After a night of dealing with slavers, rescuing half-elf mage-children, and assisting a pirate wench with her issues, Lyria had managed to get some modicum of sleep and was prepared to face a new day.
First on the agenda was heading off to the barracks so that Aveline could formally accuse the Guard-Captain of political treachery. He kicked and screamed and yelled at Aveline the entire time the guardsmen escorted him from his office and had him arrested.
Aveline only looked on and smiled, pleased that the man had been removed. The guard deserved better.
The Viscount's assistant then commended Aveline on her part of this corruption unravelling and promoted her to Guard-Captain. She wouldn't be acting as captain yet, she still needed some training, but in coming months she'd take the position.
Lyria winked at Aveline and said it would be good to have the Captain of the Guard in her pocket. Aveline rolled her eyes. Then Varric asked Aveline that since she was a power now, perhaps she could help him claim the Hanged Man for his very own. She refused, of course.
As they left the Barracks and prepared to wander about the city, a commotion near the Viscount's office turned them asway.
A woman who looked quite mercenary was arguing with the Viscount's assistant, demanding to speak with the Viscount himself. The assistant refused. Apparently the very gruff and rude woman knew where the man's son was and was going to have him hauled back here soon and to prepare the reward.
Curious, Lyria wandered over to the Viscount's assistant and asked just what was going on.
The Viscount's son, Saemus, was missing and had been seen with a qunari. Due to the current political situation with the qunari, the Viscount couldn't do much in the way of negotiating with them or having the city guard rescue the boy, for it would show other political parties that he couldn't handle the qunari. So, he was offering a reward for a third party to deal with the issue.
Lyria said that she'd do it; she was far gentler than that horrid woman who he had just been speaking to.
The assistant nodded and said that he certainly would not cry over news that that woman had disappeared, on the coast, providing that the boy returned home safely.
It looked like Lyria was headed back to the coast!
On the way out of the city, they passed through the Gallows and found the templar who had been referenced on that lady mage's note when they had been searching for Feynriel.
His name was Thrask and he was grateful for news about his daughter, and Lyria's delicate touch in keeping the fact that his daughter was a mage to herself.
They continued on to the coast, hoping to find the Viscount's son before that horrid woman did. On the way there though, they got set upon by a large group of dragonlings.
Taking down these baby dragons was nothing and Lyria was only glad she didn't have to take on a proper, full-grown dragon... or a witch-dragon.
Continuing onwards to the coast, they were suddenly startled to a stop by the templar Thrask standing outside a cave. He had moved very quickly indeed to get in front of them like that.
They asked him what he was doing there and apparently there were a group of mages — apostates — in that cave. Would Lyria be so kind as to go in and convince them to surrender? More templars were on the way and if they hadn't surrendered by then, the other templars would murder them. Thrask had no desire to see these poor mages murdered.
Neither did Lyria. She agreed to go into the cave and talk to the mages.
As they entered the cave, one mage ran towards them desperate to be returned to the templars. He hadn't wanted to run away, he just wanted to be safe, and the other mages were performing blood magic! He had to get away from them.
Lyria told him to look for Thrask at the entrance to the cave, then continued onwards.
At the back of the cave were a group of mages, led by one — the blood mage. Two of the mages pleaded with him to stop, that Lyria and her group were not templars, don't attack them. But he did not heed the pleas.
Once the blood mage and his compatriots lay dead, the ones who had no part in the fight came over to Lyria and pleaded with her not to be sent back to the templars.
Lyria agreed to help them, in her own way. She would not kill the templars for them, but would convince the templars that the mages had died. They did not believe Lyria could do it, but gave her the benefit of the doubt.
As Lyria approached the cave entrance, she saw that the other templars had arrived and Thrask was speaking to them. They had the mage she had encountered at the beginning of the cave and Thrask was trying to convince them that this was the only remaining apostate.
Lyria then emerged and convinced Varric to spin another tale for them. He introduced Lyria as an Enchanter from the Ferelden circle tasked with bringing in these apostates. They had fought against her, and died. The leader of the mages had escaped and they could catch him if they went around the other side of the cave.
The templars believed it, and ran to pursue the fabled leader.
With the templars gone, the mages exited the cave and thanked Lyria for her assistance. They then ran to find safety in their newly found freedom.
With that little diversion complete they could waste no more time. They hurried along the coastline until they came across the brusque woman from earlier... a qunari dead at her feet and a young boy on his knees before her. That must be the Viscount's son, Saemus.
Saemus was distraught. That woman had killed his qunari friend! He would make sure that she never saw a cent of whatever bounty had been placed upon him for his so-called rescue.
Lyria stalked over and declared that the boy didn't want to go, not with someone like her anyway, and could she kindly just piss off. The woman refused, grabbed out her weapons, and tried to fight Lyria.
Lyria was happy to oblige and soon destroyed the woman and her near never-ending supply of incoming mercenaries.
Eventually they were all defeated, and Lyria was able to talk to Saemus.
Saemus had been out here with the qunari, someone he considered a friend. He hadn't been kidnapped or anything, he was out here of his own free will.
His father didn't understand the qunari and considered them brutes — Saemus didn't think so and was interested in their ways and learning all he could about them.
Regardless, his father was looking for him and so they set off back to the keep.
The Viscount was ever so pleased to see his son returned, alive and well! Saemus, however, was still displeased. His father didn't care that the mercenaries he'd sent after him had killed his qunari friend. His father didn't care about the qunari people. They were not monsters to be feared!
Lyria bowed her head respectfully, accepted the reward for rescuing the Viscount's son, and said that this conversation was not one she should be listening to and went on her way.
Now that they were back in the city, Lyria thought that this would be the perfect time to head to the whore house and investigate the case of the missing templar recruits. No one was available to speak to them during the day, however, so they would have to come back later that night.
There was one person there willing to talk though. A prostitute who had serviced a woman named Ninette — a lot — and was wondering when she'd be back for some more... servicing.
Ninette... that was the name of the missing wife of that horrible Orlesian man who had been shouting in the marketplace the other day. Well, since she was there, she might as well investigate further.
Her investigation led her to Darktown where a templar had apparently been investigating Ninette's disappearance.
Several women had gone missing, including one of the mages under his supervision. She had received a bouquet of white lilies and it was assumed she had snuck out of the circle to meet a mystery man. Only, she hadn't returned. While mages routinely planned to escape the circle, this was very out of character for this particular mage and he was worried about her.
Her phylactery had led him to a foundry in Lowtown, but he could not find her and had given up. He told Lyria that she was free to continue the investigation of these disappearances if she truly wanted to.
When the Templar went back to the Gallows, Varric took the moment to have a little chuckle to himself... people disappearing. He had a friend who disappeared once. Only to be found under his bed, drunk.
Lyria giggled, then they continued on their jobs for this day. They would investigate Lowtown when they could, and they also needed to see that Chantry sister in Lowtown too. That could wait til later that night when they went to investigate the night workers of the brothel.
Now they needed to go back out to the coast and find a fugitive for the magistrate and investigate the issue of Ferelden workers running away from the mines they were to work at.
Until next time! 😊🐲⚔️
All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, 