Dragons and Thrones: An Unusual Union

Chapter 7 of my crossover story, we meet our second Dragon Age POV character, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks.
Marina Ka-Fai: Yeah, she is, sadly naïve.
Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
wazzup11: Um, but they haven't found Arya, he said he's hoping she'll find her way home and not back to King's Landing, I fail to see why Arya going home would be bad, since being in King's Landing means being Joffrey's prisoner.
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; he isn't letting her stay, he has no choice; Joffrey made that clear. Glad you like that.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin. Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.

Varric

'Well; this isn't what I imagined happening in my life.' The man thought to himself. 'A freak accident with magic sending me into another world altogether…I'd put that near the bottom of the list of things I ever expected.'

The man was around forty years old and was a dwarf. Not in the fashion that the people of this land of Essos called Dwarves. Dwarf was the name of his race but there were similarities he noted. He was noticeably short, yet he was also of a stocky build; typical of his race. He had medium length blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and brown eyes.

He also had three gold earrings, two in his right ear, one in his left. He wore durable clothes for travelling but were of fine make too, indicating he was of some wealth. The Dwarf's name was Varric Tethras. He also wore a circular necklace and, due to the open natured of his shirt, his impressive chest hair was visible.

Varric shook his head. 'Well, whatever crazy stuff happens; at least I still have Bianca.'

Bianca was his name for his personal weapon. Bianca was a repeating crossbow, finely made with a carved wood stock and brass embellishments, along with a retractable bayonet which slide out from a slot in the front.

Ensuring that Bianca was well oiled and he had plenty of bolts for her, Varric stood up and left the tavern he had been sitting in.

He looked around the city he was in, trying to ignore the heat. It was a port city, brimming with wealth and commerce, the buildings were all well-built and the citizens richly dressed.

'This is one hell of a city; so diverse, yet you can still tell who the natives are.' Varric noted to himself. 'So; this place…what did they call it again, Qarth, that's right.'

He smiled to himself as he walked past two women, clad in traditional Qartheen gowns which left one breasts exposed.

Still smiling Varric took a moment to compose himself. 'I think I could like it here, if it wasn't for the heat and…that.'

The smile vanished from his face as he noted the slaves. He shook his head; distasteful as, no matter how many people he asked; all of whom remarked that the slave trade was essential for Qarth to survive.

He shook his head. 'Urgh, honestly, I thought Tevinter was bad; this place practically flaunts their slaves.'

Deciding not to draw attention to his disgust; he turned away, finding himself at the market place. As he was looking around, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Enchantment!"

He turned to see a young Dwarf, with short white blonde hair and wide blue eyes. He recognized him at once.

"Sandal…Sandal Feddic, is that you?" Varric gasped in amazement.

The young Dwarf also smiled and replied. "Enchantment!"

Varric grinned, pleased to see his old friend; Sandal was a savant and an expert rune crafter, capable of using them to enchant weapons and armour.

Varric knew therefore that conversation would be very one sided, until he saw another Dwarf, next to Sandal. This Dwarf was older, with brown hair and a similar beard and moustache along with pale blue eyes. It was Sandal's adoptive father, another familiar face for Varric.

"Bodahn, good to see you." He remarked.

Bodahn smiled. "Ah Master Tethras, how good to make your acquaintance again."

Varric nodded. "So, anything interesting I need to know?

"Well; we've been lucky, we've managed to secure a deal with the people in charge here and get to continue our work. They're all so fascinated by Sandal's abilities." Bodahn remarked. "However, there is some difficulty, regarding the Templars…Some are here in Essos, other's across the sea in Westeros…They're having problems contacting the Chantry."

Varric sighed. "Which means they can't get their Lyrium…A Templar without Lyrium soon goes crazy, amongst other problems."

Bodahn nodded; but then, suddenly, they heard a loud commotion; they turned and saw people backing away, fearful. A man, clearly a noble as his manner of dress was even richer than anybody else, was being held by a rough looking man, armed with a dagger and a sword at his belt. The dagger was currently held to the noble's throat.

"That's it, nice and slow, everyone back off. I'm getting my money; nobody is going to stop me." The rough man growled.

Varric shook his head; he had seen plenty of idiots like this and knew how to deal with them.

So, amidst the chaos of people panicking; trying to back off, the city guards trying to approach, Varric moved until he had a clear line of sight and readied Bianca; loading a bolt. He waited for his moment and then, took aim and fired.

The noise startled everyone, the whistling of the bolt, along with the sound of the firing mechanism. The bolt struck the thug in the shoulder with enough force to knock him backwards and pin him to the wall of the nearby building.

The noble stumbled forwards, startled but quickly becoming relieved. Varric smirked and approached the man, knowing the whole crowd was watching him in amazement.

"I know thugs aren't smart…but you insult them with stunts like that." He remarked. "You lack…tact, which isn't a good idea for you in this line of work…Too bad."

With that he yanked the bolt from the man's shoulder; the man yelped and was soon apprehended by the guards. Varric turned to see the noble standing before him.

The man smiled. "You have my thanks Master Dwarf, I am Xaro Xohan Daxos; a rather…prominent man in this town. I owe you my life I feel; is there any way in which I can repay you?"

Varric grinned. 'Well, well, looks like I might have a good chance here.'

So he knew exactly what to say to this man; ready to play his advantage.

Varric grinned to himself as he sat at his desk; writing. As repayment for saving the life of Xaro Xohan Daxos, Varric had secured the man's aid in setting up his own merchant business; he also decided to resume his writings, penning a new novel.

His mind was wandering however; to an old friend. 'It's been three years; yet I've not heard anything. I wonder, how is Hawke doing these days…especially after that explosion?'

He shook his head and resumed writing; devoting some of his free time to his work. His business was thriving, serving the sale of regular goods, used by people in Essos as well as providing a secure source of Lyrium for the Templars present in Essos.

He was busy working on some means to ship the Lyrium overseas, to help the Templars in Westeros. Just then, the door to his office opened and Bodahn stepped in.

"Good morning sir; I have a letter here for you." He remarked. "It seems…urgent."

Varric sighed and put his quill down. "That's what everyone says, but alright, I'll see it."

Varric took the letter and noted it was from someone he never expected to hear from.

'Bianca…What is she doing contacting me?' He thought to himself surprised.

This Bianca was a woman, a female Dwarf and old flame of Varric. However certain matters caused them to have to remain apart and only very rarely did they ever have contact.

He read the letter anyway and froze; shocked at what he read; two words in particular stood out to him. Words he never thought to see again, words he hoped to never see again.

Red Lyrium.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.

Well, next up is another GOT POV character, one we've been waiting to hear from.