The next morning the five started on their way to Denerim, after Tifea explained her idea, with a little more detail, to Xeen. It only took them a few hours to find the road. But as the walk went on everyone could feel the tension between the two warriors. Especially since they both walked on the opposite sides of Tifea.

*Whine*

"Your mabari's been whining ever since we've started this," stated Fenris.

"Maybe it's because he isn't too confident about one of our traveling companions."

"Oh really? I think it's because he's concerned about his master doing ignorant and rash without thinking."

"Here we go," whispered Jade.

"How can she stand in between them like that," whispered Anders.

"Oh yeah," glared Xeen, "ignorant like when I punch you in the face!"

"Do you really think you can hit me?!"

"Knife-ear, I know I can hit you!"

"Ok stop it you two," stated Tifea now using her arms to separate the two, "Fenris quit it."

"What?!"

"You know you started it by talking about Zar." Tifea then turned to Xeen, "And Xeen, control yourself, you're not going to be able to help anyone, including yourself, if you keep allowing your anger to get in the way of your actions!"

"Uh! I don't need this!"

"But you need us!" insisted Tifea, "So calm down!"

Fenris and Xeen both folded their arms and turned their backs on each other.

"UG! You two!—"

Suddenly Fenris paused, "Shush!"

Xeen glared at the elf, "what how are you going to—"

"Shut up!"

"Don't you tell me to—"

"Wait Xeen, Fenris might actually be hearing something," stated Tifea.

*Bark Bark! GERRR!*

"What is it then?" whispered Xeen to Zar.

Jade and Anders both withdrew their staves, "Templars…"

Tifea withdrew her bow, "How many do you guys think there are."

Xeen withdrew her Axe, "Zar says there's twelve."

"I didn't hear him count," stated Jade.

"I taught him how to write numbers, counting takes way to long."

Interesting, thought Tifea, "Jade, Tempest, flush them out."

"Got it." Putting her hands together to create a ball of lightening to break the clouds now forming above them, Jade whispered the words of magic, and summoned the sparks of light to strike down on her opponents.

But before one of the Templars got hit, he jumped out of the bushes, "All of you are under arrest for harboring two maleficarum."

"I'm not harboring anybody," asserted Xeen, "so get lost!"

"Well ma'am unless you aid us in the capture of the mages Anders and Jade, then you too will be considered an accomplice."

"Ger…"

*Bark Bark!*

"Leave now," stated Tifea.

"Not without those— AHH!" the Templar was finally hit by lightning bolt.

"JADE!" yelled Xeen.

The mage shrugged, "What am I supposed to do? Cancel the spell? It has a time limit."

"Attack!" yelled the Templar.

"Oh for the love of!" Xeen charged after the Templars in front of her, hurling her axe in order to cut them in half. "AHH!"

"Wait!" yelled Fenris.

Only four Templars were shown in front of them, so only seconds after their appearance did the other eight come into the battle.

*Whine*

"Fenris, watch them in the back!" ordered Tifea.

"Right."

"Pull back!" yelled the first Templar.

"Get back here!" ordered Xeen as she ran after them.

"Xeen come back!" exclaimed Tifea, "Zar go watch her and get her back."

"What makes you think that mutt's going to listen to you?" questioned Fenris.

"Stop paying attention to Zar and help us Fenris!" yelled Anders as he froze three of the Templars in front of him.

"ARGG!" Fenris phased through all three of the Templars, shattering them inside the icy prisons, and started for the others.

As Zar ran after his master he stopped and turned around, *whine*. Slowly another person rose from the bushes. *Bark BARK!*

"What?" Tifea was now all over two Templars with her daggers until she saw what Zar was barking at. *gasp* out of the bushes came a person wrapped in some kind of cloth. Only one of his eyes could be seen, with the other one covered by the cloth, he looked ready to shoot a dart. But at who. Oh no "Jade, Anders watch out!"

*shwit shwit*

"Uh!" the both Anders and Jade grabbed their necks in pain. Each one dropped their staves and slowly fell to their knees.

"Killed them! They can't take Jade back the circle if their dead," yelled Fenris.

"Thanks," groaned Anders before falling to the ground.

"Got it," whispered Tifea as she dug her daggers into her enemy's hearts.

"Not so fast, rogue…" whispered the assassin, from his back he pulled out several orbs. With Zar knowing that he was the only one un occupied and able to see what the assassin had, he charged over.

Upon seeing the mabari the assassin smiled under the cloths on his face, "too slow mutt!"

Bursts of smoke appeared in front of the assassin, then in the entire battle field. Each of the surviving Templars pulled down their masks and began to recover the mages, while Tifea and Fenris were left blinded and coughing by the smoke. The smoke messed with Zar's sense of smell, so even he couldn't directly pin point where the remaining Templars were.

*Gerrr!* *Bark Bark* *whine*

And once the smoke cleared all the Templars were missing, along with the two mages.

"Vasheden!"

Can I please go one battle without someone being captured, thought Tifea. "Man… I'm pretty sure that damn assassin is from the same group that took me away." Looks like the Crows have some kind of competition.

"Don't remind me of that," glared Fenris. "Ugg! Do you realize that we have to go looking for them now because of your ignorant new 'friend'?"

"Humph…"

*whine*

"I'm back," smiled Xeen as she walked back into the scene. "Took care of my group, how about—" she then noticed that two of her group members were missing. "Do I have to ask?"

Fenris stomped up to Xeen, "Because of you, Jade and Anders were taken!"

"What?! Me?! I stopped my group—"

"No, Dathrasi! Because you left and didn't listen, we were blind sighted!"

"Whose fault is that, elf! If you had paid better attention then they wouldn't have been taken!"

Fenris's tattoos started to glow out of his rage, for the first time in a long time. That's when Tifea knew for sure it was time for her to step in. "If you don't shut up I'm going to—"

"Make me!"

Tifea tried to pull Fenris away from Xeen, but he didn't budge, "Fenris, stop."

*BARK BARK*

"Don't hold him back, Tifea, like you said, I need to just work this out to get passed it." Xeen then took a few steps back and put up her fists with a smile, "come on knife-ear, give me your best shot."

This is not how you want to work this out Xeen, "Fenris STOP! ZAR! HELP!"

"ARG!" Fenris soon released himself from Tifea grip and charged at Xeen.

Only seconds before he was about to phase through Xeen, Zar pushed her out of the way onto the ground. So instead of phasing through Xeen, Fenris phased through a tree and exploded it into splinters.

"What… What in the Void was that! What kind of elf are you!?"

"The kind that you don't want to get angry!" yelled Tifea as she walked over to Fenris to calm him down.

*Whine*

"He's way more dangerous than I thought…" whispered Xeen.

The elf whispered as he glared over Tifea shoulder, "I can hear her…"

"Relax Fenris, please. Think about Jade and Anders."

"Gerr…"

The rogue rolled her eyes, "Well, Jade at least. We need Xeen to help us get them back, since she's the only one of us that isn't normally associated with those two."

"Ugg… Whatever you're thinking of, Xeen had better not screw it up." Fenris put his hand to his forehead, "because if she does—"

"I know… just relax ok."

"Fine."

Tifea walked over to Xeen and Zar, "Xeen, listen, you can't just run off from the group like that." Tifea offered her hand to help Xeen up, but she just stood up on her own and dusted herself off. "Straying away from a group like that is how you get everyone killed."

"No Tifea," glared the warrior, "that monster that you're keeping, almost got me killed!"

"And that's because you provoked him," asserted Tifea, "after almost getting us all killed."

Irritated and unable to think of a response, Xeen turned her back on Tifea and tried not to listen.

"You need to learn to work with us as a team." Tifea then walked back over to Fenris, "And right now we don't have time to be fighting each other. We need to find Jade and Anders, there no doubt the Templars took them to the Mage Tower here." The only thing we need to worry about is time.

"They're probably going be killed for being maleficarum, so we need to move fast," stated Fenris.

"Well you guys can move, without me," yelled Xeen over her shoulder, "Come on Zar!"

*whine*

Xeen turn to see Zar walk over to Tifea and Fenris's side. "I said come on Zar!"

*Whine….*

Fenris grinned, "even your do—"

Tifea looked to Xeen as she put her hand on Fenris's mouth, "See Xeen, even Zar sees that the rout you're take is wrong. Please, help us get our friends back."

Xeen just turned around and glared at the group, "No! I refuse to help two mage leave from where they should rightfully belong!" Locked away!... Xeen then ran from the group into the brush of the Ferelden landscape.

"Oh gezz."

Fenris calmly moved Tifea's hand from his mouth, "I would almost agree with her if they weren't our allies."

*Whine*

Placing her hands on her hips Tifea continued to look into the dirt, "Really?… Now?"

"I'm just saying," stated Fenris as he walked over to the center of the battle field. "Now where did you see that assassin?"

"Over there in that bush," answered Tifea as she pointed it out, "Now… we're going to have to figure out a way to get Anders and Jade out without the Templars knowing that it's us… Our faces are too recognizable."

*Whine*

"Sorry about that Zar," Tifea began to pet the dog, "I never wanted you to choose between us and your master."

*Whine* Zar looked to the ground in sorrow.

"At least the dog knows what he's doing," said Fenris, returning from his search, "much better than the master at least." Fenris then tossed a piece of cloth, connected to something, to Tifea, "Sadly though she'll be back, she doesn't seem like the person to abandon her hound."

*Bark!*

"What's this? A piece of Jade's robes? I thought you were looking in the area where the assassin was hiding."

"I was, that must be something from before. Since they no longer have her Phylactery, I assume the Templars had to use some other method in order to find the two."

"Sloppy though."

"Could be a trap, not that they'd know that we'd have a dog though."

*Bark!*

"Yeah, Zar could track the sent and show us where they're keeping Jade and Anders in the castle… but why would they leave something so vital…"

"Not sure myself."

"Ugg… we can't do this without Xeen! Once we step into that tower those Templars are going to be all over us."

*Whine* Zar started to trot in the direction Xeen ran off in. *Bark*

"Fenris wait here."

"Be glad to."