Having the opportunity to bathe after their little trek in the sewers had done wonders on Zahraâs mood. Sheâd even pulled Brand aside to regale him of the tale sheâd brought up earlier. The Fade dream sheâd promised she would never forget. Fine wine had loosened her tongue. Of course, all of this was out of Româs earshotâit would do her no good to keep up with that particular gibe. She was sure that heâd find some way to get back at her. She liked the wee elf. He was every bit as charming as his Fade-counterpart. She supposed she shouldnât have been so surprised if thatâs what had been conjured from Româs dream.
It was strange, being there. Minrathous.
Even though sheâd wanted to, she hadnât asked Bastian if he knew the Contee family. Seeing how close they were to where her family might be, where her brother was being kept, Zahra struggled to keep herself focused on the task at hand. She hadnât asked him. Not while they ate, nor when she lingered in the lounge; the perfect opportunity rearing its head. She could have. Easily. There were too many questions, and little to no answers. She wasnât even sure why she hadnât. A small part of her wondered if Decius knew anything about it. Minrathous was a big place. Bigger than anything sheâd seen before.
He was with them. Maybe...
Her thoughts wandered as they were instructed to wade back through the smelly depths of the catacombs. Stinking sewers, more like. While sheâd never been averse to getting her hands dirty⊠this was a new level altogether. A necessary one. She made no complaints; but noted that sheâd have to properly wash her boots when they returned to Skyhold. Leather had the nasty habit of retaining smell. She wrinkled her nose, and sidled beside the ladder, waiting for the others to climb down as well.
"You get used to it, if you give it a bit," Brand said, noticing Zahra's scrunched nose on his way down. He was the last to descend, and after a brief check that everyone was ready to move forward, he led them out, using another magelight from Chryseis. Decius had his hands bound in front of him this time rather than behind, as today he would need to actually cast and aim magic, in order to get them inside. Didn't mean they wanted to risk him running or trying to fight in the event that things turned sour. They had a way of doing that.
According to Brand, they were making for the north side of the city, though it was difficult to tell after a time. Direction was a difficult thing to keep track of underground, especially in any place as labyrinthine as these catacombs and sewers. Brand seemed to always know where he was going. No doubt he'd practically grown up in these darkest places of the city. It was remarkable he hadn't ended up a more morose person as a result. Perhaps his humor was the way he coped with it. Regardless, the key was apparently the direction of the sewer water flow, in the places where it could be heard or seen or felt. Following the flow would lead them down, towards the sea, whatever direction that happened to be.
When they left one section of the sewers, the water flowed against them. The south side. They passed through a section of the catacombs, without changing direction, and found it flowing with them. North side. They didn't spend very long there before Brand began to lead them back up. Decius was made to walk in the lead; if there were any magic defenses, there was no better way to ensure he defused them than to make him walk in the front.
When Decius stopped, so did the rest of the group. They were on a path leading up, almost out of the sewers by now. "Trap, D?" Brand asked.
The mage nodded. "Near here, and concealed. I can locate and remove them, but..." He grimaced, understanding that he was about to ask something he hadn't earned. He aimed it at Leon, possibly finding him to be the best target. "I'd really prefer to have my hands free for this. Tie my legs if you need to."
Zahra could see Leon consider the request, clearly debating it internally for several seconds before he nodded slightly. "Very well. Please be aware that if we trigger anything or you turn a spell on us, it will be very painful for you, regardless of whether any of us is in reach." He said it slowly, like the threat tasted sour on his tone, and in truth his tone wasn't all that threatening. Perhaps he thought the words were enough themselves, without any sort of show of intimidation otherwise.
Stepping forward, he bound Decius's feet first, clamping an iron manacle around each ankle. The chain between them was long enough for shuffling motion, or to do well enough if they had to climb another ladder, but there was no way he'd be running like that. Only once those were in place did the Seeker remove the bonds at the prisoner's arms, hooking those ones over his belt, presumably in case they once more became necessary.
"Thank you," Decius said, uneasily. "Now, where were they..." Being careful with his steps to not risk falling over accidentally, he shuffled forward and lit some kind of spell in his hands, glowing a light blue color. The stone all around them turned a slightly different color in its presence, more yellow instead of dull brown. All except for several bright red spots, where something could be seen worked into the very walls, and one spot on the floor.
"What's that one do?" Brand asked, curious, and probably not as concerned as he should have been.
"This one," Decius slowly approached the one on the wall to their left, "would incinerate you to ash before you could blink." Brand hmmed like it was just interesting information. Once he was close enough, Decius weaved a spell between his hands, and let it loose at the trap. The bright blue light coiled into the wall, and the red inscriptions faded. "Two more."
He repeated the process with the other two, and while it wasn't particularly exciting to wait, his warning about the traps was more than enough to keep them still. When they were gone, Brand cleared his throat.
"And I think this is where I leave you." He glanced up ahead, where the sun's light of day was clearly visible. "You're about out of here, and I'm no use against mages and magisters. Good luck, though. You guys seem alright." He winked at Zahra as he said it.
âWe're not totally awful." Khari shrugged, then grinned slightly. âThanks for the help, Brandywine. See you when we get back." Her tone indicated no doubt that they'd be back, either.
Being incinerated wasnât on Zahraâs list of things she wanted to do in Minrathous. Bringing Decius was a good idea after all. They wouldnât have made it nearly this far without his help, however forced it had been. Helpful. Even if he was dead weight with those manacles of his.
She stepped around Brand and grinned wide, thumping him softly in the chest with the back of her hand, âIâd say weâre pretty likable.â He was too. This friend of Româsâit was a shame, really. Having to serve someone in Minrathous. Coming back to Skyhold sounded much better. She thought he wouldâve liked it there. Who wouldnât? He would be free of shackles, however loose they appeared to be. âWeâll bring back some interesting stories. Promise. Make sure thereâs plenty of wine left.â
"I'll steal some on the way back," he promised, before meeting eyes with his old friend. "Do your thing, Rom."
He grinned, ever so slightly, and clasped arms with the elf. "Don't step in shit on your way back."
"That's the nicest thing you've ever wished for me."
Chryseis sighed audibly. "If you're all quite finished, there's only so much time left in the day." Brand took the hint, and scampered off into the darkness of the sewers. There were torches they'd passed on the way. Hopefully he'd be able to find and light one of them.
"Not sure why anyone's in a hurry," Decius said, though he was the first to make his way forward, shuffling his little steps to get a head start. "Considering what you're up against." He turned so he could shuffle backwards, and searched out the quiet human woman among them, Amalia. "I heard about you. Is it true what they say? That Marcus killed you once? Suppose it can't be, if you're here now."
Honestly, she'd said maybe a handful of words on the entire way here, all the way from Skyhold, and most of those were to the equally-quiet Dalish man she was always with. A few for Khari now and then, Zahra had noticed, but very little otherwise. Just enough to confirm that she wasn't actually mute. She regarded Decius flatly, her eyes unusually mismatched, but both sharp. "He tried," she said, her voice quiet. It lacked no steadiness or surety, however. "It didn't take."
It seemed either he hadn't known what answer to expect, or he didn't expect that, as Decius was left without anything to say for a moment, before he turned back around. Perhaps it was just the manner in which she said it. Either way, they continued in silence, and stopped several more time to disarm similarly lethal traps blocking their path. Decius had a sharp memory to locate them all, and avoid the ones that didn't need disarming.
Eventually the way forward led them onto a low, quiet street on the surface. It was the first time they'd actually been outside with their faces showing since leaving the docks, and it was hard to shake the immediate feeling of being watched. It was clearly a poorer area, with buildings of multiple stories surrounding them on all sides, some with rooftops within reasonable climbing distance, others serving as the base of impressively tall towers that continued up and up into the sky, only held together still by magic at certain points in their height.
"It's up ahead," Chryseis warned them. She went without any staff, preferring instead a short, curved knife, and a free hand left for casting, or cutting in the event that there was a shortage of blood. "That door, there."
The street split into a Y-shape, but the building they wanted had an entrance right at the divergence, on a landing at the end of a short flight of stairs. It was another tower, and if the other magisters' locations were anything to go by, they would need to go up once they were inside. The street was more than a little exposed, with the buildings on both sides looking down on a pathway devoid of any useful cover.
Decius carefully made his way up one step at a time, still working with chained feet, and stopped before the door. It was metal, slightly rusted by time, with a single handle and no visible lock. "There's a field on the doorway," he explained, lighting a different spell in his hand and lifting it to the portal. "Unpleasant results if you pass through it while it's activated." It was hard for Zahra to tell what the exact magic workings were, but it seemed like a more complex thing for Decius to pick apart. He had to focus a great deal, like he was remembering very specific instructions. Likely the magic was beyond him, and only something he could perform by following Marcus's specifications.
Soon though, there was a sound like water running down the rock face of a cliff, and Decius grabbed the door handle, swinging it open. The field was present in the doorway, but it was a soft yellow color, and didn't look dangerous. "Quietly now. Inside."
Ithilian stepped forward, his hand lingering on the hilts of his blades. Two of them, anyway. Apparently he wanted to be the first inside, or felt it was his place to test the effectiveness of Decius's spell. He lifted his hand slowly to the magic barrier, touched his fingers to it, and nothing happened, save for a slight rippling of the magic effect where his fingers broke the surface. He stepped inside, and waited for the others to follow.
Amalia followed him, no weapons yet drawn, but she was bristling with them in general: knives of several shapes and sizes, potion flasks, and a few pouches distributed in easy-to-reach places about her person. Whatever was in there, it seemed clear that she'd prepared for it. The barrier rippled behind her as she passed through, the color steadying once she'd disappeared to the other side.
Easy peasy. They hadnât run into any Venatori yet, their cover hadnât been blown and they had two frightening warriors at their sides. If Decius hadnât felt a shudder trickling down his spine at Amaliaâs deadpan retort, she certainly had. Or else, he was lying. It was a good thing they were on the same side, because she wouldnât have ever wanted to cross blades with her. Nor him. She wasnât surprised when they were the first to step through the barrier.
All the more reason for her to go next. Zahra rolled her shoulders, and feathered her fingers across the pommel of her rapiers. Her ironbark bow was well within reach if she needed it. She hadnât had the opportunity to actually put it to use. What better time then this? Trouble would find them soon enough. It always did. Especially when complex magic was involved and this place was rife with it. It almost made her uncomfortable with how little she understood it.
Almost. Not nearly enough to question the rippling thing covering the entirety of the doorway. She squeezed past Decius and stepped up to the barrier, brazen in her gait. Seeing how easily Amalia and Ithilian had walked past, she opted out of running a tentative hand across it. A hissing sound sang out as soon as her forearm and hand touched the barrier, âFUCK!â
There were no languid ripples; no effortless admittance. Her sleeve sizzled and burnt as if sheâd stuck her arm over an open fire. Only then did she bodily recoil, hugging her arm to her chest, stumbling away from the accursed doorway. Her eyes flew wide, eyebrows drawing in. âWhat the bloodyââ She rounded on Decius, âYou said it was fine.â
"It was, it was, I deactivated it, as instructed!" Decius appeared to be panicking slightly at what he just saw. "It has to beâah!" He had touched his own hand to it, as though Zahra had somehow done it wrong, only to find that it burned him just the same.
A small gasp escaped from someone, and after the soft rush of footsteps a gentle hand descended on her shoulder. A glance behind her would reveal a worried gaze from Asala. "Can I see?" she asked kindly, gesturing with the other hand for her to see the afflicted limb. In between fussing over Zahra, she did manage to spare a wary glare in Decius's direction-- though her eyes did linger on his own hand for a moment, before she returned to Zahra.
Zahra relented easily enough. It was difficult not to with how worried Asala looked. She unfurled her arm from her chest, holding it out to be inspected. Much of the fabric had burned clear away, reaching the flesh underneath. The burn itself was somewhat blistered and remarkably red. If she hadnât known better, she mightâve thought that she had actually caught on fire. It had taken seconds. The barrier. Magic. She huffed softly and leaned out, looking at Decius from the side of Asalaâs shoulder, âWell, clearly, itâs not. What do we do now?â
On the other side of the barrier, Ithilian had his blades drawn now, one a slightly curved and slender Dalish sword, the other a bone-carved knife with angry-looking enchantments worked into it. He touched the sword to the barrier's inside, finding that it hissed and left the tip of the sword glowing red hot. Not worth trying to pass back through, no doubt. It seemed they were stuck for the moment on the other side.
Meanwhile, Rom had started watching their surroundings as soon as something appeared wrong, and for good reason. An arrow came whistling in towards Decius's throat, but was intercepted by Rom's shield. "Venatori," he informed them calmly. The arrow had come from a rooftop to their left, but there were signs of movement on either side of them. More arrows soon to be on the way.
"No, no, no, no," Decius repeated, backing himself into a corner, as though he expected the Inquisition to execute him on the spot as well.
"An ambush," Chryseis declared. "Wonderful."
"Asala, we need this barrier down, as soon as possible." No doubt it wouldn't be a simple matter of dispelling it, if Decius didn't even understand it, and if it was as complex as someone like Marcus Alesius was capable of. And there were still the Venatori at their backs to deal with. "Zee, we need your bow on a roof." The Venatori were the ones with superior sight lines right now, but that didn't mean they couldn't take those positions for themselves. "Khari, help her get there?" It wouldn't be wise for them to split up too much, but sending Zahra off alone wasn't the best plan either.
"Make it fast, we've got our own on this side," Ithilian said from beyond the barrier. He was looking down as he said it; apparently the Venatori were coming up from below. The scarred elf grimaced, then got to work.
âYou got it, Rom." Khari glanced around for no more than a few seconds, eyes alighting on a rundown house not too far away, at a nice angle from the entrance that stymied them. âThat one. Let's get inside and get on the roof!" She took point herself, drawing the heavy sword from over her back and making a break for it, shouldering past a few more Venatori that were approaching on ground level. There wasn't time to stop for every one of them.
The home was surrounded by a little wooden fence, rickety and rotting at the posts. Khari cleared it in a leap, shifting her grip on the sword and taking hold of the doorknob with a hand. From the fact that it didn't open when she twisted, it was locked, but it was in such poor condition that it yielded under several insistent applications of her shoulder, falling open and allowing them inside.
A frightened squeak alerted them to the presence of a young woman, two small children clutching at her skirts. She was huddled in a corner, about as far away from the windows as she could possibly get them, wide, terrified blue eyes fixing on the intruders.
There was little time to reassure her that they weren't there to do any harm, though, because there was already a threat in the room: a Venatori operative. He hurled an ice spike at the doorway, forcing Khari to dodge to the side. The little house was so cramped that she nearly hit the wall in the process, and had to maneuver awkwardly to get her big sword around in time to knock down the next one, stepping in and striking him in the gut with her pommel. It gave her enough time to retrieve a shorter knife and find his throat with it.
Zahra, too, dashed to the side, opposite of Khari. She nearly tangled herself in a chair, before catching herself on the wall. The children were being scooted beneath a small table, out of sight. For the best. The house was too damn small to linger in any longer. Theyâd be at a disadvantage if they let anymore Venatori pool into the room. Besides, how the hell was Khari going to swing that monstrous blade? A wet gurgle signaled the operativeâs last breath.
There. Once her eyes locked onto the staircase, she wasted no time vaulting towards it and only halted when she climbed the first few steps, nearly bumbling into another Venatori descending. Whether he hadnât expected to bump into someone at such close proximity, it would be his undoing. He hadnât had time to raise his hands or level his pike. She grabbed onto the front of his collar, braced herself against the stairs and leaned backwards, sending him tumbling past her down the stairs for Khari to finish off.
From the thunk of steel biting into the floorboards, she certainly had.
She bounded up the stairs two at a time, only slowing when she reached an old, shabby door. The upstairs was just as unremarkable as the rest. Quaint. This door, however, led out onto a flattened expanse. A rooftop. Perfect place to pincushion Venatori. Presumably, most of their archers had already taken position in prime locations. Theyâd need to go first to give the others some wiggle room.
Only when Khari joined her side did Zahra reach for her bow, slipping it off her back. Her heartbeat thumped quicker. She fought against the smile twitching at her lips; her blood sang in her temples. Not wholly unpleasant. This nameless bow of hers. It felt comfortable in her hands, like it belonged there. She gave her enough room to push the door clear, letting her take point once more, âLetâs get âem.â
It was strange, being there. Minrathous.
Even though sheâd wanted to, she hadnât asked Bastian if he knew the Contee family. Seeing how close they were to where her family might be, where her brother was being kept, Zahra struggled to keep herself focused on the task at hand. She hadnât asked him. Not while they ate, nor when she lingered in the lounge; the perfect opportunity rearing its head. She could have. Easily. There were too many questions, and little to no answers. She wasnât even sure why she hadnât. A small part of her wondered if Decius knew anything about it. Minrathous was a big place. Bigger than anything sheâd seen before.
He was with them. Maybe...
Her thoughts wandered as they were instructed to wade back through the smelly depths of the catacombs. Stinking sewers, more like. While sheâd never been averse to getting her hands dirty⊠this was a new level altogether. A necessary one. She made no complaints; but noted that sheâd have to properly wash her boots when they returned to Skyhold. Leather had the nasty habit of retaining smell. She wrinkled her nose, and sidled beside the ladder, waiting for the others to climb down as well.
"You get used to it, if you give it a bit," Brand said, noticing Zahra's scrunched nose on his way down. He was the last to descend, and after a brief check that everyone was ready to move forward, he led them out, using another magelight from Chryseis. Decius had his hands bound in front of him this time rather than behind, as today he would need to actually cast and aim magic, in order to get them inside. Didn't mean they wanted to risk him running or trying to fight in the event that things turned sour. They had a way of doing that.
According to Brand, they were making for the north side of the city, though it was difficult to tell after a time. Direction was a difficult thing to keep track of underground, especially in any place as labyrinthine as these catacombs and sewers. Brand seemed to always know where he was going. No doubt he'd practically grown up in these darkest places of the city. It was remarkable he hadn't ended up a more morose person as a result. Perhaps his humor was the way he coped with it. Regardless, the key was apparently the direction of the sewer water flow, in the places where it could be heard or seen or felt. Following the flow would lead them down, towards the sea, whatever direction that happened to be.
When they left one section of the sewers, the water flowed against them. The south side. They passed through a section of the catacombs, without changing direction, and found it flowing with them. North side. They didn't spend very long there before Brand began to lead them back up. Decius was made to walk in the lead; if there were any magic defenses, there was no better way to ensure he defused them than to make him walk in the front.
When Decius stopped, so did the rest of the group. They were on a path leading up, almost out of the sewers by now. "Trap, D?" Brand asked.
The mage nodded. "Near here, and concealed. I can locate and remove them, but..." He grimaced, understanding that he was about to ask something he hadn't earned. He aimed it at Leon, possibly finding him to be the best target. "I'd really prefer to have my hands free for this. Tie my legs if you need to."
Zahra could see Leon consider the request, clearly debating it internally for several seconds before he nodded slightly. "Very well. Please be aware that if we trigger anything or you turn a spell on us, it will be very painful for you, regardless of whether any of us is in reach." He said it slowly, like the threat tasted sour on his tone, and in truth his tone wasn't all that threatening. Perhaps he thought the words were enough themselves, without any sort of show of intimidation otherwise.
Stepping forward, he bound Decius's feet first, clamping an iron manacle around each ankle. The chain between them was long enough for shuffling motion, or to do well enough if they had to climb another ladder, but there was no way he'd be running like that. Only once those were in place did the Seeker remove the bonds at the prisoner's arms, hooking those ones over his belt, presumably in case they once more became necessary.
"Thank you," Decius said, uneasily. "Now, where were they..." Being careful with his steps to not risk falling over accidentally, he shuffled forward and lit some kind of spell in his hands, glowing a light blue color. The stone all around them turned a slightly different color in its presence, more yellow instead of dull brown. All except for several bright red spots, where something could be seen worked into the very walls, and one spot on the floor.
"What's that one do?" Brand asked, curious, and probably not as concerned as he should have been.
"This one," Decius slowly approached the one on the wall to their left, "would incinerate you to ash before you could blink." Brand hmmed like it was just interesting information. Once he was close enough, Decius weaved a spell between his hands, and let it loose at the trap. The bright blue light coiled into the wall, and the red inscriptions faded. "Two more."
He repeated the process with the other two, and while it wasn't particularly exciting to wait, his warning about the traps was more than enough to keep them still. When they were gone, Brand cleared his throat.
"And I think this is where I leave you." He glanced up ahead, where the sun's light of day was clearly visible. "You're about out of here, and I'm no use against mages and magisters. Good luck, though. You guys seem alright." He winked at Zahra as he said it.
âWe're not totally awful." Khari shrugged, then grinned slightly. âThanks for the help, Brandywine. See you when we get back." Her tone indicated no doubt that they'd be back, either.
Being incinerated wasnât on Zahraâs list of things she wanted to do in Minrathous. Bringing Decius was a good idea after all. They wouldnât have made it nearly this far without his help, however forced it had been. Helpful. Even if he was dead weight with those manacles of his.
She stepped around Brand and grinned wide, thumping him softly in the chest with the back of her hand, âIâd say weâre pretty likable.â He was too. This friend of Româsâit was a shame, really. Having to serve someone in Minrathous. Coming back to Skyhold sounded much better. She thought he wouldâve liked it there. Who wouldnât? He would be free of shackles, however loose they appeared to be. âWeâll bring back some interesting stories. Promise. Make sure thereâs plenty of wine left.â
"I'll steal some on the way back," he promised, before meeting eyes with his old friend. "Do your thing, Rom."
He grinned, ever so slightly, and clasped arms with the elf. "Don't step in shit on your way back."
"That's the nicest thing you've ever wished for me."
Chryseis sighed audibly. "If you're all quite finished, there's only so much time left in the day." Brand took the hint, and scampered off into the darkness of the sewers. There were torches they'd passed on the way. Hopefully he'd be able to find and light one of them.
"Not sure why anyone's in a hurry," Decius said, though he was the first to make his way forward, shuffling his little steps to get a head start. "Considering what you're up against." He turned so he could shuffle backwards, and searched out the quiet human woman among them, Amalia. "I heard about you. Is it true what they say? That Marcus killed you once? Suppose it can't be, if you're here now."
Honestly, she'd said maybe a handful of words on the entire way here, all the way from Skyhold, and most of those were to the equally-quiet Dalish man she was always with. A few for Khari now and then, Zahra had noticed, but very little otherwise. Just enough to confirm that she wasn't actually mute. She regarded Decius flatly, her eyes unusually mismatched, but both sharp. "He tried," she said, her voice quiet. It lacked no steadiness or surety, however. "It didn't take."
It seemed either he hadn't known what answer to expect, or he didn't expect that, as Decius was left without anything to say for a moment, before he turned back around. Perhaps it was just the manner in which she said it. Either way, they continued in silence, and stopped several more time to disarm similarly lethal traps blocking their path. Decius had a sharp memory to locate them all, and avoid the ones that didn't need disarming.
Eventually the way forward led them onto a low, quiet street on the surface. It was the first time they'd actually been outside with their faces showing since leaving the docks, and it was hard to shake the immediate feeling of being watched. It was clearly a poorer area, with buildings of multiple stories surrounding them on all sides, some with rooftops within reasonable climbing distance, others serving as the base of impressively tall towers that continued up and up into the sky, only held together still by magic at certain points in their height.
"It's up ahead," Chryseis warned them. She went without any staff, preferring instead a short, curved knife, and a free hand left for casting, or cutting in the event that there was a shortage of blood. "That door, there."
The street split into a Y-shape, but the building they wanted had an entrance right at the divergence, on a landing at the end of a short flight of stairs. It was another tower, and if the other magisters' locations were anything to go by, they would need to go up once they were inside. The street was more than a little exposed, with the buildings on both sides looking down on a pathway devoid of any useful cover.
Decius carefully made his way up one step at a time, still working with chained feet, and stopped before the door. It was metal, slightly rusted by time, with a single handle and no visible lock. "There's a field on the doorway," he explained, lighting a different spell in his hand and lifting it to the portal. "Unpleasant results if you pass through it while it's activated." It was hard for Zahra to tell what the exact magic workings were, but it seemed like a more complex thing for Decius to pick apart. He had to focus a great deal, like he was remembering very specific instructions. Likely the magic was beyond him, and only something he could perform by following Marcus's specifications.
Soon though, there was a sound like water running down the rock face of a cliff, and Decius grabbed the door handle, swinging it open. The field was present in the doorway, but it was a soft yellow color, and didn't look dangerous. "Quietly now. Inside."
Ithilian stepped forward, his hand lingering on the hilts of his blades. Two of them, anyway. Apparently he wanted to be the first inside, or felt it was his place to test the effectiveness of Decius's spell. He lifted his hand slowly to the magic barrier, touched his fingers to it, and nothing happened, save for a slight rippling of the magic effect where his fingers broke the surface. He stepped inside, and waited for the others to follow.
Amalia followed him, no weapons yet drawn, but she was bristling with them in general: knives of several shapes and sizes, potion flasks, and a few pouches distributed in easy-to-reach places about her person. Whatever was in there, it seemed clear that she'd prepared for it. The barrier rippled behind her as she passed through, the color steadying once she'd disappeared to the other side.
Easy peasy. They hadnât run into any Venatori yet, their cover hadnât been blown and they had two frightening warriors at their sides. If Decius hadnât felt a shudder trickling down his spine at Amaliaâs deadpan retort, she certainly had. Or else, he was lying. It was a good thing they were on the same side, because she wouldnât have ever wanted to cross blades with her. Nor him. She wasnât surprised when they were the first to step through the barrier.
All the more reason for her to go next. Zahra rolled her shoulders, and feathered her fingers across the pommel of her rapiers. Her ironbark bow was well within reach if she needed it. She hadnât had the opportunity to actually put it to use. What better time then this? Trouble would find them soon enough. It always did. Especially when complex magic was involved and this place was rife with it. It almost made her uncomfortable with how little she understood it.
Almost. Not nearly enough to question the rippling thing covering the entirety of the doorway. She squeezed past Decius and stepped up to the barrier, brazen in her gait. Seeing how easily Amalia and Ithilian had walked past, she opted out of running a tentative hand across it. A hissing sound sang out as soon as her forearm and hand touched the barrier, âFUCK!â
There were no languid ripples; no effortless admittance. Her sleeve sizzled and burnt as if sheâd stuck her arm over an open fire. Only then did she bodily recoil, hugging her arm to her chest, stumbling away from the accursed doorway. Her eyes flew wide, eyebrows drawing in. âWhat the bloodyââ She rounded on Decius, âYou said it was fine.â
"It was, it was, I deactivated it, as instructed!" Decius appeared to be panicking slightly at what he just saw. "It has to beâah!" He had touched his own hand to it, as though Zahra had somehow done it wrong, only to find that it burned him just the same.
A small gasp escaped from someone, and after the soft rush of footsteps a gentle hand descended on her shoulder. A glance behind her would reveal a worried gaze from Asala. "Can I see?" she asked kindly, gesturing with the other hand for her to see the afflicted limb. In between fussing over Zahra, she did manage to spare a wary glare in Decius's direction-- though her eyes did linger on his own hand for a moment, before she returned to Zahra.
Zahra relented easily enough. It was difficult not to with how worried Asala looked. She unfurled her arm from her chest, holding it out to be inspected. Much of the fabric had burned clear away, reaching the flesh underneath. The burn itself was somewhat blistered and remarkably red. If she hadnât known better, she mightâve thought that she had actually caught on fire. It had taken seconds. The barrier. Magic. She huffed softly and leaned out, looking at Decius from the side of Asalaâs shoulder, âWell, clearly, itâs not. What do we do now?â
On the other side of the barrier, Ithilian had his blades drawn now, one a slightly curved and slender Dalish sword, the other a bone-carved knife with angry-looking enchantments worked into it. He touched the sword to the barrier's inside, finding that it hissed and left the tip of the sword glowing red hot. Not worth trying to pass back through, no doubt. It seemed they were stuck for the moment on the other side.
Meanwhile, Rom had started watching their surroundings as soon as something appeared wrong, and for good reason. An arrow came whistling in towards Decius's throat, but was intercepted by Rom's shield. "Venatori," he informed them calmly. The arrow had come from a rooftop to their left, but there were signs of movement on either side of them. More arrows soon to be on the way.
"No, no, no, no," Decius repeated, backing himself into a corner, as though he expected the Inquisition to execute him on the spot as well.
"An ambush," Chryseis declared. "Wonderful."
"Asala, we need this barrier down, as soon as possible." No doubt it wouldn't be a simple matter of dispelling it, if Decius didn't even understand it, and if it was as complex as someone like Marcus Alesius was capable of. And there were still the Venatori at their backs to deal with. "Zee, we need your bow on a roof." The Venatori were the ones with superior sight lines right now, but that didn't mean they couldn't take those positions for themselves. "Khari, help her get there?" It wouldn't be wise for them to split up too much, but sending Zahra off alone wasn't the best plan either.
"Make it fast, we've got our own on this side," Ithilian said from beyond the barrier. He was looking down as he said it; apparently the Venatori were coming up from below. The scarred elf grimaced, then got to work.
âYou got it, Rom." Khari glanced around for no more than a few seconds, eyes alighting on a rundown house not too far away, at a nice angle from the entrance that stymied them. âThat one. Let's get inside and get on the roof!" She took point herself, drawing the heavy sword from over her back and making a break for it, shouldering past a few more Venatori that were approaching on ground level. There wasn't time to stop for every one of them.
The home was surrounded by a little wooden fence, rickety and rotting at the posts. Khari cleared it in a leap, shifting her grip on the sword and taking hold of the doorknob with a hand. From the fact that it didn't open when she twisted, it was locked, but it was in such poor condition that it yielded under several insistent applications of her shoulder, falling open and allowing them inside.
A frightened squeak alerted them to the presence of a young woman, two small children clutching at her skirts. She was huddled in a corner, about as far away from the windows as she could possibly get them, wide, terrified blue eyes fixing on the intruders.
There was little time to reassure her that they weren't there to do any harm, though, because there was already a threat in the room: a Venatori operative. He hurled an ice spike at the doorway, forcing Khari to dodge to the side. The little house was so cramped that she nearly hit the wall in the process, and had to maneuver awkwardly to get her big sword around in time to knock down the next one, stepping in and striking him in the gut with her pommel. It gave her enough time to retrieve a shorter knife and find his throat with it.
Zahra, too, dashed to the side, opposite of Khari. She nearly tangled herself in a chair, before catching herself on the wall. The children were being scooted beneath a small table, out of sight. For the best. The house was too damn small to linger in any longer. Theyâd be at a disadvantage if they let anymore Venatori pool into the room. Besides, how the hell was Khari going to swing that monstrous blade? A wet gurgle signaled the operativeâs last breath.
There. Once her eyes locked onto the staircase, she wasted no time vaulting towards it and only halted when she climbed the first few steps, nearly bumbling into another Venatori descending. Whether he hadnât expected to bump into someone at such close proximity, it would be his undoing. He hadnât had time to raise his hands or level his pike. She grabbed onto the front of his collar, braced herself against the stairs and leaned backwards, sending him tumbling past her down the stairs for Khari to finish off.
From the thunk of steel biting into the floorboards, she certainly had.
She bounded up the stairs two at a time, only slowing when she reached an old, shabby door. The upstairs was just as unremarkable as the rest. Quaint. This door, however, led out onto a flattened expanse. A rooftop. Perfect place to pincushion Venatori. Presumably, most of their archers had already taken position in prime locations. Theyâd need to go first to give the others some wiggle room.
Only when Khari joined her side did Zahra reach for her bow, slipping it off her back. Her heartbeat thumped quicker. She fought against the smile twitching at her lips; her blood sang in her temples. Not wholly unpleasant. This nameless bow of hers. It felt comfortable in her hands, like it belonged there. She gave her enough room to push the door clear, letting her take point once more, âLetâs get âem.â