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"This is a colossally bad idea, Mal."
Nico chuckled. "Don't be a wuss, Aoife. We mustn't deny the genius of Malcolm Hawke, that would be sacrilegious."
Malcolm grinned. "Such high praise, Nicodemus. One would think you were trying to flatter me."
"And why would I do that?" Nico replied with a matching grin.
"You are such a dork." Aoife muttered. "Are you sure about this, Mal?"
"Of course. C'mon, Aoife, we can't let that arrogant, sanctimonious cow get away with it! It is our sacred duty as upstanding, senior apprentices to avenge the little ones."
"And making hell for the Templars have nothing to do with this?"
"Pshh! That goes without saying."
"I second this!" Nico reaffirmed his support. "Besides, you don't want to waste a whole day's work, do you?"
Said work was part of Malcolm's plans to get revenge. While Malcolm and Nico spent the day hunting for suitable candidates, those being three fat rats, two gigantic toads and an unusually large, hairy spider, Aoife had been brewing the strongest sleeping draught she could managed. They fed the draught to the critters, tucked them into an old pillow case and headed out of their dormitory to sneak into the Templar quarters.
Presently, they were hidden behind large statue of Andraste as Aoife developed cold feet.
She looked at the boys who were staring at her earnestly - Malcolm with his alluring, intoxicating green eyes and Nico with his endearing blue puppy-dog ones. She sighed in resignation.
"Why do I let you talk me into these suicidal pranks," she complained.
"You love it!" Malcolm smirked. "Let's go, before they come back."
The trio retrieved two critters each, made their way into the dormitory and promptly hid the sleeping critters in various places - under a pillow, in a chest, in a drawer of a Templar's smalls, on top of several bookshelves - centered around one specific bed. With that done, they hurriedly retreated and laid in wait.
Before long, the Templars returned from their evening worship. Malcolm noticed with satisfaction that Meredith was one of the first to enter the dormitory. He rubbed his hands with glee and waited some more; Nico and Aoife were practically holding their breaths.
Then a shriek resounded and Malcolm concentrated hard, his hands flaring in a ghostly green.
There was a sequence of muffled booms followed by more shrieking and a general cry of disgust and outrage.
Enchanter Orsino would be so proud to hear Malcolm applying the Walking Bomb spell with such creativity and flair; then again, maybe not.
Malcolm, Nico and Aoife promptly fled the scene, cackling all the way back to their own dormitory.
~FIN~