Lucien wasn't certain about all of it, but he was damn sure of a few things. First: they were being played by the Chantry (or, he had to specify, by this sister and this Templar) like his friend Rilien played a lute, only far less gracefully and with little subtlety whatsoever. Secondly, he didn't have all the information he would have liked. Particularly egregious seemed to be the lack of any input from the Qunari. Whether they pitied him or were using him, they were still treating him like an object rather than a person (his allies unfortunately included), without any apparent inclination to seek his input, and the knight didn't like it. Third... he was going to be getting himself stuck into the middle of this anyway. Without any idea of what exactly the right thing to do about the kossith mage before them was, there was still something it was clearly right to do, and that was to help Sophia and Aurora. There was no telling what they were about to face, and which if any traps they would be inadvertantly springing, but something unpleasant was about to occur, he had no doubt about that.
The Chevalier sighed, wondering when his rampant idealism had become tinged with such a jaded hue. On second thought, he knew exactly when, and couldn't bring himself to regret it. Some things were just necessary. There were dozens of arguments to be had about the greater good and what to do in the case of ideological disagreement- he doubtless would have been wasting his breath on the intolerant sister, and frankly, right now it seemed counterproductive to voice at all. What faced him was a choice: he could either accompany the two young women and the kossith to whatever trials awaited them, or he could leave now and let them fend for themselves in exactly the same circumstances, one body and one weapon short.
It was hardly a choice.
"I'm hardly surprised. If that is what you want, then I shall come as well," he replied with what seemed to be good humor. His face, which had closed off to an unusual degree during his deliberations, returned to its more common, friendlier cast. "That said, I'd very much like to know what he wants," he continued, glancing over at Ketojan. There was a long moment of silence, during which the Qunari did not respond, and Lucien shook his head slightly. By this point, he was as close to completely ignoring Petrice as he could be while still remaining polite. Her disparaging remarks about the Arishok and the Qunari, he gracefully left unanswered. There wasn't much of use to be said. Lucien didn't share in that disdain, and though he would admit that there was something unsettling about this mage's condition, he did not pretend to be able to judge that which he did not understand. Who was he to call anything wicked? He could only act according to his sense of these things, and that hardly seemed to apply in this situation. The Qunari were alien to him in a way that very little about human society was anymore.
Still quite sure this was not a good idea, he nevertheless proceeded to the back room, past the unfriendly glare of the Templar, and hefted the trap door open, indicating that all three of the others were free to proceed him down into the warrens.
Sophia too was curious as to what exactly the Qunari wanted, but at no point in the conversation had he shown he was even capable of speaking. A low grumble that did not constitute words was all he had offered, and as such, it seemed that they would be left to make their own decision in the matter. Sophia expected that so long as Ketojan possessed free will, he could choose to not follow them into the warrens if he wished. It wasn't like they were going to (or capable of) carrying him to his freedom. Once she had Lucien's agreement to help, which she was certainly grateful for, she moved towards Ketojan, trying for a moment to discern any kind of message written in his eyes. A futile endeavor, indeed.
"Ketojan," she began, trying to make sure she had his attention, "if you would like, you may follow us, and we can lead you safely from the city." There was a brief moment of awkward silence before the Qunari responded with another grating gurgle. Sophia looked back to Aurora and Lucien to see if perhaps either of them had gotten anything out of that, before she shrugged, and made her way to the trap door that Lucien had opened for them. After passing a thank you Lucien's way, she made her way down the ladder.
Her boots sunk slightly into something upon reachng the bottom, and Sophia gave the floor a disapproving look before positioning herself somewhere dryer and focusing on ignoring the smell. Apparently agreeing to follow them, Ketojan was the second one down, the ladder clearly straining under the weight of both his body and his chains. He safely made it down, however, coming to a stop at a distance from Sophia that was close enough for her to feel slightly uncomfortable about it.
As Aurora made her way down as well, Sophia thought to speak up about a concern. "I appreciate the assistance, Aurora," she began, choosing words carefully, "but these warrens can be quite dangerous at times. I just want to make sure you know what you might be getting yourself into." She couldn't help but glance down at the less savory parts of the ground and think of the double meaning of her words. "Also, watch your step coming down."
Aurora ran a hand down the thick arms of the caged Qunari, a mix of pity, sorrow, and a hidden flush of pain and anger comprising her tumltious emotions. "We'll get you out... I promise," she offered as she strode forward towards the hatch-- her hand lingering on the arm of Ketojan until they slipped out of reach. She placed one foot in the hatch before tossing a weak smile Lucien's way. Aurora's voice may have sounded sure, but a battle was raging inside that redhead. Mostly about her preconcieved notions of the Qunari, mostly concerning Amalia and her actions. So enthralled in her own mind that she missed the last step and stumbled into the soft dirt beneath. A little too late for Sophia's careful warning-- even if she had been in the right state of mind to hear it. Though, she did catch the... Tone she had used (intended or imagined), asking if she was sure. As if she was some lost little girl getting in over head. If she had taken the time to think about it, that what she did seem like, descending into the underbelly of Lowtown armed with seemingly nothing more than a little blade strapped to her arm.
Neither of them knew that she could ignite anything dangerous with her mind.
"I'm sure," she said, her voice lined with an edge that wasn't there before. Lowtown tought me how to look after myself. I can handle it," she stated in a matter-of-factly manner.
Lucien waited for the others to precede him down the ladder, then passed a polite half-bow to the Chantry representatives before following, lowering the door carefully after him as he went. If he were rude to everyone he didn't like, he'd probably be quite the uncouth individual, a bit less so now than in the past, though. It was helpful to constantly remind oneself of one's blessings.
He reached the ground in enough time to overhear the exchange between Sophia and Aurora, and avoid the trouble spot on the ground. It was not always helpful to remind oneself of one's surroundings. The air between the two women seemed to thicken, and he shot Ketojan a knowing glance, determined to at least include the Qunari in the nonverbal side of communication. Probably a misappropriated piece of goodwill, but that was only if you believed goodwill could ever be misappropriated. As he suspected the chained mage would not be of great assistance in dispelling the tension, he did his part in hopes that it would be sufficient. "I rather expect that it has," he agreed amicably, "and I have that fact to thank for the presently-uninjured state of my back. No insult was meant, milady; caution rarely goes astray is all." Lucien was fairly certain that this was indeed the truth of it- though he hadn't known Sophia long, he would be incredibly surprised to learn that she'd ever intentionally belittled someone offering her assistance. He smiled genially at all three of his companions, then started forward.
"While I'm not sure about either of you or our friend here, I much prefer fresh air over this dank. Shall we find some?" He started forward with surety in his step, intent on just that. Things were never so simple as he was making them seem, but one grew to expect the complications with time. Some days, he was quite certain he embraced them.
Sophia had indeed only meant to ensure that Aurora wasn't jumping into this blindly. She hadn't meant any offense, and in fact the woman's response had surprised her a bit in its tone. She seemed very confident that she could handle the trouble, though Sophia hadn't seen what exactly she had to defend herself with other than the little knife she'd used in the fight earlier. Still, Sophia had underestimated allies recently, and she was willing to accept that she could make the same mistake again.
"As Lucien says, no insult was meant." With that she followed after him, and the heavy thuds behind her informed her that Ketojan was moving as well. That was a start.
Aurora's gaze was leveled on Sophia for a moment before she sighed, allowing her shoulders to droop signifying that she relented. "I'm sorry. Seeing what they did to this... poor man had put me on edge. It had nothing to do with you," she stated. It didn't mean that she wasn't still wary of the girl, she wasn't planning on outright ignoring Amalia's advice after all.
It was indeed unsettling, and the fact that Sophia was agreeing to this at all spoke to how cruel she thought it. She was defying what her father would do in order to free a mage, one whose intentions and motivations were almost entirely unknown to them. Sophia had never been particularly moved by the plight of mages, and yet here she was. Petrice's words had struck a chord within her. Where the Templars sought to protect the mages from themselves as well as protect the people, these Qunari, from what she could see, only wished for their suffering and enslavement. It was too far, and it was too much for her to simply turn a blind eye. Not in this city.
They carried on in silence from there, following the path that was seemingly laid out for them through the warrens. Presumably this would lead out of the city at some point. It was quiet save for the thumping steps of Ketojan behind them, and their own feet slogging through the Undercity. Sophia had been just about to allow herself to think they'd get out without any trouble when they rounded and corner in came into the view of a group of Undercity denizens who were quite clearly thugs, judging by the way they were openly brandishing weapons and looking belligerent. Sophia made sure to loosen her sword in its sheath.
One of them stepped forward and surveyed the approaching group. "Well, look at this. Undercity's feared by all, and yet there's no shortage of fools who want to test it." Sophia groaned inwardly at this. Did these people really have nothing better to do? In the meantime, the thug leader was narrowing his eyebrows at Ketojan. "What is this thing, collared like a dog lord's bitch?"
Really. Sometimes it was just a little too much to ask for people to really think about things, wasn't it? By this stage of his life, Lucien would have settled for as little as a bit of creativity in the insults that got hurled at him. After you heard "fool" enough times, you began to wonder if you should just take to wearing bells and telling bad jokes. Truly, he knew half the things he didn't weren't exactly genius, but surely the idiocy of walking around down here was mitigated at least a little by the fact that there were four of them, three of whom were armed, two of whom wore moderate-to-heavy armor and two who were considerably taller than anyone else in the room. Who decided to attack a party with a Qunari in it, anyway? He swallowed the question, as well as the resulting determination about who was truly being foolish here, as it was perhaps not the kind of thing he ought rightly to say anyway.
Sophia made sure to be standing in front of her charge, folding her arms over her chest. "This is no concern of yours. I'd ask that you please remove yourself, and allow us to be on our way." He seemed to find that funny, which did not surprise Sophia. "Hah! You some sort of Qunari lovers? Maybe I should get rid of you all and see who'll pay the most for your pet." At that, Ketojan made his first move to acknowledge really anything around him, taking a step forward to come nearly beside Sophia, and growling towards the thugs.
"Uh, I don't think it likes you threatening its master," one said, looking up at the horned mage. "Maybe we let this one pass?" After overcoming her disbelief that one of them had seen reason, Sophia seconded him. "This will go better for all of us if you just step aside." The leader wasn't having any of it, of course. "And let you make a holiday of the last free place in Kirkwall? No, I think I'll cut you up and save the biggest piece for your pet."
He had pulled a knife, and went to stab at her. She'd been ready to grab for his arm when she felt a force blow by her, the air blasting outwards and pushing back, sending the entire group of thugs onto their backs. Ketojan's hands were alight with magical energy, his stance low, almost predatory. The thugs were readying their weapons even as they rose. "By the Void! Kill it! Kill them all!"
Sophia drew her sword. It seemed trouble had found them after all.
"Well, this wasn't exactly the complication I had in mind, but I suppose it will do," he murmured, watching a few of the men climb to their feet, still a bit disoriented from Ketojan's burst of magic. It was interesting; he'd known a few mages in his time, and Rilien knew a great deal of the theory, which he'd divulged to satisfy Lucien's curiosity from time to time, and there was something a bit off about the situation. It seemed less... refined than he'd come to expect of a mage. Then again, he doubted very much the Qunari were giving theirs formal educations, so it could just be that. Sophisticated or not, it was clearly effective, and he'd take it.
"I don't suppose you could do that again, could you?" he asked the collared kossith. "Seems useful." Either way, it was with a weary sort of frown that he reached over his shoulder and grasped the haft of his scythe. He really needed to consider upgrading to one with a metal pole; the wood was already chipped and wearing in several places. The instrument was clearly not intended to be used in the way he was utilizing it, after all. Nevertheless, it swung easily enough into the midsection of the brigand who'd just attempted to gut him, leaving a debilitating but not fatal wound there.
This was a familiar song and dance, and it seemed that no matter how he searched, the steps rarely changed.
The Chevalier sighed, wondering when his rampant idealism had become tinged with such a jaded hue. On second thought, he knew exactly when, and couldn't bring himself to regret it. Some things were just necessary. There were dozens of arguments to be had about the greater good and what to do in the case of ideological disagreement- he doubtless would have been wasting his breath on the intolerant sister, and frankly, right now it seemed counterproductive to voice at all. What faced him was a choice: he could either accompany the two young women and the kossith to whatever trials awaited them, or he could leave now and let them fend for themselves in exactly the same circumstances, one body and one weapon short.
It was hardly a choice.
"I'm hardly surprised. If that is what you want, then I shall come as well," he replied with what seemed to be good humor. His face, which had closed off to an unusual degree during his deliberations, returned to its more common, friendlier cast. "That said, I'd very much like to know what he wants," he continued, glancing over at Ketojan. There was a long moment of silence, during which the Qunari did not respond, and Lucien shook his head slightly. By this point, he was as close to completely ignoring Petrice as he could be while still remaining polite. Her disparaging remarks about the Arishok and the Qunari, he gracefully left unanswered. There wasn't much of use to be said. Lucien didn't share in that disdain, and though he would admit that there was something unsettling about this mage's condition, he did not pretend to be able to judge that which he did not understand. Who was he to call anything wicked? He could only act according to his sense of these things, and that hardly seemed to apply in this situation. The Qunari were alien to him in a way that very little about human society was anymore.
Still quite sure this was not a good idea, he nevertheless proceeded to the back room, past the unfriendly glare of the Templar, and hefted the trap door open, indicating that all three of the others were free to proceed him down into the warrens.
Sophia too was curious as to what exactly the Qunari wanted, but at no point in the conversation had he shown he was even capable of speaking. A low grumble that did not constitute words was all he had offered, and as such, it seemed that they would be left to make their own decision in the matter. Sophia expected that so long as Ketojan possessed free will, he could choose to not follow them into the warrens if he wished. It wasn't like they were going to (or capable of) carrying him to his freedom. Once she had Lucien's agreement to help, which she was certainly grateful for, she moved towards Ketojan, trying for a moment to discern any kind of message written in his eyes. A futile endeavor, indeed.
"Ketojan," she began, trying to make sure she had his attention, "if you would like, you may follow us, and we can lead you safely from the city." There was a brief moment of awkward silence before the Qunari responded with another grating gurgle. Sophia looked back to Aurora and Lucien to see if perhaps either of them had gotten anything out of that, before she shrugged, and made her way to the trap door that Lucien had opened for them. After passing a thank you Lucien's way, she made her way down the ladder.
Her boots sunk slightly into something upon reachng the bottom, and Sophia gave the floor a disapproving look before positioning herself somewhere dryer and focusing on ignoring the smell. Apparently agreeing to follow them, Ketojan was the second one down, the ladder clearly straining under the weight of both his body and his chains. He safely made it down, however, coming to a stop at a distance from Sophia that was close enough for her to feel slightly uncomfortable about it.
As Aurora made her way down as well, Sophia thought to speak up about a concern. "I appreciate the assistance, Aurora," she began, choosing words carefully, "but these warrens can be quite dangerous at times. I just want to make sure you know what you might be getting yourself into." She couldn't help but glance down at the less savory parts of the ground and think of the double meaning of her words. "Also, watch your step coming down."
Aurora ran a hand down the thick arms of the caged Qunari, a mix of pity, sorrow, and a hidden flush of pain and anger comprising her tumltious emotions. "We'll get you out... I promise," she offered as she strode forward towards the hatch-- her hand lingering on the arm of Ketojan until they slipped out of reach. She placed one foot in the hatch before tossing a weak smile Lucien's way. Aurora's voice may have sounded sure, but a battle was raging inside that redhead. Mostly about her preconcieved notions of the Qunari, mostly concerning Amalia and her actions. So enthralled in her own mind that she missed the last step and stumbled into the soft dirt beneath. A little too late for Sophia's careful warning-- even if she had been in the right state of mind to hear it. Though, she did catch the... Tone she had used (intended or imagined), asking if she was sure. As if she was some lost little girl getting in over head. If she had taken the time to think about it, that what she did seem like, descending into the underbelly of Lowtown armed with seemingly nothing more than a little blade strapped to her arm.
Neither of them knew that she could ignite anything dangerous with her mind.
"I'm sure," she said, her voice lined with an edge that wasn't there before. Lowtown tought me how to look after myself. I can handle it," she stated in a matter-of-factly manner.
Lucien waited for the others to precede him down the ladder, then passed a polite half-bow to the Chantry representatives before following, lowering the door carefully after him as he went. If he were rude to everyone he didn't like, he'd probably be quite the uncouth individual, a bit less so now than in the past, though. It was helpful to constantly remind oneself of one's blessings.
He reached the ground in enough time to overhear the exchange between Sophia and Aurora, and avoid the trouble spot on the ground. It was not always helpful to remind oneself of one's surroundings. The air between the two women seemed to thicken, and he shot Ketojan a knowing glance, determined to at least include the Qunari in the nonverbal side of communication. Probably a misappropriated piece of goodwill, but that was only if you believed goodwill could ever be misappropriated. As he suspected the chained mage would not be of great assistance in dispelling the tension, he did his part in hopes that it would be sufficient. "I rather expect that it has," he agreed amicably, "and I have that fact to thank for the presently-uninjured state of my back. No insult was meant, milady; caution rarely goes astray is all." Lucien was fairly certain that this was indeed the truth of it- though he hadn't known Sophia long, he would be incredibly surprised to learn that she'd ever intentionally belittled someone offering her assistance. He smiled genially at all three of his companions, then started forward.
"While I'm not sure about either of you or our friend here, I much prefer fresh air over this dank. Shall we find some?" He started forward with surety in his step, intent on just that. Things were never so simple as he was making them seem, but one grew to expect the complications with time. Some days, he was quite certain he embraced them.
Sophia had indeed only meant to ensure that Aurora wasn't jumping into this blindly. She hadn't meant any offense, and in fact the woman's response had surprised her a bit in its tone. She seemed very confident that she could handle the trouble, though Sophia hadn't seen what exactly she had to defend herself with other than the little knife she'd used in the fight earlier. Still, Sophia had underestimated allies recently, and she was willing to accept that she could make the same mistake again.
"As Lucien says, no insult was meant." With that she followed after him, and the heavy thuds behind her informed her that Ketojan was moving as well. That was a start.
Aurora's gaze was leveled on Sophia for a moment before she sighed, allowing her shoulders to droop signifying that she relented. "I'm sorry. Seeing what they did to this... poor man had put me on edge. It had nothing to do with you," she stated. It didn't mean that she wasn't still wary of the girl, she wasn't planning on outright ignoring Amalia's advice after all.
It was indeed unsettling, and the fact that Sophia was agreeing to this at all spoke to how cruel she thought it. She was defying what her father would do in order to free a mage, one whose intentions and motivations were almost entirely unknown to them. Sophia had never been particularly moved by the plight of mages, and yet here she was. Petrice's words had struck a chord within her. Where the Templars sought to protect the mages from themselves as well as protect the people, these Qunari, from what she could see, only wished for their suffering and enslavement. It was too far, and it was too much for her to simply turn a blind eye. Not in this city.
They carried on in silence from there, following the path that was seemingly laid out for them through the warrens. Presumably this would lead out of the city at some point. It was quiet save for the thumping steps of Ketojan behind them, and their own feet slogging through the Undercity. Sophia had been just about to allow herself to think they'd get out without any trouble when they rounded and corner in came into the view of a group of Undercity denizens who were quite clearly thugs, judging by the way they were openly brandishing weapons and looking belligerent. Sophia made sure to loosen her sword in its sheath.
One of them stepped forward and surveyed the approaching group. "Well, look at this. Undercity's feared by all, and yet there's no shortage of fools who want to test it." Sophia groaned inwardly at this. Did these people really have nothing better to do? In the meantime, the thug leader was narrowing his eyebrows at Ketojan. "What is this thing, collared like a dog lord's bitch?"
Really. Sometimes it was just a little too much to ask for people to really think about things, wasn't it? By this stage of his life, Lucien would have settled for as little as a bit of creativity in the insults that got hurled at him. After you heard "fool" enough times, you began to wonder if you should just take to wearing bells and telling bad jokes. Truly, he knew half the things he didn't weren't exactly genius, but surely the idiocy of walking around down here was mitigated at least a little by the fact that there were four of them, three of whom were armed, two of whom wore moderate-to-heavy armor and two who were considerably taller than anyone else in the room. Who decided to attack a party with a Qunari in it, anyway? He swallowed the question, as well as the resulting determination about who was truly being foolish here, as it was perhaps not the kind of thing he ought rightly to say anyway.
Sophia made sure to be standing in front of her charge, folding her arms over her chest. "This is no concern of yours. I'd ask that you please remove yourself, and allow us to be on our way." He seemed to find that funny, which did not surprise Sophia. "Hah! You some sort of Qunari lovers? Maybe I should get rid of you all and see who'll pay the most for your pet." At that, Ketojan made his first move to acknowledge really anything around him, taking a step forward to come nearly beside Sophia, and growling towards the thugs.
"Uh, I don't think it likes you threatening its master," one said, looking up at the horned mage. "Maybe we let this one pass?" After overcoming her disbelief that one of them had seen reason, Sophia seconded him. "This will go better for all of us if you just step aside." The leader wasn't having any of it, of course. "And let you make a holiday of the last free place in Kirkwall? No, I think I'll cut you up and save the biggest piece for your pet."
He had pulled a knife, and went to stab at her. She'd been ready to grab for his arm when she felt a force blow by her, the air blasting outwards and pushing back, sending the entire group of thugs onto their backs. Ketojan's hands were alight with magical energy, his stance low, almost predatory. The thugs were readying their weapons even as they rose. "By the Void! Kill it! Kill them all!"
Sophia drew her sword. It seemed trouble had found them after all.
"Well, this wasn't exactly the complication I had in mind, but I suppose it will do," he murmured, watching a few of the men climb to their feet, still a bit disoriented from Ketojan's burst of magic. It was interesting; he'd known a few mages in his time, and Rilien knew a great deal of the theory, which he'd divulged to satisfy Lucien's curiosity from time to time, and there was something a bit off about the situation. It seemed less... refined than he'd come to expect of a mage. Then again, he doubted very much the Qunari were giving theirs formal educations, so it could just be that. Sophisticated or not, it was clearly effective, and he'd take it.
"I don't suppose you could do that again, could you?" he asked the collared kossith. "Seems useful." Either way, it was with a weary sort of frown that he reached over his shoulder and grasped the haft of his scythe. He really needed to consider upgrading to one with a metal pole; the wood was already chipped and wearing in several places. The instrument was clearly not intended to be used in the way he was utilizing it, after all. Nevertheless, it swung easily enough into the midsection of the brigand who'd just attempted to gut him, leaving a debilitating but not fatal wound there.
This was a familiar song and dance, and it seemed that no matter how he searched, the steps rarely changed.