Krem was standing outside the chantry and trying to get anyone, anyone who walked out of the building, to listen to him.

"Excuse me-"

The chantry mother walked right past him.

Drat.

This was his thirty-somethingnth attempt at conversation with a member of the Inquisition.

He could practically hear the Chief laughing at him if he went back to the Chargers without the interest of the Inquisition. After all, he had been the one to suggest getting hired by the fledgling organization in the first place.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice right away when someone else stepped out of the chantry and paused to look at him.

Krem, after a moment, felt someone's gaze on him. He looked up from the ground and saw dark eyes in a pale face, a little curious smile and a pink-tipped nose from the cold.

A girl was standing there looking straight at him, she was dressed in what appeared to be Inquisition scout armor without the helmet; she could be an agent of the Inquisition.

Worth a shot.

"Excuse me. I've got a message for the Inquisition, but I'm having a hard time getting anyone to talk to me." Krem started, hoping she could maybe point him to someone who would listen.

A quick laugh came from the girl's lips, "Everyone always seems to be running somewhere to do something here."

Krem felt his mouth corners turn up as he rocked backwards on his heels, he liked her already, a superior could wait a little while. No. Business. Right.

"I am an agent of the Inquisition and I'd be more than happy to hear your message and pass it on to my superiors. So…" She placed her hands on her hips and looked slightly up at him, "Who are you?"

Krem breathed an internal sigh of relief and began his pitch.

"Lieutenant Cremisius Aclassi with the Bull's Chargers mercenary company. We mostly work out of Orlais and Navarra. We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries out on the Storm Coast. My company commander, Iron Bull, offers this information free of charge. If you'd like to see what the Bull's Chargers can do for the Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work."

Quick and simple, to the point. If she or her superiors had any questions, he could answer them, yes; everything was finally looking up-

"I have a question."

He blinked, "Yes?"

"How long have you been standing out here?"

That was not the question he expected, but he answered anyway.

"Near about three hours."

The girl pursed her lips for a moment, thinking, and then suddenly, to his surprise, grabbed his armored hand.

"You are coming with me. I have more questions and I bet you would rather be warm. It's freezing out here!"

He had to agree, his legs felt rather stiff under his armor. Krem let her lead him along, behind and around a building to another part of Haven.

She opened the door to the small wooden cottage and nodded to the man inside who was crushing some herbs with a pestle.

"Where is the kettle?" She asked the man, he pointed to a pile of pots and pans next to a small stove.

She let go of Krem's hand and said, "Close the door, please."

Krem moved inside further and closed the apothecary's door to keep the warmth coming from the stove indoors. He moved over closer to the stove, grateful for its warmth.

The girl hummed as she flitted around, pouring water into the kettle, putting it on the stove and fishing an obscure tea canister out of a box.

"Can you get that tin of dried blood lotus from that shelf up there to the right for me?" The apothecary called, now mincing some deep mushrooms.

The girl paused and looked up, a frown creasing her brow momentarily then she reached under a table to grab a stepping stool.

Krem watched her tie her long hair back with some stray string and moved out of the way when she brought the stool over. Even with the added height she couldn't reach it.

He noted her slightly pointed ears, no longer covered by her hair. Half-Elf, probably. Explained the height.

He moved closer to the wall and rising on his toes slightly, snagged the box off of the tall shelf and placed it in her hands.

A brief flicker of something like anger crossed her face and then as soon as it came was suddenly gone.

Krem had dealt with Rocky and his height complex more times than he could count, so he was used to that dirty look.

"Thank you." She said simply, nodding, and going to the apothecary to give him the box of dried blood lotus.

After a period of silence, heating water, and thawing his stiff legs, the girl grabbed two mugs from a small cabinet and spooned a bit of tea into each mug and filled the mugs with hot water.

She turned to Krem with a smile, "Here," she said, placing the warm mug in his hands.

In the time it had took to boil the water, he had already stripped the sweaty armored gloves from his hands and arms, so his fingers felt a little less frozen from the warmth of the mug.

"Let's go up to the roof!"

He followed her out of the one-roomed building and to a ladder out back that lead to the roof, and they both somehow managed to not completely spill the hot tea, though the girl did slosh half her mug's contents on the left half of the roof.

Despite the light dusting of snow, the roof was fairly dry and not all too unpleasant to sit on while dangling their legs over the edge. Krem watched the steam from the tea curl around her face in the wintery air.

"Now, let's hear about your company commander."

Krem raised an eyebrow, "Iron Bull? He's one of those Qunari, the big guys with the horns?"

She nodded thoughtfully, giving no other reaction, and sipped her tea.

Most people would either take the fact that a Qunari lead the company as a joke or a nuisance, but she gave no indication of a problem, so he continued.

"He leads from the front, he pays well, and he's a lot smarter than the last bastard I worked for. Best of all, he's professional. We accept contracts with whoever makes the first real offer. You're the first time he's gone out of his way to pick a side."

The girl looked up from her tea and at him, "He sounds like a good man."

"He is."

Krem felt this beyond any doubt. That big bastard may joke around with him and the men, but he truly did care. It was refreshing to have someone take the Qunari factor in stride.

"And your company, are they good?"

He nodded, "We're loyal, we're good, and we don't break contracts."

He grinned and took a sip from the mug, "Ask around in Val Royeaux, we've got references."

"You sound very proud of that fact, Lieutenant." The girl laughed,

"I am." Krem enthused, "We all worked hard to prove we're worth it."

"As I am sure you are." The girl put down her mug in the drain pipe and held out her hand, "My name is Adalyn."

He took her hand in his and shook it, and noticed that her right hand was bare while her left still wore a glove.

"If you don't mind me asking, Adalyn, how did you join the Inquisition?" Krem asked.

She tilted her head back to look at the Breach in the sky.

"Awful luck."

"You aren't an agent by choice?"

"Do the best things in life come to us by choice?" She asked turning her head to look at him.

Krem remembered how the meeting with Iron Bull felt like fate; it had been an accident, but not one he would change.

"I suppose not."

They sat in contented silence, Krem finishing his tea and Adalyn looking up at the sky, until Krem broke the quiet with a question.

"Who will you be passing my message along to? I want to be able to give the chief a name."

"Oh, I will take it to the war table myself."

"You can do that?" Krem asked in bewilderment, "The Chantry mothers scoffed at me whenever I put my foot inside the Chantry."

Adalyn giggled, wiping her slightly runny nose on her glove, "Really?"

"Yeah," Krem put his hands down on either side of him, "They would have chased me out with a broom, though they would have had to dig one out of the storage to do that, so I guess they didn't bother."

She was laughing, Krem cracked a smile, and then she snorted and her nose began running worse.

"Oh," Krem dug around in his satchel for a handkerchief and held it out; she gave him a dubious look while pinching her nose shut, "Go ahead." He prompted.

She took the kerchief and blew her nose in it, then crumpled it into a ball and held it in her fist.

"How long are you staying?"

"Just today."

She frowned down at the kerchief in her fist.

"Got to get back to the Storm Coast." He added quickly.

"Then I will wash this out tonight and give it to you tomorrow."

"I leave before nightfall."

"Then when-"

"Bring it with you to the Coast."

It took a moment for her to process, but when she did her eyes went wide.

"You sneaky Bastard!" She huffed, a look of mock outrage on her face.

He laughed, "You're a scout, right? Ask them to send you."

She seemed to sober a little and shook her head, "I am no scout."

"Then-"

"I'm… this."

She removed her glove and green light flickered into view, a mark that was a miniature reflection of the Breach in the sky was situated in the center of her palm.

He had heard the rumors. They all had. The Herald of Andraste, delivered from the Fade itself in the loving arms of the Holy Andraste.

Shit.

"Your Worship! I—Uh," He scrambled for words; they weren't being very useful at the moment.

"No, no, please it's fine. To be fair, the stories do make me seem more tall and heroic." She placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.

He gave a laugh and she smiled again. He felt relieved that she wasn't offended.

He had not expected the Herald to ever take the time to talk to him. Or to be so pretty.

She—The Herald, scoffed at him teasingly.

"Do you still need this excuse to see the 'Herald of Andraste'?" She asked, waving the snotty kerchief like a flag.

He smiled and leaned closer to her slightly, "No, but I would like an excuse to see you again."

Her grin disappeared in an instant and was replaced by a stunned expression, her dark eyes wide, and the kerchief limp in her upraised hand.

A second later the embarrassment caught up with him and he cleared his throat and leaned back again.

"That is, if you, Your Worship…" He trailed off.

He watched a smile bloom slowly across her face; he found it hard to swallow for a moment.

"Will I be seeing Your Worship at the Coast?"

She gave a nod, "I'll see you there."