Chapter 31 · Selling His Own Name

“Stop screaming, Varric. It’s pathetic.”

I didn’t move. I just watched. Varric Hale—man who owned half the continent's trade routes—was turning into a human statue of gold ink. The Ledger hadn’t just rejected his offer; it was eating him alive. Gold veins crawled up his neck, hardening skin into cold metal. He looked like a piece of expensive jewelry that had suddenly decided to scream.

Kaela’s blade stayed pressed against my throat. Cold steel. Sharp. I could smell the metallic tang of her sweat and old leather. She wasn't looking at Varric. She was staring at me, eyes flickering between hatred and a confusion that looked like physical pain.

“What did you do?” she hissed. Her voice was a jagged edge. “What is this thing doing to him?”

“I didn’t do a thing,” I said. My voice sounded hollow. “The Ledger decided he wasn’t credit-worthy. Turns out, when you try to cheat a god-book, it collects the debt in skin.”

Varric let out a choked, rattling sound. He tried to reach for me, but his arm snapped into a rigid, golden pose. Frozen mid-gesture. A permanent monument to greed. The gold ink pulsed once, twice, and then the screaming stopped.