There was something off about Varric and his latest concubine. Bianca knew exactly what it was if she was smelling what she thought she was smelling. She just had never experienced it at that volume, let alone in that concentrated dose. There was something earthy - no stone like in the air or maybe… yes, it smelled like lyrium. But what would Varric or his new trollop want with lyrium? And why would they be using it during those activities?
She squinted at Lena who was chattering away. She didn't pay much attention with her small talk, though she did catch a few words about what had happened. Something about a lyrium explosion? Her brows rose and she looked to Varric for clarification but what she saw shocked her.
A look he normally and almost always reserved for her and her alone was being directed at this slattern, his new piece of the week. It was a look that expressed his wanting wistful nature of what could have been or what could be, if he could only think of the write words.
Varric had never been a loyal man. Even when they were together in their youth, he had his affairs. She didn't much care because he always came back to her, pleading for forgiveness. If it weren't for that mouth and tongue of his, she would have left him much sooner.
It took her father introducing her to her betrothed, Bogdan. Vasca was a smart smith, knew he could never be on par with Bianca's creativity but he supported her when he could and was a good bouncing board for her ideas but he never had an original thought of his own. Needless to say, she desired someone a little more developed intellectually - scholarly, which was Varric. Only he hadn't contacted her for a decade.
But then he did, something about a crossbow modification he thought she would be able to help with. At first she thought it was a ploy, but she had just solidified a patent for her seed drill and had a mind for something to help grain mills. She just needed the the right person to help her think it through, the mechanism and gears; how to frame it and how it would work. Bianca hadn't even thought he'd ever do so since she did not follow through with their plan to elope and instead agreed to marry Bogdan - as per her father's request. And then came a second letter from Varric saying he was told she would be the only one to help him with this crossbow. He sent her the blueprint ideas and well, she became very curious.
The sparks between them were reignited and she fell into bed with him like a bad habit. A bad habit that worked. Their pillow talk turned to her new ideas and he offered the right words and like a writer, like a storyteller, he helped her think of the spinning frame. It'd be perfect.
"I actually had some thoughts about the designs of your cistern." She interrupted Lena, annoyed as she turned from Varric. It was unusual seeing him looking at anyone like that and there was a butter twinge when she saw him direct it at Lena.
"Oh?" Lena perked up, her wide large eyes turned on her. "I've actually been meaning to come find you to discuss that, but I've been a little preoccupied." Lena sent a withering glare at Varric, who snorted. "What specifically?"
"We need to go over the contract of you commissioning me and then what materials you think we might need." Bianca went straight to business and thankfully, Lena did too. The playfulness in her eyes faded as she got to thinking.
"I've a couple ideas. Well there's the inlet valve and then the piston. It can't be too dense of a material it needs to be able to open with the-" she trailed off, her fingers itching. "I have. Hold on." Lena held up a hand and nearly tripped on the dress she wore. "Stupid dress." She hiked it up and went to her bags. Bianca's brows rose as she recalled the odd glass faced stone tablet.
"Surely this can wait until Lena has recovered a bit more from her ordeal?" Varric stepped up.
"She looks well enough."
"I am recovered."
They both chimed, Lena with a well placed glare at Varric and Bianca with an eye roll.
"Hmm. Do you have someplace where we can work on this?" Lena asked. "It'd be much more conducive if I could work on this in a workshop and not a tavern - especially in Varric's room."
Bianca squinted, she did have her workshop but to bring Lena there. She cast a sideways glance at Varric who frowned. He wasn't allowed anywhere near her workshop, her father would find out and then the assassins would start up again. He sent a pleading look, asking her not to but she snorted and smirked. "I do."
"Holy smokes!" Lena exclaimed as she took in the large workshop Bianca was working in on the Docks of Kirkwall toward Darktown. It was a large wooden structure with a flurry of activity. Bianca led Lena toward it and behind her was a disguised Varric.
"I'm surprised you haven't seen or heard of it before." Bianca quipped. Watching as Lena approached one of her smiths who was assembling a seed drill diligently. They had orders for them all across the Marches and we starting to get a steady influx of orders from farms in Nevarra. It was slowly becoming a standard across Nevarra like it had in the Marches. She even had some contacts in Antiva that were looking into buying the machinery.
"I likely have but at it's off hours?" Lena stared amazed. "I usually only ever ventured out of the Rose in the late day." Lena muttered, brows stitched together as she parts were assembled. Bianca lingered by her, ready to ask questions like most would. Her back straightening, hands steepled behind her. Everyone she's ever brought to the workshop had questions. Even the best smiths, peppered her with questions on how she got the idea for the seed drills.
Lena didn't, in fact she turned away from the assembly and looked to Bianca expectantly.
"You don't have any questions?"
"Nah. If I ask for something to be explained, I'm sure the technical aspects will go right over my head." Lena shrugged, conceding. "Plus, it doesn't look too terribly complex because your workers are really confident. They are making it all look like it's easy to put together, like a puzzle. You know?"
No, she didn't, and that confused Bianca. "I see. Well, this isn't the extent of my workshop, actually this one is just a temporary one as I have one under construction in Orlais." She walked through the main floor, checking to make sure Lena and Varric were following. The parts for the seed drill were assembled here, but the forges were down below. Only a few smiths she trusted worked there.
"Messere Davri, we're encountering problems with the feed drives." One of her smiths, Voran, approached her.
"Give me one moment." Bianca directed Lena toward her office. "Wait in there." She went to say something else but Lena had already disappeared behind the door with Varric in tow. She worried what state she'd find the office when she returned but if the feed drives were having issues then the distribution would be off - which it might influence the depth - she had to go check on it.
Lena stepped into the office, Varric hovering close behind her whilst hooded. He hadn't wanted her to come alone, or perhaps he didn't want to her to leave his side - so he had donned a disguise, though with Bianca the crossbow at his back it would be pretty hard not to figure out who he is. Though for her it was obvious, maybe not so much for the residents of Kirkwall.
"You know I can handle myself." She quipped at him.
"I'm aware." His hand slid to her waist, but she stepped away, examining the bookshelves and drawings on the multitude of tables and desks in Bianca's office. It was all very rustic but there was also a forge toward the back of the office. Lena had never worked at a forge in her entire life so she gravitated toward it, even if she was doing so to keep the distance between Varric and her. All the way here, he had hovered, fingers teasing her sides and the wanton look in his gaze was entirely too tempting. But she persevered, she needed to take her mind off things.
While sex was good, it would only work for so long. The nightmares persisted, or well the bad shapings persisted. It was mind boggling that dwarva dreamed, but it made sense. Most Thedosians had a connection to the fade, and everything associated with dreaming happened in the fade. Dwarva did not have a connection to the fade and so dreaming for them occurred in their heads alone. Perhaps maybe they had called it the same thing, but Ancient Dwarven wasn't exactly kicking as a language.
"Sorry about that." Bianca sighed as she shed her jacket, walking in stiff and gruff. "This cistern, what sorts of materials, you'll be the patent holder but you have ideas about the materials."
"Have you ever heard of rubber?"
"Rubber?" Bianca leveled her with a glare.
"You know it's a sap from a tree-"
"I'm well aware of what it is. You want to use rubber?"
"Yes for the float ball and piston. For the float ball it'd have to be a thinner, vulcanized obviously."
Bianca's mind stuttered and she blinked. "Vulcanized?"
"Oh… crud. You don't know what that is?"
"No. I'm more shocked you know what that is."
"Why?"
"You said you're a businesswoman, not an alchemist." Bianca sent her an incredulous look. "Vulcanization has only just been discovered by an Antivan alchemist to for cure rubber. That is a new process not many outside of certain guilds would know about."
Lena gave Bianca a long, calculating stare as she weighed her words. "Right...well um. I know people, know things. I do a lot of reading - er experimenting." She tried with a hopeful smile. "My mother was a chemist - er an alchemist. You learn a thing or two second hand."
She didn't believe her, not entirely - yet she would be remiss to not be intrigued her knowledge.
"For the layman here, what is vulcanization?" Varric asked, piping up from the perch he'd taken, his book and charcoal pen out. Both Lena and Bianca rolled their eyes. Bianca wasn't going to bother but Lena seemed up to the challenge after a long suffering sigh.
"Vulcanization is the process in which you harden rubber, typically natural rubber which is a sap from the Para tree. Anyway you harden it by treating it with sulphur at high temperatures, different degrees and different amounts of sulphur will produce varying stiffness of rubber."
"The tree is only found in Par Vollen and Seheron, so naturally it's an expensive export." Bianca spoke. "It would be difficult to get large quantities. I'm not entirely sure it'd be worth it, cost effectiveness might hinder development especially at this early of a stage. Is there any other material you'd consider."
"You wouldn't necessarily need to export the sap. Purchase a few seeds if you can. Its not like the Qun will know why we want it." Lena squinted up. "Hmmm."
"And what?" Bianca was intrigued.
"You'd need to farm it in a similar environment. Presumably in a tropical location, assuming you have the land for it in the north. Likely Tevinter along the coast or-"
"Rivain!" Bianca snapped her fingers. "Varric does not your family have a plantation in Rivain?"
Varric had been mid turning a page whilst jotting notes or perhaps even transcribing the conversation, when both women looked to him expectantly. "Why are you looking at me?"
"You want your little mouse to succeed, don't you?" Bianca spoke, arranging the parchments onto the table, plans, schematics, order forms, requisitions, and a missive or two amongst the pile.
"I am not his mouse." Lena gasped in offense. "And I don't even resemble a mouse either!" She squeaked. Her cheeks flushed, embarrassed at the high pitch tone her voice took and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Both Bianca and Varric looked to each other with knowing teasing twinkles in their eyes.
"You just squeaked." Varric added with a grin.
"Have you seen your hair?" Bianca pointed out.
Lena opened her mouth to protest.
"You scurry."
"You nibble on cheese."
"HEY!" Lena protested.
"You've got dark eyes."
"You're quite round." Bianca laughed openly, enjoying making fun of her. She did give credit to Varric, he tried to keep it together before each indignant look Lena had made him snort until he was howling with laughter.
"You-you've been haha been hiding away."
"I have not!" She stomped her foot, glowering, cheeks burning red. Bianca snickered and then froze upon seeing a white spider climb out of Lena's hair. Her mouth snapped shut. She looked to Lena to warn her but she was flabbergasted upon seeing her eyes flash lyrium blue, contrasting greatly with the natural gold flecks. Sobering, she noted Varric hadn't noticed.
"Alright, I think that's enough." She tried to move them on from the teasing, if only to get this out of the way. The toiletry and plumbing ideas she had were certainly worthwhile especially with the long term possibilities and profit. But now she was intrigued by what else Lena had hidden away in her head and yet simultaneous unnerved by her current appearance. "How else would you use the hardened rubber then?" She wanted to pick Lena's brain, see what other ideas she might spew out - especially if she was up in the know of recent progresses in alchemy and smithing.
"Well… " Lena's eyes faded back to normal, but she sent an additional glare toward Tethras. "I've a few ideas, especially with those seed drills out there."
"What use would hardened rubber have with my seed drills?"
"Exactly how stable are wooden or even metal wheels? With hardened rubber you could make an air filled fitting over the outer part of the wheel, that grips the terrain and has buoyancy, so less of a chance it will break with a high resistance to abrasions and shock absorption."
"How do you know hardened rubber will do that?"
"I've got a little experience with lots of hardened things." Her leer toward Varric made Bianca bristle until Varric sent a snicker her way. Huffing, Bianca rolled her eyes. She could handle the occasional joke like this, if it means getting as much information from her, especially with the way she considered new advances in smithing.
"The tire is -"
"Sorry tire?"
"That'd be the name for the outer shell of the wheel. It'd be filled with air, pressurized air to increase buoyancy and then add in a suspension system with linkages, shock absorbers with springs. Now that's something, do you even know what a spring is?"
"Do I know what a spring is?" She spoke slowly, offense and anger dripping from each word. Was she seriously asking her that? Bianca sincerely hoped not. "How do you think I've got that crossbow working in the first place?"
"Oh!" Lena brightened up, sending a smile her way. "Yes. Well these would need to be much larger, heavier, and thicker." Lena continued on. Bianca expected another snicker, eyebrow raise or perhaps even a leer but Selena seemed to be much more serious now. Varric chuckled.
Both women looked to him, then at each other. Silent agreement and exasperation at him passed between them.
Bianca liked her. She at least knew when to get serious. Ignoring Varric, Bianca stepped to her and pushed a parchment across to her with a quill and ink pot, she dragged a stool over as well. "It helps to write it out."
Lena grabbed the parchment but instead she pulled a strange metallic stick that she clicked the end of and began writing effortlessly without any ink. Bianca's mouth dropped open at the thin trails of ink as Lena hurriedly drew a basic idea with words and references. "I don't have the exact measurements but it'd be a good starting place, in theory. But you could probably create seed drills twice the size of the ones being assembled if you're going to do all this to get the rubber. Take it as payment for indulging me?"
"Larger?" Bianca gasped. With larger, even twice the size of her current model would revolutionize farming in ways she hadn't even considered.
"Well I mean yeah. You made the seed drill to make agriculture efficient, you've got a good start but if you really want to lower the cost of food, you've got to think bigger.." She pushed the parchment across to Bianca. The drawing was rough and her penmanship could certainly use improvement but the design itself was incredibly. She hadn't even considered. "Where did you learn about this?"
"Eeehh.." Lena trailed off, shifting. "I told you, I do a lot of reading and thinking when I'm on my back." She waggled her brows toward the end. Bianca ignored it. Bianca looked at the drawing again and frowned.
"These, what are they?" She pointed to the symbols just before the name of each part.
"That. oh those are just my guesstimates of the rough measurements. I'm by no means an expert. But it's where you can start with the mechanics of it all. I'm probably horribly wrong in that respect."
"These are numbers?" Bianca blinked at her and squinted at the parchment again. "They do not resemble any sort of numbers I've seen. What is this supposed to be?"
"Wait serious?" Lena gaped, paling. "Um well that's supposed to be two feet."
"Two? That symbol is meant to represent a two? Where did you learn this?"
"Ehhhh." Lena now looked away, her hand scratching the back of her head. "I… oh boy. Sorry it's my own personal numerals system." She pulled the parchment back and quickly jotted down ten similar swirling symbols but each distinct and different. She went over what each number represented and how she used them to represent long strings of numbers with commas, and decimals to represent fractions. Varric had ventured forward to gander as well.
They spent much of the day going over numbers that Bianca had nearly all forgotten about the cistern, leaving only once to check again on production, at which point Varric had also slipped out if only because Lena told him to as she was in capable hands. Voran brought Bianca and Lena lunch and then dinner again later.
"Goodness it's gotten late." Selena said as she stifled a yawn.
"It has. Ah, we should end for the day, I suppose." Bianca tapped her quill, eying the quill Lena had been using. "Although I am curious about your quill."
"This? Oh this is a...oh shit. Yeah this is a ballpoint pen. It's a prototype my...my father made."
"Your father was a smith?"
"Er, No we were uh, we were in the artisan caste but once exiled my mother went into alchemy and my father became a smith."
"They didn't want to stay in the artisan caste?"
"Not really. They weren't exactly Kalnas. They firmly believed in making your own way." Lena explained.
"I see." Bianca frowned. "What exactly does the pen do?"
The candles were low by the time they finished discussing yet another schematic, where in Lena drew a schematic for the pen she used.
"And the ink? How does it dry so fast?"
"That, I don't know. It's a fast drying ink and I wouldn't have any know-how to recreate it." Lena muttered. "I may know some things about alchemy but not all. My parents may have went against their caste but I stuck to it. I'm an artisan myself, numbers, banking, keeping the books, that's what I do. Occasionally I branch out into other facets, like plumbing!"
"I can see that." Bianca mused as she collected parchment after parchment into a book and set them away whilst Lena rolled up schematics and tied them off with strips of leather and twine she kept for just the occasion. "Perhaps tomorrow we can further discuss the cistern, we never quite finished that discussion."
"Tomorrow?" Selena's eyes went wide. "I'm allowed back?"
"Of course, we're business partners now."
"I would like that." Lena's cheeks reddened as she shuffled out the door. "I- thanks."
Bianca's breath halted at the warm friendly and entirely innocently hopeful look Lena had. With a nervous cough, she looked away the unusual pull inside her. "You're welcome." She whispered as Lena walked out of the office, Bianca could not help but track the movements of her hips and she felt shame burn at her own cheeks. This was a woman. How? She shook her head and followed after her.
Outside, Lena was staring out across the docks toward the Gallows unaware as a dark hooded figure came out of the shadows. Bianca was just bidding Voran and her other workers goodnight when she saw them. Her hand at her waist to pull a dagger out, to throw when the hood was pulled back and a familiar blonde ponytail had her halt.
"I was beginning to suspect, Bianca had stolen you away." Varric spoke in low tones. Bianca glared at him, a hint of jealousy rearing.
"Pretty sure she's stolen me for tomorrow." Selena grinned, proud. "I'm invited back!"
"Did she now?" Varric's gaze pinned Bianca but she wasn't swayed nor backed down.
"We have much work to do on her commissions." Bianca explained simply.
"Hmm." Varric squinted at her.
"I shall take my leave then. Have a good evening. Selena. Varric."
Lena watched Bianca walk off, her jacket swishing behind her as she climbed the stairs that would lead her up toward Hightown.
"I'm assuming you had fun."
"Loads." She yawned again, feeling fatigued and hungry. "What did you get up to?"
"Just did my rounds. Been neglecting my own duties." Varric mumbled as he held his arm out to Lena. "To the Hanged Man, little mouse." He cocked a vexing grin at her. Harrumphing she stomped off ahead of him. "Aw come on, darling."
"Arsehole." She spat behind her but made her way to the Hanged Man quickly. "Honestly, I don't even resemble a mouse. Mice are disgusting foul creatures. They are repugnant and filthy."
"You say this as though a spider isn't nesting in your hair."
"Dopey is adorable. And you haven't even met Happy, so watch yourself." Lena seethed as Varric caught up.
"Who is happy?" Varric didn't want to know but he was immensely curious, especially as he continued his work on his latest novel.
"Happy is my much larger spider. Bigger than Dopey." She added. "Ya know what, I think it's time you met him." Selena's lips quirked up as she by passed the Hanged Man and headed toward the Alienage.
"Lena." He warned, sending surreptitious looks at loitering figures. "Lena we should head back to the Hanged Man."
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're scared of spiders! Besides, Happy is harmless. It's why he's at the alienage, he's made a few friends there so he mostly hangs out there. Merry is one of them." She turned into the Alienage and eyed the tree. In the few times she was able to escape Varric's exploring touches and skilled tongue, she went searching for Happy and found he liked it in the Alienage. Apparently the elves liked him too because people, specifically humans who wanted to harm them were afraid of him.
"Selena." Varric hissed below his breath but Lena didn't hear him. He swore and got into position.
"Happy?" She tapped the beat she had used the first time she'd met the spider. The Alienage was surprisingly empty even if it was after dark, there were always at least some kind of central bonfire they had. "I wonder why it's so quiet. Varric?" She turned to find Varric notbehind her like she'd have guessed but instead she saw four tall figures. Tall for her because they were human and were leering down at her. "Uh...hello?"
"Madame Lena, is it?" One of them drawled as they stepped forward.
"Yes?" She answered, body stiff and entirely aware she was outnumbered especially as they nearly surrounded her.
"Viveka's got a message for you."
"Viveka?" Lena squinted, anger boiling at the name. This better not be a revenge for her becoming her superior. "Well then, out with it. What has she got to say?"
One of the humans slipped a dagger out and the other cracked his knuckles, meant to intimidate.
Fear spiked up her spine as she edged backward but she had strayed too close to the tree. "How much is she paying you?"
"S'not about the coin."
"It's about principal."
"This will hurt just a tad."
Lena was stock still as they stepped to her. Her breath heaving and she made to grab her own daggers but she'd left them at the Hanged Man. She'd left them because she'd been trying to escape Varric, Varric who wasn't even there to protect her. She cursed her foolishness. She shouldn't have relied on him.
She didn't flinch even when the dagger flashed high above her, but she did close her eyes. She waited for the impact, only it didn't come. But something scurried in her hair, and she worried Dopey had taken the brunt of it but then there was a sharp scream.
"IT SPIT AT ME!" He screamed and then it turned into a stomach curdling scream as he was wracked in pain. There was a faint sizzling quickly followed by smell of burning flesh. Lena peeked only to see three of humans backing up, the other writhing on the ground.
"Maker, what is that?" Another pointed up above her. She shouldn't have looked but she nearly lost the tea she'd had when she saw the man's face corrode and melt off, revealing bone and muscles. His body twitched.
A dark shadow above her and the sound of a high pitched shriek, followed by a whizzing bolt in the air. Lena watched as Happy, a much larger Happy tackled one of the humans that had been about to injure or possibly maim her. His fangs sinking into the human to paralyze him.
"Happy!" She called but that distracted the large spider and was nearly slashed by a dagger. Another hissing sounded as something was spat out of her hair and at the human and another bolt whizzed at him as well and the human went down. Lena gasped and then ran to the large spider.
"Lena!" Varric's voice called from atop a pile of boxes, warning her. "Get away I've got-" Lena ignored him, in favor of stooping down to check on Happy. Her fingers scratched at his sides as he shook and chittered, pedipalps raising up and down excitedly.
"Happy! Are you okay? Oh god, did that bad man get you?" She worried over the spider that was now nearly five feet in width and length. He was getting big. She blamed the increase in food. She could see his exo skeleton was fresh, likely he'd molted recently but he was still recognizable. Happy purred and rubbed against her, seeking her fingers.
"Selena?!" Varric gawked at her as she knelt in front of a giant carnivorous spider, petting it as though it were a mabari.
"Varric! Where did you go! They nearly got Happy!" She glared at him. "It's okay, you're safe." She stuck her hand in her hair. "Dopey and you did a fantastic job of protecting me." She cooed and rubbed the spider perched in her hair. She was a little worried. She hadn't known Dopey was an acid spitting spider. That certainly changed things.
"And what about me?"
"You left my side! They stuck by me." Lena huffed.
"Oh come on! That's a giant spider!"
"A giant spider who cares enough to swoop in to help me."
"I shot-" Varric breathed sharply and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm competing with a monstrous spider."
"He's not a monster!" She gasped whilst petting Dopey, who cooed and purred as well. "He's adorable! And my hero!"
Rubber has so many uses that we don't even think about. Rubber or latex from the Para Tree has MANY uses. More on rubber in future chapters. Also don't hate on Bianca. I headcanon that Bianca is sapiosexual -slow grin-
debatable-cerealkiller: Yeah there's a lot more to the lyrium than just that but if I reveal too much it'd be huge spoilers. I'm only updating so often while I have the time so it won't always be this quick. Thank you for the comment!
I always appreciate the feedback! Thanks guys!
