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troiings · 6 years

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Inquisitor!Hecate works so damn well (notes for my reference and just because it’s fun)

loyalist mage of remarkable power (mage in Redcliffe remarks that mage!Trevelyan was a prodigy so def works in general)

loyal to the Circles because they provide safety; the Ostwick Circle remained neutral as long as First Enchanter Lydia was alive, so things were pretty chill there. even if they hadn’t been, views Circles as a safe learning environment where failsafes are in place in case something goes wrong (the Fade is hella dangerous, after all, and playing with the Veil is a disaster waiting to happen)

fears loss of her own personal autonomy above all else - the two more specific fears beneath that umbrella category being Tranquility and demonic possession, in order

(as a result of her fear of demonic possession, despite her incredible power she has always been at least a little afraid of her power, and has very much learned to control it)

she’s always focused on defensive and healing magic, though in her Circle days she’d never ever have considered becoming a spirit healer - too much risk associated with the Fade. nope, no thanks.

she has a natural affinity for lightning though, and in combat situations the magical energy sorta bleeds out of her (i.e. take ALL the passive lightning skills lmfao)

despite Tranquility being a huge fear for her, the Tranquil don’t make her uncomfortable like they do a lot of people; she feels very protective of them /because/ they lack that particular human sense of autonomy, and keeps an eye out for them to make sure they’re treated fairly

she’s taken for her Harrowing just a few days before Pippa, who’s already been talking about running away together. Hecate basically agrees to it, but then the Harrowing shakes her up a lot. she starts fretting the minute she hears Pippa’s been taken for her Harrowing, and while it only fuels Pippa’s desire to leave (how could they DO that to apprentices? how could they intentionally TEMPT demons to possess a mage and then kill the mage if they fail to resist, and not tell anybody?). Hecate previously agreed to go with reservations, but she’s so shaken by the Harrowing that she doesn’t meet Pippa and Pippa runs away on her own

(Pippa had already stolen both of their phylacteries and given hers to Hecate, keeping Hecate’s so that they’d be able to find each other if they got separated. Hecate smashes Pippa’s phylactery that night and washes the blood away so that they can’t track Pippa down)

when Lydia dies Hecate goes with the other mages to Andoral’s Reach, and volunteers to go to the Conclave as a delegate before she’s even asked

being the Herald/Inquisitor means she is actually needed on the battlefield, so she starts brushing up on offensive spells. (Pippa is there and trains with her bc this gotta be a Hicsqueak fic ok) focuses on lightning magic because she has a natural affinity for it already

the mark also gives her a distinct connection to the Veil and the Fade, so she’s just kind of like... welp, may as well. she’s not gonna become a magnificent offensive mage overnight, so although she trains in offensive magic, she focuses on strengthening her defensive and healing spells. trains to strengthen her barriers. ultimately she winds up with all the badass barrier passives - barriers that deal damage to enemies when broken, etc

she also starts training to become a spirit healer while she’s at it, building on her already-firm foundation in healing magic. because, again, if she’s gonna get possessed by demons at this point, it’s gonna happen whether she’s summoning good spirits or not. she literally has the power to manipulate the Veil. also perfects fade stepping (bc transference), including the ability to harm enemies she passes through)

becomes good buds with Vivienne, and bonds over their shared desire to reform the Circles, bc magic is a tool, but a dangerous tool (Pippa is Bitter and she and Viv do nothing but butt heads)

ultimately she takes the knight-enchanter specialization because it opens up even more opportunities for improving her barrier magic; not only are her barriers strong enough that she basically can’t be hit - and if she is hit, her enemies pay for it with every strike, and even more so if her barrier falls completely - but she can also reliably move to the front lines. she’s able to focus on perfecting the spirit blade ability, her passive lightning abilities focus on enemies right in the middle of the fray, and her mana regenerates faster because she’s always near enemies

basically you can’t TOUCH this bitch

meanwhile Pippa has become a master of elemental magic, has a blade at the base of her staff that she likes stabbing people with, carries knives, and has become something of a mage-rogue combo because she’s developed tracking skills and honestly she’s spent 20 years as an apostate she knows how to conceal herself and her identity. (she’s also been getting mages and Tranquil to safety as the Circles fell to chaos ever since the shit hit the fan in Kirkwall). oh, and she also heals, but she uses blood magic to do it. with her own blood, and not involving any demons, of course, but people still tend to frown on that, so she keeps it pretty quiet, mostly.

what else

oh yeah courtesy of @foxx-queen Pippa is also ripped af (again, thanks 20 years of hiding out being an apostate)

Hecate chooses to ally with the mages against her better judgment - she doesn’t want to conscript them, but has misgivings about rebel mages running amok

makes the main tower a Templar tower in an effort to keep templar/mage forces in close contact with each other, to give templars a more visible presence in the Inquisition, and to achieve some sort of balance for things because she does ultimately plan to reinstate the Circles

Hecate and Cassandra obviously get off to a rocky start but in the end Cassandra is Hecate’s best friend among the ppl she’s met because of the Inquisition (in an AU of the AU where Pippa isn’t there and Cass isn’t straight, Hecate would absolutely romance her)

she’s predictably unimpressed with Blackwall/Rainer (is that his name? ider). just. very, very unimpressed in every way.

wants to punch Solas

enjoys playing chess with Cullen but that’s about it (you chose NOW to try to come off lyrium??? COME ON)

is sorta terrified of Cole but in the end comes to care for him a lot (in the end he’s really just lost, after all - and although his way of ‘helping’ is a little odd re: strange happenings, she gets that he IS trying to help)

becomes fairly close with Dorian once the mask comes off, but until then is largely just annoyed with him 24/7 (and frankly is still usually annoyed with him but Gets Him)

absolutely refuses to go pranking with Sera (don’t worry, Pippa overhears: “what’d you have in mind?????”)

finds Varrick overwhelming but okay /she guesses/. smiles lots when he writes that next chapter for Cassandra

Bull is also a little overwhelming but after the whole ‘pretend to be a common soldier’ thing and seeing him with the Chargers she respects him a lot (go figure the dude she comes closest to is the Qunari lmao)

Leliana is terrifying but Hecate loves her nevertheless lbr

Josephine is so very like Pippa in her ability to win ppl over so like to an extent Hecate just rolls her eyes and lets her do her schmoozing but at the same time she’s real fond of her bc she’s a good bean and just needs somebody to lean on sometimes and Hecate sorta recognizes that and they have a bit of a mutual understanding even though they rarely talk outside of the war room/other businessy stuff

also she strongly considers making Viv Divine but after time with Pippa and everything else decides that honestly Cassandra is the obvious but also best choice. she’s willing to rebuild the Circles, but to try to do things fairly. she’s gonna spread the word that Tranquility can be reversed if she can find a safe way to do it. like... she’s the one Hecate wants in charge. an idealist who’s willing to change as needed to make things the best they can be for everyone

bruv

i’ve been thinking about this way too much

#shut up arwen #hecate hardbroom #au #crossovers #tww2017 #dai #dragon age #inquisition #pippa pentangle #foxx-queen #bc it's her fault entirely #inquisitor!hecate

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inquisitor-julia · 5 years

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what do your inquisitors plan to do with Solas?

hmmm well if they get the chance to deal with Solas in da4 (and are not replaced 100% by a new protagonist) then originally 7/9 of them were going to try to redeem him in some way....but with the implications of the red lyrium idol being involved in his plans (via that minute long teaser trailer) I’m not entirely sure how they’ll feel anymore? I think most of them will stick to wanting to save him from himself if possible but all of them would choose the safety of Thedas over Solas if forced to make that choice...so that went to a dark place but anyway.

Personally I don’t feel that the veil coming down is inherently a bad thing just...whatever rip off the band-aid solution Solas has come up with is a little extreme for Thedas to deal with all at once. And honestly Solas, my dude last time you altered the fabric of reality you didn’t like the result and have been kicking yourself ever since. I think the veil needs to and will come down but I also think this requires a delicate approach so that people have time to adapt? I firmly believe that whether you support Solas or not in da4 the veil will be gone by the end and the next game will be about dealing with the fallout of that event. But that’s my personal feeling and you asked about my Inquisitors ^^”

Nayeli Trevelyan: Being a mage herself she always wanted to know more about magic and the fade, spirits and demons, everything about being a mage. Solas was happy to share his expertise with her and they were fast friends! In trespasser she chose to try to redeem Solas. She wants to save her friend but if the cost of that salvation is too high for thedas to pay she may have to put her personal feelings aside. She wants to help him but more than anything she has to protect the people she loves, her family, the innocent people of thedas…. However I intend to try my best to keep thedas and Solas safe because I don’t want my Inquisitor to have to kill her friend/mentor it would devastate her because she firmly believes that she can do it all….but the reality of the situation might not be kind to her beliefs…

Wren Lavellan: it’s Complicated™ and really I’m not sure so I might be figuring that out as I try to explain how she feels about everything….here goes…Wren is my Inquisitor who romanced Solas. Wren loves him and she would have done just about anything for him at one point BUT the break up and two years apart have hardened her heart a bit. Does she still love him? With all of her heart, unconditionally, without a doubt. Does she want to save him? Yes if there is a chance she will take it and stubbornly refuse to give up on that hope. If there is nothing to be done for him, no redemption, what would she be willing to sacrifice in the end? She would readily sacrifice herself to save thedas, she would even sacrifice her heart and fight the man she loves to save innocents, but she would not sacrifice thedas to save Solas. She hopes against hope that it won’t come to that and that he can still be reasoned with but she will do what she must for her people and all people of thedas. She is a healer before anything else and she only wants to help everyone but that may not be possible this time and “sometimes the healer has the bloodiest hands” as it were…and part of a keeper’s duty is to protect the elves from the dread wolf. Wren has some hard decisions ahead of her and for my part I just want her to be happy and if I can do that without killing everyone in thedas then I will jump at the chance because I love Wren a lot??

Rosemary Lavellan: has no time to run around trying to save someone already intent on fucking up...again. Rosemary is less connected to Dalish tradition than most seeing as her mother was a city elf who joined clan Lavellan when Rosemary was still a baby. Rosemary has always had two kinds of education in the way elves should be because she grew up mentored by those with two very different perspectives. Unlike most of the Dalish children, Rosemary never thought the stories about the pantheon all that inspiring and in fact Rosemary is more inclined to say that she’s Andrastian like her mother. This is all to say that to her Solas is simply a man like any other and the fact that he’s a figure from the stories of her childhood makes no difference to her. He’s a man who made mistakes and already destroyed the world once and she’s not about to let him do it again no matter what. Rosemary got along with Solas in inquisition but upon learning about his plan and the apparent inherent casualties that would result she immediately opposed him. Rosemary is a mother and her entire goal in Inquisition is to keep her son safe, Solas is endangering that safety with his plans and Rosemary refuses to let that happen. If she has to fight another “god” to keep her son (and now Josephine as well) safe she will do so, without hesitation. That’s something I think Solas knew when he met her in Trespasser, he’d never have expected any different from her, she’s only a mother protecting her child from a monster.

Luca Lavellan: His best friend in the Inquisition (not counting Dorian) is confusingly and surprisingly enough Solas. However, neither Solas or Luca would actually say they were friends. Luca is drawn to the vast knowledge Solas has and Solas is happy to share. Sometimes they debate, and anyone who will listen to Luca talk is someone he’ll spend time with. Luca is all too happy to play pranks on Solas with Sera. He also tends to question every opinion or thought the man ever voices which is pretty irritating for Solas at times. But typically the decisions Luca makes are ones that Solas approves of and really they don’t disagree on anything too major. They aren’t aware of it themselves but they spend a lot of time together just talking about every academic subject under the sun. They would say that they don’t particularly like each other though. When Luca told Solas he would redeem him and try to save him it was as much a shock to him as it was to Solas and i imagine they both stared at each other in confusion for a solid minute both trying to figure out if they’d heard Luca correctly….but that would have been a much less dramatic scene than the one we were given lol

Katarina Cadash: two dwarves that have an interest in magic and an elven mage walk into a rotunda- jokes aside that’s essentially why Solas and Kat got along. At first, Katarina was as wary of magic as many dwarves are but after being around mages in the Inquisition she began to trust it. Then she met Dagna, another dwarf who left Orzammar like Kat did, and the two were fast friends (who only blew up a little bit of the ramparts by accident stop being dramatic, Cullen). To Kat’s surprise Solas was usually happy to discuss whatever she and Dagna were working on and even add some ideas of his own to their work (initially surprising Kat in that he could actually be fun), in fact the three could often be found chatting in the rotunda about magical theory. So Kat and Solas grew to be close friends along with Dagna. After the revelations in Trespasser Kat wanted to try to redeem Solas simply because he was her friend. She also has to believe that even if they work against each other somehow she, Dagna, and Solas can come up with some alternate plan to deal with the veil just by putting their heads together like they used to all that time ago. Kat’s frustration is that since Solas isn’t telling her everything she feels like she’s trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces but she’s determined to try. However, like my other inquisitors, if it comes down to it she’ll put Thedas first.

Pippa Cadash: she just.....never got along with Solas at all to begin with so deciding not to redeem him wasn’t a surprise for either of them tbh (also haven’t finished her playthrough so potentially more on her feelings later)

Evander Trevelyan: haven’t finished his playthrough but i think he’ll redeem Solas...just because Evander is just.....naive i guess? not really naive just...good.... he just wants to believe the best of everyone and he wants to believe that Solas doesn’t want to do this and hurt so many people. But again....it would hurt Evander’s kind spirit but if he had to he’d choose the safety of Thedas over Solas

Yvainne Adaar: she’ll try to redeem Solas but tbh I need to flesh out her character more before I fully understand why....it will likely stem from the suffering her mother endured in being a saarebas under the qun and the fact that fear of magic as an aberration from the norm is what brought her mother such suffering. Tearing the veil down would bring magic back and maybe then everyone would have to face it as the new normal and mages (especially qunari mages) wouldn’t need to suffer anymore. However, as much as she wants to live in a world like that, Yvainne is not willing to sacrifice the lives of innocents to get there and she will try to redeem Solas but if she can’t then she won’t hesitate to do what must be done.

Wow that got really lengthy ^^”

Thanks for the ask though!! :D

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azzandra · 9 years

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Western AU, F!Trev/Solas, ~8k words so far

So I haven’t finished this yet, but it was fun working on it so far, so I am going to post it anyway in hope that I might get the inspiration to keep working on it.

You could always tell a Templar by their spurs: wicked sharp things, nasty stuff to do to some poor animal.

Then again, considering what they did to people, Pippa supposed getting wound up over a pair of spurs was laughable in comparison. Still, she eyed this fellow right away. He was new to town, handsome and fair, curly-haired. He had his hat pulled low over his face, shading his eyes from the noon glare.

Pippa was sitting in her usual chair by the saloon door, balancing it on two legs as her feet were propped against the hitching post. She was in the middle of rolling herself up a cigarette, and she didn’t move her feet as the stranger came over to tie his horse, but he didn’t say anything, only moved a bit to the side.

She stopped him just as he was about to push through the door.

“If you’re here to drag some poor soul back to the magehouses,” she said, pausing to swipe her tongue across the cigarette paper, “you should know Sheriff Pentaghast might not take a shine to that idea.”

The man paused, a look of dull surprise across his face.

“Actually,” he said, “Sheriff Pentaghast is the one I’m here to see,” he said. “Do you know where I could find her?”

“Interesting,” Pippa muttered to herself, then pointedly took out her cigarette lighter and made a show of using it. “Fereldan?”

“From Honnleath,” the stranger confirmed. “And you? Free Marcher?”

“Ostwick, me,” she said. “Mighty far away from home, aren’t we?”

“As I understand it, only the most eclectic end up in the Western Approach. Do you know where Sheriff Pentaghast is, or not?” There was a twinge of irritation in his voice now.

Pippa took a deep drag of her cigarette, and exhaled slowly.

“Sheriff’s office, I reckon,” she replied, grinning at him.

He stared at her for a few seconds more, then sighed and went inside the saloon.

No, Pippa knew damn well Cassandra wasn’t at the sheriff’s office at this time of day. Likely she was hashing out grazing disputes between belligerent cattle farmers again, or whatever irritating petty errands she was saddled with in between the more life-and-death stuff.

But Pippa wasn’t inclined to help a Templar. After the magehouses rose up, a lot of them went the same way, turning bounty hunters or bandits or whatever shade of murderous and unlawful gave them the means to hunt down and kill mages. The way she saw it, either he was still an officer of the law, which spelled trouble for any mages he came across, or he was not, which often spelled double trouble for mages and everyone caught in the radius.

She was going to have to send around a discreet word around Haven to all her friends of arcane inclination. At least the ones that were willing to keep their heads down, Pippa thought with a sigh. Dorian was going to be an ass about it, she was sure. She wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

The saloon was dark, especially compared to the bright Western Approach day, so Cullen paused as he walked in, blinking until his eyes adjusted.

He made his way to the bar, where a sad-looking young man with hair hanging in front of his eyes stood.

"Head pounding, pressing, praying it away won't help," the young man said in a shaky fugue, just as Cullen sat down. "The song is fading, and the silence hurts."

Cullen froze, a chill running down his back. His hand itched, and he almost reached for his Company-issued revolver. Mage, his mind whispered. Dangerous. The young man looked at him then, blue eyes piercing.

"You can't run away from it, but being here will help," he told Cullen in a matter a fact voice.

"Who are--" But before Cullen could utter the question, the young man disappeared.

Cullen frowned, wondering who he'd been talking to just then. There didn't seem to be anyone around.

At least not until the door burst open and a dwarf bustled out.

"Sorry, just got new inventory in," the dwarf apologized. "Cabot's the name. Can't say I've ever seen you around town."

"Cullen," he introduced himself. "I'm new. I came looking for Cassandra Pentaghast."

Cabot's eyebrows rose.

"Huh. Usually people at least order a drink before they start working me over for gossip," Cabot groused, and took out a rag to wipe the counter. It was immaculate, but it just gave him something to do while looking put out.

"Oh, s-sorry, I--" Cullen cleared his throat. "A ginger ale, please."

Cabot grunted and produced a bottle from under the bar. He popped off the cap and pushed it towards Cullen.

"The sheriff should be back at her office by evening," Cabot told him. "You're free to wait here until then."

The unspoken message being, of course, as long as he was a paying customer. Cullen sighed, but he could hardly argue. He had no other place to be at the moment.

Dorian, as always, lit up as Pippa walked through the door of his book shop, but that didn't mean he forgot to give the ragged old blanket she wore as a garment a disdainful sniff.

He was seated in his armchair, surrounded by stacks of volumes and holding a half-empty glass in one hand. Rarely did Pippa walk through the door and not find him in this position. Often the shelves would be empty as Dorian built taller and taller monuments around his chair. Pippa suspected it was a good thing his business model relied more on selling curios and rare items to private collectors. While the books were ostensibly for sale, she'd rarely seen Dorian part with one.

"This must be quite the occasion," he said. "You don't usually start reading any earlier in the day than some people start drinking."

"Obviously you aren't 'some people'," she said, plucking the glass from his hand and sniffing at it. The fumes alone made her feel a bit dizzy. She raised an eyebrow at Dorian.

"Yes, yes, I am a degenerate drunk," he said, rolling his eyes. "Are you here to pass judgment on my fine taste, or was there anything else?"

"There's a Templar in town," Pippa informed him dryly.

"Well, I suppose gossip must be slow today." Dorian looked back down at his book, flipping a page.

"I'm serious, Dorian."

"Did he flash his badge?"

"He didn't have to, I can tell these things." Pippa leaned back against a table laden with strange fossils from the desert and pieces of old magical shards. "You should clean this place up, if he's really a Company man, he'd probably burst into self-righteousness the moment he walked through the door."

"I will keeping everything as is, if you don't mind," Dorian replied. "I am not a man to be bullied by your southern thugs."

"You're also not a man in his daddy's homeland," Pippa replied. "It will be twice as humiliating for you if you underestimate this particular thug and it ends up blowing in your face. After all the times you mocked us southern barbarians for letting ourselves be chucked into dismal little mage prisons, I don't think your ego will stand up very well to being dragged away to one kicking and screaming. Alright?"

Dorian looked profoundly unhappy, but he sighed.

"For your peace of mind," he said, "and for your peace of mind alone, I will not do anything that will draw undue attention to myself."

"Thank you."

"But I will not hide like a mouse in my hole, either," he said firmly.

"I know," Pippa grinned, and then, impulsively, stepped close to his chair and took his head in her hands to plant a kiss on the top of his head.

He waved her off, annoyed, but there was fondness behind the gesture.

"Mussing my hair is not part of the deal!" he said.

Pippa laughed as she left. The sound was only drowned out by the loud bell above the book shop door.

Pippa stopped by Vivienne's hat shop next, where she left word with the shop assistant, and then she let Fiona know as well. Fiona, at least, promised to send word along.

That left Solas, who was at the temple up at the oasis. If things were going well for him, then it would be at least a few days before his supplies ran out and he would have to return to town regardless of the state of his research.

But something in the air made Pippa anxious. It wasn't just the Templar. It was other people passing through, it was Cassandra being busier than usual.

She would just check in with Solas, a quick ride to the oasis and back. She'd be back by sunset.

Things were not going well for Solas.

For once, the disruption to his research did not come in the form of wildlife, giant spiders, or former miners turned scavengers. Rather inconveniently, it came at the hands of suspiciously well-armed humans. These were not wandering bandits or smugglers. They were organized, and they seemed to be here for a specific reason.

At the very least they were not Templars, Solas supposed, but that thought was cold comfort as he made his way up and down ladders, hiding in alcoves and dodging behind shrubbery to hide himself.

One or two, a handful, a dozen he could handle. But there were at least thirty that he'd spotted, with more trickling in over the course of the day, and he couldn't take them all.

He also couldn't hide indefinitely. He had lost his pack in his dash from the cavern the other day, and though water was in ample supply around the oasis, if he spent any length of time stealing food, he would eventually be caught.

Returning to town was also an option not readily available to him. They'd found his horse and appropriated it for themselves, and Solas was not quite desperate enough to hazard the desert crossing on foot yet.

Left with such vanishingly few options, Solas observed.

The strangers spoke Tevene, which Solas happened to be fluent in, and repeatedly referenced the name Servis, who by the litany of complaints against him Solas took as being their overseer, if not in charge of their entire organization. And Solas understood, by eavesdropping, that they were in the oasis to plumb the temple for Elvhen artifacts.

That did not sit well with Solas at all, but there was little he could do about it until he figured out what the strangers intended.

For this purpose, he was at the very edge of the oasis, watching two of the interlopers arguing as the third consulted a map. They had arrived only recently, with a horsecart filled with supplies. The horse itself was now tied to a sad, sparse tree on the edge of the campsite, enjoying the piddling shade and a bucket of water. It was probably hungry, as well, by the way it was nosing at the tree's bark, but its owners were ignoring it.

They had erected a type of pole on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the oasis canyon. Something was meant to be mounted on top of it, probably, though Solas could not yet figure out what.

He listened carefully, hidden behind a rocky outcrop, but he only picked up stray words. Something about the temple, certainly. Also about triangulation, which made Solas suspect they were looking for something in particular. And a word not in Tevene--Tranquil.

Solas was confused until he noticed, in the shade of the strangers' cart, a slumped-over body, tied up and still. And then a sneaking, horrific suspicion dawned on him.

He was so tense, that when a hand fell to his shoulder, he nearly shouted. Magic flared around his fingers, but before he released a barrage of projectiles, he was hit with a dispell. He turned around as well as his crouch allowed, but before he could throw another spell, he realized he was not being assaulted.

"Sorry, I forget how sneaky I am," Pippa whispered. She grinned, completely unaffected by the fact that he'd nearly sent a lightning bolt to her face.

Surprisingly, she'd walked up right behind him and crouched down next to him without Solas noticing a thing. True, he'd been a bit absorbed at the time, but he did not become aware of her until the moment she wished it. Smuggling mages through the wilderness had apparently given Pippa quite the skillset.

"In truth, I couldn't be more grateful to see you," he said, and settled back into position. "I seem to be in a bit of a bind at the moment. I have lost both my horse and my supplies."

"Good thing I arrived before you lost your breeches, too. So they're bad news, I take it?" Pippa asked, glancing over the rock. "I thought they might be. Fortunately I didn't ask any of them about your whereabouts, I just looked for your footprints."

"Out of so many footsteps, how could you possibly guess which ones were mine?" he asked.

Pippa grinned.

"Out of so many footsteps, only one pair had toes."

Solas looked down at his feet, but the sand slipped around his toes, and it didn't look like they made any impression. He looked behind him, but he noticed that the footprints had been erased. Pippa's precaution, probably, since he hadn't bothered. There were so many tracks since the strangers arrived, that his own were easily lost.

"The ones on rocky bits, where it's dusty instead of sandy," she clarified. "I figured the ones they led to on the sand were still yours. Anyway, mind filling me in? What are these shifty fellows over there up to?"

"I believe they are planning a blood sacrifice," he said.

"Huh. Neighborhood's really going downhill."

"They are Tevinters."

"Oh, well, that explains it."

"They have a Tranquil I believe they intend for this task."

"And what exactly would that accomplish?"

"It has something to do with finding a way into the temple, I believe. It is called Solasan."

Pippa blinked in surprise.

"Didn't know you had a temple in your honor, Solas!" she said, slanting a grin his way.

"In fact, I have several," he replied dryly. "But if we may return to the issue at hand, I do not believe these people are mere grave robbers."

Pippa agreed. "Not nearly enough shovels, and too many guns. Even if they're expecting undead, it would be, hah, overkill."

Solas made a non-committal sound as he thought. He wasn't certain what to do. Leaving was now an option, assuming Pippa had a mount hidden somewhere. But leaving would also mean a certain ignorance about the goings-on in the oasis that Solas was not completely comfortable with.

The two who had been arguing stopped for the moment, and one of them went to retrieve something from the cart. He presented it to the other, and appeared to be explaining something. Pippa and Solas watched tensely, and when one of the strangers shifted out of the way, they got a clear view of what it was. A skull.

"What are they doing with that?" Pippa wondered out loud.

In fact, what they did was mount it on the pole they had erected earlier. It was not a task that took very long, and once done, the third stranger, the one with the map, came up to the skull and appeared to... peer through it.

Pippa looked at Solas, when her own expertise in magic failed her.

"What are they seeing through that thing?" she asked.

Solas was not completely certain, though he had his suspicions. After using the strange skull contraption, the person with the map began marking things down. Locations.

There was only one thing in this oasis Solas could imagine being valuable enough to search for in such a manner.

Pippa tugged on Solas's sleeve, and he shifted his gaze back to the two who had been arguing earlier.

They'd dragged up and knelt the Tranquil a little ways away from their makeshift camp, on the other side of the cart. The Tranquil went along, placid even after the gag and rope around his feet had been removed.

One of the strangers took out a rifle from the cart and walked behind the Tranquil.

Solas could hear Pippa's sharp inhale, before she reached for the rifle on her own back.

"Let us not do anything hasty," Solas entreated, but Pippa's rifle was already cocked and she was taking aim.

"They're going to kill him," she said, voice taut.

Solas remained silent, because he didn't think outright saying 'better him than us' was going to win him any friends.

"If you shoot, he might end up dead anyway," he pointed out. "Some of these people are mages. What's a mage's instinct after hearing gunfire?"

"Barrier. Barrier goes up," Pippa said.

Her rifle had been trained on the stranger standing behind the Tranquil, but not she took in the whole scene.

One with a firearm, attention on the Tranquil. One setting up some sort of ritual, taking things out of the cart and setting up around the Tranquil. One next to the skull device, sitting on a crate as he wrote something on a loose piece of paper.

"Right," Pippa hissed, now calm. "The moment everything goes up in flames, you put up your barrier and head straight for the Tranquil. Take him and their horse. Ride out and don't look back. I'll give them the runaround, and we can meet up at the old mine out in Ducette's Crevice. Got all that?"

"Yes. But what do you intend to--"

Before he could finish asking, Pippa's shot already went off.

When she said everything was going to go up in flames, it appeared she wasn't using poetic license. Three confused pairs of eyes turned to the horsecart, as a ball of fire burst up. Whatever it had once contained, it had been extremely flammable.

There was a scramble, just as Pippa shot the one with the rifle. She used a lightning bolt charge, and when the shot hit him, he flailed in place as blood spurted from his wound, his rifle going off into the sky harmlessly. Then he fell back into the sand, a bloody heap next to the Tranquil, who had not moved an inch.

The remaining two strangers did not simply sit to be picked off as well.

The one with the map, obviously a mage, cast barrier over both himself and his companion, and then frost spells over the horsecart, trying to stop the fire from consuming everything. The fire did not go out easily; even this close to the oasis, the desert air was dry and unforgiving.

The other one made a lunge towards the crates next to the skull pole, digging for something.

Solas did as Pippa demanded, and in the chaos, slipped out from the rocky outcrop and made a run for the Tranquil. He was not sure if he was spotted or not, but was assured he did not have the enemy's attention when he heard Pippa hoot and send off a few more shots. If there was one thing that could be said about Pippa Trevelyan, she had an impressive knack for drawing fire.

He did not waste time. He cut the Tranquil loose with a small, controlled fire spell burning through the rope.

"If you wish to escape, come with me," Solas told the Tranquil.

"Of course," came the reply, and they wasted no time making a run for the horse.

It was not panicked, at least--the animal had apparently been trained to remain calm when faced with both gunfire and magic. It was something to thank the strangers for, though perhaps it was not the type of gratitude they would be happy to receive from people who had now effectively stolen their horse.

Solas did not dwell on it. He pulled the Tranquil up in the saddle with him and, as Varric would say, got the hell out of dodge.

Ducette's Crevice was the site of the Envers Mining Company's early forays into the Western Approach, before far more promising veins were discovered. The mine hadn't even been depleted before all the miners were picked up one day and herded off to the newer site, and in the haste, most of their old lodgings and caches had also been left behind.

Pippa had discovered the place while leading a small, rag-tag group of magehouse escapees, and had kept them hidden there while she scouted out Haven and decided if it was safe for them.

Nowadays, she still kept the place stocked, in case of emergency. There were barrels of water there, and dry rations, a chest of clothing, and, hidden better than all the rest of the stuff, weapons, marked maps and a document forging kit.

It was the kind of location Pippa only entrusted to a few people, Solas among them, and at that moment, he couldn't be more thankful for it. Coaxing the horse inside was somewhat more difficult, but he didn't feel safe leaving the animal tied up outside, where it could be seen.

The Tranquil, at least, went without a fuss.

"I thank you for saving my life," he said in his perturbing monotone. "I am Clemence."

"It is my companion you should thank, in truth," Solas replied.

He drank water and shared some rations with Clemence as they waited for Pippa, and since this did not fill much time, Solas instead began taking inventory of the caches and noting what needed to be renewed.

She stormed in hours later, panting, her face streaked by sweat and dust, and she threw aside her rifle and hat. Solas passed her a ladle of water, which she poured directly over her head, and then he filled another ladle for her, which she poured down her throat.

"I attracted a bit of attention on my way out. I'm Pippa, by the way," she addressed the Tranquil, as she perched herself on top of a barrel.

"I am Clemence. Thank you for saving my life."

"Nasty spot we found you in. What was that ritual meant to accomplish?"

"I apologize, I will most likely not be useful to you," Clemence said. "I do not speak Tevene fluently. I could not understand most of what the Venatori spoke of."

"Venatori? That's what they're called?" Pippa asked.

"As I understand it, yes."

"Then you've been useful already, because that's more than we knew until a few moments ago." She smiled at him, that wide charming smile Pippa used for people she wanted to put at ease.

Solas wasn't certain how liable it was to work on someone with no emotions, but Clemence blinked once, before giving a nod.

"As you say," Clemence replied.

"Could you tell what they were looking for out there?" she asked.

"Not for certain. If you would allow conjecture, however..." At Pippa's nod, Clemence continued, "They were looking for a key. Or possibly multiple keys, or fragments. I am unclear on the specifics, but to accomplish this they needed to create things called oculara. The two men intent on sacrificing me were arguing that they did not have enough skulls to cover the entire area of the oasis. They were angry with their supplier, I believe."

Clemence discussed his own almost-murder with a disturbingly flat affect, but at least he provided some illuminating pieces of information.

"That was what we saw them building, then," Solas concluded. "That was an ocularum."

"And this key business?" Pippa asked, turning her attention to Solas. "Something to do with the temple?"

"Naturally, we must assume so. The only thing worth unlocking in this entire area is the temple."

"What's in there, that people would come all the way from Tevinter to crack it open?"

"In short, a demon."

Pippa gave him a flat look.

"Wonderful, so that problem solves itself then. They step in and get gobbled up by an angry demon."

"It is not so simple, I am afraid," Solas said. "The temple holds the demon, but it also provides the means by which to vanquish it."

Pippa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Of course it does. What's in there, some old elven super-weapon?"

"Nothing so straightforward. Merely... an old reservoir. A storage place for power. Even after the millennia which have passed, it is unlikely for it to be completely depleted. And, of course, the demon can be a prize unto itself, for people who practice certain schools of magic."

"They'll try binding it, you mean," Pippa said, weary.

"It does rather sound like the Tevinter style, does it not?" Solas asked.

Pippa shook her head--not in denial, but in frustration. He could understand it; Haven was the first place since escaping the magehouses that she'd stopped running. She had probably grown comfortable here. She could not be happy to see it threatened.

Solas could admit he'd... gotten used to the place somewhat, as well.

"We need to tell Cassandra about this," Pippa said. "Clemence, how would you like a ride into town?"

"I would find it more convenient than walking," Clemence replied.

Pippa hopped off the barrel, bumping her shoulder against Solas' as she brushed past him.

"You should try to be as zestful about life as Clemence, Solas," she said.

Solas sighed in response.

Because by the time Pippa arrived it was nighttime, they chose to spend the night at the mine and return to town in the morning. There were hard, narrow cots available, and they built a fire, but it was still cold and uncomfortable.

Solas had slept in worse conditions, but this time sleep eluded him. Perhaps it was the agitation of the day. Perhaps it was worry over the Venatori, and what they might do with the temple. He did not like the idea of them breaking into it, or at least not before he'd had the opportunity.

Something gnawed at him about the events of the day, like a faraway sound that was indistinct but still managed to pull him awake every time he was on the edge of sleep.

After a few hours of this tossing and turning on his part, Pippa rose from her cot. She took her blanket, and her strangely blanket-like garment, and still clumsy with sleep she shuffled towards Solas.

"Move over," she mumbled, sounding half-asleep still.

Solas did so.

The cot was narrow, enough so that they would only fit together if they both slept on their sides. Pippa arranged the blankets over them, making sure they were both covered, and settled herself in, her back against his chest.

It was not the first time. In the two years they'd been roommates in the same sad, pathetic attic lodgings, it had happened a few times that a bad turn of weather or a lack of money for firewood would have them sleep in the same bed for warmth, to make up for the heating spells which would gutter out during the night. This had never been a wholly unpleasant experience, not even the first awkward time they resorted to it.

But as Solas pulled Pippa in tighter, and snorted at the tickle of her hair against his nose, he realized he'd never noticed just how much of a comfort it was. Some combination of too many years spent by himself and Pippa's disarming manner made him enjoy her warmth for more than mere practical reasons.

Perhaps the reason he could not sleep was because for a few very long hours that day, he'd been afraid that she was dead, and never coming back.

It was a very concerning thought, that he'd become so attached to her over such a relatively short period of time--that he became attached to her at all. He was very concerned. He in fact worried over this fact for whole minutes, before falling asleep.

They left early in the morning, before the stifling heat truly set in. Clemence had to ride once again with Solas. Pippa's mount was a dracolisk, and they were notorious for their indiscriminate hostility. That the creature accepted Pippa as a rider alone qualified as a miracle, and none of them wished to tempt fate.

Pippa asked Clemence about his past as they rode, and thus discovered that he'd been snatched up by the Venatori right off the streets in some Orlesian city, and dragged all the way out to this desert, for reasons beyond him. They also discovered that he'd been tied up because of a prior escape attempt, and Solas could not hide his surprise that a Tranquil would attempt an escape at all.

"Self-preservation is in my best interest," Clemence had replied. "I attempted it once I began to suspect their intentions."

Obviously he had not succeeded, hence his presence here.

"Don't worry, Clemence, we'll set you up," Pippa assured cheerily.

By that, apparently, she meant she'd foist him on Fiona the moment they returned to town. Fiona took the entire thing in stride, however, and promised to find Clemence shelter and some work.

With that done, they stopped by Master Dennet's stables, where they left the stolen horse, with a story about how they found it wandering the desert.

After that, the only thing left was a visit to the sheriff's office.

They strolled in to discover Cassandra was not there. No, instead, at Cassandra's desk, absorbed in the sheriff's handbook, was the Templar.

Pippa stiffened the moment she passed through the door, and stopped in her tracks. Solas, trailing behind her, stopped as well when he noticed her posture. He guessed right away why she would react that way to the sight of the man at the desk, and pressed a hand against her back for support.

She relaxed only marginally at the contact. At least, she attempted to act nonchalant as she strode towards the desk.

"Didn't realize the Company was branching out," Pippa remarked, and though she sounded friendly enough, to anyone who knew her, the nervous edge was obvious.

The Templar looked up at them, almost confused.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

It was now that Pippa's eyes fell to the star pinned to his vest. The one very clearly saying 'Deputy'. She frowned at it.

"Where's Cassandra?" Pippa asked.

"As I recall, I asked you the exact same question yesterday," he replied a bit peevishly. "You were not very forthcoming on the subject."

"Well, yes, but I'm not a public servant," she said. "I'm the public."

He gave her an utterly unamused look before he finally answered.

"She isn't here at the moment. But whatever you need from her, I can help as well."

Pippa raised an eyebrow.

"Alright," she said. "There's some manner of rough folk in the Forbidden Oasis, and they're looking to break into an ancient elven temple."

The newly minted deputy responded with a look of blank incomprehension.

"What?"

"Yes, already you're being extremely helpful," Pippa snorted.

"Perhaps we should leave and return later," Solas suggested.

Fortunately, Cassandra walked through the door at that moment.

"What is going on?" Cassandra asked.

"These magehouse runaways stormed in here saying something about a temple," the deputy answered.

Pippa threw him a withering glare before she turned towards Cassandra, but did not tell him off.

"There's Tevinters up at the oasis," Pippa said. "Something bad is happening."

Cassandra's expression turned grave, and she nodded.

"Thank you, Cullen, I will handle this," she said.

Pippa had perhaps been hoping Cullen would leave then, but he remained as she and Solas told Cassandra about everything going on in the oasis, including and up to Clemence. Looting an old elven temple might not have been strictly illegal, but blood sacrifice was most certainly something Cassandra would like to nip in the bud.

Pippa neglected to mention the horse theft they engaged in, though. It seemed like the kind of thing one did not mention to a sheriff.

"What you are telling me is most disturbing," Cassandra said, once she got the whole story. "These... Venatori sound like more trouble than Haven needs. I will gather a posse, and we will rout them. Cullen, prepare our horses, please."

Cullen nodded and went ahead.

With him gone, Pippa leveled a look at Cassandra.

"You told him we were mages?" Pippa asked. "A Templar, Cassandra? Really?"

Cassandra sighed.

"He is my deputy, he should know," she said. "Besides, he is a former Templar. He has left the Company."

"Leaving the Company doesn't make a Templar less dangerous," Pippa muttered. "More so, if anything."

"I trust Cullen," Cassandra said with finality. But she softened the slightest bit. "And... I require help. You may have noticed as well, there have been strange people passing through Haven. More dangerous than usual. And now these Venatori? All the way from Tevinter? No, something is going on, and I need people I can rely on. So, unless you wish to be deputized as well?"

For once, Pippa did not have a smart reply straight away. The pause that followed Cassandra's question was long, enough that the sheriff raised an eyebrow.

Solas realized Pippa was actually considering it now, where before she would have dismissed the notion out of hand.

"No," she answered in the end.

"Very well," Cassandra said. "But you may still join the posse when we go after these Venatori."

"Thank you, sheriff," Solas interjected. "We are gratified to see you taking the matter so seriously."

He then ushered Pippa out the door before she could add anything.

Outside, Cullen was handling the horses--his and Cassandra's--probably getting ready for the day's patrol, and the added call to arms they were going to be delivering while out about town. He nodded to Pippa in passing, a bit coolly, but probably intending it as a gesture of peace, and Pippa returned the gesture.

She remained sullenly silent for a while, however, and after they were far enough away from Cullen's earshot, she turned to Solas.

"Maybe I should be a deputy," she said without preamble.

"Is that what you truly wish, or is this because of the Templar?" Solas asked.

"I don't know." An unusually straightforward admission on her part.

Solas supposed he could see her changing her mind. In the two years since arriving in Haven, both he and Pippa had survived on odd jobs for the town's residents. The fact that they shared an attic bedroom upstairs from the saloon was a testament to how precarious that was as a source of income.

Becoming a deputy at least would have provided a stable source of income: a small stipend, if Solas wasn't mistaken, and a weekly allowance of groceries. Just on its own, the offer was tempting.

But the timing did not sit right with Solas, exactly. Pippa had just narrowly escaped the oasis the other day, and he wouldn't have liked to see her jump right back in again. Cassandra could handle this for now. It was her duty.

"I think you should give the issue more time and consideration, if you are to change your mind," he said.

"Slow and steady," she muttered. "Doesn't really work when things are moving fast, though."

"No, it does not."

She sighed an rubbed a hand down her face, slowly. Then she stopped and stared at her palm with revulsion. Though she'd washed herself at the mine, she'd acquired another fine sheen of dust on the ride over.

"I need a bath," she said.

"And I need to speak to Dorian. Perhaps you can meet us at his shop later?"

"Sure," she said, and gave Solas's arm a squeeze before they parted.

In matters of magic, Dorian was perhaps the second-best person in town to consult with. The same also in the case of Tevinter magic--considering how derivative is was of old Elvhen techniques. Not that Solas would tell Dorian so to his face.

Certainly not now, when Solas was looking to learn more about the Venatori.

Though that day, Dorian was not the usual font of wisdom he styled himself as.

"There's always some shadowy cabal or another looking to revive the glory of the Imperium," he'd said dismissively, "usually by looting elven tombs. They won't bother us in town, and I'm certain they'll be on their way once they get what they're here for."

"It is the part where they find what they're looking for that should concern us," Solas pointed out.

Dorian's jaw clenched peculiarly.

"From what you say, it sounds as if the sheriff has things well in hand." He sounded dismissive enough, but Solas could tell he was hiding something.

"You should hope so. If she decides she requires more information on the subject of these Venatori, it will be you she comes to for answers. You had best have enough of them ready to satisfy her, unless you wish to share a podium with them for the noon performance."

The threat of the gallows seemed to sober Dorian up quite a bit. Solas could see wheels turning in his head.

"You mentioned something about oculara," Dorian said, putting his book down to survey the stack.

"Indeed."

And it was the oculara that they were researching when Pippa came in later, looking cleaner, calmer, and more put together after the events of that morning.

"There you are!" Dorian said, as she came in. "Your scary Templar didn't get you?"

Solas bit back a sigh. He did not want to see Dorian prodding at Pippa over that particular issue.

But Pippa did not seem overly bothered by it at the moment.

"Of course not! It is rather my overriding characteristic that they don't, isn't it?" she said.

"True," Dorian laughed.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Your friends in the oasis. You don't owe anyone money or something, do you, Dorian?"

"Oh. Them." Dorian's expression soured. "No, they're just run of the mill magister supremacists."

Pippa quirked an eyebrow.

"The fact that you can consider magister supremacists run of the mill is quite alarming," she said.

"One of the many reasons I find this quaint little backwater a more appealing place than my homeland."

"Dorian, you complain relentlessly about Haven."

"I do! So you can see how bad Tevinter can be, then." He sighed. "I am being unfair. Tevinter is a wonderful place, it's people like the Venatori who make it unpleasant. I hope Cassandra rids us of them before they start bringing down the property values around here too."

"I don't think property values are a pressing concern for anyone living around Haven."

Dorian laughed.

"Well said."

Pippa strolled over, scanning the books laid out over the table, and the cursory notes they'd made.

"Researching something?" she asked.

"The oculara," Solas replied. "I have shared my suspicions about their purpose with Dorian, and he has been gracious enough to help me gather more information on the subject."

"Attempt to gather more information, more like," Dorian muttered. "And badly, at that. I'll need to contact my sources all the way in Val Royeaux to get anything consistent."

"Seems like jumping the gun a bit, though," Pippa said. "Can't you just study the things after Cassandra makes the oasis safe again?"

Dorian looked mildly revolted.

"You mean, go out there?" he said. "In the desert? With the wild animals?"

"Oh, come on, if Solas survived there alone for days at a time, I'm sure you won't be any worse for wear."

"Yes, but I am much more appetizing than Solas. He can poke at those things all he wants, I'll be fine waiting right here, thank you. Away from the hungry hyenas."

Pippa laughed and hooked her arm around Solas's.

"I suppose it's just you and me, then!" she said.

"Oh? I did not realize you had an interest in research," Solas replied.

"Well, as long as you'll be there, it can't be that bad."

Solas found himself at a momentary loss of words, unsure how to either take Pippa's remark or reply to it.

Dorian had no such problem. Looking supremely unimpressed, he snorted and waved them off.

"Out," he said. "I have work to do, and if you'll be acting like that you can do it elsewhere."

Pippa stuck her tongue out at him, but apparently interpreting Dorian's words to apply to both of them, pulled Solas along.

"Fine, we're going. It's lunch time, anyway."

Since arriving in Haven, Pippa had become something of a fixture at Cabot's saloon. Since the establishment offered a free lunch with any purchase of a drink, she found it quite the bargain. And, as she confessed to Solas, the cheap ale she always ordered--in fact, the cheapest drink available--had grown on her, even if she hardly ever finished it.

Solas ate sparingly, but he decided to join her, since she was insistent on the matter.

"There's a card game later on," Pippa told him as she dug into the overfried hunk of meat on her place. "Varric is hosting. Interested?"

"I am not much of a gambler anymore," Solas said.

"That's not what Blackwall told me," she replied, grinning at him conspiratorially.

Solas cleared his throat.

"Yes, well. It was a one time exception, I did not plan on making it a habit."

Pippa chuckled, but did not argue.

"Alright, how about you stick around for luck, then?" she asked.

"For luck?"

"Yes! Or moral support, whichever. I do fancy having someone around to admire the way I bluff."

"Correct me if I'm mistaken, but is hanging on a player's arm not usually the purview of paramours and dancing girls?"

"Not just the arm," Pippa said seriously, "the lap too, sometimes."

"Ah, yes, forgive me. That is, indeed, quite a range," Solas said flatly.

"I didn't even suggest it like that, you're the one who immediately cast yourself into the mental image of a dancing girl," Pippa said, grinning with all her teeth the way she did when she was quietly laughing at someone.

Solas was momentarily flustered, but sighed and shook his head in exasperation.

"If your wish was to confuse and bewilder me into keeping you company, then you've succeeded," he said.

Pippa prodded him with a foot under the table.

"Knew you couldn't resist my charms," she said.

Unfortunately, despite Pippa going through the effort of wheedling Solas into joining her, there was no card game that evening. Varric had rather inconveniently joined Cassandra's posse, along with most of the other players who were meant to be there.

They sat in the saloon anyway. They would have headed home, if not for the fact that Pippa was anxious, and wanted to be there when the posse returned.

"Whatever happens, happens regardless of our presence here," Solas pointed out reasonably.

But Pippa's jaw was set, and Solas could tell that she knew but did not care.

"Hurtling into danger, away and out of sight," Cole intoned, "should have gone with them, should be making a difference. Safer with me there. But that's not true." He addressed Pippa directly with those last words.

Pippa downed her drink and grimaced.

"Thank you, Cole," she said, her voice hoarse from alcohol. "An indispensable contribution to the conversation, yet again."

"He is right," Solas said. "Cassandra is capable, and she has three dozen volunteers at her back. You could hardly make more of a difference."

Pippa leveled a glare at him.

"She doesn't agree," Cole imparted in a low voice.

"What a curious young man," someone remarked, and both Pippa and Solas turned to see a man strutting over.

He wore a fine black suit, but he was also a mess of buckles and belts, and he clinked as he walked.

"I don't like him," Cole said, and in a snap of the Veil, he disappeared.

The man remained stunned in place, blinking in the confused way people often did when Cole slipped through the cracks of their memories. Then his eyes fell upon Pippa, and he seemed to recall his purpose.

"Ah, you must be the notorious Miss Trevelyan," he said, oozing his way into one of the chairs at the table, without asking permission. "You have quite the reputation around Haven."

"I'll pass that tidbit on to my biographer," Pippa replied stiffly.

The man chuckled insincerely.

"You do have your finger in a lot of pies, I believe the quaint southern colloquialism goes."

"I wouldn't know. I'm a Free Marcher, and I'm pretty far west at the moment."

By Pippa's brusque tone, it was clear she did not like the man any more than Cole did. Not that he seemed to pick up on that. There was something oily about him.

"Indeed, indeed," the man said, taking the remark in stride. He waved over a waitress and ordered a glass of whiskey, apparently fully intending to become a fixture at the table.

Pippa's pressed together tighter.

"Is there something you're looking for?" she asked.

"Actually," the man said, "that is the question I'd like to ask you, Miss Trevelyan."

"How so?"

"A woman in your situation, you must be on the lookout for any opportunity which might come your way."

"Oh?"

"Just as I'm on the lookout for any talent which might come my way. I believe our goals might be made to be compatible."

Pippa stared at the man incredulously.

"What could possibly give you this impression?"

His drink arrived, and he made a great show of sipping it before gesturing at Pippa.

"Everything, really," he said. "You led a band of runaway mages to this town, and you've been living as a furtrapper and a dayworker ever since, despite your magical inclinations. What a complete waste! Surely even you must realize there is more for you out there."

"Whether there is or not, I'm still unclear on what makes you think I'm capable of being more than a furtrapper and a dayworker."

He chuckled.

"Let us say you've made me take notice," he said in a low voice, and removed a calling card from his pocket. He placed it on the table and slid it over to Pippa. "If you wish to leave this dusty boondocks behind, please do contact me. I have a room at this very establishment."

With that, he finally departed, drink and all.

"That was odd," Solas said. "What does the card say?"

Pippa, who'd been watching the man's departure with suspicion, finally picked up the square of paper and read it.

"It says Crassius Servis."

Solas looked immediately alarmed, though it took him a few seconds to recall why the name was familiar.

"You know him?" Pippa asked, concerned by this reaction.

"Let us say I have heard the name," Solas replied darkly.

#dragon age fanfic #western au #solas #pippa trevelyan #solas x trevelyan

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