Back at the Hanged Man, Kora treated her companions and they all sat down for a game of Wicked Grace. To her mild surprise, with a few calculations, she realized that she had now earned enough sovereigns to get in on the Tethras' expedition. Hearing the good news, Varric raised a toast, "To riches and wonders beyond our wildest dreams! And to no dragons sitting in the entrances!"

That got a chuckle, particularly out of Kora who had been the one to mention that possibility earlier. They drank and continued their game, enjoying what would probably be their last night in Kirkwall for a while. Isabela ended up challenging Tony to a game of strip poker and the two of them were somehow evenly matched. Before the game had gotten too far, aka, after Tony had taken off his shirt, Kora's curiosity got the better of her and she walked over and interrupted.

"Tony? That... thing on your chest. What is it?" she asked, ignoring Isabela's drunken protests about the game.

"It's what's keeping me alive." he answered simply.

"Hah. Okay, are you actually going to answer my question or are you going to avoid it?"

The man smiled and sat back, shrugging, "A while ago, some... things happened and I got a ton of shrapnel stuck in my chest. This," he tapped his chestpiece, "is an electromagnet that's keeping the shrapnel from entering my heart."

"If I remember correctly, you said something a while ago about how electronics and mechanics need a power source. What's powering that?" Kora had found Tony's 'tech talk' intriguing, even though she hardly understood it.

"A new element I discovered. Or rather, my old man did, I just finally had the means to make it." Tony admitted. Kora nodded and bit her lip, trying to keep herself from asking the burning question. Of course, Tony noticed, "Are you going to keep asking silly questions or get to the one you really want to ask?" He stood and moved closer to her, cornering her against a wall.

She grinned, "...Can I touch it?"

Tony laughed, "Wanna see something cool?" he reached down and released the arc reactor, pulling it free from his chest for a moment. In an instant, Kora felt a huge surge of power that made her head spin. The only thing she'd ever felt that much power around was... lyrium. But it couldn't be. Ingesting properly refined lyrium was dangerous enough, but having a chunk of raw lyrium inside your chest? Even if you weren't a mage, that'd kill you outright. She had to know for certain, and her mind was so sluggish. She couldn't think of another way to check, other than touching it. There was some repercussion to that, though, she just could not remember what it was... So she began to reach for it.

"NO!"

All at once, Justice stood in front of her and Tony was on the ground on the other side of the room. Carver shot to his feet and Varric shouted something. Tony coughed and rolled over, quickly locking the chestpiece back into place. He lay for a moment, his head still spinning since it had cracked against the wall.

Justice's glow receded as quickly as it had come and Anders staggered for a second, "Hawke, if you had touched that, you would be dead."

Tony's chestpiece back in place, Kora was released from her stupor, "Maker... That was lyrium. Raw lyrium." she breathed.

"What?" Carver hissed, his greatsword pointed at Anders.

"Seconded." Tony groaned, sitting up.

"Carver, enough, put it away." Kora said, taking back control of the situation, "Justice saved me."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Anders glared at Tony, "Bringing raw lyrium that close to a mage, do you have any idea what lyrium does to us?"

"Look, kid, just cause you're jealous-" Tony started.

"Jealous? You almost killed her! I-"

"Enough!" Kora yelled, "Both of you." She glared between them for a second, daring them to challenge her. When neither did, she continued, "Now, weapons away, and we're all going to sit down for another drink. Got it?"

"I'm going back, I've had enough of mages for one day." Carver spat. Without waiting for a reply, he left.

"The hell just happened?" Tony asked.

Kora sighed, "Tony, your... electromagnet... is powered by lyrium. I honestly don't know how you're alive. Raw lyrium is probably one of the most dangerous substances I've ever heard of. Coming in contact with the raw ore is lethal in most cases, and when it isn't, it causes massive injuries and madness. Yet you've been using it to keep your heart beating."

"Not to mention the effect it has on mages." Anders put in, "Lyrium in the simplest explanation, is magic. And having so much power in one place is maddening to mages. The thought of it takes over your mind till there's nothing else you can think of. It drives you to lunacy for want of it."

"So why did neither of you notice it till now?" Varric asked.

"The... thing you've got it held in, the device that's holding it, it's containing the power enough that we can't feel it." Kora said.

"So? Now what?" Tony asked, almost boredly.

"Well... now we know you shouldn't take that center piece out around mages, which I don't think will be a huge problem, since you don't seem to do that all that much anyway. But, beyond that... nothing." Kora shrugged.

"Nothing? Hawke, he's dangerous!" Anders exclaimed.

"We're all dangerous, fool."

"That's truth if I've ever heard it." Isabela slurred, "We all have our advantages, just as we all have our weaknesses. ...and our fetishes." With that, she winked.

"Isabela!" Kora chided, jokingly, "Anyway, I think we should all go home and get some rest. Tomorrow will be an interesting day."

Tony and Isabela pouted but left to go to their own rooms all the same. Anders sighed and headed for the door, but stopped when Kora didn't follow him.

"Hawke? Aren't you coming?"

"Hm? Oh, you can go ahead, I want to talk to Varric first. I'll see you tomorrow." Kora replied, though it wasn't Varric she wanted to talk to.

"What's up, Hawke?" the dwarf asked, after Anders had left.

"Sorry, Varric, I actually want to talk to Tony. But if I had said that to Anders, he probably wouldn't have left."

"Well, you're right about that. Then, I'll see you in the morning, Hawke." Varric said, then turned to go to his own room. Kora smiled and knocked on Tony's door which opened a beat later. Tony leaned casually against the door frame and the two of them just looked at each other for a long moment.

"So? Now what?" Tony asked.

"Now? Shouldn't you be saying something romantic?"

"I'm bad at romantic."

"I got that vibe." Kora laughed, "But that, isn't why I'm here."

Tony was now confused, and intrigued, "It isn't?"

"Well, now I know what you think about all the time. But, no. When we first met, I asked you if you would help us with our expedition. It looks like that expedition will begin tomorrow and I wanted to ask you again, if you're still in on it." she explained.

"What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

"Nothing, really. But then again, nothing really surprises me anymore."

There was a beat as Tony regarded her, "You sure you weren't here for something else?"

"Sorry Tony, you're not quite as seductive as you think you are." Kora smiled foxily.

"Ouch."

"Well, when compared with a good night's sleep so I can deal with a particular grumpy dwarf in the morning and convince him to let us in on the expedition. An expedition I think we need you on."

"Do you need me because I'm useful, or do you want me because I'm me?" the billionaire asked.

"Both."

"I'm in."