This Fan Fiction is based on the Dragon Age video game series trademarked by BioWare. I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world of Dragon Age. I've tried not to mess with the "official" story, so names and dates should be correct for the time period this story takes place.
This story contains sexual relations between minors and adults, and if this offends you in any way, please do not read any further. Any comments are welcome at rainingsparrows@yahoo.com
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Previously: Simon seemed genuinely surprised when Daniel hugged him. Maybe Simon didn't get many hugs where he came from, but Daniel had learned from the sisters in the Chantry that even the smallest act of kindness shouldn't go unnoticed. Daniel whispered "Thank you Simon." and let go of him. Before he walked ahead of Simon out the gate and back into the natural light.
"Get everything you need?" Duncan said as the two boys were back at the horses. He gave the sword on Simon's back and the one that Daniel still held with a tight grip in his hands and smiled as Simon gave him a nod and a grin.
"All we need and then some." Daniel said with a quick glance over at Simon. This could be the start of something special, Daniel thought. And maybe a lasting friendship.
Part III
Soon the six of them were moving west again. They made several smaller stops underway, but they did their best to push through. As soon as they passed the Ferelden-Orlesian border their surroundings changed. Where Ferelden's buildings were mainly wooden buildings with brown and gray colors, the Orlesian ones looked like they were made out of fabrics! Their colors were all from the deepest blue to shocking pink! And a lot more decoration in the surroundings as well. Huge statues were placed near the main roads, wonderful bridges and advanced architecture.
After a couple of days they reached the City of Jader, the closest Orlesian city to the Ferelden border. Just like everything else Simon had seen, Jader looked colorful from the outside, with huge towers painted in strong colors. Jader had huge battlements as well. You had to give it to the Orlesians; they really knew how to make a defensible city, small or big. The city overlooked the Waking Sea from a cliff and was the Orlesian's first line of defense for Val Royeaux of invaders from sea. A small road led down the cliff and to a dock that could hold about thirty ships. As they approached the gates, they heard a man shout at them with a strange accent.
"Who goes there?!"
"Grey Wardens from Ferelden." Duncan shouted back and the gates opened slowly as they approached it.
Inside the city gates they arrived at a large market full of stalls in all different sizes and colors. As it was night time it was pretty much abandoned. Soon they were greeted by the captain of the guard.
"Greetings Commander Duncan. What business do you have in the city?" the large man said in a deep voice. He wore thick plated armor with colorful fabrics covering his arms, legs and the decorative feathers on his helm.
"Just a pit-stop to Montsimmard, Captain. I am here to meet up with Constable Emeric. I understand he is in the city?"
"Yes, he is the usual place." the captain said with a chuckle.
Duncan sighed and gave the captain a small nod and they kept moving into the city. The streets were more or less abandoned, only being lit up by torches here and there, filling the streets in a thin fog.
"Where are we going Duncan?" Daniel asked as he looked around at the dark houses and stalls as they traveled further into the city.
"To our headquarters here. It's a tavern." he said quickly and they continued to walk in silence.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence they approached a huge building, at least four stories high. On the outside it had been painted in a deep red color unlike anything Simon had ever seen on a building before. The party dismounted their horses and entered the tavern. Simon stopped dead in his tracks. The building was not only four stories high, but went another three down! The room had, like Orzammar, a huge hole in the middle with plateaus going down. Duncan grunted in dismay as he started walking down the stairs. This had to be the biggest tavern in the city, Simon thought to himself. Almost all of the floors were full of people, drinking and eating. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Simon's jaw dropped so fast that it might as well have fallen to the ground, if his skin hadn't stopped it from doing so. This was a brothel! All around the floor there were people seated, with women and men in very little clothing walking around serving drink to their guests. Most of the guests around wore masks he noticed. He was just about to ask Duncan why, when he felt a shove in his back.
"Move. We're not there yet." Saunders Ivo said with a grin and pushed him once more towards a thick wooden door at the end of the room. Duncan didn't even flinch from the prostitutes, walked straight to the door, and knocked twice. A small slot opened and a pair of eyes looked at Duncan quickly before closing again and the door opened. A huge man, dressed in thick Grey Warden armor loomed over them. He had to be at least a head taller than Duncan.
"You're late." he said strictly and looked Duncan over and then his small party. "You only found these two?" he asked with a quick nod towards Daniel and Simon.
"I believe these two will do well for us." Duncan replied and looked back at the two boys and gave them a warm smile. "Are the rest here yet?" he asked quickly and tried to look past the big man.
"We were only waiting for you. Do you need to rest before traveling to Montsimmard?" the tall man asked as he moved aside, letting the others through.
"Yes, I think so. Our horses have been riding through the night to get here." Duncan said as he entered the room. Simon and Daniel followed the three others though the door, which was shut and locked as soon as they stepped inside. Once again, Simon's jaw dropped. Everything in this city was a lot bigger than it looked. The room was actually not just one room, but actually multiple rooms filling a huge cave. The walls looked like they were made from rough stone. There were small tunnels here and there leading into other rooms, but it was dominated by the one big room. It had everything one could wish for. Several bookshelves, beds, armor stands and even an own kitchen filled the room. Unlike Orzammar, this cave wasn't lit up by lava, but floating balls of light that hung still in the air.
Tanyl and Saunders Ivo walked straight over to the armory part of the cave, loosening their own armor as they walked. Katarina walked over to one of the many bookshelves and started to look through them. Duncan and the bigger man, which Simon guessed was Constable Emeric, the commander of the Grey Wardens of Orlais, walked towards the middle of the cave where there was a long table. There already sat many people at it. Some of them were eating, some were reading and others just talked. Simon estimated it to be around 20 people filling the cave.
Simon and Daniel followed Duncan and Emeric as they sat down at the table. The two younger boys sat close enough to hear what they were saying.
"Do you know anything about what this is about?" Emeric asked Duncan and poured himself and Duncan something to drink, ale Simon guessed.
"No." Duncan said, looking very serious, "But it can't be good, since he's calling all of us. It takes us months to travel to Weisshaupt!" he said shaking his head.
"How many men do you need, you think?" Emeric said and grabbed a parchment and quill.
"I don't think I'll need that many. Maybe eight. I can't take too many; you know what it's like to travel into the Anderfells."
"Which is why I ask... Do you need me to come along? It's not the easiest route to travel. Having more men around wouldn't hurt. Especially with the Darkspawn activity going on in the area."
Duncan looked curiously over Emeric's face.
"You want to come with is? Are you not needed here? I think Fontaine will bring men with her from Montsimmard, so we should be safe though the Anderfells." Duncan noted. Emeric looked disappointed.
"I was hoping to get out from here. I want- I need to do something again. I've been stuck here for months!" Emric threw the parchment and quill at the table and grabbed chunks of his long dark hair. "It's coming soon, Duncan. The calling. I..." but he was stopped when Duncan laid his hand at his shoulder.
"It's coming for all of us, Emeric. And when it does we-" he stopped and looked over at the two young boys, listening in on their every word.
"Simon. Daniel. You two should head to the armory and see if they have anything for you." Duncan said, sounding quite serious. Guessing that they weren't supposed to hear the rest of their conversation, Simon nudged Daniel at his side and they walked over towards Tanyl and Saunders Ivo.
"Hello boys," Saunders Ivo said in his deep voice and smiled as they approached, "Looking for some gear?" Both Saunders Ivo and Tanyl was looking through the Grey Wardens extensive collection of armors, swords, shields and bows. There was even a couple of staffs hanging by the walls.
"I wouldn't mind getting something else than these rags..." Simon said as he looked over his own well used clothes.
"I think we'll find something useful for you, if you don't mind using some Dalish armor? I don't think we have much else in your size." Tanyl grinned at him. Simon didn't mind Dalish armor. The little he knew about the Dalish was pretty much the things he'd heard on the street. He'd heard that some Dalish clans was very aggressive against humans, or Shemlen as they called them. But their skills in crafting, especially lighter armor and bows, was unlike any human craftsmen could create.
Simon looked over the different armors. There was a lot of plated armor, like both Saunders Ivo and Duncan wore, but there was also lighter ones like the ones Tanyl wore. Tanyl walked over to a huge wooden chest and pulled out a dark grey armor and held it up for Simon to see. As he thought, it was a lot like the one Tanyl already had on.
"I think it should fit. Try it on." He said and tossed it over to Simon, along with a matching pair of boots and gauntlets. When Simon just stood there with the dark leather in his hands, he said impatiently, "You going to try it? Come on!"
"Here, I'll help. Take your shirt off." Daniel said and stepped forward.
Simon blushed as Daniel's surprisingly soft hands started to pull Simon's shirt over his head and folding it neatly. This left Simon bare chested in the middle of an armory, painfully aware of the many eyes that were watching him. Not that Simon had much to be ashamed of. He had a smooth chest, with a little patch of dark hairs under his arms. He had very little fat and hints of a six pack. A thin trail of hairs let down from his navel and under his belt. Simon wasn't sure, but he thought that Daniel stopped for a second and looked him over, before he started to strap on the leather chest piece. Simon was surprised when Daniel seemed to have little problem finding the right places to fasten the straps and belts, because there was a lot of them! Straps around his shoulders, back, even around his waist, but Daniel skillfully fastened all of them. And after five minutes, Simon stood fully armored up with his new boots, firm gauntlets and strapping chest piece. Simon tried to move his shoulders, arms and legs to see how the armor fit, and he was surprised when he noticed just how flexible it was! It was as if he was wearing nothing at all!
"What do you guys think?" he said and turned around to let the other see the entire armor.
"Looks good. I was right about the size too. Good thing we have so many Dalish Wardens around." Tanyl chuckled.
"I agree." Saunders Ivo said and nodded, "It seems to fit you well." He walked over to Simon and started to thug in different places. "It holds." He confirmed and smiled. Simon was very happy with it. The only problem he had with it was that it was rather... chilly, down below. There was only a few leather straps covering him there and left his nether regions more or less uncovered, even though the armor had leather flaps down the side of his thighs, the next thing to protect him down there was his boots that went all the way to his knees. The only thing covering him was his wool pants. Not much help against a hit below the belt. It seemed like Daniel shared his concern.
"Maybe you should get something to cover up your thighs or something. You look quite vulnerable with them showing the gaps in your armor so much." He observed as he walked around Simon, studying every inch of his armor. Daniel already had his own leather armor. Much like his own, Daniel's armor was held on tight by leather straps, but his was reinforced been studded with steel for extra strength.
"You're right..." Tanyl said as he too started to study Simon's thighs, which made Simon blush even harder, "We need to cover those up with some leather. Let me see..." He said as he ventured deep into the chest again. After a couple of minutes, he came back up with a set of leather pants, with reinforcements like those that Daniel's armor had. "These should cover it."
"Alright, let's do i-" Daniel started and grabbed a chunk of Simon's pants, but Simon grabbed Daniel's hands.
"I-I can do that part myself!" he said, blushing harder than ever. A little surprised, Daniel let go of Simon's pants and let Simon tug them down himself. The most important reason for Simon to wanted to do that part himself, was the fact that he didn't have anything under his wool pants! Thankfully, his chest piece stopped the many prying eyes from seeing that, so he was still covered once the pants were off. He quickly stepped into the leather pants, and fastened it with another belt.
"Ahh, so much better!" Simon sighed when the belt was fastened around the pants. "I can live in this!"
"Ha ha ha! I don't think you'd want that." Daniel laughed, "It's very uncomfortable after a while, so I'd advise you to take it off when you're going to sleep or something like that. Just don't wear it all the time."
"This is true." Tanyl said with a sly smile, "As long as you wear this when we travel, you should be fine. And now, you should have some more protection the next time a Shriek attacks you."
Simon smiled from that comment. They messed around in the armory for a good while more, managing to find a suitable shield for Daniel as well. A wooden one, that wasn't too thick and heavy for him to handle.
"This seems nice!" Daniel said and fastened the straps along his arm, holding it in place.
Soon they finished up, grabbing any gear that they might need and packed it into their bags before they headed to one of them many beds around the chamber. Simon and Daniel managed to find a set of beds close to the armory, which was warm from the flames there. Simon decided to try at least once to sleep in his leather armor, especially now that he didn't wear anything under it. Daniel on the other hand, used some time to take off his leather armor, piece by piece. Simon couldn't help but to watch as Daniel loosened the belts around his waist and tugged in a string on his back, loosening the entire armor. Like Simon, Daniel didn't have anything under his armor, at least his chest piece. Being a squire had surely affected his body! He had pretty well defined muscles along his arms and he had a much more defined six-pack than Simon did. Like Simon, he was hairless on his chest, but Simon noticed a few hairs under his armpits. Without caring, or maybe it was without knowing that Simon was watching, he started to loosen his belt around his waist and started pulling on his pants. He noticed right away the bare skin underneath. Simon closed his eyes and rolled onto his back. He felt a heat in his entire body, not really sure why.
"Good night, Simon." He heard Daniel say as he crept under the covers on his bed.
"Good night." Simon almost whispered, in deep thoughts. Since he'd grown up on the street, Simon hadn't had much contact of a sexual nature, not voluntary at least. He didn't count what that damned guard had done to him, maybe both of them for all he knew. He felt a stinging pain in the corner of his eye thinking about it. He rolled over on his side, away from Daniel. He didn't want Daniel to see him cry.
The next morning Simon was woken up by a shove in the shoulder.
"Wake up, Simon. We have to get moving again soon." A calm voice said.
"Five more minutes..." Simon mumbled, pulling the blanket over him more.
"We don't have time for that, I'm afraid."
And with that he felt a thug in his feet and he was dragged out from the very comfortable bed and onto the stone floor.
"Ouch!" Simon cried out as he hit his head a bit.
"You awake now?" the voice laughed. Simon was awake now, that was true. It looked like everyone in the room was on the move. Saunders Ivo was strapping his greatsword on his back, Tanyl was filling his quiver with arrows and Katarina sat in her usual position, with her eyes closed and waiting. Simon looked up, it had been Duncan who dragged him out of bed. He was smiling at him, which was a good sign.
"I see you managed to find an armor that fit you. Good. We have to get a lot of riding done today, so please hurry. Try to get something to eat and we'll be on our way." Duncan said and walked over to the long table, where there was several maps spread out.
Simon got up and looked over at Daniel. He was sitting in his own bed and looking at Simon.
"Are you alright? Looked like you took a hit there." He said, looking worried at Simon.
"I'm alright... Aaaaaaaaand I'm up." He said as he got on his feet. He felt a little dizzy, but it soon passed. He strapped his sword on his back and his dagger on his left side of his hip.
After a quick bite to eat, the Ferelden Wardens, plus another six Orlaisians ones, headed up through the many floors of the tavern and out into the morning light of Jader.
"Where are we going now, Duncan?" Simon asked as they walked over the now busy market place of Jader.
"We're heading straight for Montsimmard. We'll meet up with the rest of the Wardens there. It's a long way, almost as long as from Denerim to here." Duncan answered as they approached them main gate. "We expect to be in Montsimmard within a week or so. The terrain is rough, even along the Imperial Highway." Since it was morning now, the gate was open now, unlike the night before. Plenty of people, farmers and citizens walked in and out from the gate. The Wardens walked straight over to the stables, where they picked up their horses. Daniel finally got his own horse. A beautiful brown one named Sekna. The Orlesian Wardens rode in front with Duncan leading the way while Tanyl, Katarina, Saunders Ivo, Daniel and Simon forming the back. They spent most of the day riding. They took a few stops every now and then to let the horses rest and drink. During this time, Simon and the others talked.
Simon learned that he'd been correct about Tanyl being a city elf. He'd grown up in Denerim, like Daniel and Simon, and had been recruited by Duncan two years earlier. Much like Simon, Tanyl's fate had been sealed when Duncan recruited him, after Tanyl has two of the guards of a noble in Denerim. Tanyl explained that he'd been forced to either die or defend himself. When he had explained that he had been assaulted first, the guards had sentenced him to death. Thankfully Duncan had been nearby and demanded Tanyl released into the Grey Wardens by the right of conscription.
Katarina had been a circle mage all her life. She had passed her Harrowing, the test that determines if a mage is able to resist possession, with flying colors. After that, she had spent her days excelling in primal magic, especially fire and ice, but she also possessed healing abilities. The Grand Enchanter had called for Duncan to see her as a potential recruit, something that both Duncan and Katarina happily applied.
"You have all gone through so much!" Daniel said when Katarina finished her story. "What about you Simon?"
"I- stole from Duncan." Simon said, now noticing how little exciting his story sounded compared to the others. "I was captured by the guards and Duncan picked me up from my cell."
Daniel looked like he expected more to the story, because he has a weird look on his face for several seconds, before it seemed like he realized that there wasn't more to the story after all.
"Ah, alright. I guess that works too." Daniel said with a hint of a smile. Simon wanted to give him a mean look, but Tanyl came to his rescue.
"Simon stole from Duncan his ring, his Grey Warden signet ring. Duncan was a thief himself once, and isn't an easy target to steal from, even though he doesn't look like it now. And Simon proved himself a fighter, just before we picked up you actually." Tanyl said with a look over at Daniel, "He managed to sense a Shriek, the Darkspawn assassin specialist, without dying first. That takes a lot of skill. He almost killed it too, but those beasts are hard to kill with just a simple dagger." All while Tanyl talked, Daniel stared at Simon with an open mouth.
"Good thing you got a new blade. You'll kill a Shriek easy with one of those." Tanyl said, pointing at the sword at Simon's back.
After a full day of riding, Simon had nodded off in the saddle a few times, but not gotten any real sleep. So when they finally set up camp for the night, Simon didn't bother setting up a tent and just rolled out his bedroll close to the fire and almost fainted into it. Daniel did as he did, and just unrolled his own bedroll next to Simon. As Daniel was a more experienced rider, he was used to sleep in the saddle, and had gotten a few hours of sleep.
"You alright, Simon?" Daniel asked, unable to hide his grin.
"I'm exhausted... I hate riding. I can't sleep and my thighs are burning. I like sailing more..."
"Ohh, you sailed before? I've never been on a boat before."
"I used to live by the docks. I got work on a boat once, so I've been to Rivain." Simon said and rolled onto his back, looking up at the star filled sky. "We spent two days in Dairsmuid, stocking up on goods before we returned back home. Best experience of my life."
"It sounds glorious." Daniel said, smiling warmly down at his friend.
"It was. So have you been anywhere else, other than Denerim?"
"Umm..." Daniel laid down on his back and looked up to the sky. "I pretty much only spent time around Denerim. Going on the mission with Ser Aaron was the first time I ever went out from Denerim." Daniel said, and Simon noticed a tear in the corner of his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to bring him u-"
"No! It's OK, Simon. I started out on an adventure with a wonderful man, and ended up in a new one, with a great friend."
This took Simon a little by surprise, but when Daniel looked over at him, he was sincere. Daniel looked at Simon as a friend, something Simon had never experienced before. As a pickpocket, he'd never made friends, just accomplices.
"Thank you, Daniel. You're a great friend too." Simon said, feeling a lump in his throat forming. Not exchanging more words, both boys laid down on their bedrolls and looked up at the night sky. One after the other, they fell asleep, right next to each other.