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Marian went to the Hanged Man and met up with Varric, who offered her a drink.
"You have got to hear this, Marian." Varric said. "There's this tale making the rounds… They're saying you single-handedly fought off a pirate invasion at midnight, on the sacred ground of the Chantry."
"Don't the stories mention my stunning good looks?" Marian joked as Varric shook his head. "What about my cunning wit?"
"No, they skip straight to the part about the lovable dwarf with the gorgeous crossbow and the heart of gold. I try to steer them straight, but you know how stories go. Just… don't be surprised if people seem in awe."
"What compels you to spin these ridiculous tales?" Marian wondered.
Varric shrugged. "I love the sound of my own voice. And I'm a compulsive liar." Marian raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't know. It's just something I do. There's power in stories, though. That's all history is! The best tales. The ones that last. Might as well be mine."
"I guess awe works. A little reverence wouldn't hurt, though." Marian shrugged,
"You may not be my best-dressed or cleanest friend, Master Hawke, but you're all right in my books." Varric got up. "Anyway, I'll quit exaggerating before it goes to your head."
Marian went up to the keep to inform the Viscount of the situation with the Qunari, with Wanda as they met Sebastian along the way. Aveline was waiting for them within the Keep and marched up towards the Viscount's office.
The Viscount, who looked extremely tired. "Years of nice, quiet riot he… gone. Along with a whole street."
"The Qunari were blameless." Marian said, although that was not making things any easier.
"Right. A mad elf, pushed by zealots, likely hidden in the very groups I have to appease." The viscount grumbled as he sat down at his desk. "The Maker has a grand sense of humor. And the Arishok—I suspected he had no plans to leave, I didn't know it was annoying for him."
"Keep the worst of them off his back and it will be all right." Marian said, hopeful.
Viscount rubbed his forehead in frustration. "But that's the problem. It has already escalated, despite your efforts. A shame."
"That doesn't sound good." Wanda said.
"What happened?" Marian asked.
"A Qunari delegate and entourage paid me a visit. It was civil, tentative. Hopeful." The viscount said. "They left my chambers with precision, but were not reported by the outer guard. They are missing almost literally from my doorstep." He shook his head. "What, do you imagine, will be the Arishok's reaction?"
"We need to get in front of this, and fast." Marian said. If the Arishok and the Qunari decide to investigate the missing of their delegates on their own, there was no way to guarantee that no innocent would be harmed.
"I feel I have tried to turn a stampede for some time, now. Someone is pushing very hard." The Viscount sighed. "Speak to Seneschal Bran. He has details that show how damning this is."
Seneschal Bran was just outside the Viscount's office. "You have information about the missing Qunari?"
"I am to help you, yes." Bran nodded. "Viscount Dumar would appreciate discretion in this matter. I would prefer that you were not involved at all, but that is neither here nor there."
"I'm having a hard time picturing the abduction of a Qunari entourage." Marian said.
"Unfortunately, they were not at their best." Brain said, looking comfortable. "Their swords were tied into their sheaths. As I advised. It seemed a respectful compromise. Even I know you cannot separate a Qunari from his weapon."
They scowled.
"I'm sure you have suspicions about what happened." Marian said.
"My concerns are well founded." Bran nodded and looked to Aveline. "This cannot have escaped the notice of the city guard. Unless they were involved."
"Have any failed to report?" Aveline asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Several. You should start with one of them." Bran paced. "Although, where you find a swordsman so eager to sell his honor and duty, I'm sure I don't know."
"The Hanged Man." All of the group said in unison. If there was a place to find a dishonorable scoundrel in Kirkwall, it was the Hanged Man tavern in Lowtown.
Bran gave them an irritated look. "Right, so you know what to look for. I can't imagine this has occurred without notice. There is always a weak link."
"What do you want, Hawke? I have no interest in adding to my distractions." The Arishok had his usual glare as they entered the Qunari compound in the docks.
"And yet you sent a delegate to the viscount." Marian said.
"A brief attempt to educate. If the dwarf had stolen the saar-qamek, it could have been used to show the price of greed." The Arishok shifted slightly. "But you know the outcome of that. These fools are determined to be wrong. I won't waste the effort again."
"A courtesy, Arishok. The delegate and his guards are missing." Marian said.
The Arishok stood, but gestured at his men to hold. "Anyone else, and those words would have been their last. You are handling this? Not your buffoon of a viscount?"
"I am." Marian nodded, although it was concerning them how the Arishok was characterizing Viscount Dumar as a buffoon.
"Then I will wait. But know this: the provocations we have suffered have worked. If this is not resolved, I can fulfill my duty to the Qun with far less annoyance by sifting through rubble." The Arishok said as they shuddered. It was clear that the Arishok and the Qunari were willing to go to extreme now.
"As if there wasn't enough pressure." Aveline muttered as they left the compound.
They recognized one of the guards buying drinks for the place.
"You're doing well for yourself," Sebastian said, walking up behind the man. Marian walked up on the other side, while Aveline moved to stand behind.
"That's right, pal. Tonight I'm paid and blessed. And all I had to do was turn my head." He held up a bottle. "To all my friends." He glanced around at their positions. "Hey, step back. I know important people. We're going to show this city what to do with heathen oxmen."
If he was trying to not implicate himself, he did a poor job of doing that.
"Guard-Captain, would you like to have a word with your man?" Marian turned to Aveline as the guard paled upon turning around.
"Guard-Captain?"
"Who?" Aveline just looked at him.
"What?" The guard looked around but no one would come to his aid as he looked like if he was about to wet himself.
"Who?" Aveline grabbed him by the front of the tunic and shoved him against the table.
"Who what? I don't…"
"Who bought you! Who bought the honor of a proud guard of Kirkwall and made him a drunken mabari bitch!" Aveline demanded.
"I don't… I don't know!" The man gasped. Aveline's eyes narrowed as he paled. "He was a templar! I swear! He… he had the seal of the grand cleric and everything!" Aveline scowled again, as the phrase 'if looks could kill' came to mind. "It's true!"
Aveline let him go. "The penalty for abandoning your post is ten days on the wall. I expect you to report in the morning." The man actually whimpered as he fled, while Aveline turned to Marian. "There's your answer. A templar."
"With the grand cleric's seal, no less. Well done."
This only added to their problems.
"Are we really going to accuse the grand cleric of supporting zealots on a word of a drunk?" Wanda pointed out. Marian nodded in agreement as they were entering the Chantry. It was unlikely that grand cleric Elthina would be involved in such thing, even more so, when Sebastian confirmed it but it was more likely that someone was misusing her seal.
"It's a careful chat about missing Qunari." Marian said.
"Keep an open mind, Marian. Elthina isn't behind this." Sebastian said as they approached one of the Chantry sisters.
"The grand cleric, please. Tell her…" Marian sighed. "Tell her it concerns the Qunari."
The sister left, when a familiar face stepped out to block their path. "Serah Hawke."
"Sister Petrice?" Marian demanded as they sighed and glared at the woman. Of course. Why weren't they surprised at all by her involvement regarding the Qunari in trouble?
"Mother Petrice." She corrected. "Time has changed us both." Petrice gave Marian a distasteful look. "Grand Cleric Elthina cannot grant an audience to just anyone. What do you want?"
"Funny how you and issues with the Qunari seem to go together." Marian quipped.
"And you always assume their side." Petrice's eyes narrowed. "I was naive when last we met. I did not want you dead, but I felt a death was necessary. That may be too fine a point for you to understand, but you must admit, you came out the better for it."
They stared at how delusional she sounded. What made Petrice believe that they wanted any part in a senseless war between zealots? They wanted to prevent things like these but Petrice found it hard to grasp.
"A templar may have misjudged an order and abused the grand cleric's seal." Marian said as they all glared at Petrice. They knew exactly that Petrice had to be involved somehow but unsubstantiated accusations would be no help without any proof.
"I assure you, the templars would never embarrass the Chantry, at risk of the Knight-Commander's wrath." Petrice said.
"Men were hired for the righteous task of kidnapping a Qunari delegate." Marian said as Petrice glared, silent. "A pause that says you knew. But does Her Grace?"
"The grand cleric trusts her stewards to enact the wishes of the Maker." Petrice said as the glares of the group intensified, mentally burning holes into Petrice's forehead. Even Merrill was a much better liar and she was a blood mage and not very familiar with the social idioms of humans.
"I'll speak to Her Grace another time. You will not always be here." Marian said.
"Stubborn…" Petrice glared, not that it intimidated them. "All right, Serah Hawke, if you won't abandon this. Let me offer you something. The templar you seek is a radical who has grown… unreliable. Confronting him may do us all a favor."
"And his relation to you is…?" Marian paused.
"He is my former bodyguard, Ser Varnell. Assume what you wish, but I offer him to you as… reconciliation." Trap. "Meet me at this location." Petrice handed Marian a paper. Obviously a trap. "I invite you, Serah Hawke. Come see the unrest these Qunari have inspired." In other words, 'Come walk into my trap'.
Marian sighed.
"Need I say I'm skeptical?" Aveline asked.
"It's her game, for the moment." Marian said. Needless to say, they sure as hell were not going to walk blindly into Petrice's trap.
They found Varnell giving a speech to an assembled crowd in the underground of Lowton. None of those assembled looked as if they could last thirty seconds with a guardsman, let alone a Qunari warrior. They found the Qunari easy enough, since they were bound to the wall and not in good shape.
"Like any beast, remove the fangs and it is lost. They are weak before the faithful of the Maker. The only certainty in their precious Qun is death before the righteous." Varnell punched one of the Qunari, who groaned.
"Ser Varnell!" Petrice called out as she entered.
"Take a knee, faithful. The Chantry blesses us." Varnell said as he turned to Petrice humbly.
"You claim a blessing when you have used the authority of the grand cleric so openly? You have brought wrath down upon you." Petrice gestured at Marian. "You remember Serah Hawke and Serah Maximoff?" She was actually smirking now. "The Qunari have friends, templar. How will you answer their allegations?"
They glared at Petrice. Of course she would want to drag them into another fight, one which they wanted to avoid but there was no going back now.
"You want a fight? Face someone whose weapons are not bound!" Marian said.
Varnell drew a knife and slit the throat of one of the bound Qunari as the other zealots drew their weapons.
"Righteous! Destroy them!" Varnell ordered as Petrice fled the scene.
None of the zealots were any match for the group due to having no formal combat training, it was only Varnell who put up a decent fight, but even he did not last long against Aveline's blade. She blocked his sword with her shield before bashing him down. Varnell got up as he exchanged strikes with Aveline's sword but she dodged, when he aimed at her head and stabbed him in the chest as Varnell fell back, coughing out blood. Quickly realizing that they were getting in over their heads, the remaining fanatics fled in cowardice.
"All right. Time to bring this mess to the Viscount's attention." Marian said.
Sebastian volunteered to fetch the Viscount, and brought him back quickly. Viscount Dumar paced, staring at the carnage. "Madness. Madness."
"Yes, Excellency." Marian said.
There was no way for them to actually save the Qunari, they knew that, but Marian had hoped that killing those responsible would appease the Arishok.
Viscount Dumar stood over Varnell's body. "Chantry involvement… even if they are fringe elements. It could not be worse."
"Her Grace had no knowledge of this affair." Sebastian assured him. "I trust she will deal with it swiftly."
"You killed them." Viscount Dumar turned to Hawke with a hopeful look. "All of them?"
Marian was genuinely sorry to disappoint the man. "A mother serving the grand cleric allowed this to happen."
"Are you quite sure? She held a blade with them? Told them to fight you?" Dumar asked.
"No. I cannot say that." Marian said honestly.
"Of course not." Viscount Dumar shook his head. "A blasted mother…" It was clear the man believed her. "You have no idea the storm these allegations would cause. It would destroy what support I do have."
"We have had trouble with her before." Marian admitted. "She is… slippery."
"I understand." Dumar nodded, crossing his arms. "I will make my inquiries. Gently. And you should be careful in your associations. For now, we have other problems." He turned to the dead Qunari. "We have the delegate but… I can't return the bodies to the Qunari in this state." He looked back at them. "Serah Hawke, you know the Arishok. What should I do?"
From what Saemus had said what seemed a lifetime ago, the bodies themselves mattered little. Still, if nothing else, the Arishok had proved repeatedly to value honesty. The lie might be worse than the crime. "Hiding this would only make it worse."
"It would, wouldn't it?" Dumar sighed, wiping his face as he turned to the corpses again. "I am losing my sense of how to balance this nightmare." He turned to Marian, offering his hand. "I appreciate your help in this matter. As bad as this is, it could have been much worse without you. Kirkwall owes you. I owe you."
Marian shook her hand with Dumar. "I'll inform the Arishok. At least we know he won't kill me for delivering bad news."
"So, you could not rescue my delegate, but you killed those responsible. How do you explain the condition of their bodies?" The Arishok demanded as they returned to the Qunari compound.
"A fanatic used them to incite others of his kind." Marian handed the swords to one of the other Qunari. As far as she knew, it was a show of respect.
"I accept that." The Arishok nodded.
"I expected worse." Marian admitted.
"I have seen every vice and weakness of your kind—and how few of you take responsibility. Your viscount remains a fool, but you are not. Panahedan, Hawke. I will keep one good thought about your kind." The Arishok said as Marian relaxed. At least he wasn't threatening to burn down the city, but it was obvious that the Arishok patience was growing thin, making them worry what would happen if things would get out of hand.
They returned to the Chantry in order to confront Petrice, who did not look pleased to see them.
"Serah Hawke, it's good to see you." Petrice said. "The shame that Varnell brought his order is most unfortunate." Marian and the rest glared at her, she was a terrible liar. "Praise the Maker that you were His Champion in that dark place."
"You knew exactly what was going to happen in there." Marian sneered.
Petrice narrowed her eyes. "Hawke, you are standing between the righteous and the heretical. You're not going to make friends."
"I'd settle for being able to trust the people I already know." Marian spat.
"I gave you what you wanted at considerable cost. Varnell is more manageable as a martyr, but his loss will be felt. You have avenged heretical Qunari with human blood. Surely that is good enough for you?"
"You're no more satisfied than I am." Marian said, using all her willpower to restrain herself from killing her. Even Wanda looked like if she was about to rip Petrice apart, molecule by molecule.
Petrice narrowed her eyes. "Varnell was a fool, but the fact remains: an offence against the Maker goes unchallenged." She then walked off not even looking at him in the eye. "I will give you no further cause the shame the Chantry today, but we will have this argument again. The viscount's incompetence all but guarantees it."
They watched as she left them and Marian turned to Sebastian. "I trust you can keep an eye on her and inform the Grand Cleric."
"Of course." Sebastian nodded. "That woman is deluding herself, if she thinks she's doing the work of the Maker. I'll let you know if I hear anything."
Present
"So, Petrice orchestrated a group of fanatics to attack the Qunari." Cassandra said.
"It is clear that the Champion just wanted to prevent a pointless war with the Qunari. And the Scarlet Witch was just trying to survive in the world she was not familiar with and keep the peace, where she could." Leliana said. "As the tale progresses, it appears that the Champion and these Avengers are more peacekeepers, rather than harbingers of destruction, unlike this… Thanos and those… Stones."
Cassandra sighed. "I still find it difficult to believe about demons from the stars and flying ships or what is it that the dwarf is telling us. And magical stones that can erase all life?" She asked as Leliana nodded. If something like this existed, it was just as dangerous as the magisters of the ancient Tevinter Imperium, who had started the Blights by entering the Fade, tainting the Golden City of the Maker and therefore creating the darkspawn and the Archdemons. "Still, there are still many things that don't add up and I am determined to find out the truth." Cassandra said before a messenger entered.
"What is it?" Cassandra asked as he showed her the letter and she narrowed her eyes. "I need to speak with that dwarf again. He should explain this tale to me."
So, what do you guys think about it?
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