Act One

Chapter Five

Partners in Adventure

Three Months Later

Paden Hawke stood at the bar in Lowtown's Hanged Man Pub, nearly empty mug in hand, listening to the local gossip. The Hanged Man was reputably the best pub in all of Kirkwall, and since Paden had never bothered to frequent any other pubs, she couldn't dispute that. It was a rough sort of place, just as anything in Lowtown was, but they had cheap ale, and cheap was something Paden liked.

The bartender, Corff, set a full mug on the counter in front of Paden. "So, did you hear about that Qunari ship that crashed in the storm a couple months ago?" he asked her.

"Of course. The Viscount put them all up in a private quarter by the docks. It's sort of old news, Corff."

"But did you know they're still there?" Corff asked. "They claim they're waiting for another ship to come get them, but there's been no sign of any Qunari ships all this time."

"Well, I imagine it takes a bit longer than two months to sail all the way from Par Vollen," Paden said.

The bartender seemed to consider that for the first time. "Hm, never thought of that."

Paden chuckled and then took a sip of her drink. She squinted her eyes and blinked rapidly in response to the bitter taste of the ale, but with each sip her tolerance increased. Or maybe her senses were just being dulled. In any case, the more she drank of the ale the more she enjoyed it.

Just then the door to the pub opened and Carver walked in. Paden waved him over.

"Why'd you want to meet me here?" he asked, as Paden motioned for the barkeep to bring Carver a drink.

"Because we've got something to celebrate, Brother. It's our anniversary today."

"Anniversary? Of what?" Carver asked. He took a tentative sip of his ale.

"It's been one year today since we started working for Athenril."

Carver arched his eyebrows. "That's right. So does that mean…"

Paden nodded with a grin. "Yep, we're free and clear, Brother dear. No more working our tails off for nothing."

"I can drink to that," Carver said, and raised his mug, a rare grin splitting his face.

Paden motioned for them to take seats at a nearby table. After a moment of drinking in silence Carver asked, "Did you tell mother?"

"Of course. I ran home to tell her as soon as Athenril released me."

"I bet she's happy."

"Happier, anyway. As happy as she can be I suppose."

Another moment of silence.

"Did you punch out Athenril before you left?" Carver asked.

Paden chuckled and shook her head. "But I sure wanted to. Especially when she tried to convince me our year wasn't up yet."

"Oh, great," Carver said. "More arguing then? Your temper is going to cost us some day. People talk you know. What'd you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you left. You say you didn't punch her out, but I doubt you left it at that."

"There…may have been a scene," Paden admitted. "But I wasn't going to let her cheat us, and there is no way I didn't know the exact day we could say good riddance to her forever. I wrote it in my journal when we got the job and have been counting the days ever since."

"The way you two have been at each other's throats this last week it's a wonder we kept our job to the last day," Carver said.

"Well, it's all in the past now," Paden said with the wave of her hand.

She took another sip of her drink and then stared down into her mug in silence, watching the bits of white foam floating on the dark liquid.

The last year had been very hard, and it had worn Paden's patience thin, but Carver's more so, she guessed. He often resented the fact that she was a mage—not that she had any choice in the matter. But he resented that a lot of the trouble they had was because of that fact. They were in perpetual hiding, in fear that the Templars would get wind of Paden and haul the whole lot of them off to the Gallows. Every time she went against Athenril's authority or made a scene in public, every time Paden drew attention to herself in any way, she risked exposure. And working for a smuggler wasn't the best way to avoid attention. They needed to start fresh, to find something that could set them up for life so they could lay low and mind their own business. And Paden had a plan.

"So, now what are we going to do?" Carver asked. "This last year of hiding and being dirt poor all the time has really worn thin."

"I couldn't agree more," Paden said, smiling, as they seemed to be on the same track in that moment. "And I think I already have an answer for that."

"Already?"

Paden took a sip of her ale before elaborating. "The other day I did some snooping in Hightown. I found out about an expedition that's leaving soon for the Deep Roads. They're hiring adventurers."

"The Deep Roads? You mean, the ancient dwarven underground cities Deep Roads?"

Paden nodded. "Those are the ones."

"You mean the abandoned, crumbling, infested with Darkspawn Deep Roads?"

"The same, Carver."

"And you want us to hire on to this expedition? What's the pay?"

"Don't know exactly, I haven't talked to the expedition's leader yet. But I hear it's a good amount."

"Why in Thedas would we want to throw ourselves in front of more Darkspawn?" Carver said. "Haven't we seen enough of them?"

"Don't tell me you wouldn't jump at the chance to avenge Bethany," Paden said. "If we go that's what I intend to do."

"You do have a point," Carver admitted thoughtfully. "Might feel good to remove a few Darkspawn heads, for personal satisfaction if nothing else."

"Now you're getting the idea," Paden said. "And anyway, we could really use the coin. If the amount I heard is true than this could be all we need to start over."

"What's the expedition for?" Carver asked.

"Treasure hunting I think. Supposedly those old dwarven thaigs are filled with all kinds of treasure."

"If we go on the expedition will we be able to keep any of it?"

"I guess we'll find that out tomorrow," Paden said. "I heard that the expedition's leader—some dwarf named Bartrand Tethras—will be in his office in the Dwarven Merchants Guild tomorrow afternoon. You and I will go talk to him."

"You know mother's not going to like this," Carver said.

Paden considered that. "She probably won't. But this is the only lead we have right now. I've been looking for work for the last two weeks. No one's hiring Fereldens. At lest not anyone who pays a decent wage."

"Still?" Carver said.

"Refugees have been coming in every day until a couple weeks ago. The Blight only just ended, and so far no one's rushing to return to Ferelden."

"Including us," Carver said.

"You want to go back?" Paden said in mild surprise.

Carver shook his head. "No, I don't. Lothering is gone. What would be the point?"

"I heard they're trying to rebuild," Paden said softly.

"Do you want to go back?"

Paden shook her head. "No, not really. There're no happy memories left there."

Carver nodded his agreement, and the two siblings nursed their drinks in silence as some of those memories resurfaced.

—

The next day the two of them made the trek to Hightown and the Dwarven Merchants Guild, which was located in an area of Hightown where mostly dwarves lived and did business, and there was a dwarven market there too. They found the office of Bartrand Tethras and went inside.

"Excuse me," Paden said to the first dwarf she saw. "I'm looking for Bartrand."

"Well, you found him," the dwarf said, his voice rough and gravely. Bartrand had long blond hair in a ponytail, and a long beard that was woven into six braids. "What do you want?" the dwarf asked, as he stood from the chair at his desk.

"We heard about your expedition," Paden said.

"Oh, did you now? Well, good for you." Bartrand walked past them, heading for the door of his office

Paden and Carver exchanged a glance and followed him. "We heard you were hiring adventurers," Paden said.

"So?" Bartrand said.

"So…we're applying," Paden pressed.

Bartrand walked out onto the street, shaking his head. "No."

"No? That's it?" Carver said. "You haven't even heard about our skills yet."

"No!" Bartrand said again. "Andraste's tits, human. You know how many people want to hire on to this expedition?"

Carver glanced at Paden as they kept pace with the dwarf. It looked like this wouldn't be as easy as it had at first sounded. "Look," he said, "We know you're going into the Deep Roads. You'll need to hire the best, and we're—"

"No." Bartrand stopped walking and turned to face them. "You're too late, already done."

Carver persisted. "But we've fought Darkspawn before. How many people have applied with that skill? You need us."

Bartrand rubbed his eyes as if he were weary. "Look, Precious, I don't care if you tore the horns off an ogre with your bare hands."

Carver sighed and turned to Paden. "You make him understand. We're running from your bloody Templars."

"My brother has a point," Paden said. She sent a pointed glance at Carver. "It's on his head, but it's still valid."

"Oh, thanks for that," Carver said, rolling his eyes.

"Consider it, Bartrand? We're just what you need."

"You're looking for a quick way out of the slums, right?" Bartrand said. "You and every other Fereldan in this dump." He turned to leave. "Find another meal ticket."

Carver sighed again as they watched Bartrand walk away. "Well, back to waiting for someone to turn us in."

"You can relax," Paden said sarcastically. "After all, the Templars dogging us are mine."

"Did I sound that bad?" Carver said in surprise. "Maker, I'm turning into Gamlen!" They turned and began making their way out of the Merchants Guild. "Gamlen…" Carver considered. "He's got a head for this garbage. Maybe he can talk to Bartrand. He knows some people. After last week we need all the coin and influence we can get."

Paden blew out a scoff. "It's Gamlen's fault we're in this mess."

"Well, he did get us into the city, right? What else can we do? I don't know how she did it, but Athenril kept us safe from the Templars. We don't have that protection anymore, and I don't fancy waking up in the Gallows."

"And you think it's something I'm looking forward to? Andraste's knickers, Carver, you don't have to keep reminding me about the bloody Templars!"

"Shout a little louder, Paden, and they'll be here to remind you themselves."

Paden drew a slow breath, but the glare she sent her brother was just as intense as before. But at the moment she didn't have a better plan to offer him.

So now they were back to asking Gamlen for help? The last time he helped them they had ended up in servitude for a year. Could they never get ahead?

Paden's thoughts were interrupted when a young man bumped into her as he passed by. At first she thought nothing of it, but a second later she realized her coin purse was no longer in her pocket.

"Hey!" she shouted after the man, who took off running.

He didn't get very far, however. At the end of the street an invisible force suddenly threw him against the wall and pinned him there. The reason was made clear a second later when a dwarf with a huge crossbow stepped out of the shadows of the building across the street from the thief. The invisible force had been a crossbow bolt, aimed so precisely that it had pinned the man's shirt to the wall without puncturing any skin.

The dwarf retracted his crossbow and slung it on his back as he crossed the street to the thief. "I knew a guy once who could take all the money out of your pockets just by smiling at you," he said. "But you? You don't have the style to work Hightown, let alone the Merchants Guild." He held out his hand, palm up.

The thief, completely intimidated and out of his element, dropped the coin purse into the dwarf's hand.

"You might want to find yourself a new line of work," the dwarf said, and then punched the pickpocket in the face. The man sagged, held up only by the shoulder of his shirt that was still pinned to the wall.

"Off you go," the dwarf said, and pulled the bolt out. The pickpocket fell to the ground groaning.

The dwarf approached Paden and Carver, twirling the crossbow bolt between his fingers, a grin on his face. The first thing Paden noticed about him was that he was clean shaven, which was unusual for a dwarf. He had blond hair a lot like Bartrand's, the front tied back. Around his neck he wore a heavy beaded necklace, and his tunic was open down the front revealing quite a hairy chest. He walked up to them with so much swagger that Paden couldn't help but feel charmed.

The dwarf tossed the coin purse to Paden—which she caught—and then he twirled the crossbow bolt back into its quiver. "How do you?" he said. "Varric Tethras, at your service."

"A pleasure," Paden said with a nod. "You can call me Hawke. Thank you for your help."

Varric waved it away. "I apologize for Bartrand," He said. "He wouldn't know an opportunity if it hit him square in the jaw."

"But you would?" Paden asked, arching one eyebrow.

"I would," Varric said with a smile. "What my brother doesn't realize is that we need someone like you. He would never admit it either; he's too proud. I, however, am quite practical."

"So you're part of Bartrand's venture?"

"That's right," Varric said. "The deep roads wouldn't normally be my thing, but I can't allow the head of my family to go down there alone. So, as you might imagine, I have more than a passing interest in this expedition's success."

Paden narrowed her eyes warily. "What makes you so certain we can help?" she asked. "You know nothing about us." And she hoped that was true.

"Oh, on the contrary," Varric said. "You've made quite a name for yourself over the last year. The Coterie's been squeezing smugglers out left and right. The only group to survive owes it all to you. The name Hawke is on many lips these days."

"I didn't realize we had become so famous," Paden admitted hesitantly.

Varric chuckled. "Not bad for a Ferelden fresh off the boat."

Paden shook her head. "If I were any other Fereldan maybe I wouldn't mind so much." She gestured to Carver. "So you must have heard of my brother as well then," she said.

"A little, yes," Varric said. "But it is you they speak most of, messere."

"That figures," Carver said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Your brother is certainly welcome to join us, by all means. But I'll leave that in your hands."

"Oh, I'm going," Carver said firmly. "Without this expedition we won't last out the year."

Paden considered. "There must be some way to persuade your brother to hire us on."

"We don't need another hireling," Varric said. "We need a partner."

Paden arched her eyebrows in surprise. "A partner?"

"The truth is Bartrand's been tearing his beard out trying to fund this on his own, but he can't do it. " Varric pointed his finger at Paden and gave her a conspiratorial smile. "If you invest in the expedition, say… fifty sovereigns, he won't refuse. Not with me there to vouch for you."

Would it really work that easily? "Your brother doesn't seem like the sort who's willing to split profits," Paden said, still not fully satisfied.

"My brother is many things," Varric said. "But he is not stupid. Better to share the profits than be trapped in a thaig with a thousand darkspawn between you and the exit. Trust me; he'll come around."

"It sounds interesting," Paden admitted, and bit her lip as she exchanged a look with her brother. "It's just…if I had any gold I wouldn't need this job." Fifty sovereigns! Was he out of his mind? Where would they ever come up with that much money quickly?

"You need to think big," Varric said, throwing his arms wide. "There's only a brief window after a Blight when the Deep Roads won't be crawling with darkspawn. The treasure that you find down there could set you and your family up for life."

Carver nudged Paden in the arm. "Come on. The dwarf makes some sense. You started this, and I think it's a good idea. Certainly better than ending up in the Gallows."

Varric smiled. "We work together, you and I, and before you know it, you'll have all the capital you need. What do you say?"

Paden frowned at the dwarf. "What makes you so certain you'll be useful to me?"

Varric shrugged and smiled. "I know everyone in this city worth knowing. I can help you find the jobs you need, and if you don't need me for that, there's always Bianca." He pointed a thumb at the crossbow slung on his back.

Paden arched an amused eyebrow. "You named your crossbow?"

"And why not? She's a beauty." He looked over his shoulder at the weapon. "Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

Paden put a hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle, and exchanged a look with Carver.

Varric looked back at them and grinned. "Yeah, Bianca's gotten me out of a lot of scrapes over the years."

"I imagine she has," Paden agreed. She liked this dwarf, and somehow she trusted him. He had this sense of honest sincerity about him that could not be mistaken. An unspoken assurance that he wouldn't double cross them or leave them in a ditch. She couldn't say anything of the kind about Bartrand. But she decided not to worry about Bartrand. It was Varric she was really partnering with and Varric she would be dealing with. Bartrand could go suck an egg.

She held but her hand to the dwarf. "All right, Varric," she said. "We'll give this a shot."

Varric grinned. "Perfect. Kirkwall's crawling with one-shot jobs. If you know where to look they're easy to get, and usually pay well. You set aside some coin from every job and you'll have the money in no time."

"Sure, no time," Carver said sarcastically. "It's just that easy to get work. It's a wonder why we've been having so much trouble." Then he had a thought. "But…maybe Aveline's got some bounties out. She joined the City Guard, right?"

Paden nodded. "She did. I suppose we can ask her."

Varric seemed pleased they were finally on board with his idea. "We should talk again later when you get the chance. You can find me in the Hanged Man pretty much any time. The sooner the better, and I'll be trying to drum up some work for you in the mean time.

"Thank you, Varric," Paden said. "I'll probably see you there later this evening then." They bid farewell to the dwarf, and then continued on their way through the streets of Hightown.

"Well, things are finally looking up," Carver said.

"Maybe so," Paden said. "But I don't see how we can make fifty gold in 'no time'. If it was that easy why are there still poor refugees on every corner?"

"I agree, but…let's just start with baby steps," Carver said. "The dwarf seems to think it will work. Besides, what's the matter with you? You're always the optimistic one."

Paden sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Just tired I guess. Let's go. Your idea about checking in with Aveline is a good one. I can't even remember the last time I talked to her, though."

"It's been even longer for me," Carver said.

They headed in the direction of the Viscount's Keep where the City Guard had its headquarters. As they walked Paden pondered all that had transpired. Maybe this was a good thing, becoming a partner in the Deep Roads expedition. It was a lot more than she had hoped for, that's for sure. The next few weeks would be interesting indeed.