"Ah, Darktown! It makes the Hanged Man smell as pretty as a rose, by comparison," Varric sighed, a wrinkle to his broad nose, Hawke snorting at his comment.
"I wish the Guard could get down here more often, but Captain Jeven actively neglects the sewers. If we put just a little bit of effort into it, this place could be...er...better," Aveline stated as she watched a beggar peeling the clothes off of a recently deceased man.
"Let's find this healer before I pass out!" Bethany pinched her nose shut, looking at the whining mabari next to her.
Hawke found a set of doors set back into one of the deep recesses of Darktown's streets. There was a lit lantern overhead, just like the young Fereldan woman had stated. Leaving no chance for self-doubt, the rogue strode through one of the unlocked doors, stopping short at the sight that lay before her.
Rough cots scattered the place, some with groaning occupants, others empty, whose stains were uncomfortably visible. One of them, set at the back, had a blanket pulled up to completely cover a body so small that it could only have been a child's.
Hawke shuddered, steeling herself against the tragedy that clearly marked this place. But another sight caught her quick eyes: A man, wearing fur-lined robes was using healing magic on a small boy, his parents beside the healer.
Small beads of sweat dotted the furrowed brow of the tired-looking mage, as he funneled all of his will into the energy pouring from his hands. Even Hawke found herself holding her breath, waiting to see what was going to happen. The boy's frail body stirred before his eyes snapped open, gasping with renewed life. The mage stumbled away, the efforts of his spell having clearly exhausted him.
The boy's father thanked the healer profusely while his wife cradled the child, weeping with joy. Hawke looked to her sister, noticing admiration and interest in the mage. It was understandable as Bethany was also fairly proficient in healing magic, having patched up her siblings on many occasions.
But the healer was not blind to their presence, and it was not long before he turned on them, holding his staff aloft and directing his free hand toward them, crackling with magic. "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation! Why do you threaten it?"
"I'm just here to talk," Hawke cooed, holding her hands up and away from her daggers. The rest of her companions followed suit, assuming non-offensive stances.
"We're interested in getting into the Deep Roads," Varric started. "Rumor has it, you were a Warden. Do you know a way?"
"Did the Wardens send you to bring me back? I'm not going! Those bastards made me get rid of my cat!" the mage said rather crossly. "Poor Ser Pounce-A-Lot... He hated the Deep Roads."
Hawke's brow rose in disbelief, but continued as if no strange comments about a cat in the Deep Roads had been made. "I'm part of an expedition into the Deep Roads. Any information you have could save people's lives."
"I will die a happy man if I never have to think about the blighted Deep Roads again." A shadow passed over his wearied face, telling far more than Hawke realized. "You can't imagine what I went through to get here! I'm not interested..." But he paused, looking at them as though realizing they were exactly what he had been searching for. "Although..." He smirked thoughtfully. "A favor for a favor. Does that sound like a fair deal? You help me, I'll help you."
Hawke looked to her friends. Aveline looked skeptical, as usual. Bethany and Varric, on the other hand, were scrutinizing him with cautious curiosity.
"I suppose that depends on what you have in mind, Warden," Hawke said with a playful grin.
The mage rolled his eyes. "Anders! Just call me Anders!"
"Fine. Anders. What's this favor? And it better not involve nug-wrangling or anything like that."
Anders snorted, his defensive demeanor relaxing more. "Nothing so flippant, I assure you. What I need help with is something far more delicate. I've been keeping correspondence with a mage in the Circle, Karl. I'm going to help him escape." Hawke noticed Bethany tense up immediately, her attention focused solely on him.
"I'm to meet him tonight, in the Chantry. But... I'm worried about the Templars." Bethany's hand clasped Hawke's wrist, her breath hitching at the word. She laced her fingers with the mage's, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
Anders was not blind to the action. His eyes flitted to their hands before asking, "Did I say something wrong?"
Bethany shook her head. "No, but look." She held her empty hand up, conjuring a small flame in her palm before extinguishing it.
"You're an apostate," the former Warden realized. Dawning crossed his features. "You fear the Templars!"
"Don't we all, Blondie?" Varric stated. Bethany averted her eyes.
"All the more reason to help, then! This is the problem with the Chantry and its blasted Templars! They wield their fear against us mages, beating us into submission! Those who won't rest they turn Tranquil, because, in reality, they fear us!" Anders' eyes shone with a fierce passion that unnerved the rogue a little.
"Help me free one more mage! Help me show the Chantry that we cannot be contained like cattle!"
Hawke looked to her sister's young face, and saw her return an almost imperceptible nod, squeezing the elder's hand. "Count us in."
"Good. Meet me outside of the Chantry at nightfall."
Hawke nodded, then turned to leave the clinic. On their way back to the Hanged Man, Aveline stopped, giving the rogue a most curious look. Her jaw was clenched tight, brow furrowed and eyes dark with concentration and doubt.
"Hawke, I'm not sure that I can help you do this. I'm a member of the Guard. If I'm caught helping you to free mages from the Circle, the consequences could be disastrous... For so many people."
"Oh, come on, Aveline! What could go wrong?" Hawke laughed, exchanging grins with the dwarf at her side.
"It's not funny, Hawke! Think of your sister! What if the Templars do-"
"I think of my sister every moment of every day! I have spent every breath of mine protecting her from the Circle!" Bethany put a hand on Hawke's shoulder, trying to calm her down, but Hawke roughly jerked away. "How dare you even suggest that I'm doing any of this without thought for my family! I'm doing this to try and make things right again!"
"Hawke, I-"
"Don't! If you're not with me, if you're too cowardly to help, then go! Hide in the barracks!"
"I am NOT a coward!" Aveline bellowed back at the woman squaring off in front of her.
"PROVE IT!" Hawke thought for a brief second that Aveline was going to punch her, but the guardswoman stood up straighter, looking down at Hawke.
"I don't need to prove anything to you," She said quietly, venom burning every word. She jerked her head to Varric and Bethany before turning away, leaving Hawke breathing heavily, fuming with rage.
"Wow, Hawke, remind me never to get on your bad side!" The woman shot Varric a look that made even the smooth-talking dwarf cower a bit.
"Marian, you know she was just looking out for you. Aveline is only-" But Hawke silenced her sister by cupping her beseeching face in calloused hands.
"All for you," she murmured. She looked into Bethany's warm, chocolate eyes, letting her know how deeply she loved her little sister. "I-I can't right now." Swift as a cat Hawke left them, melting into the bustle of Lowtown, not looking back.
Varric let out a low whistle. "Come on, Sunshine. How about I buy you a pint and tell you a story about the time I swindled a prince out of his own crown!" Bethany chuckled, following the dwarf to the tavern, knowing that there was no point looking for her sibling. The rogue would return when she was ready.
Hawke found herself roaming the wild Wounded Coast, kicking stones over the rocky edges, counting the seconds it took before she heard the resounding plop from the water. She knew she had no right to yell at Aveline the way she did, but why didn't Aveline see that this was a necessary thing to get her family closer to a good and protected life?
She sat down on a rock, plopping her chin into her hands moodily. Her mind drifted to her young sibling who knew more about life's cruelty than she should. And yet, Bethany never failed to see the light in people, to find good in every corner. It was a characteristic that Hawke found herself clinging to more often than she realized, considering how the rogue was forced to see threats everywhere to protect those she loved.
Was she really being selfish by bringing Bethany along? What if the Templars did show up? They would see Bethany not only as an apostate, but also as a danger, something to be put down. They didn't hesitate, when it came to rogue mages. They attack first and ask no questions later. Self-righteous bastards!
Hawke then imagined how it would go if she tried to tell Bethany that she had to stay behind on this task. She remembered the look of rapt attention the young mage gave to Anders when he talked so strongly of freeing mages and undermining the power of the Chantry. He believed himself to be doing good, and Bethany didn't think him wrong.
Hawke could hear her now, "You can't keep me from this, Sister! I'm not a little girl anymore! I have eluded the Circle so far, and this is my chance to make a difference. I can't just sit and do nothing!" She smiled to herself, knowing that the room would be crackling with the raw energy of the mage's well-developed power.
Right decision or not, Hawke decided to go ahead with the plan, Bethany with her. The time for self-doubt was over. Brooding on the Coast served no one. She stood up and made her way back to the ever-roiling city of Kirkwall, wondering what the night would hold for them.
Hawke opened the groaning door to her uncle's hovel. Mangy bounded forward, greeting her by nearly tackling her to the floor. Gamlen grunted with distaste for the dog's actions, which Hawke and hound both blissfully ignored. "I see you made it home safe and sound, boy! Did you bite any scumbag raiders? Did you?" Hawke wrestled with her dog before her mother entered.
"No cuts, no bruises and no fresh blood stains! It must have been a good day for you, dear." Leandra embraced her eldest child.
"The day's not over yet, Mother," Hawke teased.
"Maker's breath, please tell me you're not up to something else today?"
"I have to do something tonight. It's essential to the Deep Roads expedition. We won't return until late tonight, and Mother, I have to take Beth with me. Don't worry," Hawke added hastily seeing the look on Leandra's face. "I'll keep her safe! Speaking of which, where is she?" Hawke saw with a brief glance that her sister was definitely not in the small abode.
"She sent word that she was at the Hanged Man with that dwarf, Varric. Marian? I'm not so sure about the company you sister is keeping. Especially at the Hanged Man."
Hawke broke into a fit of giggles at that comment, knowing that it meant Leandra was worried about the handsomely rugged merchant dwarf taking advantage of her little sister. The very idea was so comical that Hawke's laughter grew stronger.
"What?" Leandra said crossly.
"N-nothing, Mother. Trust me, Bethany's safe. Especially with Varric. No one will come near her there while he's with her." Leandra cast Hawke a look of disbelief. "I'm serious, Mother! Varric looks at Beth as though she were his own little sister. He's just as protective of her as I am." The elder regarded her daughter carefully before accepting her claims about the dwarf.
"I just want you two safe. After Carver..." Hawke quickly moved to embrace her.
"I miss him too."
"He would have been right with you, getting in and out of all these silly scrapes right by your side. He loved you, even though he never really said it that much. I could tell by the way he looked up to you"
"Maker knows, he's probably fuming about all the fun he's missing out on!" Hawke jested. Leandra broke a watery smile, before giving her daughter one last appraising look and moving into the other room to read.
"I'm going to the Hanged Man," Hawke stated bluntly to her seedy uncle. "Mangy, keep Mother company will you?" The hound chuffed affectionately to her master, plodding off to the room where Leandra was residing.
The rogue wound her way through the filthy streets of Lowtown, constantly extending her senses beyond herself to be prepared for any potential threats. Fortunately, though, she had built up a decent enough reputation with the Red Iron and her own personal exploits, that only the very stupid or very skilled would try anything with Hawke. She treaded the short trip at a leisurely pace, feeling the hot rays of the slowly descending sun braze her skin.
Upon entering the tavern, she noticed that Bethany and Varric were not to be found on the main floor. Without hesitation, she went to the upper floor, and into Varric's suite. There, the Dwarf had just finished saying something that caused the mage to lapse into a fit of giggles.
"Ah! Hawke, I had a feeling you would show up eventually!"
"Marian! Where did you go?"
"I just went to the coast. The water calms my nerves, takes the edge off." Hawke looked down, feeling ashamed of her actions. A pang of guilt lurched through her when she remembered the way she yelled at Aveline, her best friend, and called her a coward. Hawke knew she would have to find some way to apologize to the guardswoman, but there was no time to do so right now. They would need to leave soon to make it to the Chantry by nightfall.
Hawke made to reach for the mostly undrunk ale set before her sister, but the dwarf stayed her hand. "Can't be too loaded before helping Blondie, Hawke, you know that. I've seen you in brawls before; trust me when I say you're at your best sober."
"Andraste's sanctified ass, Varric! I just want something to take the edge off!" The statement came out a little more harshly than she had intended, but she knew that he understood Hawke was feeling frustrated and upset about the argument from earlier.
"It's your skin, Hawke. But you know how Mother Hawke hates it when her chicks come home battered and bruised..." the merchant chided, smirking at the look on Hawke's face.
"Ugh! To the Void with you and your ability to wield guilt!" Bethany giggled again, always amused with the interludes shared between her big sister and the smooth dwarf.
"Okay. Let's go, Anders will be waiting for us, and light is dwindling." The mage's giggling ceased as she took on a more serious mantle and Varric was busy strapping Bianca to his back. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get that mage's maps and be done with this!"
"Marian, wait!" Bethany caught the rogue's attention. "Do you want to stop by the barracks on the way to the Chantry?"
Hawke's jaw clenched. "There's not enough time," she mumbled before turning from her sister's imploring gaze. "Let's just go."