The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Varric]

"..alright, that's it. I'm writing and publishing a book," Varric declares. "First half is about the virtues of clarity and brevity in communication, the back half is going to be techniques and methods of doing so. And then a post-word asking, begging, people to offer, recommend and chuck the book at Graybeard. I'll release it at cost. Make sure it gets spread as far and wide as possible. Bribe people if I have to in order to get it in vogue."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene winces. "This one is not a tulwath but... This one is an oracle. This one has touched the Divine, understood some small piece of Alydra's wisdom. There are... Limits. Hard places where things go missing, things cannot be imparted to mortals. There is a certain degree of... Translation difficulties. This one is often cryptic as well."

[Varric]

The dwarf grumble sourly for another moment, then sighs. "Yeah, I know. Doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Just annoying. While I might hurl a book or something at them if I saw them again, I'd only do it because I know it wouldn't come close to actually injuring them."

[Helene Dakesh]

"This one would not exist in this form if it were not for the Ancient One and Alydra," reminds Helene. "However, if you will hand this one the satchel to your left, this one will scry for this one's apprentice."

[Varric]

"I can hold a grudge," Varric admits- and warns- Helene as he does as requested. "And... thanks."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene sets out the usual ingredients, including a small leather pouch from which she removes a lock of hair; this she uses as a focus to scry into a small silver-backed hand mirror, the image in it misting, then resolving to a scene:

A cage sways, surrounded by the dim light of the outside, passing trees as it moves -- on a wagon, then? Marian is in it, naked, a collar around her neck, a small puppy curled up beside her, similarly collared. She huddles, hugging her knees, shivering slightly -- it must be cold, especially with no clothes to keep her warm. Dried tears make a track down her cheeks, and she looks hopeless, abjectly miserable as she waits for her fate to find her.

[Varric]

"...fuck."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene stares at the image, stunned. "...Slavers? Slavers took her? But... But..."

[Varric]

"Jadan. Must be- he's too certain that Bells stole the pup and ran. Sure, it fits but... too fast to be that certain without proof Bethany hadn't gotten any word of." Bobbing his head, he allows, "possible he doesn't know. Might have just hired people to vanish her and not worried about how they'd go about that. Which isn't any kind of excuse in my book. Can you get any idea where this is?"

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene gestures, and the sensor rotates -- but it's hard to see much. "Outside the city," she murmurs. "West, I think -- the light is weak. Toward Glaley?"

[Varric]

Varric taps his chin. Can you love the sensor to view the rest of the group? Focus on symbols, faces and papers."

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene shakes her head. "It can't get far from Marian." Still, the sensor lowers, showing the pup shivering under Marian's too-skinny, bare legs. 

[Varric]

"Damn. Can you... there are spells to find people and items- can you..?"

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene shakes her head. "Only objects, and I cannot find those I see through scrying," she replies. The sensor continues to turn, as it picks up a voice:

"--like a diary or summit, but it's all in weird language"

"Aww, how cute, the little elfie's got a diary," says another voice, in a sneer.


Helene looks up, startled. "They have her diary -- I can find that," she says, beginning to cast. "Can you retrieve her given a location?"

[Varric]

Expression grim, Varric nods. "One way or another," he says softly, eyes locked on the scrying image.