She stood there, watching from the doorway as I healed the young refugee boy. He had been beaten by the elements, malnourished and deprived of sleep. I took my time, did what I could. Boosted by Justice I wove magic, healing not only the body but the spirit as well.

Tired beyond belief I turned to see them. Justice on full alert was a pain. As soon as he spotted the weapons he flared up from within. The piece of the Fade that always accompanied him made my skin glow and stretch, and me, myself and I went into hiding in the deeper recesses of my mind. Before I knew it, I had gripped my staff and turned around. "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?" The words were out of my mouth before I even knew I was going to say them. The rag tag trio so very obviously led by the short haired woman seemed unconcerned by their welcome. As if they had had similar experiences many times before.

The pretty woman took a few steps towards me. I say pretty. More handsome if I was to be honest. She struck a chord but Justice was there immediately to lay waste to any such thoughts. To him she was a threat. I couldn't help but reassess, based on his fist impression. No. She wasn't handsome or pretty. She was a problem.

"I'm just here to talk" she said, voice pleasant, despite my misgivings. The dwarf supplied the reason. They wanted to get into the Deep Roads.

"Did the Wardens send you?" I was immediately suspicious, even though the trio certainly didn't look like Warden material. If there even was a type. Maker knows I'm not. Running for my entire life has made me cautious. Perhaps cautious to the point of paranoia. This wasn't me. "Those bastards made me get rid of my cat. Poor Ser Pounce-a-lot. He hated the Deep Roads..." The thought of my mewling companion, bestowed on me by the indomitable Cousland made me sad. I really missed my cat.

The short haired woman that I would come to know as Hawke looked at me, eyebrow raised. "You had a cat named Ser Pounce-a-lot? In the Deep Roads?" Her disbelief was almost comical. I couldn't care less. She obviously wasn't a cat person. Justice again, trying to get under my skin, so to speak. I felt defensive and on edge. Why in the name of the Maker was Justice so prickly?

"It was a gift. A noble beast. Almost got ripped in half by a genlock once. He swatted the bugger on the nose. Drew blood too." I couldn't keep the pride from my voice. The look on that genlock's face had been priceless, and Pounce just hissing and spitting away, as if the genlock was no more a threat than the Vigil's housekeeper when Pounce was caught stealing cream in the pantry. Poor Ser Pounce-a-lot. I felt the need to explain his absence like I always did.
"The blighted Wardens said he made me too soft. I had to give him to a friend in Amaranthine." I knew Kristof's wife would take good care of the cat. She loved him almost as much as I did, and she tried sending me updates on how he was doing. Apparently, he was quite an accomplished mouser, but I hadn't heard anything for ages. Not since I came to Kirkwall to free Karl. "I've always heard that joining the Wardens is for life?" Hawke looked at me, curious. I couldn't tell if it was curiosity about me, or if she was just made that way. Later I understood that this was the way she tackled anything. Get as much information as possible before striking. Or pulling you closer.

"That's only partly true. The hopelessly tainted by the darkspawn and plagued by nightmares about the Arch demon parts doesn't go away, but it turns out that if you hide well, you don't have to wear the uniform or go to the parties." Justice was wincing at that. The only reason he "let" me escape was because of the cause of mages. He really needed to loosen up. Or maybe I did. Being part spirit of Justice, part fun loving escapee mage and runaway Warden had me more confused than most. Maybe it was because I just didn't like this woman much. Which was totally unfair, since I didn't know her at all.
"I'm part of an expedition into the Deep Roads", she said. "Any information you have could save people's lives."
And there it was. My only weakness. Helping people. Oh no. I wasn't going back. Was I?

"I will die a happy man if I never think about the blighted Deep Roads again. You can't imagine what I've come through to get here. I'm not interested…" Karl. Karl was still imprisoned. This woman and her weird friends might be able to aid me, as a distraction if nothing else. Templars were a lot less tenacious than darkspawn. And, thank the Maker, less contagious. Just the thought of Templars spreading their taint around had me shivering. She saw it. Curious again. "Although. A favor for a favor. Does that sound like a fair deal? You help me, I'll help you." If she could help me, perhaps I wouldn't have to worry about running into Templars in the Chantry. Not that I minded hitting a Templar, but still.
"Let's be more specific" I heard the laughter in her voice. "I don't do anything involving children or animals."
"I have a Warden's map of the depths in this area. But there's a price. I came to Kirkwall to aid a friend, a mage. A prisoner in the wretched Gallows. The Templars learned of my plans to free him. Help me bring him safely past them and you shall have your maps." I met her eyes and held them. That blue fire. Fascinating.
"You want to make your friend an apostate?" The question was fair, though. Yes, I did. I'd rather have him hunted than Tranquil. The dark haired woman by the dwarf shifted uncomfortably. My attention had been on Hawke, but this woman… she was obviously more than met the eye. I wondered if her company knew.
"That's such a weighted term. Yes, Andraste said magic should serve man, not rule him, but I've yet to find a mage that wants to rule anything. It goes against no will of the Maker for mages to live as free as other men." Hawke shot a glance at her company. They knew alright. I shouldn't have been surprised by her reply, but I was.
"Forcing mages into servitude is not the way to prevent the rise of another Imperium." "That's not usually the response I get", I was quite frankly taken aback. I had to admit, my first impression was off somehow. There was a distortion in my mind regarding this woman. Very strange, and something worthy of reflection. Later. "Perhaps we will work together better than I expected?"
"You've convinced me. What's your plan?"
" I welcome your aid. I have already sent word for Karl to meet me in the Chantry tonight. Join us there, and we'll ensure that no matter who's with him, we'll walk away free."

Oh how wrong I was.