"Amatus?"

"Yeah, Kadan?"

"Do you think they'll believe us?"

"No clue."

Dorian's heart palpitated with apprehension as they approached Blackwall, Cole, and Varric in the tavern, who were all sitting at a table in the center. The tavern had an air of anxiety, as every last patron murmured about the Inquisitor. Maryden's music helped, but only to a point. Cole was stealing glances now and then at Maryden, who winked at him playfully. Blackwall and Varric were talking about the Inquisitor, full of worry and woe. All three looked up at Dorian and Bull as they approached, both looking grim, Dorian playing with his hands.

Varric frowned. "Is everything alright?"

Blackwall sat up straight, wide-eyed. "How's the Inquisitor? Will she-"

"She'll live," Bull reassured, "the mark and the lower half of her arm is gone, but she'll live."

Cole frowned. "The axe comes down, and the pain, shooting, ringing, goes up. Maker, help me, it hurts, it hurts. Breathing hard, don't cry in front of them, don't be a burden, what will they think of me now that the mark is gone?"

Dorian shook his head. "Poor woman. I don't care that the mark is gone, so long as my friend survives."

"We'll talk to her later; she'll know we aren't worried about her losing the mark if it means she lives. We're still her friends." Varric reassured. "So, what happened in there? I'm dying to know."

Bull and Dorian shared a look and sat down next to the other men. Dorian breathed sharply and stared at Varric. "I'm not sure you'll even believe us, but you have to know."

Varric scoffed. "Try me. I've seen too much shit to call anything impossible."

Cole frowned. "What they're going to tell you about Solas is true."

"Solas? Maker's balls, what's happened?" Blackwall demanded. "He's been gone two years!"

Bull raised an eyebrow at Cole. "Kid, how long have you known about who or what Solas is?"

"Always," Cole answered, confused, "was I supposed to say something? He's not the kind of wolf that wants to hurt people."

"Wait. Wolf?" the dwarf asked, befuddled. Varric and Blackwall gave Dorian and Bull baffled looks. Varric shared eye-contact, frowned. "What's going on, Sparkler? Tiny?"

Bull and Dorian shared one last moment of hesitation before diving in together into divulging the truth. They took turns telling parts of the story to the amputation. Blackwall steadily got more and more alarmed sitting up straight, unblinking, while Varric just looked down at the table, shaking his head in disappointment. When they were done, no one said a word for several minutes. Bull looked around, wondering if anyone had overheard them. Dorian weakly laughed.

"Varric, the most eloquent dwarf I know, speechless. I never thought I'd see the day."

Varric coughed. "You and me both, Sparkler. You and me both..." He looked up tiredly. "Andraste's ass, Chuckles...it figures the quiet one ended up being the genocidal maniac." With a groan and deepened frown, he continued. "Always the quiet ones. Well...shit."

"You actually nicknamed Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf himself, 'Chuckles'," Iron Bull snorted, "still gonna call him that?"

Varric scoffed. "What else would I call him? I just wish Chuckles would have remembered the story of that fisherman beating the world; he's more sensible than this." He groaned. "Damn it, Solas."

Bull nudged Blackwall, who had gone into a silent reverie. The shove made the man jump and blink rapidly in surprise. "You alright there, Rainier? I get that this whole Solas is Fen'Harel business is weird. Really weird."

Thom shook his head, scowling. "No, I'm not alright. This...I can scarcely believe it. That little bastard has some nerve to show his face to the Inquisitor after all he did. Solas...Fen'Harel is a monster." He shuddered. "It reminds me of when I lied to all of you about who I really was; I see I wasn't the only one who lied about my identity."

"He didn't lie to you," Cole argued, "Solas came first, his real name. Fen'Harel came later, an insult turned into pride." He frowned. "He's not a monster or a genocidal maniac. He doesn't want to hurt people, but he thinks he has to to help. He isn't that kind of wolf."

Dorian shook his head. "I'm afraid he is that kind of wolf. The dreadful kind."

"Dawn knows that deep down, he isn't that kind of wolf. She wants to show him." Cole murmured. "Heart dropping, tears trying to go free, Solas doesn't understand, I have to make him understand. Green sparks fading, hand blackened and limp, he's not evil, he just saved my life...but he's not my friend anymore. Maybe one day he will be again."

"She wants to try to redeem him. Give him another chance." Blackwall weakly laughed to himself, a tiny smile on his lips. "That's just like her. She gave me a chance when I didn't deserve one, too, to redeem myself." He inhaled and exhaled sharply, nodding firmly. "If she's going to try to show him he's wrong before resorting to killing him, I'll be there to help her, and all of you, hunt down the Dread Wolf." Thom looked back at Cole. "Maybe she's right. Maybe it's not too late for him."

Varric sighed again, deeply. "I can't just walk away from this; none of us can. I'll try to do what I can to help as Viscount now. We're all going our separate ways, but we'll keep in touch. No doubt the Inquisitor will have everyone come to visit now and then, even if she disbands the Inquisition."

Dorian put a hand under a necklace with two crystals attached to it around his neck. "These are sending crystals. I gave one to Dawn and one to Bull. We'll be able to update each other readily. The minute Solas is discovered, we'll be on his tail. Literally, now, I suppose."

"Solas doesn't have a tail most of the time; only when he's a wolf." Cole pointed out, confused. Bull grunted.

"Was it the Dread Wolf we saw watching us?" Bull shuddered. "Creepy."

"Yes." Cole answered. "He was watching her, but...I can't tell why. It's gotten harder since I became human."

Dorian winced. "It's unsettling to know that Fen'Harel was watching us, and that Sera actually tried to shoot him. He could have killed her."

"Like pish he could!"

Everyone looked up to see Sera approaching the table with Cassandra, who was carrying the codex. Cassandra opened the book and slid it to Blackwall and Varric. They hovered over the book on the table, Varric's eyes moving the fastest over the words. Sera crossed her arms and huffed indignantly. "That arrow would have gone right up his face if he hadn't moved! It hurts anyone to get an arrow to the face, even a bloody god! 'Cept he's not a god; all of them were fakers!"

"Don't do that again," Cassandra warned, "if you'll recall, he froze all the qunari without so much as a second glance. He could do that to any of us. I don't know what's changed him, but he's much more powerful than when we met him; he is too dangerous for any of us to face right now."

Varric and Blackwall had finished reading the entries. The dwarf closed it and handed it back to Cassandra, looking tired of everything. "Seeker, don't stab this book. We're gonna need it."

"It's really true," Thom bemoaned, "all true...we had the Great Betrayer among us."

"No shit." Sera snapped. "I'm tired of all of this. Fenny fucked everything up."

Cassandra shook her head shamefully. "I still am ashamed I did not see through him...all of us have been tricked." She sat down. "At least, Dawn will survive. She has been through much, and I'll be there for her, as will you all, I suspect. We need her to help us find Solas; she lead us through one catastrophe, and she'll help us through another."

Bull shrugged. "We'll deal with that tomorrow, when the Inquisitor wakes up. For now..." He looked up at the door to see Krem coming in. He breathed heavily, nervously. "I've got to go tell the Chargers. They need to know."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Dorian inquired hesitantly. "I don't know how much help I'll be, but if you want backup..."

Bull smiled for the first time in hours. "I'd like that, Kadan. Thanks."

Dorian smiled genuinely back. "Anytime, Amatus."

They got up and headed to Krem, bidding him to gather the other Chargers. Sera stood up, eyes alight. "I'm gonna go talk to Widdle. I've got an idea that I can help her with that'll cheer Dawnly up. Gonna give her something better than that mark!" She scurried out, heading for the forge. Varric already had parchment down on the table, getting ready to dictate a letter.

"I've got to send word to Hawke. She met Solas when we went to Adamant; she's got to hear this. Soon, she'll be back from Weisshaupt with Fenris to help me run Kirkwall. We'll do what we can to help."

"How do you know she'll be back soon?" Cassandra asked, raising an eyebrow. Varric gave her a smug look.

"So you don't secretly read my letters." He grinned. "I got a letter from her yesterday. She's coming back to Kirkwall to settle with Fenris and her new job in the keep. She needs a place to settle, and she's moving back into the old Amell mansion."

"Why now?"

The dwarf sighed. "She's pregnant, Seeker," Varric said bluntly, "she just told me in the letter."

Cassandra gasped, eyes widening. "Hawke is pregnant?"

Varric coughed. "I bet you're more shocked to hear about this than Solas being Fen'Harel. She can't raise kids or do what she's been doing at Weisshaupt; the Grey Warden fortress is no place to raise kids." He smiled. "As I understand it, Fenris has been fussing over her like a mother hen since they found out. Neither of us can exactly go out and fight much anymore, but we'll do what we can to help in your wolf hunt."

Sera had told Dagna the whole story. Not unlike the others, Dagna was left awe-struck, and Sera uncomfortable from talking about Solas yet again. Finally, Sera got to bring up the issue of Dawn's long-gone arm. "So, she wants to go still do Red Jenny stuff with me now that she is one, and I want to cheer her up. You're right smart, so I wanted to know if anything could be made for her to replace her arm."

Dagna paused, thinking. "I think I've got an idea..."

"Whatcha got, Widdle?" Sera pushed; she knew the look Dagna got in her eyes when a good idea struck her, twinkling with inspiration. Dagna grinned.

"Come on and help me here. You'll see. I've still got her measurements from the last time armor was made for her..."