Song of the Piper

::7:: Truthteller

Music is In Hushed Whispers from the Dragon Age: Inquisition OST. Play it!

******

I stirred in my bed, unable to drift off into sleep. My whole body was tense, waiting for something. The last two times I'd heard the screams and moans occurred during full moons. Tonight, a perfectly circular disk which glowed silver hung in the dark sky. 

I kept my Medium by my side. If Josef wanted to stop me again, I wouldn't let him. He had more experience as a sorcerer, but I was a Magus. And now that I had drunk from the Fountain, I was more powerful than I'd ever been.

At least, I hoped so. I hadn't gotten a chance to test out my new abilities today.

In the end, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, I hauled myself out of bed, limping over to my window. With a whispered 'liohtia', light flared in the room. My curls caught the wind, dancing gently with it. The forest atop the mountains my room faced was serene, at one with the night sky, as though they were sharing a hidden secret amongst themselves. I tuned my ears to the distilled silence.

Then someone pounded on my door.

My heart jumped. "Who is it?" I called out. I hobbled over to the door, flute raised to my lips.

"Josef." I frowned. I was expecting him, but I didn't think that he would actually come knocking at my door. When I didn't answer, he pleaded, "Please. I have to talk to you, milady."

I bit my lower lip. After much consideration and weaving a tune to help me melt into the shadows, I eased the door open. Josef eagerly stepped in, before whipping his head around, bewildered. As far as I could see, he wasn't carrying anything that looked particularly dangerous, though sorcerers didn't need to carry steel to be lethal. Still, the desperate look on his face made me relent. I whistled and dropped the illusion.

He didn't look that surprised to see my figure unfurling out of the shadows. "What do you want?" I said. I kept a wary eye on him as I reached to close the door.

He started to pace up and down my room. The space wasn't small, but watching a person of his size tramping about it made me feel cramped. "I've been thinking about it over these past few months: who you are, what you are and what you want," he said, not explaining anything at all. "Can I trust you? Can I be sure that you won't be the death of all of us?"

"Josef, if you don't explain what you're doing here in the middle of the night I shall scream and call for guards—"

"The truth. I want the truth." I raised my brows; he drew out a small vial from the pocket of his jerkin. He stopped pacing and walked towards me. Again, something about him—his whole demeanour—felt familiar to me, but I couldn't pinpoint the reason why. "I'll let you drink this, and you'll answer my questions."

I folded my arms across my chest, eyeing the vial uneasily. "How can I not be sure that it's not poison?"

"This is a truthteller. It makes you tell the truth, whether you like it or not, hence the name." He handed the tiny container to me. I inspected it from all angles, waving my steinlioht over so that it hovered directly above my hands. It shimmered a dark purple, and it looked as though it was peering into the depths of my soul. "Surely Elise has taught you about the different potions?"

At my blank look, he heaved a resigned sigh. "Right, you're a Magus. Of course you won't have a need for potions," he said, half-reproachful.

"Drink it," I told him. "Then I'll ask you a few questions myself."

He took the vial away from my fingers. "I'd known that that would happen. However, don't expect me to reply to every single question you have," he warned.