Veilguarding - an open post for DAV AU shenanigans

[smartass_captain]

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. Masterpost for Dragon Age Veilguard AU overflow + psls

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[the_other_dellamorte]

And once more Rook is promising to fix another of Treviso's problems. It isn't his problem to fix, it is Illario's, one he made worse even if he didn't cause it. The fact Rook cares so much is unexpected, but of course he will be doing it for Lucanis and for his allies. And the innocent people of Treviso, because Rook seems to be the sort of man who thinks of them too.

"I could handle Daathrata. If you and Lucanis wish it." He offers, not expecting that he will be granted such an indulgence, but he has to suggest it. "Despite what they call him, he isn't a monster."

He just wanted to be free. But don't they all? As Illario looks at the man across from him, he sees a man holding back a dam with his own back.

"You aren't alone in this. You have allies. Let them take some of the strain."

[smartass_captain]

"No? So what he's doing to the people of Treviso is Antaam kindness?" He says the last word as though it is the most filthy of slurs, fingertips still drumming on the table to bely his nerves. Rook would love to solve more problems without violence but that isn't a luxury he's often afforded.

"I promised Caterina I would rescue Lucanis. I promised Lucanis I would look after you. And I promised Teia and Viago that I would help them root out who allowed in the Antaam threat to entrench myself as an ally of Antiva and her Crows." Jim offers with the kind of determination that says to him? The end result is already a foregone conclusion. He gave his word to do these things, and so he will. Or he'll die trying.

"What are you thinking, for the Butcher? Daathrata, you called him?"

[the_other_dellamorte]

"In comparision to what it could be? Yes." Illario says. He doesn't like it, knows it isn't kindness but it isn't the brutality of what had happened to Ventus. Illario knows that while Treviso is suffering, it cpuld be far, far worse. And in part, that is because Daathrata loves the city, and destroying it would hurt him too.

But he doesn't think he has the time to explain to Rook how he knows this- the feeling in his chest, the years of following a cause that never lets you be yourself... but perhaps Rook understands, because opposite him is a man dedicated to a cause. And it is breaking him.

"I know - you have promised that and more. Not just here but to the Shadow Dragons and the Lords of Fortune, and any number of other people. They need to support your efforts too, Rook."

He knows Rook will say they are. But they could do more. They could help this man not drive himself to pieces on the rocks.

"Daathrata is his... name? Role? What he was, in the Qun. The Butcher he uses to make people fear him. I am not frightened of him. If Lucanis and you say to kill him, I wil do so. Or we can offer him sanctuary here. Send the Antaam away, and Treviso can be his home, if he wishes. He would be a useful ally against the Old Gods."

[smartass_captain]

"This isn't kindness." Jim replies quietly. "They might think as much, and Daathrata may even believe it but it's nothing more than a convenient lie to make the truth less ugly. These people are left starving and stolen from. Herded like cattle. Is being caged and waiting for the axe to fall supposed to be a mercy? Because they could raze the city and end these peoples' suffering if they only wished to??"

Jim shakes his head.

"It's disgusting. These are people we're talking about. I don't know if it's greed or desperation that turned the Antaam to the elven gods but it's made them lose sight of some basic truths." Or maybe it hasn't. There aren't many Qunari wardens, and most were raised here in Thedas by deserters. Jim's heard whispers about the brutality of the Qunari, yet the ones he's met have all been....people.

"Factions and alliances are the only way we'll have enough bodies to make a difference." Jim answers. "Everyone's in need right now. So we work in pairs most often, three if it's a big ask. And we help who we can." Yet Jim is here alone. Because He can't afford to do less than the others.

"Teia wants him dead, Viago says - and I agree in this case - that killing him means nothing if he could be replaced with another despot. Someone arranged for this to be possible and that's who I mean to go after. Only once we've dealt with Antiva's traitors will neutralizing this butcher mean anything for the peoples' safety even in the immediate."

[the_other_dellamorte]

Rook is an idealist. The world needs that, they all need that, when everything around them is so dark and cruel. In this moment, listening to Rook speak, the tired, honest, eager, brave man that he is, Illario wishes he could believe in kindness like the Warden means.

But he knows that men like Rook are rare. They are Black Swans, a beautiful fiction. To find one is a miracle and Thedas needs miracles.

So he swallows down over thirty years of Crow life, of pain and death, murder and sex for coin, for power. He swallows down all he has sacrificed for strangers, for the Dellamorte name, and he swallows down all his own sins. He is not a good man. He is not kind. He is not capable of thinking of the greater good in the same way Rook clearly is.

But he has to make the attempt. With whatever time he has left until Caterina decides to make Lucanis' choice for him, or his cousin comes to his senses, he has to do something to rebalance the scales.

"I will kill him then. And try to discover who betrayed Treviso. I... do not think that I can do that well. My reputation is, as you know, rightly ruined. But I can still sneak, and spy. If you permit me to do so."

[smartass_captain]

"If it comes down to that being the best option? I'll gladly let you take that job." Jim offers. it is not easy to delegate murder. Feels like Jim's allowing himself to become desensitized to the lives on his hands. But at the end of the day he is One Man and there are so many throats that need to be cut to stop the gods from gaining even more power than they already have.

His arrows are pointed to the Evanuris first and foremost.

"Illario Dellamorte's reputation might be ruined, but the Crows taught you how to sneak and lie and spy, didn't they? You're no longer a Crow, so you're not bound by their rules. I'm sure they won't let you do unsupervised in some respect, but maybe all you need is a disguise. You are Antivan. You can pose as any walk of life with some time and effort. A lot easier than I could. See what you can find."

[the_other_dellamorte]

Illario's eyes flick uncertainly from Rook to the guard in the shadows behind the couches, wondering exactly what Viago and Teia will make of this. Will they approve of Rook's suggestion? He is being kept under lock and key, he has at least two pairs of eyes on him every waking moment, and he doubts that will change.

But if Rook and Lucanis demand he earn his keep, then he will serve. If they send him out, he is no loss to them if he dies. In fact, that is probably a boon.

"Very well. I will sneak and spy, on whatever target you and the First Talon decree."

He is no longer a Crow. It is true. It hurts, but this is the bed he made. And if he can still work like a Crow maybe his life does still have some purpose. It is entertaining, in its way, how he is a man woth no purpose at all, sat opposite a man with a most incredible and terrifying one.

[smartass_captain]

"I'll see Teia and Viago on my way out then. And speak with Lucanis as soon as he's back from his mission, if he hasn't beaten me back to our base already." Jim has kept his explanation of their means of getting around brief. Enough to discourage random people from trying to use the eluvians without one of their party present, or try to destroy them. But little more lest any knives find their ways into the team's backs.

The Lighthouse is meant to be--needs to be a safe space for them to rest. Gather their strength. If the gods or their lackeys find their way there? Jim might as well jump off and save the gods the trouble of killing him.

Though he's not even certain it Would kill him if he did. But it is his last resort plan. Either escape into the fade or die rather than be taken prisoner.

"Expect a missive before tonight." Rook drags his hand through his hair, further messing it from its styling. He wishes he had more coffee but truth be told he doesn't need it the way he jitters. He's been running on it as bad as Lucanis has for the last week.

[the_other_dellamorte]

Illario is used to working at pace. He can travel fast, on foot or on horseback, or sail if he must, although that hardly gets you anywhere quickly. In Rook, he can see a man who shares that: who has had to move very fast to try and handle everything thrown at him, who has not one contract on the go but several dozen, and it is taking its toll. It isn't hard to see that, if you are used to looking at people. It worries him that while Rook is capable, intelligent, and reflective, he is also working himself to death. Should that catch up with him before the job is done, who will take over in his stead? Lucanis? The other Warden? The Tevinter detective?

Whatever hide-out their saviour returns to, Illario hopes someone else will be on watch. He hopes Lucanis will spot all the signs Illario has, that despite all the things Lucanis must also contend with, he allows Rook to rest, at least for a few hours. That might not stave off the long-term effects, but perhaps it might make the man feel a little better in his own skin.

"I will await your orders," Illario says, as he puts his cup back on the tray, careful not to let concern into his voice. He dare not ask for Rook to rest, to wait till dawn to send out the missive, because he knows that time is of the essence. He knows too, that their relationship is not that sort: they are not friends, he is merely an agent for Rook and Lucanis' will, and even then, not trusted with anything sensitive. Even so, as Rook looks like he is ready to depart, words jump to Illario's lips unbidden.

"Be careful. Not just of the dangers you face, but what you put yourself through."