Games with Good Company
A cool evening air drifted in through the tavern windows, making the fireplace play and dance in the breeze. The hum and patter of conversation drifted out of the ancient structure, long a place for friends and comrades in arms to sit, relax and take a moment for themselves. The candle lit interior of the Heralds Rest was fairly quiet for the evening. The rowdier members of the Inquisition had obviously taken the night off. Normally the tavern was nearly as loud and raucous as a gladiator's arena by this hour. As it was, it was the perfect atmosphere for a game of cards.
"Alright, who's in then? Been a while since we had a good game of Wicked Grace." Varric smirked mischievously to the table while shuffling the deck with an experienced hand. The cards flowed between each other with sharp precision, clicking together in a constant rhythm.
Marian downed the last of her flagon with relish and leant back in her seat next to the dwarf. "You know me, I'm always in Varric." She met his smirk with glinting eyes.
"Do you even have to ask?" The Iron Bull seemed almost affronted. "Krem! Get over here, sit your arse down!" He beckoned to his lieutenant at the bar. Krem merely shook his head with a weary sigh before doing as he was told.
"Why not, deal me in too." Blackwall joined in with a grin behind his thick beard.
"Ugh, not again," Cullen immediately got up from his seat with a shudder, "not after last time."
Marian laughed and threw him a salacious wink over her smirk.
The Commander's cheeks bloomed in red as he retreated from the tavern in haste.
"What about you three ladies, care to join us?" Varric looked up to the Inquisitor, Cassandra and Josephine. The three ladies stood in quiet conversation away from the table. Discussing the matter of the rogue Grey Warden's still to be resolved. A dire matter indeed, the mere thought of an entire army of Warden's at Corypheus' beck and call was terrifying. All the more reason for a night of cards and conversation Varric surmised. Maker only knew when they'd get another chance. The success they'd had at the Winter Palace had earned them all the right to a little reprieve at least.
"Well … if everyone is playing, it would be rude not to." Josephine seemed to be holding back her eagerness under a thin veneer, quickly taking a seat at the table.
"Alright Varric, I'm in." Herah smiled and moved to a seat of her own opposite Marian. The Champion flashed a cheeky wink at the Inquisitor when their eyes met for a brief moment. The qunari quickly looked away, her cheeks blooming like Cullen's had. Yet surprisingly, the horned woman seemed to sport a hint of a smile on those dark lips. Marian knew at that moment that she'd find the night most enjoyable.
A great sigh from the Seeker. "Very well, I doubt we'll get anything else done tonight now."
"You can't work all the time Seeker." Varric chuckled. "Well, maybe you can, but we mere mortals need a little down time now and then."
Cassandra scowled at the dwarf but said nothing. Then she too took a seat at the table.
"What's this?" Dorian's scandalised voice drifted over them all as he entered the tavern, "Were you all thinking of enjoying yourselves without me?"
"No, we were thinking of being miserable as sin together." Varric quipped. "Want in Sparkler?"
"Well, when you make it sound so appealing, how can I say no?"
"That's the spirit!" Bull slapped Dorian on his back, "With enthusiasm like that, how can we possibly lose to Corypheus?"
"Ever the inspiration, Chief." Krem drawled, raising his flagon in mocking salute.
"What are playing for then?" Blackwall intoned. "Coppers? Silvers?"
"Silver, minimum." Bull palmed the table, laying the matter to rest.
"Why not clothes?" All eyes swivelled to fix Marian Hawke with a stare. She held all of their gazes for a few long moments, smirk not leaving her lips once. "What?" She asked with an innocent smile.
"I'm game." Dorian broke the silence with a stroke of his moustache.
"Sure." Bull quickly followed.
"Seriously?" Cassandra regarded the three of them with another scowl. "Are you all so, so … sordid?"
"Why not?" Surprisingly, it was Josephine who spoke. The Seeker turned a disbelieving gaze to the Ambassador who smiled back sheepishly.
Cassandra narrowed her gaze a fraction.
A small bead of sweat slid down the side of the Antivan's head.
"I don't think Ruffles has anything to fear, Seeker." Varric chuckled again as he started dealing the cards out. "She'll not lose a hair pin before the rest of us are all left bare as the day we were born."
"A day which was earlier for some than others." Dorian quipped to a few chuckles.
"Watch it Sparkler, I intend to play fair but I've picked up a few tricks in my time. Trust me when I tell you that Rivaini's know how to play a mean hand, and I've learned from one of the meanest." Varric warned the mage with a pointed finger.
"True enough," Marian nodded with a vacant look. "Isabela could be a literal demon with cards when she wanted to be."
"Who's this Isabela, Champion?" Dorian asked with a casual smirk as he inspected his cards. "Another old enemy? A scorned lover perhaps?"
"Heh, nothing like that." Marian replied with a smirk as she looked at her own cards – a bad hand, a very bad hand indeed – but still she smiled. "Not saying I never thought of her like that, but no."
"Maker's balls Hawke, if Rivaini ever heard you talk like that she'd jump you." Varric chuckled.
"So who was she then?" Herah probed, face utterly blank.
Marian glanced a little too long at the Inquisitor, the human's lips turned up a little further in amusement. "An old friend in Kirkwall, though Maker knows where she is now. She stuck by me all those crazy years, through thick and thin mostly. That nearly cost her, her life with the Arishok you know. But, sorry to disappoint, we were never an 'item', despite what Varric and his ridiculous stories try to tell you." She reached over to ruffle the dwarf's hair affectionately.
"Hey, I never said that you and Rivaini were together!" Varric protested.
"Really? Then she was the only person in all of Kirkwall you haven't claimed I've slept with." Marian muttered without heat as she folded the round.
"It was just too obvious," Varric explained to the rest of the table. "The noble Champion and the renegade pirate queen, sounds too much like make believe – The courageous hero, taming the wild heart of a beautiful, criminal seductress. You need a little believability in your stories to make them work you know." He nodded sagely to the table as he imparted his wisdom.
"Because of course your tales are so believable." Marian muttered in annoyance, "I seem to remember one version where I was shacked up with the Seneschal." Marian shrivelled her nose in disgust. "I mean, he had a son that was about my age you know."
"Well, everyone has their off days." The dwarf muttered with a shrug of his shoulders, throwing in his cards for the round.
"I think I'd rather have had Sister Petrice."
"Well, I'll remember that for the next edition of 'The Tale of the Champion' then." He shook his head with a weary smile. "Everyone's a critic." He murmured as an aside to no one in particular.
"Wait, the Seneschal to the Viscount?" Cassandra asked with a raised brow. "I met with the man when we came searching for you Champion. I do not blame your reluctance."
Marian gestured to the Seeker with a pointed look at the dwarf. "See? The Seeker gets it, and she only met him once!"
"Yeah, yeah, are we gonna see who loses their breeches first or not?"
Marian stuck her tongue out at the dwarf playfully but turned her gaze back to the table where Bull, Dorian and Herah were showing their hands. Bull's hand was decent, Dorian's was better, but Herah's cards were undoubtedly the worst. The Inquisitor scowled at the cards that betrayed her as the cheers and calls around the table grew.
"You know the rules Inquisitor, what are you gonna lose?" Varric chuckled.
Herah shook her head with something of an embarrassed smile and reached down, bring up her boots a few moments later. As proof of her defeat, she leaned back and raised a long leg above the table, showing a still socked foot.
"Damn, Inquisitor," Marian drawled with a hefty smirk, "You sure know how to get the blood pumping."
Though clearly somewhat embarrassed, Herah met Marian's gaze evenly. "At least I've got the guts to get the game going, Champion. You threw your cards in pretty early. I didn't take you for a quitter."
Marian loved the twinkle of a challenge in Herah's eyes. She leaned in closer to the qunari. "Oh don't worry Horns, I'm not quitting till I see everything."
Herah didn't look away and even seemed to smirk back.
"Horns? Is that your name for all qunari now?" Bull intoned with a chuckle. "How about I call you all Shorty?"
"That name is reserved for dwarves and dwarves alone." Varric warned with a sage nod as he dealt out the next round. "Unless you want to start a war with both the Merchant's Guild and the Carta, I suggest you don't try it." The whole table erupted into laughter, even the Seeker joined in. Marian found her gaze seeking out Herah's again as the laughter died down. The qunari's eyes met the human's, there was more than a simple look there.
"Alright, next round, next round!" Blackwall slapped the table enthusiastically.
"Mine's an ale if you're buying!" Marian called across.
"Me too!" Dorian sang with a smirk.
"I'll take one as well." Herah placed her order with a raised hand.
Blackwall's gaze fell for a moment as he realised what he'd walked into, then shook his head with a hearty laugh and left for the bar.
"All right, let's get this game started." Varric smirked with an evil glint to his eye that worried Marian.
It didn't take long for Marian to find herself and her cards standing against the dwarf, Josephine and Blackwall. Perhaps the worst group she could have been facing off against. Sure enough, when the cards were shown on the table, Marian's were found wanting.
"Well, well, Champion," The Ambassador crowed, "perhaps you're not as skilled at everything as the stories say?"
Marian flashed the Antivan a sweet smile as she leant down to remove her boots. "That's only because I'm too busy sleeping with all of Kirkwall in most of them. Not really any time to do much else when you're busy seducing the Arishok." Bull in particular laughed at that one.
"It comes out at last!" Dorian exulted, arms raised. "Your burning desire for the qunari!"
"Well, maybe one or two." Marian agreed, levelling her gaze pointedly at the Inquisitor. Herah blushed and looked away. Then her eyes flicked back up to meet Marian's gaze with something of an embarrassed smile, almost a smirk even. To the Champion's side, Varric rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. The rest of the table either shared amused glances or sighed heavily.
xxx
The night drew on quickly enough with the warm company and laughter that drifted back and forth across the tavern. The candles slowly wore down to stumps as hot wax trickled to table and floor. Many rounds had run their course, with varying piles of clothing slowly amassing by the players. Herah was pleased that hers was relatively small. She'd only lost her boots, her jacket and over shirt so far. Likewise Bull, Josephine and Dorian were fairly unscathed. Cassandra had withdrawn from the cards altogether after losing only her gloves and boots, yet she still sat and joined in the conversations and jokes. Others were not doing as well. Blackwall was now shirtless, with little else left to lose. Krem was faring a little better, but had near half of his clothes sat upon the table. Varric was one bad hand away from joining them. Surprisingly to the qunari, Marian wasn't doing too well herself. She'd assumed the human would be good at cards. It just seemed like her field of expertise. The Champion had lost all save her shirt and undergarments. At least, the Inquisitor hoped the human still had undergarments left to lose.
Maker, that sounded wrong. The qunari shook her head vigorously as she mentally slapped herself.
"Not getting tired on us, are you Horns?" Marian piped up, still grinning mischievously despite her state of undress. "You've gotta at least give us the chance to take you down a peg." She nodded to Herah's modest pile.
"No, not at all." Herah smiled easily, leaning back in her chair with a stretch. Her bare feet stretched out beneath the table and came into contact with someone else's bare leg. The qunari instantly straightened, but the damage was already done. Marian's eyes lit up like fire, her smirk growing as she took a long swig from her flagon. A moment later Herah felt smooth skin gently yet incessantly prod and probe her calf. The Inquisitor glared darkly at the Champion but held her tongue. Marian used hers to suggestively wipe a few drops of ale from her smirking lips.
"Damn it!" Varric's lament drew both women's attention away. The prodding didn't cease though. "I knew I should have started playing dirty with you lot."
"So you admit you were beat fair and square." Krem laughed as he threw his winning hand back. "Come on Tethras, show us what you got!"
"Yeah, yeah, calm down Soldier Boy." Varric muttered as he stood form his seat and, with a hint of a smirk on his face, pulled off his shirt with embellished slowness. To the whistles and hoots of all around, Varric bared his chest hair for all to see. "Please, please, control yourselves." He raised his hands as he called for order. "Especially you Seeker." Cassandra, the quietest of the group, turned an affronted stare at the dwarf.
"Drop. Dead. Dwarf." The Nevarran's eyes were dark and deadly. Varric merely played it off with a smile.
"Seeker, you'd only miss me dearly."
"Like foot fungus."
"Not got too much left now Varric." Marian joked with an exaggerated look up and down the dwarf.
"I could say the same for you Hawke. Maker, we keep getting ourselves into these messes don't we?"
"You've only got yourself to blame Varric." Josephine chuckled behind her ale. "This game was your idea after all."
"Hey! It was the Champion over here who turned this into Strip Grace!"
"Which I think we can all agree was a wise decision." The Champion raised her flagon in tribute.
"Here, here!" Bull reached over to crack his mug against the human's with vigour. "Now stop overthinking all the mistakes you've ever made in life and deal those cards!" He growled enthusiastically.
"Wiser words were never said." Blackwall laughed.
Krem suddenly seemed to perk up, his head picked up and peered over the table towards something. Intrigued, Herah followed his gaze and found Maryden Halewell, the Inquisition's resident bard, waltz into the tavern lute in hand. The bard turned a curious gaze over to the table and shook her head with a humoured smile as she took up her usual position near the fire to play.
"Easy there lover boy," Bull lay a heavy hand on Krem's shoulder, keeping his voice low as the dulcet tones of Halewell's singing drifted over the tavern. "Don't go clambering over the chairs and tables like last time, yeah?"
"Shut it, Chief!" Krem's cheeks exploded in colour as he scowled. Bull laughed heartily at his lieutenant's discomfort.
"Well, this sounds like a story if ever I wrote one." Varric levelled a curious eyebrow at qunari and human both as the cards flew about the table once more.
"It's just that our little lieutenant here has something of a crush." Bull teased with a prodding finger at Krem's head. Krem turned to grab the Bull's finger and despite the clear size difference between the two, scowled up in fury at the broad qunari.
"Ah, 'The Soldier Boy and the Bard'." Varric sighed dramatically. "Tale as old as time."
"Really?" Krem levelled a disbelieving look at the dwarf. "I've never heard of that one."
"Of course you haven't, you're from Tevinter after all, totally different sort of reading you get there from Ferelden and Orlais. Demons and blood magic don't sell nearly as well down here you know."
"Depends on the demon." Marian intoned as she casually inspected her cards.
"Well, sure, desire demons are always a good sell. But have you ever heard of a story about a sloth demon though? No. But what I'm saying is down south here in civilisation, you have more of your romances, epics and the like."
Dorian snorted, "You call the sort of drivel you write 'epic', Master Tethras?"
"I don't, but my publisher sure does though." The dwarf smiled innocently at the mage.
"I've never heard of 'The Soldier Boy and the Bard' either." Herah leaned forward with a smirk. "And I've lived in the Free Marches pretty much all my life."
"You're qunari, you like reading about … I dunno, how to take care of your horns or whatever. But I digress." The dwarf turned back to Krem, "What I'm trying to say is, I've seen it all before kid. You like her, just go and talk to her, simple as that. You never know when your next chance will be your last." He nodded sagely as if to settle the matter.
Krem let out a small, weary chuckle under his breath, cheeks reddening. "It's never that simple though is it?"
"Varric's right you know." Marian intoned. "In our line of work especially, tomorrow could seriously be our last. We don't know when Corypheus will strike next do we?"
A small moment of contemplation hung over the table. Herah found herself gazing into her flagon as thoughts of the ongoing war flooded back to the fore. By morning, this night would just be a memory and it would be back to do or die once more. Tomorrow it was the Grey Wardens, next it would be another crisis, after that another. It would just keep going, on and on until Corypheus was slain or until he won. She was abruptly pulled from her thoughts by a familiar feeling gliding up and down her calf.
"That's why you've got to go for it now, while you have that chance. It might not work out, but you'll definitely regret it if you don't." Marian encouraged Krem enthusiastically, glancing at Herah with a smile once she'd said her piece.
Spluttering erupted from Varric as ale splashed out of his flagon and over the table. He coughed heavily for a few long moments before Cassandra reached over and heavily thumped him on the back till his heaving subsided.
"Sorry- sorry." Varric managed out between spluttering. Maybe she was getting tired or tipsy, but Herah could have sworn that Varric was laughing more than anything. "Just couldn't help myself, that was a little hard to swallow." Marian narrowed her gaze darkly at the dwarf for a brief moment before returning to her smirk.
"Go for it lad." Blackwall urged Krem with a clap on the back. "Like she says, you'll only regret it if you don't."
"Mind you, you may regret it anyway, but that's never stopped anyone making a fool of themselves before." Dorian teased, "We're right behind you in your foolishness."
"Yes, we are!" Josephine called out, clearly louder than she expected as she placed a hand over her mouth and continued in a hushed tone. "Not that we think you'll make a fool of yourself. Just be yourself, I'm sure she'll love you!"
Krem looked torn between being rather touched by their support and wanting to crawl into a hole and die.
As the others urged Krem on in various fashions, that mischievous foot found Herah's legs again. The qunari fought down her growing embarrassment, the longer she had to gaze at Marian's leering while she toyed with her the more Herah thought she'd go insane. Fine, if that's how it's going to be, two can play at this game. The Inquisitor set her own smirk in place with a deep inhale and starting probing back under the table with her own foot. Marian raised a humoured brow at the response. Her self-satisfied smirk was almost unbearable now. Champion and Inquisitor continued their little game back and forth as fresh cards were dealt.
"Shall we take bets on who's first to show all?" Doran quipped, curling his moustache with casual grace. "My money's on our fake Warden here."
Blackwall took the jibe with a weary sigh and something of a smile. "Keep dreaming mage." He shot back.
"Alas, I will have to, until my curiosity is appeased." The Tevinter quipped as he perused his cards.
"Believe me. That will never happen." Blackwall snorted with a chuckle.
"Enough ladies." Bull interjected, "You're both pretty."
"I'm prettier." Dorian snorted indignantly.
"My money's on the Inquisitor." Bull barked out abruptly.
"Really?" Herah turned a quizzical gaze at her fellow qunari. She still had a good lead on half the table.
"Yeah, I know you're pretty good at reading people, Tiny," Varric echoed Herah's look of confusion, "but the Inquisitor is pretty damn good at this actually. She can be damn hard to read."
"That's because she stays quiet," Marian prodded her foot into Herah's knee as she smirked, "lets us all open up while she sizes us up for the kill."
"You have been awfully quiet all night dear Inquisitor. Come, tell us some saucy secret about your past for us to gawp over and make fun of." Dorian threw Herah a sparkling smile.
"I'm not sure that I can trust any of you after tonight." Herah chuckled, hiding her growing blush in her near empty flagon.
"All the better! What's more fun than divulging closely held secrets to untrustworthy types? That's the only reason we're all in the Inquisition after all." Dorian quipped.
"Yeah, come on Inquisitor. Tell us something from before you were Inquisitor." Krem joined in, happy to have the spotlight off him for a change.
"I wouldn't even know what to say." Herah feebly tried to back pedal out of the conversation. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy though.
"I know!" Marian leaned forward, eyes and teeth glinting evilly. "Your first kiss!"
Herah's scowl promised much retribution and pain to the Champion.
"Oh yes!" Josephine perked up, enthused. "Was it romantic? A childhood sweetheart perhaps?"
"No- well, it- it wasn't exactly …" Herah somehow blurted out, her cheeks on fire as her eyes found anything but Marian's. She wanted to just drop this line of inquiry and carry on with the game, but the cards had seemingly been forgotten at this point.
"Come on Inquisitor," Varric coaxed the qunari with a chuckle. "You know they'll never give up now they've got their hooks in."
"I'll tell you mine if it helps." Blackwall offered kindly, leaning back in his chair as he gazed off into nothing with a fond smile. "Let's see now. A girl I was sweet on from my home village. She had a face full of freckles and all frizzy hair. It was my coming of age at Summerday. We danced all day and then went to the barn." Chuckles and snickers rose around the table. "Didn't get that far." Blackwall protested with a chuckle. "She kissed me once on the lips, giggled, then she ran off."
"Aww." Josephine sighed with a wistful look in her eyes.
"Ah Blackwall," Dorian put a companionable hand on the would-be-Warden's shoulder. "Even then you were scaring the ladies away, how very little you've changed."
"Shut it mage." Blackwall shook his head but his lips hosted a humoured smile.
"That was so innocent it was practically out of a fairy-tale." Marian mused with her head nestled between her hands.
"Why not share yours Hawke?" Varric smirked, "Seeing as you brought it up."
The Champion met Varric's smirk and raised it. "Sure, it's not like the rest of my life is much of a secret now is it dwarf?" Said dwarf merely nodded with a contented smile before draining his flagon. "Well then, it was actually just a few months after I got into Kirkwall. My sister and I had to sell our services to the local smugglers just to get into the city."
"And it took months before they found anyone wanting Hawke's services." Varric quipped to laughter all around. He received a smack on the head from the Champion for his trouble.
"Watch it you. Anyway, I was working with a lass called Athenril, elven smuggler – By that I mean she was a smuggler who was an elf not an – Anyway, she had me and my sister working all the most dangerous jobs. I'm pretty certain she just wanted my sister's magic. I was just brought along as an extra pair of hands at first. I guess the more we did, the more Athenril took notice. Long story short, I may have become one of Athenril's most trusted agents. One night she called me to one of her hideouts, said she had something big lined up, nothing unusual I thought. When I get there though, it's just me and her. She stalked right up to me, telling me how well I'd done. I wasn't even sure what was going on at first. Until next thing I know, she practically had me pinned up against the wall with her tongue down my throat. The rest, well I think you can imagine." Marian's cheeks were more than a little red as she finished her story, smirking in satisfaction.
Krem let out a high pitched whistle, "Wow."
Marian nodded with a cheesy smile in reply.
"It didn't last of course. We had our fun, but I couldn't live the smuggler's life forever, and she could never get out of it. You'll be glad to hear I'm a responsible citizen now, Seeker." Marian leaned over the table as she called to Cassandra.
The Nevarran rolled her eyes with a small smile. "That's what they all say, Champion."
"I'm actually kind of surprised you hadn't managed it till Kirkwall. The City of Chains is hardly the city of romance after all." Varric chuckled. "Well, I guess it depends on the kind of romance you have in mind."
"I grew up in Lothering remember, it was even less to look at than Kirkwall, if you can believe that."
Varric looked shocked at that.
Marian nodded remorsefully. "There weren't many likeminded ladies at hand." Varric reached over and patted the Champion's shoulder solemnly. "Anyway, enough about me," Marian returned her smirk to Herah, "It's your turn now Inquisitor."
Herah breathed deeply, "Alright, I guess if we're all sharing. I spent most of my adult life before this in the Valo-Kas mercenaries. All the friends I'd ever had were other qunari, before now of course." She added with a warm smile, receiving a host of raised flagons and smiles in reply. "Well, for a long time I never held any kind of … attraction to any of them. They were like my family more than anything. But then somehow, I don't know really, it started to change with … with Asaara."
"Asaara?" Josephine asked, nonplussed.
"My mentor." Herah kept her gaze fixed on the dregs of ale sloshing around her flagon as the table gasped and laughed.
"Your teacher!" Bull exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "Nice one boss."
"Well don't stop there, what happened?" Dorian leaned in.
"Well, nothing at first," – A round of groans – "for a long while I just kept it to myself. Then one night, we just happened to be on watch together, well, I was. She just came to give me some company, I think. She started talking all this nonsense about relationships, saying that I needed to 'unwind' and 'relax', she was winding me up really. Then, I don't really know how it happened, but I just kissed her."
"There you have it ladies and gentlemen," Varric raised his flagon in tribute to Herah's deep blush, "The Inquisitor is just as hopeless a mortal as the rest of us."
"How'd your teacher react?" Krem pushed eagerly.
"She, uh, she pulled away." Herah grimaced at the memory. "Said she couldn't, and that was that I guess."
"Ah, sorry boss." Bull clapped Herah on the back kindly. She smiled in thanks.
"Things were awkward for a while, mostly my fault I guess." Herah continued, idly aware of Hawke's leg gently brushing hers in a steady rhythm. "I'm pretty sure I tried avoiding her for at least a week. But then she forced me to talk, and we just worked it out. She didn't shun me or make it difficult at least." Herah finished with a smile.
"A moderately happy ending, could have been a lot worse." Krem offered sincerely.
"Correction, Soldier Boy," Varric raised a finger with time honed experience, "A moderately happy beginning. Stories never end with an awkward, unrequited kiss." The dwarf turned his smile to the Inquisitor, "There's a lot more of your story yet to tell I'd wager."
"I'll drink to that." Marian raised her flagon with a hearty grin.
"Here, here!" Blackwall raised his with enthusiasm and the rest of the table echoed their sentiments. Herah was genuinely touched. She didn't know what to say.
"Right, enough soppiness." Varric grinned, reaching for the deck of cards once more, "back to strip Grace!"
"A man after my own heart." Dorian saluted the dwarf.
"Damn straight, I'm not leaving till I see more of the Inquisitor." Marian's eyes sparkled. The rest of the table seemed to take it as just a joke, but Herah had her doubts.
Varric dutifully played out the cards and the following rounds went without further incident, except when Krem and Bull got into another argument over Krem's shyness around Halewell. Herah had to intervene before Krem broke a chair over the qunari's head. As the night drew on into the early morning, the conversation slowly died down to a hum. Slowly, some of the players cut their losses and wandered out of the tavern.
"Alright, I guess we'd better think about hitting the hay ourselves." Varric yawned, no one offered much of an objection. "Good game everyone. We'll have to it again sometime, make it a tradition."
"I don't think so, dwarf." Cassandra shook her head with a yawn of her own before retiring for the night. The others made to mirror the Seeker.
"And I was just getting into it." Marian pouted theatrically. "Ah well, I guess we'll just have to settle this another time Horns, maybe in private." She winked playfully at Herah.
The qunari laughed, "I'm not sure I can trust you in private, Mari."
"Probably wise." Varric intoned dryly as he threw his shirt back on.
"Hey! You're supposed to back me up here." Marian scowled at the dwarf.
"Too tired."
Herah chuckled as she too redressed and made to leave. A calm, starry sky greeted her as she stepped into open air. The moon shone bright and high in the sky, nearly full. Shimmering plumes of red strolled about the battlements as the night watch made their rounds. The Inquisitor stretched her neck side to side, looking forward to falling into her four poster bed soon. All she had to do was climb the few hundred steps to her room. She sighed as she padded over towards the keep. She heard quick footsteps from behind made to catch up with hers.
"Hey, good game tonight." Marian chirped, still full of energy it seemed. "I'd say I won though."
"How so?" The qunari levelled a questioning eyebrow at the human, "I barely lost anything."
Marian winked playfully, "I meant our private game." She brushed her leg very deliberately along Herah's. The Inquisitor blushed immediately but managed to chuckle at least.
"You're ridiculous." She sighed with a humoured twitch to her lips.
"And yet, you're smiling." The Champion winked then walked away, smirk proudly affixed her lips. "Sweet dreams, Inquisitor."
"Goodnight." The qunari's gaze followed the human as she walked across the yard. Herah smiled to herself, breathing deep the night air. It had been good to relax, even if just for a little while. She allowed herself to savour the feeling of contentment.
Tomorrow, and all the troubles it would bring, could wait a little while longer.