Ghost Story

[Varric]

"I--" Varric swallows, eyes closing. "I'm not sure. I think-- It was the day that Bethie was taken. But-- But Helene was there. We spoke."  His voice cracks and he grips the side of the counter, balance unsteady. "I spoke to my Helene."

[Marian Hawke]

"In.. in a dream? It was a dream, right? She-- Ne's not alive?"

[Varric]

"Ne died," Varric confirms hoarsely. "I tried to raise nem." Seventeen times (even I can take the hint of having my vision wrapped in Night for a week). "Ne died and Went On. But-- but a dream? I don't..."

[Marian Hawke]

"The dead don't speak with the living in dreams," says Emma slowly. "We dream them because we miss them. So..."

[Varric]

"But this wasn't just a dream," Varric points out quickly. "It was a ritual, a Guided Dreamwalk. In a haunted house no less."

[Marian Hawke]

"True," agrees Emma. "What did ne say?"

[Varric]

Varric struggles a moment. "Ne... At first, ne was acting off the dream's script. But when I spoke to ne directly, ne changed. Became... more. Helene-- Helene spoke to me. Me, not Marian-- I was her in this dream."

[Marian Hawke]

"That sounds important," agrees Emma. "What did she say then?"

[Varric]

"Ne-- Ne was speaking some higher form of Celestial for most of it. Alydra's name, though it wasn't the sound I just made to say it. It was like-- like ne wasn't allowed to just talk to me clearly. Ne managed to say two words though: please, open."

[Marian Hawke]

"Open? Open what?"

[Varric]

Varric laughs weakly and waves a hand in a helpless, lost gesture without breaking his stare on the kettle.

[Marian Hawke]

"Was there a box, or a door, or a book...?"

[Varric]

"In the dream? No, not that I noticed," Varric replies after a moment. "I-- I think maybe--" 

[Marian Hawke]

Emma waits, anxious eyes on him, eager to hear what he has to say.

[Varric]

"Sorry," he mutters, swiping at his face with one hand. "This is hitting harder than I-- Anyway. Please open. Might mean my mind. Heart, faith, whatever. Or maybe just-- just in general. Be more open to-- to something. I don't know."