For the Inquisition

How to: Save the World

I grit my teeth as the pole I was holding up vibrated as a worker above me pounded the nails into place. I stepped back when he was done and surveyed the room. Rubble was still littered along the walls but at least the ceiling wasn't threatening to collapse anymore. I gave the worker a thumbs up before leaving the main hall, stepping into the bright afternoon sun. I shielded my eyes from the sun as I headed towards the tavern. I had a long list of things Ariess and Cullen had asked me to do today and assisting with construction was only the second, the first being breakfast with the Inquisitor.

"The Iron Bull." I smirked and sauntered up to the giant qunari. He was lounging in a chair two sizes too small for him. He smiled lazily up at me as I approached. I settled into the chair next to him.

"Jesaere." His voice rumbled from his throat. "What do you need?"

"I'm here on behalf of the inquisitor." I tilted my head to the side and looked up at him.

"Let me guess, she wants me to accompany her to some desert at the ass-end of Thedas so we can fight some more demons that won't go away." I grinned at him.

"You've gotten so good at this guessing thing. She wants to go to the Hissing Wastes. Our agents have found some interesting ruins out there." He sighed.

"Tell Boss I'll be there." He nodded at me, his enormous horns dipping.

"The inquisitor appreciates it." I stood up and headed to the stairs, climbing them to get to the second floor. Sera's room rested in a little nook with windows overlooking part of the courtyard. I approached her door and knocked in the tune to Sera Was Never. A series of knocks returns, finishing the verse, before the door swung open to reveal the grinning blonde elf.

"I knew it was you." She giggled before welcoming me into her space. I settled on the cushioned window bench.

"You know what I'm here for." She laughed and picked up her bow, plucking the string.

"Where am I going?"

"The Hissing Wastes. Ariess requested you specifically." Sera narrowed her eyes.

"This better not be the elfy thing." Now it was my turn to laugh.

"She thinks you're funny and she likes to have you as a buffer between Bull and Solas." Sera snorted.

"Those two are pricklier than cacti." She spun her bow in her hands. "This is gonna be grand." I said goodbye and headed out of the tavern towards the castle itself. Solas was in his chair, his hands folded in his lap.

"Jesaere." He smiled as I entered the round chamber in which he normally resides. I glanced towards the loveseat pushed against the wall where he enters the Fade.

"You up for an expedition to the Hissing Wastes?" I asked him, picking a stone shard up off his desk and examining it.

"As long as Ariess is there, it does not matter where we go." He plucked the stone from my hands and set it down on the desk as his face flushed red. "Ah, that came out wrong."

"No, it came out just right." I smiled at him and he nodded. "You leave in two days." I waved goodbye to him as I left his chamber. I smiled at multiple nobles in the great hall on my way to the door at the back of the room. Ariess was sitting at her desk when I finished the climb to her room.

"Bloody Mages." She grumbled as she slammed a notice down on the wooden surface.

"You're a mage." I commented as I plopped down on her white sofa. She groaned and leaned back in her chair, drawing a hand over her eyes. "You have a party waiting to go to the Hissing Wastes."

"I wish you could go with me." She whined and sank lower in her chair.

"Someone has to stay here and make sure Commander Cullen doesn't go too hard on the troops while you're gone." I grinned at her. "Plus someone has to keep that satisfied smile on his face."

"Gross." I snorted at her, leaning forward.

"Excuse me, I just spoke to Solas on your behalf and he said some gross shit too." Her cheeks flushed red. "Exactly." I stood up and strolled over to her desk, placing both of my palms on it.

"Now, you promised me an outing with your man and mine so go collect your elf and I will collect my human." She sighed and slid out of the chair onto the floor.

"I have nothing to wear." Her voice was muffled by the rug under her desk. I sighed and strode over to her dresser.

"Put this on." I held up a few pieces of clothing. She popped up from behind her desk, taking the clothes from me as she passed me on her way into the privy. When she emerged a few seconds later, I let out a sharp whistle. She was wearing the signature Elven leather wrapping around her legs and arms with her feet bare. The dark blue tunic I chose for her left a sliver of skin exposed just above the leather and a white belt hung loosely around her hips. The dark fur lining the inside poked out from the bottom and the ends of the short sleeves. The sleeves also left her shoulders exposed and the wide neck showed off her collarbones. It hit me just how thin she is. She's built like a mage, her upper arms and wrists muscular enough to wield a staff but her real power comes from within her. She allowed me to pull her hair back into a braided bun so her pointed ears stood out.

"It's your turn." She giggled when she was done admiring herself in the mirror, clapping her hands together.

"All of my clothes are in Cullen's quarters and they're all warriors' clothing. I have no need for beautiful things." I'm sad momentarily. I never had a need for beautiful things but that didn't stop me from admiring the noble women with their silk dresses and shiny jewelry and imagining my own body decked in finery, the envy of the kingdom.

"You're going to make me sad now hush up." She dug through her own dresser, pushing aside all kinds of beautiful garments an inquisitor should own. "Here. I know you'll love this. You can keep it." She shoved some clothes into my arms and pushed me into her privy. She gasped when I emerged and gave her a little spin before she pushed me in front of a mirror and plunged her hands into my hair. She gave me her spare set of Elven leather wrapping that rise all the way up to my upper thigh. I wiggle my toes, the feeling of them being so exposed foreign. I wore one of her less flashy dresses, that showed a lot of skin. The sleeves were long and hung from my wrists. The neckline plunged down in a deep vee that exposed most of my chest and the top of my stomach, clinging tightly to my skin. The skirt was split into two triangles, one in front and one in back, joining together at my hips with a slanted brown belt hung around my waist. I watched as she twisted one side of my hair into a tight braid down the side of my head, leaving the rest in fluffy waves to flow over my shoulders.

Cullen and Solas were waiting for us in the cave at the base of the mountain we told them to meet us. I watched as Solas was rendered speechless as Ariess enters in front of me. He folded her into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, whispering quiet words into her ear. I turned my gaze to Cullen who had to pick his mouth off the floor. I approached him, goosebumps pebbling over the exposed skin of my chest. His eyes darkened as he looked me over. He greeted me with his lips on mine while his hands found the edges of the neckline on my dress and pulled the sides closer together, covering more of my chest.

"Sorry, but that needed to be closed or we were not going to make it through the rest of the night." I grinned at him and kissed him again for good measure before stretching out on a blanket next to Ariess. We shared smiles and cheese under a blanket of stars.