Deep in the Dwarven kingdom of Ozammar, in the slums of Dust City where the Casteless live, Rica Brosca and her younger sister, Natia, were visited by their employer, Beraht, a merchant and the leader of the Carta, the most powerful crime syndicate in Orzammar. Inside their house, their mother was nursing a hangover.
Rica had become a noble hunter with Beraht serving as her patron, who had her trained and groomed to be attractive to noblemen. Noble hunters were mostly casteless women who wanted to elevate in society by seducing a man in a higher caste and having his children. The woman would then be taken into the man's household to become his concubine, with her immediate family. The patron would claim to be the woman's uncle in order to be allowed into the household too.
Natia, on the other hand, handled Beraht's dirty work as a thug. She didn't take any pleasure from hurting anyone, but knew she had no other choice to survive in Dust Town, which was the same for many of the Carta's muscle.
Due to their mother's alcoholism, Rica had to become a mother figure to her little sister.
Beraht began to berate Rica for not securing a noble yet only for Rica to reveal that she had snagged a noble: Prince Bhelen.
Pleasantly surprised, Beraht softened his tone, told Natia to meet with her friend, Leske, for a job, and left.
Rica had a conversation with her sister about: hopes for the future if her relationship with the prince goes well and of the foolishness of the nobles to deny the casteless the chance to join the army and help fight the darkspawn.
After leaving her house, Natia met up with Leske, who told her what they needed to do: deal with a smuggler named Oskias who had been cheating Beraht and who can be found at Tapsters Tavern.
When they reached the tavern, the bartender tried to deny them entrance due to them being casteless, but backed down once they worked for Beraht, before pointing Oskias out to them.
They went over to Oskias' table, where he confessed to stealing lyrium for himself. He panicked, thinking they were about to murder him, calling for the bartender to bring the guards, only for the bartender to walk out.
Oskias jumped out of his seat and began to draw his sword only for Natia and Leske to stab him to death.
The duo then looted the smuggler's corpse and found two nuggets of lyrium. Murder wasn't something they enjoyed. But a job was a job…
They made their way to Beraht's shop, where the Carta leader was talking with his lieutenant, Jarvia, and his cousin, Karshol.
The topic was the coming conflict of succession between the three princes. It was known throughout Orzammar that King Endrin wasn't going to last much longer.
But then, there was the matter of which prince to support. The eldest, Prince Trian, was well known for his hostile personality, so he could prove harmful to their interests. The middle brother, Prince Duran, was too much of a wild card for Beraht to count on. But, the youngest, Prince Bhelen, Beraht was convinced, due to his relationship with Rica, would help him.
Natia and Leske gave both nuggets of lyrium to Beraht, who thanked them for a job well done, before going on their way.