Esme

The daughter of a blacksmith in Hightown. Helped smuggle her best friend, Va'an out of Tevinter when she was barely a teenager. At odds with the magister she 'stole' him from.

Generally friendly, though quick to anger. She's kind of violently selfless. It's not that she doesn't care about herself so much as she doesn't stop to consider she might be putting herself in harm's way when trying to help or protect someone close to her. She holds her loved ones close, but she couldn't give a rat's ass about anyone else. Kirkwall has a way of jading even the most optimistic people.

Tends not to reveal that she's a mage unless it's absolutely necessary - too many templars; she likes her freedom. She prefers force magic because she's not the strongest and she has to help her father lug around heavy metals and finished items. Easier to just magic it across the room than to throw her back out pushing.

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A few days had passed since Hawke had last seen Anders. It hadn't been long enough to have Hawke worried about Anders' safety, but it would still be a good idea to pop in and make sure that the healer had eaten something in the last day. So Hawke strolls into Anders' clinic one day to see him patching up an elf who is way too goofy for the amount of damage he'd taken. Nothing out of the usual; the inhabitants of darktown trusted Anders and many didn't seem to fear their own mortality once they were on a cot. Anders looks up briefly, says "Hawke, would you hand me a lyrium potion and some bandages?"

A somewhat distinguished and incredibly exasperated young woman looks up at that, "Oh, are you messere Hawke?" She unslouches from her position leaning against the wall and crosses the room. She extends her hand for a handshake; her grip is firm and her mouth quirks into an amused smirk at Hawke's expression. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and at quite a convenient time! My name is Esme - er, Esmerelda Gladstone. I'm the daughter of Richard Gladstone, a blacksmith and iron worker operating in Hightown. We've run into some problems," she glances at the elf who has taken to joking at Anders about fish, "with a dragon who has decided to claim our supplier's goods as part of her hoard. I've heard that you're willing to handle problems in exchange for coin? I'd rather not give Va'an the chance to kill himself in another solo battle against the dragon."

The elf Anders had been attending to sits up, ignoring the healer's attempts to keep him from reopening the wounds across his side. "Esme, I told you I can handle it on my own! I already got her pretty bad! If I go in one more time, I'm sure I can take her down. She's wounded! With this guy's help, I'm not! You don't need to hire anyone. I've got this!" Esme rolls her eyes, visibly torn between fondness and annoyance.

"Please, Ser Hawke, would you be willing to help our family out?"

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Link to Va'an's Page