not_every_mage | Near Denerim, Sunday Evening Fandom Time

Anders	In the end, Anders' begging had done no good -- the Templars chained him and put him into a barred wagon pulled by horses for his slow, sullen trip to his ancestral homeland. Anders was too angry to even try to poke at his captors. He rode silently, staring at the road, conscious of the jeers of every boy they passed. His fingers often twitched with the urge to set the whole rig on fire -- wagon, horses, Templars and all. Several days later, he spotted a commotion and some tall buildings in the distance, and overheard a snatch of conversation from the Templars: They were stopping in Denerim for supplies before heading off. Anders had always wanted to see Denerim, but he had never imagined it would be chained and behind bars.
Kathy	Kathy was frantic, pacing quickly back and forth, nails biting into her palms. The time he had to escape the Circle was dwindling with every mile they traveled. If he got stuck in the Anderfels, he'd be a prisoner there forever and all the work she'd put in would be wasted-- "Anders!" she cried, whirling around as soon as she sensed his presence in the Fade. Finally! It had taken forever to get him to fall asleep. "Anders there isn't much time! You've got to escape! Tonight!"
Anders	Anders blinked at the agitated girl, trying to make sense of what she was saying. "What?" he said. "I -- I mean, I'd love to, but it's not bloody likely."
Kathy	Save her from thick-headed mages. "Tonight might be the only time that's likely!" Kathy snapped. "Unless you'd rather be carted off to the middle of nowhere to rot? Where you'll die of boredom if you're lucky." And they both knew he wasn't likely to be lucky.
Anders	"Of course not, but what in the Void are you even talking about?" Anders asked. "In case you haven't noticed" -- he jangled the chains binding his wrists even in his dream -- "I'm a little tied up here, and I'm not getting a lot of opportunities to change that. They don't even let me out of sight to piss." (Thank you for that lovely detail, Anders.)
Kathy	"Not usually, no," Kathy insisted. "But tonight is different! Come on, Anders, think! I know you heard it, even subconsciously, because I--" She stopped talking, dismissing that with an abrupt slashing motion with her hand. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Tonight's guard--the brown-haired one who bothered bathing today? Him? He's our ticket out of here."
Anders	"Ryland," Anders said, brow furrowed. "He's a wanker, but not enough of one to sleep on the job." A moment passed as Anders went over all the conversation he'd heard from the guards that day. Then: "-- hang on, wasn't he saying something about some alienage girl?"
Kathy	"Exactly," Kathy said, relieved. "He may not be enough of a wanker to fall asleep on the job, but he's enough of one to sneak off to visit his girlfriend while he's still close enough to get some." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Denerim's a big enough city for you to get lost in. You're not going to get one of those in the Anderfels."
Anders	"Especially not with my accent," Anders agreed, bobbing his head. "I won't exactly blend." He thought about it for a moment, eyes sparkling with the renewed hope of freedom. It was a slender chance; a thousand things could go wrong, and the opportunity would be lost entirely if, as they sometimes did, they left him chained even to sleep. "I'll have to pretend to be asleep until he goes," he said. "Do you have any advice, or know anything besides that I have a chance?"
Kathy	"I know exactly as much you do," Kathy said, pausing her frantic pacing to come sit down beside him. "So we need to work inside that framework. Ryland. What sort of man is he? Impatient? Willing to make a deal? Inclined to do more work than he has to? Can you make it more of a hassle to chain you up for sleep than it would be to leave you?"
Anders	"He's a templar," Anders shrugged. "I don't know if they have personalities. I think they give them up when they take their vows."
Anders	"Not helpful," Kathy said, pointing at him. "We need to get you out of here and dumb jokes won't do that. You've been travelling with these idiots for days now, you must have picked up something about them. I can't help you out there. All I can do is make you think in here. So stop being cute and think."
Anders	"Hey! I can't help being cute," Anders said, sounding genuinely offended for a moment. Then, more hesitantly: "He ... I don't know. He likes fish." A pause. "Doesn't swear as much as the other one." With Kathy's encouragement, he managed to tease out a few more facts. Enough to put together an approach that he thought would convince Ryland not to bother with full shackles that night. Once it was spelled out, he gave her an expectant look. "I'll have to be lucky to get it to work," he said. "But I think it's the best we'll do."
Kathy	"Luck, yes. And a fair bit of ruthlessness." Kathy looked at him, eyes hard. "If they stop you, if they catch you, there will be no hope for you. They'll kill you. Or they'll drag you back in chains and it'll be a longer, slower death. You can't let that happen. You need to do what you have to to get away. No matter what it is." She cupped the back of his neck, brought his forehead to hers. "I'll be with you every step of the way. Right here. But if there's any chance of having more of me than this, you've for to do whatever it takes. Promise me."
Anders	"I promise," Anders said resting his hands on her shoulders. "It's for both our freedom. I'll never stop fighting for that."
Kathy	"I love you," she said, before kissing him fiercely. "But you need to wake up now. You can't miss your chance."
Anders	"I won't," Anders promised -- and the Fade vanished almost as he spoke, replaced by the harsher lights and sharper sounds of the real world. But for the first time in months, it wasn't a disappointment. He had Things to do.

[NFB, NFI due to distance. Preplayed with the splendiferous Kathy Li.]