Chapter Text
The assassin lay on the ground before the party, battered and unconscious. Bright red blood trickled down his sharp cheek bones and in some places was starting to dry on his smooth, caramel skin. The warden sighed knowing it was probably his fault. He nudged the slender body with his iron-clad foot. The elven assassin stirred, his hand going to his face as he regained his senses.
"Nhnnn...oh, what? I...oh. Oh, I rather thought I would wake up dead, or not wake up at all, as the case may be. But I see you haven't killed me yet." he said, slowly at first. -"I have some questions for you." the warden said in his gruff, dwarven voice.
"Ah, I am to be interrogated. Let me save you some time. My name is Zevran, Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan Crows, brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens." the assassin paused "Which I have failed at, sadly." he added.
"Who hired you to kill us?" the warden asked, crossing his arms.
"A rather taciturn fellow in the capital. Loghain I think his name was. Yes, that's it." Zevran said thoughtfully.
"Does that mean you're loyal to Loghain?" he asked.
"I have no idea what his issues are with you. The usual, I imagine. You threaten his power, yes? Beyond that, no, I'm not loyal to him. I was contracted to perform a service." elf said casually.
"Why are you telling me all this?" the warden asked, suspicion creeping into his voice. -"Why not? I wasn't paid for silence. Not that I offered it for sale, precisely." the assassin answered in an amused tone.
The dwarf raised an eyebrow. "There's no reason for me to believe anything you say."
"Oh, very true. Thus there's no reason for me not to tell you everything, is there?" he said slyly, pausing briefly "As it is, if you're done with the interrogation, I've a proposal for you. If you're of a mind."
"I'm listening. Make it quick." the warden said, ignoring the noise of protest that came from Alistair's direction.
"We'll here's the thing. I failed to kill you, so my life is forfeit. That's how it works. If you don't kill me, the Crows will. Thing is, I like living. And you obviously are the sort to give the Crows pause. So let me serve you, instead." the Crow proposed.
"And what's to stop you from finishing the job later?" the dwarf pressed.
"To be completely honest, I was never given much of a choice regarding joining the Crows. They bought me on the slave market when I was a child. I think I've repaid my worth back to them, plus tenfold. The only way out, however, is to sign up with someone they can't touch. Even if I did kill you now, they might kill me just on principle for failing the first time. Honestly, I'd rather take my chances with you." the elf admitted.
The warden fell silent, mulling over his options. The elf seemed truthful enough, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time he had taken in an individual of questionable merit. He sighed and nodded slowly.
"Very well. I accept your offer." he said, uncrossing his arms.
"What?! You're taking the assassin with us now? Does that really seem like a good idea?" Alastair exclaimed, exasperated.
"If you want to kill him, Alastair, then you do it." the dwarf said, looking up at his fellow warden.
"I...well, no, I suppose we could use whatever help we can get." Alistair grumbled "Still. If there was a sign we were desperate, I think it just knocked on the door and said hello."
A fine plan." Morrigan added "But I would examine your food and drink far more closely from now on, we're I you."
"That's excellent advice for anyone." Zevran said.
The warden put out a hand for the assassin. He looked at it for a moment before taking it and allowing himself to be hauled to his feet.
"I hereby pledge my oath of loyalty to you, until such a time as you choose to release me from it. I am your man, without reservation...this I swear." said the now former Crow, bowing respectfully at the end.
"Alright, we should see what we can salvage from this mess before we move on." the warden said curtly and moved off to one of the bodies lying nearby.
Zevran watched as the party dispersed amongst the carnage and slowly moved to follow. He looked down to find a large Mubari hound watching him intently, growling slightly. The elf smiled slightly and began searching a body. This would be interesting.