Daughter of Tethras

Disclaimer: Don't own Dragon Age

A/N: This chapter while leading up to the important end, is inspired off this hidden quest that I just found out about…called "the tiniest cave" in which in the end you get an ardent blossom helmet-crown thing.

Chapter 36 (Father's Gift)

Varric shifted his hand to the grip of his bow and his dagger-like glare shot onto Solas. "Call me 'Child of the Stone' again, I dare you. Chuckles." Solas laughed while the group with them shook their heads.

"You're the one pounding a rock in the middle of the Graves."

"It's a tale told to me once, I'm getting my daughter a gift." The tale was simple; to jump on a stone in the middle of the Emerald Graves that had a small opening surrounded by crystal grace flowers, and the one that should wake whoever was inside would be tasked to find a hidden cave in the Du Lion where they would be rewarded with what was a crown of hardened crystal grace flowers. "I was told this was a short and simple quest to getting a helmet made of crystal grace. Bianca loves crystal grace, and the helmet is said to be powerful, so there you have it."

Solas tapped his chin and his eyebrow pushed high on his forehead. "Might I ask where you heard this tale?" Varric stopped to second guess himself, but only for a moment.

"The Hanged Man."

"A tavern. You heard this tale in a tavern." Hearing how it sounded, Varric groaned and struck the stone once more with his foot. "A drunkard told you to bring crystal grace to a man in a tiny cave that would send you to another cave? Is that right?"

"Shut up."

"I think it's nice," replied the lady Trevelyan. Varric looked at Trina with a smile and thanked her while Solas rolled his eyes. "Even if it leads nowhere, it's the thought that counts."

"Hah, hah, hah." Varric glared at the tiny flowers beside the small hole in the stone and sat down, defeated. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I did hear a fishy tale from a drunk-"

"Need more!" A voice echoed from behind. Varric fell off the rock with a scream while Solas and Trina gave slack-jawed glances at it. "More. Have to be ready!" Thane peered up from the log he'd been sitting on in wait and placed his hand on his sword.

Varric tumbled away from the rock and aimed his crossbow at it just in case a demon popped out. "The stairs that go down," said the voice, "That go way, way down. I'll be there, you'll be there…" There was a slight growl in the voice, but nothing more. Varric turned his head while Solas and Lady Trevelyan exchanged confused looks.

He thought it was here that contact was to be made, but now that he heard the line, it wasn't hard to distinguish what was meant. "Right, what the guy said was the creature or person was in the cave at Du Lion. The cave's supposed to be hidden by a bunch of snow and it's just under the keep."

"That's good," Solas said with a wry chuckle. "I thought you were against following strange voices, Varric."

"If I wasn't so confident about this, then I wouldn't." Whatever it was, was due to magic. There was no other explanation. Or according to the story given to him, it was created by a dwarf that had a lyrium vein enabling live flowers to prosper. He wasn't sure what version of the story was true, whether it was a crown of hardened flowers or a tiara of live flowers feeding off some vein of lyrium

It wasn't too long before they'd reached the Emprise and traveled through the cave behind the quarry. They were exhausted from trudging through the heavy snow, and more so from searching the walls.

Eventually they came upon a veilfire basket that Solas was able to light up, and with that, they could make out a clear entrance behind an icy wall next to them. Varric took a deep breath and touched the fire to the wall, flinching when a burst of magic rushed over it like a piece of metal flashing in the sunlight.

"So what is the occasion?" Trina asked while watching the icy wall melt away. Varric peered ahead into the darkness and extended the torch of fire forward, lighting up a tunnel of stairs going down.

"We're nearing the time of year that Bianca was born." He stepped forward and flinched as the tunnels lit up with a bright ember glow. He turned his head and saw a circle of magic around Solas's hand. With a sigh, he shook his head and turned away. "My ex, if I could call her that, and the Cadash assholes have kept her from me for twenty damn years…that journey we're going on, this gift that I'm getting for her now, and everything I'm doing? Even willing to leave Kirkwall...all of it's for her. I want to make up for those years I wasn't there."

"I think you're already doing that," Thane replied. Trina nodded her head and Solas kept quiet while focusing on the path they were heading on. It was a winding path of steps, and their legs were already weary from walking as it were. "This trip to the new land. Is it just to get away from magic, Varric?"

"Not just that." They stopped on a tiny square room between the stairs and he turned to the others. "Thedas is a nightmare for a lot of people, and for many, they view Thedas not as a continent on its but the world. They're too fearful to expand their horizons and venture out, and I want Bianca to be able to see the world while seeing it with her."

"That sounds admirable," Solas stated. "A noble reason, to venture out and seek new things. Magic, darkspawn, demons…that's still a part of your reason, isn't it?"

"Yes, but a small part in truth." He bowed his head and closed his hands. "There's no inch of Thedas where she isn't terrified. I've seen that on our travels, everywhere she steps there's some bad memory…whether to do with the Carta, with Marcus and Amelia, or whomever…Thedas is one big nightmare to her, and I want to take her from that. To free her from the nightmare she's been living in for the past twenty years of her life."

"Sounds fair." Solas flashed a smile and an exhale fell from his lips. "I'm sure you two might find the outside world interesting. Even in my dreams of the fade, I have never seen the lands outside of Thedas."

Thane crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby wall. "Let's hope the guardian of the barrier is just as understanding of your reasoning, Varric." The smile on Solas's face faded and Varric shrugged before continuing down the steps.

"Come on," he said, "I want to see what's at the bottom." Solas could be right in that the Ardent Blossom might be a fable made up by some drunk fool at the tavern, but he had to find out. Thus far the story had been accurate.

"Dawnstone and Crystal Grace." Trina hummed contemplatively and Varric turned to her. "She doesn't strike me as the overly feminine type, but to think that those are her two favorite things-flower and gem-wise, it really does show her feminine side. It's nice."

"Yeah."

"Varric," Solas began, "I've been thinking and I wanted to say. I'm sorry you never got the opportunity to watch your daughter grow." A dull ache struck his chest and he stopped moving to give Solas his attention. "I hope that no matter where life takes you and your child, that the two of you will find the happiness that you seek."

He smiled faintly as Thane and Trina looked to Solas with pride. "Thanks Solas."

"It is an honor to have known you, 'Child of Stone'." He rolled his eyes and smirked.

"I'll let you have that one." He cleared his throat and uttered another sly response under his breath. "Chuckles."

At the bottom of the stairway that seemed to go on forever was a breathtaking and chilling sight—a single flat cliff in the darkness that was lit up only by torches on either side of the entrance. The platform was attached only to the wall of the stairway they left.

"My god." Varric's breath shook as he took small, anxious steps forward. He could see across the endless abyss enough to see an odd streak of sunlight striking a distant wall. "Where's that sunlight coming from?"

Solas looked to the ceiling with a discreet hum. "I am not certain, I can see no holes that would allow it."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate caves?"

"So many times that it's become engrained in my memory."

"Well, I'll say it one more time."

Solas folded his arms and laughed. "The things you will do for your daughter, am I correct?" Varric glanced to the edge of the cave and his eyes stopped on a small treasure chest. He took a deep breath and started to approach, stopping only when he heard that familiar voice echo in the air.

"Take it, take it and use it! Take it." The voice ended with giddy laughter and Varric felt a sudden chill down his spine.

He knelt before the chest and leaned away while slowly lifting the lid. Inside was a stunning tiara of flowers embedded into a blue lyrium vein. "Yep." He reached in, picking up the crown with care as though it were fragile enough to shatter at the slightest touch. "It's dwarven-made."

"It must be a relief for you to see it as Dwarven and not magic."

"Believe me, Solas. It is. No offense."

"None taken." Solas took the crown of flowers and raised it up, inspecting it with a squinted gaze. "Real crystal grace. Firm base. I hardly see how it is considered a helmet rather than a ceremonial piece of some sort."

Thane scratched his beard and cocked the corner of his mouth into a smirk. "Well it took twenty years to have a daughter that he could look at as 'daddy's little princess', now she's got a crown." Varric's face turned red like a tomato and he swiped the crown away from Solas.

"Shut it. Let's get back. With luck, we can reach Skyhold by the end of the meeting Bianca's holding tonight."

"Oh yeah." Bianca was holding a meeting with several candidates she was considering as her successor; Trina was to be one but she was the only person Varric could get at short notice to join their journey.

As they made their way back to the surface, Varric began to feel a strange feeling overcome him; it was as though they were being watched or followed. It wasn't the first time he felt this way either. Ever since leaving Skyhold, it felt like someone was breathing down his neck, but remaining clear out of sight.

The sense of danger was greater now than it had been before, and that concerned him. "Be on your guard," he said as they started to leave the cave's ground entrance. "I have a feeling we're about to be attacked."

"You too?" Solas inquired. "I've been feeling like there was someone in the shadows since Skyhold, but I was not wanting to alarm you in case I was wrong."

"Someone stalking us from the shadows…" His heart flickered and a twisted snarl grew on his face. "I have a feeling I know-Lantos!" He grabbed his crossbow and raised his voice. "Come out now you coward."

Just then, the metal of his weapon grew hot to the touch. His eyes widened and he dropped the burning metal with a painful scream. Solas grabbed his staff and extended his hand. "Magic. I don't think Lantos is the one we should be worried about right now."

Varric dropped to his knees and grabbed his wrist, growling as the burning sensation pulsed through his throbbing hand. When he looked up he could see four or five mages approaching from the winding tunnel that led them here.

It was the only way back to the quarry. "Looks like our exit's closed," Thane said while drawing his sword. Trina drew her sword as well and stepped in front of Varric.

"Don't worry Varric, we'll get you out of here."

"That won't be necessary," Said a voice that was different from the one they'd been following. His heart sank and he started growling as Marcus Cadash made his way through the mages. His wrists were locked behind his back and he was peering down his nose at Varric. "You have something I want, Tethras."

"You're not getting Bianca." Marcus moved his right hand in front of him and looked down as he flicked his thumbnail on his fingers.

"No, no." Varric pushed himself to his feet and turned his eyes towards his crossbow. It was still hot, but in the snow, the bow would cool down shortly. "You have my wife in your Skyhold prison. I want her back, and I propose an exchange."

His blood began to boil, and Marcus's calm demeanor only furthered his anger. "What exchange? You have nothing I want, unless you've already taken my daughter."

"I couldn't care less about your daughter, Varric." Marcus raised his head and flashed a snarky grin. Shadows fell under the man's eyes, and his hands closed into tight fists. "But if given the chance, I will enjoy seeing you watch her die."

"The only one dying here is you!" He lunged forward against his better judgment and ignoring both Solas and Thane calling out to him. Pain slashed through his right leg and he dropped his eyes in time to see a spike trap getting ready to detonate. "No!"

Varric threw his arms in front of his face and screamed as fire exploded around him. His body jerked back and rolled into the jagged rocks nearby. He opened his eyes with a groan and looked out at Solas and Thane.

Several elemental mines were hidden around them. Solas rushed forward, caught in the moment and stepping in the wrong place. Another explosion of fire, ice and lightning was set off, and the two men were thrown against the mountain.

"Tsk. Tsk." Marcus shook his head and walked forward. "You thought you were the only artificer, Varric? The only trap maker and smith? Come on Tethras." Varric struggled to push himself up, but he felt as though a ton of bricks had been dumped onto him. "Now I'm sure you must be wondering what other tricks I possibly have up my sleeves right now…"

"I'll kill you." He sucked the cold air through the slits between his teeth and started to reach across the snow for his crossbow. Marcus's foot moved down onto his wrist and he began to apply pressure. Varric gasped out and clamped his fist shut. "Damn you!"

"What was it you said, Tethras? I didn't have anything to offer for a trade?" Marcus snapped his fingers and the mages, as though on cue, erected a barrier that cut all of them off from Trina. Trina let out a mighty yell and tried to slash the barrier, but it was in vain. "Trevelyan, I presume?"

"Let them go," Trina exclaimed. Marcus rolled his head to the side.

"No."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to return to Skyhold. How else am I going to get word out?" Marcus glared down at Varric and pushed down with greater force on his wrist. Varric's arm was beginning to go numb, and a cold sweat had overtaken him. "Tell his beloved daughter that if she wants to see daddy dearest alive, to bring Amelia to the Sahrnia quarry. If not, my gift to her will be his head on a pike."

"You asshole."

"Time's wasting, Trevelyan, and I'm getting bored." Marcus removed his foot from Varric and approached the unconscious men nearby. He put his foot onto Solas's neck and the elf's body began to twitch. "You don't want me getting bored."

"Shit." Varric rolled onto his back and shouted into the air. "Just go, Trina. Hurry the hell up before he tortures us to death." He was going to find some way out of this if he could, but for now, he was just going to have to last long enough to plan an escape.

Someone say something. What are your thoughts right now? Marcus has Varric, Solas, and Hake in his grasp and he wants Bianca to bring Amelia to make an exchange. Do you think he's going to exchange Varric for Amelia, or is this just a trap?