Blood from Stone [AU]

[Marian Hawke]

"It's probably trash," she admits, passing the page over. And it's... certainly unconventional. Because of her unusual start, she ended up with a different proof than he expected -- a proof that is in some ways more elegant than the one he was leading her toward, but in other areas more complicated and messy. 

[Varric]

He takes a full minute to look it over, running through each and every step to be sure. "Well, to start... this is a solid proof. There are some rough spots but I don't see a single wrong step. This bit here" he taps the page, "isn't actually needed, you could skip right to this step without losing any accuracy but it's not wrong either. Just needs a technique you don't know to make the bridge. But this here, about the reflection of angles? Solid gold. Much smoother than the more common proof."

[Marian Hawke]

"It's... good?" she asks, blinking. "I... what?"

[Varric]

"You successfully proved. Not the quickest or smoothest proof possible for this problem, but it's correct." He looks up at Liz, a smirk on his lips. "Also, M.A.T.H? The book you got this problem from? Helene got it for me as something to unwind a bit because math is soothing to me. But I don't like easy so... that's university level. Second or third level as matter of fact."

[Marian Hawke]

"Oh," she says quietly, looking down at the page. "I... I want to do more."

[Varric]

Varric leans over to the side and pulls out a half dozen sheets of rough paper. "Then you should. I have some old math textbooks stored away too, if you want them."

[Marian Hawke]

"But... shouldn't I go eat lunch with Merrill and Jassinth?" she asks quietly, looking at the paper with a hungry look. "Shouldn't I...?"

[Varric]

"I'll go grab us some drinks and let them know we're having lunch together. I doubt they'll mind." He smiles crookedly at Liz. "Did you come across any of the problems you had questions about yet?"

[Marian Hawke]

"No," she says quietly, reaching for the book. "No, I didn't have questions."

[Varric]

"Well if you do, jot them down and we can discuss it, alright? Be back in a few minutes." This... this could really be good. Bright Gods, let this be a step towards healing. Please.

[GamesMaster]

Helene sends the proper waking procedure to Huntinghawk, to ensure that Niko doesn't suffer overlong while police work is being done. They they set to work cross-referencing the sources used by Niko's shop with those used by Liz according to Cindy, looking for ingredients that are different in this batch than in the previous batch and the batch before. Except... They can't be certain those batches aren't tainted, can they? Sure, they can cast Detect Poision, but alchemical tinctures often turn up as poisons, and this is no different. They don't have the option to detect a curse, only to bestow one. 

They end up commandeering a bottle of the leftover batch, plus a bottle of each of the prior three batches, but they recommend strongly having an alchemist look over them to determine if any are tainted for certain. 

And so they, along with Carver and Aveline, relocate to Huntinghawk's estate, asking her to look over the bottles and determine which batches are tainted. They and Huntinghawk are doing so when Niko finally stirs; Aveline is sitting by his bed, and Carver pacing, trying to keep himself calm.

[Tethras Clan]

"Nikolaos. Welcome back to waking. What's the last thing you remember clearly?" Aveline shifts closer, reaching for his arm to take his pulse. 

[Nikolaos "Niko" Kingfisher]

"Huh?" he asks, groggily, rubbing at his head. "Good morning," he adds, yawning. "What time is it?"

[Tethras Clan]

"You've been unconcious for fourteen hours," Aveline informs him instead, cutting to the point. "And I mean unconcious, not asleep. Your sleeping tonic was flawed."

[Nikolaos "Niko" Kingfisher]

"Impossible," he snaps. "I brewed it myself."