Act 1
Scene 2
Anders' Clinic
A run down clinic in the slums that have sprung up in the warren of tunnels beneath Kirkwall. Dim light filters through a sewer grate above, and lanterns hang from the walls. There are stained cots separated by worn sheets strung from the ceiling. A few of the cots are occupied by injured people. A mother rushes in, carrying an unconscious boy in her arms.
(A note on lyrics, when Anders is singing, bold means Justice is singing)
Mother: (sobbing) Please, please, you must help my son!
Anders: (takes the boy in his arms and sets him down on a cot.) What happened to him?
Mother: He was working at the quarry and he fell, oh please, help him.
(Anders turns to the child, passes his hands over the body. Mother sits down, buries her head in her hands, sobbing softly.)
Anders:
Another child
Among so many
Dangerous work
for a few pennies
.
How can I judge
How can I blame
Were I starving
I might do the same
.
This isn't right
This isn't fair
There is no JUSTICE
To be found here
.
These people suffer
In so many ways
We know who's guilty
Know who must pay
.
Justice, in this
we are of one mind
Please, have patience
These things take time
.
And this little one
His life is slipping away
Lend me your strength
We have a child to save
(Anders turns to the child, begins to move his hands, blue spotlight, glowing props he can hold in his hands or maybe gloves. After a few moments the child gasps, then sits up. The mother moves forward to grab him and Anders pulls back, shoulders slumping with exhaustion)
(An argument and noise are heard from outside and then the door swings open to reveal Hawke and Varric, fully armored, weapons on their back. Anders glows blue for a split second, stepping towards the door to shield the mother and child, and draws his staff, holding it in front of him.)
Anders: I have made this a place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?
(Hawke and Varric look at each other, and then they each raise their hands to show they mean no harm. Hawke gives Anders a charming grin.)
Hawke: I thought Gray Wardens were more about darkspawn and death than healing and salvation?
Anders: Did the Wardens send you to bring me back? I'm not going back. Those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pounce-A-Lot. He hated the Deep Roads.
Hawke: You had a cat named Sir-Pounce-A-Lot? In the Deep Roads?
Anders: He was a gift, from a good friend. Almost got ripped in half by a Genlock once. Swatted the monster right on the nose. He drew blood, too. The Wardens made me give him away. Said he made me "too soft." I had to give him to a friend in Amaranthine. That was before I left the Wardens for good.
Hawke: I thought joining the Grey Wardens was for life.
Anders: That's only partly true. The "hopelessly tainted by darkspawn" and "plagued by nightmares" parts are for life. But it turns out if you hide well, you don't have to wear the uniform or go to the parties.
Hawke: I'm Garrett Hawke. This is my friend, Varric Tethras. We're planning an expedition into the Deep Roads. I thought that you might be able to help me find an entrance.
Anders: I'll die a happy man if I never have to think about the blighted Deep Roads again. What do you want with them anyway?
Hawke: Well, I've got a plan.
Varric: Well, we've got a plan. Actually, it's mostly me. I've got a plan.
Hawke: Okay. It's our plan. It goes a little like this:
Hawke:
I've got a plan
To escape this slum
I've got a plan
To elevate this bum (points to self)
I've got a plan
To keep my family safe and sound
I've got a plan!
Varric:
I've got a plan
To make us filthy rich
I've got a plan
Without a single glitch
I've got a plan
To change fortunes all around
I've got a plan!
Hawke:
We've got a plan
To head underground
Varric:
To old Dwarven cities
Where treasure abounds
Hawke:
The darkspawn horde
Has gone above ground
Varric:
Leaving all that treasure
just waiting to be found
Hawke and Varric:
We've got a plan!
Anders: You're going to the Deep Roads just to find treasure?
Varric: That's our plan
Anders: Have you ever been in the Deep Roads?
Hawke and Varric: Well...no.
Hawke: Look, we have no choice. We're going down there with or without your help. But you could save a lot of lives.
Anders: No. I'm not going to...although, a favor for a favor, would that be a fair deal? You help me, I help you?
Varric: You gonna tell us what it is you want us to do?
Hawke: (quietly) We'll do it.
Varric: Hawke, what did I tell ya? Always room for negotiation..
Anders: (cuts him off) I have a friend, a mage. He's imprisoned in the wretched Gallows. I need your help to break him out.
Varric: I hate to break it to ya, Blondie, but that's where all the mages are. In the Circle of Magi. Which they put, for some reason, inside what used to be a Tevinter slave prison.
Anders: Not all mages. I'm standing right here.
Varric: (waving hands) Fair point well made. But you realize he'll be guarded by Templars, right?
Anders: That's why I need your help. I'm not asking you to storm the Gallows and take down Knight-Commander Meredith. We have a plan. He'll come to the Chantry tomorrow night to pray, and we will help him escape his escort.
Varric: He'll be an apostate.
Anders: He'll be free. Just like any other man. That's what that word really means. It goes against no will of the Maker for mages to live free as other men.
Varric: I'm not saying it's fair. I'm just saying it's not easy. Being hunted. Always on the run. Always looking over your shoulder for the glint of Templar armor.
Anders: You're telling that to me? The apostate hiding in the sewers? I ran away from the Circle of Magi twelve times before I became a Warden.
Varric: And then you ran away from them?
Anders: Weren't you listening? They made me give away my cat.
Hawke: You have a thing for cats, don't you?
Anders: I like cute furry things.
Hawke: Bodes well for me then.
Anders: (laughs) I suppose it does at that. So you'll help me?
Hawke rolls his shoulders, cracks his knuckles, and grins at Anders.
Hawke: Lead the way.