Blood from Stone [AU]

[Marian Hawke]

"Yeah," whispers Liz, her throat dry. "I know. But we'll help him. We'll kill the monster that made this happen, and we'll help him get better the right way. No drugs and misery and loneliness."

[Carver Amell]

Carver heads over, wrapping one arm around each sister, holding them close. "We will," he adds, softly. "I swear."

[Bethany]

"Right. All of us, together. Just like we're supposed to be." And to the Hells with anyone or anything that tries to break up my family again.

[Marian Hawke]

They rest there, like that, the three of them, speaking quietly of lighter things. After a bit, Varric emerges, and Carver moves to help him carry Bartrand to a side room to be... interrogated. 

A few short minutes later, Varric emerges with the name. Carver gags Bartrand, promising to guard him, while Liz, Helene, and Varric head down to the library to research the ritual. 

Liz cuddles Vig close on the way down, breathing in the scent of him, not wanting to let go of that warm, soft body.

[Vigile]

"This is not a sorrow, Liz," Vigile purrs softly in her ear. "A pavitra is made for a purpose. This is mine. Of all the adventurers in all of Aldis, of all the slavers, you raided where I was. I knew I was sent here to do something, to protect someone. I thought it was the other captured beings. Then I thought it you, then Cindy. I was wrong. It was all of you and more. With this one act, I shall do more to protect the innocent than I have done in all the rest of my existence. I could never begin to repay you and your family for this opportunity." He pauses, then adds even more softly, "but... I will miss you and Cindy."

[Marian Hawke]

"I'll miss you too, Vig," she whispers. "And it is still a sorrow, even knowing it's for the greater good. You're wonderful and you deserve to be loved and mourned when you are no longer.  I'll remember you forever, and I'll tell everyone what good you did, His-paws-are-silent-but-his-growl-is-fierce-in-defense-of-the-righteous. They won't forget you."

[Vigile]

The purring increases in tempo and volume. "I could ask for nothing more. Thank you... Love Blossoms No Matter the Evils Around it."

[Marian Hawke]

Liz smiles. "I'm no Pavitra."

[Vigile]

Vigile chuckles softly. "No, not at current. You should look that up at some point, when you have the time. The name thing. It might be an amusing bit of knowledge." I simply hope that Someone is paying attention, to note my recommendation in regards to her, as I will not be able to do it myself after my shell is no more or I return to the Heavens. At least, I do not think so. "Regardless, we should hurry after them."

[Marian Hawke]

"Yes," she sighs sadly, and squeezes him just a little tighter as she scurries down the steps.

[Helene Dakesh]

Heene is in nir element once more. As Liz helps Varric, ne pours over tomes, scribbling notes in any language that comes to mind, jotting down diagrams and figures. An hour ticks by, and then another, with Helene so absorbed in working that ne doesn't feel the loss of speech very much at all. Helene has been lost in the academic fervor before, of course, but there's something more pure, something deeper about it this time. 

This time, there is more on the line. And yet, this time, ne seems to sink deeper into it, feeling utterly at peace as ne works. 

Ne has begun to write things in shorter and shorter shorthand as ne works. However, for Varric's sake, a long form of the ritual in progress is being compiled as ne goes. So when a whole new page is added with possible shunts, vents, and other ways to let off excess energy, of course this is mildly alarming to the dwarf. 

[Varric]

Eyes narrowing, Varric plucks the page out of the pile and tracks down Helene. "Shunt. Why? Orri, cal, um." He wrinkles his nose, hoping that Helene can follow that. The seventeen orriculum mini-ingots (useless alloy of celestial mithril and adamantine, least it's good for rituals) are supposed to act as buffers for the energy backlash, allowing the schema time for diverting it to the astral diamond energy sink (is it not big enough? should have installed more) built into the room.  

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene writes out a quick note: 'Energy spike located in the wrong location, brief but deadly. Shunt will bleed off much of it, redirecting the rest to the diamonds. Potentially. This one is working on the calculations now.'

[Varric]

"Second eyes?" Varric manages after a moment. Not seeing much detail on the composition of that.

[Helene Dakesh]

A pause, then ne scribbles out the names of all four options. Ne circles two, writing 'V', and circles the other two, indicating 'H'.