Chapter Text
One of the Warden scouts came running back into camp.
"Ser Hawke," he called out breathlessly, "I found a camp of mercenaries...or bandits or something not far from here, and...I think they're holding Anders prisoner."
Marian was struck by the sudden feeling of the ground collapsing beneath her, but she recovered almost immediately and sprang to her feet, almost stumbling over the stew pot she'd been stirring. "Are you absolutely certain it was him?" she demanded, scrambling for stray pieces of plate armor. "Tell me exactly what you saw." She was already wearing most of her armor, but there were a few heavier pieces she usually removed in the evenings.
"Well," the man stammered, still trying to catch his breath, "he's...tied to a tree, and...uh, light haired, and...the feathers of course, and...oh! And he's definitely a mage. It looked like they were using mana-draining techniques. You know, sleep deprivation and--
"Yes, I do know." Marian quickly cut him off and motioned to the Wardens that served as her advisers, vanguard, and all-around inner circle. They were also preparing to head out. She pulled at the last armor strap and adjusted the giant scabbard across her back. Then, to the scout again, a single word: "Where?"
He paused and began to stammer out some vague directions, trailing off frequently to gather his thoughts. Too slow. She cut him off again.
"Show me."
They followed the scout through the woods. No matter how fast she pushed them, it was still too slow for her. She couldn't keep her heart from pounding with the mixed elation and dread she was feeling.
She'd known better than to look for Anders after she left Skyhold with the Wardens. The plan had been for him to stay hidden until Corypheus was killed, and if he was hiding, she wasn't going to find him. As much as it broke her heart to travel to Weisshaupt without him, she knew it would only be a matter of time until the Inquisition prevailed.
But if he was here, it meant he'd come after her! He must have heard she was travelling with Wardens and realized it would be relatively safe to join her again.
"There!" the scout exclaimed suddenly. "At the top of this--" He grunted as a second scout silenced him with an elbow to the ribs. Everyone froze for an instant, watching the camp on the hilltop for alarm or activity, but nothing seemed to change, so they began quietly taking positions.
Archers and mages fanned out for optimal ranged cover. Some climbed trees. The stealthiest found good spots to hide in the underbrush. Marian used hand signals to divide her melee forces into two groups and sent the second group around the other side of the hill in a flanking position. Then she began to climb toward the camp as quietly as she could, leading the main strike team.
When she saw Anders, she had to clap a hand to her mouth and squeeze her eyes shut. He was tied upright to a big tree in the middle of the campsite, barely awake, bleeding from dozens of wounds only partly healed by magic. His hair and beard were tangled and matted, several inches longer than when she'd seen him last. She opened her eyes again. How long had he been their prisoner? No...his hair must have looked like that when they caught him. It wasn't the first time she felt an icy pang of regret for leaving him alone so long.
Marian wanted nothing more than to wade into camp, mowing down everyone who got in her way, but it would only take one bandit to hold a knife to Anders' throat, and then she'd be at their mercy. (Most of his biggest bounties offered the same amount alive or dead, and there were plenty of bounties on her as well.) Instead, she forced herself to wait for the Wardens to finish getting into position. She could see the mages and archers preparing to take out the bandits closest to the tree.
Suddenly, someone behind her tripped, fell to the ground, and cursed loudly, sending the bandit camp into a frenzy. She immediately suspected the scout, but there was no time to deal with him now. She also suspected she was walking into a trap, but she drew her greatsword and charged anyway, screaming an angry battle cry and dodging spells and arrows that went on to cut down most of the bandits in her path.
She reached Anders' side at the same time as a man who appeared to be the leader of the band. He drew a dagger. She backhanded him across the side of the forehead with an armored gauntlet. Then she went to work cutting down anyone who dared get close enough.
"...Marian?" Anders gasped, fighting to stay conscious.
"Anders, try not to--" she began, and then saw the enemy archers emerge from hiding just in time. As traps went, this one was fairly manageable.
"Cover me!" she shouted to the warriors around her as she dropped her sword and leaped to shield his body with her own. The first few arrows missed them both by less than a foot, hitting the tree instead.
"...try not to move," she continued as she brushed her lips across the top of his head. His slumped posture made it easy to tuck his head under her chin and then shield her own head with her arms. "We're going to get you out of...here." She winced as an arrow glanced off her armor.
"...don't..." Anders was even more agitated now.
"Look at you!" Marian exclaimed softly. "I'm not--" She breathed in sharply as the next arrow went between the joints of her armor just above the elbow and buried itself in her arm. "I'm not going to let them hurt you any more," she finished through gritted teeth.
He wordlessly protested, struggled against her, tried to heal her arm with mana he didn't have, then finally slipped into unconsciousness. She braced herself for more arrows. Adrenaline surged each time another one came close or glanced off her armor, but her team finally took down the last of the bandits before any of them could score another hit.
She carefully stepped back, breathing heavily, then drew a knife and started cutting the ropes.
"Somebody bring me that traitorous rat who set us up!" she called to the Wardens.
"Ran off!" came the reply. "Sent two scouts to track him down."
"Here, take this." Marian handed the nearest Warden her knife and pointed to the last of the ropes at the base of the tree. Once they were cut, she gently gathered Anders into her arms and turned her attention to the head bounty hunter, still unconscious from her blow. She nudged him with her plated boot.
"Tie him to the tree," she ordered. "And search the camp for any mana-suppressing potions. Bring me everything you find."
With her good arm Marian shifted Anders' upper body to lean farther up on her shoulder, taking some weight off of her wounded arm. She pressed her forehead into the feathers on his coat. After a few minutes had passed without any of the Wardens returning, she began to worry. If the bandits had resorted solely on other methods of reliably keeping his mana drained...
The bounty hunter stirred. He tried to rub at the bruise on his forehead and found his hands tied.
Marian glared coldly at him, and he shrank away.
"Here!" a Warden finally called out, setting a crate on the ground in front of her. "Healing, stamina, revival, and mana-suppression. Decent supply of each, but plenty of empty slots, and no dust anywhere, except on some of the healing and revival ones."
Nodding in satisfaction, she told the Warden, "Knock him out, and cut his throat."
The prisoner screamed in protest.
"You're just lucky you were using those potions," Marian shouted over her shoulder.