004 // the house of sin

[serpentis]

Who: Dorian and assorted guests
Broadcast: Fleet-wide, 3/10
Action: In a villa practically in the forest (THE HOUSE OF SIN)
When: Broadcast- 3/10 // Action- 3/9-3/31? Until we leave.

Broadcast:

[The broadcast goes out on 3/10, and Dorian smirks a bit into the feed.]

I believe I've secured lodging for myself, with room enough for several others. If you need a place to stay, do let me know. It's a quaint little villa a bit outside of town. ...please don't mind the suspicious glances, I assure you, I've done nothing entirely against the guidelines that were set.

---------

Action:

[Dorian has secured a villa, but the residents of Mor don't seem too keen on having an evil mage for a neighbor. As the month goes on, more and more villagers will show up to stand at the gates of the villa and threaten to come in after the "evil wizard".

Maybe he shouldn't have gone so overboard with the whole "contacting the spirits of the dead" thing.]

((OOC: Mingle post for the House of Sin. We'll pretend there are enough rooms in here for everyone! Even if you character only drops by to rest their feet a bit, everyone is welcome to visit and stay the night if they want.))

Comments

[serpentis]

[Dorian knocks on the door of the room he's seen Fenris slinking into.

It's been a few weeks since they last spoke- Fenris was oddly complimentary last time, uncharictaristically so, and Dorian was content to forget that the forced flattery had ever happened.

So, instead he knocks, and speaks only loudly enough to be heard through the door.]

Fenris, I have something for you.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris would be glad for that, it was something to do with the augments, and as much as he's come to enjoy Dorian's company, there are some lines he isn't quite willing to cross.

After a few moments, he opens the door. At least Dorian is welcome, to him. He steps aside, a little, to allow Dorian to enter if he wishes.]

Considering this is you, that something could be any number of things.

[It's an attempt at humour, but the state of Dirkwall has rattled him, so it doesn't quite come across right. ]

[serpentis]

[Dorian saunters inside, settling down on a chair, and holds out a small bottle of amber liquid, stopped with a cork.]

From the town. Whiskey, though I suppose it would work just as well as a paint remover, in a pinch. But it will knock you on your ass, so I suppose that's entirely the point, isn't it?

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris very almost smiles, and at least makes a soft 'heh' sound at Dorian's comment. ]

I should learn by now to always count on you to be able to find the alcohol.

[serpentis]

I am nothing if not reliable in that.

[Dorian rested back in the chair, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knee.]

You've been slinking about like a cat, bolting at the first sign of another person. I'm not entirely surprised, but it was noticed.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris falters for a moment, his hands clenching and unclenching, before taking a seat beside Dorian. Perhaps he, more than anyone else, might understand.]

Does this place not remind you of Tevinter? How they keep these people in ignorance, so they can be exploited? All for the pleasure and entertainment of others?

[It's the closet he can come to an explanation for his recent behaviour. To try to put the whirlwind he's been feeling into words that make sense.]

[serpentis]

[Dorian sighed softly, and then nodded, just once, resting his elbow on the arm of the hair, his chin in his hand. He sighed.]

It does, to that point.

[And he looked over at Fenris, gave him and honest look.

He understood, then. It explained much. Looking at people being used as pawns, kept about to be entertainment, blind to the facts of what they were living in, Dorian was quiet as he thought it over.

At first, he had almost made light of it, but put that way...

Odd. Fenris was violent, and unpredictable. Dorian finds it odd that, in some ways, Fenris is a bit of a moral compass.]

I found it unnerving. You needn't explain, I think I understand your reasonings well enough. Though I'm not entirely certain what to do about it.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris breathes out, pinching the bridge of his nose. He's glad he doesn't have to try and put words to the swirling emotions inside him. Belatedly, he realises he's begun to be glad to have Dorian to speak to. Someone who understands where he's coming from better than most of his other friends.

The realisation that he considers Dorian a friend creeps up on him, but he's too unsettled to truly face it. Just yet. ]

I'm earning money, for a sword. I can shift through the collar, once I'm within the city. I will pull the curtain from their eyes.

[serpentis]

[Dorian considers him for a moment, a slow smile creeping onto his face.

Could he affect change here? Would it be worth it? On one hand, these people weren't being harmed exactly, and yet, Fenris seemed to stir something in him, almost like compassion. What was it, was it more anger that others would be subjugated by a society that exploited them, and knowing that those at the top were invariably corrupt and broken?

Perhaps, an experiment, to see how the lower classes of Tevinter would react, in an uprising. A small-scale revolt against the broken people running this place.

His smile is like a knife, and almost as dangerous. He rarely allowed himself this, outside of murdering the Venatori.]

Well, if we're causing mayhem and disorder, count me in. I'd like to see what comes of it.

[He looks him over and continues, honestly.]

It would be good to know what to expect when we do similarly, in Tevinter.

[There was no question about it, now. Fenris was going to come back with him, and together they would clean out the Venatori and stop the corruption where it was, like severing a limb that had gone gangrenous.]

[wolfuncaged]

[He can understand a smile like that, it speaks his language. Honestly, he's glad he's not alone in this.Two people can make so much more trouble than just one. He doesn't return the smile, but the honesty is there in his voice. ]

Good. They would likely give us a good idea. I just hope they will listen, when they learn the truth. Be able to create their own lives, as they see fit.

[Because that is, of course, the tricky part. Physical chains are easily removed, but the mental ones...they last.]

[serpentis]

What about the keep?

[Dorian's mind is going, envisioning all of this like a living game of chess. What would happen were they to take the Archon?

Or, as they called it in Ferelden chess, the King.]

[wolfuncaged]

Assuming there is anything in it, or that their supposed 'king' isn't in the dark, also.

[serpentis]

[Dorian nods softly.]

Knowing what I do about this sort of matter, it's entirely likely that the keep is where they headquarter the leaders of this place, whatever is running it. If we sever the root of it, that will be for the best.

[wolfuncaged]

Then, at least, they will not just be forced back into the lie the second we depart.

Storm the castle, then?

[serpentis]

[Dorian smiles a bit.]

I like how you think, Fenris.

[And then he smirks at him.]

Just...primise me I won't be on the business end of your blade after it's all done. I would hate to wear something nice and have it ruined because I cast too much magic for you to tolerate.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris gives a soft shrug. ]

You have proven that you understand how to control your powers. Unless you're planning on turning them on me, you have nothing to fear from me.

[serpentis]

I have no intention to. I don't aim to harm my friends.

[Dorian's expression softens a bit, and he reaches out, giving Fenris's hand a slight pat, like he might give to Jove, before pulling away. Fenris said something that settled on him with gravity- knowing that this elf had once been a tool for a crooked Magister made the words more of a benediction than a profession of trust.

He didn't look at him, Dorian often looks away when it comes to honesty, as if meeting someone in the eyes makes it more concrete. He looks straight ahead, and he almost smiles a little.

If Fenris could come to trust him, perhaps others would. Perhaps they could, together, win over those that would root out the Venatori and dispose the crooked and corrupt Magisters.]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris tenses at the touch, as he does with everyone, at first. He doesn't yank his hand away, though. Dorian has earned that right, at least. ]

I am glad to hear it.

Now we only have the problem of finding a way into the castle.

[serpentis]

[He smiles to himself, and chuckles happily. It's almost a truce, albeit a friendly one. An armistice of sorts, knowing they were both broken before they ever met, and Dorian knowing that he needed to pay in pentitence to win Fenris's trust.]

There are guards, I suspect. We'll have to investigate. Do you think that we might be able to stir the lower-class into joining us for a coup?

[wolfuncaged]

[If, a few months ago, someone told Fenris he would find a friend in a mage from Tevinter, he would have laughed in their face. Then punched them. But here they are. The impossible has happened, and he doesn't know how to deal with it, truly.]

Possibly. But they would have to see, believe that they are being told a lie. That might cause a stir, alert those in the castle of an attack quickly. They would have more time to raise their defences.

[serpentis]

Very true.

[Dorian thinks on it, and then he nods, standing.]

I will think on it, see what I can come up with. You are free to visit me if you wish. I have books, as well, if you need something to busy yourself with. It's no library in Skyhold, which isn't entirely a bad thing.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris frowns, slightly. ]

I...cannot read all that well. Danarius never permitted us to learn. Hawke was helping, and a girl in Exsilium, but it's rudimentary at best.

[serpentis]

...I see.

[And then he smiles a bit, giving him a bow.]

Then I suppose that is one thing I ought to see to. I will be your tutor. Everyone ought to know how to read, and it's no surprise that Darnarius never permitted you to. A man who reads, thinks.

[He tilts his head a bit, thinking.]

I will find something suitable that won't bore you to tears. Something that will inspire you, or, at the very least, be profane and lewd enough to be entertaining.

[wolfuncaged]

That was exactly it. If we thought at all, we might start consider ourselves worthy beings.

[Still, the offer gets a small smile. Perhaps if it had been given earlier, when they were still acquaintances at best, he would have turned Dorian down. Considered it condescension, or worse; pity. As is, he's come to trust the mage, insane as it might be, and knows the offer comes from a good place. ]

Thank you. That is...kind of you. I'm sure if anyone can find an entertaining read, it will be you.

[serpentis]

Well, you certainly are one, more than that viper ever was.

[Perhaps some of Jove has sunk in, perhaps it was true hate for men like Darnarius. Regardless, Fenris was worth more than the entire Venatori gathered together, and he would trade every crooked Magister for just one man like him.

The smile doesn't leave his lips, but it's honest, kind, even.]

I'm certain I could find something to hold your interests. "Heaving bosoms" and "hard members" and everything. Terribly exciting, what some people write.

[And he chuckled softly. He wasn't much one for those novels- he preferred histories, and explorations of magic. Still, if it helped Fenris to read, there was no harm in it.]