Chapter 41 -- The Qun
A/N -- Obviously we've moved into Dragon Age 2 now. And, to be honest, I'm not going to spend many chapters covering this game. The main quests are not that long, and while there are plenty of side and secondary quests, many are quite short and will take up far too much time trying to make them longer. So I'm going to amalgamate most of those and then do one chapter for each main quest. Not sure how many chapters in total I'll dedicate to DA2 before moving onto Inquisition but it certainly won't be as many that covered Origins.
Oh, and a gentle warning. The Hawke family enjoy relations with each other and will feature in this chapter and going forward.
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While Anora got down to the work of being the ambassador, which included helping the thousands of refugees from Ferelden, I found myself assisting Hawke and her friends. I'm not sure how she'd ended up in the position she had, but she proved herself to be on the side of 'good', for want of a better description, and Kirkwall being an enormous city-state, there was plenty of work available.
What I did learn quickly was the undercurrent of tension between the templar order and the mages of the Circle. I remembered how the mages lived back in Ferelden, and while they might have been kept in the tower, from what I was told, conditions were fair and the mages generally treated fairly. That was not the case in Kirkwall, and from what we learned, there were problems with apostate mages.
One night at the pub, I did have to ask if Hawke and Bethany would be considered that too. "Definitely," Hawke replied.
"Like hell we'll see the inside of a Circle though, particularly here," Bethany added.
"Wonder why the templars are turning a blind eye?" Solona asked.
"I'm not sure but I'm not willing to tempt fate," Hawke replied, "I have no doubt the templars have their eyes on us. For the moment, we're left alone. I guess the only reason anyone at the embassy is left alone is because you are Ferelden citizens. Doing anything to you could stir up a hornet's nest." She met my eyes. "And no doubt piss off the Dragonborn."
"True, but I've had little to do with the templar order," I retorted kindly.
"What would you do if one of us was in trouble?" Bethany asked, her tone so coy, I knew what she was playing at.
"They'll regret messing with either of you."
Hawke just smiled but Bethany had a look in her eyes I knew well. I half think she wanted to get me into a fight and act like the damsel in distress. Then we'd end up naked, which is what I think we probably both wanted, but were being careful, particular as Hawke was rather obvious at the same time.
"I'm guessing Solona and Lyna are safe being attached to the embassy?" Hawke wondered.
"There'd be hell to pay if they even gave it a thought," I said. Solona just smiled at me across the table, as she knew I'd kill any bastard who'd touch a hair on her head.
Escorting the Hawke sisters home that evening, we stopped outside their front door. I had no idea what they spoke about in private, but it was obvious both fancied me. Bethany kissed me first, a long, deep kiss that certainly helped blood flow, before she whispered some rather naughty things into my ear and disappeared inside, leaving me with Hawke.
"My little sister can be quite captivating," she said.
"And what about you?"
"I've been told what you're like, Ragnar."
"And?"
Hawke kissed me and went further, ensuring she got a good handful of what lay underneath my trousers. I growled into her mouth when she gave it a gentle squeeze and stroke, pulling her close to me and squeezing her arse in return before eventually pinning her to the wall. Breaking the kiss, both of us breathing hard, she looked up at me in the moonlight. "Maker, I need to be fucked," she muttered.
"Right here, right now?"
"Part of me wants to say yes, definitely. But I think..."
I broke off her sentence by kissing her again, running a hand up and down her body, giving her bust a gentle squeeze before wasting little time sliding my hand under her robes to get a feel. Her panties were wet and she gasped when I touched her. She broke the kiss slightly, her face close to mine, as I let my fingers explore her pussy. "Ragnar," she breathed.
Sliding her panties down, she shuffled slightly so I could slide a couple of fingers into her. She wrapped her arms around me, kissing me hard, as I gently thrust them into her. We were in darkness and alone, and she covered her whimpers by kissing me.
I thought she might eventually give in to temptation completely, but before I could even bring her to orgasm, she gently grabbed my wrist. "Not like this," she whispered.
"Sorry," I said quietly.
"No. Part of me really wants to just lie down on the ground and fuck, but I don't want our first time to be like this. I want it... better."
"I can agree to that," I said with a smile, taking my fingers out of her, making sure I met her eyes as I sucked on them, "Though I can honestly say I already love your taste."
She returned the smile and kissed me before pulling up her panties and I escorted her to the front door. "I'm definitely going to head inside and masturbate now."
"You could always invite me in...?"
I could see she gave that some thought. "No, because you'll probably end up fucking my sister and mother too, or you'll wake her up at least."
"Good point. And your sister?"
"You'll fuck her too?"
"Yes. No point lying about it considering her attraction is obvious."
"Good, as I've been told what you're like and I certainly wouldn't want to deny her the chance at riding you too."
"Goodnight, Hawke."
"I'll meet you by the gate tomorrow, Ragnar. See you then."
Solona, Natia and I met Hawke and most of her group the next morning at the gate leading out towards the Wounded Coast. Hawke said nothing about the previous night, though I think Bethany might have heard something, as she was insinuating things in my ear rather quickly. Solona and Natia gave me looks as usual, as Bethany was anything but subtle, before I cleared my throat and suggested Hawke lead the way to our rendezvous.
As we walked, Hawke explained what we were doing. She apparently saved some dwarf from a group of spiders, and to curry favour with the qunari residing in Kirkwall, he asked us to take care of a group of Tal-Vashoth camped nearby. "I remember Sten mentioning them," I added.
"So what are they?" Varric asked.
"Those that left the Qun. Sounds quite simple but those that abandon the teaching generally have to leave their homeland. Sten told me those that do generally become bandits to survive, so it's probably what we'll be dealing with here."
"And we're dealing with it instead of this dwarf because?" Isabela wondered.
"It's a way into their camp so I can speak to or at least meet the Qunari," Hawke replied, "Because I want to know why they are still camped outside Kirkwall." She looked at me. "Don't you wonder?"
Shrugging, I replied, "I do, but when Sten left Ferelden, he said the Qunari don't want war, at least against us. So I can only assume they're here for another reason."
We found one Tal-Vashoth standing guard, or so I thought on the approach to where the dwarf told us their camp was located. Luckily for him, he wasn't a guard, but instead was warning approaching travellers of the potential ambush. We thanked him for the warning and suggested he leave, as we would be dealing with them. Without a word, he walked past us, a couple of us checking to see he kept walking.
The Tal-Vashoth were dug in, a quarter standing guard outside the entrance of a cave. We numbered more, and had magic on our side, so it was a short, sharp battle before we entered the cave. There were many, many more of them inside the cave, those of us armed with sword and shield leading the way, the mages and rogues falling in behind, covering our rear while launching ranged attacks of their own.
I'll give the Tal-Vashoth credit, they fought where they stood, as it was obvious straight away that they would not surrender. They would rather die, so we gave them the sweet release as we cut them down, though we didn't progress without taking a few wounds ourselves. As we delved deeper into the cave system, there were far more than I imagined. Fenris, who seemed to know a bit about them, suggested that Tal-Vashoth would stick together, as they would not survive alone.
We could eventually go further no more, and it was there that we met what was effectively the leader. Again, he said little, only promising that he would ensure pain before our deaths. That just made me laugh out loud and, as he charged, I decided to show him my gift. That scared the ever loving shit out of the other Tal-Vashoth, and once I put a sword through their leader, they broke and it was far too easy in the end.
With all of them dead, we simply turned around, headed back outside and returned to Kirkwall. There was still light enough for us to return and get to the docks, where the dwarf was waiting for us. Introducing himself as Javaris, Hawke looked around and asked where Isabela was.
"She was here when we walked through the gates," Bethany stated.
"Maybe she had something to do?" I wondered. Hawke just shrugged, so I guess it wasn't a real concern.