The Daughter of Tethras
Disclaimer: Don't own Dragon Age
A/N: Alright so at this point we will begin to divert a little bit. The game's storyline serves as the spine, the guideline and Corypheus is going to be a big issue but bear in mind that we will be focusing on Varric and Cadash. In other words this is one of the last times we're going to see the events of the game in action. A lot of the game's main story takes great precedence however (Such as the Winter Palace, that will provide a major moment towards the plot of this story). The parts of the game that show up in this story must be plot-critical to the path of Cadash and Varric. Read on and enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 6 (Gathering of Aid)
The town of Val Royeaux was large and filled with overwhelming chatter and people who were insistent on wearing strange masks. "So this is Val Royeaux?" Bianca followed Varric into town and looked over her shoulder as Cassandra and Solas followed suit. "These are the people that supposedly hate me?"
"That would be the Chantry," Solas replied. She turned her gaze back to the crowd they were approaching. The people of Val Royeaux had amassed before a stage with a Chantry Mother speaking about the heresy of the 'Herald of Andraste'. "The Chantry sees you as a problem as people are claiming you to be a prophet of Andraste."
"I'm not even trying to appear holy. I'm not holy!"
"Well that doesn't seem to matter," Varric responded amid a quiet mutter. His eyes were darting about the Orlesian nobles that were watching them. Each reacted with gasps or cries of anguish. "I can't stand Orlesians."
Cassandra quickened her step, approaching Varric along the side. "What about Josephine?"
"I'll make a few exceptions to my rule." His eyes moved up to the speaker on the stage and he drew a heavy sigh. "Although, Chantry sisters and mothers may be worse." He turned his head away from Cassandra's peering eyes and smirked playfully at Bianca. "Again, a few exceptions, however annoying Seeker may be."
Bianca chuckled and Cassandra growled at him. "I heard that." She heard the speaker call her out-with the title of Herald. She accused or of heresy and proceeded to denounce her publicly.
Bile swirled about her stomach as she approached the stage. "I never said I was some holy icon." The woman's lingering gaze felt like poison. A cold sweat came over her as the woman's glare sent a shiver down her spine.
In her place she pictured Amelia Cadash giving her the same hateful look that she grew up seeing every day. She braced herself, as if expecting this woman on stage to throw something at her or strike her as Amelia had done when she was a child.
Her heart started to sink and she mentally pushed away the image of the mother. "I'm not trying to become some holy icon, I'm just helping the Inquisition put a stop to this war. Why won't you focus on that?"
Before the lady could respond, a group of Templars walked towards the stage. Cassandra put her hand to Bianca's shoulder, it was tense and heavy. "That's Lord Seeker Lucius," Cassandra whispered. Then without warning, Lucius punched the woman to the ground. Bianca's eyes grew as several onlookers cried out in shock.
Her hands tightened and tiny veins bulged from the surface. She stared at the woman and her nostrils flared as a new image appeared. Rather than seeing Lucius, she saw herself on the ground with Lantos standing above her, his fist ready to come down if she didn't comply.
"The Chantry has abandoned the order," Lucius said with a sneer. "We will march."
"Why would you do hit a defenseless woman?" Her voice was tense and wavered with pain. Lucius raised an eyebrow and scoffed once she raised her voice to him. "A man that would strike a defenseless woman is nothing but a coward."
"She should be lucky I didn't use my sword." Her teeth clenched and she started to step forward, stopping only when Cassandra's grip on her shoulder tightened.
"Relax," Cassandra whispered, "We just want to talk to him. Do not lash out."
"But-" She hesitated and turned her eyes to Solas, curious what his thoughts on the matter were. He wasn't reacting in any way, where Varric and Cassandra were both tense. Solas looked at her with a calming smile and raised his hand.
"We can all agree the strike was wrong, but we've come here to make peace. Not start a fight."
Her eyes closed and she unclenched her fists. Her shoulders sank and a rush of air blew from her lips. "Fine." She opened her eyes and moved forward, holding contact with the Lord Seeker's gaze. "Why are you here?"
Lucius sneered in response, then promptly explained his presence. They were here to take a stand and let it be known that the Templar order was severing their ties from the chantry.
"Then help us try and resolve this war peacefully."
"We have no desire to negotiate at this time." Without further word, the man signaled the Templars in his presence to leave, and took off. Bianca relaxed for a moment, then hurried to help the mother to her feet.
Even though she didn't agree with the woman, she sympathized with her. Lucius wasn't on her good side for the moment, but judging by the look of confusion on Cassandra's face, she had to wonder if she was seeing the man as he truly was.
Varric grunted and turned towards Cassandra. "Either Lucius is having a really bad day, or that man is oddly violent for a position that should be a peaceful one."
"I'm as confused as you are," replied the baffled seeker. Cassandra crossed her arms and let out a sigh of defeat. "I had hoped he might be able to see reason amid the chaos. It appears I was wrong."
As she approached Cassandra, the familiar sound of a bowstring twanging stopped her in her tracks. Her pupils dilated as an arrow flew past her and landed on the ground. Varric craned his neck to look past her while Cassandra grabbed the arrow.
"There's a message attached," she announced. Bianca shook herself and breathed deeply as the woman read the note. "From the 'Friends of Red Jenny', someone wishes to meet with us." Her heartbeat's rapid pulse began to feel as though she were being beat as a drum, with the vibrations shooting to every corner of her body.
"Just that?" She clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "Just this Red Jenny group?" As she understood from what she heard people in her clan mentioning, Red Jenny was a group of people that went out of their way to protect children; or something to that extent. "I'm not all that familiar with them."
"They are an organization of pranksters," Varric responded, "Or close to it. People in the merchant's guild talk endlessly about how they lose their products thanks to these Friends."
"We may as well see what they want from us."
Cassandra raised the note up and frowned at the group. "This note directs us to follow a series of clues before we're to know the location." Varric smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Typical." Cassandra and Solas walked on. Varric turned to her, looking at her with concern. "Are you alright?" The tension in her body subsided, but her heart was still pounding erratically.
"I'll be fine." She tried to smile for him, hoping it would ease the concern and skepticism in his eyes. "Don't worry about me, let's go."
"Okay." Solas called out to them and Varric turned partially. The man was standing beside a messenger nearby that was signaling to them. "Let's see what this guy wants…"
Their dealings in Val Royeaux were finished when they ran into the Grand Enchanter Fiona, the leader of the Mage Rebellion that started the war. Fiona invited them to Redcliffe Village just outside the Hinterlands.
After that, they responded to the two other invitations. Lady Vivienne, the First Enchanter of the circle in Montsimmard, and Sera was a member of Red Jenny. Bianca thought Vivienne was strange, but there was a quality the girl liked about the woman.
Then there was Sera. She was a city elf that was oddly proficient with her archery. She was young, perhaps a year or two younger than Bianca was, and appeared to have a startling view of the world around her.
Their next stop was to follow up on a lead in the Hinterlands that Leliana had regarding the Grey Wardens. As Grey Wardens had begun to disappear without reason, Leliana wanted them to track this one down.
Warden Blackwall. He had a scruffy black beard and dark hair that was slicked back. When they approached him, he was training a group of recruits. They hung back for a moment, waiting for him to finish talking.
"He's kind of handsome," she heard Cassandra say. Bianca shrugged, she didn't exactly care for people with beards.
"Sure, but I don't like beards on men."
Varric squinted his eyes and turned his head to the two. "He's too old anyway. Look at the guy, he looks old enough to be your father." Cassandra started to laugh and Solas smirked.
Seeing an opportunity to see how far she could push without revealing too much, she flashed a grin and twisted towards Varric. "Well if I were into someone like that guy there, would it be wrong?" Varric puffed his chest up and shook his head while grumbling under his breath.
"Why ask him?" Cassandra inquired. She put a finger to her lips and the woman grew quiet.
Varric crossed his arms and swayed to the right. "I can't say it would be wrong, except the guy has got to be way too damned old for you."
"I see," Solas laughed, "You act just like an overly protective father." Bianca and Varric fell silent. She turned away to keep from showing them any reacting emotion to Solas's statement.
Varric dropped his arms and drew in a heavy breath. "Shut it, Solas." Solas jerked his head back. Bianca cleared her throat and faced the group, but said nothing as Varric started to walk off.
"It was a joke, but inappropriate? I should apologize."
Cassandra pat Solas on the shoulder and started moving for Blackwall. "He'll be fine, don't worry about it. We have things to deal with here." Bianca kept watch on Varric, concerned with the man's reaction.
Varric took a seat on a rock and moved his crossbow into his lap. She watched him remove a rag from one of his pockets and proceed to run it across the bow. "Maybe he has a kid," she suggested under her breath. "Or had one." She was hinting intentionally, but unsure why she wanted Solas to have any inclination of this matter. "Maybe a daughter?"
Solas looked at her for some time. His mouth twisted into a frown and his eyes drifted towards Varric. "I did not think he had any family, he has never spoken of any. Go help Cassandra, I must speak with Varric."
Her lips pursed and she closed her hands. "What about?"
"I was simply making a joke, it is clear it upset him, so I wish to apologize." +The fact that it upset Varric in any way was a surprise. Bianca wondered for a moment if it meant that Varric was aware she was his daughter, or at the very least, aware that he had a kid out there.
The woman that raised her would often say her father didn't know about her, but it was possible for that to be a lie.
Bianca was tempted to go with Solas, but Cassandra was right, they had to deal with this Warden first. As she approached Blackwall and Cassandra, she turned her head to see Varric's watchful gaze on her. A smile curled on her lips and a sense of calm took her.
"That does not bother you?" Cassandra asked. She glanced back and up at the woman. "Varric may not be your father, but he acts like you are his child. While you were unconscious those three days, he was always checking on you and asking Solas how your process was."
"I can't say it bothers me, no."
"Why?"
"I've never had a good father figure in my life, Cassandra." As far as Cassandra knew, Varric didn't have children. "I'm the only other dwarf here, and Solas just said Varric talks like he doesn't have family, so maybe he just looks at me like a kid he never had? I don't know."
"I suppose that is conceivable."
She hoped that was the case as well. It felt better to think of it like that rather than to think he may have willingly given her up because he didn't want her.
Cassandra fell back a bit and whispered to her, raising her eyebrows with earnest. "So, you asked Varric what would be wrong if you did think this warden was attractive. Do you think that?"
"No, I just wanted to see what Varric would say…"
"Really? Curious."
"Let's move on." She cleared her throat and walked faster towards Blackwall. She honestly didn't find the man attractive, or 'handsome' as Cassandra said. She didn't like guys with full beards, they reminded her too much of the men in her clan.
Not to mention, Blackwall had the same hair color as Lantos, and a similar beard. The only difference was Blackwall's beard was larger and grown out while Lantos just had a beard with less than an inch of growth. Parted at the chin, to the extent Bianca was sure if he grew it out, it would look just like this warden.
"Beards make me nauseous." The upper left corner of her lip twitched and her brow furrowed. She spoke loud and plain once she reached the warden. "Warden Blackwall." The man turned and his eyes dropped towards hers.
Behind him Varric and Solas made their approach. Solas had his hand on Varric's back, and Varric was attempting to shrug him off.
"Do you need something?" Blackwall asked. "How is it you know who I am?"
"The Inquisition has a few questions for you." The sooner they were done here, the better. Once they were back at Haven, she planned on taking to her cabin and getting some sleep. "We need to know about the disappearance of the Grey Wardens, and were wondering if you knew anything about that."
"I cannot say that I do." He crossed his arms and closed his eyebrows together. "If the wardens have gone missing, they must have a reason."
Their conversation went on for several minutes, but nothing of value had been said. Frustrated and exhausted, she was about to leave when he asked to join the cause. He could at least offer some aid in figuring out why the Wardens had gone missing, so she accepted his offer of assistance.
"The more help we can get, the better." Bianca leaned up against a tree and looked towards the others. "Maybe we should head to the Storm Coast now…I was approached by a soldier earlier that said there was a Qunari that was interested in offering his assistance to the Inquisition as well."
So what are your thoughts upon reading this? Now, I would have had Bull appear in this chapter as well to get all the companions in her (By the way we're not going to be focusing in-depth on the lives of every companion, that would just be too much), but Bull will appear next chapter. Some very important stuff happens there, and we also will see Lantos again.