Chapter ONE

It was hardly past noon when they finished speaking. Aria felt her spirits lifting, despite herself. If they could just get the coin together, they'd be well on their way to righting the wrongs Gamlen had done in their mother's absence. They parted ways for the day, Aria explaining the need to talk this over with their matriarch before making any more headway on the matter.

"You aren't really going to tell Mother, are you?" Bethany asked as the dwarf walked away in the direction of the Hanged Man.

"No. Although we really need to think this out. I have no doubt that Varric's intent is honest. But I don't know how far we can trust him. And we've got his brother to worry about. I don't like Bartrand. He's quite the bastard, if Worthy is to be believed. Athenril doesn't care much for him either."

"Oh come now, sister!" Bethany laughed. "You can't tell me you aren't just absolutely tickled about this turn of events!"

Aria smiled wickedly. "Tickled? Bethany—that sounds…dirty."

"You know what I mean," she said, rolling her eyes. "I understand you prefer being the mastermind, but I'm sure you'll outfox them if they try to take advantage of us."

"That's not really what worries me," Aria seriously stated, all humor aside.

"Then what?"

"I don't want to take a chance at you being seized by the templars. Think of what that would do to Mother," the elder Hawke said, genuinely worried. "I already failed once and couldn't save Carver. She'd have my head if I failed you, too."

"Carver wasn't your fault, Aria. You can't keep blaming yourself for him. Besides, I am more likely to be seized if I don't go," Bethany softly replied.

They had reached the steps leading up to Gamlen's filthy little hovel in Lowtown. Aria sighed. Her sister was of course, right. Now that they were back at Gamlen's, Aria stared at the ill-kept wooden steps, with their flimsy railing, and suddenly lost the nerve to ascend them.. Bethany squeezed her arm reassuringly and gently nudged. Together, they walked up the steps and into the house.

"My children have been in servitude—servitude!—for a year!" the Hawke matriarch shouted as Bethany and Aria entered the door.

The sisters shot each other worried looks. Aria rolled her eyes in exasperation and walked up behind her mother. Gamlen and their mother had been at each other's throats lately, now that Bethany and Aria were done serving their time as smugglers under the employ of Athenril. They both had blood on their hands now, but at least it wasn't innocent blood. Aria had seen to that.

"They should be nobility!" Leandra Amell-Hawke spat at her worthless brother.

"If wishes were poppy, we'd all be dreaming," Gamlen snidely replied.

Aria's lips turned up in her trademark sardonic smirk and she really couldn't help herself. "You mean, this is real?" she said, spinning around, her arms wide for effect. "No wonder I can't wake up."

Gamlen sneered at her. "And here I thought that Fereldan you ran off with was a mage, not a jester," he directed at Leandra, then turned to face Aria. "Your mother was supposed to marry the Comte de Launcet, and instead she ran off with some Fereldan apostate! You don't get to stay the favorite when you do that," he sniped.

"Where is Father's Will?" Leandra pleaded with her brother. "If I could just see for myself—"

"It's not here, all right?" Gamlen sniveled, cutting her off. "It was read, it went into the vault. No one needed to look at it again."

Aria stepped forward, sensing the fact that he was hiding something. It was definitely a big something. Whatever it was, she surmised it had something to do with that document. Something he didn't want anyone to know. "That touched a nerve," she quipped, tawny eyes flashing. "What's in there that you don't want us to see?"

The barb worked. "Nothing!" Gamlen defensively shouted, glaring at her like a cornered animal. "But you won't be seeing the bloody thing. It's still locked up on the estate. And that's long out of my hands."

"You didn't take your parents' Will?" Bethany incredulously asked, her soft dark eyes wide with hurt.

"It was old news," Gamlen resignedly said. "You think I've been sitting here for twenty-five years waiting for Leandra to slink back?"

"Who bought the estate, Gamlen?" Leandra pleaded. "Perhaps I could speak with them. Was it the Reinhardts?"

Gamlen sneered at her again. "No one you know. Get used to Lowtown, Sister. That's where we're going to stay."

"Over my cold, dead tits," Aria grumbled beneath her breath as Bethany motioned for her to follow.

Together they walked into the broom closet that served as their room. Bethany quickly closed the door and went over to the bunk bed they shared. She sat on the bottom bunk with a soft "hmph". Aria stood next to the door, shoulder against the door jamb, and she picked at her teeth with one of her tiny throwing knives.

"So, I hate thinking badly of family, but… Did Uncle Gamlen seem a little slippery when he talked about Grandfather's Will?" she whispered after a moment. "If he say, 'invested' money that was meant to be Mother's, do you think he would tell us?"

Aria snorted. "We are talking about the same weasel, aren't we?"

Bethany moaned in trepidation as a response.

"I want what's ours," Aria said after they'd brooded silently together for a few moments.

"Good," Bethany agreed. "I'm glad we agree. Gamlen recently told me he gave the estate as payment to some slaver who beat him at dice."

"He lost the mansion over a stupid game of dice? Maker help me, he's a bigger moron than I thought," Aria interjected, throwing her hands in the air and cursing at the ceiling.

"Just listen, Aria. Apparently our ancestral home is now a base for slavers from all over Thedas."

Aria laughed bitterly. "Oh, why couldn't Gamlen have just sold himself and saved us all the trouble?"

Bethany giggled. "Are we talking about the same person? I mean, can you just imagine him sweeping and scrubbing floors for some Tevinter matriarch?"

They both burst into fits of giggles at this, sniggering at the image Bethany had called forth to their minds. It was a pleasant image. One that they both wished could come true at the moment. Hard labour was something in which Gamlen would never partake. Neither of them were strangers to it, however.

"Seriously though," Bethany continued after they'd stopped giggling. "Those scum have no right to our family's things. We should break in there, get the Will for Mother. I already talked to both of them about this. Gamlen said they guard the front entrance well. But Mother gave me her old key. She said it should unlock the cellar. Apparently, the sewers run right beneath the house."

"You've been a busy girl. Where was I?" Aria sarcastically asked, taking and examining the key Bethany held up for her.

"I think we should go tonight. Maybe even get Aveline in on it," Bethany suggested.

"Eh, it's worth a shot. Wicked Grace can wait I suppose. We need to speak with the cantankerous ginger anyhow," Aria agreed. "I don't know if we can do it tonight, but we'll definitely do it."

"You know she hates it when you call her that," Bethany twittered, snatching up her staff from where it had fallen onto the bed.

"And it only makes me that much more determined to call her that. Let's go. If I stay here any longer, I'm going to have Gamlen stuffed and mounted. Best believe, it won't be in any pose that could be remotely construed as dignified," Aria replied.

They left the house, Aria casting Gamlen a venomous glare before they disappeared outside. She didn't care to stick around for the diatribe he launched at the closed door. She had had about enough of that weasel. He was greasier than a choleric dwarf's backside and far less pleasant smelling.

They walked past the Hanged Man and Aria decided to pay Varric a visit on her way up to Hightown. Bethany decided to stay outside, having an aversion to places where gossips ran amok, completely unchecked. It was only natural at this point.

Aria went to the bartender. "Where might I find Varric, serah?"

"Haven't seen you in here often, Hawke," the bartender said. "Name's Corff."

"Well, I can see anonymity is not something I can readily employ here," Aria jested, shaking the hand Corff extended. "Pleasure."

"It's all mine," Corff replied, going back to wiping out a glass. He set it on the bar. "Varric is over there. You walked right past him."

Aria turned to see where Corff indicated. Varric was grinning and shaking his head. She turned back to Corff. "Hit me with a pint, would you?" she said, putting down three coppers.

Corff handed her a tankard and she walked over to where Varric sat, still shaking his head. She grinned and slammed the tankard down, sitting across from him.

"I hope you're not so blind on all your endeavors," Varric laughed.

"Well, one cannot fault me for not seeing someone so short of stature," Aria replied, quirking one eyebrow playfully and taking a long draught from her mead.

Varric guffawed loudly. "A quick sense of humor. Have to respect that," he cajoled, offering her the rim of his glass.

She clinked hers against his and they both took impressive draws.

"So, here's the thing," he said, swiping at his top lip with the sleeve of his tunic. "We need to find a way into the Deep Roads. Bartrand can lead us to the right place once we're down there, but we need a good entrance."

Aria sat back in her chair, fingers steepled as she pressed them to her lips and thought a moment. "Any entrance will do, wouldn't it? Unless a dragon's sitting in it, I suppose."

Varric chuckled warmly. "We need an entrance that's close to our destination but isn't already plundered or filled with darkspawn. Fortunately, I've received some new information. There's a Grey Warden in the city. If anyone knows how to get down there, it'll be him."

She sighed heavily. "Are there any other options?"

Varric also sighed. "None at the moment. Bartrand had an entrance lined up, but it was a bust," he said, drinking from his pint. Aria also took a drink, surprised with how quickly she'd already drained it. "I'll keep looking, but if we don't find something, we'll have a fancy expedition with nowhere to go," he continued, standing.

Aria followed suit, finishing her pint. "Sounds like you have it all planned," she replied with a glib grin.

Varric bowed frivolously. "And that, messere, is why I'm here. Supposedly, this Grey Warden came in with some other Fereldan refugees not long ago. A Lowtown woman named Lirene has been helping the Fereldans. We talk to her, maybe we learn where he is. I'll keep after my contacts—see if I can drum up any other work."

"Mmm," Aria said, licking the last of the mead from her lips. "In the meantime, come with me. Bethany and I were on our way to pay Aveline a little visit—see if she has something for us."

"I knew I picked you for a reason," he chuckled, leaving a few coppers on the table for a tip.

They walked outside together and Bethany materialized from one of the nooks surrounding the Hanged Man. She smiled at Varric, who bowed and returned the smile. They headed up the steps leading towards Hightown together.

"You don't seem to like your brother very much," Bethany said as they began the ascent.

Varric chuckled wryly. "And here I thought it took blood magic to read minds."

"I had a twin brother, Carver. He used to nail my braid to the bed while I was sleeping. I never thought I'd miss him this much."

"Sorry about your brother," Varric replied, his inflection earnest. He smiled broadly, as though a pleasant thought occurred to him. "Hey, you want mine? I've got a spare…"

Bethany only chuckled.

"So this Aveline—she's a guardsman?" Varric asked as they passed the Hightown merchants.

Bethany laughed. "Call her that instead of the proper 'guardswoman', and she might knock a few inches off your height."

Varric winced theatrically. "What is it with your family's preoccupation with height?"

The mage turned and looked at her sister, her face aghast with horror. "You didn't!"

"He asked for it," Aria playfully shot back, clapping Varric on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

Varric laughed. "No hard feelings. If you can't find anything better to joke about concerning dwarves, it's not really an insult to me."

Aria burst out laughing. "Ah, Varric. We'll get along just fine, you and I."

He grinned back at her. "Madam, I certainly agree."

They walked up to the Viscount's Keep, bouncing ideas for work off each other until they reached the Guards' quarters. Once inside the barracks, Aria looked for Aveline, finding the tall, lanky, red-headed woman standing in front of the duty roster. She was looking over patrols and seemed relatively oblivious.

"Aveline!" Aria announced herself, throwing her arms wide as though she expected to receive a hero's welcome.

"Hello, Hawke," Aveline replied without turning around.

"That's it?" Aria asked, feigning hurt.

"What?" Aveline asked distractedly, turning to face her. "Oh, right. Sorry, it feels like we just talked. I've been keeping an eye on you," she accusingly stated. "Information is one of the few perks of this job. Watch out for Bartrand. He's a son-of-a-bitch."

Aria crossed her arms over her chest and mock glared at her comrade. "You know, I can take care of myself without your hovering."

Aveline regarded her as though she was tired of dealing with her Fereldan fellow. "Saved me camping on your doorstep. After what we went through to get here…" she trailed off, a slight tremor running through her at the particularly distasteful memory. "I… Well… You're no child, but I take care of my friends. The places they have me patrolling, I've got time."

Aria smiled mischievously. "A person in your position seems like they might learn some profitable things."

Aveline exasperatedly sighed. "You know better than to ask that."

Aria's grin widened. "One day, you'll be frustrated enough to go for it." She knew Aveline. Idleness did not suit the busy-bodied, hard-nosed woman.

"It's like I'm sitting on my hands," she gushed, pacing in front of Aria, her expression vexed. "There are dangerous people in this city," she continued. "In fact, I might have a job for you. Let me know if you want to do a favor for Kirkwall. Otherwise, I'm here if you need me. Maker knows I could use more satisfying work."

Aria leaned against the wall and studied the warrioress for a moment. "Seems like Kirkwall suits you," she said.

"It has been a challenge. Lots of opportunity… If you're the type the locals want."

"Are you?" Aria challenged.

Aveline sighed, further evidence of her growing disquiet. "If you argue enough, you kind of convince yourself."

"If you have to convince yourself, you're kind of missing the point aren't you?"

"Hawke, what else could I do here that is within the arm of the law? I'm not a criminal like some people." She glared pointedly at both Aria and Varric. Varric feigned a wound to his heart but said nothing. He would have made an excellent diplomat, Aria passively thought.

Aria laughed. "I'm insulted. I'm not a criminal. There's nothing wrong with going where the work is, so long as no one gets killed in the process. And if they do, well—that's one less miscreant you will have to worry about."

At this, Aveline chuckled. "You have always been so tricksy."

"Is it really that bad here?" Aria pressed. "This must be a very different pace from serving King Cailan."

"I loved that life," Aveline sadly allowed. "But there's a new King for a new Ferelden. Seems cocksure, but I guess he was there when the Archdemon fell. Can't fault an active hand."

Aria nodded her agreement.

"It's just one more change though," Aveline continued, unprodded. "The real end for me was Ostagar. You and Carver must have felt something similar." She checked Aria's expression, then apologetically added, "I don't know if that's right to say. I hardly knew him."

"Death on that scale…" Aria began, her tone much more somber than was the norm, "It certainly has a finality to it."

Aveline shook her head slightly. "Sometimes I wonder."

Aria sighed, not wanting to talk about it. Father, Carver, Lothering… She didn't do so well dealing with pain of that magnitude. She sought a subject change, surmising that Aveline was experiencing the same discomfort.

"It's been a year settling in. Are you…all right?" Aria tested the waters.

"You don't need to coddle me. I am where I am. How close I hold my memories is my own business," she quipped.

Aria smiled sympathetically. "All right, Aveline. You have something worth doing?"

Aveline's expression darkened for a minute, then as she pondered Aria's question, she spoke. "My patrols may be empty walks in the dark, but there's something big coming up, and I could use you."

"Something big? Sounds right up our alley," Varric interjected.

Aveline pointedly ignored him and spoke to Aria. "An ambush. Probably for a caravan, although I can't find any shipments that match up. Doesn't matter though. Highwaymen waiting for someone to rob? I'm putting a stop to it, my district or not."

Aria smiled. This was the Aveline she knew and loved. "Well then. I'm in."

Aveline grinned broadly. "I knew I could count on you! They're hidden up Sundermount," she continued, relaying the details of their upcoming adventure. "Remote and rough, but we can make good time with a shortcut this side. And no, you can't run off and do it without me," she admonished.

Aria just smirked. Her friend knew her all too well.

"I trust you," she continued apologetically. "But I have to be there. You're acting on behalf of the guard."

"Well, let's get started then," Aria said, shrugging and looking towards the door.