Yay! New Chapter! This one wasn't exactly planned, but I felt like we might need some of this for later . You have no idea how much I am ready to be out of Act 1. Just 2 more chapters to go...*sigh*
Disclaimer: BioWare owns, I can barely rent.
Rating: eh...this one is pretty safe.
Hawke could think of about a million and one ways this could go horribly wrong. Not that ending up caught in the middle of someone else's problems was really a surprise at this point, but when she'd been halted by Macha's tears, she never would have guessed that she'd be spending the rest of the day tracking templars. Normally, anything that had to do with the Order had her scurrying in the opposite direction as fast as her legs could carry her, but something about the blond girl's wide-eyed grief had reminded her of Bethany, and that had been that. Raen sighed to herself; one of these days she was going to have to learn how to say 'no' to people.
As if seeking out a group of heavily armed warriors who wanted to throw you in prison for the rest of your life wasn't enough to deal with, Hawke had somehow managed to round up the most volatile members of her friends to join her for this quest. Fenris, whom she had run into while browsing the Hightown Market, had insisted on coming with her to the Gallows, despite her protests, and when they had gone to the Hanged Man in search of Varric, they had discovered Anders being thoroughly robbed by Isabela in a game of Diamondback instead. The former Warden had leapt at the chance to visit the city's Circle, eager for the opportunity to get any information that might help the mage underground while also escaping the Rivaini's deftly cheating fingers with a few coins still in his pockets. For her part, Isabela had merely laughed and headed to the bar to start drinking away the healer's money, informing them blithely that this particular job they were on sounded both boring and profitless.
The trip to the Gallows had earned them nothing but more questions and a scrutinizing Guard Captain who had been coming to ask Knight Captain Cullen something. Which meant that Hawke was now blessed with the company of the mage who was most likely to start some kind of insurrection, the former slave who was most likely to maim first and ask questions later, and Aveline, whose well meaning admonishment was most likely to set off Anders, which would most likely set off Fenris, which would leave Raen trying to stop her friends from brawling in the streets. Again.
So, here they were, out in the middle of nowhere, trying to find either Wilmod or the Knight Captain who had come out here looking for him. Astoundingly, their broody elf had managed to avoid pulling anyone's heart out of their chest thus far, and Anders had yet to light anyone's hair on fire, which Hawke counted as a definite win, but it was starting to get late, and there was a whole host of reasons why wandering around near the Wounded Cost after dark was a bad plan. Raen was about to suggest they head back to Kirkwall when the sound of distant shouting reached their ears.
As they rushed towards the argument that was sounding more and more like an impending fight, Hawke sent a quick little prayer to the Maker that Anders would have the good sense to keep his mouth shut about mage rights. Just. This. Once. If he got them both dragged off to the Circle she was going to zap him with a lighting bolt and set fire to those ridiculous feathered pauldrons.
The camp was little more than a fire pit and a bedroll huddled between some crumbling ruins and a treacherous-looking cliff and, sure enough, both of the knights they'd been looking for were there, already in the middle of what seemed like a very one sided beat down. Wilmod looked like he couldn't be much older than Carver, his dark eyes blown wide in fear, his left cheek swollen, his bottom lip split and bloody. The older Templar kneed him viciously in the groin and the boy crumpled to the ground with a whimper.
"Stop!" Someone shouted as Knight Captain Cullen drew his sword, "Don't you lay another hand on that boy." Raen shot an annoyed glance over her shoulder to where Anders was standing, only to find him staring at her in mild disbelief, along with the rest of her friends. Hawke looked down at the stave that had somehow appeared in her hand, and then back up at the Templar who had paused long enough to scowl at her. Oh. Well, so much for playing nice. That sword was looking remarkably stabby all of the sudden.
"This is Templar business, stranger." The knight grunted at her, "I suggest you leave before-" He was cut off by the sound of hysterical laughter.
"You have struck me for the last time, pathetic human!" Wilmod sneered, rising to his feet. "To me!" Hawke felt the veil tear at his call, and demons swarmed up all around them. Wilmod's body writhed and twisted in on itself as the spirit within him revealed its true nature.
"Maker preserve us!" Cullen exclaimed in quiet horror, and Hawke couldn't help but silently agree.
Luckily, living in Krikwall had given Hawke and company plenty of practice fending off a menagerie of monsters, thieves, and crazy people on a daily basis, so fighting half a dozen demons was practically a stroll in the park. The skirmish was over after only a few minutes of yells and grunts and sword swinging, and outside of a few nicks and bruises, no one seemed to have been seriously injured. Fenris, ever the vanguard, had managed to get a nasty looking burn along his left bicep, but he shrugged off Raen's offer of healing.
"Save your mana, Hawke," he cautioned, stealing a glance at the Templar Knight who was preoccupied with praying for the lost soul of his fallen recruit. "This fight may not yet be ended."
As predicted, the Templar's sword remained unsheathed as he turned back to them, but what caught the dark haired mage off guard was the look of pure rage twisting the young knight's face. No matter how skilled he may be, one Templar against so many demons wouldn't have stood a chance on his own, even if he hated mages, as many of his fellows did, Cullen had to realize that they had just saved his life. She heaved a weary sigh as she fell back into a battle stance. 'So much for gratitude.'
"You could not break me in Ferelden, no matter how long you kept me caged, or how many times you taunted me with visions of her face- you will not break me now!" he bellowed. Hawke blinked in confusion.
"What?" she baulked, completely at a loss. Anders seemed to be the only one capable of making the mental leap to whatever ledge the Templar's thoughts had led him.
"She isn't Illuin!" the blond mage barked out, taking a half step in front of Hawke.
"I know that, Apostate!" Cullen spat, "She's a pale imitation- a fraud! I was at the Warden's funeral, I watched as King Alistair lit her pyre, and I will not be led astray by some demon's cheap tricks!"
"Nobody is trying to trick you." Raen stepped in, holding her hands up in a gesture of supplication and speaking as she would to a skittish animal. "My name is Hawke. Illuin Amell was my cousin."
"Cousins?" He repeated dumbly. Hawke gave a slow affirming nod.
"On my mother's side. She was an Amell of Krikwall before she met my father," she explained. After another moment or two of tense silence, the Knight Captain lowered his sword, his shoulders slumping in obvious defeat. His cheeks flushed a little as he tried to avoid looking her directly in the eyes.
He had a very open sort of face, the kind of man who seemed incapable of lying. Hawke was willing to bet that he probably ate a bowl of integrity every morning, sprinkled liberally with some Chantry doctrine. He was handsome too, which didn't seem particularly fair; people who wanted to kill her should all be fat and balding with at least five warts, not clean shaven and tall with copper colored ringlets that looked like they would be all too fun to muss. But his eyes- it was true that they were big and brown and doe-like, Raen had a feeling that at some point they had also been warm and gentle, but now…. They were haunted and fathomless, and inexplicably sad. Brimming with shame and doubts and endless regrets; they were the eyes of a man who had seen terrible things and been powerless to stop them.
"Forgive me." Cullen said quietly, his voice sounding slightly broken, "You just look so much like…."
"I've been getting that a lot lately," Raen reassured him, forcing a smile and glancing over at Anders, who blushed and quickly looked away. "You knew her well?"
"Not 'well' perhaps, but I knew her," the Templar said wistfully, finally sheathing his blade. "She was…clever, and kind, and full of spirit."
"Funny, too." Anders threw in. Cullen glanced at him warily.
"She was devoted to her studies, and her magic was exemplary." He went on, "She…Illuin always deserved more than a life of seclusion in the Tower. I was proud of her when she joined the Wardens. Even if it meant I-…even if it meant she was leaving."
"I see," Hawke said gently. Maker save her, but she felt sorry for the man. It was painfully clear that he had been head-over-heels for her kinswoman, a love that was doubtlessly as pure and chaste as new fallen snow, and given Anders' tales of dalliance within the Fereldan Circle…. Well, she just hoped the mage didn't have some kind of 'special' story about the Warden that he suddenly felt the need to share.
"So, what now?" she dared to ask.
"That depends on you," the Templar replied, giving her a long searching look. "I doubt you came upon this camp by chance?"
"We were hoping Wilmod would know something about Keran. His sister asked me to look for him," Hawke informed him. "Somehow I doubt he'll be giving us any answers now."
"Two apostates went looking for a templar recruit because his sister asked them to?" the Knight Captain asked, incredulous.
"She was crying!" Hawke said defensively, feeling her cheeks burn.
Cullen's mouth pulled back into a charming little half-smirk when he laughed, and the tension that had been building moments before seemed to dissipate with its arrival. Hawke answered with her own crooked grin, feeling only the slightest bit abashed, and knowing it was a small price to pay for the chance to avoid being smited or thrown in a cell.
"This an official investigation of the Guard."Aveline stated flatly, taking a bold step towards the Templar, her chin jutting out fiercely, daring him to doubt her, "These three are assisting me."
"Calm yourself, Guard Captain," Cullen admonished with a hint of a chuckle, obviously still trying to wrestle with his amusement. "There is no need for your protection in this matter. I would be a fool to attempt apprehending two apostates and their…associates on my own." He turned his attention back to Hawke.
"Whether it was your intent or no, you have assisted the Order in this matter. If you would continue to do so, I would consider it a favor. One that could possibly be repaid by my overlooking your use of magic…for the time being."
"You would do that?" the dark haired mage barked in disbelief.
"As it happens, Wilmod was my last lead," the Templar confessed, "and, as you mentioned so astutely earlier, I doubt he will be able to tell me much about the missing recruits in his current state. However, Wilmod and Keran were both seen at the Blooming Rose before their disappearance."
"And you haven't asked there already?" Aveline butted in. The Knight Captain blushed as bright as his hair.
"None of the…um…'ladies' at the b-brothel would speak to me for fear I would turn them in for serving our recruits…." Cullen fumbled uncomfortably.
"But you think they'd talk to us?" Raen asked skeptically. The knight shrugged.
"What have you got to lose by trying?" He smiled. "Besides, even if I was not offering you amnesty, you are on an 'Official Investigation' for the Guard, are you not?" Aveline started to sputter something that was probably very unladylike before Hawke managed to cut her off.
"You make an excellent point," she conceded, trying not to laugh at her friend's expense. "We'll look into it."
"And I didn't even have to cry," Cullen quipped. Hawke burst out laughing, caught off guard by his humor. The knight made a strange gesture with his hand, as if he wanted to reach out to her, but thought better of it at the last moment. There was something bright and wincing in his gaze.
"You..." he started, trailing off uncertainly, "you really are just like her...like Illuin. She asked me to go with her, you know...after she saved me in the Circle Tower. I refused. I had been caged and tortured for...I don't even know how long, days...weeks maybe. I wasn't fit to help anyone. Still, I always wondered if I could have..." The expression on his face was a dark gaping wound. "I have enough regrets, Hawke. Don't make your release one of them."
The mage nodded solemnly, there wasn't much else she could do. The Knight Captain walked past them without another word.