So, I will warn you now. I got a little bit carried away with a certain scene and ended up writing something I've never written before. I'll put it simply. There is a group sex scene -- M/M/M/F -- which will involve man on man contact. So if you don't like that, skip it. I'll even tell you where it is -- near the end. It's not particularly graphic and it's over in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 11 -- Hot and Hard in Haven
*****
"Back off, Sten. You don't want to fuck with me."
The qunari thought he could intimidate me, but I'd fought bigger, meaner monsters. He was a giant of a man, compared to the average one, but not much bigger nor broader than myself. I just met his glare, puffed myself up, ready to fight. "We're wasting time. The Blight isn't here."
"No, it's isn't. But I don't have to explain myself to you."
"Then you're not proving an effective leader."
I stepped forward so we were almost nose to nose. "You'd better back down, qunari, otherwise..."
"Make your threat."
"I don't need to. Because most people are smart enough to pull their heads in before I need to. But if you want to dance, take off your armour and let's dance."
He didn't hesitate, immediately unclasping the armour across his chest. I followed, taking off my chest armour, followed by my gauntlets. I would have taken off my boots, but I'm figuring we would fight until someone was knocked into submission. For a big man, he moved fast, trying to catch me by surprise with a straight fist at my face. I swerved and swung a left into his ribs. I heard his breath catch as he turned towards me, raising his fists. I didn't raise mine, keeping them low, simply watching him.
"Bring it, qunari. Show me what you got."
He tried his best, and I'll give him respect for that. But I hadn't got to where I was without battling long and hard. I'd taken my licks along the way too, but I wasn't going to lose to him. I might be large, but I could be quick when required, and each time I swung a fist, it landed. I didn't aim for his face. You don't hit the face unless you wanted to break fingers, knuckles, or even a wrist if you were unlucky. So I aimed for his body. Ribs could still hurt me, but hurt him more, particularly around his lungs. The kidneys would bring even a giant to his knees. And anywhere around the abdomen was perfect.
He took a lot of punishment before he finally went down. And as soon as he went down, I backed off. An honour bound warrior does not hit a man once he's taken a knee, or if you've put him on his arse. The fight is over, and you move on. From his knee, Sten looked up and nodded. "I apologise, Dragonborn."
I offered my hand, which he accepted immediately. I even dusted off his shoulders. "Accepted, Sten."
We both put on our armour and he returned the same gesture as the rest. "I follow your word until the end, Dragonborn. You are the greater warrior."
"I'll be honest. My hands hurt a little now."
He never laughed, but he understood the attempt at humour. "Mine would if I actually hit you."
Alistair laughed. "Sten just cracked a joke!"
Sten just glared at him. "I do not joke, Warden."
Alistair stopped laughing immediately.
I didn't remember Haven particularly well, so we wandered aimlessly for a while. We eventually approached a guard and asked some information. I was rather blunt, asking about the Urn of Sacred Ashes. When told they didn't exist, I didn't tell him he was full of bullshit, though I'm sure my face reflected that. The guard let it be known that our presence was not welcome.
Then he said something that had Leliana's back up. "Since when does the Chantry allow males to deliver sermons?"
"It is always been the case in Haven. Do not judge us by your lowland sensibilities."
"May we speak with this father?" I asked politely.
"Father Eirik is currently giving a sermon. However, he may choose to give you a few minutes of his time. But do not dally here long. Outsiders are not welcome here."
"Because you're a bunch of fucking fruitcakes," Alistair muttered as we walked away.
Heading up the hill, we eventually found the Chantry, entering to see a man give a particularly fiery sermon. We hovered near the back until he was finally done, walking forward as a group, feeling hostile glares from the villagers, while Eirik looked at us with disdain, if I read him correctly.
"You are strangers in this village. Why are you here?"
I figured getting straight to the point would be best. "A Brother Genitivi has passed through here recently. Have you seen him?"
"We have had no-one of this name pass through the village."
"Are you sure? His notes stated explicitly that he would be passing through here."
"For what reason would he pass this way?"
"The Urn of Sacred Ashes."
"Then not only have we not seen him, but he is a fool. The urn is a myth, nothing more."
I sniffed. "You know what I smell?"
"What?"
"Bullshit."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"Yep."
He started to laugh, and I heard the doors slam shut behind us. "Drop your weapons and you won't be harmed. You can join your Brother Genitivi downstairs. We have no time for idolaters."
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose with my finger and thumb. "Why do they always make it so difficult?"
"What?"
"Never mind." I just gestured, and chaos erupted in the hall. Eirik was a mage, and I had to move fast to prevent being on the receiving end of an attack, lifting my shield to block any attack before it slammed into him. He went flying back, tumbling end over end, and I didn't give him time to get up, putting my sword through one of his eyes. I turned around to see carnage. The villagers were lunatics, fanatics even, fighting my group without any armour. I called for them to surrender and they would not be harmed, but they wouldn't listen.
Then the doors were flung open and even more villagers flooded in. The longer they fought back, the more pissed off I got that they wouldn't listen, that their deaths were futile. But they fought with a fanaticism I'd rarely if ever seen. I think killing Eirik so quickly maybe hadn't been the smartest idea. Even when there were only three of them left, they still wouldn't surrender. By that stage, everyone was pissed off, some of us carrying injuries for no reason. My group all looked in my direction and I ran a finger across my throat. "I'm out of mercy to give," I growled.
When they were all dead, I walked outside and swore my head off. My selection of words was varied and I heard chuckles behind me. "Give me a moment, just getting it out of my system." I continued for another couple of minutes, then I felt better. "Right, let's find Genitivi and sort out this mess."
What we found wasn't surprising. Well, the cells were found at the bottom of a Chantry, of all places, were a surprise, but the fact Genitivi had been beaten? Not at all. He crawled backwards from the cell door as Leliana picked the lock. I approached him and crouched nearby. "Brother Genitivi?" I asked quietly. He nodded. "I'm Ragnar Dragonborn. I'm here to rescue you."
"You are?" he croaked.
"Yes. We're here to find you, then find the ashes."
"You believe they're real?"
"Of course. Wouldn't be here if we didn't think otherwise."
"Thank the Maker. I was sure they were going to kill me."