2.
"Pardon my orlesian, Inquisitor, but you look like shit."
"Thank you, Varric. I feel like one, too."
"This," the dwarf laughed and tore a piece of meat from the flank of a mountain goat that was roasting on the fire. "I've missed dearly. Chuckles here does not provide for much entertainment."
"Your sense of humour is too crude for my taste, master Tethras." Solas eyed Varric for a moment before carefully cutting at his portion with a fork and a knife.
"You are the only one who thinks that..." the dwarf retorted and then snorted loudly. "Cutlery? Really?"
"Leave him alone, Varric," the Inquisitor took a juicy goat thigh that was offered to him and dug his teeth in it like his life depended on it. Frankly speaking, it did. Only now, eating this sligtly charred, delicious meat, Valmyrion realised how hungry he was. "I am glad to see you too."
While preparing the goat, Varric quickly updated Lavellan on his version of the events. Pretty much everything he said was already known to the Inquisitor. The confirmation that the Red Templars were digging up what was left of Haven was not surprising either, but it was troubling . Varric said he hadn't stuck around for long enough to see if anyone they knew had been found, but the enemy was clearly searching for survivors on both sides. When Valmyrion asked if Cassandra had come with them, the dwarf confirmed that she had indeed helped to carry the unconscious Inquisitor to Skyhold. After they had reached their destination, she did not linger for long and soon left, saying that she would try to gather and organise what Seekers she could find.
"Why did you stay?"
Varric dried his mouth with the back of his palm and rubbed his stomach.
"Someone had to watch over you two. Solas here spent pretty much all his time by your bedside, sustaining you with magic. And when the rats ran out, me and Bianca went for a little walk."
"I did my best, Inquisitor." Solas bowed his head slightly. "What magic I had at my disposal I used to keep you alive. But the body needs to be nourished and you were wasting away. Another week or so and you would be beyond help."
They were silent for a while, each in their own thoughts. As to Lavellan, he pondered his own mortality. He also felt conflicted whether to thank Solas for saving his life or just keep silent, for Valmyrion knew that it was the Anchor that the mage was preserving and not the host. In the end he decided, as in many other cases, to swallow his pride. Whatever Solas' intentions were, it resulted in Lavellan staying alive.
"Thank you."
Solas nodded once again and smiled awkwardly. The Inquisitor stood up, or at least tried to. The food gave him the boost of energy he needed but the muscles were still poorly accustomed to the newly found need of movement and so Valmyrion swayed and had to grab on to something. He caught Varric's sympathizing stare and curled his hands in the knuckles so tight, they hurt. Pity. He did not need it, nor wanted it. He just needed time.
"What are you going to do, Varric?"
The dwarf looked into the fire for a while and pushed aside his unfinished food. The atmosphere had cooled down and everybody seemed to lose their appetite.
"I'll make it back to Kirkwall. There are some individuals that can help me locate Hawke," Lavellan opened his mouth but Varric raised his finger in the air, interrupting him. "I know what you are going to say. I should know where she is. However, I've been out of the loop this whole time and could not track her movements."
"This is not what I was going to ask," retorted the Inquisitor in a slightly aggravated fashion, he was not very happy when people were putting words in his mouth. "Why do you need Hawke? I thought you told Cassandra..."
"I told that scary woman many things, not all of them were true," Varric grinned, obviously very proud of himself. Lavellan thought that somewhere far away Cassandra was swept by an impending feeling of being cheated. "Right before the... err... events at Haven, I've heard some curious rumors regarding the Grey Wardens. Hawke has some contacts amongst them and I thought she could shed some light."
"Grey Wardens?" Solas suddenly got interested in the conversation and turned towards the dwarf.
"Nothing concrete. Just Wardens suddenly regrouping and going silent. But then again, they do so after every Blight. Hard to imagine that whatever happened in Vimmark..." Varric abruptly fell silent and poked the fire with a stick.
Valmyrion finally straightened himself up and came to sit by the fire yet again. Outside the rain had started and the wind was howling under the roof, making the Inquisitor move even closer to the warm and inviting flames.
"What happened where?"
"Like I said, nothing special. Hawke stumbled upon darkspawn. Hawke killed the darkspawn but, as is appropriate, had notified Wardens what took place." something in Varric's voice did not sit right with Lavellan. He had the same feeling as back in Haven, when he tried to figure the origins of the name for the dwarf's crossbow. Sure, Varric satisfied Lavellan's curiosity but he knew how to pick his answers.
"Our course is clear," Valmyrion looked at his left palm, faint flashes of green were wandering underneath the skin. "We need to continue what we had started. There are rifts to be closed, there are..."
"Inquisitor, you have to be realistic," Solas frowned, disapproval oozing from his whole being. "The state you are in prevents us from going anywhere. As to closing the rifts..."
"As much as it pains me to say this, Chuckles is right."
"So we just sit here? Eat rats and watch the world burn? Because of my condition ? By the Dread Wolf, this is such..." Valmyrion cursed in elven and rubbed his temples. "By the time I am well enough, everyone else will be not. I refuse to sit and wait. We need to find Cassandra and her Seekers. We need the Champion of Kirkwall too."
"You close even one rift, you endanger yourself and everyone around you. Plain and simple," Solas did not even try to mask his growing dissatisfaction with the direction of Lavellan's thoughts. "The Anchor demands a lot and you are not able to provide it. If we leave you have to watch demons pour out of the tears in the Veil and do nothing. You think you can do that?"
"Yes."
Anything to get out of this place. To act. The Elder One was still out there and nobody but Valmyrion could stop him. The Inquisition was dead but the Inquisitor was not.
"Restoring the Inquisiton is not the wisest choice," Varric broke the silence. "I am sure Hawke will be on board but building an army would attract some very undesired attention."
"As closing the rifts, when you are well. People might not know how you look like but they have heard what Herald of Andraste can do."
"You are both right. The enemy thinks I am dead. Let it stay that way. We will find Cassandra and work up from there."
Solas still did not look very happy but it seemed that at least Varric significally perked up due to Lavellan's enthusiasm.
"I can lend you my spy network, Inquisitor. I am no Leliana but I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
As short as the life of the newly found Inquisition had been, Leliana proved to be an invaluable asset.
She was the first one that proposed Lavellan to be the official face of the Inquisition in order to inspire people, to the elf's quiet horror. Leliana's kind demeanor was just a small part of a graceful yet unstoppable war machine that worked from the shadows. Her help and her spy network would come in handy right now. Valmyrion had hoped that Leliana managed to get away, she was very resourceful. She was also very good at finding things that wished to remain hidden, however but no-one contacted the Inquisitor.
Valmyrion once again stood up, swayed back and forth for a second and finally regained his balance.
"If you manage to find people we know or anyone that can help, try to reach Cassandra, she will pass the news to us. When and if we find her." as optimistic as he was, the Inquisitor tried to keep himself grounded. It would take them quite some time to reach Orlais and seek out any tips on possible location of Cassandra and the Seekers.
Varric stood up as well, carefully picking up Bianca and headed towards the door.
"Well, since we've decided what to do, I'll take a nap, before heading out hunting. Our provisions won't shoot themselves, you know."