faderift | Not Quite Damsels, Definite Distress

"Stand down," Nathaniel growls at Velanna. "Anders...Anders can't be kept, he was in solitary confinement for a year in the Circle. If he is trapped in any way, he is frightened and suffering--Teren, shut up!"

And with that, Nathaniel's temper collapses into fire. He is finished. His dagger is sheathed, his hand comes out to gesture for silence from Teren and Velanna.

"Andraste preserve me, I will plant the both of you so deep in the ground you'll be snacks for the old gods. This isn't the time to be cavalier. These two people have information they are willing to give. There are to be no insults and no threats until they prove unwilling again."

The hand points to Kian and Ashton.

"Who are you, why do you have our people, and what do you want in exchange?"

Edited 2016-12-15 03:44 (UTC)

Velanna knows better than to snap back against Nathaniel in this moment, and she understands well enough his desperation, here. She'd done the same thing with the Architect. Spare him, so her sister may live.

So she glowers, but remains silent, waiting for an answer to his question.

There's a flash of anger in Teren's eyes when Nate shouts, and she has a brief look about her as though she might retaliate or, worse, do something rash. But instead, unexpectedly... she complies. Her expression remains dark and dangerous-- this will not be forgotten-- but she knows all too well that getting lost in a squabble would only hurt their chances of finding the hostages alive.

Her glare burns into the two offending mages, though her mind wanders somewhat. Anders, of course, is worth their concern. But she notices with heightened chagrin that Howe has not mentioned Alistair once, and with a dash of cold panic it occurs to her that there is one fairly obvious choice if they can only get one out.
Inside, she's torn between rage and utter helplessness. What she wants to do is slaughter her way through the stubborn, stupid masses until she can find the boys and extract them. Instead, she's here standing like a fool and taking orders from a whelp several decades her junior.
If looks could kill, Ashton and Kian would be dust.

They watch the exchange quietly, Kian looking more guilty by the time it's done and Ashton looking calmer. Ready to die or not, it's a relief to have Teren in front of her rather than behind.

"We're, some of us were, resolutionists," Ashton replies before watching for a reaction.

"Would that even mean anything to them?" Kian isn't quite looking at anyone. "She's not a Circle mage, they're not even mages."

Ashton exhales, looking like she hadn't thought of that. "Those of us who didn't manage to go apostate before the Circles broke were members of a fraternity that believed in breaking them anyway, by any means possible. We reached out to Anders a few months ago when his location was confirmed. His reply was... disappointing."

"It didn't seem like it was really him," Kian elaborates.

"That's who we are and why we needed to meet him. For an exchange, we want an agreement to no raids or attacks, and we'll give you one of them."

"Preferably Alistair." While his tone is mild, the look he gives Ashton isn't. "If someone cares to stay behind with Anders we won't argue it."

The look she gives Kian in return is unreadable, but a moment later she's looking at Nathaniel again and ignoring Teren as best she can. "Some of us would prefer to release Anders and keep Alistair instead."

A sharp laugh. Nathaniel paces the room.

"You are in no position to bargain," he says frankly. "You have kidnapped one of the leaders of the Grey Wardens, and I do not mean a lieutenant. I mean Ser Alistair is all but First Warden, and we are allied with the Inquisition. Whether you return him or not, this is an act of war. Even if you release only Alistair and demand someone to take his place, I would do so. And I am also Warden leadership. There is no good outcome for you here, only less bad ones."

A sigh. "Anders showed me the letters you wrote him, and those he wrote you. He wanted to make allies of you. He will want me to protect you, and Alistair shares my distaste for more bloodshed. So if you release them both, we will try to arrange a less bad outcome for you."

He looks at Teren. They are both Warden leadership here. He cannot negotiate without her.

Edited 2016-12-15 13:47 (UTC)

Teren's worry gnaws at her resolve like Lady on a rawhide. Her countenance remains fearsome, but with each new development she finds herself attacked by an uncharacteristic and paralyzing despair. Are the captives even alive, or is this some stupid game? Are they here at all?

Her gaze is like cold stone when she meets Nathaniel's, acknowledging his look. Oh, they'll negotiate.

Just because she isn't a Circle mage doesn't mean she is ignorant of the terms and how they divide themselves up within the Circles. Anders is her friend, and she has made other friends that were in the Circles. She doesn't say that aloud however, the point being entirely irrelevant as they explain themselves.

"We would have helped you," Velanna replies, looking a little dumbfounded, honestly. She's still very much angry, but she understands the persecution of mages. She is a Dalish mage who was banished from her own clan. She understands it all too well.

"You didn't need to do all of this. Anders must have explained that to you."

Kian looks even more guilty now, especially with what Velanna's saying, and he grimaces. He opens his mouth to speak, but Ashton beats him to it.

"Anders 'explained' a great many things, including how we shouldn't be fighting with everything we have, even though he did. How could we believe that he was really who he claimed to be? We had to know for sure."

"We had to understand," Kian adds. "What he did worked. Why shouldn't we follow suit?"

"And no one has ever helped mages except mages. Why would the Grey Wardens, supposedly doing something up north, want to help us?" Ashton shakes her head. "We know better. If you're offering a different compromise, say it. But we can have you overcome and depart long before the Inquisition can show up and attack."

"I don't think any of us want to do that." He's frowning at Ashton. "Or the some of us don't. Enough of us don't. But what do we do? Return him and let his message continue to weaken, while he focuses on other things too? Watch our cause weaken?"

Nathaniel stares at them both. His expression may not convey horror, but he is horrified. And angry, and baffled. Baffled is more like what comes across.

"So you want to save all the mages...except him. You want to protect all the mages, but not him. Whatever world you're creating, he can't be a part of it. Because he's a person now without a vengeful, bloodthirsty spirit persecuting him as badly as the Templars ever did. Do you think of it that way? That he was more useful to you when he was hurting?

"You could come to the Inquisition. Sit on the mages' council and help Anders prepare the mages for a life of freedom. But I'm sure he has already told you about that, and you've still done this. And you want us to prove goodwill? You took the man I love and you dare to lecture me on the justice of your cause?"

It's Teren's turn to hold out a stilling hand at Nathaniel, offering him a warning look: you're getting emotional, you're bringing in your personal life. Stop giving them ammunition.
"So you mean to keep Anders here to fuel your cause, push him back into radicalism, against his will?" she says to Ashton, calmer than before, her voice low and deadly. "For someone who claims to know so much about his motives, it seems you've forgotten what happens to those who try to contain him."

Justice isn't there anymore, it's true, but she isn't convinced a good portion of Anders' power as a threat wasn't just... him. With or without the spirit.

"And what of Alistair?" she continues, her eyes narrowing, "what use is he to you? You've barely mentioned him."

Velanna glances sideways at Nathaniel as he speaks, wanting to stop him but not particularly sure how. It's strange not being the one getting entirely too worked up about something. She's not sure how comfortable she feels, being in this situation.

"There are many mages with the Inquisition. The Templars don't rule over us, and we come and go as we please. There were other ways of going about this. Anders has always been a fool, he's just a fool who did something foolish and got lucky. You should have spoken to more of us than just he."

Kian's the only one that seems to be listening to what everyone's saying. Ashton looks like she's just barely refraining from rolling her eyes.

"One mage for the sake of all mages. It's a position any of us would be honored to have, being central to changing our future. And it isn't like he has anything promising to say about the Mage Council or it making any progress." Ashton shakes her head. "If you love him, you'll--"

"Really?" Kian's finally had enough. "He'll what? Be fine with it? We don't have a use for Alistair, she's fishing for things to use. This isn't turning out as planned at all, and we're worried about more than what happens during the Inquisition. Most of us don't want a fight."

Ashton's eyes are narrow, arms crossed. She disagrees with some of that, but isn't about to say what parts. "We're not simply handing them both over. We would need a unanimous vote from the five of us and you're one, but I'm another."

"Take us to them," Teren cuts in, fixing her eyes on Ashton. "I don't want to waste another moment on your pithy squabbling when we don't even know they're alive. I want to see them. In the flesh. Before we negotiate anything, or subject ourselves to what passes for your governance."

She glances furtively to Nate, hoping this will calm him down. It's only superficially working for her, and only if they actually agree to her demand.

Nathaniel knows better than to make it personal, but he did it anyway. Once the words are out of his mouth he turns his face away, anger boiling in him, knowing he just revealed to the enemy how much he values the treasure they have. He is very close to being done with negotiating, to storming out and launching a rescue effort tonight. Then Kian begins to argue, and Nathaniel looks at him. Stinging, hurt, but considering.

Egalitarians are perfectly fine with tyranny, his father told him once, so long as they get to be the tyrants.

He doesn't say it aloud. It wouldn't help if he did, and he has said too much already. He meets Teren's gaze, sullen but grateful, quietly surrendering the debate to her.

"And give you their location." Ashton's voice is flat, but Kian's already hit Done and has moved on to So Done With Everything.

"We outnumber them. If they go back for reinforcements we'll have time to move. We have the advantage and if we don't give them something they won't bargain and people are going to die. Some of them could be people we care about. We joined up to end that and I'm going to hold myself to that even if you won't."

"Even if one of them held a knife to your throat."

The look Kian gives Nathaniel isn't friendly... but it also isn't furious. "That comes up in negotiations." He gets up from his chair, legs stable underneath him again, and tilts his head toward the door. "This way. Unless you have a very good reason as to why we shouldn't show them."

Ashton considers for a moment before shaking her head. "All right. We play it this way."

Kian nods and opens the door, stepping outside.

Nathaniel feels, though he does not say, that these people started out with a knife to his throat.

They walk, and Nathaniel is sure to get the lay of the land. The captives could be moved between now and the rescue, so he has to take in everything. Possible points of entry and, just as important, routes of escape. He is not satisfied until he has at least two of each.

Teren takes stock of similar things, though she just as often stares at the captors themselves, memorizing their body language, their tics, their tells. It's not hard, they're obviously nervous and out of their depth. This will certainly prove advantageous to her own party, but Teren is waiting to accumulate more details before she can start properly scheming.

Her hands clench and unclench at her sides, her tension building as they grow nearer. The boys had better be there. Unharmed, and unafraid. Or...
....else.

Not Quite Damsels, Definite Distress

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sorry I had the tag half-written and had to leave for work so I posted it early and now it's done

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