Doom Upon All The World

Chapter 12: Unexpected

They feasted and laughed and joked and talked, reminiscing and enjoying the company of old and new friends. The table was nearly all the way full. Dinner had nearly completely passed and Bull and Dorian were still absent. It worried Maeve slightly. Any number of things could have happened on the road. Who knew if they were even still coming? The children sat, talking loudly amongst each other. The only exception was Julien. He just stared kind of blankly at Solas and put food in his mouth as Tom cut it for him. Solas didn't seem to notice but it was freaking Maeve out. Nicolynn and Anthony finally gave way to speaking with the Montilyet children, particularly Claude and Pierre.

Those two could talk all night if you let them. They were comparing their lavish Antivan life to that of Nicolynn and Anthony's. It was interesting to hear them gloat. Josephine chastised them for being so pompous from the other side of the table as the adults conversed with one another. Adults, in some cases meaning people that are aged like adults but have the mindsets of children. Varric talked about his job as Viscount. It was no new thing that Varric was Viscount but things in Kirkwall were just starting to settle down after all the strife.

Hawke tried to make everyone believe what a good job Varric was doing as Viscount but they could all hardly imagine more than a city in chaos under Varric's rule. The businesses would benefit of course, crime would be up, and there would be little poor about the place. Still they were curious to see for themselves what Varric had changed in the rebellious portion of the free marches. Maeve knew well that the Dwarf liked things a certain way, his way. There was no doubt in her mind that he would make Kirkwall more successful than it had been in ages. Cassandra had to give him his due credit as well. She knew him to be a formidable businessman. He would do right by it. She'd hate to see the city go up in flames once again.

Bianca was a curiosity for many at the table. She had said before when sitting in the other room while Maeve's attention was on Solas that she went to Kirkwall looking for him. How this came about they did not know so she explained. Two years prior to going to seek out Varric she led an expedition into the Deep Roads and faked her death. Her husband's men looked for her ceaselessly for about a year. After that she laid low in the undergrounds of the Frostback Mountains, away from Orzammar. She could not afford to be spotted by the Dwarves under the mountain or the Merchant's Guild. She had a little help from a young man that frequented to undergrounds.

She gave him a substantial amount of coin in exchange for supplies and food. He brought it to her once a month, never bringing help, never telling anyone until about three months ago when Bianca found him dead in the foothills of the mount. That's when she decided to resurface. She had no choice. It was go back or starve. She thought of Varric in those days and decided she had to find him. She thought the man that told her he was Viscount of Kirkwall was messing with her at first. Who would put that ass hole on the throne? She thought.
They were all amazed at her reveal. They were glad that she made it away from her husband and to Varric but worried that she'd cause trouble for him.

Hawke said that she was glad to have finally met her and the two engaged in a conversation about the noble Dwarf. Tom asked Cullen about the rehab center and got him hooked on talking about it. He told them about the grueling process and they all saw the memories that flashed in his eyes without mercy. Maeve noticed a shooting pain in Cassandra's face as the Seeker watched him speak. It hurt her to see him in pain. Maeve and Solas knew that pain well. She imagined all lovers did to some measure. There was a connection there that made the other person's pain their own. In Maeve and Solas' case this was more true than most of the others knew.

He began explaining his plan. Cullen knew well the Templars were slaves just as the Mages were. They're permanently bound to the Chantry due to their addictions. It was right of them to serve the Chantry but not to be leashed to it. He wanted to give them a choice. The Lyrium made them obedient, made them more prone to act before making a calculated decision. This needed to end for the order to be restored. After he got the majority of the Templars back on their feet, he sent them to the Cathedral where they would be given orders and a station elsewhere. He had a close associate there that handled the affairs and Cassandra helped with placement. She even recruited some of his finest for the Seekers.