Anders stared at the staff.
"Is this some sort of joke?" he asked Hawke, frowning, a touch of anger in his voice.
"Not at all," replied Hawke. "I had it made specially, though Fenris helped advise me on certain specifications. You'll notice the blade is longer than normal for a mage's staff; it's stronger, too. The balance is better for hand-to-hand combat; the haematite ball on the other end is to counterweight the blade more than channel magic - which you won't be doing much of."
Anders hefted the staff thoughtfully. The blade was the length of a longsword, fullered, double-edged and a little wider than a normal sword. The shaft was silverite, sturdy and capable of withstanding impacts and vibrations from parrying sword blows with the blade, the handgrip bound with black leather and twisted silver wire. The balance was perfect for Anders.
"Sandal's worked his own peculiar talents on it; I told him you need to be able to knock magic away and throw it back at the caster. I figured after seeing the way you were able to sling that emissary's magic right back at it, maybe if you had a staff with enchantments to specifically attract spells to it and sling them back whilst insulating you as much as possible from the effects might be useful." Hawke shrugged. "I can't guarantee that Sandal necessarily grasped what I was trying to tell him, but Bethany checked it over and she says it should work the way I asked for; Merrill agreed." He grinned at Anders. "It's also got the usual enchantments against breaking and what have you, and it's designed to augment lightning attacks - so should you recover your magic, it'll be useful as a staff again. It's just plain enough that you can get away with people mistaking it for a polearm, and just flashy enough for you." He winked, and Anders couldn't quite suppress a small grin.
"How does it feel?" asked Fenris.
"Like it was made for me," admitted Anders. "The balance is perfect."
"How about you try it out, Blondie?" suggested Varric. "Give it a twirl."
"Better yet, let's take a trip out somewhere quiet where we can all help you put it through its paces, Anders?" suggested Hawke. "Feel like a quick jaunt to the coast? Bethany can join us and you can practice against a mage and see how it handles deflecting magic - see if it works the way it's supposed to?"
"I don't know," said Anders, turning away. he glanced at the alchemy book Varric had placed on his desk; laying the staff carefully down on a nearby table, he took up the book and began to leaf through it carefully. "Varric, where did you get this?" he asked curiously. "We studied some alchemy in the Circle but this is a lot more advanced than anything the apprentices were allowed to play with. I can follow it, but..."
"Ah, you know me, Blondie; contacts everywhere and occasionally interesting things pass through my hands. After what you were able to do with those two blast capsules, I figured a little alchemy might be right up your street, give you a chance to come up with some interesting stuff to supplement your skills as it were." The dwarf shrugged. "Have a read, let me know if it's useful, and give me a list of whatever supplies you think you might need to experiment with. Just don't blow yourself up, alright? The templars may not have any interest in a herbal healer who dabbles in alchemy, but the Guard might if you start blowing parts of the city up and I'd hate to have to explain this to Aveline."
Anders nodded absently, leafing through the book, his mind already busy mentally calculating what equipment and reagents he'd need, drawing a scrap of paper towards himself then fumbling for a quill with his right hand to start jotting things down.
"I can see you're going to be pretty busy with that, Anders," said Hawke. "Tell you what, you see what you can come up with, and let's hit the coast in, say, a week or two?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, certainly," said Anders distractedly as Hawke and Varric made their way to the door with knowing grins. "Thanks for the book - and the staff!" he called out, looking up belatedly from the book. Varric merely raised his hand in acknowledgement with a smile, and then Anders was alone with Fenris.
"I can see you are too preoccupied to spar today," observed Fenris. "Perhaps it would be best if we resumed our practice tomorrow."
Anders glanced down at the staff, and then back at the book before glancing up at Fenris, obviously torn between the desire to immerse himself in the book and the awareness that he ought to practice with the staff. After a moment's indecision he closed the book with a small sigh.
"No, I can read later; I should try out this staff. It'll do me no good if I don't actually practice with it," he answered. He laid the book down atop the scrap of parchment he'd been scrawling a list of reagents he'd need, then took up the new staff.
Fenris nodded approvingly.
Anders appeared at the Hanged Man early the next day with a list of reagents, minerals and equipment he needed. The dwarf grumbled a little at being woken so early, but when he saw the list, he raised an eyebrow.
"This is quite the list, Blondie," he said, glancing up at the former mage.
"You did say to give you a list," said Anders anxiously, twisting his fingers together anxiously.
"Now, don't fret, just leave this with me, alright? I'll see what I can do. Some of this stuff I may have to order from Orzammar."
"Anything will help," said Anders. "Thanks, Varric, this is going to really help."
Varric grinned. "No problem, Blondie. Did you have breakfast yet?"
Anders shook his head. "Not yet. I have to get back; Fenris will be arriving for our morning practice and breakfast soon."
"Breakfast, eh?" said Varric, his eyes lighting up as his storyteller's senses detected a whiff of an interesting story. "You and Broody, huh?"
"Not like that, Varric," Anders rolled his eyes. "He's just been training me how to fight with a staff. It just makes sense to eat together seeing as he brings me food anyway; coin's a lot tighter now I can't accompany Hawke on any of his trips, and Fenris insists I need to eat properly to build the right muscle for staff work."
"He's right, Blondie," nodded varric. "You're building muscle - it's looking good on you. Though you could probably use a new wardrobe; looks like the shoulders on your coat are getting a bit tight. Maybe if Broody thinks you're ready, you could come along on this little venture Hawke's got planned for this evening."
"Oh?" said Anders, his ears pricking up. He needed new supplies for the clinic and the coin from one of Hawke's ventures would mean he could go shopping. He might even be able to afford a few groceries, depending on how much his share came to.
"Just a little patrol work for Aveline; there's been more smuggler activity coming through the tunnels under Darktown recently and Aveline thinks a new agent is trying to move in on Athenril's turf. Aveline's none too fond of our favourite pointy-eared smuggler, but she'd rather deal with Athenril than open warfare between rival smugglers and a new kid on the block. She's asked if we can go check it out and persuade the newcomers to move on somewhere else."
"Who's coming?" asked Anders.
"Hawke, naturally, which also means Sunshine; yours truly of course - and Broody. An extra blade would come in useful - especially if you can modify some more miasmic blast capsules like you did before. What do you say Blondie - want to come join us and put that new staff of yours to the test properly?" Varric tilted his head. "I've got a pouch of the capsules here you can take; you could work on them this afternoon if you get a little quiet time maybe." He smiled wrily. "You look like you could use a change of scenery," he added.
Anders took the pouch and hefted it thoughtfully. "You're probably right," nodded Anders thoughtfully. "I'll think about it and see what Fenris thinks."
"You do that, Blondie," nodded Varric approvingly. "Hold onto the capsules in any case - I'm curious what you can come up with. I'll have most of the stuff on your list in a day or two."
"Appreciate this, Varric," said Anders.
"Any time, Blondie. Any time."
The morning's sparring with Fenris went well; Anders managed to block each of Fenris' attacks and pressed his own hard enough that Fenris was forced to put more effort into defending himself.
"Good," rumbled the elf approvingly when he finally called a halt. "You have come along well."
"Well enough to come along with you and Hawke?" asked Anders, a hopeful note in his voice.
"You have been talking to Varric, I see," said Fenris as he ran an oiled cloth along his blade. He'd been wielding his great two-handed sword in this session as Anders had improved so much and his new staff was a far more resilient weapon than his old staff.
Anders watched Fenris, trying to hold in the nervous anticipation and impatience he felt as the elf slowly and steadily cleaned and oiled his greatsword before sheathing it, all the while considering Anders' request. Finally he looked at Anders and nodded once.
"You've come along well for one who was unused to the blade and not trained to it as a warrior. I would have no fear for you walking Darktown alone with your staff in your hand. I think it is time to test your skills in a true fight."
Anders couldn't restrain the grin that broke out across his face, and Fenris found himself returning it. The elf gestured to Anders' clothes.
"Your coat is too flimsy to protect you against a blade," he said thoughtfully. "You will need better protection against smugglers' blades."
"The only armour I've ever worn was Warden gear," said Anders dubiously. Fenris nodded.
"As I understand it, the uniform for mages in the Wardens is similar to that worn by rogues such as Hawke; light armour, flexible, for freedom of movement," said Fenris slowly.
"Yes, quilted, some leather," agreed Anders.
"Just so," said Fenris. "Come by Hawke's place just after sundown; perhaps some of Hawke's old mercenary gear might be suitable for you." He buckled his greatsword on his back then inclined his head slightly towards Anders. "Until this evening then."
Once Fenris had gone, Anders shut and barred the door. He decided to leave the lanterns unlit for once. He made his way over to where he'd laid the staff and spent some time cleaning and oiling it, caring for it as Fenris had shown him, using the small kit the elf had brought with him on their third lesson together. Then he took up the bag of miasmic blast capsules Varric had given him, fetched a couple of precious lyrium vials from the small stash in the hidden box beneath the loose floorboard beneath his bed, and took them over to his preparation area.
He opened the alchemical manual to a page he'd bookmarked earlier, and set to work.