The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[GamesMaster]

Brianne hops out of the way, letting Beth have the bed; she heads to sit on a chair at the desk, backwards, looking concerned but mostly keeping out of the way.

[Haliel Lightsong]

"Yes, of course, they can share my bed. I've slept in the chair before, it does no harm that a bit of stretching in the morn cannot fix. Poison... Bri, grab my writ and get the healer on du-"

[Bethany]

"No! We- we can't be found, it..."

[Haliel Lightsong]

"Would not be safe, of course. Careless to forget that. Sorry. Alright. Bri, run and get Mister Varric. And... and his apprentice," Lightsong says slowly, brow furrowed.

[GamesMaster]

Brianne nods. "Yes ma'am," she says, heading for the door.

[Shisou]

"Are you going to be safe here?" asks Shiori, turning to Beth. "It seems like you're in good hands."

[Bethany]

"Yes, thank you again, Sh...soushi-hime," Beth replies with a wan smile, sinking down on the bed with a tired groan. "Please be careful, if you... look into things. Very careful."

[Shisou]

"Alright. I'll be back tomorrow night to check on you," she adds, with a worried frown. 

"But for now, I must be off, to protect other citizens. Come, Carbonne!" she adds, in her more performative, bardic voice. 

[Haliel Lightsong]

"Thank you for helping," Lightsong says as well. "May the waters of mercy carry you ever onwards."

[Bethany]

Beth gives an absent wave, most of her attention on the unresponsive Carol. I guess... I guess all I can do now is wait for Lightsong's friend to get here and heal Car. Gods. I can't... I can't believe she loved- loves?- him so much that she would.. that she didn't... Doesn't she care about leaving me too?

[GamesMaster]

It cost considerably more to rent a suite at the Gilder Goose than a private room, but Varric had to admit it was worth it. More space, a sitting room instead of just a desk in his room, and a smaller second room for his "assistant" -- meaning she could sleep in as little as she liked and he never had to deal with it. 

Still, there were downsides. For example, the frantic pounding on the door might not have woken him if he wasn't still up reading. It didn't take long for Brianne to explain, however, and it took only a moment more for her to rouse Marian, who dressed in the time it took him to pack his travel kit. Marian couldn't take his infusion, of course, so Varric arrives well before his assistant and Lightsong's, meaning by the time Marian arrives in her new disguise as a merikos gnome, he's already deduced what's wrong with Carol.

And what's happened to Carol, he can tell at once, is no alchemical mishap.

He's never used Tears of Death; the more popular formulation is a slick sheen of pale, milky fluid, almost like tears, meant to be spread across a weapon like the bolts his prototype uses. He's never used it because it's ridiculously expensive, a single dose costing more than your most basic enchanted swords. But there are other formulations, none cheaper; it's one of the most deadly poisons you can find, one given mystical properties in traveller's tales. Undetectable, they say, though it's not; so deadly you'll be gone before you know you're ill, they say, though it takes some minutes, during which you're paralyzed, making it hardly a subtle weapon at all. Still, it's an impressively lethal poison: inside of five or six minutes, you're either gone, or you've shaken off the continuing effect and won't worsen.

Which doesn't explain her secondary collapse; the poison is still held suspended by Beth's potion. Nor does it explain why she refuses to speak, simply stares up at the ceiling, listless and empty. 

[Varric]

Varric manages to cure it easily enough- after the bullshit with the poisoned food, he'd... acquired a partially used wand to neutralized poison and he's more than skilled enough to use it easily. The other parts of things... Frowning, he sits back on his heels, then scowls. "Not fully trained healer but I know the basics. And from what I can see... How long has she been on drugs?"

[Bethany]

Half-dozing in the corner of the room, hands curled around a mug of warm, spiced milk, Beth blinks rapidly, frowning. "What? Car doesn't... no?"

[Marian Hawke]

Marian swallows as well, studying Carol. Hard to imagine sweet, quiet, little Carol on drugs, but... maybe. "She takes tonics, do you mean those?"

[Varric]

"Tonics like..?"