Chapter Text
I'm sitting in the back corner of The Hanged Man, a well known tavern in the poorest part of the city of Kirkwall, having a drink. My name is Rynne, and I have been in this hellscape of a city for nearly 4 years now. This part of the city was where the poor and the aimless tend to reside. Many of the locals called this part, Lowtown. Fitting if you ask me. This tavern was decent enough and ran by a beardless dwarf that I have had dealings with in a past. I was sipping on some cheap ale. Honestly hate the stuff but it does take the edge off of a hard day.
Out the corner of my eye, I see three people walk in. A woman with short, black pixie cut hair and her younger twin siblings, brother and sister. The oldest had bright blue eyes while the other two had muddy brown color eyes. The Hawke siblings, I recalled to myself. The oldest, Marian, was a decently talented mage. I had seen her a few times in passing during my work with The Red Iron, a mercenary group. I had almost forgotten her two younger siblings, Bethany and Carver. From what I had gathered, Carver was a bit of a hot headed warrior and Bethany was a shy mage. The fact that The Red Iron kept their word to hide the fact that Marian and Bethany were apostate mages was surprising to me. Not that I thought they were dangerous, as I have never believed the bullshit the Chantry tries to teach everyone, just the fact that The Red Iron actually kept their word and didn't just turn them in for profit. They were all younger than me with Marian being 21 and the twins being 18. I had to admit that the way Marian carried herself was very confident and collected for someone who had her families weight on her shoulders. I almost wish I had that sort of confidence, almost.
During my internal thoughts about the three, I had barely noticed them approach me in my corner. I looked up from my drink to see Marian giving me an inquisitive smile. "Excuse me? You don't happen to know a dwarf around here that wears a crossbow on his back, do you?" She asked me curiously. "Beardless, ginger hair, and chest hair to rival a human?" She continued with a laugh.
I wasn't surprised the Hawke siblings knew Varric Tethras, The dwarf with great chest hair, most would say anyway. He made a point to know almost everyone in the city, and the siblings drew his interest while they were with The Red Iron. However, I wondered why the siblings wanted to speak to him, it did make me curious. So, I looked at the eldest Hawke sibling with a passive expression as I directed my answer to her.
"Just go up the stairs over there." I pointed to my right at the stairs leading to more rooms. "His office is just up them." I then grabbed the glass of ale that I have been sipping on for the past hour and took another drink.
Marian was a bit surprised by that, but thankful nonetheless. She gave me a grin and a wave as she and her little siblings went up to the second floor to talk to Varric who was just sitting in his office.
Carver, who seemed a bit surprised I knew where they were going to, didn’t say anything and just followed after Hawke and Bethany. Though he turned to looked at me once he was at the top of the stairs, seeming to study me. I noticed his gaze and I decided to give him a brief nod before setting my eyes back on watching the rest of the patrons of the tavern. Varric was the only dwarf of any importance here tonight so it didn't surprise me that they were asking for him. I would know, as he wanted me to play bodyguard tonight. I still didn't understand why he even asked me to do this anyway. The tavern was mostly empty and I was sure he could hire other people for cheaper than my starting pay range. I have a feeling he is planning something, he always was.
Some time went by, at least an hour anyway, as I continued to watch the patrons of the bar from my secluded corner. The Hawke siblings have been in Varric's office for a while now, I thought while frowning slightly at my empty mug of ale. I contemplated getting up to order another but decided against it. Would need a clear head in case some drunken idiot decided he wanted to start a tavern brawl.
*Meanwhile In Varric's Office*
Varric saw the siblings come into his office, giving them all a grin as he gave them a small wave, "Well look who returned home." Marian shot him a grin as she went about reciting their adventures of the day and as usual, complained about their uncle, Gamlen. The younger siblings stayed quiet except to say their bits and pieces about their uncle. Varric listened to their stories with interest, giving advice and comments and cracking a few jokes here and there with a small chuckle. It wasn’t much of a surprise that GamIen was their main complaint, the man was not a very good person, and always looking to lie and cheat his way in life.
After a few minutes went by of the siblings speaking, Varric spoke up to them finally, “Well that's quite the tale." His eyes drifted over to the bar to where Rynne was sitting, “Speaking of that. I've got something to talk to you about." Marian didn't miss Varric's gaze turn to the woman in the corner that she questioned earlier and suddenly, she got very curious. "Alright what's this about Varric?" He chuckled at the look on her face, knowing she was probably thinking something bad or trying to guess what he was about to tell her. So many assumptions of what Rynne could be up to. He leaned back and gave her a grin.
"Well."
He paused for dramatic effect for a few seconds.
"You know how I sometimes get in a pickle with the people I make deals with?"
Marian sighed dramatically. "Varric, I swear, if you lost a game of diamondback to that woman and want me to win your money back? Ain't happening. You know I'm worse at that game than anyone here." She said in a teasing tone to the Dwarf. He chuckled at that and gave her a grin. She was right, she was terrible at diamondback, but that wasn't what he had in mind. "No not even close." He said with amusement in his tone. "Not diamondback this time." He paused for a second, his grin growing a bit.
"No this time I have a job opportunity."
"Alright, I'll bite. Who is she?" Marian asked Varric while her siblings watched with interest themselves. Especially Carver, who kept glancing every now and then back towards the woman. Varric gave her a grin at that. He knew she would. She hadn’t hesitated when he had given her jobs before.
"Her names Rynne Lothar. She’s a former Red Iron mercenary. One of the best in Kirkwall to date, maybe the best." He said giving her a look. "And now currently 'unemployed'." He paused for dramatic effect again.
"Red Iron, huh? Now that I think of it, I may have passed by her on a few occasions while we still worked for them." Marian gestured to herself and her siblings. "Do you know why she left them?" Varric leaned back in his chair after taking a sip of his drink. He had expected her to ask that question. "She never told me specifically, from what I’ve heard she’s just very…" He paused for a second trying to find the right wording.
"Independent, let’s say.”
Marian pondered this for a moment, gazing back at Rynne, still watching the bar patrons with a bored expression. "Well she seems like one to hold her cards to her chest." She told Varric with a smile. Carver still kept looking back at Rynne too, for some strange reason to the point that Bethany had to poke him in the ribs to get him to focus. Varric had caught the two siblings both sneakily looking over at Rynne a few times, he had known them for a while and picked up on subtle things easily. He was curious about it but said nothing on it for now. He instead gave Bethany and Carver a look once he saw her poke him. He then turned his attention back to Marian. "Yeah she does. She never let’s anyone in. Keeps to herself."
"So what's this job you're thinking about, Varric?" Marian asked as she shot her siblings a look as well and then turned back to the dwarf with her arms crossed. He caught the look she gave her siblings but again said nothing on it. He knew her well enough to know that if she wanted too she could handle whatever came of it. He set his drink down on the table and folded his hands. "Basically a job that involves stealing." He said simply.
"Lay it on me." Marian said with a grin, while Carver groaned at the idea. Varric grinned back at that. It looked like she was on board with it, that was good. He’d just wait to see what her siblings thought now. He glanced over to them for a second before turning his attention back to her. "The plan for the job is to steal a relic for a client from the Chantry..." He paused for a second, "...without getting caught."
"Where does Rynne fit in then?" Marian asked curious. Her head slightly cocked to the side in thought. Varric answered her with a calm expression, "I was hoping she was going to be on the team because the relic is under tight security at the chantry..." He chuckled for a moment, "...and she’s well-suited for going in unnoticed"
"Does she know about this yet?" Marian asked him while her siblings gave each other contemplating looks. Varric gave her a sly grin before responding, his voice cautious. "Not yet, no. Was wanting to find out if you guys wanted to be on the team first."
Marian grinned back at him, "Varric, you know I won't say no. What about you two? I'm guessing if Varric is planning on coming then one of you will have to stay home with Mother." She turned to Bethany and Carver in question. "I'll go. You'll need some muscle in case shit hits the fan plus two mages would drag too much attention." Carver spoke up while quickly gazing at Rynne again. Bethany nodded her head before speaking her peace. "He does have a point. I'll stay with Mother. And..." Bethany paused and gave an innocent grin towards her twin brother. "I think Carver here might have a crush on our mysterious woman over there." Carver gaped at his sister before turning slightly red and coughing. "Bloody hell Bethany! I do not! I'm just curious about her that's all." Everyone in the room proceeded to laugh at his embarrassment.
Varric was the one that laughed the loudest at Bethany's last comment. He knew she was only trying to have a little fun with Carver, but he also knew she was right. He had seen that look in the boys eyes before when he had a crush on that blonde girl from the blacksmith's shop, it was the same exact look on his face. He had to admit that the sibling's dynamic was hilarious, how Bethany was boldy teasing Carver, and him getting all flustered. "Right” Varric said while smirking at them while also trying to get their attention again.
Marian rolled her eyes playfully before speaking again once everyone calmed back down. "Settled then Varric? You, me, Carver and Rynne. Going to steal a bloody relic." Varric grinned at that, "That settles it." He then paused for a moment again before sighing, "Now I just have to convince her to join in, if she says yes then we're good." Marian clapped Varric on the back. "Good luck with that. We'll run home to Lowtown to drop Bethany off and get supplies. Come by when you're ready." She winked at the dwarf before practically dragging her siblings, mainly Carver cause he still kept looking at Rynne, out of the Hanged Man to head home.