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Marian entered the Hanged Man and found Varric telling the story to a crowd of people and apparently, she was the main character. "…and then Hawke tore the door clean off its hinges, walked into the room and…" He stopped when he saw Marian. "I guess we'll finish this later."
"Have you got a minute, Varric?" Marian asked as the crowd of people dispelled.
"Of course, Marian." They then wandered over towards the table and sat down. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you. People say that Wanda and that elf-you know, the angsty Tevinter one-are becoming quite the item." Marian groaned. Apparently, rumors spread quickly in Kirkwall. "So, what's going on, Marian?"
"I know you mean well. And Wanda is a grown woman, she can take care of herself. I'll look after her." Marian said. "If Fenris does something to her, I'll make sure he's not going to walk away with it."
"Glad to know I'm not the only one worried about her. Wanda is… from what I've heard, the last thing she needs is a broken heart." Varric said as Marian nodded.
"Marian Hawke. The new scion of the Amell family… Congratulations." Cullen greeted her when she entered the Gallows. To her surprise, the knight-captain smiled fondly. "I knew an Amell once. He left the tower before Uldred's insanity, then came back to rescue was all." He stared off into the distance for a moment. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"Is Emeric around?" Marian asked.
Cullen nodded. "He was over by the Formari a few minutes ago."
"Thank you." Marian bowed.
"Maker watch over you." Cullen replied before going back to his duties.
"Hello, Emeric. Aveline says you need my help again?" Marian asked as she noticed him entering the courtyard.
Emeric nodded and gestured for Marian to follow, and led him to a relatively empty section of courtyard. "I've spent the past few years continuing my investigation into the murders of Ninette, Mharen, and the other women. I believe I finally have a suspect, a man called Gascard DuPuis."
"Is this man and hiding? Am I to find him for you?"
Emeric shook his head. "No, I know where DuPuis is. I just can't get to him. When I became convinced of his guilt, I went to the city guard and demanded that they do something."
Aveline folded her arms defensively. "My men raided that house. There was nothing, and I've heard no end because of it. You were reprimanded, I hope."
Emeric returned her stare, then turned his attention back to Marian. "Meredith forbade me from continuing my investigation. But she didn't say I couldn't seek outside help."
Marian sighed before asking Emeric what had he found so far, while in between she had to intervene in the argument between the templar and Aveline. They managed to get a bit more information than 'he's an Orlesian noble' to indicate guilt. Not that 'Orlesian noble' was not a fairly good indicator on its own that this DuPuis was up to something nefarious. Or possibly even dastardly.
"What you need me to do?" Marian asked.
"I knew I can count on you." Emeric looked grateful. "You'll need to go to Gascard DuPuis's estate after nightfall. Please, figure out what DuPuis is hiding. If he's innocent, find evidence to prove me wrong." He folded his arms. "It's just that simple."
Something was telling Marian that it was not going to be as simple as Emeric was making it out to be and as it turned out later, her feeling was correct.
The moment they stepped into Gascard's house, they were attacked by demons. It took them a while, but they eventually managed to put the demons down.
"I don't think the guards raiding the estate may like that particular reception." Aveline said.
In other words, Emeric was right. Just few moments inside the estate and they found some letters for Gascard with certain mentions of mages. They kept finding more evidence of Gascard's guilt. It increased even more when they found vials of bottles that Merrill told them that were used for blood magic. And strangely enough they found a letter from the knight-commander, apologizing for the search much to Varric's bewilderment.
A woman screamed as they entered the room. A woman was kneeling, her expression frantic. "Help me. Please. He's gone mad."
The man with her turned towards them, and his expression of surprise would have been comical under any other circumstances. "You're not…" He glanced at the woman, then back to them. "You're not him." He immediately held up his hands. "Shit. I…" He glanced at the woman again. "I know what this looks like, but I didn't hurt her."
"So the wild-eyed hysteria is just for show, then?" Marian scowled as they saw the staff in Gascard's hands. Staff. Demons. Marian's eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed the staff. Staff. Demons. Gascard DuPuis was a mage.
"You don't understand." Gascard protested. "Someone is after her. I had to keep her safe." He shook his head. "I don't know why you're here, but there's a killer out there, and I think he's playing us both. Just…" The man's face was desperate. "Just let me explain."
"All right, we'll see if you can talk yourself out of this." Marian said. Somehow, they weren't convinced about Gascard's innocence.
"Twenty silver if he says, "It wasn't me. It was the one-armed man!"" Varric added.
Gascard nodded. "Several years ago, my sister was murdered. The bastard's now in Kirkwall, killing again. The same way he killed my sister." He paced. "It starts with a bouquet of white lilies. He sends them to each new victim. Alessa was going to be next. I took her so he'd have to come to me. I was finally going to face my sister's killer, but then you showed up…"
"He's lying. He hurt me." Alessa sobbed.
"I've explained this. I need your blood to track you down if he took you. It was for your protection." Gascard said, turning to her with his knife.
"Let go of me." Alessa scrambled to her feet, and Gascard stepped back to let her pass. She fled past Fenris. Aveline watched her go, then raised an eyebrow at Marian as Wanda had her eyes narrowed.
Marian nodded. Despite his situation, Gascard had made no attempt to use Alessa as hostage or bargaining chip. "Who killed your sister?"
"A powerful and experienced blood mage. I believe he uses the women for some ritual. His victims are attractive, healthy women with few social ties." Gascard said.
"Emeric was sure you were behind the killings." Wanda said.
"Of course he was." Gascard sighed. "But I was trying to find the killer, just like him. Our paths crossed, and he just assumed I was the murderer."
"He'll want to know what happened here." Marian said.
"Tell him whatever you like, I'll be long gone by then." Gascard said.
"Can't you just tell the city guard what you told me?" Marian glanced at Aveline.
"Yes. Can't you?" Aveline said.
"Why?" Gascard snorted. "I don't want him arrested. This isn't about justice, I need to be the one to bleed him dry."
Aveline stepped up, her fists clenched as she glared. "Selfish little shit. How many have you risked by keeping this to yourself?"
The group nodded in agreement. If Gascard had not kept this to himself, maybe not so many women would have died. However, if they wanted to catch this man, they needed all the help they could get.
"I can help track down your sister's killer." Marian offered.
"No, I can manage on my own." Gascard said, leaving the room. "I'm headed to Darktown. If you learn anything new about the killer, find me there. I've a score to settle with him."
He left as Wanda's eyes narrowed. "He's holding something back. I don't trust him."
"Me neither but we don't have a choice." Marian said.
They waited until morning to head back to the Gallows to talk to Emeric but he was nowhere to be found for an hour until they met a templar named Moira. "Aren't you Hawke? Emeric left not long ago. He said you'd arranged to meet tonight."
"Perhaps you're mistaken." Marian scowled.
"I'm not mistaken. You sent him a message half an hour ago. Look." Moira handed Marian the letter but it was not Marian's handwriting.
"I didn't send this." Marian said.
"You didn't? Strange." Moira scowled.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Wanda said.
Upon hearing this, Moira had immediately chosen to accompany them. She gave her a pointed look when she tried to talk her out of it. It was rather disconcerting just how many templars seemed to know that Wanda had powers, which could have identified her as a mage in templar's eyes but there was no time to be worried, since they needed to find Emeric.
They went into Lowtown at night, where they found shade demons attacking Emeric. Anders sent a rain of fire at them, while Aveline and Marian cut through them before Wanda vaporized them. Anders ran over to Emeric to try a healing spell but it was no use. It was too late for him by the time they found him.
Moira's eyes were filled with tears as she looked down at the body of her mentor. "Some mage sent that thing here to kill him. Why would anyone…" She shook her head and wiped her forehead. "Oh, Maker. The murders. Emeric was right. He was getting too close. He suspected a man named Gascard DuPuis. Did he do this?"
They all groaned, realizing Gascard had tricked them.
"That bastard played us." Wanda said.
"Now he's escaped to Darktown." Marian said.
"Darktown's a big place, but we'll find him. He is an apostate, and Meredith will want him hunted down. I will speak to the city guard about this Gascard DuPuis will not escape." Moira promised.
"My men will cooperate however they can. Tell them I commanded it." Aveline said.
"Thank you, Captain." Moira nodded.
Present
"Gascard DuPuis?" Cassandra asked, her eyes full of disturb. "Isn't he the…"
"Yes." Leliana nodded as Cassandra sighed.
"They should've killed that bastard, when they had the chance, considering what it led to. It was foolish of them to believe him." Cassandra said, scowling.
"Honestly, I doubt it would've made any difference. Who knows, maybe they could've saved more lives, maybe not. But we both know that dwelling on what could've been never helps." Leliana noted and Cassandra nodded, both women having sympathetic looks.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.