The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Varric]

Didn't actually but I heard enough to guess and bait you. Sex for rent isn't a new idea by any stretch. "I have been around for a while. Not my first tunnel and all that. Run into his sort before. Very stabable."

[Marian Hawke]

"Sure," she says, sounding less and less sure. "It's nothing new anyway. Might as well get used to it."

[Varric]

"Sure," Varric says agreeably. "I've heard good things about poking yourself in the eye with sticks after you get done with a acclimating to rape."

[Marian Hawke]

"I said yes," she snaps. I mean, I didn't, but I would have. "Girl like me, I'll have to do a lot of unsavory things in my life."

[Varric]

"Like Hells you did. And double that on you not having better options. You're brilliant and well trained. You could easily make enough to live with just as a scribe. Live well in fact. Add in your math skills and general knowledge..." 

[Marian Hawke]

She shrugs a shoulder. "Maybe."

[Varric]

"Okay. We're taking a morning in the next few days to... audit a few classes so you can see how bright you are. Having only Seeker to compare against has greatly skewed your standards."

[Marian Hawke]

"It doesn't matter. I know I'm smart. Maybe genius level. It doesn't matter. Anywhere but Alydra's District I might be the smartest person you'd meet coming or going. But in Draslina they call that average. And I wouldn't want to stay in Draslina anyway. So none of it matters. I can't get a letter of reference to go anywhere but Master's employ and she doesn't take assistants."

[Varric]

"What? One, why can't you get a letter and two, what do you mean about Seeker?"

[Marian Hawke]

"I... Didn't leave school on good terms," she admits. "Seeker is famous but not for her judgement. So. No reference from Nyra, none from Draslina that won't come qualified. When I turn seventeen..." She shrugs. "I'd planned on coming back, but that's out."

[Varric]

"Why do your records and such have to be real, come to think of it? Seeker would give a good reference and not like anyone but the church itself would bother to write to Draslina unless you give them a solid reason to." He sounds pure baffled at the need for honest records.

[Marian Hawke]

"Because it's sinful?" Says Marian. "Master would never forgive me."

[Varric]

"Sin- oh. Seeker's one of those purity of information types. Eww." The dwarf frowns, refactoring more than a few things. "I take a more creative approach. Information itself is not holy, it's how it affects the world. Teaching, learning, discovering, creating, proving... In this case, your school record evidently does not accurately reflect your skills and intelligence. So... we fit it."

[Marian Hawke]

"But it reflects what kind of person I am. What kind of things I've done. It's accurate, even if it's damning." 

[Varric]

"Is it still accurate though? How long ago was that? Would you still do the same things?" And what were those things, I wonder?