Tony had been in Kirkwall for about a week now. The girl, Kora Hawke, had set him up at the local tavern with the dwarf. Though Varric had not been particularly excited about his new roommate, Tony didn't care. All he cared about at this point was figuring out how to get home, however, Hawke continuously distracted him. She was always bugging him about his suit, which, thankfully for him, was in fact his travel suit so he could carry it around instead of having to wear it all the time. Though he denied magic continuously, Hawke had still warned him about the 'Templars'. They were apparently the sort to act first and hardly think about it later. It didn't matter. He knew he could take them all on if he wanted to.
On this particular day, Hawke came by to pick himself, the dwarf and a pirate woman, who suspiciously reminded him of Jack Sparrow, up to go on some quest or another. She said they were heading out to the coast to meet with someone who had contacted her by letter. Tony almost thought to himself how pitiful it was how they still communicated through written letter but remembered the primitive state of the people of Kirkwall.
"So, you get a letter from an anonymous someone asking you to travel outside of the city, away from any kind of protection you might have had from civilian onlookers, they won't even tell you what for and you still think this is somehow a good idea?" Tony asked.
"Oh, I know who it is. I could tell right away. We can't communicate openly because a Templar associating with a known apostate would not be good for either person involved." Kora smirked.
"Wait, a Templar? Hawke, why are we going to help a Templar?" the blond man they had also picked up, asked angrily.
"It's Ser Thrask, remember? The one who helped us find Feynriel. Out of all the Templars I've met, he's pretty decent."
"Don't worry so much, Blondie, I'm sure Hawke's got the situation under control." Varric chuckled.
"Of course, plus, we're not just two helpless mages, Anders. We've got Varric and trusty Bianca, Isabela, who could likely wrap you backwards around a ship rail, Carver, and Ironman over here." Kora tapped her knuckles playfully on Tony's chest. 'Blondie' shut up and they continued on. They found the Templar in question waiting for them outside of a dank looking cave.
"Mistress Hawke." the man greeted, "Arianni tells me you sought a better path than the Circle for her son, Feynriel. I thought perhaps you would be willing to show mages a kindness once more."
"What exactly is going on?" Kora asked.
"There are a number of apostates hiding in these caverns-" Thrask began.
Anders jumped in angrily, "We are not going to kill apostates for you!"
"Haven't you been listening?" Tony sighed, "Honestly, calm down like a good boy and let your elders converse. Now, Mr. Thrask, I find myself... at a loss. What is an apostate?" Anders clammed up, too frustrated to retort.
The Templar gave him a funny look but it was Hawke who answered, "Apostates are mages outside of the Circle of Magi. Essentially, people like me."
"I was hoping you might speak to the group, convince them to surrender peacefully before my fellow Templars arrive." Thrask continued.
"I will do what I can." she said, nodding.
"Thank you. Your compassion does you credit."
"Uh-huh, and what do we get out of this, might I ask?" Tony asked, rather business-like.
Thrask seemed a bit taken aback, "I- I do have some coin, if you were looking for a reward but..."
"As much as it would be helpful, that won't be necessary, Ser Thrask. We won't ask for anything other than the well-being of the mages." Hawke interrupted, shooting Tony a glare.
"Ser Karras hunts them as well. If they have not surrendered by the time he arrives, this will be a bloodbath." The Templar nodded toward the caverns and stepped away.
Once inside, Kora rounded on both Anders and Tony, "Anders, I'm not sure you realize, I am a mage too, I completely understand our position. Trust me; I know what I'm doing. And you, Serah Stark-"
"Tony, please."
"Tony, though we are by no means a charity, I did not come here with the hope of getting coin. I came here because Ser Thrask asked me for a favor and since 'Apostate Mage' doesn't make me very liked by Templars around here, I figured I'd get on their good side." she finished.
"Why do you have anything to fear from these 'Templars'? You can burn them to a crisp with your little magic tricks."
Kora sighed exasperatedly, "Templars ingest lyrium, they can nullify my magic whensoever they like."
"What, you mean they can see though your tricks?" Tony chuckled. That earned him another sigh, and the girl shook her head.
"Let's just find these mages."
As they spelunked through the passages, the pirate, Isabela, would not stop staring at Tony's suit.
"Can I help you?" he asked, after a while.
"Mmm... not at the moment, but... if pressed I'm sure I could think of a use or two." she smiled.
"Just two? That's vaguely insulting."
"Oooh, multi-talented, I like that. You know, I have a room at the Hanged Man if you're looking for company... later." the woman giggled.
"Isabela!" Hawke interjected quickly, "Mission. Focus."
"Was that... jealousy?" Isabela's eyebrows shot up.
"No, it's annoyance, now move."