Tales Untold Chapter 10, a dragon age fanfic

A Condensed History of Kirkwall as it pertains to the Champion and his Companions
Circa 9:32 to 9:35 Dragon

Compiled by Brother Genitivi, Chantry Scholar of Denerim

It should be noted that, while all care was taken in the compilation of this history, much of what is known of the Champion prior to the bestowing of that title is open to conjecture and wild speculation. That said, to the best of my knowledge, this is an accurate and correct account of the lives of the Champion and his companions in the years prior to what became known as 'the Qunari incident.'

Having fully embraced the lifestyle of a high-born noblewoman, Leandra Hawke arranged numerous introductions between her son and the eligible young ladies of Kirkwall, leading to much dismay on his part and much amusement on the part of Varric and Isabela. Upon observing the awkwardness of the proceedings, Merrill was heard to say, "I think it's awfully sweet of Hawke's mother to become involved in his love life like that."

Despite his mother's best efforts, Hawke stubbornly remained a bachelor though he was often observed in the company of Isabela, sometimes less than fully clothed. For her part, Isabela fell into a habit of jumping Hawke in The Hanged Man at least once a week, ravishing him all night before unceremoniously ejecting him from her room at dawn. After one particularly vocal session, Hawke was heard to enquire of her, "Why must you always kick me out of your bed like that? Is it so much to ask to just snuggle for a bit?"

"I don't 'snuggle', sweet thing," was the sailor's alleged response.

In an effort to mark the occasion of Bethany's twenty-first birthday, Isabela attempted to sneak a number of whores from the Blooming Rose into the Gallows, including though not limited to Jethan and Idunna The Exotic Wonder of The East. Isabela and the assembled ladies and gentleman of the night were apprehended by Knight-Captain Cullen and turned over to Guard-Captain Aveline. It is said that Jethan, in an effort to escape arrest, offered the Knight-Captain the 'Antivan lunch special.' The Knight-Captain flatly refused this offer, much to Jethan's disappointment.

Guard-Captain Aveline's response to Isabela's latest outrage cannot be repeated in polite company though it can be revealed that the Guard-Captain was heard to say the words 'shut up' and 'whore' no fewer than twenty-three times in the space of a half-hour. Taking advantage of the confusion at the Gallows following the arrest, Anders managed to sneak himself into Bethany's cell. A fine time was enjoyed by all.

Bethany Hawke's time in the Gallows was productive – following her Harrowing, she assisted several senior enchanters with various research endeavours, often providing unique viewpoints thanks to her upbringing outside the Circle. One particular senior enchanter, Tobias, enlisted the young woman's aid in the hopes of perfecting a formula to which he had dedicated fifteen years of his life. When asked of the specifics of this formula, Tobias is reported to have said, "I'm attempting to distil a substance that should, Maker willing, fully and completely eliminate the odour of chamber pots."

After examining the copious reams of parchment Tobias had amassed over the years, Bethany suggested a simple alteration to the formula. "Add rosewater."

This distillation, Tobias' Chamber pot Freshening Formula proved exceedingly popular throughout Kirkwall and to this day, no home is without at least one vial. Unfortunately, Tobias was not a wise investor and promptly lost most of his profits buying into Gamlen Amell's latest qunari cheese business. Some say Bethany is still awaiting her share of the profits.

Taking note of Bethany's progress in the Circle, First Enchanter Orsino promoted her to Senior Enchanter, placing her in charge of mentoring the Circle's younger apprentices. When asked how best to deal with templars, her response was always the same, "Just smile and nod. Smile and nod."

Anders continued operating the hospice in Darktown though he often found time to write love letters to Bethany. In the space of a single year, Anders delivered thirteen children, treated dozens of cases of 'a rash down there,' set numerous broken bones, treated several cases of 'random shanking,' all whilst working on his manifesto. In the summer of 9:32 Dragon, Anders and the escaped elven slave Fenris became involved in a heated argument over the use of magic. Bereft of Bethany's stabilising influence, the argument soon escalated into a brawl, resulting in extensive property damage to The Hanged Man.

The cost of replacing the damaged and destroyed furnishings amounted to the sum of three sovereigns, fifteen silvers and three bits, rounded up. The city guard arrested Fenris and Anders, charging them both with a range of offences including affray, assault with a deadly weapon (a bar stool), destruction of property and mental anguish to Corff the bartender. "That elf's tattoos were glowing bright blue, so they were! I thought he was going explode or something! I feared for my life, so I did."

The case was brought before magistrate Herschel Seward who, acting on behalf of Viscount Dumar, imposed a fine of ten gold sovereigns plus damages to both parties and a custodial sentence of one month in the dungeons. Fenris was heard to opine, "At least this cell is more comfortable than my old quarters in Tevinter."

Upon his release, Fenris sold a number of trinkets from Danarius' estate to an antiquities dealer hailing from Llommerryn and used the coin to settle his debts. Anders attempted to publish and sell his manifesto, having convinced himself that everyone in Kirkwall was eager to hear the plight of mages and his struggle against the templars. A dejected Anders sold a single copy of his manifesto to an illiterate elf from the alienage who used the pages to wipe himself after visiting the privy.

Desperate to raise the funds and clear his debt, Anders turned to a Carta usurer. Upon realising owing coin to the Carta was far far worse than owing coin to the Viscount, Anders enlisted a reluctant Isabela to 'have a polite chat' with the usurer. The usurer's body was never found.

In the latter months of 9:34 Dragon, an elf closely fitting the physical description of the Hero of Ferelden arrived in Kirkwall. Shortly thereafter, corpses of known criminals were found throughout the city. In an alarming twist to the slayings, the bodies' tongues were cut out and stuck firmly to icy lamp posts with the following cryptic message pinned to the bodies, Have you ever licked a lamp post in winter? Though the exact nature of the messages remains a mystery, speculation abounds. The slayings also prompted an alarming number of youngsters, generally boys to lick frozen lamp posts, resulting in painful injuries to lips and tongues.

Viscount Dumar ordered an investigation into the killings but it generated few leads and no arrests were made. The consensus among the common folk was, Hero or not, whoever was behind the deaths was performing a service long overdue and, since many of the criminals had ties to slaver rings, their deaths were considered 'no great loss.'

With the coming of spring and the winter melt, the killings ended as abruptly as the began and Kirkwall's criminal element breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Following Bartrand's theft of the lyrium idol and subsequent departure from Kirkwall, Varric assumed his brother's place as the head of Tethras family though he attended merchants' guild meetings as seldom as possible. As always, Varric's seemingly limitless supply of cousins, aunts and uncles handled the financial side of his various business ventures, much to the frustration of the Viscount's tax collectors. "Why can't you just pay what you owe, Varric?" Aveline asked of the dwarf on more than one occasion.

"I owe nothing, Captain. You should really speak to my cousins, they're the ones holding the purse strings."

An amount of gold equalling the Bone Pit's annual profits was gambled, won, lost and won again many times over in countless games of wicked grace. A frantic Hubert called upon his partner on many occasions throughout the three years, requiring assistance with all manner of problems besetting the mine including but not limited to giant spider attacks, bandits preying on wagons supplying the mine, undead crawling from shallow graves and feasting on the brains of the miners and the miners pocketing the raw gold for themselves.

"I cannot believe this! Why do they steal from me?" An exasperated Hubert demanded.

"Well, I find paying people what they're worth is a good start. And perhaps you should rethink your policy regarding the cat 'o' nine tails."

"But how am I to motivate these lazy Fereldens without some means of persuasion?"

Gamlen Amell continued squandering what little coin he possessed either on questionable investment opportunities or at the Blooming Rose. "Am I not entitled to some enjoyment in my twilight years?" he demanded of Leandra when she drew attention to his visits to the brothel. Leandra said nothing and Gamlen's penchant for young brunettes and redheads continued unimpeded. One girl in particular was especially grateful for Gamlen's regular visits. "He's paying to keep my babe fed and clothed, so he is."

Firmly settled into her role as captain of the guard, Aveline worked tirelessly to restore honour to the guardsmen and expunge Jeven's corruption. Under her careful guidance, the men and women in her charge became bastions of law and order, respected throughout the city. Though she no longer carried his shield, preferring to give it a place of honour in the keep, Aveline kept the memory of Wesley alive and it sustained her throughout her time in Kirkwall. Over the years, Aveline allowed herself to form an unlikely bond with Isabela though the former ship captain seemed to take great delight in seeing just how far she could push the Guard-Captain and many credit Hawke as the catalyst for the friendship and for keeping them from killing each other.

During her time in Kirkwall, Merrill learned to find her way around the city's environs without the assistance of Varric's ball of twine, much to the relief of harried merchants among whose wares the twine often became tangled. As the years rolled by, the young dalish elf spent more of her time locked in her small home, attempting to fully restore the eluvian, often driving Bethany to distraction as she asked the Circle mage to lend her various tomes from the Gallows library in the hopes they would provide some solution.

Bethany attempted to explain that she couldn't simply hand out the books to whomever asked.

"Why ever not?" Merrill enquired, "Is not the purpose of a library full of books to be read?"

Merrill had a way about her, Bethany confided in her brother and it was impossible to stay angry at her for long. In the end, the two mages reached a compromise – Bethany agreed to remain vigilant for any texts regarding dalish magic and rituals, passing along copied parchments of whatever she found. Though Merrill never found quite what she was seeking, she did find a ward especially attuned to rodents, forcing them away from her house. In the spring of 9:33 Dragon, residents of the alienage observed a veritable tide of rats and mice fleeing the area, much to the dismay of the local feral cat population.

In all, the three years following the ill-fated deep roads expedition was an oft-exciting time for Hawke and his companions, prompting Varric to ask, "How is it that one man can have so many things occur around them at once?"

"I guess I'm just that lucky, Varric," Hawke replied. "And besides, think of all the inspiration for tall tales I provide."

"I'll drink to that, Hawke."