Negligible Moose's Blog

Camilla

Tavs/Durges

Lana

Bud

FANFIC Part 1 FANFIC Part 2

Grand List of OCs:

Henry Thorne

Idrilla Aldwir

Elene Mercar

Wysteria Ingellvar

Adelina de Riva

Thalia Laidir

“Camellia Mercer,” Cam smiled as she introduced herself to the man she was interviewing. 

She had gotten a big break from her boss, Ashur ‘The Viper’ Altus. He was a legend at the Shadow Dragon Gazette, and she followed his career as an investigative journalist closely when she realized she wanted to do the same thing. Now, she had a story to break open, and Ashur was the one who had assigned her to it. 

He wanted her to meet with the leader of the Antivan Crow mafia family to find out if they were affiliated with Venatori criminal organization. If they were, then they would have another avenue to take out their slaving operation. 

The Gazette was a legitimate newspaper, but Ashur did oversee a subsection that allowed a few of their workers to take matters into their own hands. Only a few people knew about the subsection since the police were not thrilled with the vigilantes who captured the slavers red handed. 

Now, after the appointment was made with the Crow leader, Cam now sat in front of him with an eager smile. She hoped that her perceived naivety would lower his guard, and he would give away more than he had hoped.

Of course, she was not interviewing him as the infamous Antivan Talon, leader of the Crows, but as CEO of his company. The company purchased and distributed the finest coffee beans in Thedas, as far as Cam was aware. He was a self-made man in the eyes of the public, but Cam had a feeling that the mafia ties had helped along the way. 

“Camellia,” the Talon smiled gently, almost tasting her name on his tongue. “A beautiful name.”

“Thank you,” she replied, smiling.

Ashur had suggested flirting with the Talon, just mildly at least. Cam had argued against that at first, saying that she wanted to be viewed as a professional. However, now that she was there, she found that she wanted to lean into the flirtation idea. 

“So, what do we need to do to get this interview going?” the Talon asked kindly with a grin. 

“I had a few questions prepared, but I assumed we were waiting for someone to join us,” she answered, glancing around the room. 

“Do you require anyone else?”

“Well, no, but when I do high profile interviews, it’s usually not just me and the interviewee alone in their office.”

“A fair point,” the Talon chuckled. “I don’t have much in the way of protection. I’ve always found that I am more than capable by myself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“I know you didn’t, it’s alright. I promise, it’s a more common question than you think.”

“I just thought that you would want someone around to watch your back or something. But, if you are comfortable with it, then we can move forward,” Cam replied with a nod, pulling out her notes. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve done anything like this, you know,” he mentioned as she prepared her space. 

“Oh? Why not? I would imagine that a lot of people would be interested in hearing your story,” she added. “I would have thought that you’d do hundreds of interviews a month or so.”

“Well, in truth, I was concerned that they wouldn’t stick to the truth,” he answered. “I’ve read your paper several times now, and I’m a subscriber. If anyone was going to tell my truth, it was going to be the Dragons.”

“I didn’t realize we had your confidence like that,” Cam chuckled with a grin. “Do you mind if I record this?”

“I suppose,” he shrugged, nonplussed by the idea. 

Cam clicked on the recorder before holding her notebook in front of her. 

“Thank you for joining me today,” she started with a large smile. “I’m here with the CEO of Pietra’s Coffee, the lead supplier of coffee for cafes across Thedas, Mr. Dellamorte.”

“Lucanis, please. I’ve never been one for formalities, Miss Mercer,” he chuckled.

“Alright, then, Lucanis,” she amended. “The empire you’ve created is quite impressive. Many have expressed their concerns over your fast growth.”

“Customers or competition?”

“I suppose mostly competition. Your customers, both the cafes and the patrons, are very pleased with the coffee your company produces.”

“I am glad to hear that. We always strive to keep our customers happy, as well as our workers,” Lucanis explained, leaning back in his seat at his desk. 

“Yes, your employees generally enjoy working for your company,” Cam added, glancing at her reference. “You have a very low turn-over rate with a high rating for work. It’s hard to work for your company.”

“Only because we aren’t hiring.”

“Yes, of course. You run a tight ship, and some say that you’ve even created a family here.”

She wondered if the mention of family would cause him to falter in anyway, but he was steadfast. He didn’t miss a beat as he smiled and lifted his shoulders. 

“A family might be a strong word. These people have their own families to return to, and we understand that. We strive for a good work-life balance here. I want my employees to put their families and home life first,” he explained, surprising her. “We find that when we take care of our employees and show that we truly care do they return the favor. While I don’t expect them to go and beyond with their loyalty, it is nice to see the fruits of my labor in that respect.”

“But you do have a lot of loyalty here. It’s still impressive,” she added. “Did you know any of them before you hired them?”

“My cousin is on the board overlooking the company, but that is the only thing. I wasn’t even involved with his hiring, either. I sent in a good word, but I allowed our HR handle the decision.”

“So you do technically have family here at the company.”

“Yes, Illario has been indispensable to our company,” Lucanis answered as she wrote it down. “I was relieved when our people approved his position. He’s been very helpful with everything.”

“I’m sure your workers are happy to hear that,” she hummed.

As she wrote down another note in shorthand, Lucanis leaned forward and stopped the recording. Furrowing her brows, she looked back up at him as he gave an almost sad half-smile. 

“I believe that will help you enough with the article you are hoping to write,” he remarked.

Cam blinked at him twice before he leaned back in his seat. Most would see her out or send someone in. Instead, he only watched her, almost daring her to do something. 

“You didn’t come here to just learn about my company and its workplace ethics, Miss Mercer,” he continued before smirking to himself. “Sorry. Miss Mercar.”

“Oh?” she whispered, stricken when she heard her real name. 

“Did you think that I allowed this interview because it was time for an interview? Certainly not,” he told her. “And I don’t think it would be good to play dumb, either. It’ll look bad.”

“Then why don’t you tell me why I’m here then? Since it isn’t for an interview.”

“I figured the interview was a ruse. Glad to see that the Viper is carefully covering your tracks, at least. He’s clever, which is good, especially in your line of work.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” Cam muttered, staring at him. 

She couldn’t help but feel like she had fallen into some sort of trap designed by him. Cam wondered if Ashur had known this would be a trap, but she didn’t understand why he would have sent her if he did. 

“You want to know more about my involvement in the Antivan Crows,” Lucanis replied, leaning back.

Cam stared at him before she clenched her jaw. She would not insult him by pretending that she had no idea what he was talking about. Not when it seemed that he already knew what was going on.

“Partially,” Cam muttered, placing her notes on the desk. Lucanis raised a brow, intrigued by her admission. “I’m more concerned about the Crows involvement in the Venatori.”

The playful mood Lucanis exhibited vanished in an instance as he sneered, turning away from her. Cam kept her composure, not thinking that it was directed at her. 

“The only involvement the Crows would want with the Venatori would be their complete and utter obliteration,” Lucanis answered as Cam furrowed her brow. “Anything less means that their job isn’t done.”

“I didn’t realize that you felt so strongly about them,” Cam remarked, a little shocked at the hostility. 

“They are horrid people who kidnap and enslave. What is there to like?” he countered.

“Alright. So, in that case, why am I here?”

“That’s the best question you’ve asked so far, Miss Mercar.”

Cam grimaced at him before sighing.

“Cam is fine.”

“Short for Camilla,” Lucanis added. 

Her hands clenched into fists on her knees as she kept calm. 

“I did notice that you were quick to give me the wrong name, but not entirely,” he mentioned, watching her. “Why? You could have come up with any name, but Camellia Mercer is extremely close to Camilla Mercar.”

“Simple confusion. If you came across my name elsewhere, it would be different enough for you to dismiss it. Similarity usually makes people think that they’ve made an error or mistake. A possible case of misremembering,” she explained, watching as he smiled widely. 

“That is why you are here,” Lucanis answered with a smile. “I told your boss that I would only speak to one of his newest journalists yet his most ambitious. It was under the guise of thinking that we would have more in common that way. I knew he would send the cleverest of his journalists.”

“Why, though? You sent for me, but it wasn’t for an interview.”

“It was so I could learn what the Venatori is doing in Treviso.”

Cam stared at him in confusion. She had no idea how to answer him. She didn’t know nor did she know how to find out. 

“You came here looking for a lead. I knew that your boss was snooping around my business and the Family searching for one as well. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything more than you do about the Venatori or why their operations have increased,” Lucanis answered. “I only know that they have expanded their operations into the Crows’ territory.”

“I’ve noticed that you don’t claim ownership over the Crows.”

“Why would I?” 

“Same reason why you know my name is Camilla Mercar,” she retorted bitterly.

Lucanis actually laughed before smiling at her. She narrowed her eyes, not sure what to make of his easy-going expression. 

“Then it seems that I have made a mockery of both of anyway. For that, I am sorry,” he informed her before holding out his hand toward her. “Since you already know so much, I suppose I can confirm that I do lead the Crows. I would ask that you keep that out of your article, of course.”

“Trust me, the article will specifically be about your company and your place in it. I had no plans of including your mafia ties in there. I’ll let another naive and inexperienced journalist try their hand at that,” Cam replied before shaking his hand. 

The moment their hands touched, she felt something pricking her skin. Cam pulled her hand back as Lucanis sighed.

“I will apologize in advance, but it’s just a light sedative. A thought the chemist I work with came up with,” he mentioned as she tried to stand only to trip over her feet.

Cam tried to pull herself up, but the drug was quick-acting. She was rapidly losing the feeling in her body, and her vision started to swim. She saw the Talon walk over to her, looking her over. He looked regretful as he sighed. 

“I promise you will be fine, and once the Venatori are gone from Treviso, you will be free to return to Minrathous,” Lucanis sighed before the doors opened to the office. 

Cam could hear more voices in the room as her consciousness faded before hearing one more apology. She’d be furious if the man didn’t sound so fucking sincere. Now she just grew upset and frustrated before darkness took her. 

Cam woke up on a couch. That was the first thing she noticed as she squinted in the dim light. It felt more ornamental rather than functional, but she should have expected that. 

Lucanis, while he acted like a regular person, was still insanely rich. She wondered if he even was the one who had picked out the furniture. 

Slowly, she sat up, finding that her head was still swimming from the aftereffects of the drug. As she sat up, there was a strange woman sitting across the room. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” her voice echoed through the silent and otherwise empty room. “I wasn’t sure you would wake up while I was here.”

“Who are you?” Cam whispered irritably.

“Neve Gallus,” the woman replied as Cam stiffened. 

Neve Gallus, to the rest of the world, was a famous private investigator and detective. She did great work finding people and bringing them home, especially after the Venatori tried to enslave them. However, Cam and her boss knew that she had another life. 

Gallus was the leader of the Thread Syndicate, another crime organization. However, Cam didn’t know anything about the woman more than that. She hadn’t expected to meet her along with the Talon. 

“Luca mentioned that you might know more than you would say,” Neve practically purred, leaning towards her. 

“What do you mean?” Cam asked. 

“You know who I am, and it goes farther than my PI business, doesn’t it? It’s very interesting to meet someone who knows what’s exactly going on behind the scenes,” the woman mentioned before smirking. “Even strange to know that you are an investigative journalist. From the Shadow Dragons Gazette. I’m surprised that I haven’t been exposed already.”

“I’m not looking to become a victim.”

“Luca said that you told him something similar. You have a good head on those shoulders.”

“I’d like to keep it there.”

“As would we. Which means that we need your help in dismantling the Venatori. Luca has run into trouble with them in Treviso, and they are starting to swarm in Dock Town,” Neve explained before exhaling. “So, we need some assistance getting rid of them. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“I’m here to confirm suspicions and gather information. I’m not a field agent,” Cam told her, unsure what else to say about it. “I knew that Lucanis was the leader of the Crows, but I wasn’t sure if there was a connection between the Crows and the Venatori. I had confirmed that before he kidnapped me.”

“Kidnapped is a strong word. Relocated is more accurate.”

“What are you talking about? I have been kidnapped.”

“Well-”

“Can I leave?”

“Not yet,” Neve answered, earning a tired sigh from the journalist. “You are our only chance at stopping this here, in Treviso.”

“How?” Cam sneered.

“We just need an opening. A third party getting involved. We can help you get to where you need to be, and once you have the story of a lifetime, you will be free to go,” she answered. 

“So, I’m going to be your distraction?”

“If you want to look at it that way, then sure. I was hoping we would have a better partnership than that.”

“If you want to have a better partnership, what is your relationship with the Talon?” Cam asked with concern. “You should also be enemies.”

“We have a deal between us. You don’t need to worry about it. We’re just looking to take out the Venatori so we can continue our business as usual,” Neve explained calmly. “We have the same goal.”

“I suppose,” Cam groaned, rubbing her temple. “Fine. I will assist but only because we also want the Venatori gone.”

“Wonderful,” Neve exhaled in relief. “Luca will glad to hear it.”

“Indeed, I am,” Lucanis remarked as he walked through the door. 

Cam glared at him before he bowed at the waist towards her. She waited, half expecting another poison or sedative attack. 

“And I am sorry for my deception. I think you’ll understand why I felt the need to control the conversation a little more than letting it happen at my office,” he said before straightening. “And we are in my cousin’s home, if you’re curious.”

“Why your cousin’s?” 

“A neutral space for us three, for the most part. It also had to have guaranteed safety,” Lucanis answered. 

“Right. So, what is your grand plan?” Cam hissed. 

“There’s a slavery auction on the outskirts of the city of Treviso. The Crows received an invite as there was a history of slave trade within the mafia. We rooted it out decades ago, long before my time. It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, and it looks like the Venatori are hoping to expand by convincing the Crows to join in their trade,” the Talon grumbled before huffing.

“The Threads were pointedly not invited, though,” Neve pointed out as Lucanis rolled his eyes.

“They don’t know your face, amor,” he reminded. 

“I still think that you and Cam should just go. It’s called a plus-one, not a plus-two,” Neve reminded him.

“What better cover could I get than a rich playboy facade? Two women on my arm would cause no one to take anything but my money seriously,” Lucanis reminded as Cam scoffed. 

“The Venatori won’t talk to me if they just think I’m a piece of arm-candy,” the journalist pointed out.

“I think you would be surprised what people will say if they think they’ll win something by the end of the night,” he added before waving his hand, interrupting her next question. “And I already scoped the place out with a few of my Crows. They will be monitoring the situation, and they will make sure that nothing is going to happen.” 

“Your plan is to get me in there so I can gather information through flirtation?” Cam complained.

“It’s what you did when you got here, isn’t it?” Lucanis teased with a suggestive smile. 

Cam’s face went red, glancing at Neve, who had a similar look. She swallowed, realizing that she was in over her head in several aspects. 

“Fine. We go to this slave auction, and you want me to gather information to use in a different article and act as a distraction. What are you two going to be doing?” Cam asked.

“Dismantling the slave auction, of course. Did you think that we were going to let the damn thing proceed?” Neve answered, crossing her legs casually. “You are going to distract the one hosting the slave auction as Luca and I do what we do best. The Venatori will think twice about stepping foot in Treviso again.”

“You are sending them a message at the same time,” Cam added, understanding a little bit better. 

“Exactly,” both leaders replied with a certain look in their eyes. 

Cam took a deep breath as she looked away, acting as if she had started thinking. However, she just found that she couldn’t stand being under their studious gazes. It was like they were still planning, and it was too much for her to handle at the moment. 

The auction was a few days after Cam was taken, and Lucanis was happy to let her explain to her boss that she was going to be on the case for longer than they anticipated. She never received a response, but Cam wasn’t sure if it was because Ashur was busy or if Lucanis hadn’t given her the letter. 

Cam knew that this was going to be a prestigious event, given that only leaders and rich people were able to go, but she didn’t expect that she would need to wear something specifically. One of the Crows employed by Lucanis explained that they wanted to make sure that she looked the part. Neve was going through a similar makeover, which was the only reason why Cam agreed to it. Cam guessed that they were to Vint-like to blend in to be hanging off the Talon’s arm. 

So, with a new outfit and a new face of makeup, Cam went with Lucanis and Neve into the auction, and she was searching for the auction’s host. As they had planned, Cam kept her eyes open for him so she could slip away and try to seduce him. She wasn’t confident that it was going to work, but she would give it her best shot, at least. 

Cam hoped that she would be able to distract the host well enough to let the others dismantle the entire operation. After a moment, Lucanis leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“The head Venatori is over there,” he told her softly, flicking his gaze to the location.

“He’s on time. I’m surprised,” she remarked before leaning into him. “When should I separate?”

“I would wait for a moment when someone grabs my attention. It’s inevitable here. While most people don’t know who I am outside of Treviso, there’s heavy suspicion here. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people come find me to think I support what they’re doing,” he mentioned as Neve hummed. 

“Make sure you’re taking names, amatus. We want to make sure that we can find these people later for justice purposes,” the detective reminded in a soft voice. 

“No one is getting away,” Lucanis reassured before someone did come up just as he expected.

Cam thought of staying for a moment, but when the conversation started completely in Antivan, she decided to break away. She smiled at him as he kissed her hand, playing the part. Still, it made her heart skip a beat. Even Neve looked like she was enjoying what she was seeing. 

Quickly, Cam stepped away, needing to focus instead of wondering if they would be interested in celebrating after this. She shook her head, chasing the thought from her mind. She had to focus on her job instead of the hot mafia leaders that seemed to be flirting with her. 

She followed the Venatori host, finding him close to the refreshment table. She took a deep breath, walking close to him. Hopefully she could catch his attention before she lost her nerve. It had occurred to her that she might not be his type, but Lucanis and Neve seemed very sure that this was going to work. 

As she reached for a drink, Cam turned slightly towards the host, and she noticed that he was staring blatantly at her with a leer. It seemed that Lucanis and Neve were right after all, and she had nothing to worry about. 

“I haven’t seen you around here before,” he commented before chuckling. 

“Oh, I’ve never been to one of these events before. Luca brought me,” Cam answered with a grin, eying him as if she was checking him out. She supposed she was, but she was mostly looking to see if he had any obvious weapons she needed to be wary of. 

“I didn’t think the bird would actually come. Did he just bring you?” the host asked.

“He brought his other girlfriend, too. It’s been a little... tense,” Cam pouted before sighing. 

Just as she hoped, the pout was enough for the host to make his move. He hummed before offering his elbow. Cam smiled in relief, practically hanging off of him as sultrily as she could. 

“You don’t look Antivan,” the host mentioned as she shrugged.

“I was visiting a friend, and I bumped into Luca shortly afterwards. He convinced me to stay in luxury. It seems he asks all the pretty ladies,” Cam mentioned. 

“That makes more sense. You look like a Vint, through and through,” he remarked as she smiled. 

“Good. I had hoped so,” she hummed.

Something in his gaze made her uncomfortable, but she decided to put that on the back burner for now. She wanted information from the man, and she just needed to be patient while the Talon and the Thread made their move. 

Cam was astonished about the amount of information this man was willing to reveal just because she came across as a pretty face. She asked dumb questions with clever ones hidden between them. The man seemed to have had enough wine to loosen his tongue, and he explained everything from how he came to join the Venatori to what he was trying to achieve in Treviso. It seemed like Lucanis was right, and the Venatori were looking to set up a slavery ring inside his side of the city. 

The man kept spilling his secrets before the windows crashed above them, startling the crowd and causing a panic. The man covered his head as Cam ducked under a table. She knew that the Crows had a rather dramatic entrance planned, but she hadn’t expected every windowpane to shatter around them. 

She kept her head down as she was instructed to, covering her head with her arms. Cam only looked up when she realized she heard a man choking, and she saw the host with his throat cut open and his blood started to soak his shirt. The host tried to breathe, and Cam grimaced. While she didn’t feel sympathy for him, she still had a hard time with the amount of blood that was being expelled from his body. 

After a moment, Cam felt a hand on her back. She jolted before she saw Lucanis and Neve coaxing her out. Carefully, she stood again, seeing the horrid aftermath of the Crows. She now understood why no one messed with them. She didn’t expect anything different from the Threads either. 

“Are you alright, cariño?” Lucanis asked gently before Cam nodded.

“Brave girl,” Neve commented with a smile. 

“I got a lot for my article,” Cam mentioned, trying not to look at their former host. “I’m glad you got the opening you needed.”

“We make quite the team,” Neve added, glancing at Lucanis.

“Why don’t we head back to my place this time? I think Neve as a proposition for you,” he replied with a light laugh.

“One that I think you will like, mea cara,” Neve suggested. Cam raised a brow at her before raising her shoulder.

“What did you have in mind?” Cam asked as Lucanis started to lead them out of the room. More Crows came in to start cleaning up while they walked towards the car. 

“Something that all three of will enjoy,” Neve reassured, wrapping an arm around Cam’s waist.

While she knew that she would likely be able to leave at any point now, something told her that would be best to stick around for a while. It didn’t seem like either leader would complain about that decision. 

Cam wandered around the hideout at the bakery where the Shadow Dragons now worked. She had been taking a break in Treviso with Neve and Lucanis for a week or so, and it had been bliss. Just the three of them with hardly any responsibility. Lucanis still had to be available as First Talon, but he was just happy to have his loves under the same roof again.

Now Cam was back with the Shadow Dragons while Neve went to work with the Threads to solidify her position. Now Cam felt a little lost now that she was back in the hideout. There were things to do and jobs to complete, but after learning that the Venatori remnants knew who she was and what she looked like, there were few jobs she was offered. She accepted less than was offered to her. While the Shadows were careful, she knew that she needed to be careful. 

Not to mention that her irritation with how slow everything was progressing was making everything worse. She already felt like she didn’t belong there anymore, and now her annoyance was starting to push away her cohorts. She just wanted to throw every one of the Venatori in a jail cell and let them rot until death. 

The Viper noted the change in attitude with the Shadow, and he wasn’t sure what he could do. He didn’t have the luxury of making the decisions that Cam wanted. Even if he could, he didn’t think he would. He still believed in giving every person a trial to make their case. Everyone deserved a tailored punishment where it was worse for the more devout cultists. 

Still, he noticed that this wasn’t going well for her. She was spending more time at the hideout, and the Viper wondered if she was only there because she didn’t know where else to be. 

He remembered finding her at taverns and bars when she wasn’t on the job, usually drinking or fighting depending on how she felt at the time. 

It seemed that she had left that part behind, at least. It seemed that the fight with the Evanuris and their Venatori had sobered her in a strange way. Still, he didn’t like that she was getting frustrated so easily. 

So, he reached out to Neve to see if she would be able to help Cam out in some way. 

It wasn’t the letter she expected to get, but Neve agreed that she would reach out and talk with Cam.

Cam met with Neve in the Lamplighter a few days later, and the detective hoped that she would be able to determine what’s been going on the last few days. Cam kept an eye on how much wine she was drinking, but it was hard not to indulge in the moment. 

“So, how have you been? Anything new with the Shadows?” Neve wondered as Cam glanced at her. 

“I saw you yesterday, amor,” Cam reminded. Neve grimaced at the response. 

“Yes, you did, but things can change in a day,” Neve replied.

Cam exhaled, looking away. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she knew that something was different now. Cam wondered if it was just her now that was different.

“I just had a rough day, I suppose,” the Shadow answered. “It’s been hard to get back into the swing of things.”

“Has anyone given you trouble? I know that was a concern of yours for when the gods were dead and gone,” Neve asked. 

“Not really, no. If anything, most people think I’m some kind of war hero,” Cam scoffed before taking a drink. 

“I see.”

Cam had mentioned a few times that she never wanted to be glorified for what she did during the fight against the Evanuris. She had seen it as doing her civic duty, and she hadn’t wanted any more praise than what she usually would receive from any other job. 

Of course, that was never in the cards. She hadn’t thought of hiding her identity or covering her face. All of Thedas knew the face of Rook, and there wasn’t much she could do at this point. She just hoped that the recognition would fade over time.

“You know, maybe it isn’t so bad being a hero, though. At least people have stopped bothering you,” Neve offered.

The detective could feel her words sounding hollow. While the rumors of Cam’s recklessness and carefree attitude had diminished, Neve knew that what replaced it was more daunting and exposing. In a way, it was worse than how it was before.

“I guess,” Cam sighed, not looking to argue. 

“Have you had a chance to reach out to your family? I think they would want to know you’re safe,” Neve asked.

Cam turned away and shook her head. The topic of the Mercar family wasn’t taboo, per se, but she wasn’t sure how her family would react if she went home now. A part of her wondered how she would be received. 

“Not yet,” Cam admitted, drinking the wine again.

“Did you want to visit them? I’d love to introduce myself one day to them,” Neve mentioned with a grin. “I’d love to see who raised you and where you grew up.”

“I grew up at the military school, really. I was sent there when I was seven or eight, I think. I barely remember anything before it,” Cam remarked. “Whenever I would go back to Carastes, I knew that my parents were there, but it never really felt like home.”

“Carastes, huh?” Neve hummed with a smirk. “Fancy.”

“Mercar has a good amount of money tied to its name. Not that I’ll likely see a copper coin of it.”

“You did mention that you had older siblings. Are they the first to inherit, then?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Neve.”

The detective blinked at her, surprised that she wasn’t entirely sure what Cam meant. She had assumed that Cam was simply the youngest, but it seemed that there was more to it. 

“It’s the other reason why I don’t want to go home,” Cam grumbled, hiding behind her glass of wine as she leaned her elbows on the table. 

“You always said that your parents were kind people that treated you like blood,” the detective mentioned.

Cam grimaced before she set the wine glass on the table, leaning back in her chair. Neve stared at her, waiting for a better explanation. She didn’t understand why the Shadow was being cagey about this. She always did things bluntly and straightforward. 

“I think rumors have ruined my reputation in their eyes,” Cam muttered.

“The rumors around Cam or Rook?” Neve pressed.

Cam rolled her eyes and shook her head, glaring at the alcohol in her glass for a moment. Then she sighed, wondering if admitting it would make her feel any better.

“Around Cam. Around me. Rook was never who I was or wanted to be,” she replied, turning back to her lover. “And I know I’m a fuck up because that’s all I’ve ever been. I don’t think it’ll change any time soon. Not in the eyes of my parents.”

“What are you talking about? I’m sure they’ve heard of Rook’s accomplishments by now.”

“My accomplishments? I started all of it with a bad call at the ritual site over a year ago, and it landed with a blighted and destroyed Minrathous. That’s what they are going to hear because the Venatori controlled everything, including the media.”

“Surely your parents know you better, don’t they?” Neve offered.

“I needed to be a model citizen, but I fucked that up. Even before Varric, I started bar fights and hunted down slavers. Hardly the work of a model citizen,” Cam reminded.

“And yet you have the rest of your life ahead of you,” Neve continued, thinking that Cam was starting to sound like she couldn’t continue. “You don’t have any interest in trying?”

“You think I’ve actually got a whole life ahead of me. I know better,” Cam remarked grimly. “I’ve already passed the average lifespan of a Tevinter soldier.”

“Amatus, you are barely over thirty.”

“The average lifespan of a soldier in the Tevinter army is six years. I passed that four years ago. Should I have stayed enlisted like my father wanted, there was a high likelihood I would have met that average.”

“But you joined the Shadow Dragons instead once your time was up instead of reenlisting, “Neve whispered, remembering that Cam had hold her that before. 

“I’m living on borrowed time,” Cam stated before Neve’s blood drained from her face.

“You are not,” Neve argued firmly. Cam stared at her neutrally. “You are not living on borrowed time. That is not how it works.”

“Then why does it feel like it?” 

Neve found that she didn’t have an answer to that. All she knew was that Cam should be living her life to the fullest. It seemed that she felt a strange sense of duty instead. A duty to do everything in her power to make sure that her life had a purpose. 

Only, it seemed like the purpose had slipped away. The Shadow Dragons couldn’t exactly work with her since she was so recognizable. Usually that wouldn’t be an issue, considering Dorian and Mae, but Cam wasn’t a magister or a high ranking official. She was a general’s adopted elven daughter who had military training. Nothing fit cleanly for Cam within the Shadow Dragons anymore. 

“Maybe a change of scenery would help,” Neve offered.

“We’re not going to Carastes to meet my parents,” Cam argued before biting her lip. “At least, not right now. Maybe later when my identity is my own again.”

“I agree, Carastes wouldn’t help,” the detective nodded before reaching across the table. “Which is why I think you should join Lucanis in Treviso.”

“What?” Cam whispered, her eyes widening considerably before shaking her head. “You said that you need to be here for the Threads. I can’t leave you.”

“You aren’t leaving me,” Neve reassured, squeezing Cam’s free hand. “You should join our amor in Treviso, and I will visit as often as I am able to.”

“Neve,” Cam started to argue.

“You aren’t happy here anymore, amatus. I can see the stress the Shadows give you now. You worry you are going to give them away by just existing inside the bakery. You never relax anymore, either. Until we spent a week in Treviso.”

“It was nice there.”

“I know you love it there, too.”

“Stop being so observant,” Cam complained, making Neve smile. “But what would I do there? It’s not like I can take contracts for the Crows.”

“Why not? You could convince Lucanis of anything. And didn’t Viago mention that you had Crow material at some point?” the detective grinned before bringing Cam’s hand to her lips. “I’m not saying you should become a Crow, but I think you would find the rhythm there that you were missing here.”

“And you’re sure you aren’t going to follow? Maybe you could lead the Threads from Treviso,” Cam suggested.

The idea of leaving one of her loves to live with the other made her heart ache. She couldn’t deny that she would likely be happier in Antiva where the pressure of the Shadow Dragons wasn’t so heavy. Tarquin would certainly rejoice, Cam was sure. 

“Maybe further down the line when I have a better handle on our operations. For now, Dock Town needs me still,” Neve reminded her gently.

“Not me, though?” Cam teased weakly.

“Dock Town needs every protector it can get, and I would be thrilled if you did decide to stay,” her lover replied before smirking. “But we both know that this isn’t where you need to be right now.”

“But you’ll reach out if you need backup or something, right? Just because I’m living in Treviso doesn’t mean I can’t jump back over here.”

“Trust me, I will reach out to you with every little problem I have. Plus, you can drag our Crow with you when you come over.”

“Alright. Still, I want to think about it before we tell Luca anything. I don’t want to get his hopes up only for me to take it back,” the Shadow insisted. 

“If you say so,” Neve smiled. “I would decide sooner rather than later, though. Before I make the decision for you.”

“As if I wouldn’t fight back tooth and nail.”

“Whatever it takes, I suppose.”

“I just want to be sure that this is the right move. I don’t want the Shadows thinking I abandoned them,” Cam muttered with a sigh. “Especially Ashur. He’s been very helpful in getting me acclimated again. I don’t want to come off as ungrateful.”

“Even he knows that some things don’t work out in the end, and I think he can tell that you haven’t been fitting as well as before.”

“You didn’t talk to him about this, did you?”

“Of course not. I can if you want me to, though,” Neve offered before Cam shook her head.

“I’ll talk to Ashur about it tomorrow.”

“To Treviso, then?”

“Maybe. I just want to talk to Ashur about it to see what he thinks, too. I have mixed feelings about moving out of Tevinter,” the Shadow explained. “I just need another voice in this before I can make my decision.”

“Fair enough. You could talk to Luca about it, too,” the detective suggested, raising her brow.

“The moment I mention that I’m thinking about moving to Treviso, the Demon of Vyrantium will kidnap me where I stand.”

“There are worse ways to go.”

“Let’s not have our Crow kidnap me, alright? The last thing we need is him being hunted by the guards because it looked suspicious,” Cam complained, rubbing her forehead in defeat. “If I decide to go to Treviso, I’ll tell him in person while I am already there.”

“Just make sure that you can leave again,” Neve winked, completely teasing.

While they both knew that Lucanis would be over the moon if one of them, if not both, moved into the villa, he wouldn’t trap either of them there. It would likely cross his mind, though. 

Cam held the wine glass in her hand before sighing, looking down at the liquid. A part of her wanted to leave Tevinter, at least for a while. Another part of her felt guilty for wanting to leave it all behind. She felt like she should stick it out, but she also knew better. Sticking it out wasn’t going to help anyone. Her mood would continue to sour most likely. 

She would at least speak to Ashur about his opinion to see what he thought about the who thing. He would have some insight into what she was going through.

Cam walked into the bakery, hoping that the Viper was visiting that day. Otherwise, she would need to make a meeting happen, and that usually took a while. Ashur was busy, as he expected to be. One thing that they both had in common, Cam supposed. 

To her relief, both Ashur and Tarquin were in the hideout. While Cam wasn’t sure how Tarquin would respond, she hoped that it wasn’t overjoyed at the idea that she was leaving. 

“Ah, Mercar. I didn’t think you would be down here,” Tarquin greeted when she approached.

“I usually come down here when I’m not on the job,” Cam smirked.

“Neve said that you were leaving,” Tarquin added. 

Cam clenched her jaw and glanced at the floor for a moment. Ashur looked between them before Cam lifted her shoulders.

“To be fair, I was thinking of moving,” Cam clarified. “I wanted to get your takes on the idea.”

“Moving where?” Ashur wondered gently.

“Treviso. In Antiva,” she answered. “But I have a duty here... don’t I?”

“Cam,” the Viper chuckled. “I think you’ve done more than your fair share of your duty.”

“Plus, you don’t look like you’re very happy when you’re down here,” Tarquin added. 

Cam winced at that comment, but she couldn’t deny that he was right. She just thought that she was doing a better job at hiding it when she was around the other Shadow Dragons. 

“It’s hard to work when everyone knows your face,” Cam admitted. She was designed for infiltration, not to be a face for the public. 

“If you were to move to Treviso, when would you leave?” Tarquin wondered. 

“Depends. I don’t think Neve would let me stay for longer than I needed to be,” Cam chuckled awkwardly. 

“I think moving to Treviso is a strange move, regardless of your relationships,” Tarquin replied before he sighed. “But it would be a good change of scenery for you.”

“I was thinking the same,” she sighed. 

“You can also keep an eye on any remaining Venatori in Antiva, if you wanted to continue your work,” Ashur offered, surprising her. “Just because you aren’t in Tevinter doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t be a Shadow Dragon, unless that’s what you want.”

“I don’t know what I want. I want to be able to help still, but I don’t know if Minrathous is where I need to be,” Cam replied.

“We could move you to Treviso on a special assignment if you are that worried about it,” Tarquin chuckled before his face fell a little bit. “Always thought that I would retire before you did.”

“You have done more than your fair share of the job, Cam. I was surprised you came back so quickly, if I’m honest,” Ashur mentioned with softer eyes. “You deserve some rest, and I think reassigning you to Treviso would help you find that rest, too.”

“So, I’m not retiring yet then,” she nodded. “Just being reassigned to watch for Venatori activity in Antiva.”

“I think that’s the easiest solution. Don’t you?” Ashur suggested before Cam took a deep breath. “Minrathous is nearly back on her feet, and Archon Parvus has a lot of plans to get this place back in shape.”

“I’m worried that he’s going to spark something dangerous if he moves too fast,” Cam warned as the Viper nodded. 

“He’s taking the advantages he can, but I don’t disagree. We’ll keep an eye on it, and we will let you know if anything happens while you’re gone,” Tarquin added. 

“You’re acting like I’ve already made up my mind,” she laughed. 

“I think we can stop pretending you aren’t going. I’ll inform the Shadows that there will be an eastern cell consisting of you and sometimes Neve in Antiva,” Tarquin explained before sighing. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think I’m going to miss you, Cam.”

“I’ll miss you lot more, though,” Cam smirked before dipping her head. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and mine. I am very grateful for the Shadows.”

“Just make you visit, alright?” Tarquin groaned.

“The hideout will always be available to you, Mercar,” Ashur reassured.

“Thank you. I will prepare for my move, then,” she replied, smiling genuinely for the first time in weeks.

Lucanis walked around the villa, looking through a few contracts before he heard something in the adjacent room. Curious, he looked up and walked over to where he kept the eluvian, gently touching the rapier at his side. 

He opened the door, pausing before seeing Cam in the room with two large bags. She waved with a shy smile before he ran in, catching her in his arms. 

Laughing, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her heart still aching yet now soothed by him. He laughed softly in her ear, and she grinned into his shoulder. She relaxed against him, feeling comfortable again. 

“Non credo te me relinquere, amor meus,” Cam complained dramatically as Lucanis caught her after she fell into his arms.

Neve smirked, but the expression didn’t quite meet her eyes. Lucanis exhaled, wishing there was another way to go about this. He had to return to Treviso to fulfill his new duties as First Talon of the Crows, but that meant leaving his two lovers in Minrathous to help the Shadow Dragons clean up the mess.

He had waited a week after they had defeated Elgar’nan, hoping to possibly convince both of them to follow him instead. However, he didn’t get a chance to make his case as both Neve and Cam were running from place to place wherever they were needed. Rebuilding the city from the ground up was going to take time, and Cam wasn’t going to leave the city high and dry. Neve also felt a newfound responsibility to Dock Town after she took over as leader of the Threads.

So, instead of trying to convince them to leave their lives to move to Treviso with him, he simply explained that he had to return home. He had been ignoring the letters from Viago and Caterina, and there was only so much he could ignore before they started to send Crows after him.

“I am not leaving you, amor,” Lucanis reminded before kissing her forehead. “Treviso is moments away, remember? I’m never more than a short walk away.”

“It’s not going to feel like it,” Cam sighed. “But you’re right.”

“We’ll visit as soon as we get a chance to,” Neve reminded, kissing his temple as she stepped towards him. “And I’ll try to keep her out of trouble.”

“Good luck with that,” Lucanis chuckled before stealing a kiss from both of them. “Just... be safe. I don’t want to learn that something happened while I was away.”

“We’ll be as safe as we can be. With the Threads watching us and the Archon new ban on Venatori ideology, we should be fine,” Cam reassured with a smirk.

“Elek has promised that the area we are going to be working in will be protected as well. Tarquin isn’t thrilled that he’s working with the syndicate, but they can get back to their petty fighting when Minrathous is whole again,” Neve added with a sigh.

“You know he’ll likely count you among the syndicate as well,” Cam pointed out before Neve lifted her shoulders.

“The Threads keep their leader a secret for a reason. I’ve always been good about flying under the radar,” the part time detective informed with a laugh. “Just keep that in mind when you talk to Tarquin next, though. I do still want to work with the Shadow Dragons still.”

“You just want to be close to Cam,” Lucanis accused with a teasing voice.

“What? Can you blame me?” Neve laughed.

Cam rolled her eyes, standing away from the Crow now. Lucanis shook his head, smiling at both of them.

“I wish you could stay,” Neve informed in a more serious tone.

“I do as well,” Lucanis replied, looking to the side. “I am sure that we will see one another again soon, though.”

“Of course, amatus,” the mage smiled.

“You better get going before I write to Caterina that she can’t have you back,” Cam teased, squeezing his hand.

“Now that might cause issues,” Lucanis hummed. “Be safe, mis amores dulces.”

Neve and Cam saw him off as he disappeared through the eluvian. Cam looped her arm around Neve’s feeling like a part of her heart had gone with the newly appointed Talon. They had helped him against his cousin to receive the title, so it only made sense for him to actually do the job he was granted.

It still didn’t feel right to see him leave.

Cam exhaled as they entered the Shadow Dragons’ newest hideout in a discreet bakery near Hightown. The cell of Shadow Dragons in Hightown had dwindled before Elgar’nan, and the god pretty much wiped them out. It meant that the few people from Hightown had to join the Dock Town cell. With a need for a new hideout, they found a bakery that does well to hide their movements from their enemies. 

Although, with the Archon also being a member of the Shadow Dragons, their enemies were lessening by the day. The Venatori had nearly been run out of the country or imprisoned, waiting for their trials. There wasn’t a high chance for any of the cultists going free, especially since the magisters who were in the gods’ pocket during the war died to fuel Elgar’nan’s power. It gave the people the chance to put new leaders in place, at least. 

Of course, that didn’t mean that their job was about to get any easier. The remaining Venatori were going to be scattered, and it was going to be hard to find them. Which was why the Viper called for Cam and Neve to give them a new assignment. 

“There you are,” Ashur remarked, watching the two women enter the back area of the bakery. 

Next to him, there was a staircase that went down to the basement. Within the basement, there was a small tunnel that led to the new hideout. The Shadows would still lead people to safety, as there were other places where they could receive help and to sneak them through the city still. 

“Just seeing Luca off,” Cam explained as the Viper dipped his head.

“I was wondering when the Crow was going to return,” Ashur whispered, a hint of implied condolences in his tone. “I will make sure that this task is quick so you may go visit him at your discretion.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the Shadow smirked with a shrug. “He’ll understand if we’re held up.”

“I’m glad to hear that you are as focused as ever,” the Viper chuckled. “Then I will make sure that we get this done fast so that you can return to your work, Neve.”

“Tarquin isn’t aware, is he?” Neve muttered, realizing that the Viper knew about her involvement with the Threads. 

“Only I know. I’m hoping that we can work with your people soon. As long as we can have some guidelines,” Ashur replied, surprising both of the women. 

“I promise, I want to look over the Threads in a different manner than how their last leader did,” Neve mentioned. 

The Viper nodded, understanding what she meant. Although, he knew that she wasn’t going to abandon her detective job either. It worked greatly as a cover for her position in the Threads without changing her lifestyle very much. 

“What’s the job?” Cam asked, bringing the conversation back to the reason why they were summoned in the first place. 

“I need you to find a couple of people that were missing from Hightown. We think that they might be hiding in the lower parts of the city now,” the Viper explained practically immediately. 

“Are we talking Venatori cultists or victims?” Cam questioned as Neve grimaced. 

“Victims. They think that they are being hunted by the Venatori. The idea is to find them and get them to safety before the remaining cultists get to them. We don’t want any examples to be made by the cultists,” Ashur continued.

“So, we’re going to find these people and bring them here?” Neve asked. 

“I will have someone work with you. We will need to create a chain, so we will be using several safe houses throughout the city,” he answered. 

“Who are these people?” Cam asked, growing concerned. 

The Viper paused before sighing. She felt uneasy about this job, realizing that they were just starting the chain of safety that they were hoping to start. However, Cam didn’t realize that there were people this important that needed hiding. 

“Witnesses who came forward to testify against a few of the imprisoned Venatori. Their trials are coming up, and these two were working inside one of the Venatori’s house. With the imprisonment and seizure of assets, these people were able to get their freedom from their enslaver,” Ashur started to explain as he sighed. “If these two aren’t found, then the trial will either be stalled or dismissed depending on how the prosecution works their case.”

“So, we need to grab these people and get them to where?” Neve asked as the Viper nodded.

“There are two places in Dock Town that are safe enough for you to bring them for extraction. One is the area underneath the Chantry, and the other is the Anvallenim next to the old hideout,” Ashur told her. “We were hesitant to use the Anvallenim, but the leaders and I came to the conclusion that it’s likely safer than we think.”

“But someone will be waiting there for these people? To take them to the next safe place?” Cam wondered as Ashur nodded. 

“Each place will have a Shadow waiting for you,” he answered. “You simply need to ask if they need any water. They will answer that the rain is more than enough for them.”

The codewords were simple, but it would be effective. Unless you knew what to say, it sounded like a normal conversation starter. At least, she hoped that would be how it came across the wrong people. 

“Then when should we get moving. Where should we look?” Neve asked.

“I would start by the Cobbled Swan. We know that the catacombs have an entrance around there, so it’s the first place I would search. The two are known for being resourceful, but our agents have said that they are waiting for you two as they keep moving. It’s too dangerous for them to stay in one spot for too long,” Ashur explained.

“Which is why the catacombs would be perfect. It’s a maze down there on a good day,” Cam remarked. “It shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I think we’ve entered the part of the job where it’s gotten bad,” Neve groaned as Cam rolled her eyes.

“You are so negative, amatus,” Cam replied, trying to move.

They went to go check the catacombs first in Dock Town, and they had gotten lost for no longer than twenty minutes. However, by the time Cam had figured out where they were, the Venatori searching for the witnesses had caught them instead. Luckily, though, there were no signs of the witnesses being near the area. 

So now Cam and Neve found themselves locked up with their hands tied behind their backs. Neve was waiting for a good opportunity to strike back, but a part of her just wanted to let another pair of Shadow Dragons handle finding the witnesses. It had been at least an hour to an hour and a half since they were captured. 

Cam was of a different mind, however. She needed to get them both out so they could help the people who were being hunted. 

The only thing that didn’t make sense was that they were still alive. The Venatori didn’t usually take prisoners, with the exception of what happened in Arlathan with the Dalish. They generally killed and then strung up the corpses to show what happened when you crossed them. 

“What do you think they want?” Cam wondered in a quiet voice. 

“Who knows? My mind is on ransom,” Neve answered. 

“Ransom does align with our treatment,” the Shadow Dragon sighed. “Who are they ransoming us to, though?” 

“Could be an exchange for the witnesses. Could be for the money. The cultists aren’t swimming in magister cash now,” the detective theorized. “However, if it is for money, I think they’re going to have a terrible time with that.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Do you think that these cultists wouldn’t recognize either of us? After spending years fighting them and their gods? And our relationships aren’t exactly secret.”

“Oh, fuck me,” Cam complained, closing her eyes.

If it was for money, then the First Talon was going to get a very concerning letter in the next day or two. Neve hummed in humor. 

“Maybe later, if you’re lucky.”

“Not funny, Neve. I’m serious. Luca isn’t going to be thrilled about this.”

“True, but the Demon of Vyrantium is formidable. I’m not sure that these assholes understand who they are dealing with,” Neve reminded. “And we aren’t helpless, either. How long have you been free of your binds now?”

“Hush,” Cam hissed in surprise. 

She always kept a discreet knife within reach for this exact reason. There was still the issue of the cage itself, but she wasn’t restrained anymore. She had been free for a few minutes now, and she had meant to free Neve. She just got caught up in the argument instead of removing Neve’s binds. 

The other issue was that while the room itself was free from cultists, there was still the one on guard by the door. 

“Don’t give away our escape,” Cam remarked, shaking her head. 

“Then free me already,” Neve urged as the Shadow huffed. 

“That was the plan,” she reassured, making sure that their noise level hadn’t attracted any attention.

Once the coast was clear, Cam turned to Neve’s hands, cutting the ropes that held her in place. They both turned to the door to see that no one had made a noise outside either. 

“Do you think you can pick a lock?” Neve asked as Cam smiled cleverly.

“Should be easy. Can you watch my back with your magic if someone comes in?” 

“I don’t have my scepter, but I should be able to do a spell or two for you.”

“All I need,” Cam replied, kissing Neve’s cheek before she went over to the cage door.

While Cam didn’t have a lockpick kit, she did have a hidden pin in her hair as well as a small knife. It would be difficult, but the lock looked big enough for her to meddle with. 

As the Shadow Dragon worked on the lock, Neve stood at her back with her eyes glued to the door. She had her magic at the ready, hoping to freeze the door shut if someone tried to open it. 

She would do it as a precaution, but the noise would alert the cultists that they weren’t being the golden prisoners that they needed them to be. 

Within a few moments, Cam clicked open the lock and the door swung open. They waited for a horrible rusty squeaky sound, but the cage door was silent. Cam exhaled in relief before nodding. 

“Should we get out of here? Reach out to the Viper,” Cam suggested as Neve hummed. “We can see if there’s been any update since we entered the damn catacombs.”

“Yes, that might be best,” Neve nodded.

They slowly stepped out of the cage before walking towards the room’s exit. They remained quiet as they heard a commotion outside the door. Neve sighed as Cam grimaced.

“We need to hurry,” Cam whispered as Neve nodded. “Where do you think they put our things?” 

“Likely in the next room,” the detective offered. “They were probably going to sell them off as soon as they could.”

“Then we better stop giving them time.”

“Agreed.”

Cam pushed open the room door, and they found that they weren’t being guarded anymore. There was a stool, likely where the cultist was sitting, but that was the only evidence that there was even a guard there. 

Neve quickly went into the next room as Cam looked for anything that looked like a weapon. While she had her small knife, she was pretty sure that if she had to defend herself, the knife would surely break. It was meant to cut ropes and take people by surprise. It wasn’t designed to fend off any attackers. 

Still, it was better than nothing, she supposed. She just hoped that Neve would find their things before the cultists came back from whatever they were doing. It sounded like a big commotion, but Cam wasn’t interested in finding out. They needed to get word out to the Viper to let him know that the remaining Venatori were hiding in the catacombs. 

She glanced in the room where Neve went in, seeing that she was still searching for their belongings. Cam exhaled, thinking that the cultists were far enough away right now. 

After a moment, Cam turned to go into the room as well, thinking two pairs of eyes would be better than one. As she took a step, she felt someone touch her shoulder. 

Panic filled her veins as she turned on her hell, swiping her knife in an arc with a snarl. Then her eyes widened and dropped her weapon all together.

“Hacedor, Camellia, casi me arrancas la cabeza,” Lucanis complained as he rubbed his woundless neck. 

“Quid diaboli hic agis?” Cam hissed before running into his arms. 

“I was in the villa when the missive came through the eluvian. The Viper explained that you two were captured and needed help,” he answered. “Doesn’t look like you needed much help. Where’s Neve?”

“Over here, amatus,” Neve grinned, walking over to kiss his cheek. “The Viper might have been premature with his reporting. We’ve only been in the catacombs for two hours. How’d he even know?”

“Another Shadow Dragon was near the catacombs when he went to see if you needed help. Instead, he saw you two get ambushed and went to report what happened instead,” Lucanis answered with a shrug. 

“I’m thankful for that Shadow, then. We should get going before the cultists get clever,” Cam suggested before Neve handed over her belongings. 

“No need. Spite needed an outlet,” Lucanis coughed, a little embarrassed. “There’s no more cultists to worry about.”

“None escaped?” Cam asked as Neve blinked at the Talon. 

“So they could reach you two to try to hold you hostage again?” Lucanis scoffed, rolling his eyes. “That was not going to happen, trust me. Spite would also know if any got away. He was having too much fun to let them slip away.”

“Well, we still need to find those witnesses,” Cam griped as Neve wrapped her arms around her shoulders from behind. 

“I think we should stick with the original plan. Let’s check with the Viper to let him know that we’re alright, and then we can see if we can figure out where those witnesses went,” Neve offered. 

“That’s the best course of action, I think. What was the Viper thinking about sending you two? Aren’t you two a little too high profile for something like this? At least right now?” Lucanis mentioned, shaking his head. 

Cam sighed, pinching her nose. Now that she thought about it, Lucanis had a point. While both she and Neve were eager to get back into the field, this job wasn’t suited for them at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks or months, but the battles were still too fresh in the cultists’ minds for it to have been safe. 

“Let’s just go chat with him,” Cam nodded, glancing between the two of them.

“Are you going to head back to Antiva again?” Neve wondered, reaching out for him over Cam’s shoulder. 

Lucanis grabbed her hand and smirked. Cam leaned against Neve, glad that both her lovers were here. 

“I’m going to discuss payment with the Viper first, but I think so. Caterina is looking over the Crows for now, but I don’t think that’s something I want to be indebted to her for,” Lucanis mentioned with a sigh. “Although, I bet you two could use a break for a little while.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Cam grumbled.

The city was still recovering, but if they were just going to become targets for the Venatori, Cam wasn’t sure she wanted to stay in the city for a while. Even though it worked out this time, it didn’t mean that it would be next time. 

“Maybe a trip to Treviso is what we need,” Neve remarked, earning a wide smile from the Talon. 

Cam chuckled, glad that he was eager to have them in his home. She nodded before Lucanis offered to show them the way out. He didn’t want to risk getting them lost in the catacombs in case there were other pockets of Venatori as well. 

“Neve,” Cam called as she walked into her office. 

Neve glanced up and smiled, glad to see her leader and friend in higher spirits. They had been working together to help Minrathous, specifically Dock Town, since the dragon blighted the area. Neve found that she truly enjoyed Camilla’s company the more she was around at the lighthouse. Even their recent excursion to Minrathous had gone rather well, all things considered.

“Hey there, Trouble,” Neve smirked, leaning forward on her desk. “What brings you in here?”

“Making the rounds, I suppose,” Cam shrugged, hiding a smile. 

Cam was never very good at lying, which was something Neve appreciated greatly. While Neve did believe that Cam was checking on everyone, as she usually did each day, something said that this visit was a touch different than the rest. 

“Oh? Well, I’m glad you’re checking in on everyone,” the detective teased as Cam meandered over towards her desk. 

Neve watched her closely, entertained by Cam’s stalking approach. It was like a fox stalking her prey, but there wasn’t anything intimidating about her. Not to Neve. 

“Do you know what I found out?” Cam asked, intriguing her friend.

“I can’t say that I do,” Neve hummed with a grin.

“We are the only ones at the lighthouse,” Cam answered, half sitting on the desk. “It seems like everyone else has found something to do.”

“Oh? Isn’t that interesting,” the detective chuckled. “Did you even check the pantry?”

“Completely silent. Either our assassin is asleep or out,” her leader answered with a sly smile.

Both Neve and Cam had been dancing around their feelings for each other, even after Cam hinted that she fancied the detective. Neve had to admit that she liked how straight forward Cam was when she knew what she wanted. Neve, however, decided to play a little harder to get. She expressed interest as well but immediately changed the subject to keep up the chase. Cam adored it.

“Aren’t assassins supposed to be silent?” Neve mentioned.

“Of course, yet our demon possessed one tends to talk with the demon. The door is likely thinner than he would like,” Cam explained with a wince. 

She wished that Lucanis would have chosen a different space than the pantry. No one was afraid to go in anymore, but she knew that the pantry was not a comfortable place to relax. Regardless of what the Crow wanted or said, he needed a good place to relax, as well. 

“That does lean to the idea that we’re alone, Trouble,” Neve murmured, staring up at her. 

Cam grinned, deciding to take a move. She stepped towards Neve before leaning forward to sit on her lap, straddling her legs over her thighs. Cam watched Neve’s expression the entire time, looking for any hint that she was overstepping or moving too fast. However, the smirk only deepened into something flirtatious. 

The leader wrapped her arms around Neve’s neck with a grin, making sure her balance was steady. Neve smiled up at Cam, settling her hands on her waist to help with her balance as well. 

“Am I too close?” Cam asked as their noses nearly touched.

“Not at all, but you are living up to your name, Trouble,” the detective teased.

“Well, I suppose I have to give you a reason to keep the nickname that I like so much,” Cam whispered, starting to get lost in Neve’s eyes.

Neve kneaded her hips, enjoying the weight on her lap as the chair held them both. Cam leaned forward to whisper sweet things in Neve’s ears, but she hadn’t heard the door to the office open.

In fact, neither of them noticed the quick entrance of a confused Crow with his nose buried in missives. Not that the poor Crow had noticed what was going on inside or thought to knock, either. 

“Camilla, do you know how tall that stack by the eluvian room as gotten. There are messages here from a few weeks ago, completely unopened. While I appreciate your dedication to action, you really need to-” Lucanis started before he looked up.

It was then he realized that he had stepped into a rather personal and very private moment between his leader and his detective friend. He swallowed, nearly dropping all the missives in his hands. 

Cam didn’t even think of scrambling off of Neve’s lap until Neve’s grip on her hips tightened slightly. It almost felt like Neve was pulling Cam towards her, even though they were practically on top of each other already. 

After glancing at Neve, Cam turned back to see Lucanis’s face was a beet red, and her head movement seemed like enough to snap him out of whatever trance he had found himself in. He muttered a quick, stammered apology, and he was out of the office within a second. 

As the door closed, Cam noticed that he had taken the missives with him. Neve hummed as she watched the door with a cunning grin.

“Interesting,” Neve whispered as Cam turned back to her. 

“What? That we completely embarrassed our assassin friend, and I didn’t think to check the fucking lighthouse library?” Cam muttered as Neve had Cam rest her head on her shoulder. “We should apologize.”

“For what? Being sweet?” Neve muttered, and Cam sighed. “Besides, that wasn’t the reaction I had anticipated.”

“What?” Cam asked. “What do you mean? He looked horrendously embarrassed. What else would you expect?”

“Well, an expression of envy or jealousy perhaps?” the detective mentioned, piquing her curiosity. “And yet there was no irritation, anger, or even malice in his eyes. Instead, he stared in surprise before excusing himself. Not a jealous response.”

“Why would he be jealous?” Cam exhaled, not entirely following. 

“Because he has been flirting with you when he thinks I’m not around,” Neve pointed out with a chuckle. “He’s also thrown a few flirtations my way as well, but nothing more than you had. You were the first to act on it.”

“Would you want something with Lucanis?” the Shadow asked, almost afraid of the answer. 

Neve rubbed her arm before reaching down to hold her hand. She hummed in thought, making Cam sweat a little. 

“I suppose it depends on the circumstances,” Neve whispered with a wild smile. 

Cam sat up a little in the detective’s lap so she could see her face. Neve still smiled, wondering if her clever lady could figure out what she was saying.

“The circumstances?”

“I don’t want you over Lucanis or Lucanis over you,” the detective clarified. That seemed to only confuse the poor Shadow further. “I’m sure you are familiar with someone having multiple partners.”

“So, you would see me and see Lucanis romantically?” Cam asked curiously. 

“I think the most ideal situation would be the three of us seeing each other romantically. However, we would have to speak to Lucanis about it first. While we have long ignored Tevinter’s social standards, I have no idea how the average Antivan would see such a relationship,” Neve answered with a shrug. “My point is that I am not going to trade one of you for the other.”

“I see,” Cam hummed as she thought about the idea. “Lucanis has been heavy handed with flirting.”

“And you didn’t act on it?” 

“Aren’t Crows known for their seduction? I figured it was a part of that.”

Neve laughed at that, and Cam frowned at her reaction.

“Crows are known for their seduction, yes, but not ever Crow is going to try and seduce you. Viago didn’t try that, did he?”

“Well, no, but Teia did. Lucanis told her to knock it off.”

“That I believe,” Neve hummed, remembering her brief interaction with the Seventh Talon. “My point is that not every Crow is going to try to seduce you. Lucanis is not seducing you because of his job. He’s flirting because he’s found us attractive.”

“Ah,” Cam whispered, seeing the pieces as Neve did in the puzzle before them. “So, Lucanis was not embarrassed just because he had found us like this. You think he was thinking of something else, don’t you?”

“Is your mind always in the gutter?” the detective accused with a chuckle. “But yes, I do think he was possibly imagining more self-indulgent before he snapped out of it. Which is why I think he might be more susceptible to our proposition.”

“We can’t just come out and ask him, though. He’ll deflect now,” Cam mentioned.

Neve thinned her lips, realizing that Cam had a point. The Crow would likely distance himself from both of them now before treating them strictly as professionals.

“Then we are going to have to get creative before his mind runs away too fast,” Neve agreed. “But before we get to that, I would rather like to know what you were about to whisper in my ear before we were interrupted.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Cam murmured before leaning forward again, finding her seductive side again. 

Lucanis had dropped the missives off on the dining table before he retreated back into his pantry. He felt incredibly stupid now, not seeing the two women flirting with each other. He had been so caught up with his own interest that he hadn’t slowed down to see how they were acting.

Both flirted back. Both the flowered dragon and the pretty detective. 

They are obviously more flirtatious with each other, Spite.

Maybe. Still happened. Led us on.

I suppose so. Hacedor, I can’t go back in there. How am I going to face them now?

Dramatic. Stupid. Do not avoid now. They know. Act on it.

I’m not going to try and steal one from the other. That would be horrid behavior, and I’d rather have them as friends than enemies.

The flowered dragon would. Never be enemy. Detective likes you. Too much as well. 

You know what I mean. I’m not going to break them up.

Lucanis held his head in his hands while leaning his elbows on his knees as he sat on the cot. Spite didn’t want to avoid the two Vints, but Lucanis couldn’t see a way around it. He couldn’t speak to them. Not after interrupting their romantic moment so brazenly and stupidly. 

He just hoped neither of them thought that he was interrupting for a reason other than the missive pile that had been neglected. He really did feel like it was an issue that needed to be brought up, and he had just seen Cam walk into Neve’s office. Lucanis thought about waiting until she came back out, but then he saw one marked urgent from two days ago. That was when he had decided to intervene. 

A knock on the pantry door brought him out of his thoughts, and he walked over to open it. He flexed his hand over the handle, really hoping that it wasn’t Cam or Neve.

As he swung the door open, his hope was dashed as he saw Cam standing on the other side of the threshold. He held his breath, finding her breathtaking. 

Her hair was mussed with her cheeks flushed. He didn’t dare look anywhere else but her eyes, but he could tell that her clothes had been shuffled as well. The worst part, she sounded partly out of breath. 

“I need to see you in the meditation room in five minutes, Dellamorte,” Cam informed between breaths, keeping her expression neutral. 

Lucanis’s blood ran cold. He wasn’t sure he could have a productive conversation while she looked like that, knowing that Neve had been the one to do it. Maker, he wanted to be a part of it. He wanted Neve to do him whatever she did to Cam. However, he found he also wanted to be the one to mess up Cam’s appearance. 

Both sounded divine, and he knew that they weren’t going to have much of a productive chat at this point. 

Instead of speaking his thoughts, Lucanis only nodded. Cam stared at him before pointing at him, reinforcing her words. She expected him, and his heart pounded. 

Lucanis paced in his room for a moment, wondering if they were going to pull his contract to kill the gods. He wasn’t sure what that would mean for him in the grand scheme of things. He supposed he would return to the haunting halls of Villa Dellamorte, or he could stay with Viago and Teia at the Diamond for a while. He would have places to go if he was no longer welcome at the lighthouse.

With a deep breath, he straightened his vest and cravat before heading towards the lighthouse. He guessed it was good it was just the three of them at the lighthouse at this point. He wouldn’t be able to handle it if Davrin had been there to witness everything from his workshop. 

Walking up to the meditation door, Lucanis knocked on the wood and waited. He would remain patient and collected to the best of his abilities.

Every thought and idea that ever crossed his mind immediately vanished as he noticed that Cam had taken off a few layers of clothes. Now she stood in front of him in nothing more than a cropped top and some loose pants. Her cheeks were a little less flushed, and it looked like she ran a brush through her hair. 

“Good, you listened. Come in,” Cam remarked, stepping aside so he could enter. 

Lucanis watched her for a moment before walking into her room. It was less sparse than the last time he had come in, and he did notice that she added an Antivan coffee maker in the corner. He was proud that he was the one who had introduced her to actually good coffee. 

He turned to the sofa, and he paused, noting that Neve was already sitting there. It was unlike her to remain silent until he noticed, but he wondered if they had orchestrated this to kill him instead. Illario had been through similar situations, and he had barely escaped by the skin of his teeth. 

“Oh, relax, Luca,” Cam exhaled, startling him. “You look like we just signed your death warrant.”

“Did you not?” he countered carefully.

“Would you like us to?” Neve wondered, her eyes sparkling. 

Lucanis stared at her for a moment, trying to decipher what she meant by that. She was leaning back with her gilded leg over her other one, and she was the picture of relaxation. 

“We’re not going to kill you,” Cam reiterated, glancing at Neve.

“Cam’s right. We’re not setting up an assassination attempt or anything,” the detective admitted.

“I would like to start with an apology,” Lucanis mentioned, cutting right to the chase. 

Cam only sighed before Neve tilted her head, almost as if she was deciding on whether or not he deserved their forgiveness. 

“Not accepted,” Neve stated as Cam stood at the other end of the couch. 

Lucanis clenched his jaw, feeling somewhat cornered by the two Shadows. He expected Spite to start to fight against them, but it seemed that the demon did not share the same trapped feeling as he did. 

“Why not?” he asked, his confusion clear in his voice. 

“Because you are not sorry,” the detective answered with a shrug. 

“What?” 

“You aren’t sorry. You might be embarrassed and feel bad about walking in on us, but you aren’t sorry.”

Lucanis blinked before glancing over at Cam, who only lifted her shoulders. He did notice how high the shirt went up as she moved her arms up. It was nearly indecent by any standard. 

“I’m not sure what you would like me to say,” Lucanis admitted with a sigh. 

That was when Cam walked over and stood behind him while Neve stood. He swallowed, not sure what to do at this point, so he froze while he watched the two women. Cam rested her chin his shoulder, dangerously close to his ear now. 

“We have a... proposition for you, domine sicarius,” she whispered, placing her hands gently on his upper arms. 

Lucanis shivered, realizing that they weren’t fully cornering him. He had the option to run still if he wanted to, or he could at least step back if things grew too much. However, feeling Cam at his back like this wasn’t something he wanted to run from. Even Spite purred in the back of his mind. 

“A proposition?” he murmured, trying to turn towards Cam.

Neve reached her fingers under his chin and brought his face forward with a grin. He stared at her, noting that he rather enjoyed their height differences. He was slightly taller than Cam, but Neve was still taller than him. A dynamic that he adored. 

“Did you think that you would get away with flirting with both of us, corvus meus?” Neve questioned with a seductive smirk. 

Cam hummed, and he could feel it through her throat on his shoulder. He licked his lips, finding any words that would come forward. 

“I wasn’t trying to get away with anything,” Lucanis admitted.

“That’s the right answer, Luca,” Cam murmured in his ear. “Don’t tell me you want to get away now.”

“I definitely don’t,” he exhaled, briefly closing his eyes. 

He wanted to be honest, and he couldn’t find it in him to lie to either of them about his feelings. He didn’t want to lie about how he felt.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Neve remarked softly, keeping her hand underneath his chin. “I will admit that our offer is out of the ordinary. We don’t know how Antiva handles situations like this.”

“Illario usually gets nearly cleaved in half, for starters,” Lucanis mentioned absentmindedly. 

“Well, we had a different idea in mind,” Cam chuckled. “No death or cleaving involved.”

“I do like the idea of keeping my head,” he replied.

“You see, Camellia and I were talking,” Neve started, making Cam smile at the sweet nickname. “And we believe that there’s a solution to our predicament.”

“Oh?” Lucanis muttered, finding it difficult to focus when Cam’s hands worked their way to his shoulders again. 

“We all want the same thing, right?” Neve continued. “I believe that you were flirting with both of us, and we both were flirting back with you.”

“Seems that Cam beat me to the punch, though,” Lucanis mentioned with a sad note in his voice.

“That’s what we wanted to talk about, vir stultus,” Cam chuckled.

“Neither of us have a problem with the idea of adding you to the mix, as long as you are willing to have both of us equally,” Neve explained with a smile. 

Lucanis’s eyes opened wide as his focus returned. He hadn’t heard her correctly, right? There was no way that he had gotten that lucky. Cam hummed again in his ear, making him melt a little. 

“What do you say, corvus meus amabilis?” Cam asked softly, glancing up at Neve. “Do you want us to be yours? To let us have you as our own in turn?”

“If you keep speaking in Tevene, I think you could convince me to do anything,” Lucanis admitted, leaning back slightly. 

Neve leaned forward, before meeting her lips with his. Cam kissed his neck as she grinned, seeing the Crow fully melt into their embrace. Neve pulled away to let Cam kiss the Crow next, fully ruining him. 

“So you agree?” Neve asked as Cam pulled back, smiling at him.

“Yes. Yes, please,” Lucanis answered, glancing between both of them. 

Neve grinned as Cam nuzzled her cheek with his in excitement. Lucanis groaned slightly as he felt Neve step closer, her hands resting on his waist now. 

He was positive that his Crow tutors and even his grandmother would look on him in disappointment. A Tevinter mage and soldier had him; full body and soul. However, he found that he couldn’t care less about what his tutors would say on the matter. 

Lucanis felt safe in their arms, and he would not trade this for anything else in the world. 

You've brought nothing but trouble since you came back.

Camilla wasn’t sure how to interact with Neve once she came back. After everything, Cam was sure that Neve was going to hate her, and she couldn’t blame the detective one bit. No matter how she reasoned and angled her decision, her decision still was made and in the past. 

She had chosen to help Treviso over Minrathous. 

As a result, Minrathous had been blighted and the Viper had contracted the incurable condition. Everyone present when she had arrived late to help blamed her for the destruction, telling her that she was essentially a bad omen. Only death and destruction followed in her wake.

Lucanis had been nothing but supportive through all of it. He was the one who was offering her reassurances and platitudes, and Cam was almost sure he had never done that before. He had been incredibly grateful, though, once he had got over his initial shock, and he made sure that the Crows did everything they could to help her home after the attack.

His words. Not hers.

Minrathous was never her home. It was Neve’s. Cam had been working there for several years now, but it never felt like home. She had started to wonder if anywhere would start to feel like she belonged. She just felt like she was constantly being shuffled around.

First her adoption when she was a toddler, then being shipped off to military school. She barely spent any time at home in Carastes before she became a Shadow Dragon, and she supposed that she should accept that she was destined for a life of moving around. 

Still, Minrathous was filled with people that she had sworn to protect as a Shadow, and she had failed them. Not to mention the people she considered friends from the years she had lived in the city. The worst part was that she didn’t think she would go back and reverse her decision if given the choice. 

In the end, Cam wasn’t the only one who had failed Minrathous. Years of corruption and scandals within the Magistrium did the work for the Venatori, and the cult only needed an opening to gain control. Minrathous had an army and was built to withstand an attack like this. They were supposed to have the means to fight off one dragon from attacking the city.

Treviso was not so well defended. Teia told her plainly that Antiva had no standing army or anyway to deter the Antaam, so they were completely unprepared for a dragon attack. Minrathous should have been equipped. 

The decision tore her apart, but it wasn’t because it was her home, though. 

Neve had been her rock through everything. Harding and Bellara had spent more time in Arlathan trying to figure out Harding’s new stone powers, which left Neve and Cam to themselves most of the time. Neve and Cam had become close, and the look that Neve gave her during the aftermath of the dragon attack tore her heart to pieces. It was clear that Neve also blamed her for the complete destruction of the city, and Cam had nothing to say against it.

Cam had thought once that maybe time would help, but she realized that it didn’t help at all. It didn’t make things worse, but she felt awkward when Neve walked back in while they were catching up Emmrich and Taash.

She at least was able to introduce her to their new teammates, but Cam still felt sick to her stomach when she remembered the last interaction with Neve and the Shadows. Once the meeting was over, Cam retreated into her room and didn’t come out until the next day.

She tried not to avoid Neve, but it was hard not to. Especially when Neve came to her room one evening after Cam skipped dinner entirely. 

Her appetite had diminished nearly entirely after the dragon attack, and while she tried to eat, she couldn’t eat more than half her plate on a good day. She did her best to remain cheery and her regular self, but it was starting to take a toll. She was working with the team to fight off the gods while guilt and pain ate at her heart.

Bellara and Harding practically begged her to talk about it, but Cam said that there was nothing to talk about. Even Lucanis tried to pry after a while to no avail. She was uninterested in thinking about the words Tarquin had spat at her that evening. His words had hurt the worst.

Which was why Neve was at her door with a plate of Tevinter khachapuri and a trying smile on her face. Cam furrowed her brow before stepping aside to let Neve in, afraid that she would burst into a sob if she tried to speak. She closed the door behind her before Neve set the plate down on the shelf behind the chaise. 

“You haven’t decorated much in here,” Neve commented, noting the bare walls and empty tables around the area.

Cam shrugged before she walked back over to the chaise. 

“There hasn’t been much time for it,” she answered with a sigh. “I’ve been trying to get everything done, I suppose. Recruited two more people, though.”

“True. They both seem nice,” Neve replied before handing her a slice of the khachapuri.

Cam stared at her with waiting eyes, half expecting the detective to throw it at her instead.

“Come on, I promise it’s good. Bels made it,” the mage encouraged.

“Alright,” Cam whispered, accepting the piece from her. She took a bite and tried to nod as the food practically tasted like nothing in her grief. “Hm, ‘s good.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Cam,” Neve whispered, leaning against the shelf with her arms folded.

Cam turned away as she held the food by her face as if she could hide behind it.

“Would you tell me what’s going on? Lucanis says you’re not eating, I’ve barely seen you these last few days, and Harding says you hardly leave your room when you’re at the lighthouse. Bellara’s even noticed your change in behavior.”

“It’s not a secret,” Cam muttered, putting the khachapuri on the bare shelf.

“I had a feeling this had to do with Minrathous,” Neve muttered.

Cam inhaled to steady her breathing. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation with Neve, but she would handle it like an adult.

“Lucanis and I discussed your reasoning, Cam. You can stop tensing like I’m going to hit you.”

“I deserve nothing less,” Cam whispered, staring at the floor. 

Neve realized this wasn’t just about regret or grief. Cam was completely blaming herself for the destruction. She had regret, grief, guilt, and sorrow trapped in her heart for weeks. Neve could deal with her emotions in Minrathous. Cam bottled it up during her time in the Fade.

“It’s because of what Tarquin said, isn’t it?” Neve asked.

Cam said nothing as she refused to look up from where she was staring at.

“You are not the reason why the blighted dragon attacked Minrathous,” the detective insisted.

“Am I not?” Cam whispered. Neve wondered if she would listen to reason at all.

“No. The Venatori want Minrathous. The gods want the Venatori to work for them. It was a trade that had nothing to do with you,” Neve informed.

 Cam grimaced. That felt too easy and like she was shifting the blame.

“Maybe you could have turned the tide in our favor if you were there that day, but maybe not. Maybe we would have lost Minrathous still and Treviso too if you were there that night,” Neve added in a soft voice.

“Do you really believe that?” Cam whispered, tears streaking down her skin.

“It’s impossible to tell what would have happened,” she frowned and exhaled before Cam closed her eyes. “You can’t blame yourself for this. Especially since you saved lives still. It wasn’t like you decided to hide in the lighthouse instead of helping at all. You didn’t kill anyone, either.”

Cam didn’t have a good response to that. Neve stood away from the shelving and stepped closer to Cam. She brushed Cam’s hair out of her face so she would look at her. 

“Please at least be thankful that Treviso is still standing,” Neve suggested as Cam let out a sob. “I’m thankful that Dock Town still stands, even if there’s blight there. Hal’s still there selling fish, and I found Rana, too.”

“You’re supposed to hate me,” Cam hissed through her hiccoughing.

Neve paused, surprised by this.

“Turn against me. Tell me I’m every terrible thing they warned you about,” Cam continued, feeling frantic and manic.

“I think you’ve been cruel enough to yourself. I won’t add onto that,” Neve replied.

Cam looked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

“And who warned me? Varric said that you were an expert in trouble. Is that what you mean?” the detective questioned gently, holding her jaw in both hands.

“No,” Cam whispered before hanging her head. She had forgotten about that entirely. “I’m sure that the other Shadows will have told you about my reputation by now. I’m reckless, careless, and most think I can be a danger because of my short temper and willingness to do whatever it takes. I’m sure that those rumors grew after everything.”

“I won’t say they didn’t, but none of them have worked with you like I have, right?” Neve reminded her.

Cam folded her arms. This job was one of a kind, but she wasn’t sure what Neve was alluding to.

“I might gather gossip around town, but that doesn’t mean I believe it verbatim. There’s usually a hint of truth in it, but it’s not completely honest,” Neve told her.

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning that I’ve already had a good idea of who you are and were from working closely together. I was surprised to hear that you chose Treviso, but after hearing your reasoning from Lucanis, I can understand why you chose Antiva over Tevinter.”

“Right,” Cam whispered. 

“And I’m not blind, either. I know that Tevinter isn’t kind to elvhen soporati,” Neve added.

Cam sighed and closed her eyes. Being magicless and elven had made her life more difficult in Tevinter, but she wasn’t going to hold their lives against it.

“That had nothing to do with my decision,” Cam informed, glancing at the detective.

“But if it did, I wouldn’t blame you for that either,” the detective offered, lifting her shoulders. “I’m not sure how to get you to eat, though. I told Lucanis that I could persuade you, but now I know why he gave me that look.”

“The one where he’s not going to argue but he knows you’re wrong?” Cam asked with hint of a smile.

“That’s exactly the one,” Neve laughed with a half-smile, snapping her fingers as she pointed at Cam. 

“I’m just... I haven’t been hungry, and I... can’t really taste or feel anything anymore. Food feels like ash in my mouth, and I can take a cold bath and not notice the temperature,” Cam answered, finally facing Neve again. “I don’t know what to do, and the last thing I want to do is to give you another burden.” 

“You are my friend, Cam. I think I can help you figure out how to eat again for starters,” Neve offered.

Cam started to cry again. Neve pulled her into her arms, cradling her head.

“Has anyone let you grieve at all since I’ve been gone?” Neve whispered in her ear.

“I don’t know,” Cam replied honestly. “I’ve been trying to keep busy, so I don’t have to think about it. So I can’t think about it.”

“Maker, Cam, that’s the last think you want to be doing,” Neve muttered.

Cam wrapped her arms around the detective. She found that she couldn’t argue. 

“It’s not like I have anywhere to turn to,” Cam whispered with a sigh. “I burned my last bridge. My parents were hoping that I would make something of myself in Minrathous, and I’m sure they aren’t thrilled with what’s going on now. I doubt they know the extent of my involvement, but I’m sure they won’t be surprised.”

“Your last bridge?” Neve asked skeptically.

“I was rather vocal about my... irritation with the way the government handled things while I was in school,” Cam explained, lifting her shoulders.

Neve grimaced, remembering the military training Cam had gone through as a child. It was a Mercar family rite of passage, she said.

“My mother thought that going to the capitol would give me some patriot pride or something,” Cam started to explain. “I only grew more disenfranchised and eventually ended up with the Shadow Dragons. Eventually being the key word. Minrathous has nothing left for me job or life wise. Tarquin wasn’t joking when he warned me not to get chased out of the city again. There were only so many times he could watch my back.”

“I’m sure Tarquin isn’t going to ignore you forever now,” Neve tried to reason.

Cam thinned her lips. Neve wasn’t even sure what the Shadows were going to do at all now. With the Viper blighted and the other leaders hiding, the Shadows were in shambles. Neve wasn’t even sure where Tarquin was at the moment. She assumed he still worked at the Templars’ administrative branch, but it was also possible the Venatori ran them out of the city as well. 

“Tarquin would shoot me with an arrow if he thought he could get away with it,” Cam argued before exhaling. 

“So, what are you going to do? Worst-case scenario?” Neve wondered.

Cam wiped her eyes, taking a moment to think.

“I suppose if Tarquin does decide to hunt me down, I could try my luck in Antiva. I’m sure the Crows would be will to shelter me somewhat,” Cam remarked with a huff. 

“And do what?”

“Open a flower shop?”

Cam offered as Neve smiled. Now that sounded more like Cam. She was much more optimistic than most of the Shadows, and Neve had a feeling that was why everyone liked having her around.

There were rumors of her being reckless and careless, sure, but it wasn’t for the sake of showing off or being lazy. It was always for an effort to save more people. It made more of a difference for the lives around her. 

It was also why Neve found that she couldn’t be angry with her, even though she wanted to be. Trust in her would be difficult to rebuild, but Neve wasn’t lying when she said that they were still friends.

Cam had made a calculated decision to save as many lives as possible, and she did show up in Minrathous after all. It would just take some more time for Neve to truly accept that Cam hadn’t abandoned her during the dragon attack. 

“Well, if that’s the worst-case scenario, I think you’re doing pretty alright, don’t you?” Neve offered. “Now, I believe you should tell me about everything I’ve missed since I’ve been in Tevinter.”

“What do you want to know?” Cam wondered. 

“Let’s start with why Lucanis seems to be the most worried about you all of the sudden,” Neve smirked.

Cam blushed before she lifted her shoulders, feigning ignorance.

“Oh, come on, you can tell me,” the detective pressed.

“It started out as a thank you for helping save his home after he hadn’t been there in over a year. Now I’m starting to wonder if it’s more than that, especially if he sent you in here,” Cam muttered, shaking her head.

“What do you mean?” Neve asked, raising a brow.

“The damn Crow is perceptive. He knew that I wouldn’t seek you out even though talking to you would make me feel better.”

“Because you thought that I would hate you,” Neve guessed.

“Exactly right. And I’m not looking for forgiveness or pity, either, to be clear. I would just be content with you not hating me,” Cam explained with a nod, wiping the tears off of her face. 

“You’re in luck because I don’t hate you. I have other feelings that we can discuss later when you’re feeling better, but I don’t hate you. It’s ridiculous to think that one person could turn the tide of an attack on an entire city,” Neve amended.

Cam nodded, agreeing with that as well. It didn’t make her feel any better, but Neve did bring up a good point at least.

“So, khachapuri?”

“And you said Bels made it?” Cam asked, picking up the bread dish off of the bookcase.

“I promise that Harding was nowhere near it,” Neve reassured as Cam smirked, taking another bite. “Better than before?”

“A little,” Cam answered with a shrug. There wasn’t much difference in the taste than earlier, but her heart was lighter and she was willing to appease the detective a little. 

“A little is a good start,” Neve replied before picking up the rest of the khachapuri. “Do you feel like eating with the rest of us now?”

“Did you grab the entire meal?” Cam teased as Neve shrugged.

“Bels made two more for the others, but I think some normal socializing would do you some good,” Neve urged.

“Probably,” she admitted. “And you’re not leaving again, right? You’re staying for a while?”

“Yeah, I’m here to stay and help. Ghilan’nain isn’t going to get away with what she’s done to us,” Neve reminded.

“I’m also going to let Lucanis know that he’s been slacking a little in that department.”

“He feels bad, too, you know,” Cam mentioned.

Neve wrapped her free arm around hers, locking them together. 

“And yet he hasn’t done a thing to help you through this,” Neve argued before groaning. “I wonder if it’s a Crow thing, though. Eh, we’ll talk with him about it. What else has been going on?”

“Rivain was really pretty,” Cam offered with a soft smile. “The water was warm and the sun was out, which was different. I think you might like it. A different view of the water.”

“Could be a nice change of pace. That’s where you found our dragon hunter?”

“Right. Taash also got a message from the Lords saying that they need an errand done, so we were going to look into that tomorrow.”

“While I’m sure they appreciate it, you ought to slow down a little,” Neve suggested before sighing. “Why don’t we instead let our dragon hunter deal with that while we do something fun tomorrow?”

“Like what?” Cam wondered.

She wasn’t sure what Neve had in mind. Most of Thedas was either dealing with darkspawn, Venatori, or the Antaam. Fun didn’t seem to be in the cards. 

“I think we should head to Treviso. I remember the casino the Crows have,” Neve reminded, nudging Cam a little. “Maybe we can get drunk instead of dealing with our problems like adults.”

“We might need to wait until after the errand. The errand for the Lords was in service to the Crows. They’ll be expecting an update from us,” Cam mentioned as Neve practically dragged her out of her room. 

“Then we get to sleep in. Taash and Lucanis can make quick work of the errand in the morning, and then we can join them in the evening for a drink, hm?” Neve offered.

Cam sighed and nodded. A night away from everything sounded wonderful.

“Alright, a drunk evening at the Diamond doesn’t sound terrible,” Cam admitted with a soft smile. “But I definitely think we should bring Lucanis along to chaperone us.”

“Oh, think we’ll get up to trouble?”

“I’m more worried about poison in the drinks. Teia made a joke about it when I first met her. Figured I would be better safe than sorry.”

“Damn, alright,” Neve chuckled, surprised by that. “Good to know to watch out for poisoned drinks, but I suppose a casino run by assassins would have that in their repertoire.”

“I don’t think any of the Crows would poison us, but we seem to be collecting enemies as of late, so who knows,” Cam said.

A moment passed before Cam turned to Neve with a concerned look. She had been thinking about something else as well, and she wanted to bring it up now she was feeling more confident.

“I want to help put Minrathous back together if I can. I know that there’s a lot of bad blood going on right now, but I do want to help. I don’t want to turn my back on the city,” she told Neve.

“Once you are feeling like yourself again, we can talk about it, alright?” Neve suggested.

Cam grimaced, turning away, realizing that it wouldn’t be so easy. Neve cleared her throat, catching her attention again.

“Let me rephrase. Once you feel like yourself again, we’ll figure out the best way you can help. I wouldn’t expect a Shadow to leave their city behind.”

“It’s not my city, but I won’t leave it behind,” Cam replied firmly.

“Then let’s get you back in fighting shape so we can get you fighting Venatori again,” the detective suggested before dragging her to the dining hall.

Cam exhaled, realizing that she was going to have to be social again. That was another hurdle she wasn’t sure she was ready for, but she would take it in stride just the same.

Especially since things started to look hopeful again for the first time in a few weeks.

Cam couldn’t believe that she had been caught by the Maker damned Venatori! She ground her teeth together as she fought in her chains, wanting to break her thumbs just so she could escape properly. However, her captors were clever, and they had taken away her leverage. She could barely move in her little cage, and she snarled and shook, wishing that it was enough to break the chains. 

Eventually, her energy waned after nearly an hour of constant struggling. She leaned her forehead against the bars of the cage as she hissed irritably through her teeth. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she wouldn’t allow them to fall yet. 

“A bird. In a cage. Hmm...” a voice reverberated through the room, surprising her. She glanced around, noticing that it was dark now. She hadn’t noticed that it had grown dark. “No. Not a bird. A snake. In the shape. Of a dragon. How did a dragon. End up in a cage?” 

“Who are you?” Cam demanded, looking around. 

The voice wasn’t natural. It sounded like two voices coming from one mouth, and it had an accent she wasn’t familiar with. It sounded eastern, but she didn’t know for sure. 

“Another bird. In a cage. Wanting to be free,” the voice answered with a smile in its tone. “A bird. Willing to work. With a snake. With a dragon.”

“Stop calling me a snake,” Cam sneered, making the voice laugh.

“Too accurate. You hiss like a snake. Lash out like a snake. He says you. Are a dragon. From the shadows,” the voice corrected. 

“Who is he?” 

“The second bird. In a different cage. The Crow will explain.”

Cam frowned, uncertain about the mention of birds and the Crow. She doubted that the voice was talking about another bird. She just hoped that the assassin was looking to team up or something. Although, she doubted that the Crow was looking to harm her. 

“The Crow?” Cam asked in a more neutral tone. 

“Yes. The Crow. He understands. I see past the names. Past the facades,” the voice explained.

“What is your name?”

“He calls me Spite.”

“What should I call you?” she asked as she wondered if she was going insane. There was a good chance she had gone insane anyway, so she might as well indulge in her curiosity.

There was a general silence for a moment before she slumped in defeat against the cage again. Maybe it really was all in her mind.

“What would. You call me?”

“What? Oh,” she replied, startled by the voice. “I don’t know. What do you want to be called?”

“He calls me Spite.”

“Spite isn’t a nice name, though. Are you spiteful? Petty? Mean?”

“Don’t know. They just call me Spite.”

“Do you want to be known as Spite? Were you known as anything before that?”

There was another beat of silence. She exhaled, knowing for sure that this was happening in her head now. She always wanted to be known for something else other than her anger and her recklessness. Something aside from her irritable tendencies. 

Cam knew that she could be kind and sweet. She was a good person, but Minrathous didn’t allow sweet, kind, good people to thrive. 

The Shadow Dragons were trying to cut back the weeds so those flowers could grow, but the garden was still being overrun. So, she turned herself into something more helpful than a flower, even if that was what she wanted to be.

“What is your name?”

“Camilla. Cam for short,” she answered before her outer shell softened. 

Cam would later say that the Venatori must have poisoned her for saying this, but that wouldn’t be true. She was feeling tired and vulnerable. She was sure that there was nothing else that she could have done to get away, and she was sure that she was going to die in this prison under the sea. 

“My mother called me Camellia mea parva. Her little Camellia. It was her favorite flower,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “My father said that name was too soft and too sweet. They compromised of Camilla since I was destined for the military.”

“What does Camilla mean?” the voice asked.

“Free-born or nobility, I suppose. Maybe a name like Camellia would have given me a softer disposition,” she answered, her heart squeezing. 

Would her mother know what happened to her if she did die in this horrid place? Her father would eventually learn her fate as he would demand to know such things. He was powerful within the military, and they would tell him when they found her. But would he tell her mother? His wife? Would she know what happened to her adopted little elven girl who loved to play in the fields of flowers?

What she wouldn’t give to play in those fields with her mother now. To fall into her lap with a fist full of dandelions and daisies, declaring them a bouquet just for her mother. 

“Softer?”

“Not as angry or irritated.”

“Haven’t seen anger. Or irritation. Not outside of the Venatori,” the voice mentioned. 

Cam opened her eyes a little with concern, realizing that she likely didn’t seem angry to this voice as she spoke like this. She smiled to herself, glad that she hadn’t taken out her frustrations on the poor disembodied voice. 

“Keep anger and irritation for Venatori. Don’t worry about others,” the voice added before taking a moment of pause. “And Determination was the name. Before Spite. Not as accurate now.”

“Are you a spirit?”

“Clever dragon snake. A demon, now.”

“You don’t sound like a demon, my friend. You sound like you might be trapped and upset, but I don’t think you are so far gone to call yourself a demon.”

“Venatori disagree. Crow disagrees.”

“Well, it hardly matters what they think, does it? If you don’t feel like a demon, then I don’t think you are a demon,” Cam pointed out, feeling the surprise from the voice in the air. “Although, it sounds like you aren’t in the air or the Fade around me. I’m not a mage, so I could be wrong though. How are you talking to me?”

“Through the Crow.”

“You are bound to the Crow? Through the assassin?”

“Yes, delightful Camellia. The Crow was bound to me. I was bound to the Crow. All against out will. The Venatori chose this,” Spite informed as Cam grimaced. 

“Is there a way to fix it? To free both of you?”

“From each other? No. From this prison? Yes. We can be free,” the voice eagerly answered. 

“How are we going to get out?” Cam asked, eager to hear the plan.

“I will work with Crow. Find out the way. Come find you.”

“How do I know that you won’t leave me?” Cam whispered, more fear and concern in her tone than she wanted. 

“Working together. Only way out. Tried on our own. Never worked. With another. It might work,” Spite answered. 

“Alright,” she whispered, nodding to herself. 

While she wasn’t sure she could trust the strange voice, she didn’t have much of a choice. She could either hope that the Crow and his spirit would come to find her, or she could fret and expect them to leave her behind. Hope would lend her strength to keep going for a little while longer, and it would keep her distracted while her body strengthened before the rescue began. 

The silence stretched on, and Cam didn’t hear Spite again. A part of her wondered if the Crow grew wise to the spirit’s chatter and came to stop it. However, she still decided to trust that they would come for her. 

Cam spent the next few days alone with occasional interruptions for food and water drop-offs. She reluctantly ate and drank, deciding it was better to keep her strength up as best as she could in case the spirit kept his work. 

She hoped that they would work fast, and that she would be free of this nightmare sooner rather than later. She leaned against the cage with her wrists still bound behind her back. 

The Shadow Dragon was about to fall asleep again when she heard something outside the room she was being held in. Cam lifted her head and opened her eyes to stare at the door for a while, wondering what was going on there. She watched for a moment before the door slammed open and she blinked in shock.

There was a man in the doorway covered in dark leather and so many daggers, he could set up a dagger merchant stand in the middle of Dock Town. Cam inhaled sharply before pushing her back against the cage, realizing that there was nowhere for her to go. She was stuck right where she was, and this man could come kill her where she sat if he so chose. 

“Camellia?” the man asked, shocking her system.

“What?” she countered.

“Is your name Camellia?” he tried a second time, sounding tired.

“Kind of,” Cam answered.

The man took a deep breath in exasperation, covering his face for a moment before staring up at her. 

“I’m the Crow you’ve been told about,” he informed as she fully relaxed. “Spite says he talked to you about getting out of here together, I guess. It’s our best chance.”

“That I believe, and I do think we should get the fuck out of here,” Cam replied with a nod. “I am having a rough time trying to get out of here, though. They’ve tied me rather tightly.”

“Well, from what Spite says, you scare them.”

“Ha. Good. I should,” Cam grumbled, turning away from the dark shadow in the doorway.

The man chuckled before walking into the room. He had a brisk gait, and he was quickly walking towards the back of her cage.

However, as he walked by her cage, she noticed that he was rather pretty. He had a scruffy beard, and his hair was longer than she had expected, but his warm brown eyes captivated her. His smile would have made her knees shake had she been standing. 

Swallowing, Cam waited for the rope to become slack before she moved to massage her wrists. She finally felt the blood flow back into her hands freely, and it felt so much better. She relaxed while the Crow went to the front of her cage to work on the lock.

“How did you end up here?” the Crow asked.

“How did you?” she sniped back, raising a brow. 

He hummed, working at the lock. There was a moment before he sighed.

“I was set up. I was supposed to kill Calivan here, but someone set me up. They sprang a trap before I had a chance to respond,” he answered.

“I was looking into Venatori activity. I got too close to Magister Renata, and she snatched me off the streets when I was on my way home,” Cam complained, folding her arms.

The mention of Magister Renata caused the Crow to pause before the lock clicked open. Cam grabbed the side of the cage before climbing out of her tiny prison and into the larger one. She took a deep breath, looking around the strange room again. 

“Alright, so. What now?” Cam asked, turning to the Crow. 

The assassin was staring at her, and she met his stare in equal measure. She blinked at him before she looked down, noticing that she wasn’t wearing anything more than some linen pants and a thin shirt. Not exactly great for fighting Venatori in. 

“Crow, what do you suggest?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips. 

“Lucanis.”

“What?”

“My name is Lucanis. I don’t love being called Crow,” Lucanis answered. 

“Of course. I’m sorry,” Cam exhaled, nodding slowly. “I don’t know where they put my things, and I’m not really worried about that right now. I would prefer if we could get out, and I can get to my apartment for my things.”

“I’m not sure taking you to fight a bunch of blood mages is a good idea when they can slice you to pieces,” he pointed out. 

“Spite already mentioned that you tried to escape by yourself, and it didn’t work,” Cam countered. “You need my help.”

“I need you armored.”

“I’m not sure how to get that taken care of. Do you?”

Lucanis frowned for a moment before shaking his head. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to get her protected or armed. Spite had managed to find his things after weeks of searching on his own, and that was because he was able to send the demon a picture of what his armor and daggers looked like.

Although even though he didn’t know what it looked like, he wondered if the Venatori would keep their things in the same area since they were both prisoners. 

“I have an idea,” Lucanis offered as Cam nodded. “Spite knows where he found my things. I don’t know if that’s where your things are, but there is a chance.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Cam shrugged.

“Before we go, though, I have a question,” Lucanis mentioned when she started towards the door, causing her to stop. “Did the Venatori take your blood? Any amount of it for any reason?” 

“Not that I’m aware of. I’m not entirely sure why they were keeping me alive,” Cam admitted, shaking her head. 

“That’s not ideal.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Sarcasm isn’t necessary,” he complained as she rolled her eyes.

“It is when you’re going to point out obvious and pointless things. Maker, Luca, let’s just get going. The Venatori don’t have my blood, so they can’t do anything crazy to me or make me do anything,” Cam informed, walking past him. 

“They have a vial of my blood,” Lucanis informed darkly. 

Cam stopped before she turned back to see him. He dipped his head, confirming her silent question. 

“How much?” she asked softly.

“Enough to control me for the rest of my life if they wished. We cannot let it remain in their hands. Until then, I am a danger to everyone,” he urged. 

Lucanis was afraid that he was going to need to convince her further, but Cam only nodded in understanding. She swallowed before subconsciously touching her neck before turning to look him in the eye.

“I promise they won’t have it for another hour,” Cam affirmed.

Lucanis would usually ask for people to refrain from promising such things, but something about her response filled him with concern and confidence. She acted like she would let the Venatori kill her than let them keep his blood. He didn’t miss the way she touched her scar along her neck, either. 

“Alright,” he replied, unsure what else to say. 

“Please, show the way to where you found your armor. I’d like to get outfitted before too long before the cultists get wise,” she explained, being as patient as she could be. 

“This way,” Lucanis replied, stepping out of the room. 

Cam followed closely behind, watching his back to make sure that no one was able to get the jump on him. Lucanis was quick and brisk with his pace, wanting to be fast. The demon in his mind was whispering, and the faster they got out, the faster the whispering would hopefully stop. 

To both of their relief, they found the same room where his armor was, and Cam quickly grabbed her own things before immediately starting to change. Lucanis turned on his heel to give her some privacy before shaking his head.

“A warning would have been nice,” the Crow hissed, more embarrassed than irritated.

“No time for modesty when dealing with the Venatori,” Cam retorted with a huff. “Neve never mentioned that the Crows were so proper.”

“I didn’t realize you knew much about Crows. You have a Tevinter accent,” Lucanis pointed out.

“I learned a little bit about you lot before I was ‘napped. We were going to go find talk to your Talons about hiring an assassin, but I wanted to speak to my leaders in Minrathous first,” she complained, her annoyance immediately leaving her. “What a decision that turned out to be, huh?”

“Ended in my favor,” he reminded her. 

Cam smiled to herself before chuckling. He wasn’t wrong there. 

“I think you can thank Spite for that. He spoke to me a few nights ago. I didn’t think that either of you were real,” she explained before she walked next to him, her armor now on instead of her linen outfit. 

“Yes, Spite keeps reminding me,” Lucanis sighed, closing his eyes. “At least, he reminds me that he’s the reason we know about you. I’m not sure how to prove to you that we’re real.”

“You being here is good enough,” she reassured with a laugh. “So, let’s shatter a vial and finish your job.”

“What?”

“I’m not super familiar with you Crows, but even I know you can’t abandon a job. So, let’s finish it.”

“It’s called a contract,” he corrected.

“Look, do you want help or not?” Cam wondered, deflating a little. 

“Help would be nice, I won’t lie,” Lucanis admitted as they walked out of the room.

Calivan’s dead body laid on the ground moments after they shattered his vial of blood. Their tasks were complete, and now they just needed to figure out how to escape from the bottom of the ocean. Cam wasn’t a huge fan of large amounts of water, so she was really hoping that the solution wasn’t swim for the surface and hope for the best. 

Lucanis had been quietly arguing with Spite for a little while as she searched for an answer, but she wasn’t sure what they were going to do. If any Venatori lived, they weren’t going to come out of hiding at this point. They were clearly outnumbered and would quickly perish at their hands. Just as all the rest had. 

“Cam?!” a shrill voice called out, surprising both the Shadow Dragon and the Crow. 

Cam turned to see a shocked Neve and Bellara behind her, and she didn’t understand how they knew where she was.

“How’d you find me?” Cam asked while Bellara ran over into her arms. 

Lucanis had flinched. His first instinct was to intercept the other elf from reaching Cam before he stopped himself. It was clear that they knew each other, even if Spite was irritated by the gesture as well. 

“We didn’t,” Neve remarked, furrowing her brow as she glanced over at the Crow.

“Oh, right,” Cam replied with a nod. “Lucanis, this is Neve Gallus and Bellara Lutare. We are working together.”

“That’s Lucanis?” Bellara asked as Cam turned to her in surprise.

“Yes?” Cam answered slowly. 

The Crow walked over casually, unsure what was going on between them. Neve watched the Crow closely, still unsure how to feel about him. She hummed for a moment before looking back at Cam.

“We were sent by the Crows to find Lucanis Dellamorte, the Demon of Vyrantium,” Neve explained.

Cam froze before turning to Lucanis, who only shrugged. From his perspective, she hadn’t asked, so he didn’t say anything. However, he likely guessed there were very few Tevinter people who didn’t know who the Demon was at this point. 

“You’re the Demon of Vyrantium?” Cam hissed in shock.

Lucanis exhaled before nodding. He wondered if he had accidentally killed someone she loved or happened to work with. While the Shadow Dragons had similar views as he did, that didn’t mean that they were always on the same side. 

Cam walked over and stared at him with wide eyes, almost in shock. Lucanis started to get uncomfortable before shaking her head. 

“Sorry, I should have- not that I would have- it’s just that-” she stuttered before she took a deep breath. “I’m just a big fan, I suppose. You sent the Venatori running for the hills for such a long time. It was amazing.”

“Oh,” Lucanis replied, not sure how to respond to that. 

He wasn’t used to praise when Tevinter people recognized him. It wasn’t unwelcome, but it was new for him. 

“Cam, you’re going to scare him,” Neve teased as Bellara chuckled.

“Can’t I tell a man that I admire him, Neve? Maker, you act like I’ve declared him king or something,” Cam groaned, pulling away from Lucanis, complaining at her fellow Shadow Dragon friend.

Neve laughed before Bellara started to show Cam how they were supposed to head back to the surface so they could head back to Treviso. Lucanis relaxed, glad to hear that he was heading back home. 

“So, I do have a job for you if you have a moment, Demon,” Neve commented with a smirk.

“Lucanis is fine,” he replied with thinned lips. 

“Of course,” Neve said with a nod. 

She could tell there was more than what met the eye with the Crow, but they could address that later. Hopefully when they were back at the lighthouse after Lucanis had agreed to kill the gods for them. 

Here's the template for the bingo card:

Camilla walked through the streets of Minrathous with her hood up with her scarf covering her mouth and nose. The rain was pouring, so no one was watching the people passing by. At least, the people who had normal jobs with normal places to be. 

The shadier people were watching more closely, but they didn't care for most of the people walking by. It was why she had kept her elven ears hidden away behind the fabric. There were slavers prowling the streets, waiting to snatch the weaker people off the street when they weren't looking. Most slavers believed that elves matched that description perfectly. Elven slaves fetched a high price in certain parts of Tevinter, after all. 

It was the only reason why she was out in the downpour at all. She knew that the weather often masked and covered the muffled shouts and cries of those unfortunate enough to become targets. Cam patrolled the allies as best as she could with a few other Shadow Dragons who did what they could to slow the slavery kidnappings. While there were those in the Magisterium who were working hard towards getting slavery outlawed entirely, it was often an uphill battle against so many horrendous magisters. 

So, until that day, they would patrol the streets. However, Cam wasn't naive enough to think her job would suddenly get easier because the laws changed. It would likely get more difficult because of the new laws. People would need to be creative, but she hoped that it would reduce the number of disappearances at least. 

Cam turned down a shadowy alley, continuing her route. She heard something suspicious in front of her, and she sighed inwardly. It was a fifty-fifty chance that it was something dangerous, and she wondered if she wanted a fight or not. Her muscles itched to punch or fight someone. She wouldn't mind stabbing in self-defense either. 

Her childhood had been spent sparring and training in preparation for her military schooling, and her military education had her constantly had her needing to prove herself repeatedly. It lent to an almost overaggressive attitude that both helped the Shadow Dragons and put them in a rough spot. She had to keep from drinking in taverns, so she stopped starting bar fights. 

They were satisfying in a way she couldn't explain, but her adrenaline would pump up and get her too excited and thrilled for the fight. Many of her opponents would run for the hills after her shit-eating grin split across her face. It was like she knew something they didn't, and they didn't want to find out. The secret had been she was going to enjoy every moment of their fight, even if they didn't.

So, she decided to put that energy into something more helpful than bar fights or fighting for Tevinter against the Qunari. She didn't believe in the forever war, and she didn't want to be a part of the war machine against people who didn't deserve it. She wasn't a bully. She only wanted to fight people who would want to fight her in return. 

The Shadow Dragons recruited her after Cam left the military, telling her that they needed someone to protect the little person. They had heard the stories about her, and they had expected her to be larger than she was. At five foot seven, she wasn't as bulky or muscly as the stores had said. Some people even said that she towered over people. Now, she wasn't exactly tall, but Cam wasn't considered short, either. 

Cam walked around the corner, turning down the next section of alleyway, and she found what she was looking for. There were two men in front of her, and it looked like they were carting in a cage. An empty cage, to Cam's relief. 

The Shadow stretched out her neck with a sigh, realizing that they were just looking for their next victim. Not that they would have a chance to find them. She would even find a way to break the cage so it would be completely useless for future use, as well. 

"That one?" the taller man suggested in a lowered voice.

"Too scrawny," the shorter groaned. "I think that one would work better."

"Too tall. You know how the buyers like them maneuverable," the first reminded him. 

Cam could barely keep the growl in her throat between her teeth as she realized that they were pointing out different people who were rushing to their next destination. These two were talking about people as if they were pairs of pants to try on, and Cam could feel her blood starting to boil. 

"What about me, bestiae maledictae?" Cam hissed loud enough to be heard over the rain after she had removed her scarf.

Her adopted father had spoken to her in the traditional Tevene language, thinking that it would connect her to her patriotism and country. It hadn't, but now she could at least speak as if she had been raised in the heart of Tevinter. 

"How do I measure up to your barbarous standards?" she snapped, drawing her dagger to point it at them.

The two men had turned to her to see her threaten them with the knife, and the taller man laughed. The shorter man simply rolled his eyes while they both drew their own weapons, and Cam felt relieved in her own way. To know that they were eager to fight her made her blood sing and her muscles tense and release in joy. 

"You have a wretched tongue, but that can be corrected," the shorter man remarked, lifting his shoulders. "A few cuts in the right places usually cuts a woman down to the proper size. You are too big for your britches, domina mea."

"Debilis," she muttered with a sneer. 

To call someone weak in the heart of Minrathous was a dangerous game, especially to two men who meant to do her harm. However, she wanted a fight. She wanted to see if they were more bark then their bite. 

The taller man rushed forward, and the crazed smile broke across her face as her eyes widened ever so slightly. A cold sweat formed on the back of the smaller man's neck as he hesitated. Cam's eyes moved casually from the smaller man to the taller man as he advanced, and she swiftly moved out of his range as he swiped at her.

The smaller man flinched as he saw his stronger counterpart miss so obviously. Cam laughed under her breath, sounding like a young woman tittering at a suitor. The second man could tell that they had gravely underestimated this stranger, but the laughter was like alcohol to the larger partner. It had only fueled the addictive rage within him. 

And it was like a song calling to Cam as she danced around the larger man, teasing him until he started to grow tired. His rage simmered as his energy waned. With a strange twist, the man tried to follow her, but he instead fell to his knees.

The smaller man only could watch in horror as Cam stood behind his partner suddenly. She met the smaller man's gaze with a kinder, softer smile. It would have haunted him if he had lived longer. 

Cam ran her blade across the taller man's neck, spilling his blood onto the cobblestones, as the smaller man watched in horror. 

The larger man slumped forward after his eyes rolled into the back of his head, falling onto the ground. The smaller man yelped in shock before thinking about turning around. He didn't even finish making a half turn before he saw the glint of metal flying towards him. It landed in his chest over his heart. 

With a shaky hand, he went to touch it, but he fainted and fell backwards before he could finish the movement. Cam shook her shoulders before walking over to pull her dagger out, wiping the blood off on the fabric it tore. 

Sighing, she looked around, wondering what she was going to do with the bodies. Kidnapping for slavery was illegal, but she had no way to prove that had been what they were doing. For her, it had been clear that they would have gone on doing what they were doing until they died, so she sped up the clock. Of course, not everyone would take her side. 

The people who could have been taken off the streets would be thankful if they knew how close they could have been to having their lifestyle being stripped from them. 

"Death isn't always the answer, Mercar," a deep voice commented. 

Cam took a deep breath before turning around to look at him. She folded her arms after she sheathed her dagger. 

The Viper stood at the end of the alleyway, and Cam frowned. This was one of the reasons why she worked alone as well. While she appreciated the backup once in a while, she didn't enjoy the unnecessary commentary on how she handled things. 

"What were they guilty of this time?" the Viper asked calmly. 

"Death isn't always the outcome, but they were slavers looking for short, well-built people to fill their slaver stock. They mentioned buyers, and they said that I would eventually become a good candidate once they cut me down to size," Cam explained, kicking the smaller corpse. "Death was the best way to stop these nothi."

"I see," Ashur sighed. "Fewer slavers do make our jobs easier, but more corpses do not. They should face the justice system. We are not the judge, jury, and executioner."

"It was in self-defense," Cam muttered, looking away.

The Viper stared at the scene again, noticing that each of the dead men did have weapons in their hands. He also knew that Cam wasn't bloodthirsty or out to kill as many slavers as she could. It was just unfortunate that she was ruthless and many of the slavers she fought ended up as corpses on the ground. She was violent, but only towards those who tried to hurt or kill others. 

Most Shadow Dragons found Cam to be barbaric or dangerous. She had tendencies to be reckless and sometimes careless. Most thought she was a danger because of her quickness to anger and her general willingness to do whatever it took to get the job done. While it looked good on paper, it often looked like the scene in front of him now. 

Cam would do anything to protect the poor, weak, and downtrodden of Tevinter, even if it came at a cost. 

"The other Shadows won't see it that way," the Viper mentioned.

"I can only tell them what I saw and experienced," Cam countered, shaking her head. "I wasn't going to let these two continue taking people off the streets like that."

"I know you weren't," Ashur exhaled. 

He had seen most of the encounter from his perch above. He had seen Cam on patrol, and he hadn't followed her, but her route had lined up with his for a little while. He had caught up right when he had heard the two slavers threaten to kidnap her, and he had decided to not intervene. He had intervened once before, and it hadn't ended in anyone's best interest. Although, this had been fortuitous in the grand scheme of everything. 

"Are you taking me off my patrol for the day?" Cam wondered with a sigh.

"Yes, I think so. We can't leave these bodies in the alley. The last thing we need is the Templars growing irritated with us," the Viper warned, glancing at the corpses around him. 

"Tarquin is going to have my head," Cam whispered, grimacing. 

"Probably," Ashur shrugged. "He's going to want everyone's report as always. Especially yours."

"I think he picks on me, you know."

"He doesn't pick on you."

"He singles me out," Cam complained, starting to formulate a plan on how to get the bodies into the sea a street over. 

"You do things to cause yourself to get singled out," the Viper countered.

Cam struggled not to roll her eyes there as she grabbed the ankles of the shorter corpse. He watched for a moment before looking towards the rooftops.

"If you need to get going, you can say so. I will make sure that no evidence is left behind. I'll even dismantle the slave cage," she reassured. 

"It's not so much I need to get going as much as I need to talk about something, and I wanted to make sure that the coast was clear," Ashur answered. 

Cam raised a brow at him, dragged the corpse through the rain. Luckily, it was washing the blood down the drains, leaving nothing behind. 

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. You are free to speak as soon as you'd like," she informed, continuing her work. 

The Viper sighed behind his mask before he closed his eyes. They had their privacy at least, so he could speak to her about what he needed her to do. 

"I need you to go to Nessus on an assignment. It isn't a large assignment, but it's something I need you to do. It's something that I think that only you can do," Ashur informed, folding his arms. 

That caused Cam to stop, and she dropped the legs of the body she was dragging for a moment while they were still hidden in the alley. She stared at him in surprise for a moment. The Viper very rarely sent people on assignments in general, especially to cities outside their own assigned ones. She had been assigned to Minrathous, so she did tasks and patrols in Minrathous.

To have her go to Nessus was strange and sudden. At least, it was for her. 

"What's in Nessus?" Cam asked carefully. 

"I need you to guard a dignitary who works with us," Ashur answered, taking a step closer to her. 

Cam furrowed her brow, staring at him, but she didn't take a step back when he drew close. With a deep breath, she exhaled in a huff. 

"Guarding a dignitary?"

"He's a Shadow Dragon who is going to be investigating a slavery ring in Nessus. It sounds like the slavery ring is getting larger than we had anticipated, and we would like to make sure it doesn't become a necessary part of the city's economy," the Viper explained. "The moment it becomes integral to the economy, it will be that much more difficult to remove slavery from the region."

"Agreed," Cam nodded. 

"All you need to do is to make sure the dignitary makes it back to Minrathous is one piece. Alive."

"Are we thinking that this is due to something larger than just a slavery ring gaining popularity?"

Ashur stared at her for a moment before he glanced away for a moment, taking a breath. She hummed, taking a guess.

"There have been rumors. The south has done what they can, but we know that the resurgence was going to inevitable eventually," he answered coolly.

The Venatori had been taking over smaller areas of Tevinter, gaining followers and power. They were clearly working their way up to Minrathous, but it wasn't obvious that they were going to hit Nessus. That was new information for her. 

Cam folded her arms as the rain poured over them, starting to rain harder. She would need to dispose of the bodies quickly before the rain made it nearly impossible. 

"When do I need to leave?" Cam asked, turning towards the Viper. 

"There's a ship to that region leaving in three days. Tarquin will have more information for you," Ashur answered, glancing at the corpses. "I would keep the report light, if you know what I mean."

"Accident heavy?" 

"If you wish. He doesn't pick on you for no reason, but I can admit that he can be overly harsh at times."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees that, at least," she sighed.

"Just make sure that there's nothing that the Knight Templar can find. If this gets traced back to you, then there's nothing I can do to save you from Tarquin's wrath," Ashur warned.

"Yes, sir," Cam sighed, reaching down to grab the corpse's ankles again.

The Viper paused, somewhat relieved that his mask hid his smile. Cam was always a breath of fresh air for him. It was always from the pomp and circumstance, and he wished that she and Tarquin got along better. Perhaps their personalities were too similar in certain regards, but he was sure they would figure it out eventually. 

"Affer lucem, et fortunam bonam," the Viper replied with a nod.

Cam dipped her head in exhaustion before looking up at where he was only to find an empty space being filled with rain instead. It seemed that Ashur had completed his vanishing trick once again, and he was off to who knew where. 

She exhaled, pulling the body again before finding a lovely little handcart that had been left unattended. Cam wandered over to it, relieved to see it. She grabbed it, dragging it over to where she needed it. While she didn't approve of what she was doing, she would gladly put it back in the same condition she found it in. 

After putting enough wet cloth in the posthumous wounds, she dragged the bodies onto the cart before finding what used to look like a discarded, destroyed blanket. She covered her mess, and she carted the bodies over to the edge of the bay. 

As she pushed the two over the safety railing, she hoped that it was stormy and rough enough for whoever found the bodies thought that they had fallen off a ship and perished that way. Maybe had died at sea even if they hadn't drowned. Many saw sailing as a lawless profession, especially in the seas around Tevinter. They were moderately safer with the guarantees of the Crows and the Lords around Rialto Bay, but they were far from those warm waters. 

Once the deed was done, Cam returned the cart after throwing the torn blanket into sea as well. Only then did Cam start her route again, starting to wonder how Nessus was going to be. Minrathous treated Soporati like her in a neutral way, but Minrathous was more progressive than most places in Tevinter. Cam just hoped that she wouldn't end up in the middle of the slavery ring herself by the end of everything.