Dragon Age: Dark Times

Lyanna barely acknowledged the guys. "The darkspawn will be on this village soon. We must move on. I will gather my belongings." She led them to a tiny house a short distance from the village. People who saw them with her muttered and glared. While she was inside, a man approached them. "Best beware. You've taken up with a demon."

"A... demon?" Hasur asked

The man nodded and lowered his voice, glancing warily at the front door. "There was a woman passed through here years ago, with a husband and a babe on the way. They went into the woods together. Days later the woman came crawling back, covered in blood. Not all of it her own. It was the woman's body, but a demon within, and it raged. Two men died. She wears a human face, but we all know what lives outside our borders. She is a monster. If you take her from here we are grateful, but it will mean your death."
Mariel looked at the others. "There may be darkness in her past, but I don't believe she is a demon."

"We all have our share of darkness" Idam replied "and she hasn't given us reason to fear her"

Lyanna reappeared behind them, a bag slung over her shoulder. "So I'm not a demon. That's good to know." The villager 'eep'ed and ran off. "Let's not waste time. Where are we going?" Mariel considered. "We have treaties for three groups, but before we start gathering troops I want to visit Denerim. We'll make some discreet inquiries and see if we can expect any help from the nobility."

"Then let's be on our way" Hasur replied.

Denerim had few people out in the streets, mostly merchants. Idam looked around and asked "where would we find a noble? I doubt we can get in to their estate"

Mariel shook her head. "We can't approach anyone directly without knowing they will support us. Revealing ourselves to the wrong person could spell the end of all our plans."
Lyanna slipped away to speak to some men watching them from an alley. She returned a minute later. "There is a brothel near the alienage."
Mariel gaped. "A... brothel? I'm certain none of us are thinking of that at the moment!"
"But there is no better place to find information. Whores are privy to all sorts of secrets, and usually willing to part with them for the right price."

At the brothel Hasur and Idam followed Mariel closely. They looked around carefully. A woman approached Idam and said "hey handsome." Idam smiled and replied "hello pretty lady" "if you want I can give you and your friend there a two-for-one special" Hasur glared at the woman so she turned to Idam and said "or how about one-on-one" Before he could respond she was slowly leading him away. He tilted his head and asked "one-on-one? One-on-one what?"

A hand grasped Idam's free arm, gently but firmly. "This one is not for you, Laraya." The speaker was an attractive elf in a silk robe that left his chest bare. He pulled so Idam's back was to his chest and gave a possessive glare and a somehow more threatening smile. Once the woman left in a huff, he released Idam and gave him a friendly grin. "Clearly this is no place for you. You should stay with your companions."

Idam bowed his head and said "thank you messere" Hasur also thanked the elf. Then promptly smacked Idam in the back of the head and said "and just what were you doing letting someone just drag you off like that?" Idam looked confused and replied "I thought she wanted to talk"

Da'mi laughed. "So naive. Now, how may I be of service?"
Lyanna looked him over. "You look like you have some wealthy clients. We want to know how they feel about certain recent events."
"It's true, most of my regular clients are very rich. My time is quite valuable, you see."
Mariel cut in. "We'll pay for your time, and your information."
"Very well. Come this way." He led all four of them to a room in the back, looking smug when they passed the woman who had tried to seduce Idam. Once they had privacy he lounged on the bed. "I am Da'mi the Radiant Beauty, but that is merely a whore's title. Da'mi alone will suffice. Who do I have the pleasure of entertaining?"

"I am Hasur Tyaeri," Hasur replied "and this is my brother Idam." Idam smiled politely.

"I am Mariel Telis, and this is Lyanna Stark. We were hoping you could tell us how some of the nobility feels about Loghain and the Grey Wardens. Whose side do they fall on?"
Da'mi pondered for a minute. "You must understand, they do not come to me to discuss politics. But I am here to ease their stress, and sometimes that includes listening to them prattle on. I hear some interesting things. And you can ask a person almost anything if you find a pleasant enough way to distract them." He chuckled. "I have some appointments with important clients later today. Come back to me tomorrow and I may have some information, for a very reasonable price."

"Do we have enough money?" Idam asked. Hasur replied "well, if we don't we'll just have to go earn some"
"Where?"
"I don't know! Doing odd jobs for people"
"Why odd? We can't do normal jobs to?"
"I can't believe we're related" Hasur muttered as he headed for the exit.

They got a large room at the tavern and gathered. "I want to see what sort of rumors can be heard at the bar," Mariel said, "but apart from that I don't think we should risk drawing attention by snooping too much. Hopefully Da'mi will have something for us tomorrow. Any ideas of what we should do until then?"

"Well, we could check the Chanter's Board for some jobs" Hasur suggested.

Mariel considered. "We will need money, and supplies. It's a good idea."

So off they went, doing small tasks for The Chantry, until nightfall. Hasur flopped onto the bed and sighed "Andraste's flaming ass... darkspawn emissaries are difficult to fight"

Idam sat on the floor by a window and replied "I have so many bruises they have names and relatives"

Mariel nodded exhaustedly. "I'm quite ready to get some sleep. Lyanna and I will share this bed. I assume as brothers you won't mind sharing the other. Sleep well."
Worn out, it didn't take them long to fall asleep. In the middle of the night a shadow crept into the room, took a seat by the door, lit a candle, and waited.

Idam woke up, bright and early, and got out of bed carefully so he didn't disturb Hasur. As he stretched he saw an intruder and immediately grabbed a dagger he hid under the bed. He carefully approached and said "who are you"

Da'mi lowered his hood. "You've forgotten me already? How sad. You can put that down now. You too." He nodded at Lyanna, who hadn't moved or opened her eyes but was clutching a knife under her pillow. "If I wanted you dead you would never have woken." Lyanna sat up and nudged Mariel awake. "What do you want?" Da'mi smiled. "Something very interesting happened when I started asking questions about Grey Wardens. Two patrons engaged my services to kill you all. Paid in advance, even."

Idam put his dagger away and quickly got Hasur up, saying "Hasur! This is serious! Wake up!" Hasur reluctantly got up and said "why are you so energetic?"
"Someone wants us dead already!"
"I'm surprised it wasn't sooner" He looked over at Da'mi and said "I'm sorry, could you please explain?"

Da'mi rose and stretched, almost purring in pleasure. "Ah, it is good to work the kinks out. That is a very uncomfortable chair." He glared at the offending piece of furniture. "Now, to explain. As it happens, I am not merely a whore. I have another business; as a dealer of death. When the rich need someone to disappear but can't have their own hands dirtied, they whisper a name in Da'mi's ear and lay some gold in my hand. It seems word has reached our new regent and his allies of a surviving Grey Warden, and they would very much like for her and her companions to disappear."

"Great" Hasur replied sarcastically. Idam turned to Mariel and said "we better get out of here as soon as possible. I don't think we're quite ready for Loghain yet" He turned back to Da'mi and said "oh, I almost forgot! Thank you for telling us this" Idam bowed respectfully.

Da'mi smiled cheerfully. "Well, I must admit to a certain admiration of Grey Wardens, and a healthy dislike of our regent. Did you know, the man wishes to close the Pearl? In my experience a man who dislikes whores is not to be trusted." Mariel lifted her pack. "We aren't safe here. We can make camp outside the city." Da'mi shook his head and wagged a finger at her. "Now, use your head. If I can track you here others can, and when they find you gone they will look on the roads out of the city. I can show you a place where you may rest and plan your course in peace." Seeing their suspicious looks, he pointed out "If I wanted to kill you I would not have allowed you to wake." Mariel considered and finally nodded. "Very well." They gathered their things, and Da'mi led them through isolated back alleys so they wouldn't be seen. Finally he stopped at an out-of-the-way building and knocked on the door.