Chapter 12: That time they almost got eaten by that dragon
Cassandra Pentaghast was a Nevarran. She was a Seeker of Truth. A founding member of The Inquisition.
She needed a Maker sodden drink.
The dwarven barman watched her sink her third ale and twitched an eyebrow. 'You doing okay, Seeker?'
'No, Cabot. No I am not.' Cassandra groaned.
'Want to talk about it? I'm told that I'm a good listener since I don't really care.'
She glared at him from across the bar. 'Sometimes, I entertain the thought that the people I journey with…. Are insane.'
'you don't say?' Cabot returned boredly.
Cassandra groaned to herself and kneaded an eyebrow as the barman poured a generous amount of ale into a mug and slid it across the bar. 'what other choice could I come to? It was fine fighting demons. I understood the demons. People - of course people and mages would be effected. But Dragons -' she grabbed the mug and drank half of it immediately. '- dragons I did not think would be an issue. '
'Dragons, seeker? Have you been at the Inquisitors liqueur collection?'
'Not yet.' Cassandra sighed and sipped from the mug.
Cabot distractedly cleaned a flagon. 'I was wondering why Iron Bull was in a particularly happy mood the other day.'
She scoffed and swirled her drink. 'He is, perhaps, the worst one of them all. He charged head-first at it. If Solas had been a second too slow with that barrier, we would have been carrying him back in a jar.'
The dwarf raised an eyebrow. 'What did the Inquisitor do?'
The look Cassandra Pentaghast gave him was harrowing. 'She laughed, Cabot.'
'Seems something the Inquisitor would do.' He noted. 'You've gotta be a little cracked to lead this lot.'
Cassandra was coming to the same conclusion. Liethe had proven to be a competent leader, if only because she was, perhaps, the most insane of them all. Cassandra's instructors used to tell her that she was too brash, too prone to flinging herself headlong into the fight without a plan or long-term strategy.
Liethe, however, seemed to be entirely living in the moment. Like it was her last day on Thedas and she was going to do everything she had always wanted to do before the end. Given how close the breach in the sky and the mark on her hand had come to killing her, perhaps it was the only sane conclusion to draw. The Inquisitor had stared death in the face often. So often that now all she could do was laugh and continue on her merry way. Doing everything she wanted before her chances ran out.
'You okay, Seeker?' Cabot asked in an off-hand, almost gentle voice.
'Hm? Yes, Cabot. Perfectly fine. Another ale, please.' Cassandra mused.
Perhaps Cassandra should be a little more kind to her friend in future. Even if she seemed to wander through life as though it were a game.