass instead. There were plenty of other people who could do the rest of it.
âRom, Leon, Anais, and Borja here are gonna get on board the ship while weâre running around with Qunari on our heels.â Asala didnât exactly know the whole plan yet; Khari figured she deserved to be told. âBut all weâve gotta worry about is not getting skewered by javelins. Sounds like a good time, right?â
She didnât expect agreement.
She was not disappointed. âNo... It does not,â she answered flatly. Once more, Asala flicked her eyes between them before she signed through her nose, apparently resigning to her task. âI do not suppose there is another way... But if this will help you...â she added, looking at Romulus while she spoke. She then looked down at her bare feet and shrugged. âI will need boots,â she stated, returning back under deck to undoubtedly go fetch a pair.
"It'll have to do," Anais said, seemingly more to herself than anyone. "The boat is prepared and nearby, Your Worship. We should move into position."
Borja started down the ship's ramp onto the dock, sheathing a knife at his waist. "About time. I've waited long enough." Rom made his way over to Khari, offering a squeeze on the shoulder. He looked a bit uncomfortable about everything as well.
"Look after Asala. And don't do anything too stupid. No one should get hurt for this. We'll make it fast."
âNo risk, no reward.â Khari meant it in jest, thoughâit would be one thing if she were doing this by herself, but there were other people to think about here. Asala in particular was not likely to enjoy the experience of being chased around by a bunch of the same people that nearly sewed her mouth shut or whatever else Qunari did with their mages. Khari might not be the quickest on the emotional uptake, so to speak, but even she knew that everyone had their sore spots. If they could have done this without putting her at risk, sheâd have wanted to.
She flashed Rom a jagged half-smile, clapping him on the upper part of his arm. âWeâll be fine. Iâm almost as good at getting out of trouble as I am at getting into it.â
Had she been with anyone else, those other people probably would have known better than to let Khari be more-or-less in charge of the plan. But she was with Asala, who was probably honestly a bit too timid to register a complaint, and Zee, who would probably also think that what she had planned was a great idea. Or at least a fun one.
Llomerryn was actually pretty bustling, even at this time of night. Most of the buildings near the harbor had candles burning in the windows or lanterns outside or whatever other light they needed. The smell of burning incense and spices Khari didnât know the names for hung thick and heavy on the salt airâshe could taste it all on the back of her tongue. She had the feeling that some of the incense was actually more like what her uncle put in his ironbark pipe, only headier.
The street was flanked with little stands as well, draped in colorful fabrics she couldnât fully appreciate in the semidark, embroidered with metallic thread that she could. All kinds of food was available for perusal: fruit sheâd never seen, fish right from the ocean, and round fuzzy coconuts she kind of wanted to try.
The hawkers werenât as avid in the evening as they were at other times; everyone seemed content to call out occasionally and otherwise leave the small crowd traversing the night bazaar to their business. At least that made it slightly easier to tear her attention from all the food and focus on the task at hand.
It wasnât unusual for Khari to be the person who stuck out like a sore thumb in whatever situation. So it was unsurprising that she did now. Qunari werenât that hard to find around here, and of course Zee blended on her own home turf, so to speak. But she hadnât seen many other elves, and not a single Dalish, which was pretty predictable. It would be to their advantage, actually.
Their targets were mostly clustered near the docks proper, casting wary eyes about the immediate area. As Anais had promised, they looked to be expecting trouble; all of them were armed. The solemn looks on their faces could have been that, or just the fact that none of them had a sense of humor. Was humor outlawed in the Qun? Sheâd ask Asala, but that might get her a serious answer.
So instead of contemplating it further, Khari did what she usually did and waved goodbye to caution, happy to see it go. âHey you! Big, grouchy Qunari! Itâs a couple of infidels and their illegal mage friend!â She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Asala and grinned. âWhatâre you gonna do about it?â
Behind her, Asala sighed and lifted both hands into the air. They were immediately enveloped in her blue energy to truly drive mage home.
It didnât take the Qunari long to decide. Khariâs eyes rounded; she ducked the first javelin, which buried itself in the post of a small fruit cart. âSorry!â The merchant looked at her like she had two heads for a second, but she couldnât really stick around to explain.
Time to run.
A loud laugh sounded across the throng of wooden carts laden with fruit. A few heads turned. Customers whoâd heard Khariâs catcalls. Wide and reflective as soon as Asalaâs electric-blue fists pumped in the air. Zahraâs own eyes were two mischievous saucers, shoulders bristling with giddy energy. She grappled onto the nearest cart and hefted it over with a grunt. It caught another javelin as its contents scattered across the ground. Bright red apples rolled towards their feet as they advanced. Shouting angrily, shaking their weapons, while she crooned with her hands cupped to her mouth, âCome get us, flaming shites!â
With that she tugged at Asalaâs elbow in order to turn her around in the opposite direction. She pointed out a side-alley with stairs and mouthed there, there.
A flash of blue, and the sound of a javelin clattering harmlessly to the ground followed. With that out of the way, Asala turned with the tug of her sleeve and followed close behind Khari and Zahra. From behind them, harsh cries of Qunlat vocabulary could be heard, Saarebas chief among them. They had not escaped Asala, judging by her downcast brow and tight lipped frown plastered to her face. Clearly, she was not enjoying it near as much as the other two.
Khari was determined to have her fun regardless. When the two of them ducked into one alleyway, she split off, heading down another. The general idea was that itâd be good to split the pursuing forces, but she hadnât counted on just how singleminded the Qunari were going to be about this. Not one of them followed her, all of them pursuing the fleeing Saarebas with the fervor of true damn believers.
Well then. That narrowed the options a little.
Accelerating until she was moving at a breakneck sprint, Khari hung a sharp left at the next intersection, bringing herself into the path of Zee and Asala, who were about half a block down, their pursuers hot on their heels. How to slow down a rampaging squad of Qunari, then? Khari cast her eyes around the market street, but it wasn't until she turned them up that she got her first really good idea.
Hopping back into a run, she increased the distance between herself and the others, getting the lead sheâd need to keep if this was going to work. There was a big crash behind her; maybe Zee had overturned another cart or something. Visualizing her path, Khari jumped, landing atop a shipping crate stamped with a big, fancy red logoâprobably Orlesian Port Authority. Planting her hands on the next one, she swung herself up, then jumped vertically, catching the sill of the second-story window above. Using it to crawl along the wall, she hopped off onto the nearest rooftop, running along the edge and drawing Intercessor at the same time.
The market streets were festooned with many colorful fabric banners at irregular intervals, some of them proclaiming the names of nearby businessesâothers seemed to be there for no other reason than to make the place more colorful and visually-interesting. Hefting her sword in both hands, Khari crouched at the edge of the roof, watching the approach of the runners.
No sooner had Asala and Zee made it past below than she swung, cleaving through the rope securing one such heavy banner in place with no difficulty. Bereft of support on her side, it fell with a thick flutter, blanketing the Qunari in dense blue canvas, still held up at the other end by the rope. The first few were horribly twisted in it, weapons pinned at their sides. The ones after had to step around with more care if they didnât want to get entangled themselves.
âKeep going!â She shouted at the others, already on the move again herself. âIâve got a few more things to try!â
As long as they could stay ahead of their hunters, theyâd do fine.
Zahra skidded to a halt as soon as the heavy fabric blanketed the Qunari pursuers behind them. She grinned up at Khari and threw her a thumbs up, though she was quick to turn back towards her running companion. There was an imperceptible shift on her face, an expression that likened concerned rather than pure fun. It seemed as if she noticed the houndish behavior of their pursuers, or at least that they hadn`t been all too concerned by Khari`s disappearance. She shouldered Asala forward and smiled, âWhatever theyâre sayingâdonât listen. Run ahead, Iâll give them something to piss their pants about.â
With that said, Zahra swung on her heels, facing the scrambling Qunari and slipped Truthbringer from her shoulder. She notched an arrow and aimed towards them. She loosed in one fluid, graceful movement. It didnât meet itâs mark. Not in the conventional sense, anyhow. Only grazed the closest oneâs arm. He yowled and cursed something she wouldnât have been able to understand. Deft fingers plucked two more arrows from her quiver. Loosed them frighteningly close, though it did little to stave their advance. As soon as they ventured closer she turned back towards the direction Asala had run and jogged at her heels, pulling the bow back over her head so that it rested on her back.
Khari, meanwhile, kept pace from above. Only a couple Qunari had so much as bothered to throw javelins at herâeven those seemed like an afterthought. So she disrupted them with whatever came to hand. Another banner, an awning with round, decorative lanterns to roll around on the street, the window boxes from several buildings⊠none of it was enough to do any great harm, but it was annoying enough to slow them down.
By this point, she figured theyâd been running long enough to give Rom and the rest of them time enough to get onto the ship, grab Conrado, and leave, so she had to shift gearsânow she needed a way to get them clear of their pursuers so they could disappear into the crowd.
From her vantage, she picked out the narrowest alley she saw. âGuys, hang a right!â
Khari jumped down from her rooftop, sliding down a fabric overhang to land solidly on her feet. This was really the first time in a while that being small and having haphazard armor without too many solid pieces had helped her, rather than the opposite.
She waited for the other two to run into the alleyway sheâd picked, then grabbed a fruit cart with wheels, dumping the coconuts onto the ground and sliding it in front of the alley entrance behind them. Intercessor made quick work of the axels, meaning it wouldnât be quite as easy to move aside. âHey Asala, how âbout a nice barrier?â The small size of the street should make that possible, right?
Asala nodded and tossed up the requested barrier. The Qunari began to trip over themselves as they tried to navigate the coconuts, but instead more often that not an errant step caused them to slip on the rounded surfaces. The ones that were lucky or deft enough to maneuver the minefield of coconuts had to contend with the downed cart-- which a few just careened into. The one or two that also managed to vault the cart did not expect the final barrier however, as they struck luminescent wall hard enough to send them back into the cart behind them.
Asala took a moment to belt something out in Qunlat before turning and quickly making her way down the alley, her glowing hands that kept the shield in place raised above her head as she went.
Khari's laughter lingered long after they were gone.
The night sky was pretty here, without much around to block the view. Still, she was mostly sure she liked it better at Skyhold. A wave rolled into the harbor, dipping the boat slightly underneath her. She groaned softly when something churned in her innards. The idea of sailing was greatâtoo bad the reality sucked so much.
Zahra stood off a few feet from Khariâs right side, looking every bit the forlorn lover. Arms splayed across the railing. Finger trailing circles around the knots of the wood. Almost as if she were bidding someone farewell for a time. It wouldâve looked peculiar to anyone else, or perhaps, as if she were deep in thought. Not quite so armed as the other group, but prepared all the same, the captainâs bow was strapped to her back and her thin rapier hung at her hip.
Soft footfalls across the deck heralded Rom's approach. He'd been restless ever since they arrived, to say the least. He was out of the comfortable travel clothes and into something more suitable for their mission: near black garb, and next to nothing that would make noise when he moved. He was armed to the teeth as well, even if not all of his weapons were visible. One did not take on even an unprepared portion of the Qunari's military arm lightly.
"She's here," he said softly, giving Khari a squeeze on the shoulder and pointing towards the dock. "About time."
Anais was also out of the usual half-plate they'd grown accustomed to seeing her in, instead wearing nondescript black clothing, including a light hooded cloak, which she currently had drawn over her vibrant red hair. She was accompanied by two others, one who appeared to be her own agent, or fellow cultist, and the other an agent of the Inquisition. It was only Anais who came aboard, though.
"Your Worship," she greeted Rom first, with a respectful bow of her head. Rom impatiently waited for her to finish. When Anais raised her head again, she glanced around at those assembled on the deck. "Is the Qunari mage here? Asala, was it? I've seen to it that the Qunari are expecting a saarebas. Tantalizing bait."
As if on cue, the Qunari woman in question strode out from under deck, her attention focused on the harbor in the distance. She lingered a step beyond the threshold, looking up and down the coast for a moment as if searching for something. Eventually however, she turned and finally noticed that all eyes were turned toward her. She flicked between them as her head tilted quizzically.
âUm...?â
"Saarebas," Anais repeated, her tone indicating a low estimation of Asala's intelligence. "Bait. You're to lead as many Qunari as possible away from their ship, thus giving us a better chance to retrieve the prisoner. This may require you to attack some of them, and it will require some endurance. Are you capable?"
Asala noticably twitched at being called Saarebas, but otherwise said nothing. Instead, she averted her gaze to their feet.
Rom had crossed his arms by this point, leaning back against the mast of the ship. "You won't be going alone," he said. "We'll be splitting up, so you'll have some people to watch your back." He looked expectantly in Khari's direction. "Right?"
Khari gave Anais a sidelong look for all of a second before grinning at Asala. âWeâre gonna go on a merry little chase, you and me. And Capân Zee.â Oh, that had rhymed. Awesome.
She figured she was pretty useless for sneaking around and onto occupied boats. She could be quiet enough, but the armor clanked and there was no way she was going without it for a job like this, so sheâd decided pretty early that sheâd play to her strengths and be a huge pain in the ass instead. There were plenty of other people who could do the rest of it.
âRom, Leon, Anais, and Borja here are gonna get on board the ship while weâre running around with Qunari on our heels.â Asala didnât exactly know the whole plan yet; Khari figured she deserved to be told. âBut all weâve gotta worry about is not getting skewered by javelins. Sounds like a good time, right?â
She didnât expect agreement.
She was not disappointed. âNo... It does not,â she answered flatly. Once more, Asala flicked her eyes between them before she signed through her nose, apparently resigning to her task. âI do not suppose there is another way... But if this will help you...â she added, looking at Romulus while she spoke. She then looked down at her bare feet and shrugged. âI will need boots,â she stated, returning back under deck to undoubtedly go fetch a pair.
"It'll have to do," Anais said, seemingly more to herself than anyone. "The boat is prepared and nearby, Your Worship. We should move into position."
Borja started down the ship's ramp onto the dock, sheathing a knife at his waist. "About time. I've waited long enough." Rom made his way over to Khari, offering a squeeze on the shoulder. He looked a bit uncomfortable about everything as well.
"Look after Asala. And don't do anything too stupid. No one should get hurt for this. We'll make it fast."
âNo risk, no reward.â Khari meant it in jest, thoughâit would be one thing if she were doing this by herself, but there were other people to think about here. Asala in particular was not likely to enjoy the experience of being chased around by a bunch of the same people that nearly sewed her mouth shut or whatever else Qunari did with their mages. Khari might not be the quickest on the emotional uptake, so to speak, but even she knew that everyone had their sore spots. If they could have done this without putting her at risk, sheâd have wanted to.
She flashed Rom a jagged half-smile, clapping him on the upper part of his arm. âWeâll be fine. Iâm almost as good at getting out of trouble as I am at getting into it.â
Had she been with anyone else, those other people probably would have known better than to let Khari be more-or-less in charge of the plan. But she was with Asala, who was probably honestly a bit too timid to register a complaint, and Zee, who would probably also think that what she had planned was a great idea. Or at least a fun one.
Llomerryn was actually pretty bustling, even at this time of night. Most of the buildings near the harbor had candles burning in the windows or lanterns outside or whatever other light they needed. The smell of burning incense and spices Khari didnât know the names for hung thick and heavy on the salt airâshe could taste it all on the back of her tongue. She had the feeling that some of the incense was actually more like what her uncle put in his ironbark pipe, only headier.
The street was flanked with little stands as well, draped in colorful fabrics she couldnât fully appreciate in the semidark, embroidered with metallic thread that she could. All kinds of food was available for perusal: fruit sheâd never seen, fish right from the ocean, and round fuzzy coconuts she kind of wanted to try.
The hawkers werenât as avid in the evening as they were at other times; everyone seemed content to call out occasionally and otherwise leave the small crowd traversing the night bazaar to their business. At least that made it slightly easier to tear her attention from all the food and focus on the task at hand.
It wasnât unusual for Khari to be the person who stuck out like a sore thumb in whatever situation. So it was unsurprising that she did now. Qunari werenât that hard to find around here, and of course Zee blended on her own home turf, so to speak. But she hadnât seen many other elves, and not a single Dalish, which was pretty predictable. It would be to their advantage, actually.
Their targets were mostly clustered near the docks proper, casting wary eyes about the immediate area. As Anais had promised, they looked to be expecting trouble; all of them were armed. The solemn looks on their faces could have been that, or just the fact that none of them had a sense of humor. Was humor outlawed in the Qun? Sheâd ask Asala, but that might get her a serious answer.
So instead of contemplating it further, Khari did what she usually did and waved goodbye to caution, happy to see it go. âHey you! Big, grouchy Qunari! Itâs a couple of infidels and their illegal mage friend!â She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Asala and grinned. âWhatâre you gonna do about it?â
Behind her, Asala sighed and lifted both hands into the air. They were immediately enveloped in her blue energy to truly drive mage home.
It didnât take the Qunari long to decide. Khariâs eyes rounded; she ducked the first javelin, which buried itself in the post of a small fruit cart. âSorry!â The merchant looked at her like she had two heads for a second, but she couldnât really stick around to explain.
Time to run.
A loud laugh sounded across the throng of wooden carts laden with fruit. A few heads turned. Customers whoâd heard Khariâs catcalls. Wide and reflective as soon as Asalaâs electric-blue fists pumped in the air. Zahraâs own eyes were two mischievous saucers, shoulders bristling with giddy energy. She grappled onto the nearest cart and hefted it over with a grunt. It caught another javelin as its contents scattered across the ground. Bright red apples rolled towards their feet as they advanced. Shouting angrily, shaking their weapons, while she crooned with her hands cupped to her mouth, âCome get us, flaming shites!â
With that she tugged at Asalaâs elbow in order to turn her around in the opposite direction. She pointed out a side-alley with stairs and mouthed there, there.
A flash of blue, and the sound of a javelin clattering harmlessly to the ground followed. With that out of the way, Asala turned with the tug of her sleeve and followed close behind Khari and Zahra. From behind them, harsh cries of Qunlat vocabulary could be heard, Saarebas chief among them. They had not escaped Asala, judging by her downcast brow and tight lipped frown plastered to her face. Clearly, she was not enjoying it near as much as the other two.
Khari was determined to have her fun regardless. When the two of them ducked into one alleyway, she split off, heading down another. The general idea was that itâd be good to split the pursuing forces, but she hadnât counted on just how singleminded the Qunari were going to be about this. Not one of them followed her, all of them pursuing the fleeing Saarebas with the fervor of true damn believers.
Well then. That narrowed the options a little.
Accelerating until she was moving at a breakneck sprint, Khari hung a sharp left at the next intersection, bringing herself into the path of Zee and Asala, who were about half a block down, their pursuers hot on their heels. How to slow down a rampaging squad of Qunari, then? Khari cast her eyes around the market street, but it wasn't until she turned them up that she got her first really good idea.
Hopping back into a run, she increased the distance between herself and the others, getting the lead sheâd need to keep if this was going to work. There was a big crash behind her; maybe Zee had overturned another cart or something. Visualizing her path, Khari jumped, landing atop a shipping crate stamped with a big, fancy red logoâprobably Orlesian Port Authority. Planting her hands on the next one, she swung herself up, then jumped vertically, catching the sill of the second-story window above. Using it to crawl along the wall, she hopped off onto the nearest rooftop, running along the edge and drawing Intercessor at the same time.
The market streets were festooned with many colorful fabric banners at irregular intervals, some of them proclaiming the names of nearby businessesâothers seemed to be there for no other reason than to make the place more colorful and visually-interesting. Hefting her sword in both hands, Khari crouched at the edge of the roof, watching the approach of the runners.
No sooner had Asala and Zee made it past below than she swung, cleaving through the rope securing one such heavy banner in place with no difficulty. Bereft of support on her side, it fell with a thick flutter, blanketing the Qunari in dense blue canvas, still held up at the other end by the rope. The first few were horribly twisted in it, weapons pinned at their sides. The ones after had to step around with more care if they didnât want to get entangled themselves.
âKeep going!â She shouted at the others, already on the move again herself. âIâve got a few more things to try!â
As long as they could stay ahead of their hunters, theyâd do fine.
Zahra skidded to a halt as soon as the heavy fabric blanketed the Qunari pursuers behind them. She grinned up at Khari and threw her a thumbs up, though she was quick to turn back towards her running companion. There was an imperceptible shift on her face, an expression that likened concerned rather than pure fun. It seemed as if she noticed the houndish behavior of their pursuers, or at least that they hadn`t been all too concerned by Khari`s disappearance. She shouldered Asala forward and smiled, âWhatever theyâre sayingâdonât listen. Run ahead, Iâll give them something to piss their pants about.â
With that said, Zahra swung on her heels, facing the scrambling Qunari and slipped Truthbringer from her shoulder. She notched an arrow and aimed towards them. She loosed in one fluid, graceful movement. It didnât meet itâs mark. Not in the conventional sense, anyhow. Only grazed the closest oneâs arm. He yowled and cursed something she wouldnât have been able to understand. Deft fingers plucked two more arrows from her quiver. Loosed them frighteningly close, though it did little to stave their advance. As soon as they ventured closer she turned back towards the direction Asala had run and jogged at her heels, pulling the bow back over her head so that it rested on her back.
Khari, meanwhile, kept pace from above. Only a couple Qunari had so much as bothered to throw javelins at herâeven those seemed like an afterthought. So she disrupted them with whatever came to hand. Another banner, an awning with round, decorative lanterns to roll around on the street, the window boxes from several buildings⊠none of it was enough to do any great harm, but it was annoying enough to slow them down.
By this point, she figured theyâd been running long enough to give Rom and the rest of them time enough to get onto the ship, grab Conrado, and leave, so she had to shift gearsânow she needed a way to get them clear of their pursuers so they could disappear into the crowd.
From her vantage, she picked out the narrowest alley she saw. âGuys, hang a right!â
Khari jumped down from her rooftop, sliding down a fabric overhang to land solidly on her feet. This was really the first time in a while that being small and having haphazard armor without too many solid pieces had helped her, rather than the opposite.
She waited for the other two to run into the alleyway sheâd picked, then grabbed a fruit cart with wheels, dumping the coconuts onto the ground and sliding it in front of the alley entrance behind them. Intercessor made quick work of the axels, meaning it wouldnât be quite as easy to move aside. âHey Asala, how âbout a nice barrier?â The small size of the street should make that possible, right?
Asala nodded and tossed up the requested barrier. The Qunari began to trip over themselves as they tried to navigate the coconuts, but instead more often that not an errant step caused them to slip on the rounded surfaces. The ones that were lucky or deft enough to maneuver the minefield of coconuts had to contend with the downed cart-- which a few just careened into. The one or two that also managed to vault the cart did not expect the final barrier however, as they struck luminescent wall hard enough to send them back into the cart behind them.
Asala took a moment to belt something out in Qunlat before turning and quickly making her way down the alley, her glowing hands that kept the shield in place raised above her head as she went.
Khari's laughter lingered long after they were gone.