Varric settled back, locking his fingers together. He spent a moment picking through potential stories. Sometimes it was good to find a test audience, sometimes it was better to tell a story he knew well, for a different sort of audience. At the very least, it would probably not do to tell one of the naughtier stories.
"A long time ago, there was a woman. A girl really. She was a nobleman's daughter, and she was faced with a lifetime of pomp and circumstance. A comfortable life, but one she thought to be soulless."
He wet his throat, then continued, "When she was fourteen, she stowed away aboard a ship that had docked in the nearby port. For the next several years, she pretended to be a man. Were she to be found out, her fate would be unpleasant, and certain. She developed a brash, energetic personality. You see, in order to maintain her identity, it was best to keep people at bay. Sometimes being boistrous was better than being quiet."