"Lady Seeker, a bird arrived from Skyhold with this," the boy Christopher said shyly handing her a note in a lightweight tube. Cassandra flipped the lid away and pulled out the note.
Cassandra,
We have received word from Divine Victoria that an unsanctioned circle tower has formed in Kirkwall that is refusing the guidance of the Chantry. She has written to the College of Magi only to hear from Vivienne that the tower is not theirs. They are sending a mage to investigate.
The Divine asks that you also seek out the truth of this tower in Kirkwall. With the locals' hatred of mages, she fears it to be little better than a prison. Come to Skyhold on your way. She has sent a missive containing instructions and identification to present on your arrival.
Sincerely,
Inquisitor Lavellan, your friend.
Well, then, she thought as she stared at the missive in her hand.
"Christopher, would you find Seeker Landover and ask him to meet with me?" The young man ran to do her bidding.
Kirkwall would be dangerous for a veteran Seeker, let alone any one of the recruits she'd gathered together. Most had not even the basic abilities of a Seeker of Truth as she had yet to set up the rituals. None of them had been over-eager to be made tranquil, in order to achieve the result. Her studies had proven that there was a good chance the volunteers could remain that way should a spirit of faith find them lacking and refuse to break tranquility.
Even Marcus wasn't truly a seeker yet. He remained a Templar still, without the use of lyrium. In fact, there were only a few true seekers among their number. Seeker Renoy, Seeker Carlyle and herself were the only ones to have completed the rites and become true seekers. So far they were all that remained of the order that Lord Seeker Lucius had destroyed.
The door to her war room opened and Marcus entered. "Lady Seeker, you needed me."
"Yes, Marcus, we have been given a task by the Divine." She handed him the note and allowed him to time to absorb the contents. "This must be accomplished delicately, to say the least."
"Yes, Milady," he said as his darker skin took on a washed appearance. "When do we leave?"
"I will be leaving tomorrow."
Marcus shook his head. "No, milady, this job cannot be accomplished alone. You cannot go without a guard to attend you."
"I can and I will."
"Lady Cassandra, please, listen to me for a moment. You are one of the last Seekers left. You are needed here. I will go."
She shook her head. "I don't doubt your abilities, Marcus, but you don't have the experience for this. I doubt we can just knock on the door. We will need to sneak around a bit. The Champion may help us. Varric surely will. In fact, we can go on the pretense of visiting the Viscount." Her plan spilled out as she went. Yes, Cassandra could easily get near the tower, but could she get in?
Marcus cut in. "Then, we leave Renoy to train the men. He has more experience in training than both of us put together, and he's been in command before. I will come with you to Kirkwall. There aren't enough of us to risk, Milady."
He wasn't wrong. Seekers were a precious commodity that could not be thrown away on a whim. She nodded. "All right, ready yourself and see to the men. We will leave for the coast at dawn." He smiled at her and started to leave. Cassandra called to him to stop.
"Marcus, just so we are clear. You are my partner on this journey, not my nanny."
He smiled again. "Yes, Milady."
"Don't call me milady," she shouted as he closed the door with a chuckle.
She knocked on the door once again. "Varric, I know you are here!"
They had been led to a foyer to wait an hour before, and Cassandra was tired of waiting. "Milady, you must be patient. The Viscount is in a meeting…."
"The Viscount is having a nap," she said sourly. The large carved wooden door, however, did open.
"Not anymore," the dwarf said as Marcus watched the scene fascinated. "Cassandra, not everything is as pressing as you think it is."
In answer, she simply handed him a letter from the Inquisitor. Marcus didn't know what was going on, but it was clearly important. Varric Tethras read the letter and rubbed the back of his neck with a loud sigh. "Come in, you two. No rest for the wicked."
The office was elegantly appointed with a sweeping view of the harbor with its towering stone statues. Comfortable seating dotted the room, yet Varric sat heavily on the most uncomfortable chair, a simple wooden affair with carved scenes across the chair's back and no cushion. Marcus noticed details like this. He wondered if the chair had sentimental value.
"In answer to her first question, yes, there is a problem at the new mage tower. No one can get inside. There can't be many mages in there since this is Kirkwall, but there are a few, and the Templars who've rebuilt here are less than friendly."
"Are they truly Templars?" Cassandra asked.
"You mean, do they do that thing that Templars do? Yeah, it seems so. I've seen a few in action around the docks, but they have no authority to answer to, that much is clear."
"Yes," Cassandra sighed. "It appears they are acting entirely on their own. That's dangerous."
"You think? As to the second question…. What made El think I would know about a missing artifact?"
Cassandra toyed with the hem of her coat, something she did when she was prevaricating or nervous. Marcus wondered if this time she was both. She answered, "You are the closest thing we have to a source in Kirkwall, and you were there when Meredithe was defeated. Could there have been an artifact?"
"No," he stated firmly. "The lyrium sword she used exploded. What do you know that survives exploded?"
"Corypheus, for one. Varric, how many things have we encountered that could survive anything we threw at it? Of all people, you should know…."
Tethras waved the words away. "I know. I know. Sweet Andraste, I never wanted to see or hear of red lyrium again, and now…." He met Cassandra's gaze. "So Dorian finally took off, huh?"
At Cassandra's nod, he asked, "How's our darling?"
"She's adjusting, but she's unhappy. Dorian is closest to her of all of us. You know, she's the softer sort, and I worry. She's …"
"Too soft to run with the likes of us, Seeker. Yeah, I agree. It's hard to know what Curly is thinking of keeping her on the front lines with us."
Surprising them all, she answered, "He's thinking that he cannot breathe without her. That is all he knows."
Marcus recognized the shock showing on the dwarf's face as a mirror of the shock that must reside on his own. It was so baldly sentimental. So overtly romantic. She glanced nervously between the two men, then she hardened her jaw and owned her revealing sentiment. "That's a quote."
It was time to change the subject. "This artifact, what is it?"
"It's a red lyrium statue, and word has reached the Inquisition that agents of the wolf are seeking it out."
Varric shook his head. "Even though he's learned he might be able to use the Inquisitor for the same purposes, he's combing the world for a statue? That sounds impractical."
Cassandra's voice grew hard. "I presume he thinks the statue won't stab him in the gut or defend itself with an army."
"I wouldn't be too sure with red lyrium. There's not a lot I've seen that it can't do. He still loves her then?"
Cassandra scoffed at that. Marcus raised a brow at the dwarf. "We're referring to the elf, Solas? I knew he and the Inquisitor were involved at one point, but you're saying now that he is the Dread Wolf everyone refers to as the enemy?"
She looked surprised. "I forget at times that you haven't been with us as long as most. I should tell you everything later. Remind me."
Varric looked up at him. "So you're one of the new Seekers?"
"Cassandra found me in Denerim."
"He trained with Cullen."
"You trained with Curly, huh?"
Marcus put out a hand, "Marcus Landover."
"Were you stationed at the Denerim Chantry?"
"For a time," he replied but said nothing of his loss of faith. Cassandra was the only one who knew about it.
"He's a giant of a man, Seeker. I think I'll call him Stilts."
"Varric, you can't just…."
He interrupted, "Oh, but I can. Viscount, remember?" He slapped his hands on his legs and rose from the chair. "I live here now. It's a job requirement, but I still have the old place in Kirkwall.
"Is this the place that contained demons and red lyrium?" The dwarf laughed.
"No, that was Bartrand's place. I meant my rooms at the Hanged Man. You'll love it, Seeker. Hawke is back in town, but she's not exactly low-profile these days. If you're going to be sneaking around, you'll need a little bit of distance from the ruling factions of Kirkwall."
"True enough. Thank you, Varric."
Cassandra stood looking around at the fine room and then back to her friend. " Is this what you pictured? After Corypheus, I mean."
"I can honestly say this is the last thing I pictured."
She nodded. "Sometimes it doesn't seem real, does it?"
"You can say that again, Seeker." He showed them both to the door, and Marcus followed a very subdued Cassandra though the Viscount's keep and into the streets of High town.
