"Arvaarad is dead," Arishok announced to the group as he emerged in the back room. The Qunari around him understood. They'd heard already, but he wasn't through and he uttered a throaty, disagreeable sound. "The Bas-Saarebas killed him."

"What is to be done?" Karasten asked. Arishok looked to him, thinking for a moment.

"Nothing," he answered at last. Karasten seemed to struggle with the thought for a moment, then accepted it with a nod. "I want the Bas' name." Arishok's eyes rested on the other Qunari as he spoke, and he took in deep breath. "The name they give themselves."

"We still have no information," Karasten admitted. "The viddithari are unreliable, and slow. In this city they move as though their feet stick to the ground."

"Then we need more," he frowned, growling slightly in frustration. "The Bas-Saarebas must be known to someone. Her allies will not betray her to us willingly, but others might without a second thought."

"We shall find the name, Arishok," Karasten promised. He saluted and stepped away and Arishok looked down over the maps of the city as they grew to be more and more elaborate as information came in. He thought for a moment, considering each disgusting, puerile area. A figure stepped up close to him and he ignored it for a moment.

"Arvaarad," he sighed, straightening slowly. "You should be watching the Saarebas."

"It is the consensus that since you are dealing with the Bas, I should be there to ensure you are not corrupted by their influence," Arvaarad explained. "After what happened, someone should be here."

"What happened was planned," Arishok admitted. "The Bas-Saarebas' involvement was not. I had thought we had seen the last of her with the dwarf and his worthlessness. I was mistaken."

"Does she suspect?" Arvaarad checked. Arishok paused, thinking slowly as he pictured her in his mind. Her eyes had not betrayed any suspicion. A dazzling blue, they were busied with fear and alertness. Her body, slender and almost fragile, had always held a defensive posture. She smelled… He wasn't sure how she smelled. His thoughts paused for a moment, then he shook his head.

"She doesn't suspect," he asserted. "She would have no reason to."

"And their Chantry?" Arvaarad pushed.

"They believe it an unexpected boon on their behalf," he murmured, then gave a small sound of amusement. "Fools."

"What was learned of the Chantry from your experiment, Arishok?"

"They are sickly," came the morose response. "They draw in their people with their lies and promise them what they cannot give. This we knew. What we have found here proves the levels of their own deceit. Demons hide behind their eyes and they are blind to them. They swell with the fat of corrupted pestilence and do nothing to alleviate the suffering of those they proclaim to protect. Given the chance, they seize it for their own desires."

"Is that so?" Avaarad asked.

"The Bas-Saarebas claimed it as such," Arishok nodded. "She was used as bait. I do not suspect the Chantry knew what would happen. They expected us to kill her. She was correct, in part, but not for reasons she knew."

"Bait?" Arvaarad spat. "They sought to demonize our people, even as more turn to the Qun and recognize the futility of their own government."

"They are desperate fools," Arishok agreed. "Continue to educate the viddithari on what it is the Qun demands. Educate them on what transpired, and the depths of treachery that are reached with this. They must know what they can expect."

"They will learn," Arvaarad confirmed, stepping slightly closer and peering intently at Arishok. "The Bas-Saarebas. What did she say to you?"

"Nothing of consequence," Arishok responded, looking down at him. "She has not swayed my mind, Arvaarad."

"You are still committed to the Qun?"

"Unfalteringly." Arishok understood where the concern came from, but in this situation they did not have the luxury of suspecting one another. "That you ask such a question is troubling. You are truly concerned that she is more dangerous than she appears."

"She is Bas-Saarebas, but Saarebas nonetheless."

"She knows little of the Qun," Arishok countered. "She will not shake my belief with baseless complaints and the arguments befitting a child."

"It would be best if that were so," Arvaarad agreed. "We cannot afford to lose our Arishok as we have so many others." Arishok grumbled slightly and nodded, pushing his hand against his skin slowly. With a long breath he turned his attention to the table, studying the maps.

"These streets are well-designed," he frowned. "They do not make it easy to move. Our focus should be on smaller groups to take key structures."

"You anticipate conflict coming from this?" Arvaarad asked.

"This city fills my nostrils with its stink and its Chantry seeks to destroy us through defamation. If the Book of Koslun is not recovered we must look to securing this place. Perhaps some redemption in the eyes of the Qun can be attained if we establish a foothold. At the very least we shall be able to intensify the search."

"We shall find the book, Arishok. Have faith."

"I would prefer to have the book."