Chapter One: Before we Depart

"Well, you are all patched up, Garreth."

Garreth Hawke sat on the cot and watched Anders turn away. The aforementioned Hawke stuck his arm out in front of him and turned it this way and that, the lacerations which had once been present were completely gone and the mage who had done it was already trying to find something else to take his attention somewhere else. Hawke hopped up from his seat and approached the man.

Anders' back was turned. Hawke crouched slightly, glanced over at the stragglers who seemed to live in Anders' little clinic. Slowly, he walked up behind the man and wrapped his arm around the man's shoulder. Anders went rigid on contact. "Hawke! What are you doing?"

Garreth cheekily grinned. "I have a question."

Anders turned his face away and closed his eyes, letting out a breath of annoyance. "Yes?"

"Isabela is busy and I have need for a third set of hands in my entourage. Would you like to join Varric, Fenris, and I?" Garreth unhanded the man and walked in front of him. He wanted to see his face when he answered.

The mage peeked out at him, one eye still closed. "I am not sure I should."

"Come on. It will be a man's mission. We will camp out and maybe roast some food on open flames."

Anders watched the man with great hesitancy. Garreth was a strange man, he had the voice of an angel, the face of a warrior, but the heart of a highwayman. On the first sighting of the man, Hawke had been riffling through the armor of some thugs and had taken the money from their purse and thrown the coins at those who passed by. Maybe it was at an attempt to be kind, but Anders had frowned and told himself he'd have nothing to do with the guy knee deep in purlieu organs.

Sadly, for him at least, Hawke had only been there in hopes of finding Anders. Anders had nearly blown him into decent sized portions, but luckily for Garreth Hawke, he had such cunning it was surprising the Viscount hadn't given up his position because the man asked for it. Hawke enthusiastically accepted his quest to get his friend Karl and had been there for him as he mourned his loss.

A little grumpily, Anders bowed his head and stated, "I will help you on your quest, Hawke."

"Great! The guys will be just as excited as I am!" Garreth snatched the man by the hand and dragged him out of the clinic and into the slum-tastic place that was Darktown.

After dragging Anders toward a close exit, leaning against the dusty walls were the other companions; Varric the Dwarf and Fenris the Elf. If only he were a Qunari, than their little band would truly be complete.

The looks of indifference and befuddlement showed Anders just how un-excited these two men really were. Hawke had tried to seem eager and maybe he truthfully had been, but the others were not sending off the same ambiance.

"We have our fourth party member and we are ready to ship off to the Deep Roads!" Garreth hurrahed. The man raised his fist to the air.

Anders grew pale and began shaking his head. "No, no, no. I am not going down there. I swore it to myself."

Gradually, Garreth's hand lowered until it was by his side. "Do you need to pick up a few things first?"

Varric grinned. "I could do with a quick drink at the Hanged Man."

"Garreth is carrying enough junk on him to be considered a pack mule, I suggest you drop some things off," Fenris stated, folding his lyrium stained arms.

Hawke found this amusing and began to chortle lowly. "That's a good one. I may borrow it sometimes." Fenris rolled his eyes, but smirked.

Anders was not sure what sort of stability these men had together, but apparently it worked well enough that they neither died nor got caught in whatever sort of vile jobs they took. Wearily he eyed the bow on Varric, the sword on Fenris, and lastly the daggers strapped to Garreth. Then he imagined them snapping his staff in half. Then he realized they seemed to have forgotten his presence as they were talking amongst themselves about drinks and junk. May haps they would be fine on their own. He turned to leave, but an arm caught his roughly and spun him back around. It was Garreth. Oh curse the fool, Anders thought.

"You can't leave. You agreed, Mate."

That might have been true, but he was not going on any sort of expedition to the Deep Roads because that Harlot, Isabela, had gotten 'busy' with something he was sure he didn't want to know about. "I did, didn't I?" he found himself asking.

Garreth was smiling, his fists we clenched and he looked about as happy as a child receiving a gift. If Anders tried to talks his way out he would certainly loose, the man was silver tongued and he'd close his eyes thinking he had broken whatever spell the man placed on him only to open his eyes and be facing the Deep Roads regardless. If there was one thing that got him thinking such strange things it was Hawke. Anders finally shrugged his shoulders and with great defeat in his voice he mumbled, "I will accompany the three of you."

Of course, Anders had not realized there was still time yet before they actually departed. Their first stop had been Garreth's home in Lowtown so he could put things away. Fenris and Varric spoke to each other about Garreth's hoarding problem. Apparently the man had grown up with little and in the last year even less so when he found anything he had the habit of keeping hold of it with a stanch vise grip. Fenris and Varric sat on the top steps before the home and Anders wondered why they did not follow the man in. The door to the house was slightly ajar and he heard the rumbling speech of an older man. "Getting' more mail than I ever have in all my years, your blasted dog keeps breathing my air and you keep bringing all this useless junk into my home."

A sweeter, kinder, voice stated, "He is only trying to help us, Gamlen. "

"Well, he isn't trying hard enough, because he's making this place less livable than it already is."

Soon after those last words, Garreth squeezed out the opening of the building and stood before them wearing an ugly helmet. His platinum colored hair stuck out the front around his face, making him appear hairier than he already was, because he didn't shave well or often. "How do I look?"

Varric snorted and Fenris raised one of his dark brows. They exchanged looks with one another and then began to snicker.

The dwarf scratched at his head and squint his eye. "I don't know how to tell you this, Hawke, but you look terrible. That helmet is ugly."

"That's what I like about it. No one would want to steal it. No one will take me seriously so I can kill them easier. It's the perfect helmet." Garreth threw his hands in the air. "I'm ready for that drink now."

Anders followed behind them once again. His footfalls were slow and he wasn't excited about getting drinks or going to the shops. He never signed the slip which bound him to adventurers, but for some reason that was what he kept getting. The crazy Grey Warden in Amaranthine had managed to get a hold of him just as easily as Hawke, so did that mean he was prone to get in a mess no matter how much he tried avoiding it? It all made his head ache.

"I'm a little concerned that you aren't having a good time," a voice whispered in Anders' ear making him jump.

Right by his side was Hawke, the stealthy rogue, in all honesty, he shouldn't have been surprised at all. "It isn't that I'm not having a good time. It is more along the lines of I can't possibly have a good time."

Garreth seemed to think this over. "We aren't setting off toward the deep roads till dawn. Get your robes out of a knot, Anders. Lighten up a little." The man elbowed him in the side and winked. "I'll buy your drink if you like."

"I'm not thirsty. Not for that rubbish anyway."

"Then we can go get something else. Hold on," Hawke commanded.

Anders reached out to stop Hawke, but before he could, the man was already between the other two with his arm around Fenris and his hand on Varric's shoulder. They were talking and Anders felt fear settle in his stomach like a stone. They both just nodded and Hawke let them go, they continued walking, Hawke stopped and twirled around to face him once more. "It's settled. You and I are going to go to Hightown and get some things. Then I'm paying for you to have some fun at the Blooming Rose."

Anders' blushed and stared with horror written on his face, until Hawke punched him in the arm and declared he was only joking. Had he really been joking? Anders couldn't tell, but either way they weren't going and that gave him a little relief. He pulled himself together and finally they were on their way to Hightown.

There were Venders all about and Garreth seemed to know all of them. He gave two fingered salutes to them as he passed. Sometimes stopping and talking while Anders hovered around behind him like a lost child. He wasn't sure what to do with himself while Hawke did his business and the options seemed limited, though a Grey Warden he may have been and provided services to the people he was an apostate mage and Templars roamed up here and they'd give him trouble no doubt. Though Hawke had easily agreed with everything Anders had said in regards to the Templars, Anders wondered how much had been sycophancy. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the back of the man's helmeted head. Of course he only wanted him to further himself. Anders had been a fool to trust anyone who could coerce the most upstanding men. He was a bootlicker.

Anders was getting angry and he approached the man from behind, surprised when he got as close as he did, because normally, Hawke would notice such a move, but before he could think of what to do next or whether or not to punch the man, Hawke spun around. "Look, I bought you these awesome gloves, because I thought that staff might not be so smooth on the hands."

Anders' hand quickly fell to his sides and he stared at the gloves in Garreth's outstretched hands. Reluctantly, Anders reached forward and retrieved them. "They are very nice. Thank you."

Their day continued with Anders still following Garreth around. When evening began to fall and Kirkwall was basking in twilight, Garreth instructed Anders to sit down on a set of stairs across from the Brothel in the Red Lantern District. Anders did so; weary of what the man would return with. He was surprised when Garreth returned soon after with a loaf of bread tucked under his arm and two mugs in his hands. However, food from a brothel seemed like a terrible idea, but it was food and he was hungry.

Garreth split the bread in half and gave him a mug. "It's not from the brothel. I know that's what you're thinking."

"It actually was," Anders said. He sniffed the bread and then the contents of the mug. Nothing too foul, better than no food, he chided.

Hawke raised his drink to the small area they faced. "Cheers to adventure."

Anders gave a slight chuckle. "Adventure." He raised his mug and then threw back a swig so he couldn't think about it. "I never thought I'd cheer to that."

Garreth bit into his bread and looked over at him; his blue eyes intense and a little unnerving. "Tell me about yourself, Anders. I hang out with everyone in our little gang, but not you."

"I am Anders. I am a Mage. I have a sad excuse for a clinic in Darktown."

Garreth laughed, but that wasn't the answer he wanted. He stared him down and repeated, "Tell me about you. Tell me what I don't know."

Anders found it hard, but he turned away and stared at the wall down the way. "There is nothing to know."

There was a silence and Anders used his peripheries to check on Hawke, who was no longer at his side. He sighed and finished his bread and mug. Suddenly he heard a girlish giggle and then the sound of a manly guffaw. "That's him right there. Yes, the one with the little pony tail."

Suddenly a woman was in front of him with a large grin on her thin face. "I heard it's your Birthday."

Anders stood up and nearly knocked the woman backwards. He rushed passed her down the steps and out of sight.

The woman looked at Hawke with a disapproving glint in her eyes. "I'm keeping the money." She shoved the sovereigns into her bodice. Hawke gave her a wink as she passed and she spit at his feet.

Maker have mercy, she'd been paid hadn't she? Hawke quickly dashed toward the vanishing point of Anders, hoping to catch him before he could get too far. Fortunately for him Anders was just around the bend. "Anders, listen, it was only supposed to be a little joke. I didn't mean to run you off."

The mage refused to even acknowledge him. Hawke you've really done it this time, Garreth thought to himself. He'd spent weeks getting to know his other companions. He'd tried hard to get their approval and acceptance, and now he was trying to make up that lack of friendliness by taking him to find treasures untold in the underground Deep Roads. He'd figured it would make up for it all, he could pay for a better clinic location or something.

Anders stopped walking. He put his hands together and wrung them, not knowing what else to do with himself. Childish. That was what Hawke was and yet he still couldn't get furious about it. Something made him want to befriend the man. Maybe it was his devilish tongue. Hawke didn't seem like he was trying to get ahead by talking to him. He'd spent money on him the entirety of the afternoon. "Answer me this and I will go with you on the expedition."

"Fire," Hawke said.

"Why do you want me to go? You have a sibling, an elf mage, and that guard woman. Why would you want me?"

Hawke rubbed his stubbly chin and licked at his lips. "I've not asked you along to anything. I feel as if I left you stranded in the ocean. A really smelly and poverty stricken ocean, but still I left you to drown and I feel selfish for it."

With that in mind, Anders furrowed his brow.