A/N- These chapters are actually short for a particular reason. It's not that I'm lazy, I swear. I just find myself less inclined to get stuck and have writer's block when I have less to… well, write. So it's purely for all of your benefit. I swear. I am not being selfish. Alright, maybe a little.


A shake.

A bleary eyed look.

A nod.

An understanding.

Sneaking out wasn't the problem. Staying to the shadows, with the shroud of anxiety over them for fear of getting caught, was not that made him uneasy. It was the long silence that followed as Leliana took the lead, dragging him along in a country he was not familiar with. They had left in the early dawn after their docking the night before. Seeker Cassandra was some how persuaded to wait until morning to find a suitable tavern to book a few rooms in. This gave Varric and Leliana a chance to take their leave.

Too many questions were left unanswered on Varric's part, and it left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. Leliana had refused to answer to any of his prying, including an explanation on how she even knew he had boarded the ship. All she said was a simple, "it doesn't matter how I knew" and left it at that. He had bitten his silver tongue after that, even though questions still gnawed at him in the back of his mind. Now they wandered the dark alleys of a city Leliana was all too familiar with.

Guards watched them speculatively, their eyes glowering down on them as they appeared to clench onto their broad swords tighter. This sort of treatment was not a foreign feeling to either of them. Varric couldn't blame the guards of being wary of two well-armed people wandering through the city before any of the shops were open. Instead of heading towards the large gate that marked the exit of the city, they weaved around the alleys, past newly rebuilt homes that were next to patches of grass where other homes once stood. "What's with all the empty spaces?"

Leliana frowned to herself as they took another sharp corner. "This was where the final battle during the blight was held ten years ago. No matter our best efforts, many Fereldens perished. Their homes were destroyed by the wild fires set by the darkspawn. Some rebuilt with aid from King Alistair. Some moved on to different parts of Ferelden, unable to bear the pain from staying in Denerim with so many memories of chaos. Others were never seen again after the battle. No families came to claim the ruined ashes of the homes, or even the bodies. The King bought the space and made it so that no other home would ever stand there, as a memorial to those lost so that they would never be forgotten."

Her voice was thick with remorse for those that had perished. It didn't matter that it had happened so long ago, no one just forgot that. Varric knew this as he believed he would never forget the screams and torments of those during the battle in Kirkwall. Many mages had given in to their despair, seeking aid from the demons that harbored on the edges of the veil that was so thin in that City of Chains. Sometimes, he felt responsible for what happened there. He was the one that found Hawke, after all. The one that urged her and her brother to take the jobs and collect the coin for the Deep Roads. He was the one that told her about the Warden in the slums of Darktown. If it wasn't for him, they would have never found the idol that his brother, Bartrand, betrayed them for and sold to the Knight-Commander. She would have never lost her brother to the Wardens. Her mother would have never been noticed if they remained in Lowtown. Maybe, just maybe, if he didn't find Hawke…

"Varric?" Leliana peered curiously at the dwarf as they stopped in front of a large building in one of the alleys. He shook his hand and waved the thought off, telling her he was fine.

Looking up to the building, knowing that they must have stopped for a purpose and not for Leliana's own curiosity of his thoughts, he scrunched his brows at the sign. "Wonders of Thedas?" He had heard of the shop, but there was no such thing in Kirkwall. The closest they could possibly get to it would be the small stalls run by the tranquil in the Gallows. Why they would stop there, of all places, was not too clear to him. "I don't think it's open." The windows were dark and there was no sign of movement through them. Not to mention the sign was not switched over to "open for business".

Leliana chuckled and moved towards the door. A few quick clicks later, she swung it inwards. "Looks open to me."

Varric let out an amazed whistle and stepped into the dark shop behind the Bard.

It was as dark inside as it was outside. A faint light from the rising sun shined through the large windows. The place was spotless. Not a hint of dust on any of the shelves where books and trinkets lined up neatly and in an orderly fashion. Varric was so busy admiring the magical items, that when he spotted the man standing stoically behind the desk at the front, he nearly jumped out of his boots.

Leliana seemed less surprised than her dwarven companion. She strolled up to the counter, Varric at her heals, with her head held high and a smirk on her face. The tranquil bowed his head slightly, his yellow-gold robes shining in the candle-light. The mark on his forehead was clearly visible as his entire head appeared to be shaved. Varric relaxed a little, but was still inwardly tensed as he often found the tranquil to be nerving.

"Welcome to the Wonders of Thedas. We carry items crafted by the Circle, as well a variety of antiquities. Is there anything you'd like to see?" His voice was monotonous as he looked at the pair emotionlessly.

"We are more interested in your dwarven made items. Particularly ones that hold special abilities for combat and the like."

Varric looked up at the red-haired woman, not quite getting what she was doing. "Uh, you're being extremely vague. As I recall, tranquil don't 'get' vagueness."

"We have many runes, if that is what you are interested in," the tranquil replied to Leliana, his voice still showing nothing of his former self.

"Not quite," Leliana moved a little closer to the counter and leaned over it, resting her elbow down. "I'm looking for something quite larger than that."

"Is the Sister done with this useless chatter?"

"What in the void is that thing?" Varric unhooked Bianca at the sound of the booming new voice. He pulled back on the clip, loading a bolt in an instant. A hand fell on his crossbow, urging for him to back down.

"It's alright, Varric. She's a friend."

Varric looked up at Leliana like she was a three headed mabari. "She? That thing is a she? How can you even tell? It has no… parts."

He swore he heard the human-sized rock golem sigh irritably, it's glowing white eye sockets flashing in annoyance. "What? Do I not seem shapely enough for the Chatty Dwarf? Perhaps it would like a chisel to carve me into the form it thinks I should have to be a woman?" It looked over to Leliana. "May I squish it now?"

Leliana folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. "No. There will be no squishing. Like it or not, Varric is here to stay." She looked down at the dwarf and gestured her hand out to the golem. "This is Shale. She… has some unique circumstances."

"I see that," Varric said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully after replacing Bianca in her holster. If Leliana was comfortable around this... creature... than he supposed he would be as well. His eyes roamed around the statue-like creature, taking in the beautiful detail of the crystals embedded into it's skin- er- rock.

Shale scoffed and turned her head away from them. "The Sister says that like I am a squirrel wearing a dress."

Leliana groaned in annoyance. "You know what I meant." She looked around nervously, seeming unphased by the fact that the tranquil was still standing behind the counter. "At any rate, we have to move on before the sun is completely up. Knowing Cassandra, she will notice my disappearance very soon." She took a few steps towards the door, pausing for the other two to follow.

Varric looked hastily between the Bard and the Golem and shrugged. "I've been with weirder people." He followed her step, and knew that Shale did as well by the force of it's steps. They rumbled the shelves, allowing poultices to sway in their bottles and books to threaten falling on the floor.

"Can I squish the monotonous one," Shale asked to no one in particular as they made their way to the door.

"No," Leliana replied, opening it, allowing the quickly rising sun's light to fall into the shop.

Shale sighed again, "Maybe keep it as a pet then? It would be a lot more amusing to have it fetch me things."

"No," Leliana said sharply as they walked once again down the alley of Denerim.

"Alright. I suppose the Chatty Dwarf will just have to do it in it's place."

Varric chuckled and shook his head. He looked the long way up to the golem that was trudging beside him. "Shall I get you a towel, Serrah? Perhaps a pet rock? Maybe even a stool to sit on?"

Shale did not look down at the dwarf and his jokes. She merely trudged on, seeming to completely ignore him until she muttered, "Why do I need a stool? I could just sit on it's face if it doesn't shut up."

Varric rolled his eyes at the towering golem and jogged his way up to the front, where Leliana was holding the lead of their little pack. "Why exactly do we need to bring this thing along?"

Leliana brought the hood of her cloak up to cover her head, gesturing for Varric to do the same. He didn't like his hood, barely ever used it, never really needed it. It didn't really even make sense why they would need hoods up. Shale wasn't exactly what he would call 'inconspicuous'. But he complied, grumbling to himself and waited for her to answer as they passed through the market place.

She let some time pass, reveling in the fact that she made him twitch with anxiety to know the answer to his question. They passed through the gates of Denerim and out onto the frequently traveled highway. "I told Shale that I would be back when I dropped her off in Ferelden a year ago. I couldn't just let her wander around the countryside while we were here."

Varric opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly silenced him as she held up her hand. "No, she is not the friend that I was speaking about."

He grumbled and let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright then, where are we going now oh fearless leader?"

She chuckled at his use of the title, knowing that he was annoyed enough to use it. "Well, I suppose I might as well tell you, since from here you do not know where you are going so there is less of a chance that you will run off."

"Yeah, that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it? I probably would wind up in a brothel somewhere."

Leliana let out a somewhat hearty laugh, coughing a few times before she settled down. "You would make a terrible whore."

Varric smirked at the idea, "I don't know about that. How many people would pay to be talked into an orgasm?"

She looked down at him and shook her head. "Not enough for you to make a living. But, as I was saying," she regained her composure as her eyes were set on the horizon, "we are heading to the South Reach. My business first, then yours." She tucked her hand into her cloak and pulled out a folded parchment. Varric took it and opened it, allowing his eyes to search the map in question.

He whistled in astonishment. "That's quite a ways."

"Don't feel like walking? I suppose we could buy some horses in the next town."

"Why buy horses?" He pointed his thumb at the golem trailing behind them. "We can just ride that thing. For extra coin we can even rent it out to some kids to climb on."

Leliana actually considered the idea for a moment, tapping her finger on her chin before lightly shaking her head. "No, I don't think Shale is very 'kid friendly'."

Varric turned his head to see the golem chasing away birds from the path, swiping at them with her large rock hands. He smiled to himself at the sight, which quickly turned into a grimace as Shale managed to catch one of the birds, squishing it with a force between her hands. He straightened his vision back to the path and lowered his head, shaking it. "No. Definitely not kid friendly."