In the Dust

The smell of dust and ash hit her nose as she awoke.

She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the gloom, and a moment later gasped as she saw her situation. She was naked, her hands bound behind her. In front of her, looking down at her was a dark-haired female dwarf, an arrogant smile on her face.

Jarvia, she remembered the name. She tried to turn, to see if her companions were still alive, but hands grabbed her head from behind, forcing her to keep looking forward.

“Well, well. Looks like our little Warden’s still with us.” Jarvia said, kneeling down in front of her. “You killed a lot of my friends today, elf. Ruined a lot of my business. You owe me big, and I don’t see how you could ever even the scales.”

Neria tried to back away, but other dwarves were holding her in place as Jarvia moved closer to her naked body. She blinked back tears as Jarvia suddenly grabbed at her legs, pulling them apart, exposing her completely to however many dwarves were lurking in the darkness of these caves.

“Well, well.” Jarvia winked. “What do we have here? Looks like we might be able to reach an agreement after all. We don’t see much elf-cunt around here, Warden, but I hear the humans hold it in high regard.”

Maker protect me, Neria stared in horror as Jarvia’s fingers ran down between her thighs, roughly forcing their way forwards. Please, no, don’t let her touch me like that, don’t let her do this to me…

She tried to form a defensive spell, but her mana was spent and her mind exhausted, and she found herself helpless to do anything to stop Jarvia’s harsh examination of her body. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sensation of the dwarven woman’s fingers inside her, and tried to ignore the smells of dirt and blood around her.

“No, nothing special after all.” She heard Jarvia’s mocking voice as she finally pulled her fingers out. “Guess you’re still going to have to pay some extra penalties before we’re even.”

She couldn’t stop herself from opening her eyes again, and saw Jarvia being handed a large stick. A club? Neria thought for a moment, before dirty dwarven arms were grabbing her body and turning her over and suddenly she was horrified to realise what the object was. She screamed as the wooden phallus was forced into her ass and pain and humiliation overwhelmed her, until finally a blessed darkness overwhelmed her.

The last thing she remembered was Jarvia’s laughter and the smell of the dirt beneath her.

* * *

For a moment when she awoke to feel a bed beneath her and saw the stone ceiling above her, she thought she was back in her room in the Circle and everything since then had been a nightmare. Then the smell of dust hit her and she felt the pain running through her body, and despair enveloped her again.

“Would have thought an elf-slut would be used to that kind of treatment.” Jarvia’s mocking tones brought her to full alertness. “You’re a fragile one, aren’t you?”

She pulled herself upright, ignoring the aches and bruises running down her body, tried not to think about what caused them. She tried to call upon her magic, but found it impossible to draw out the energy of the Fade.

“If you’re planning on impressing me with your mastery of the arcane arts, don’t bother.” Jarvia said. “There’s enough magebane in you to make sure you won’t be casting any spells for weeks.”

“Where… where are my companions?” Neria whispered finally, dreading the answer.

“The humans? They’re alive. For now.” Jarvia said. “They’ll be treated well as long as you’re treating me well. Do you understand?”

She nodded, tears in her eyes, the absurdity of the situation hitting her as she met Jarvia’s gaze. She’d faced down darkspawn and revenants, only to end up here, a prisoner of this tiny woman. But if she’s holding Alistair, what else can I do, she thought.

“Good.” Jervia smiled. “These things go much more smoothly when everyone knows where they stand.”

Neria watched in horror as Jarvia slowly stripped out of her armour and then crawled up next to her. She tried not to recoil at the touch of the dwarf’s skin against her own, knowing her only hope was to play along.

“You’re lucky you’ve got that pretty face.” Jarvia whispered in her ear and she flinched. “Anyone else I’d have killed by now for doing what you did. How about you show me you were worth keeping alive?”

She shivered. She doubted the casteless dwarf would be easy to please, and if she failed to satisfy her, she knew Jarvia wouldn’t hesitate to kill her friends.

If she’s not lying about them being alive in the first place, a dark thought crossed her mind, and she forced herself not to think of that.

“I’ve never-“ She whispered, and saw amusement in Jarvia’s expression.

“With a dwarf? Or a woman?” Jarvia asked, almost laughing. “You are a sheltered little nug, aren’t you?”

For a moment, the smile on Jarvia’s face almost seemed genuine, but then the familiar sneer fell back into place.

“You better hope you’re a quick study.” She said coolly. “I’ve always wanted an elf slut to warm my bed, but I didn’t want to sacrifice half my Carta to get one. I own every whore in Dust Town, so you’d better show me you’re better than all of them.”

* * *

“What are you planning?” Jarvia said, an odd look on her face.

“N…nothing.” Neria lowered her eyes, only to have Jarvia grab her by the chin and force her to look into the dwarf’s eyes.

“You must have an escape plan by now.” The dwarf whispered. “I saw how you fight, how many of my people died to bring you down. A few nights in my bed haven’t broken you.”

A tear ran down Neria’s face. In truth, she saw no way out of this prison. Her food was drugged, her magic useless. The dwarf woman was stronger than her, and even if she overpowered her or escaped while Jarvia was away, she’d still have to fight her way past the other Carta guards.

And if I failed, better to die in the attempt, she thought darkly, then pushed the thought aside. It did her no good to think of what the rest of the Carta might have done to her that first night while she was unconscious.

“I wish I could trust you.” Jarvia said, her short fingers running through Neria’s hair. Her hands are filthy, Neria thought. It shouldn’t bother her so much, not after everything else, but the smell of dust and dirt accumulating on her was maddening. I need to be free of this place, she thought. I need to be clean again.

“I could have used a decent mage as a second.” Jarvia shook her head. “Elvish, and mage-born on top of that – you were cursed by the ancestors, weren’t you? You might as well have been born down here in the dust.”

It was these strange moments of sympathy from the dwarf that were the worst, those brief moments when her smile was something other than a sneer. Or the moments when they lay together, Jarvia’s soft moans as she ran her lips down her body and her tongue darted in and out of her, hearing the gasps of pleasure from the dwarf and knowing that for a moment, the dwarf had forgotten she held her prisoner, was reacting to her purely as a lover.

If I were a stronger person, I could use these moments of weakness to escape. Leliana or Morrigan would know how to take advantage of such things, she thought. I should have been able to escape days ago. I’m no hero. All I’m good at is philosophies of magic… and pleasuring this woman.

“I’m going to miss you.” Jarvia finally said, and Neria froze.

“You’re going free.” Jarvia explained, and Neria’s heart started again. “Harromont doesn’t seem to have gotten the message, and seems to still be convinced that eliminating me is the way to get that crown he covets. You’re going to have to explain to him what happens to people who cross me.

Oh, not like that.” The dwarf winked as she walked over to an old chest, unlocked it and pulled something out. “Our little games together aren’t likely to discourage him – and you probably don’t want any of the nobles to hear about that wonderful tongue of yours.”

“What… what about my friends?” Neria’s head was spinning. She was going to be free, free of this woman’s touch, free of this woman’s smell and taste, free of this dust.

“They’ll remain with me a little longer.” Jarvia said. “Until I’m sure Harromont’s recognised my power here. The human man of yours – he’s most gallant, you know. He offered to take your place with me if I let you go. Perhaps I should take him up on that. His face is almost presentable again now.”

The wave of anger that rushed over her was enough that Neria didn’t notice Jarvia taking the object from the chest and placing the end of it in a brazier. There’s nothing you can do for him here, she tried to calm herself. When you’re out of here – when the poisons have left your system and your magic’s back – then you can plan to rescue him, make this woman pay.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Jarvia said. “I think you’ll convince Harromont fairly quickly that I’m not worth the trouble. You’re going to send every noble in this city a message they can’t ignore. Tell them this is what happens when you cross Jarvia, and none of them will dare set foot here in my town ever again.”

Blinking, Neria had a sudden moment of horrified insight as she looked at the zig-zag pattern on Jarvia’s cheek and she finally recognised the object the dwarf was slowly heating was a branding iron.

“It’s a real shame to let you go.” Jarvia said, a twisted intimacy in her tone. “But this way, a part of you will always belong here in the dust with me…”