While we were out patrolling the foot of the mountain for bandits, we happened upon a dwarf and a pair of mercenaries who were having a difficult time against a cluster of spiders. The dwarf later introduced himself as Javaris Tintop and claimed to be courting the Qunari. Varric could not stop sharing his snarky quips concerning Javaris’s ambitions. What the dwarf hoped to do was start a line of trade with the Qunari, specifically to get his hands on their explosive black powder. He marveled at their ingenuity in creating something that was not as expensive or dangerous as handling lyrium. Granted, I could understand its uses, especially in attempting to clean up and clear out the Dark Roads. But it was also twice as dangerous if one was not careful. A part of me wished I could make mention of Dworkin Glavonak and the progress he was making with his experiments, but then I remembered that they too required the use of lyrium.
The Arishok felt that Jaravis was unworthy of the black powder. Just because the Qunari were simply stranded in Kirkwall did not mean that it was an ideal opportunity to start a line of trade. As far as I could remember from my time with Sten, the Qunari had no real interest in making peace with any nation outside of the Qun. In fact, I had no doubts that if they had not wrecked their ship, they would have attempted to wage war on the Free Marches. Yet the dwarf was determined to make a fool of himself. The Arishok claimed that he was busy dealing with the Tal-Vashoth to be bothered by the dwarf’s proposals. So, Javaris thought that if he could bring in a few miscreant heads for the Qunari leader as a show of goodwill, then he would surely be rewarded with the black powder. And he could tell that I was far more capable than the mercenaries he hired to watch his back.
I declined, stating that his plan was ill-conceived. Based on the conversations I had with Sten, there was no way the Arishok would waste his time making deals with someone who did not understand or respect the Qun. In other words, anyone who did not live within the order of the Qun would be considered unworthy. The only reason Sten even considered me worthy of his respect and the title Kadan was because I earned it by respecting his beliefs and helping him regain his missing sword. The dwarf was only one of many people who simply would never be able to wrap their head around the ideals of the Qun.
Javaris was certain that I would change my mind and told me that I could find him at the Qunari compound to receive my payment. Little did I know that Jaravis had forced a delay on the expedition to the Deep Roads until we complied with his insane plans.
Knowing how dangerous the Wounded Coast would be, I took Carver, Varric, and Fenris with me to look for the Tal-Vashoth. We scoured the paths and caravan roads until we heard a voice calling out in warning. He did not give us a name or title, for he was no longer a member of the Qun nor did he agree with the actions of the Tal-Vashoth. The Tal-Vashoth more or less were considered outcasts by the Qun, because they were unsatisfied with their roles within the Qun. However, they still hold a sense of honor in refusing to simply join another society and ultimately sell their skills, or in this case their weapons. They still felt a connection or bond with their weapons that defined them, much like how Sten described to me the importance of his sword. With that said, these Tal-Vashoth decided that they would murder and steal whatever they chose to survive, and this particular person who warned us of his former companions refused to live by that code. It was why he felt the need to warn any oncoming caravans or travelers of the dangers that awaited them.
While he admitted that he would be dishonoring the Qun even further by not returning to their sense of order and literally selling his sword to become a mercenary, one thing he refused to do was join us in wiping out the Tal-Vashoth threat to make the roads safe again. I respected his decision and we eventually parted ways as my own companions carefully scouted out the area before making our attack.
The battle eventually led us to the caves the Tal-Vashoth had been hiding out in, and we encountered our first Saarebas, which is the Qun’s title for a mage. I had a difficult time matching their power of electricity with my skills with force energy, yet we managed to prevail in the end. Once we finished looting the bodies and cavern, Varric insisted that we report back to Javaris.
When we approached the Qunari compound at the Docks, Fenris voiced his impression that they did not appear to be in any hurry to leave. While I am not completely well versed in Thedas’s regional history, I suspect his time in Seheron taught him a great deal about the different cultures in the region; one of which being that of the Qunari. When he spoke in their native tongue upon greeting the Arishok, I was proven right.
Javaris had been waiting for us for several hours, and the Qunari sent to bring the Arishok to us seemed quite annoyed with the dwarf’s presence. As he introduced us to the Qunari leader, my expectations were confirmed when Javaris’s disillusions about his deal with the Arishok proved a waste of everyone’s time. The Qunari made no such agreement with the dwarf. They pointed out how Javaris had not completed the deed himself but had to outsource the work to someone else. And then proceeded to describe his disdain for the festering cesspool that was just about every culture known to Thedas outside of the Qun. Only the Qun would have access to the black powder Javaris so greedily wanted. When the dwarf hinted that I should have Fenris speak up for him to sway the Arishok’s mind, I simply declined and expressed my own displeasure about being forced to wait to be paid for a job I never wanted to take to begin with.
Jaravis left dissatisfied after the Arishok ordered him to pay us. The Qunari leader had dismissed us as well, but I refused to leave right then. After a lengthy conversation about the Qun, the sense of order and chaos, and what we hoped to accomplish within or without the roles of the Qun, the Arishok commended me for taking him by surprise. He believed I was not like most of the other humans, elves, or dwarfs he had previously encountered. It was clear I had made an impression on him, though he refused to tell me more about his duty to the Qun when it came to his presence in Kirkwall. He did not flat out state that they were there to attack the Free Marches, but I could see he wished to change his circumstances; that he was unsatisfied with his duties at the time.
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Character Storage of Adventures
This journal comprises of the trials and tribulations of my characters as I played them through a number of different video games.
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