I am sorry for not replying to your reviews, you wonderful people, who have read this before and still took the time to leave a review; many of you for the second time. I'm torn, I will not lie. On one hand each review fills me with joy as it always did...on the other hand, I feel like crying with every single one of them. They remind me of all the reviews I've lost, all the people that have lost track of me, all the stories that have been deleted. I get choked up and I can't bring myself to reply to them. I am so deeply sorry. I have never left reviews unanswered before.

I thank you all once again. I will be fine, soon, I hope. I'll get over this.


I was there when Hawke met Anders. One could say it was my fault, really, but you didn't hear it from me. Nope. Admission of guilt from this here dwarf? Nah, not happening. When the nug shit starts flying, I am always the one that is still smiling and that's because I've found someone else to blame.

Truth be told, I usually have someone at hand to blame even before things go wrong, just to be on the safe side. You know?

But I will admit I was the one that told her about Blondie. Anders. We needed maps to the Deep Roads and I had heard there was an ex-Grey Warden in town. I wonder...did that make him another colour of Warden? A Pink Warden perhaps?

Sorry. My mind just drifted a bit. Snort. A Pink Warden.

Anyways, where was I? Yes, Anders. We learned the location of his clinic from one of the merchants in Lowtown, Lirene, I think. We had some trouble on the way there; some Fereldans wanted to make sure not a precious little hair on that blond head of his would be put to danger, but Hawke took care of that, no worries there.

So, no shit, there I was, and we walked into that clinic. He was busy healing a kid, and we had a change to observe him before he knew we were there. He was tall, as humans tend to be, blond (but I think you got that already) and I guess rather ruggedly handsome, if you go for the scruffy, feather-pauldroned apostate type. I am no good judge of handsomeness, after all. The girls' eyes did widen a bit at his sight, though, so he must have made an impression.

Oh, who am I kidding? Sunshine was practically drooling in that shy, prim way of hers. And Hawke...well, I am a keen observer of people, and when she tilted her head to the side and smiled at him, I got a tingle down my spine.

Scary lass, that Marian Hawke, I've said it before and I will say it again. When she focused on something, anything, she was like a mabari bitch with a bone.

Woof. I could practically hear it.

But just when I was prepared to lie back and she if that girl could flirt or not, the damned healer threw me a curve ball.

Blue light started seeping out of his skin, his eyes started shining like a beacon –neat trick, let me tell you- and black smoke billowed out around him. He dropped to a battle stance and his voice boomed.

"I have turned this place into a sanctum of healing and salvation! Why do you threaten it?

So, okay, a bit of a drama queen. Sheeez. Who threatened you, you big dummy?

"I am just here to talk," I heard Hawke say and then I explained we were there for the maps. And pretty please, kind Ser Apostate with the creepy glowing eyes, can you help us?

"Did the Wardens send you to get me back?" he asked. "I'm not going back. Those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pounce-a-Lot. He hated the Deep Roads."

Oookayy. Step back everybody. Baby steps now, and make no sudden noises.

"You...had a cat?" Hawke was understandably confused. "In...the Deep Roads?"

I heard his rambling about his cat with mounting amusement. Blondie was fun. A few bats flying around there in his belfry, but who am I to pass judgement? So, okay he was a little crazy, but fun. I like weird people like that. They make life...more interesting, lent it a bit of colour, even if that colour is ex-grey with a tiny smidgen of blue. And judging by Hawke's reaction to him, she was of the same opinion.

We walked out of there with his promise to give us the maps if we helped rescue a friend of his, a mage, from the templars.

Clandestine rescue mission in the heart of the Chantry.

Oh, what joy!