Imprints in Stone [AU]

[GamesMaster]

"So then I said to her, you know why women orgasm, right? They just want something else to moan about," he laughs, and the guys around laugh with him. 

"Say, ain't you got a girl somewhere?" one of them asks.

"Pfft. Cindy? She's a bigger slut than I am. I'd never hear the end of it if I pussed out because of her." Garrett finishes his latest drink. "how's it going, small stuff? Had enough?"

[Varric]

Varric beams up at him. "Nope! Stuffs not bad, but I'm more a whisky d-rinker normally. Got any single malt rye?" Cindy? Bigger slut? The hells? Wild and... licentious is pretty damn far from any read I- ah. Mari- Li- the twin's sibling considers Cindy to be their equal/guide, so she has to be better at the things this version of (whoever) them is trying to excel at. 

[GamesMaster]

"Oh-oh, whisk-y," he sing-songs. "Look at you, small stuff! Bartender, let's get your best whisky over here, in honor of Small Stuff!" 

Upstairs, Zevran and Helene defeat the demon; it didn't really take long, as it was a very small demon, and Zevran is well skilled in killing them. Now what?

[Tethras Clan]

Keep reading, of course. "If you have anything to combat demons, now seems a good time for it."

[Varric]

I''ll 'Small Stuff' you. Damn kid. Despite her mental grumbles, the goblin smiles a bit and eagerly takes the shots offered. "To the finer things in life!"

[GamesMaster]

"To the finer things -- wine, women, and song!" He cheers, before adding, "not to mention plunder!"

The diary continues: Garrett, it seems, had some trouble earning the respect of his crew at first, but slowly but surely, his heart of gold won them over. He counts them all as friends now, easing his loneliness and providing him a place to belong. A place that he pours out gratitude for on the pages of his journal.

[Varric]

"To family, knowledge and the ability to preserve both." The goblin smirks. "And a good drink at the end of the day."

[Tethras Clan]

"This... This is not the record of a demon. More a young man trying to find- or make-up a place to belong," Zevran comments as he continues to read.

[GamesMaster]

The journal starts to get darker, more personal. Garrett wonders who he was before, who died to give him life -- for it's clear no memories are returning. He worries he might not deserve such a place, might not deserve to lead -- but he recalls saving himself, and that gives him some measure of peace. He worries what happens if he meets someone he knew before. What if he's a horrible person, who doesn't deserve leadership? What if he's a rapist, a slaver? Worse -- what if he destroyed the original personality on his way to the surface? What if he was a multiple personality system, and he's the only survivor? What if he has to share his head with someone else someday, or worse, what if the original comes back and destroys him?

He meets Cindy, here a runaway slave, and rescues her. They fall in love. It's something simple, sweet, and utterly his. He stops having nightmares, slowly, eventually.

He resolves to stop wondering who he used to be. Garrett is enough. That person is gone forever.

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran is no genius, no scholar nor sage. But he is not a fool. "First a dream of... life made better, in a sense. Easier, simpler at least. And now a life without past sins and horrors to weight it down. Where he can do as he pleases, surrounded by those that will not judge him, that will accept and support him." Zevran smiles sadly as he looks over at Helene. "I must confess, I was never able to... thicken my skin to the guilt and pain of saving someone from themselves, no matter how virtuous a cause it might be."

[Helene Dakesh]

"We could leave him to it," says Helene gently. "Wake early or even, this one suspects, if we find a dark shadow and try to open a way forward, we may be able to pass freely back to Cindy's mind."

[Tethras Clan]

"Just because a person has found comfort, even peace in their chains does not mean it is right to leave them bound," Zevran says softly. "Besides, Garrett will not die, merely... return to his creator. Hopefully they are both the better for it."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene nods. "Shall we return to the others, then?"

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran studies the book for a few more seconds, then closes it before returning all of it to the chest and just as carefully, almost respectfully, locks it. "Yes, I suppose we should. I... do you know if you can..." Zevran rolls his eyes. I am a bit daft sometimes. Focusing, he reaches up to tug on the series of linked silver and steel studs in his left ear- which just so happen to be a 'Hat' of Disguise. Let us see if a familiar face... prompts anything, shall we?

[GamesMaster]

As the merikos elf and Helene head down, they find the party in full swing. There's a round of some drinking song going as Varric and Isabela drink with a stranger -- presumably, Garrett. The goblin and the human-ish are doing shots of whiskey, while Isabela sips a fruiter cocktail, content to watch at this point.