action ♪ we like to party

[merchantprince]

Who: Varric and maybe even you.
Broadcast: Communication is pretty spotty, but you're welcome to pick up the occasional words/phrases.
Action: Anyone on the way-station
When: Early January? I'm not looking for a specific date, just 'before he goes to the forest'.

[Varric appears to have an enthralled audience in this restaurant. He's got some Floot Loops cocktail thing in one hand, with a cute little fruity straw, and he's gesturing wildly with the other hand while he describes something or another. There are more drinks and plenty more food on the table behind him.]

—and then the thing exploded! Right in her face! She just reached up and wiped the blood across her nose, like facepaint. The rest of them turned tail and fled. Why the hell would they stay? Their leader was dead, and they had a pretty pissed-off mage wearing its blood like a damned war trophy.

The rest of that's in my book. Tale of the Champion. I don't want to spoil the whole thing for you all, so you'll have to wait until I find a publishing company out here. I'll take suggestions. And donations.

[He sips his drink. The aliens appear to be clearing out, however reluctantly.]

[ooc: Come have a drink! Or... a non alcoholic drink... with Varric.]

Comments

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel just grins when Varric comments on his height. He figured 'dwarf' meant he'd be somewhat diminutive, but Axel's used to people being shorter than he is. Maybe not this much shorter than he is, but hey, you can't judge a person by their altitude.]

Ate all my veggies as a kid; guess ma was onto something when she told me asparagus was good for me.

[He grins. The pay?]

You know, in my experience, trouble rarely pays high enough to really be worth it. [The Organization hadn't even paid him at all!] It can be fun sometimes, though, so I don't mind so much then.

[merchantprince]

[He chuckles. Yep, he definitely likes this guy.]

Guess so.

[Varric rolls his shoulders in an easy shrug.]

I'm not really the mercenary type. I just write down the story.

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel looks a little intrigued.]

So you're the bard, then? I guess every good troublemaker deserves someone to immortalize their antics.

[He takes a sip of his beer and then gestures at Varric.]

How many books have you written?

[merchantprince]

No singing, though. And my fingers are too short for a lyre.

[He's lying. Maybe. Maybe??? Hard to tell. He grins, always loving the chance to show off a little.]

I got a couple serials going. That makes five, and three of them are best-sellers. I try to shake it up, try different genres. So far it's worked pretty well.

[got_it_memorized]

Eh, singing tends to involve too much rhyming for my taste, anyway. Better to leave the gimmicks to those whose stories aren't good enough to stand without 'em.

Wow, five? [A low whistle.] Sounds like you hang around a lot of troublemakers, then, if you've got that much material.

[merchantprince]

A bawdy rhyme never goes over badly. Unless you're a terrible bard and you're singing to a Chantry sister.

[Hrm. He sips his vodka thoughtfully, and tries not to snort it out his nose at Axel's remark. That would be very painful.]

It's not as if I can't write anything original, but some characters are... inspired, you could say.

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel shakes his head and holds one hand up.]

Didn't mean to imply otherwise, I'm just saying, usually people write best from experience. Truth is, after all, so often stranger than fiction. [Hell, look at his life.] We should compare notes sometime, see whose... inspirations... have been more unorthodox.

[merchantprince]

[He chuckles.] That it is. Even I can't believe half the shit I've seen, and I've got a tolerance for it.

I do like stories, though. And I like hearing them. So even if it's just some notes-- well, you could make a damn good story out of that.

[got_it_memorized]

I'm not much of a writer, myself, though I guess it's more the fault of never really trying. [He's got a way with words, he'd probably be a decent writer.] So do you just go looking for trouble, or do you have a day job that leads you on these grand adventures that leave you disbelieving? Me, I'm in the latter category mostly, and boy am I glad for a little break from my job.

[merchantprince]

Now that I understand. I never saw the point of doing something badly when I can just... get other people to do it for me. Some call it laziness. I call it management skills.

[He sips his drink.]

Eh, my day job's nothing interesting. I just have acquaintances who end up elbow deep in whatever's going on... if they didn't cause it themselves.

I'm basically the person who documents all the bad decisions you make while drunk and embarrasses you later. It's easier to say "unwelcome tagalong", though.

[got_it_memorized]

See--yes, finally somebody who gets it. I'm not lazy, I'm outsourcing! I am creating jobs, I'm being a progressive thinker! [He shakes his head and makes a sibilant noise.] I gotta say, nobody appreciates the innovative anymore.

[He grins fiendishly then.]

So you're the guy with all the blackmail goods, I see. [He takes a drag off his beer and then gestures with it.] Remind me to never get on your bad side.

[merchantprince]

Yes, exactly. Not only are we putting money into the economy, but we have more energy to devote to the things we're actually good at. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

[Varric grins back, leaning onto the counter more.]

I'm just an honest dwarf with a heart of gold. And-- wouldn't you know it?-- I don't seem to have a bad side.

[He turns his head from the left to the right, just to have Axel appreciate that fact.]

[got_it_memorized]

Heart'a gold, eh? [He holds his beer out.] I'll drink to that--here's to just being The Honest (Good-Looking) Guy With A Heart of Gold. We're so underappreciated.

[IRONY.]

So tell me, Varric, what's it like where you come from? I'm a bit of a traveler, myself, so I like hearing about places I haven't been yet. You know, so I can add them to my list of intended destinations.

[merchantprince]

[Varric clinks their glasses together.] We really are. I'm fine with being a sidekick as long as you don't kick me, you know?

[IRONY AT ITS FINEST...]

I'm actually not. I mean, I have, but I don't really fancy myself a traveler. I like being in one place, and that place is the city. Kirkwall.

It's... kind of a wreck right now, but it's home. An invasion followed by a civil war and... another invasion... will do that.

[got_it_memorized]

[Axel lets out a low whistle and shakes his head.]

Man, that sounds harsh. I getcha, though; my hometown went through something of an invasion too, actually. Whole place was essentially destroyed. That was like twelve years ago, and they're still putting it back together. [He sighs softly, something a little sad in his eyes.] It's never gonna be the same, really.

[merchantprince]

Maker's breath... that's awful.

[Varric takes a drink. His expression is somewhat somber.]

You can replace buildings, but it takes years.

You can't replace people.

[got_it_memorized]

No, no you can't. [He's actually not even sure who survived the fall of Radiant Garden and who didn't. He knows the crowd that wound up in Traverse Town is still around, but he hasn't really spent any time in Hollow Bastion, and he doesn't mean to.

[He clears his throat, shakes his head, and takes another sip of his drink.]

Enough of that sort of talk, though. I think we're supposed to be having fun here, aren't we? So what do you do in your spare time? Besides write books, that is.

[merchantprince]

[He lets the topic drop, not wanting to spoil the taste of his drink any further. There's something nice about-- about that acknowledgement, about not being alone. Usually people say Kirkwall is shit but they have no real idea what it's like without Hawke.

He waves a waitress down for a fried snack of some sort, then returns his attention to Axel.]

I like telling stories. But I guess you're sharp enough to know that's not really much of a day job.

[He tilts his head.]

House Tethras is part of the Merchant's Guild. Imagine a whole bunch of dwarves arguing over the price of steel for fifteen hours, and that's what I have to deal with. It's cutthroat business. Literally. Sometimes they hire other people to kill each other.

[got_it_memorized]

House Tethras, eh? Sounds important. [Is he a nobleman back home? How interesting~] There were no dwarves in my hometown, so I must admit to a bit of ignorance here--are you blacksmiths, then? Or do you guys deal in the raw materials only?

[merchantprince]

We were, kinda, about fifty years ago... until my father pissed someone off and got exiled. Dwarven nobility is like that. Up on the surface we're all basically the same. I get a nicer chair in the Guild and people trying to lick my boots so they can get a chair, too. That's about it.

[He could really do without the boot-licking.]

We learn what our parents did, which can be just about anything. The more useful, the higher rank you have. [He doesn't look at the communicator.] Some clans really adhere to the family occupation thing. Some don't. Either way, it doesn't mean shit when we're all technically peasants on the surface.

[got_it_memorized]

'The Surface'? So dwarves live underground usually? I wouldn't have expected a stratification like that, between a subterranean race and the people who live topside, but I guess people will take any reason to look down on others. [He makes a bit of a face, then waves a hand.] I don't mean to be nosy, I just find this kinda stuff interesting. I never got to travel much as a kid so... now that I have the option to learn about other people, I really like it, you know?

[merchantprince]

Yep, they do. There's a good population of surface dwarves now, but there's a sort of-- a schism. It's stupid. Orzammar has to import some things to keep going, since it's the last dwarven city left. But then they look down on the people who do it.

[He takes a drink.]

Anyway, that's life. You don't change with the times, you get left behind.

It's not really nosy though. I know I'm the only dwarf here; it's hard to miss me even if I'm half your size. [He chuckles.] Besides, I like hearing the sound of my own voice, so thank you for indulging me.

[got_it_memorized]

You do have quite the presence, despite your diminutive stature. [Axel grins and takes another swig of his beer, then laughs softly.] I know how that goes--it's nice to have an audience, after all. I'd be happy to listen to more of your stories sometime, honestly. Unless I have to wait for the book; I'm not sure I've got the patience for that.