The Winter's Queen [Magus AU]

[Tethras Clan]

"So... this is going to be as awkward for me as it will be for you," an annoyingly familiar voice says. Male. Dwarven accent. There's a blur of pale blue light, then something hits him.

~Yep. Awkward.~

[Carver Amell]

"Magic," breathes Carver, and Varric -- Varric can hear what pases for thinking in Carver's head. 

Magic! My sister is involved in this, isn't she? Dwarf. She had a dwarf. Has? Alright, calm down, you're a grown man, think this through. My sister sent a dwarf assassin to kill me with magic. I'm not dead, so he's either very bad at it or he's trying to do something else. Am I mind controlled? What does mind control feel like? I have to get out of here, I'm a sitting duck in a known location. Mother! I have to get Mother to safety. 

[NPCs]

~Wow, you're even more slow-witted than I realized. Has a dwarf, by the way. Varric. So here's the thing. Everything has gone bad. You need to go to Wynne's place, you've been there before. But, uh, get dressed first because there's kind of a zombie invasion thing happening. Your mother isn't in the house by the way, the only two here are you and the mabari, I checked.~

[Carver Amell]

It's in my head? Can it hear me thinking? Get. Out. Of. My. Head. This last thought is somehow louder and slower than the others, with the obnoxious cadence of someone trying to get through to someone who doesn't speak Common. Poorly. 

[NPCs]

~Yes. Yes. No. Still no. Also, if you don't start getting ready, I'll start digging for your poetry. And then have it printed up, with your name on it, and plastered in every brothel not just in Nyra, but every city-state in a thousand miles.~

[Carver Amell]

There's a flush of embarrassed heat rising to Carver's cheeks. What is this? What is going on? Why are you doing this to me?! WHERE is my MOTHER?!

[Tethras Clan]

~...if you're lucky, if she's lucky, and I mean this truthly, with Mileen. The zombie thing started at the Memento Mori meeting. It was a cult.~ There's a brief pause, then the voice comes back, firmer. ~And if you don't get moving, everyone else will be dead or worse, so get moving!~

[Carver Amell]

It's weird being inside someone else's head. Despite the timing, Varric can feel how it's the former set of words that truly propel Carver into action, grabbing for his trousers and his armor. Zombies. Cult. Right, got it. This is adventurer work. There's a tinge of sadness, but he can almost feel Carver shove away the thoughts about his mother, focusing on the immediate problems. My weapon's bound. They have unbound ones at the guard station. Is the state on 12th outside the kill zone? He whistles for the dog. I can drop him off with Widow Smith, so he won't be trouble if I'm out all day.

[Tethras Clan]

~Bring the dog, he's old enough to be an asset if he know not to bark and it'll be safer with you. Don't bother with the station, I have a stash on the way with a debonding stone.~

[Carver Amell]

Carver slides his weapon onto his back with a nod. "Alright. Let's go." 

[GamesMaster]

When Helene knocks on the front door, it's opened by an invisible spirit; Isabela keeps her knives out, nervously eyeing the doorway. They'd passed squads of guards who informed them that they needed to head for the upper city if they had any hope of evacuating, but they'd ignored them, determined to get to Wynne before she could be evacuated herself. 

Isabela lets Zevran lead the way, falling into the rear guard position as they make their way into Wynne's home. They can hear voices from the kitchen, so they head that direction, only to walk in on what must be the least likely scene they could possibly have imagined:

Wynne and Carver, taking tea and staring down at a map of Preacher's Way. 

[Tethras Clan]

And then see one even less likely:

Varric's spectral head popping out of Carver's back. "Zevran, Isabela! Wonderful, this'll be so much-"

"Varric?" Zevran blurts out. "You're..."

"Dead, yeah. Focus on not dying yourself, pretty sure my getting to slip back was a one-off."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene gives a deep bow. "This one is Helene Dakesh. This one is pleased to be at your service, Mr Stone."

[Isabela]

Isabela stares at them. "...Right. What the fuck?"

[Tethras Clan]

"The oracle," Varric says flatly, then tries to take a deep breath. Right, that's not... right. "Right, so, we're trying to figure out how to safely get to the fake temple. The hope is if we can... stop the necromantic focus, the cascade effect will fade out."

"It's something of a gamble, but it's the best- the only- chance we have for a... quick resolution of things," Wynne adds.