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Samson was surprisingly docile in captivity. They had taken his weapons and he was watched day and night but Cullen had left him his armour for now. There didn’t seem to be a way to remove it without killing him. That part would have to wait until Dagna got her hands on him.
Cullen felt disgusted each time he looked at him. Corypheus was one thing but Samson, Samson’s betrayal felt more personal, not just because he was a templar but because he had been a good man. A part of him wished the Inquisitor had killed him when she had had the chance.
Dagna’s reaction to seeing Samson’s armour was not unlike Cassandra’s to Varric’s latest romance novel. Meanwhile Samson had an amused smile on his lips. But Dagna barely seemed to notice that there was still a man inside the armour.
“This work is amazing”, Dagna said with enthusiasm. “Too bad the Tranquil who made it killed himself.”
Cullen, who was keeping an eye on Samson, saw his face darken a moment before he said, “Maddox. His name is Maddox.” His voice was quiet but there was a threatening current in it as if he wouldn’t tolerate her forgetting Maddox’ name again.
Dagna seemed to notice it because she repeated the name reassuringly.
“Can you take off his armour without killing him?” Cullen asked.
Dagna gave the armour a critical look, slipping her fingers underneath it were the pieces connected. “Any lyrium growth?” She asked Samson.
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem then”, she told Cullen.
As she pulled the armour off piece by piece she caressed each part as if it was beyond valuable. “Those are some really intricate and rare runes. I wouldn’t have thought that the mages in Kirkwall would’ve access to the books containing these.”
“They didn’t”, Samson replied as if they were having a normal conversation. “I made sure Maddox had all the books and materials he wanted.”
“Lucky him”, Dagna commented as she placed another piece on her work bench. “I could spend weeks studying these.”
“Take off your shirt”, Cullen ordered as soon as Samson was completely stripped of his armour.
Samson rolled his eyes as if to say “really?” but complied nonetheless. Ten years ago Cullen had seen Samson shirtless plenty of times. He hadn’t let himself go, Cullen could give him that much, but he was a lot thinner than he used to be and there was an unnatural red glow to his skin even if the red lyrium hadn’t broken through yet. Around his neck hung a chain with a bird charm, its wings spread as if mid-flight. Cullen thought that it looked vaguely familiar but he couldn’t say why.
“What’s that?” Dagna asked who had noticed it as well.
Samson curled a fist around the bird. “Nothing.”
“Right, that isn’t suspicious at all”, Cullen said dryly.
The look Samson gave him was pure, undiluted hatred. It came so suddenly that Cullen almost flinched.
“Is it a rune?” Dagna asked.
“No”, Samson answered and took a step back.
“You know we won’t let you keep anything that could be used as a weapon or facilitate your escape”, Cullen said. Whatever it was, it had to be very powerful for Samson to react like this.
“It’s a bird charm”, Samson snapped. “It’s exactly what it looks like.”
“We still have to make sure”, Dagna said in the same tone Cullen would’ve used on a shy mabari. “If it’s really just a necklace you can keep it.”
Samson hesitated and looked at Cullen. “Do I have your word?”
Cullen was not in the mood to give Samson his word on anything but he also knew that it would ease the situation if he did. “You do.”
Samson uncurled his fist. “Do you have to damage it to test it?” He asked Dagna.
She shook her head. “Not if it’s really just a bird charm. Enchantments and runes are fairly easy to find.”
Slowly Samson pulled the chain over his head and gave it to Dagna. “Can you test it now? I’d rather not let it out of my sight.”
Dagna looked at Cullen who shrugged. “Sure, why not.” She put the necklace on her workbench. “Did Maddox make it?”
Samson nodded. “He used to make paper birds all the time before he was made tranquil.”
Suddenly Cullen recalled why the bird had looked familiar. He had found dozens of paper versions amongst Samson’s belongings when he had cleared his half of their room.
“Why?” Dagna asked.
“He liked birds. Envied them their freedom I guess. Of course he stopped watching them when he was made tranquil.”
Cullen couldn’t pinpoint what exactly gave him the epiphany: the quiet warm tone of Samson’s voice, the soft expression on his face or the memories from Kirkwall, not just the paper birds but the fight Samson had put up when they had arrested Maddox, or maybe all of it together.
“You loved him”, Cullen blurted out before he could think about it.
Samson gave him a cool look. “What would you know about it?” His tone cut deeply. It was so dismissive, as if he could truly not imagine that Cullen knew what love was. With Meredith dead, Cullen was the closest person Samson could blame for what had happened to him and Maddox. And in a way he was right. Cullen had reported their letter exchange after all.
Dagna left her work bench and came to him. “As far as I can tell it’s really just a steel charm”, she whispered.
“Could it be something else? Something inside it maybe?”
“It’s too thin to hide a rune inside.”
“But -?”
“But Maddox was an extraordinary smith from what I’ve seen. I could take it apart, just…” she looked over at Samson who was watching them anxiously.
“He’s not the kind of man whose word you should trust”, Cullen told her.
“I know but I believe him. You said it yourself, he loved Maddox.”
Cullen took another look at the necklace. It looked exactly like the paper birds he had found among Samson’s belongings. A part of him still felt guilty because if he hadn’t reported them then maybe they would’ve never ended up here.
He stepped right in front of Samson. “Give me your word on Maddox’ grave that this necklace contains nothing dangerous or helpful for your escape.”
“I swear”, Samson said with a vulnerable expression that Cullen had never seen before. “On Maddox’ grave.”
“Good”, Cullen said and held out the necklace to Samson who quickly took it before Cullen changed his mind. The relief on Samson’s face when he put the necklace back around his neck was palpable. He ran his fingers over the bird charm as if to make sure that Dagna hadn’t damaged it.
Before Cullen or Dagna could say anything he was already stripping down his trousers. “If I promise there’s nothing dangerous in them can I keep my pants on?” Samson asked.