Guard Captain Aveline Hendyr,
Carver is danger. The Grey Wardens are being deceived. I will do what I can. Please keep my brother safe.
Hawke
The note was barely legible, miles of ocean and Maker knows what else bled the ink until she could barely make out the scrawl. Aveline sighed and folded the note, gently placing it in her desk drawer before pulling out her stationary set.
Somehow she knew something like this would happen. Trouble followed Hawke like a shadow. Aveline could do nothing but follow as well, keeping her charges safe.
My dearest husband,
Hawke needs me. My resignation as Guard Captain will be sitting on my office desk. Please take it to the Seneschal and tell him… it doesn't matter what you tell him. I've put you up for taking my place. You're the senior officer and I can't leave Kirkwall without knowing there is someone here I can trust to keep the city safe.
Please don't be angry with me for not telling you goodbye in person. I don't know how long away I'll be, but we'll home to you as soon as we can.
All My Love,
Aveline Hendyr
It felt odd to be out of her armor. She'd grown so used to the weight of it; every step had her feeling like she might fly off the earth. For a moment a smile crossed her face, a memory of Varric talking about Dwarfs new to the surface about them thinking they'd fall into the sky. It was a good memory and kept her humor up until the stone walls of Ansburg's Warden Keep loomed into view.
Cunning had never been a forte of hers, but with the letter sent ahead Aveline hoped to give it her best shot.
"Here to see Warden Recruit Carver Hawke" The gate keeper gave her a twice over before reluctantly nodding and opening the door. "All the recruits are in the training yard Serah."
She breathed a sigh of relief and walked on. The keep was a nice one, laid out in a traditional Free Marches style. Aveline had studied every scrap she could find on the place in case her gambit failed and she forcefully had to break Carver out.
Her voice echoed across the yard, authoritative despite her out of uniform state "Hawke!"
A dark head jerked up, focusing on her before getting walloped for the distraction. Aveline raised a brow as Carver nodded to his opponent and jogged to her, mail jingling and emblazoned with the crest of the order she needed to protect him from.
"Ave- Aveline… what's going on? Is my brother in trouble?" His brows drew together. "Why are you in a dress?"
"Walk with me Carver. We have some catching up to do."
He'd argued. She'd expected as much. He blustered about the Grey Wardens meaning something and then surprisingly, the surly boy thought like a man. They walked out of the keep a half day later under a special mission from Prince Sebastian, a mission said Prince knew nothing about.
"They can track me. The blight, wardens can sense it in other."
"It doesn't matter. We're going as far away from other Wardens as we can. I promised Hawke to keep you safe, and I will. You have to trust me."
The ship ride across the Waking Sea had Aveline throwing up every day. Weeks of rough water and barely able to keep water down had Carver remarking on her being a poor guardian but gamely helping her walk off the ship into the port of Denerim. She breathed deep, smelling wet wool and anything but the ship's hold.
"Ten years is a long time; I've a few family friends here. We're stop for supplies and then keep working our way South."
"As you say Aveline"
His words were an echo of Donnic's habitual expression. It had tears welling before she could stop them. She sniffed mightily and rubbed palms across her cheeks. It didn't matter. She'd back to him after this mess, and deal with the fallout from it then.
The Denerim Chantry was newly built. It still smelled of sawdust over the pungent incense. It was also eerily quiet. Aveline held up a hand, gesturing Carver to stay by the door as she walked farther in, one hand already digging into the secret pocket of her skirt and the knife she housed there.
The silence was broken by a loud "Thank the Maker" and a ball of Chantry sister hurtled towards her. The girl was just that, a girl still in the middle of youth. Aveline released the tension in her shoulders and stared down at wide brown eyes. "Thank you for coming. I didn't know what else to do. No one will come here for fear of being ensnared and I couldn't leave them."
"Slow down. I didn't come here because of the Chantry board. I came to Speak with Mother Collette."
Carver, hearing enough walked his way towards them. Ten years ago he would have turned his nose up and left, but these people needed help. He was able bodied. There should be no reason why he couldn't. "Start at the beginning. Leave nothing out and we'll see if we can help."
"Yes, yes of course I'll tell you."
And she did, in slow halting words the girl spun the story of the Chantry getting a cart of books donated. The mother had been ecstatic and at once they started to inventory the gifts, but it had gone terribly wrong quickly.
One by one the sisters of the church fell ill; they simply stopped getting out of bed in the morning. They thought it was a plague and services for the Chantry were canceled, but still the Sisters would not wake. The girl posted the message to the board, hoping someone would come by to help… but there'd been no one here but herself and a dormitory full of the sleeping.
The situation was hopeless.
"It's the work of a demon."
Aveline startled at the boom of a voice from the back of the Chantry, shaking her head to dispel the utter tiredness that overcame her. She hadn't remembered sitting down, hadn't remembered stretching out and yet she was prone across the pew as if she'd napped.
Green eyes looked over at Carver, seeing the twin vestiges of sleep there. Had they really been that close to being taken in?
She sat up, pushing through the layers of fog to stand and glance towards the door and the person striding to them. The last bit of sun had a halo around him, obscuring all but the stubby ponytail pulled taunt and billowing cloak.
"Show yourself despair demon. Show yourself and be held accountable for your actions."
That voice. The under breath cursing beside her proved it wasn't Aveline alone that recognized it. "Anders… Anders is that you?"
She wasn't given a look, instead his attention stayed focused on the center of the Chantry. "I won't let you hurt my friends. Show yourself."
The floor bubbled a black viscous liquid that seeped like it was from the Void itself, slowly as if it was simply too much effort the despair demon took shape. "Ahhh, a mage and one so adept at that. Aren't you tired of fighting? Aren't you tired of war? Are you exhausted?"
There was a humorless laugh before light appeared lighting and building as it caged in the demon. "Despair has no place in front of justice and less than that in front of atonement. Be gone!" The light pillared and demon melted into girl, then wavered back again until nothing was left but ashes on the ground.
The Chantry was quiet save for her unsteady breathing and the sort of growl coming from the Hawke.
"Aveline and… Carver what the Maker are you two doing in Ferelden?"
"I could ask you the same thing Traitor." Carver stood broad and straight before taking a deep breath as if to calm himself. Calmness shattered as his hand plowed into Ander's face. "You bastard, how many people died because of you. You shouldn't even be alive."
"That is enough." Aveline bullied her way between the pair of them, her hands outstretched to make space. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter." She repeated felling the trembles from her encounter with the demon. A stroke of luck or she and Carver would be dead right now. So close to…
"The only person who's going to be throwing punches is me. Anders, I would have thought you stayed in the Free Marches helping refugees. Isn't that what you told Hawke when you left?"
He sighed and shook his head. "The fighting in Ferelden is worse and the leader of the rebellion is here. I came to offer my services, but was turned away. They don't welcome abominations into their ranks, and I had my own reasons for wanting to be alone."
Carver's hands unclenched. "The Calling yeah, you feel it too. You've been a Warden longer than I have right, so you hear it worse."
"Yes, yes I hear it. Now unless there's something else?"
"Stay" Aveline wasn't aware she was going to say the words until they were already out of her mouth. "I mean, you are a wanted man in Kirkwall and I'm arresting you. You are to travel with me until I can bring you back to face trial, so stay."
He focused on her and there was a hum of magic in the air before it abruptly stopped. "Palling around with the Captain of the Guard, who could say no to that?"
There was a snort of derision. "If that's what you bloody well want to call it."