In Another World | locked to apostate_amell

[amellsinferno]

Solona had been giving it some thought ever since Anders brought it up. Escape the tower together? Her, Nellie, him and even Cullen? It was crazy but the way Anders explained it, it just might work. Surprisingly, Cullen agreed to do it, with Nellie's powers of persuasion of course.

So now the four of them are off to escape the Tower. Hopefully everything goes according to plan.

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[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Not at all, Nel. You may be excellent at herbs but sometimes you come up with strange new recipes that I don't think I'm adventurous enough to try out now," Solona chuckles.

"I think it would be a better idea to take Solona with you, Nel," Cullen can't help but chuckle as well. "Anders can come with me to help find suitable accommodations for the night."

The village was within sight, rooftops peaking over the horizon.

"There it is," Cullen announces.

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Anders nods, moving to pat Cullen on the shoulder.

"Me and metalpants over here will get us a nice place to stay. Sol, you'll make sure Nellie doesn't accidentally poison us all, and Nellie, you'll make sure Sol doesn't murder any obnoxious shopkeepers."

Nellie shoots Anders a look at his comments, and he just grins sheepishly.

"It's true what Sol says, and you know it."

Nellie just rolls her eyes.
"Only because I never got taught properly, okay? Jeez..."

[knightcullen.livejournal.com]

"Metalpants?" Cullen shoots Anders a death glare. Solona however bursts out into complete laughter. "You've outdone yourself, Andy!" she says in-between trying to calm herself down.

Cullen brushes Anders' hand away and proceeds to walk faster, honestly annoyed at his new nickname.

"I'll try my best not to murder anyone, promise," Solona chuckles, walking alongside her sister and giving her a pat on the back. "I can teach you now, if you'd like. The first step is coming along with me for food shopping."

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Nellie can't help but laugh at Anders new nickname for Cullen, shooting him a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Cullen...you have to admit it is sort of funny..."

And then she just nods to her sister.

"I'd like that. C'mon, let's get started and leave these two to kill each other in peace."

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Cullen catches Nellie's look and sighs. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, aren't I?" he groans.

Solona giggles again and moves her arm to interlock it with Nellie's. "Agreed. Let's go shop for some supplies then."

The four of them enter the small village catching a few curious looks.

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Nellie smiles at Cullen. "Probably not, love. Sorry."

And then she and Solona go off to get supplies. Nellie makes sure to put her best pious sister face on. They've got to look and act the part...make sure nobody catches on. She's read the Chant of Light a few times, and has some bits of it memorized...so they should be okay. Hopefully.

[knightcullen.livejournal.com]

Cullen marches off, trying to forget that he was stuck with Anders for probably the whole afternoon in search for lodgings. He figures that he might as well try to strike some friendly-- if not, civil conversation with him.

"Do you think they would have a tavern here?"

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Anders shrugs.

"Probably. They're usually attached to the inns in places like this...Maker, I could use a drink."

He's not exactly the best at acting like a good Chantry brother...but Cullen makes up for that.

Meanwhile, Nellie and Solona are doing fine as far as blending in goes.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"I don't think that would be a very wise choice wearing those robes," Cullen replies with a slight groan. It was going to be a long afternoon.

The market however was not so far from the village gates.

"Sister Helen," Solona calls out to Nellie, using her full name as a disguise, as they both planned on their way to the market. "You have to come over here!"

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Anders is not pleased about this, and he mentally groans. Once they get to Lothering, he will get drunk. So very drunk.

Nellie may not be a fan of her full name, but it works.

"Yes, Sister Solona?"

She has to resist the urge to giggle. This is just so insane.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"This lovely woman right here is selling some marvelous garments that we must buy to give to the needy who might come our way!" Solona's surprisingly holding it together quite well.

The merchant eyes the two sisters with interest. It's been a while since travelers took interest in her goods, wanting to find fancier looking clothing for them to wear.

"Just a few coppers for each set, sisters," she says sheepishly. All the more she was interested to sell knowing that the clothing would go to those in need.

Meanwhile, Cullen and Anders manage to find a tavern that a few of the villagers say doubled as their inn. They both make their way inside to speak to the bartender in charge.

"May I help you, Ser?" he stands at attention. It had been a slow day for him and to have a templar and a brother enter into the tavern certainly came as a surprise to him.

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Nellie smiles quietly at the merchant, thanking her and paying her a little extra. She can't help it, she's got a good heart and this merchant is really helping them out.

Anders, meanwhile, is trying to think of exactly what to say. He can't muck this up.

"My companion and I would like to rent two rooms for the night, sir."

Maker, why can't Cullen do this...

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"Thank you!" Solona says, taking the sets of tunics and breeches, vests and belts and coats that she bought. They weren't that eye-catching-- exactly what they needed. She places them all inside a shopping bag she purchased as well and nods at the merchant. "Have a good day, good lady, and may the Maker watch over you." Pretending to be a Sister was awesome.

She directs Nellie towards the food section of the market. "So, what would you like to be eating while we're on the road?" Solona smiles at her sister.

Cullen however is unimpressed with Anders. "I thought you knew how to charm the pants of women," he mutters under his breath so that only Anders could hear.

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Nellie can tell how much Solona loves pretending to be a Sister, and then...and then Nellie knows exactly what she wants, eyeing a fruit stand closely.

"Apples. I haven't had apples in forever, sis..."

Anders sighs, irritated.

"I do. Just not as a pious Chantry brother, metalpants."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Apples it is then," Solona smiles, making her way over to the fruit stand. "Fine day it is, ser, to be selling such succulent looking fruit," she greets the merchant. He looks up at her curiously then turns towards Nellie.

"I haven't seen you folk around here. I didn't know that the Chantry would be sending some priests to our village."

"Oh, we were just passing through, ser. We're on our way to Lothering, actually."

"Ah, Lothering. Maker knows how much that town needs its holy men," the merchant chuckles. Solona's brow furrows, wondering what the man meant. "Now, what is it that you need, sisters? I have some fine fruit here that I am very sure you would enjoy!"

"A-apples would be fine," Solona replies, coming out of her trance. "Right Ne-- Sister Helen?"

At the tavern, Cullen decides that it's up to him to do the talking. He manages to get the owner to prepare two rooms for them and manages to get through the small talk and the questions with ease. He had to keep his story in check though-- in small villages, news spreads fast and he didn't want anyone suspicious of their actions.

He then turns to Anders, who was of minimal use to him and a wicked thought crosses his mind. And it just so happened that the tavern owner was more than happy to finally have some paying customers, he offers the fine, young templar and the silent brother a drink. Cullen raises his hand.

"Thank you very much for your offer, ser," he says, turning to Anders with a smirk. "But the brother here is not allowed to drink. I can have his share."

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

"Apples, please. What else do you recommend, good ser?"

Nellie gives her most pious smile, and while the merchant is showing off his wares, Nellie raises an eyebrow at her sister. What in Thedas did he mean 'Lothering needs its holy men?' She'll ask Cullen if he heard anything later...

Anders is mentally furious. How dare that man rob him of the chance to get drunk! He kicks Cullen's shin from under the table.

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"I'd say that the pears would taste wonderful as well. But not as good as the apples. Apples are in season this time around," the merchant smiles brightly, putting a few apples into a bag for the two sisters. "Would you be interested in any other kinds of food, sisters? I have many friends in the market and I could recommend stalls to you both."

Solona nods. "We'd be most grateful for that, ser. Your village is full of good people." His statement about Lothering bothered her too. Maybe she'd be able to get a bit more information about the matter later.

Cullen sputters mid drink when Anders kicks him in the shin. He glares at Anders. Then downs his drink and asks for one more, just to spite him.

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Nellie smiles at the merchant, before taking some of the pears as well. She loves apples, it's true, but the pears also look good.

"That is very kind of you, good ser. Your recommendations are most welcome, and may the Maker smile upon you."

Nellie is almost too good at this act of theirs.

Anders glares at Cullen again, wondering when the girls would get there. The templar is going to drive him mad...

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

After an hour of shopping, the girls have almost enough food and supplies to last the group more than a week. Solona remembered Cullen mentioning a tavern earlier so she decides to head there with Nellie, carrying bags of food and supplies and clothes with them.

The two enter the tavern and immediately Cullen stands up to assist them. He may have had a few drinks but he had a somewhat high tolerance. All the drinks did did was keep him from worrying a bit too much and Maker, he needed that. He takes a bag each from Nellie and Solona and brings it to their table.

"Maker's breath, you two bought so much things!"

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Anders moves to help Solona and Nellie with their bags, looking rather grumpily at Solona.

"Help me, Sol. He won't let me drink."

Nellie giggles a bit at this, shaking her head.

"Of course he won't. You're a devout Chantry Brother, he doesn't want you to do something irrational while drunk."

This just earns Nellie a look from Anders, which she ignores as she talks to Cullen.

"We thought it would be a smart idea to stock up. Just in case."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Andy, Nellie has a point, you know. Can't let anything jeopardize the whole front we have, after all," Solona says apologetically.

"That's right," Cullen smirks towards Anders' direction before turning to Nellie. "What exactly did you manage to buy then? Aside from food, which I'm sure you both had a field day doing."

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Anders glares at Solona.

"You realize this means you can't drink either, Sol."

Nellie's just choosing to ignore the two of them, instead talking to Cullen.

"We got food, clothes, soap, basic essentials like that."

[amellsinferno.livejournal.com]

Solona does love her drink and what Anders said was true. They couldn't drink that night... at least in public. She leans over and whispers in Anders' ear, "yes, but I managed to buy two bottles of wine from a kind merchant claiming that it's meant for a peace offering between the Chantry and a few nobles." She snorts. It was a silly story but hey, the merchant believed it.

Cullen ignores the two as well, not noticing Solona whispering. "Good work, you two. I'm proud of you, Nel," Cullen smiles at her. It was hard to keep things platonic on the outside but he's sure she could feel how he felt despite that.

[apostate-amell.livejournal.com]

Nellie wasn't with Solona when she bought the wine, instead talking to a few other merchants, picking up a few more supplies. Anders gives Solona a huge grin.

"Sol, I love you so much, you know that, right?"

Nellie smiles and fights back a blush.

"Thank you, Cullen. We should have enough to get us through till Lothering."

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"You tell me time and time again, Anders," Solona winks. "You know I think about your happiness constantly."

"Lothering's just two days away. We have more than enough to get us there, actually." He turns to the owner and nods at him. "We should bring all our things to our rooms now, yes?"