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Shathann says the Antaam in Treviso have lost balance; without following the Qun they're dangerous. She warned Rook that they mustn't learn Taash was Adaari. But no one fussed about Rook, not even Harding, whose homeland tortured mages. Should've, Taash thinks. Antaam snatched him from the market, and the Crows took a whole day to recover him.
Viago's team bring him to the casino, where his friends wait. Have been waiting. Viago carries him in his arms and lays the limp body down on the cot. First thing Taash sees is the waxed thread, bloodstained, sewing Rook's mouth shut. Like a real fucking bas saarebas. Whoever held the needle did a shit job. The stitches are too close together and too tight; they're meant to be like dar-saam, a reminder. Not a punishment.
This sure is, though. Lucanis is cutting Rook's clothes off so Bellara can see the damage to heal; Taash isn't some fancy Tevinter detective, but they can read what happened by the marks left. The Antaam knew he was a mage but assumed he wasn't valuable, so they sewed down the magic first and then kicked the crap out of him. Making him scream was probably part of the fun, because he'd try hard not to. The blood on his mouth… Taash sniffs. Yeah. It's in layers, same as the bruises and the lashmarks on his back that Bellara's taking care of, the way swelling shows his fingers were broken before his arms. So they beat him two or three times, or maybe it was different groups. Having fun, not hurrying to kill him.
Rook stirs, eyes half-opening, dazed. Harding tells him to stay still. Says he's safe and they're almost done. Lucanis sheathes his dagger and pulls out what looks like a fine boning knife. He's slow and professional as he slices each stitch, inside and out, wiping blood away with a white square of cloth. Bellara follows with one of her tools to grasp the thread and pull it out before using her magic on each puncture. Just like getting an ear pierced. There are a lot of knots inside Rook's lips, proving the fucking Antaam didn't know how to do it right. The thread ends are meant to be tucked in. The true binding of Saarebas is their discipline.
This is just a bloody mess. Taash hopes Viago assassinated everyone involved in this embarrassment to the Qun.
When Lucanis and Bellara are done, Emmrich helps Rook sit up and encourages him to sip at a potion to get his strength back. Rook keeps running his tongue along his lips, like he's trying to clean all the blood off, despite Harding telling him to leave it alone. Taash's glad the Antaam left his tongue in his mouth; probably they worried about him escaping punishment by drowning in his own blood.
The last thing to do is splint up Rook's newly-healed bones so they stay put, and then bring him home. He argues that he can walk. Yeah, no.
Taash volunteers to carry him through the eluvian and the Crossroads. Rook looks to Harding for help, but she just offers to drag him back by the boots.
"I feel dumb," Rook mutters as Taash hefts him up, closing his eyes like he's exhausted.
Normally, Taash would say, yeah, and he looked dumb, too. But they're getting a first good look at the ragged lines of indents in his lips. Probably it won't look so gross when the swelling's gone down and the skin isn't mottled black and purple.
"You'll have cool scars," they offer. "Badass."
That makes him smile. Good. Saarebas never smile. He takes a breath and sighs it out. "Wake me up when we're home."
"Lazy," Taash says, and starts walking.