Anders paused at a crossroads in the tunnels, closed his eyes, and inhaled the scent of the caverns. Hawke folded her arms across her chest, wondering just how they were going to find one man in the middle of this maze. "I don't think smelling the darkspawn is going to help you," she stated with an annoyed huff. "Unless you Wardens enjoy the smell of tainted ichor?"

He ignored her sarcasm as he focused on the feeling that was burning in the pit of his stomach. It had hit him like a ton of stone the second they entered the Deep Roads entrance, and grew stronger with every step he took. Anders hadn't felt this feeling in years, what seemed like decades, and it nearly overwhelmed him. While it brought him the comforted feeling of coming home again, it also devoured him in anticipation and anxiety. To see Nathaniel again after all this time, after what he had done…

There was no point dwelling on that now. They were here, and the inevitable was soon to happen. After a moment, Anders opened his eyes and turned to look at Hawke. "Have you ever caught the scent of something familiar in the air?" he asked her. "A hint of the past, someone you knew, and in an instant, you believe they are right there beside you?"

"Yes," Hawke admitted, realizing there may have been more to what he was doing than taking in the toxic air. "Sandalwood and cedar do it for me every time. My father would spend hours with the local wood merchant in Lothering, and whenever he'd return home, that scent clung to him as if it were his own. I can not go by any woodcutter's shop in any city without thinking of him."

Anders nodded in understanding. "The taint works in a similar fashion, a kind of sixth sense if you will. While the darkspawn feel one way, heavy with death and nearly painful, each Warden has their own unique signature that encompasses the very essence of who they are."

"And you can feel other Wardens, and know Nathaniel is among them?" Hawke asked.

"As if he were beside me," Anders whispered. "Even if we were in total darkness, I could find him and follow that feeling, just as the scent of your father would grow stronger the closer you were to him."

Hawke watched her lover as he closed his eyes again, no doubt trying to feel for Nathaniel's direction. "Wouldn't Nathaniel feel the same then? Come find you as well?"

"He could," Anders replied. "Though he won't."

"Why?" Hawke didn't understand. "If you two were as close as you say, why would he not come running around the corner any minute now?"

Anders slowly opened his eyes, and set his gaze upon her. "For him it is no different than the scent of sandalwood for you. A memory, the past, and nothing more." He considered telling her the entire truth at that moment, but the idea of Nathaniel being so close was causing a driving desire to find him. "We should move on."

Hawke wanted to question him further, but Anders had already begun walking down the right tunnel, apparently having decided which one Nathaniel had travelled before. "Why do I get the feeling there's more to this story he's not telling us?" Varric asked.

"You know Anders," Hawke said with a shrug. "Mysterious and full of secrets."

"That reveal themselves in the form of danger," Fenris continued as he joined the two. "I would trust these Wardens even less than that mage."

Hawke looked over her shoulder to smile at her warrior friend. "Someone you trust less than Anders?" she quipped. "My Fenris, there's hope for you two to become friends yet."

Fenris snarled with his reply. "Doubtful."

.✣✦✣✦✣✦✣✦✣✦✣✦✣.

The tunnels went on forever, each bend and corner bringing back memories of their previous trip. Even though this time they were fully stocked, well prepared, and had no intention of starving for days again, Hawke still felt uneasy at their return.

They seemed to be moving at a quicker pace this time, which she attributed to the familiarity of their surroundings and the lack of things to kill. No darkspawn, no spiders, no evil glowing red rock things to attack. She'd never admit it, for fear of admonishment, but Hawke was growing a bit bored at the lack of action.

"We're almost there," Anders whispered to her, knowing her body language well enough to know she was becoming restless. "He's alone, as far as I can tell."

"Delilah mentioned others were with him," Hawke said. "Separated from them? Or scouting alone?"

Anders shrugged. "He was always a bit of a loner, he may have volunteered to stay back and protect their exit."

"Or he's hoping to scout us out," Varric offered. "You said this taint thing works both ways, maybe the warm and fuzzies in his belly have him curious."

Hawke giggled at Varric, but immediately controlled herself when the stern look came from Anders. "This is not a joking matter Varric," Anders reprimanded, his nerves getting the best of him. "If he's alone, the others may be dead, or worse."

"There is worse than death?" Fenris questioned, raising a brow. "I hadn't known."

Anders threw up his hands in frustration, wishing that the elf and the dwarf hadn't accompanied them. If he was being truthful, he didn't want Hawke there either. This reunion would be difficult enough without it being done in front of her. Though she claimed to understand the meaning of his past relationship with Howe, there was no telling how Nathaniel's reaction to her may be. Or to him.

"Let's leave Bodahn, Sandal, and our supplies here," Hawke suggested. "As I recall we're close to the end of our journey; anything further is just backtracking, and the cart's wheels echoing off the walls are starting to grate on my nerves."

"We will await your return," Bodahn said with a bow, already untying ropes to free some of their goods. "A nice meal will be waiting when you get back."

Hawke didn't wait for anyone else to agree or argue, setting out to the path in front of them. She wanted this ordeal over, this confrontation to happen, and then run like hell out of these tunnels. The tension mounting between Anders and Fenris with the walls seeming to close in on them was enough motivation for her to accept whatever was around the next corner, as long as it meant they were one step closer to leaving.

They went further on, each corridor beginning to look like the last, and the ache in Hawke's feet only added to her ever growing foul mood. So when Anders called for them to stop, she turned quickly with unintended anger. "Stop why? We go forward or we go back, but we go Anders. I'm sick of this place already..."

A shriek in the distance quieted her rant. "Darkspawn," Anders stated.

What should've provoked fear instead had Hawke sighing in relief. "Finally, some action!" She withdrew her weapons, as did the others, and they rounded the corner to find several of the creatures closing in on a man.

He fought valiantly against his attackers, even if outnumbered. Hawke assisted as she watched one dagger in the strangers hand slice the throat of a darkspawn. He then spun around, withdrew an arrow from the quiver on his back, and lodged the tip into the eye of another. Her and Fenris took out two more, and Varric's crossbow decimated three. With the assistance of a well placed fire spell from Anders, the fight was over before it had really began.

"Nathaniel Howe?" Hawke asked, assuming from his fighting skills he had to be the Warden they were looking for.

The not-so-helpless victim turned to Hawke, a gleam of recognition in his eyes. "The Champion of Kirkwall, are you not?" Nathaniel stated as he picked up his bow, securing it behind him.

Hawke gave a slight curtsy. "The one and only. How'd you know?"

"Rumor and assumption. You're the only one not a Warden who is crazy enough to come to a place like this," Nathaniel answered, pulling one of his arrows out of a tainted corpse and wiping the tip on his trousers. "Also the likeness to you and that hideous statue at the docks I saw when I arrived."

Hawke sighed. "Yes, not the most flattering sculpture, unfortunately."

"No, seeing you now I can't say that it was," Nathaniel said with a grin.

"Making friends as always I see," Anders replied, stepping out of the shadows behind Hawke.

Nathaniel's smile quickly faded as Anders walked closer to the group. "Anders?"

"The one and only," Anders replied.

"What manner of trickery is this?" Nathaniel asked Hawke, taking a step back. "Are you some kind of blood mage? Is he?"

Anders stopped his approach. "No, no blood magic. It's me Nathaniel."

"You died," Nathaniel whispered, shaking his head. "I saw the body, saw you, the arrow in the neck, the blood surrounding your unmoving corpse…"

Hawke whipped her head around to confront Anders. "Perhaps now would be a good time for an explanation? Is this the secret you've been keeping?"

"When Vigil's Keep fell to the darkspawn, I left. Unheroic, I know," Anders admitted. "But I've told you as much."

"And the whole being dead thing?" Hawke asked. "I must have missed that part of the story."

"His body was real, your body," Nathaniel continued, still disbelieving his eyes. "Badly burned, sure, but it was you. I know it was. I'd swear to it."

Anders moved closer toward Nathaniel, who in turn took another step back. "I placed my robes on an unfortunate soul who had already fallen to the darkspawn. Torched it beyond recognition, hoping to make it appear as if it were me. Even placed my earing on the man, to make it more convincing. This way I could disappear without the Wardens having a reason to search for me."

"Well it worked," Nathaniel stated. "We all thought you were dead. I thought you were dead. And yet here you are."

"And this isn't at all awkward," Varric muttered behind Hawke.

"Hear me out," Anders pleaded with Nathaniel. "Give me a chance to explain, to make you understand why I had to do it."

In one swift action Nathaniel retrieved his bow and secured an arrow, pulling back the string in preparation. "There is no explanation you can give. We all assumed you dead, and dead you shall be again."