Apostate in Plain Sight

Settling In

With the late hour when they returned to the city, Aveline left them before they hit Lowtown, saying Hawke could come by in the morning to talk to the Guard Captain about her reward. Outside the Hanged Man, Carver also left to head home and get washed up. He had acquired quite a bit of dirt and grime as they fought through the mountains. She sent Alfie with him and she, Varric, and Merrill made their way inside the tavern.

There was a commotion brewing if the atmosphere had anything to say about it. Hawke glanced toward the bar and noticed a dusky skinned woman with black hair that fell in waves to her shoulders. She was dressed in little more than a plain white hauberk with a set of vambraces on both arms and an offset pauldron that protected her left shoulder. She made up for the lack of any noticeable pants with a pair of brown boots that reached a touch higher than her mid thighs. A blue sash was cinched around her waist and a bandanna rode her hair, leaving wisps to fall down around her well formed face. All around her neck and dangling from her ears was gaudy gold jewelry. Hawke stood mesmerized as the woman was surrounded by several men in mercenary gear. The one closest to her leaned his elbow in the bar as she casually took a sip of her drink. "You owe us, Isabela," he growled.

Not even deigning to glance at him, her feet parted slightly and Hawke recognized her taking a fighting stance. "Well, Lucky, I'll tell you what..." she purred in an accent that could only have come from Rivain. "Since the information you gave me was worth nothing..." She downed what was left in her cup and picked up a bottle to refill it. "that's what I'll pay you."

She moved to lift the cup and drink, but the man's hand fell on top of the cup, slamming it back onto the bar. Hawke could see the eyeroll in her shoulders and the tip of her head without seeing her face. "Me and my boys will get our money's worth, bitch!" he snarled threateningly.

She turned to face him, a flirtatious smirk on her face that screamed danger the closer her lips got to his. "Oh, you poor, sweet thing," she said and Hawke found herself gently moving Merrill behind her and Varric.

Isabela grabbed hold of Lucky's wrist where he had laid it on the bar beside the abandoned drink and pulled it around her, throwing him off balance. Her other arm came up faster that Hawke knew possible and palmed his head to slam it into the bar twice. When she released him, he groaned, his nose bloody, and his people reacted. One grabbed Isabela around the waist, pinning her arms and lifting her off her feet. She wriggled with a grunt of effort, trying to get free and when that didn't work, she launched her head forward and then rammed it back again, knocking her captor senseless. He dropped her and she ducked the glass bottle being swung toward her face by another assailant and he accidentally hit his friend who was still reeling from the headbutt. She took the opportunity while he was off balance to swing first with her right and then her left, punching him twice before grabbing hold of his arm, kneeing him in the gut and then elbowing him in the nose. Behind her, Lucky had recovered from having his face bashed into the bar and he was drawing his sword. Isabela had twin daggers on her back, the hilts protruding from specialized holsters. She drew the one with her left hand, her right upraised to hover near the second as she held the loose blade to Lucky's neck, freezing him in place, his eyes wide.

"Tell me, Lucky... Is this worth dying for?" she asked, her voice husky. As he vehemently shook his head and let go of his sword, she moved him away from the bar, the threat of a slit throat all too real. She lowered her arm and holstered the free dagger as Lucky ran off and the man she had headbutted helped the third to his feet and dragged him off as well. She leaned casually on the bar, smirking as she reached to pick up her drink again and down it quickly before mumbling to herself, "I didn't think so," with a heady chuckle. The position offered Hawke a much better look at her as she adjusted her bodice where her generous breasts had nearly fallen from their place. She offered Hawke a wink as she caught her staring. Her smirk was accented with a golden post that pierced the skin beneath her thick bottom lip. Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief and Hawke found herself grinning back. She almost forgot her other companions as she approached the woman at the nodded invite. "You're new around here, aren't you?" she purred as Hawke stood before her. "Welcome, and keep your wits about you. You're nothing but tits and ass to the men in this place, and they won't hesitate to grab at both."