A/N: With writer's block preventing my major projects from gaining speed, I decided to keep from going rusty and vent my Dragon Age: Inquisition kick with a collection of one-shots. This takes place in the same universe as my writing partner, Jamy Catalyst (Project X)'s series "Road To Inquisition".

Chapter One: The Game

Laughter could be heard echoing down the halls leading to the study. Normally a place for solitary contemplation, the room was anything but quiet as four of the five occupants clinked tankards, their chairs pulled into a circle. In the center, an old Templar's helmet was filled with strips of folded paper, each with a simple prompt.

"Your most memorable hunting trip." The dwarf read aloud, holding the paper with one hand and stroking his chin in thought with the other. "Well, there was the time I hunted wyvern in Chateau Haine."

"That's a load of Bull's shit!" An elf immediately spoke up, nudging the qunari next to her, who couldn't help but laugh at her pun.

"I shit you not, my dear Sera! There I was… waist deep in wyvern shit…"

With his chair turned slightly away from the others, Latimer Trevelyan stared into the fireplace. It was about as lively as the room, with the other occupants varied from listening intently to Cadash's story to try to see how much of it the dwarf was making up. Latimer had been more or less forced to come by his old friend, who must have been tired of excuses:

"What about Solas?" He had asked.

"With Vivienne in the Library. She said no too." The dwarf had been very deadpan and blunt as he walked behind the human, finger on his crossbow's trigger.

"Cole?" Latimer asked, silently begging that he'd think of a suitable excuse to evade this 'socialization' business.

"Couldn't find him."

"Cullen?"

"You can't stand Cullen."

"Varric?"

"I can't stand Varric! Besides, he's talking to the redhead."

And that had dashed Latimer's hope of at least two familiar people being in the group. And while he was resigned to be in the room, he didn't feel the need to contribute much to the conversation.

"Latimer! Your turn."

The dwarf's voice snapped Latimer out of his thoughts. The others, Sera, Iron Bull, and Dorian all stared expectantly at him as the Templar's helm was held out for him.

"I'll pass."

"No, it doesn't work like that kiddo," Cadash said with a grin, "You gotta play at least one round."

Latimer sighed. Elias Cadash had been a 'business partner' and friend for a long time, and he knew when the dwarf was threatening blackmail. That small, sinister smile said it all.

"Quit brooding and join for a few rounds."

With a sigh, Latimer plucked a paper from the helmet.

"Have you ever been in a bar fight?" He read aloud.

"Well, this story begins in Kirkwall. While the circumstances of my presence in the city of chains were… less than ideal, I must admit the years I spent there hold some of my better memories. And a few memorable moments took place in a Lowtown tavern known as 'The Hanged Man'. Elias may have mentioned it. Anyway, I hadn't been in Kirkwall for more than a week before I found myself in desperate need of a drink."

Stepping into the tavern, Latimer was immediately hit with a sensory assault. The room was loud with conversation, and reeked of alcohol, sweat… and now someone's vacated their stomach in a flowerpot. Lovely. Tavern life must be an acquired taste. With a shrug of acceptance, Latimer found himself a place at the bar standing a few feet from a dark-skinned woman and her admirers, both drunk and sober. He seemed to blend in quite nicely, even while dressed in a faithful copy of the armor of the River Dane… a gift from his sister upon his arrival, along with a set of daggers, a hand axe, and a longbow.

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you going to get to this bar fight?"

"I'm getting there! If you're gonna make me tell a story, at least let me tell it at my own pace."

Latimer had just received his fourth tankard when a man who clearly had way too much to drink tripped over nothing, sending a mustached man's drink into a bald man's face. There was a brief moment of calm as the bald man wiped his face, glaring at the mustached man. Suddenly the bar was a flurry of violence, with tankards, chairs, bottles, fists, and feet being thrown around.

Despite not being involved in the slightest, a redheaded man with unkempt sideburns grabbed Latimer by the head and slammed it into the bar counter. Before the assailant could do it again, the rogue elbowed the redhead in the gut and punched him in the teeth. The man stumbled back into the sea of bodies as Latimer shook his hand around to alleviate the pain. Knowing that bringing daggers into this brawl could only make matters worse, the rogue stuck to fists as the melee expanded, dragging him in.

Trying to avoid the clumsy drunken strikes of a bar patron, Latimer lost balance for a moment and bumped into the dark-skinned woman he had noticed on the way in.

"Whoa there, sweet cheeks." Her lilting voice flowing from her lips. "Watch the jewels, as much as I like to flaunt it, I'd rather not show the room what I'm hiding underneath."

"But you'd have one-on-one showings?" Latimer quipped, pressing his back against hers as he watched for stray punches or bottles.

"Oh, only for very special viewers, sweetness." Raising her arms into a familiar stance, she moved her eyes over the crowd, dodging swings as they come and laying out men as they came for her. "Perhaps you could be one of those very special viewers." A sultry laugh followed her offer as she peered over her shoulder at him.

"Provided we can lose the-" Latimer paused mid-sentence to counter a lazily-thrown punch, "lose the competition, I'm sure we'll have a very fun evening ahead of us. Do I get the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"Yes the contenders for this little foray seem to be a bit of an annoyance." The pirate chuckled, "And I guess you can have the pleasure of my name, Isabella." She paused, kicking a twisting drunk man preventing him from barreling into her. "And I suppose I should know yours if you intend to finish what you've started in a more... private setting."

"Latimer. Latimer Trevelyan, if the full title is required." The rogue said before grabbing a thrown bottle from midair to smash across the head of the redheaded man from before.

"Well, Latimer. 'Tis a pleasure." The pirate laughed as she pulled a bottle of some sort of alcohol out of a passing drunks hand and swigged the remainder of the contents before breaking the bottle over the same man's head when he came at her for stealing his prize. "Love me a good bar fight, Latty."

"This is my first one, and may I say that you're a terrific partner to share it with?" Latimer grinned as he peered over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the pirate.

"Your first time? Well, let's make it extra special, shall we?" She pushed another drunken man away before he could get a good feel in and caught Latimer's eye with a lascivious grin spreading across her lips.

The rogue and the pirate leaned in towards each other, but before contact could be made, the door slammed open as the Kirkwall Guard rushed in to contain the brawl. A red haired guardswoman shouted orders to her fellows as they began to separate the brawlers, arresting the particularly violent and drunk members. When the guardswoman found the darker-skinned pirate, she scoffed:

"I should have known it would be you."

"Well of course it's me, big girl. I'm always at the center of all the fun." The redhead quirked an eyebrow in response:

"I'll bet, pirate."

"Isabella, are you planning on introducing me to your… 'friend', or are we getting right down to 'business'?" Latimer asked, snaking a hand around the pirate's hip.

Leaning her weight against Latimer's side, Isabella answered: "This is Aveline... she tends to have a stick up her ass, but I hear that she's starting to get something else stuck up there as well." The guardswoman's face turned red with embarrassment and then anger:

"Isabella, I should arrest you for this. Starting a bar fight-"

"Actually, didn't start this one. I just enjoyed the aftermath... hoping to continue to enjoy it later, if you know what I mean, big girl." The guardswoman scoffed again adding in the roll of her eyes.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't interfere with your whoring, then. Maker knows I wouldn't succeed in changing your plans for the evening." With that, Aveline turned her attention to helping clean up and clear out the bar.

"She seems a fun sort." Latimer said dryly. "Please tell me you know people who are more exciting."

"Oh Latty, sweetness, I know quite a few people more exciting than big girl." Isabela sent the man a wink as Aveline rolled her eyes from where she stood.

"Ugh, I can't watch this." The guardswoman turned from the two and called out to the other guards in the tavern. "We've got all the perpetrators of the fight, men. Take 'em to the keep." Aveline gave another look to Isabela and Latimer before turning to leave the tavern, her head shaking as she walked.

"...Well, now that the competition is gone, what say we get to know each other a little better?" The rogue's grin returned to his face.

"Hmm, I like how you think."

"And that may not have been my last bar fight, and not even the most violent, but it was definitely the most memorable." Latimer finished the story, with the other players enraptured by his tale.

"You never did tell me where you met that pirate… learn something new everyday." Elias chuckled.

"And how was your night with her?" Iron Bull asked, having paid very close attention to the description of the mayhem.

"You say that like it was the only night we shared."

A/N: Thanks to Kalyri for assistance in writing Isabella and Aveline.