Hazelnuts and plaid

[GamesMaster]

"General questions are usually better, but..." Victoria shrugs. 

[Varric]

"Right," Varric mumbles. "Non-hostile contact." General is easier to dance around but easier to give the answer you weren't aware you needed.

[Marian Hawke]

"Alright. anything else?" Seeing nothing, Hawke and Victoria begin to cast the ritual. 

A few hours later, as the spell matrix flares to life, Hawke finally gets a chance to ask her questions. She takes a deep breath to center herself, feeling the connection flare to life between herself, Victoria, and.... someone. Someone familiar. 

Resisting the urge to ask, "Is this working", she instead asks, "Greetings. We recently attempted to resurrect one Merrill zi'Hawke, my wife and mother of my children. The attempt failed. Why?"

There's a long pause, and for a moment it seems there won't be an answer. Then the answer comes, in a gentle, chiming tone: "SOUL ENTRAPMENT."

[Varric]

Off to the side, Varric begins to spew a torrent of silent curses and deprications.

[Marian Hawke]

"How did her soul become entrapped?!" demands Hawke. 

Again, there's a weighty pause. "CATACOMBS." 

[Panis zi’Ulthlis]

Catacombs? The Undercity? Perhaps the old Sovereignty burial sites? Panis rubs the top of his cane with his thumb as he mulls over plans.

[Marian Hawke]

Hawke takes another deep breath, lets it out. Okay. That's probably all the hint I'll get on that. So. Moving on. "Who is ultimately responsible for the death of Merrill zi'Hawke?"



"SHE-THAT-IS-SIRENA." 

[Varric]

"Slag fucking degenerate canker sore."

[Marian Hawke]

"Thank you. For my last question: is there anything else that I should know in order to successfully get Merrill back?"

A longer pause. Almost too long. Finally, the answer comes, but it's hesitant. "TRUST ONLY CLAN." Then, with a crackle, the connection is severed. 

[Aveline Vallen]

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aveline demands after a long, tense moment of silence.

[Marian Hawke]

"It means I'm not trusting someone I should, or I'm trusting someone I shouldn't, I think," says Marian quietly. 

[Varric]

"Only Clan. Not 'trust Clan' but only Clan," Varric says tightly, already having moved to have both Panis and Victoria in clear firing lines.

[Marian Hawke]

"So I-- we-- are trusting someone we shouldn't," she says slowly. "Victoria belongs to Astea and Astea is Clan, and Panis is Clan-adjacent -- I offered shortly before you left town, after we had tea together one day just after Mia left. But... only clan? Not other Lights, not my school friends, nobody?"

[Aveline Vallen]

"Are they?" Varric asks, eyes dancing around the room. "How--"

"Varric, calm down," Aveline orders crisply. "Bright Victoria just did a ritual that contacted a major pavitra of Astea. I'm pretty sure that's a great bit of evidence she's a real cleric of Astea."

[Marian Hawke]

"Right. So the next step is to..." with a glance to Panis, she changes what she was about to say: "go back into my cell. Do you have your next steps in mind, Varric? And Aveline, you wanted to get some food?"