Chapter 10

When Garrett and I walked into Gamlen's "home" Mother was in a heated discussion with him. I rolled my eyes and walked away. "I'm not listening to another argument between them unless I have to. They're always about the same things anyway."

I walked into the "room" I shared with Mother and pulled grabbed the book that kept hidden under my "pillow". Ruin walked up and huffed in my face before resting his head on my shoulder.

"I'll take you out for a walk when I go talk to Varric in a minute boy I promise." Ruin barked a happy response and I patted him on the head.

"My children have been in servitude—servitude!—for a year. They should be nobility!" I let out a sigh. "I didn't want to read anyway." I walked back into the main room where Gamlen and Leandra were arguing. "Hah! Brother and sister fighting again...now where have I heard that before?" I smiled at this thought and opened the door, quickly erasing that smile. "Looks like I'm going to have to separate them again."

"If wishes were poppy, Leandra, we'd all be dreamers!" Gamlen said angrily

That's when I decided to interrupt, "You're telling me that this isn't a dream? Ha-ha I guess that would be why I haven't woken up yet." I said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

"And here I thought she married an apostate, not a jester." Gamlen said to me.

I frowned at him. Ruin who had followed me growled at Gamlen for a second, then stopped. That's when Garrett came in too. He must have heard something going on, because it was hard not to, and decided to watch from the front lines.

"You're mother was supposed to marry the Comte de Luancet." Gamlen then addressed Mother again. "You don't get to stay the favorite when you do that."

"Where is Fathers will? Maybe if I could just see it for myself—" Leandra started.

"It's not here alright!" said Gamlen, "It was read, it went in the vault. No one needed to see it again!"

"I don't know about you, sister, but that sounded to me like it touched a nerve." Garrett said with his arms folded. He could look intimidating when he wanted to, I'll give him that. "What's in there that you don't want us to see?"

"Nothing!" Gamlen said holding up his hands. "It doesn't matter anyway. You can't get at it since it's in the cellar, which is now owned by someone else."

"What kind of daft bastard leaves something like that behind!" I asked disgusted. "It's your parents will. Doesn't that mean anything!"

"It was old news!" Gamlen said trying to defend himself.

"Who bought the estate Gamlen? Perhaps if I could—" Mother tried to be a part of the conversation and to be peaceful, but it didn't work.

"It's no one you know!" Gamlen took in a breath. "Get used to Lowtown, sister, that's where we're staying!"

I had enough of Gamlen by this point. I grabbed Gamlen's arm and spun him around, half leading, half dragging him to the door. "I think you need to go for a walk dear uncle, get some fresh air." Before Gamlen could say anything a let out a whistle and Ruin tagged along. "I'll be back in a bit Garrett. Be ready to leave just in case alright?"

"Very well...sister."

With that Ruin and I walked out the door as I dragged Gamlen behind us. When we were outside I shoved Gamlen down the stairs leading to his hovel. He wasn't able to catch his balance and fell all the way down the stairs on to the ground.

"Your brother was right," Gamlen grumbled. "You really ARE a bitch."

"Only to people I don't like," I responded and headed for the Hanged Man with Ruin at my heels.

The Hanged Man wasn't very far from Gamlen's hovel and by the time I got there it still wasn't even close to the evening yet. "Time seems to move slowly here. Perhaps because in Ferelden I always had something to do whether it was farming, running from templars, or joining the army."

When I walked into the Hanged Man the smell of cheap alcohol, stale piss, and vomit greeted me. "This is my kind of tavern." I thought with a smile. I asked one of the waitresses, Norah was her name I think, where I could find Varric and she pointed up the stairs and said that he was in the room straight in front of them. I thanked her and headed towards the room.

There I was greeted by Varric, who got to business without saying a hello. I wasn't expecting one anyway.

"Bartrand knows where to go once we get into the Deep Roads, but we need a good entrance," he said.

I smiled and said, "The only bad entrance I can think of is one that a dragon's sitting on."

He chuckled, "I don't think we even have one of those. Not that it would matter. You'd be able to clear the entrance with the dragon on it."

"I am woman hear me roar?" I asked with my smile broadening.

"Nah!" he said returning the smile. "You just seem like the type of person who knows how to kick ass."

"Indeed I do."

"Anyway, there's a rumor that there's a Ferelden Grey Warden in Kirkwall. If anyone would know about the Deep Roads 20 silver says he would."

"I'm not going to take you up on the bet Varric. Grey Wardens know things that you least expect, or even do expect, them to know. They're mystical like that." I shook my head and looked at him again. "It sounds like you've got everything planned out," I smiled.

"And that, messere, is why I'm here," he said bowing. I couldn't help but laugh. "There's a local woman named Lirene here in Lowtown helping the Fereldan refugees. She might know about the Grey Warden."

"That seems likely," I said, "and it makes sense. Let's go talk to her now, while the day is still young."

"Very well Luna," he said. "Lead the way."

It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. "You'll get used to light difference soon Luna," Varric said.

"I hope that's a promise." Ruin barked, thinking that what I said was a good thing. When my eyes finally adjusted I saw Garrett heading towards us. "Do you want catch him up to speed, or shall I tell him?"

"I will. I imagine you take enough shit from him as it is."

I just laughed at that. Varric was able to fill Garrett in on the major details rather quickly. Then Garrett told me his plan to get the will from the vault. I thought it was pointless, and I told him so. The only reason I agreed to help was because he told me that Gamlen had signed everything over to slavers and killing slavers never loses its fun. "The name Amell means nothing to me. I would rather move on and make something for myself than try to dig something back up from the past. Garrett's only doing this because he needs something to hide behind."

"Alright then," I said, "Let's go to Lirene's." I turned to Ruin, "You go home okay? You might scare the refugees, and you WILL scare the Kirkwallers that's for sure." He let out a woof and headed back for the hovel.

"Mabari's really are as smart as they say," said Varric in wonder.

"To smart if you ask me," replied Garrett.

Garrett, Varric and I walked to Lirene's in silence. There wasn't much to talk about anyway. Lowtown was quiet today. Well, quiet for now at least. That quiet didn't last when we entered "Lirene's Ferelden Imports" however. There were people crowded in these tiny rooms. All of them were Fereldans, looking for jobs, food, money, and help. Garrett took the lead this time and walked towards the woman who looked in charge, and was probably Lirene. I was about to follow him when on I noticed the donations box on the table next to me. I had 10 sovereigns on me at that time. Five of them were earned while I was in the King's army. The other five I got...from a friend. "Now's not the time to think about him. We have more to do then just hang on to the dead." I dropped five sovereigns into the box before walking next to Garrett.

"...well he's not one anymore! And he's busy enough without answering fool questions about it." Said the woman I took to be Lirene. I looked over at Varric and he gave me a nod to tell me that it was her.

"Who are you protecting?" asked Garrett clearly just wanting a straight-forward answer.

"You've seen what are people are dealing with," she said ignoring his question. "They have no homes, no jobs, and some of them can't even afford to buy bread. But this healer helps them without any thought for coin, or for himself." Lirene hesitated for a moment then finally said, "I won't lose him to the blighted templars."

Garrett was obviously about to say something but I beat him to it. "Tell me he's got killer eyes and a nice smile. I'll marry him on the spot," I said with a smile and charm.

Lirene laughed and said, "As it happens he's got the eyes. But I've never seen him smile. It's always seemed like he must have lost even more than the rest of us." She finished off in a sad note. "I suppose you can—"

Lirene never got to finish because then a little girl, possibly eight, burst through the doors.

"My older brothers been hurt real bad!" she cried. "He was working in the Bone Pit with my father when a crate fell on top of him. We got him back home, but now he's coughing up blood!"

This tugged at my heart. Little kids weren't supposed to be going through things like this.

I walked quickly to the little girl and bent down over where she had collapsed, gasping her breath. "Poor thing. She must have been running hard."

"Sweetheart, tell me where your brother is and how old is he."

"He's at our home. We live in the second row of the shanties here. It's the third door on the left. He's twelve," she was able to get those words out fast even though she was still out of breath.

"Good girl. Go home and tell your family that help will be there soon." I then looked at Lirene. "Where's the healer?" I asked firmly.

"Darktown," she said, "look for the lit lantern. But how do you know you'll make it back in time?"

"I was the fastest runner back in Ferelden. Now I'm the fastest runner in Ferelden AND Kirkwall." I looked at Garrett and Varric. "Meet me at the Hanged Man."

Then I ran out off Lirene's, and sprinted all the way to Darktown. Not even an Archdemon would have been able to catch me.