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[ombranera]

I will write back as soon as possible.

Regards, Zevran

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[disgracedchampion]

Nevarra presently, but only for a few days, I will be returning to the Emprise soon.

[though what he is doing in Nevarra of all places.]

[ombranera]

What in Thedas are you doing in Nevarra?

[disgracedchampion]

I am there for ships.

[ombranera]

You are a sailing Chevalier now?

[disgracedchampion]

Would this bother you? I have always wanted to see the ocean.

[ombranera]

I am not bothered, merely confused. But if you are to sail? Do not let anyone talk you into getting a piercing while on board- it will not end well. They can be very convincing I assure you but with the ocean being unsteady? It is better to wait until you make landfall.

[disgracedchampion]

Someone has made the offer in areas that I ought not mention. Fortunately the only steady hand I trust is mine...but my reasons are somewhat more complex.

[ombranera]

[ Zevran can imagine quite well. He could ask- he wants to ask-

But that crosses the line that they've established of being friendly. No masks, no sex.

Why in the maker's name did he say no sex? ]

You are welcome to elaborate if you wish, Lucci is napping at the moment and I have time.

[disgracedchampion]

[it wasn't entirely true that he only trusted his own hands, he envisioned other hands working that sort of magic on him. Skilled and deft fingers that he tried not to think about--pain, pleasure, blood, and excitement.]

I am more a benefactor than a sailor, so it is merchant ships that I am dealing with.

[ombranera]

Aaah, you are shopping in Nevarra. Have you found a vendor that sells 'dragon on a stick' just yet? They are at every port, it makes for a fine snack while you wait for business to be conducted.

[disgracedchampion]

They get ships, I get a portion of the goods, that's what we are negotiating.

...I...have not been thinking much about food, so no...

[ombranera]

How can you travel to the ocean and not spare some time to enjoy it's bounty? Dragon on a stick is a rich whitefish that has been soaking in spices and oil for at least one night, battered and then fried. On a stick. It is part of the experience.

Crystal

[ombranera]

I hope you meant it, the bit about your crystal.

[ Is his voice thick? Is he touched by the sincerity and support in her letters? Perhaps he is. But some things are best spoken, especially this sudden swell of bone deep gratitude to a woman he would barely have called a friend ten years ago. Oh there'd been respect and suspicion in equal measure both ways and perhaps some fondness, but they had not truly been friends.

She'd gone her way, he'd gone his.

Perhaps it is what they lived through that made him wish for closeness. Perhaps it is the boy she raises or the gentling of her life. Zevran cannot say but she has offered him a lifeline in the midst of an unexpected storm-

and he means to cling to it. ]

Or am I calling at a bad time?

[disgracedchampion]

I do not travel or sightsee much, as you can probably imagine, and not typically so far from Orlais. Perhaps one day I will come back for the pleasure of it. If I get hungry I will see if I can find this dragon on a stick you're talking about.

For now I know I'll be doing plenty of traveling back and forth, fortunately Nevarra and Orlais are neighbors.

[ombranera]

Why is it that you are going back and forth quite so often? Are you starting some sort of business in Nevarra?

[disgracedchampion]

No, not necessarily. It's simply the best possible use for the coin I think.

[ombranera]

You are continuing to be terribly vague. What are you doing Michel?

[disgracedchampion]

Getting rid of it, as I said. Pel had a good idea in theory, but dumping so much Orlesian gold into an orphanage, a random village, or an alienage would have only drawn attention. There are other ways to use it in order to give people what they need, I think.

[ombranera]

You are still dancing around the topic- it is terribly Orlesian of you.

[ Though he must admit it is...surprising to hear that he is attempting to do good with his coin. ]

[disgracedchampion]

That is it, I'm afraid, not terribly exciting other than the traveling and dealing with merchants. I'm an educated man, but not a business man so it is a learning experience for me.

[ombranera]

You are trading with the merchants to purchase goods for orphanages and alienages and delivering them in secret?

[disgracedchampion]

It seems a bit incredulous when you say it, but yes, and I suppose owning those ships could have some other advantages...but that is not my priority at the moment.

[ombranera]

Michel- why did you not START with that?

[ It is a little like talking to him, he supposes, and the realization wrings out a soft crackle of laughter. ]

That is- very well done of you. I am impressed.

[disgracedchampion]

I wasn't sure what you would think.

[And he is oddly preoccupied with what Zevran thinks.]

Is it? I figured it would be a more subtle method, more difficult to trace, more enduring.

[ombranera]

How could I think anything but well of you for this?

[ There is the possibility he is attempting to wash away guilt- but aren't they all? ]

It is at that.