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Blood Promise	By : Hikari86 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4556 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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Bones

They had to stop occasionally to allow Merrill to rest. Her use of blood magic during the attack left her pale and weak. They also had to stop when the pain in Jordan's chest became too much for her. She had wanted to get out of the tunnels first before asking either Bethany or Anders to heal her, but their frequent stops for Merrill soon got the better of her. Bethany quickly attended to her sister, while Anders provided for Merrill a few potions. He also went about examining Keran, seeing if he had anything that needed healing, as well as—Jordan assumed—still trying to determine if there was a demon inside him. At their current stop, Jordan noticed a lack of interest from Anders toward Keran, telling her he still wasn't finding anything. Either there really wasn't a demon in Keran, or the demon was so well concealed that not even he could sense it. She hoped it was the first.
They were also one man down. Fenris, being angry at Jordan for allowing several of the blood mages to run, had gone after them on his own. Jordan couldn't believe he had done that, knowing he wasn't going to be able to catch all of them, and there was a possibility he might get lost in the sewers. She had wanted to go after him, but then realized she would more than likely get just as lost. They were only able to get out of the sewers now thanks to Aveline, who had been keeping a map when they first entered.
Coming out of the sewer entrance, everyone was relieved to see Darktown. It was still night, dark on the streets, but there was still a fair amount of light coming from the stars and moon in the sky. Jordan could feel her exhaust, see it in the faces of the others. Keran looked the most exhausted, having gone through such a horrible ordeal, but he also looked the most relieved when they come up from the sewers. Like something had been lifted from him.
“Are you taking me straight to the Gallows?” he asked.
“You can't get to the Gallows at night,” said Jordan. “Ferry's closed.”
“Not the one the templars use. I can show you where it is and get us on.”
“Alright,” Jordan sighed, although she hadn't really planned on taking him to the Gallows so soon. “Just let me get some things situated first. Anders, can you take Merrill and Bethany home? Aveline and I will take Keran.”
“I'm not sure if that's wise,” said Anders.
“Why, because he still might be possessed? How many times have you checked him and found nothing?”
“It's just--” Anders began but then stopped when a commotion behind them caught their attention.
“Get him!” yelled a man. “I don't care if he is a templar. No one treats me like that!”
An older man in dented templar armor fell out from behind a corner. He scurried to his feet, grabbing his sword but appeared to be having difficulty handling it. Several more men—thugs by their looks—came out from the corner after him. He was severally outnumbered, and out skilled.
“I don't think so,” Jordan said as she made her way over to the scene.
“Jordan, don't,” Anders protested.
“Because he's a templar?”
“Because we shouldn't get involved.”
“Please.” Jordan rolled her eyes and pulled out Edge and Ripper. “Hey!” she yelled at the thugs. “Where I come from, we don't treat our elders that way. Well... unless he's my uncle.”
“You don't want to get involved in this, woman,” said the leader. “I suggest you turn around and walk away. Otherwise we might decide to have a little fun with you next.” Many of the men around him chuckled and smiled at this. Their eyes shining, hoping she wouldn't.
Jordan shook her head. “Typical male. If you really knew me, then you wouldn't want me close to you.”
“Just get out of here!” the leader shouted at her. “This templar and I have business that doesn't concern you.”
“How do you know? You never asked who I was.”
“I don't need to know who you are. All I know is you're a nuisance that I need to be rid of. Boys!” Some of the men began to advance on Jordan, suddenly ceasing when the ground in front of them burst into flames. Jordan turned to see her sister beside her, hand outstretched with flames about her fingers.
“Don't you dare touch my sister.”
“Bethany?” Jordan said, surprised by her sister's behavior. “What's gotten into you? There's a templar there, you know.”
“I know,” she nodded. “But not even a templar should be treated like this. And I'm sure not going to let them touch you.”
Most of the men who had been almost too happy to take care of Jordan looked on at them with wide-eyed expressions. Especially when they noticed two other mages behind them, and another woman who appeared even tougher than Jordan.
“What's it going to be, boys?” Jordan smiled. “Care to test us?”
The leader took a step back, looked at the templar then back at Jordan. He grunted before turning and running off, gesturing for his men to follow. They then disappeared into the darkness, but not before the leader stopped and shouted at Jordan. “You'll pay for this, bitch! I swear, I'll find out who you are!”
“No need!” Jordan yelled back. “The name's Hawke! Learn it, and understand why tonight was your lucky night!”
“I thank you, serah,” the templar said as he relaxed his stance and replaced his sword. “I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't have come when you did.”
“Don't mention it,” Jordan said as she also replaced her blades. “But what's an old-timer like you doing in Darktown at this time of night?”
“Investigating. I had asked that man along with his fellows if they might be able to provide any information for me about someone I'm trying to find. Apparently I did something to upset him.”
“I'd say. Normally if you show thugs the right amount of coin, they'll do anything you ask. Who are you, by the way?”
“Oh, yes, forgive my manners,” he said. “My old age gets to me at times, such as tonight. I am Emeric.”
“Emeric?” Jordan said as she stared at the old templar. “I'm actually suppose to be tracking you down.”
“You were?” Emeric said, surprised. “Who sent you to find me? Was it one of the other templars? I know they don't believe me, but...”
“No, I was told to come find you by an elf named Jethann. Do you remember him? From the Blooming Rose. You went to go question him about a woman named Ninette. She's the actual person I'm looking for. I was hired by her husband to track her down.”
“Yes, I remember Jethann.” Emeric looked beyond Jordan at her companions, stopping his gaze slightly on the three mages before staring back at her. “I wanted to question him about Ninette as well.”
“Hold on,” Jordan spoke. “Don't tell me Ghyslain hired the both of us. Because if he did, then we might have a problem here.”
“No, no.” Emeric held out his hands. “That's not the reason. I was curious about Ninette because her disappearance was similar to that of Mharen.”
“Mharen?”
“Yes. She's a mage from the Gallows. She's also disappeared, and I've been trying to find her.”
“Let me guess,” said Anders. “You think she ran away and want to drag her back to the Circle?”
“No, that's not the case at all,” said Emeric. “Mharen was an older mage, and hardly adventurous. A loyalist, I believe, and one that never went against the Chantry. I found it odd when she disappeared, and went to the knight-commander to send out a search party for her. She didn't believe Mharen was worth wasting time and resources, and denied my request. So I decided to investigate on my own. While trying to find out what happened to her, I came across Ninette, along with two other missing women that seemed to be connected.”
“Connected?” Jordan questioned. “How so?”
“I used Mharen's phylactery to track her down. It lead me to a foundry in Lowtown, but I didn't find her or anything within. When I questioned some of the locals, they believed they saw a woman of Mharen's description go in, but no one ever say her come out. It was also the same for Ninette. I went back to the foundry to investigate further, but still found nothing unusual.”
“So why are you down here in the undercity?”
“I think there's foul play going on in that foundry. Knowing Kirkwall, and especially Lowtown, each building has two purposes. The one that goes with the law, and the one that goes against it. I wanted to find out what goes on in that foundry that the guards don't know about. But that's where I got into trouble.”
“Of course,” Anders said, crossing his arms. “A lone templar, sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.”
“He obviously doesn't know how things work down here,” said Aveline.
“That is not a lie,” Emeric said. “That, and the fact I'm not as young as I used to be made me an easy target. I asked those thugs to gather what information I needed about the foundry, but when I didn't have the right amount of coin they wanted, they attacked.”
“Did you learn anything at all?” Jordan asked.
“No, and I'm afraid I'm at a dead end.” Emeric sighed, looking beaten and drained.
“If you want, I can continue the investigation for you,” said Jordan. “If they are connected, I'm sure where ever Ninette is, Mharen with probably be with her.”
“That would be appreciated. I do tire of searching, and I have no shame in walking away. These old bones know when it's too much. When you do find anything, if you do, please come and see me at the Gallows.”
“Of course. But are you heading back there now?”
“I am.”
“Then do you think you could take Keran with you? I was going to take him myself, but I think I might check out the foundry if he can go with you.”
Emeric looked to Keran. “Keran, you found him? I... What about the other recruits who were also missing?”
“Keran's the only one still alive,” Jordan explained. “But he can give you more of the details on the way. Right now, I suggest you two go ahead and get back to the Gallows. I'll try and be there sometime tomorrow to tell you what I found at the foundry, and to also speak to Ser Cullen about Keran and the others.”
“Then I will be waiting. May the Maker watch over you, serah.” Emeric bowed to her and the others before taking Keran and heading out of Darktown.
“Oh, so are we not going to our homes now?” Merrill asked.
“One more stop,” said Jordan. “Then we can go home.”
“I actually remember him,” said Aveline.
Jordan cocked as eyebrow at her.
“Emeric. It was maybe a week before I caught Captain Jeven in his scheme. I remember he came to the guard, trying to get our help to find a missing mage. Jeven yelled at him, said it wasn't the guard's duty to go looking for runaway mages. That was what templars were for. Although I didn't like how Jeven handled it, I did agree with him.”
“So the guard doesn't help with mages or domestic disputes?” Jordan asked. “What do you guys do?”
“We do a lot more than you think. Such as keeping people like you in line.”
“But what if the two women are connected in some way?” said Bethany. “What if Ninette and Mharen didn't just simply runaway?”
“That's why we're going and taking a look,” said Jordan. “We'll go and see what might be going on behind the closed doors of this foundry.”
***
The foundry was empty. Completely gutted even of the ovens and machinery that should have been inside. Jordan didn't find it that odd. There were many empty and forgotten buildings in Lowtown. But there was something about the building that put Jordan on edge. It was dark, hard to see anything right in front of her. She needed to be careful. The building may have appeared to be abandoned, but that was only a facade.
Jordan took a step forward into the darkness.
Immediately it hit her, a second before she heard her sister yell for her to not go any further. Jordan was slammed into the ground, skidding across the dirt floor and smacking against the wooden wall. Her body ached all over from the blast, ears ringing and head spinning. She could barely see as she forced her eyes open. She couldn't locate any of her friends, just something tall and black looming over her. She stared at it, the shape wobbling and unfocused. Jordan pushed herself to her knees, then onto her feet. She was then sent back into the wall as the black object moved and pressed against her.
The stink of rotting flesh filled her nostrils. Jordan could feel something sharp biting into her arms. A low rumble sounded in her ear, and when Jordan opened her eyes again, she stared at a hooded figure. Within the hood was one piercing, burning red eye staring back at her. The creature opened its mouth, nothing but a hole lined with rotting teeth. It then screamed and took Jordan from the wall and flung her clear across the room.
Jordan fell upon the ground, striking her shoulder and rolled before finally stopping herself. When she looked up, she saw the creature coming for her. It moved as if floating, a black mist coming out where feet should have been. Its body lean and cloaked in a shroud of ripped and decayed dark clothe.
The room was all alight. A circle of fire had sprung around the room, closing them in. Jordan could see her friends fighting similar creatures as they floated about, swiping with their long claws. The one after her curled its fingers, bringing a hand down to grab at her. Jordan rolled to the side, ignoring the pain in her shoulder, and brought herself to her feet. Edge went straight into the creature's side, but the only thing it did was to make it more mad. The creature swung its arm, hitting Jordan in the head and taking her back to the ground. Her head spun. Lights dotted her vision field. She had lost her grip on Edge, the blade still implanted in the creature's side. Ripper was all she had left as she forced herself back on her feet despite the fact the room was still spinning. Something gripped the back of her neck. Long fingers with sharp claws curled to her throat and pierced into her flesh. Jordan grabbed the fingers, but she couldn't loosen their hold.
With its tight grip, the creature dragged her backwards. Jordan fought to get loose. She swung Ripper the best she could behind her, but hit only air. Another festered hand grabbed her flinging arm, squeezing hard and forcing her to drop Ripper. Jordan stood motionless as the hand on her neck applied more pressure. She could feel pain shooting to her head. Her vision became clouded with black dots. Something odd then caught her eye. It was on the balcony, a figure standing above the scene, staring down. She couldn't see it clearly, what it was or what it was doing there, or if it was even there at all.
Claws dug into the flesh at her throat. Her air was cut off and Jordan lost sight of the figure as she choked. She tried to fight herself free, but the creature was too strong, and she was getting weaker.
“Jordan!”
There was a loud smack. The creature screamed and reared forward. Its grip released Jordan, and she fell to the ground coughing and holding her throat. Above her Aveline appeared and sliced across the creature's front. She brought up Wesley's shield and the creature hissed. It then went to strike at her, but Aveline blocked its attack and brought her sword forward. It cut off one of the creature's hands. Aveline then continued her press, slamming Wesley's shield into its side and driving Edge further in. With a loud shriek, the creature backed away, stumbling as it moved. It was enough as Aveline kept moving, driving her sword into the creature's chest then knocking it in the head. The creature went down, then disappeared in a bubbling froth.
Recovering Edge, Aveline returned it to Jordan as she also helped her to stand. “Do you see what I mean?” said Aveline.
“What?” Jordan said as she rubbed her head, still feeling a throb pulsing up from the back of her neck.
“You like to get into trouble. You need to start being more careful.”
“I am careful! I just wasn't... expecting that.”
Aveline rolled her eyes. “Do you realize that demon nearly had you?”
“That was a demon?”
“Technically a shade, but yes, a demon.”
“You did pretty well against it.”
“Just as your father taught you how to handle mages, Wesley taught me how to handle demons. Now, how badly are you hurt?”
“Nothing I can't handle,” Jordan said as she rounded her shoulder. She also rubbed her neck, then nearly screamed when someone came behind her and pressed down on her hurt shoulder.
“Nothing you can't handle, huh?” Anders nearly laughed.
“It is when no one's squeezing it!” Jordan backed away from him.
“Do you want me to heal you or not?” he smiled.
“I said I was fine. Bethany can heal me later anyway.” She then turned away from him and peered about the room. Anders glanced over at Bethany who only shrugged.
The foundry was still lit by the ring of fire, but now it was less intense, going only a foot above the ground. Jordan gently stepped over it as she went to the stairs leading to the balcony. She wanted to go where that figure had been standing. She saw it was no longer there, having disappeared right when Aveline saved her. As Jordan thought, she knew she had seen something. It looked to have been human, but at the moment, it was hard to tell. As she went about the balcony, soon she came to spot she knew the figure had been standing. She saw nothing there, until she looked at the ground.
“What... is that...?” Merrill said as she pointed to what Jordan was reaching for.
“Bones,” said Jordan. She picked them up and dusted away the fine black powder that coated them. “They look like... finger bones.”
“There's at least a whole hand here.” Anders collected the rest of the bones that were on the floor. “Maybe two.”
“And there's something else.” Bethany bent down and dusted away more of the powder to reveal something shiny underneath. When she picked it up, she placed it in the palm of her hand to show everyone. It was a gold ring, fancy with jewels.
“That looks Orlesian,” said Aveline.
Jordan thought as she stared at the ring and the bones. Hand bones with an Orlesian ring. Ninette was Orlesian. Or if she wasn't, Ghyslain was.
Behind them was a door. Jordan turned and opened it to see if there was anything more. The room was empty except for a few crates piled in a corner. There was no other exit, and nothing suspicious laid on the floor.
“I don't know about you guys,” said Jordan as she went back to everyone. “But I think we found Ninette. Or at least part of her.”
“You don't think...” Bethany said, looking horrified.
“It's just a hand we found,” said Merrill. “You can live without a hand.”
“But why is it here?” Aveline asked. “And what purpose is there to severe a hand?”
“I don't know,” said Jordan. “But just as with Emeric, this place is a dead end. We aren't going to find anymore.”
Bethany stared at the ring in her hand. “So what are we suppose to tell Ghyslain?”
“I'll worry about that,” Jordan said as she took the ring from her sister. “Right now let's just get out of here before we discover any more traps I might set off.”
***
“Huh? What... what's going on?” Ghyslain stood in the doorway of his mansion, appearing disheveled and sleepy. The servant who had answered the door had gone to wake him. He stared at Jordan and Aveline who stood just outside. The rest Jordan had sent home.
“We found some information about your wife you might be interested in,” said Jordan.
“Ninette?” Ghyslain had to rub his eyes before continuing. “That's right, I sent you to find her. What's this about? Couldn't it have waited until morning?”
“I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to bring your wife back.” Ghyslain snorted, but Jordan went on. “I did, however, find this ring. Is it hers?”
Handing him the ring, Ghyslain examined it before nodding. “Yeah, this is hers. Ninette's wedding ring. Where did you find it?”
Jordan and Aveline exchanged looks. “We believe...” Jordan spoke. “We found it on her hand. Or... what used to be her hand.”
Ghyslain's eyes shot open. “You mean she's... dead?”
“All we found was a hand,” Aveline explained. “Nothing else. But I don't want to get your hopes up. There really was nothing else we could find.”
“I would just except that this time she's gone for good,” said Jordan.
Ghyslain sighed, and clenched the ring in his fist. “Ninette, you fool. What did you get yourself into this time?” Relaxing his fist, he then looked at the ring one more time. “Look at the engraving. 'Forever faithful, forever yours.' Written in happier times. Maybe you should... take this back.” He gave Jordan back the ring. “If she really is... I don't want anything that might link me to her... death. Especially with her family asking questions. They're already hounding me about her whereabouts, and I know they're going to blame me.” He shifted for a moment, looking around before taking a deep sigh. “I thank you, serah, for telling me this. But please excuse me. I have arrangements to make.” He then closed the door.
“I think that went well,” said Jordan as she and Aveline made their way down the Hightown street.
“It could have gone better,” said Aveline. “But I don't blame how he reacted. It's not the best thing to find out your wife might have been murdered in the middle of the night.”
“So what's the guard going to do about it?” Jordan asked.
“I don't know.” Aveline stared at her feet as they walked. “I could have my guards investigate that foundry further in the daytime, but I'm afraid we'll find just the same we did tonight. Nothing.”
“But there's got to be something more, right? Why were the bones there? And what was that trap I set off? There has to be something.”
“That trap might have been left there from previous times. Or it could have been from something that has nothing to do with the bones. Either way, once I'm able, I'll send a group of guards to see if they can find anything.”
“I guess that means my job is done.” Jordan examined the ring as they reached the stairs that would take Aveline up to the keep. “Think this ring could fetch a fair price?”
“I think it could, but you won't be able to sell it right now.”
“Why?”
Aveline snatched the ring from her. “I need it as evidence. And don't look at me like that. When the case has been closed, I'll make sure you get it back.”
“Aveline! You know I need the money for the expedition.”
“I know, but I also know you're doing just fine. You don't need the ring. Now good-night, Jordan, and make sure you get home all right.”
“Right,” Jordan sighed. “Good-night, Aveline.” Aveline then made her way up the stairs and Jordan headed toward Lowtown. On her way home, she thought, wondering what it all meant. Was Ninette really dead, and did Mharen's disappearance have anything to do with her? Or was Emeric reading too much into it? She still had the bones. Tomorrow, when she would go to Emeric and tell him what she found, she would also give him the bones and see if he could do anything with them. For Jordan, she was done with it. Whatever had been going on in the foundry, or whatever she had seen on the balcony, she wouldn't worry about. It wasn't going to affect her.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age 2
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Blood Promise