Deep Roads & Dragons was a game under scorn by the Chantry. According to the chantric, it was believed that the game brainwashed people into thinking magic was harmless and led to demon possession. To Varric, is was nothing but a very old game with a mix of dwarf and elven origins that was dear to his heart. So whenever Varric was in the mood to play, he was cautious about who he invited amongst his companions when a few consisted of that particular religious variety. All they needed was a group of templars to crash the party to arrest everyone over something so minor as a story oriented dice game. That meant that Cullen, Cassandra, and Leliana were quietly left out. Back in the day, in Kirkwall, it was only Sebastian that Varric worried about. Aveline was not interested at first, but when Donnic joined she followed suit. The Hawke sisters knew the game well from their father and even after Bethany was no longer around to play Keira would show up to every game. On several occasions she would show up in costume and character and proudly cross the Hanged Man with hardly a bat of the eye from the frequent tavern patrons. It was Hawke being Hawke, a great actor in whatever story Varric crafted and she brought so much enjoyment to the game Varric hadn't experienced since childhood. Though one time she did get too carried away with a creepy orlesian mask. She wore it during the day in public, while in the character of a extremely snobbish, orlesian noble archer with an expensive bow and arrow set that suspiciously looked like the set Sebastian had reported stolen to the guard. By the end of the week she had most of the Kirkwall nobility fooled. Aveline became so fed up she ripped the mask from Hawke's face and broke it on stone plaza of the high town market place.
Despite that single annoyance, Varric longed for those nights of escaping reality for a bit in a good adventurous story that unraveled as they played. And of course a few drinks on the side.
Amongst his newer companions Varric was able to recruit for the secret game was Rhian, Dorian, Vivienne, Sera, Blackwall, and Cole. Of course, it took some explanation as only a few were familiar with the game. In fact, Blackwall turned out to be an expert. He had a special set of expensive metallic, engraved dice and helped Varric a great deal to explain everything. They all quietly met one night in the war room to use the table and it's maps of Thedas. Varric brought extra sets of dice in case anyone forgot to get their own and his character stat cards, both blank and pre-filled, to get the game started.
About twenty minutes into the game Varric realized his new fearless leader was completely opposite from Hawke in approach to the game. Rhian's patience for the game ran thin, she did not even bother to try to get into character. As the game continued, she forgot her own character's name was Sorceress Raven of all things. Most offensive of all, a spider that scurried across the ceiling captured Rhian's interest more than Varrics description of the mysterious cave. She tried to hit it with one of her die, it barely came close to the ceiling and plopped back down into Varric's drink.
"Sorry," she reached over to pull the die out of his cup and then slid her own cup his way, "you can have the rest of my drink. Please continue."
Varric pressed on. Perhaps the right story element was needed to draw her in. At least the others seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"As you approach the cave that goes underground, you feel a dank, cold breeze pouring out of it. Over grown weeds and bushes surround it, thick vines hang over the opening. You have the feeling you are being watched from within. Out of the cave steps a human royal guard, covered head to toe in strong, blackened dragon bone armor. He carries a great sword, which he props up in front of himself and places both of his hands on the pommel," Varric changed his tone of voice to a more deeper one, "This cave leads to an entrance to the deep roads. Due to the extreme danger, all are forbidden to enter unless they have a decree from the Queen."
"Varric, it's a month's walk to Denerim!" Rhian shouted.
"I don't know who this Varric is that you speak of," Varric cleared his throat, " I am Ser Mourey, knight of the royal guard."
"We should just head to Denerim," Sera said, "We'll gain some more experience along the way to better prepare ourselves for the deep roads. "
Blackwall nodded his head and spoke in a terribly hoarse accent, "Agreed. I believe that the Queen wouldn't place such a powerful guard before this cave if the danger within the deep roads weren't so great."
"No," Vivienne shook her head, "We have saved up enough dried food to go into the deep roads for two weeks. We'll have to hunt all over again or spend coin in Denerim, four times over. We will run out before we even reach the city."
"I just don't want to walk back," Dorian blurted out, very much in character.
"Me neither," Rhian sighed, not in character and dreaded with the idea.
"What about you Ser Thorne?" Sera asked.
"I have a horse. I care neither way," Cole responded in a deep voice. As a knight with very heavy armor, he had spent most of the few hours they had played gathering items to sell and saving just enough coin to buy a horse to speed up his movement. He had just bought the horse. His expression didn't seem to show his excitement over the matter, but everyone sensed it. Cole brought up the fact he had a horse at every opportunity.
"So four against two, we find another way in," Rhian said.
"This guy has dragon bone armor on, my shield doesn't have the defense his has. I'm not about to fight him," Sera said.
"Who said anything about fighting," Rhian leaned over towards Varric and placed her hand on his, "Perhaps you and I can spend a little time alone, sir," she winked.
"Roll the dice Horns."
"Why do I need to roll dice for trying to seduce you?"
"That's a charm. It requires a high enough charisma and total to beat 22," Varric had laid the hints heavily. She had a charm spell. She didn't have it cast on herself, but if she used it on someone else it just might be enough to work given the dice roll pulled through. For the sake of staying in character, he had to pretend to be ignorant of the fact. Frankly he was surprised no one else brought it up. Maybe they just wanted her to end her turn quickly so they could have theirs and use whatever plan they had cooked up.
"Fine, I'll roll the dice to try to seduce you," Rhian threw her dice across the map on the table. The wet die flicked drops everywhere before it came to a halt, Dorian pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and patted his cheek. The total was too low and Rhian raised both of her fists in the air, "Damn it!"
"Sorry madam, though you are very beautiful, your advances do nothing for me."
"Then perhaps you prefer the more handsome, masculine sort of bard with a charm ring," Dorian rolled his dice, then flinched at the total. At Dorian's mention of the charm ring Rhian had picked up her stat card and Varric could tell she remembered she had that charm spell.
"The queen wouldn't have put me in place if such simple methods so easily faulted me."
"Wait, can I redo my turn, I have a charm spell that would have increased my chances."
"No," the group said.
Blackwall leaned over the table, in a calm tone, "You would have needed it to be active before. If you had casted that, that would have taken up your turn and you would have had to wait till your turn again anyway. You could have used it on someone else though."
"Oh yeah, that would have helped with my ring," Dorian said. Rhian groaned, her jaw line became rigid and her face turned to that ever classic, stone cold qunari face. Such a look coming from any other qunari would have made Varric uneasy. Coming from Rhian it was more of an over exaggerated pout.
Vivienne cleared her throat and began to shake her dice in her fist, "While you morons had the guard well distracted, I have snuck up behind him and thrust my daggers into his neck." She dropped the dice on the table. Everyone gasped and moaned as she rolled a measly two.
"Wait wouldn't that be two moves," Rhian asked.
Varric ignored the question, "Unfortunately, my armor is too strong and your daggers have both broken. Looks like a fight has been engaged," He sighed heavily. The game was over, they were all about to die. Perhaps that was the best for now.
"Hold on!" Sera shouted, "How much coin would get us in?"
"Coin, huh," Varric rubbed his chin. He would just lighten up the enemies a bit in the deep roads but still provide a challenge, " 10 sovereigns."
"10 sovereigns!" they all shouted in unison.
"This game is completely ridiculous," Rhian mumbled.
"Hey, you'll find more than enough treasure down there to make up for it. Meanwhile I need enough to disappear across the border before the Queen finds out and has my head."
The players leaned into the table adding their total coin together. Together they had six sovereigns.
"We just need to do quests locally," Blackwall had returned to that terrible hoarse voice, "We'll gain some more experience that way and be better prepared for the deep roads."
"Wonderful, more fetch quests," Rhian said.
"Four sovereigns and my horse," Cole said and Rhian sat up in attention.
"That's not necessary Co... I mean, Ser Thorne. Look, Lothering is just a couple of days away," she pointed it out on the map even. There, finally, she showed a little interest in the game. It just took Cole potentially losing his adored horse to do it. Varric felt relieved. Maybe things would turn around now.
"And my daggers need to be repaired," Vivienne added.
"There see, we will gain more experience to be better prepared and...she" Rhian waved a finger in Vivienne's direction.
"Bloodclaw."
" and Bloodclaw needs to get her daggers repaired, and we don't have to walk too far. Nice happy medium."
Just when things had begun to really look up, Cassandra swiftly entered the room and Varric felt his heart sink. Her voice boomed, "What the hell are you doing to my maps!?"
"They aren't your maps, they are our maps, and we're...discussing future plans," Rhian said.
"Better means of travel to save food and coin," Varric said.
"Yes that," Rhian said.
"And the dice are for?"
"Situations that require mathematical estimations. I simply do better with visual aids. I couldn't find a counting apparatus and Varric just happened to have a few handfuls of dice." It was an incredible, flat out transparent lie, but Varric was impressed at Rhian's determination to not spoil the game for everyone else, even though she did not entirely enjoy the game herself. The two women shared a hard cold stare at each other for another moment before Cassandra turned around abruptly.
"Just put my markers back in place when you are done with whatever it is that you are doing."
"I already planned to do that," Rhian shouted after her and then turned back to the table, "On to Lothering then?"