People who listen to Varric have a decently high survival rate! It's not 100%, but it's...high enough. He tries to keep it higher.

"Just trying to get everything in order. I'm writing down everything I've learned so far about our visitors." One of them happens to pass the table at that moment, and Varric nods at them with a friendly grin. Their...fins? Gill things? He's not sure, but whatever they are, they ripple a bit in a way that might be a sign of acknowledgement. He'll take it.

"Have you talked to any of them yet?" He is not troubling to hide that he has an idea what the answer is. But he's asking - maybe he's wrong!