Shadows Within - Chapter 2-1

Anders' Clinic, Darktown (Day)

"What is it with you and cats?"

Anders looked up. "What?"

Merrill shifted from one foot to another, obviously uncomfortable in her bare feet. The ground of Darktown was all gravel and pulverized stone and even a Dalish elf's calloused soles probably found it irritating. "Your cats. You seem to have a lot of them. Why?"

Anders shrugged. "I don't think two is a lot of cats. Besides, they keep me company. Ser Prowls-a-lot and Ser Meows-a-lot are good assistants. They keep the patients happy."

Merrill blinked her large eyes. "You come up with the strangest names for your pets, Anders."

He sighed. He'd heard that time and again, ever since poor Pounce-a-lot. "Well what would you name them then?"

Merrill sat down on one of the vacant cots, happily watching the as the two felines in question quickly padded up to her. Meows-a-lot, a striped tabby, began winding around her legs with a purr, while Prowls-a-lot, a sullen black-furred predator, settled himself on her lap.

"Roger," she said suddenly, petting Prowls-a-lot's head.

"What?"

"This one," she said, scratching the cat between the ears. "I'd name him Roger. And the other one would be Bundles."

"Why Roger?"

She blinked again, a habit of hers whenever she didn't understand what other people were saying. "It's a good name. A nice name that doesn't make people scrunch their noses up when they hear it."

Anders sighed, checking on an elf who'd come down with scurvy after a voyage across the Waking Sea. His condition was improving, and he was finally sleeping well. It was good to see that all the effort he'd put into the man's recovery wasn't going to waste. He lit a weak healing spell in each hand and passed them over his still body, just to give him an extra boost to last him through the afternoon. "Roger is a fine name," he said as he worked, "but it's not right for Prowls-a-lot. He's a sneaky cat. Likes to steal rats from the marketplace. Roger is just too plain."

"Oh, I don't know," Merrill said, cocking her head and watching the lanky cat purr contentedly. "I think he looks like a Roger. Do you like the name, little Roger?"

Prowls-a-lot closed his yellow eyes and purred louder. Merrill grinned happily at the sight and said, "See? I think he likes it. Bundles too."

"Right," Anders said. "Merrill, why exactly are you here? I thought Varric told you not to go wandering around Darktown anymore. And this place isn't exactly easy to find."

The skinny elf blushed. "Truth be told I didn't mean to come here. I'm not even completely sure where here is. I was walking around the markets with Varric and Hawke, and I took a wrong turn… and ended up wandering a bit…"

"And you ended up in Darktown?" Anders scoffed. "Just how long were you wandering?"

"Oh, I don't know. A few hours at the most. And it's not that bad. At least not as bad as the time I wound up in Viscount Dumar's clothes closet."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Anders said. "How exactly did you do that? They manage to catch people all the time who are actually trying to get into the Viscount's keep. You just traipsed in and wound up in his bedroom?"

"I wasn't watching where I was going," Merrill insisted. "I was looking up at the rafters, wondering if they ever get birds up there and if the birds ever… you know… on the people who are going about their business. And I wondered whose job it was to clean it up if they did? Aveline doesn't talk about it, and I don't think she'd-"

"Merrill," Anders interrupted, "why exactly are you sticking around?"

"Hawke wanted to see you," Merrill said, swinging her legs back and forth. "I figured it was the smarter thing to wait for her until she shows up."

"And you don't think she and Varric will be looking for you instead of coming to see me?"

"We've gotten used to her disappearing on us," came a familiar amused voice from the doorway. Anders turned to find none other than Hawke herself entering his clinic, Varric just behind. The stocky dwarf winked at Merrill as they passed and she quickly stood and re-joined her group, blushing silently.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on our sightseer, Blondie," Varric said. "We lost her somewhere in the Lowtown markets."

"I'm sorry," Merrill mumbled. "The markets are just so exciting! So much to see, so much to explore…"

"And what happened to that ball of twine I gave you?" Varric inquired. "It would have helped lead you back."

Merrill squirmed. "I… lost it?"

Varric sighed in good-natured exasperation. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't keep the twine and attach the other end to your ankle, Daisy. It would be easier to keep track of you that way."

Hawke, meanwhile, was looking around the clinic. Her eyes lingered on the scurvy-ridden elf, then she met Anders' gaze. "Slow day?"

"Yes, Maker be praised," Anders said, retrieving his staff from where it was leaning against the wall. "The clinic was swamped with the sick and injured all last week. Some kind of cave-in further into Darktown. So much attention is dangerous and just begs for Templar interference."

"Did anyone give you trouble?"

"Just the usual investigators for the Templars," Anders replied wearily. "We dealt with them, though; peacefully. Against my urging. A few misdirection hexes sent them off down a side-alley, well away from here. Since then, all's been quiet."

"Good. I'm glad things are calming down for you," Hawke said. She gave him a mischievous smirk. "So what would you say to making things a little crazy again?"

Anders sighed in good-natured exasperation. "Another adventure? And so soon? You just got back from the Deep Roads a few weeks ago."

"You know me," Hawke flashed him a crooked grin. "I'm not exactly one to rest on my laurels. A rich girl has to go out and find more trouble. It is the family profession, you know."

Anders glanced at his patients and said, "Everyone is stable for now. My assistants can look after everyone for a time. What did you have in mind?"

"Varric received a letter about an abandoned mine up near Sundermount," Hawke quickly explained. "We're going to go see why everyone suddenly stopped working. And I figured we'd need a dashing, brooding mage-healer tagging along in case any of the workers were hurt."

Anders laughed. "How can I refuse when you put it like that?"

"So you'll go?" Merrill asked. She clapped her hands in delight. "Wonderful! We can pack a picnic!"

"Daisy," Varric said, "this is more business than a social outing. People could be hurt up there."

"All the more reason to bring food. People who are hurt are usually hungry too."

"This isn't going to be another Bone Pit debacle, is it Hawke?" Anders asked. "Because I think I've filled my quota of dragon-slaying for the year."

"No promises," Hawke replied. "But I'll make sure no dragons toast your fancy feather pauldrons, Anders. Don't worry."

Anders took one last look at his clinic and said, "All right. When were you planning on heading out?"

"Now," Hawke said. "Provided Merrill doesn't wander off on us again."

"I-I didn't mean to!" the elf insisted. "I promise! I just saw a really pretty bird sitting on the railing and…"

She trailed off and mumbled, "… I decided to follow it for a bit."

"Just make sure you don't spot anything pretty down in the mine," Varric said with a short chuckle. "I'm not sure you'll end up wandering into Anders' clinic from there."

"There isn't much that's pretty down in a mine," Merrill said. "Some shiny stuff sometimes, but it's usually grown into the walls and doesn't have a habit of flying off when you're staring at it."

Anders disregarded the two and said, "Let me get some things together and I'll be right with you."

As he began gathering some essentials, medical supplies and poultices mostly, Hawke stepped up next to him, lowering her voice. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," Anders said. "Busy. That's all."

"You took Karl's death hard. I just wanted to know if you were okay."

"We made the right decision," Anders said. "A life cut off from your emotions is no life at all. If we couldn't cure him, we had to kill him. It was the only option we had."

He glanced at Hawke, then quickly away again. "He's at peace now. That's more than the Templars ever gave him."

"I… guess that's a good outlook to have," Hawke admitted. "I'm just sorry we couldn't have gotten there sooner. Before they made him Tranquil. Maybe we could have rescued him."

Anders let out a dry chuckle. "Karl would never have deserted the circle. He thought he could do more good on the inside, bettering the lives of mages from a position where he could be a figurehead. A life like mine, running around in the dark and hiding from Templar scrutiny? He wouldn't be able to stand it."

He turned back to Hawke. "We did the right thing. My only wish is that I could punish the Templars responsible."

He finished packing up. "In lieu of that, I'll settle for killing whatever poor sods who happen to try and take you on."

"That's good to hear. If this job turns out to be anything like I expect, I think we'll need medical assistance."

Anders laughed again. "Since when does anything you do turn out like you expect, Hawke?"