Disclaimer: I do not own Bioware or Marvel Cinematic Universe.


Marian made her to the Chantry to see how the children they rescued were doing. When she got there, she found Sebastian and Aveline arguing and apparently the discussion was about her.

"Marian should do it. Kirkwall needs a viscount." Sebastian said.

"Have you asked her?" Aveline asked. "It would be Marian's decision."

"I watch my parents in Starkhaven. When times are good, the city rules itself. Years could pass and no one notices who's prince." Sebastian then gave her grim look. "But when there's famine, when there's war, people look to their leaders. Who does Kirkwall have beyond Marian?"

"This is probably a discussion for the two of you to have." Aveline said upon noticing Marian entering.

"You want me to be viscount?" Marian asked, hoping she had misheard them.

"Andraste said, "the Maker is king of the heavens, but it is the Kings of Thedas who must recreate His worldly glory"." He then looked at Marian. "I keep thinking about that. Who better serves the Maker: a brother of the faith, or a prince who can sway a whole city?"

Marian realized he was talking about himself and not her. But she herself wasn't sure how to answer that. "Every person does the Maker's work in their own way."

"Elthina is risking her life by deserting the flock. Could I do the same?" Sebastian asked. "It's been fifteen years since I lived in Starkhaven. The people there are only a memory to me. Kirkwall, the Chantry-that's real. That's where I belong. Starkhaven needs me. But I will not leave Elthina to the mercy of these apostates. We must put down this rebellion and solidify the Chantry's hold. Then I can return to Starkhaven with a clear conscience."

"You can't leave until the grand cleric is out of danger." Marian agreed.

"And the only way to ensure that is if every mage in Kirkwall is locked away safely in the Circle. Or dead." Sebastian crossed his arms. "I might have questioned that once. But I've learned a lot from you, Marian. If you lack of a true heart, in a noble cause, it doesn't matter what it takes to succeed."

"Did Cullen take the children to the Gallows?" Marian asked.

"He did, and I hope they find peace there. The situation between the templars and mages has not gone well and still Elthina does nothing. Waiting for a sign of the Maker is all well and good, but sometimes you have to take action in order to prevent a war."

Marian nodded. Hopefully, it wasn't too late to prevent a war.


A letter from a panicked father asking them to save his daughter who is located at the coast. He hadn't gone far when Evets mercenaries showed up complaining about Marian killing all his men some time back. The man was in the process of swearing revenge and dire fates when Varric shot him in the throat. They glanced at the dwarf.

"What?" Varric asked. "You were going to do that, right?"

"Yes, but I was going to do it with more style." Marian shrugged as the rest chuckled.

Varric caressed the crossbow. "Don't worry, sweetheart, he didn't mean it."

"I'd like to find out how to make a crossbow like that one." Clint said, admiring Bianca.

"Pity. The guy who made this one went mad and we had to kill him." Wanda said.

"You do realize there are more of them?" Sebastian asked, turning back to the bandits before they fought them again. They had dispatched of third of them and when they realized how much in over their heads they were, they ran as the group laughed.

"Why didn't you ever run, when they beat you up?" Bucky chuckled as Steve shook his head.

"You know me better than that, Buck." Steve said as they both laughed.

"Come to me and I'll take you to places you've never been…" Isabela whispered, reaching slowly for Varric's crossbow.

"Isabela…" Varric stared. "Are you talking to Bianca?"

Isabela let her fingers trail over the crossbow lightly. "I think she deserves to feel a woman's touch on her trigger, don't you?"

"Bianca responds to my touch." Varric shook his head. "She'd never give it up for you."

"That's what they always say." Isabela batted her eyes. "And I always prove them wrong."

"Stop it. You're confusing her. And me." Varric said, pulling the crossbow away as everyone chuckled, amused at their antics.


Later, in the Hanged Man, Varric was pacing as Marian approached him.

"Got a minute, Marian?" She barely opened her mouth as Varric continued. "I know this is ancient history, but remember that Hightown house Bartrand barricaded himself in? Bartrand doesn't exactly need the place, now that he's in the sanitarium. I've been trying to sell it."

"I assume there's not much interest in it." Marian shrugged.

"No. There's a real number of people who want expensive, blood-covered houses in Hightown. I found a minor noble in Rivain who bought the place sight unseen. But now there's a problem. They say the place is…" He gave Marian a concerned look. "Haunted."

"Anyone who knew the house's history would attribute every noise in the night to ghosts." Marian said.

"I may have neglected to mention the mansion's… colorful past to the buyer." Varric said hesitantly as Marian sighed. Of course he did. "They've noticed some minor problems: Voices whispering in the walls, apparitions, things moving on their own. My hope is it's a relic Bartrand brought back from the Deep Roads. We smash it, and the haunting stops."

"What happens if we do nothing?" Marian asked.

"Best case? They drag me before the seneschal and accuse me of fraud. The worst case involves Antivan Crows." Varric said.

Considering their last encounter with the Crows, they thought Varric might just have that backwards. "I'm not an expert on hauntings, but what if smashing something does not make the problem go away?"

"Ah…" Varric shrugged. "That's where things get tricky. You come from a family with magic, Marian. Besides, you, Scarlet and Strange must have experience dealing with…" He gestured absently. "…weird. I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out that will help."

"Very well. We'll investigate the mansion. Again." Marian said, somewhat tiredly. How many times do they have to go back to that blighted place?

"Thanks, Marian. I knew you wouldn't let me down." Varric said, although deep down they both knew they were going to regret going back into Bartrand's estate.


The moment they set foot into the estate, Varric started to act… out of his character, which concerned them.

"Hey… is that music? Where is that coming from?"

"We're not hearing a thing." Sam said as Wanda, Strange, Marian and Anders looked at the dwarf, worried. They had not gone much further when a vase picked itself up off a table and smashed onto the floor.

"Something in this house is restless." Fenris said.

"I guess the buyer wasn't kidding." Varric kept touching Bianca as if reassuring himself the crossbow was still there.

They kept walking before a pile of books threw themselves into their path.

"OK, books flying. Never good in any horror movie." Sam said.

"I can barely hear it." Varric muttered. "I wish I could make out the words." He strode into a room, and shook his head. "Look at this: my brother's junk was left here. You wouldn't know it, but Bartrand was a sentimentalist. This came from our estate in Orzammar. When I was seven, I knocked over one of Mother's plates and broke it. My brother yelled at me for an hour." Varric laughed before he rubbed the back of his neck. ""This was made by the artisans of House Saldras. The clay was from the Aedros Atuna river, which never sees the sun!"" He actually made a good impression of Bartrand.

"There's no way you're talking about the same Bartrand that we met." Marian shook her head. That man had no sentimental bone in his body. He had left his own brother to die for a chance at more gold.

"He really was that upset over a dish?" Wanda demanded.

"Maker's truth." Varric nodded, looking surprised. "There were tears in his eyes. I never thought that was possible before. I don't think it was a dish to Bartrand. That stupid plate was the whole city of Orzammar to him."

They kept searching the house until they saw some transparent figures running down the corridors, even going through the walls and doors.

"What is going on here? There's no way the Veil could be torn this badly." Anders noted as they watched specters running past them, screaming.

"Something powerful here is calling the ghosts." Strange said as Anders nodded.

Varric suddenly turned towards them. "This isn't being caused by some random artifact. The idol is still in the house, guys. It has to be."

They nodded as they continued deeper into the mansion before a vase flew towards them.

"Look out!" Clint yelled as they ducked before it shattered on the wall, shards flying everywhere.

"Whatever is here is angry." Fenris said as they nodded.

A young woman emerged from where she had been hiding behind the curtains, apparently, the one, who had purchased the house. "Are you real? You've got to get out of here before it comes back."

Steve was about to reassure her when Varric stepped forward. "Where's the idol?"

The woman gave Varric a confused look. "What idol?"

"Don't waste my time with your lies! Tell me where it is!" Varric actually reached for his crossbow.

"Whoa, slow down, Varric." Steve held Varric's hand. "I think you should go easy on her, she's telling is what she can."

"She's hiding something, Cap!" Varric pulled free before glaring at the woman. "Don't lie to me! I know it's here! You must have found it."

The woman held he hands up in front of herself defensively. "I swear, I don't know anything about an idol! Please!" There was a strange humming noise as the house tremored. "Maker, no! It's starting again!"

The woman ran off as Varric started to follow, and Fenris and Sam moved to block his path. Marian was about to ask Varric, what was going on when they heard the woman scream.

"Uh-oh…" Varric stared at what appeared to be a golem. The golem was translucent, almost like a spirit as it knocked the woman down, knocking her out.

Anders sent a blast of lightning as Merrill hit it with a blast of fire before Strange sent a ball of magic at the golem spirit.

The golem vanished, to be replaced by a ball of strange light. Strange lifted a Tao Mandala to shield them all, just as the light exploded into a wave of electricity. It took several more spells, combined with Fenris's blade and Bianca before the thing stopped moving.

A small piece of glowing red something fell to the ground as the golem vanished. Varric walked over and picked it up. "This… this is a piece of the idol." He shook his head. "I should have known Bartrand would lie to me. Of course he'd keep a piece of the statue for himself. Think of what we could do with this."

A piece of the thing had done everything they had seen in the house. And the idol itself… what it had done to Bartrand… No way they would let it corrupt another Tethras.

"Varric, you've been acting strangely ever since we arrived. I don't think you want to keep that shard." Marian pointed out.

"I know you're just trying to look out for me, Marian, but I can handle this! It's not the whole idol, it's just a sliver! I need this thing! Six years of my life have gone into this!" Varric actually begged. "The shard is my only hope of curing Bartrand! It's my only chance to set any of this right!"

"And… there we go again." Anders said, waving his arms. "This thing's magic seems only more potent when broken."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to keep it." Strange agreed.

"Varric, are you even listening to yourself?" Steve demanded, all of them shooting him worried looks, as the Avengers remembered what happened when they were near Loki's scepter with the Mind Stone. "That thing's already taking you over! We need to get rid of it!"

"You're not listening, Captain! I know I can handle this shard!" Varric pleaded.

"Varric, honestly, we're worried about you. You're starting to sound exactly like your brother." Wanda pointed out.

Varric sighed, realizing they were right. "Fine. I don't really want to argue about this anyway." He carefully wrapped the shard in a cloth to avoid touching it before handing it to Marian. "Take it. It's your problem now. Maybe "Enchantment!" boy can dispose of the thing for you."

"That thing seems to bring more trouble than it's worth." Clint noted.

Varric sighed and wiped his face, as if he just got dumped with a bucket of cold water. "Let's go. I… think I could use some air."


Marian accompanied Varric into the estate, and then gestured at Sandal. She set the wrapped fragment down, and then pulled the wrapping away to reveal it. "Think you can do something with this, Sandal?"

Bodahn's eyes widened. "Is that… lyrium? I've never seen anything like that."

"I've never seen magic like this before. But clearly it's potent, corruptive and dangerous." Strange said.

"Varric suggested Sandal might be able to dispose of it." Marian said.

"I think my boy can do better than that." Bodahn said as he turned to Sandal.

"Ooh…" Sandal said. "Enchantment."


They found Varric sitting at the table the following morning. Orana was moving around the kitchen, fixing breakfast. Varric gave Marian and Wanda an abashed expression. "Listen, I don't know what came over me back there in Bartrand's house. I'm glad you're watching my back."

"We're friends, Varric." Wanda assured.

"You know what I like about you, Scarlet?" Varric accepted the cup of tea from Orana. "Your humility."

"Is that idol that dangerous?" Clint asked.

"You have no idea. And we still don't know who bought it from Bartrand. They might be in danger too." Marian said.


Present

"And again that blighted idol." Cassandra sighed.

"I know. Clearly, we've been looking at this from the wrong angle the whole time." Leliana said. "This idol… it is clear that it played part in what happened later. I think we can establish by now that the Champion and the Avengers were only trying to minimize the damage on both sides but too many things spiraled beyond their control, which leads us to where we are now and they might have played part in this too but they are not the guilty party."

"I agree." Cassandra nodded. "We may have misjudged them but we still don't have the full story. Before we jump to conclusions…"

"The dwarf has almost told us everything we need to know. Let him finish the tale." Leliana said.


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.