Hawke rushed down the gangplank carrying the unconscious Raven, Anders right behind him. The slavers' ship was listing badly to one side, sinking into the deep water channels that cut through these caverns.

"Did everyone make it off?" Hawke asked as he kneeled to set Raven down on the rocky sand. He looked around, taking stock of the freed captives and his friends. "Where's Isabela?"

"Checking for treasure," Varric answered, nodding back toward the ship.

"On a sinking ship?" Carver scoffed.

"She's a pirate, Junior. I'm sure she's been on a sinking ship before."

"Aveline." Hawke turned to the red-headed warrior, his concern for their pirate friend on a shipwreck minimal. "What's it look like?"

"Nearly forty captives by the looks of it. A fair mix of elves and humans of all ages," she said, summing up the situation. "From what I saw there are some injuries, but most look more dehydrated and weak than injured."

Hawke nodded. "We'll go through the slavers' camp for supplies and see to everyone. Then – "

He was interrupted by a cacophony of noises, creaking and breaking timber, echoing through the caverns as the ship behind him crashed onto its side. It sank rapidly now, the deck on an angle and only partially visible.

"Damn it, Isabela," Hawke muttered, watching the scene.

"Shouldn't we go help her?" asked an anxious Merrill.

"No need, Daisy," Varric said, pointing.

Isabela popped up from a doorway, fighting the incline of the deck as she dragged a wooden trunk.

"Damn it, Isabela! Leave it!" Hawke shouted.

Either the pirate didn't hear him, or didn't care to listen. She reached the elevated side of the deck and managed to push the trunk between the railings. It scrapped down the curving bow that was usually underwater but now raised into the air. Isabela vaulted the railing, following the trunk down. It splashed into the water, Isabela right behind it. Both resurfaced after a brief moment. Isabela swam toward the shore pushing the floating trunk before her. The ship groaned behind her, settling ever deeper into the water.

Hawke sighed, but waded in to help her pull the trunk ashore. "Was that really necessary?" he huffed, dragging one end of the trunk through the sand.

"We just wasted a fine ship. I'm at least getting something out of the deal," Isabela retorted with a smile.

"As I was saying," Hawke said, turning back to the others instead of wasting time scolding the woman for taking such a risk. They all took risks all the time, so it was not as if he had any high ground to stand on. He looked over the people they had freed. They stood and sat, scattered across the shore, watching him and the others. "There'll be supplies in the camp. We can patch everyone up, have a rest, and get everyone back to Kirkwall."

"To the Void with that," said a human man of middle age and build, having overheard him. "I thank ya for savin' us, but I'm takin' my family back now. Need to get back to Dark Town an' see if anythin's left of our stuff. Someone's prob'ly run off with it all by now."

Hawke shrugged. He wasn't going to mother a grown man, or assume he himself had any authority over these people just because he and his friends had rescued them. He wouldn't abandon them, though. "Aveline, Carver. Can you two escort anyone back who's ready? The tunnels leading back to Dark Town will be quickest." And hopefully free of any slavers, bandits, or giant spiders. But just in case, it was best to send a couple warriors.

"You're sending me back?" Carver huffed angrily. "On an escort mission?"

Hawke gave Carver a look. He was too tired to deal with his brother's whining and constant need to prove himself. "Merrill and I will be helping Anders see to the others. Varric's crossbow isn't very helpful in the confined spaces of the tunnels if you do run into trouble. Isabela is preoccupied with her treasure hunting. Fenris knows the most about slaver operations, so it makes sense for him to stay. Now that I've wasted time explaining why my plan is the best, why don't you run along and do what I said," Hawke finished with a snap.

"You're not as smart as you think you are, brother," Carver retorted.

"That's right, you're the smart one. The smartass. Now go, so we can help these people," Hawke snarled.

"Come on, Carver," Aveline said, interjecting before the brothers could really get into it. "Do you want front or rear guard?" she asked, leading him away. Carver gave Hawke a final glare, but followed.

Hawke sighed. That would come back to bite him later. And they had been getting along relatively well lately.

"Hawke," Anders said, drawing his attention. He was kneeling next to Raven, hands pressing a bloody cloth to her abdominal wound. The bleeding had slowed significantly, but he had not closed the wound completely with healing magic. He didn't know if it was the wounds and the blood loss, or if his magic really had harmed her, but her condition was worsening. "Her heart rate is dropping and – " Anders stopped, catching sight of those kids again, hovering closely. "We need to get her bandaged up, quickly."

Hawke's gaze followed Anders's glance to the kids, then back to the healer and the unconscious woman. Anders looked ragged and exhausted. Even with the added power of the spirit inside him, his magic had been pushed to the limits between all the fighting and healing. Hawke himself and the rest of their team weren't doing so well, either. "Right. Let's get to the camp and see what we can find."

Hawke moved to lift Raven from the ground again, but Fenris pushed passed him. Having spent so much time amongst mages he could tell Hawke was on his last legs, both in a magical and physical sense. Hawke nodded his thanks as Fenris straightened, Raven's limp form in his arms.

They all turned to look at the ship, as with a final groan and spout of air bubbles it sank beneath the surface.

"Alright," Hawke said. "Let's go ransack the camp."


It had been an hour since the rescue. Anders had done what he could for Raven. They had left the still unconscious woman to rest in one of the slaver tents. The boy Bran was watching over her, with instructions to get Anders immediately should anything change. Anders had gone to see to others' injuries, and Hawke had left to scrounge up some blankets for those kids. They hadn't moved from in front of the tent the whole time Anders and Hawke had been treating Raven. Hawke approached Raven's tent a few minutes later, seeing Bran standing outside. He was speaking with the oldest girl in their group, the younger kids gathered around them.

"How is she, Bran?" Hawke asked.

The boy shook his head. "Nothing's changed since you left," he said. The oldest girl tapped Bran's arm, jerking her head toward Hawke.

Bran hesitated, glancing at the kids staring at them solemnly. "Lily wants me to ask… do you think Raven will…"

"Anders said she's stable now. He wouldn't have left her side if he thought she was still in danger," Hawke said, sounding unworried. He didn't mention how difficult it had been for Anders to get Raven's condition stable, even with help from Hawke and Merrill. They had kept the kids, including these older two, out of the tent while they worked, keeping them from seeing the worst of it.

Bran nodded, though Hawke could tell he was still worried. He noticed one of the little boys yawning, reminding him of why he had come back just now.

"Here," Hawke said, holding out a pile of blankets. He nodded toward one of the larger tents set further down the row. "That one's big enough for all of you. You guys can settle in for the night there."

Lily glared up at the mage. Hawke raised an eyebrow, unsure what he had done to offend the girl. Lily huffed angrily and snatched the blankets from his arms. She turned her glare on Bran, then stalked into Raven's tent.

"What she means is," Bran explained, "thanks, but we'll stay with Raven."

Hawke glanced over the group of kids attached to Bran. "I don't think there's enough room for all of you. And I'm sure Anders will be in and out checking on Raven all night."

"That's fine," Bran answered. He shooed the kids into the tent as he held back the flap with one arm, the broken one immobilized in a sling. "Today was…" The teen hesitated, gaze searching the ground as he considered how best to describe the hell they had just been through. "Well," he said finally with a half-hearted shrug, giving up on any attempts at eloquence. He sighed, looking Hawke in the eye. "We just need our family together right now."

Hawke's expression softened. He could understand that. Wanting, needing your family close and safe after a horrifying experience. He thought briefly of Bethany.

"Alright," Hawke said with a nod. "Get some sleep." A wave of exhaustion hit him as he walked away. There were others to see to, though, before he could even think of sleep.

Aveline and Carver had taken more than half of the freed captives back to Kirkwall through the tunnels. The rest were injured or too weak to go just yet, or were part of Raven's little group. Hawke wondered briefly as to the story behind that particular situation. How had an elven fugitive ended up as guardian of a group of kids in the Free Marches? And such an odd mix – he had counted four humans, two elves, and one dwarf in the group. They couldn't all be related. Was Raven collecting orphans? Or did she know their families perhaps? Maybe the kids had been snatched from their families, so were sticking close to Raven because they knew her?

"Hawke," Fenris said, interrupting his thoughts and tossing him a small blue vial.

"Ah, thanks." Hawke caught the vial, popped the cork, and downed the liquid. He, Anders, and Merrill had been through several lyrium potions already while seeing to Raven's wounds. A tired sigh escaped him as he sat on a nearby crate. He twisted the emptied glass vial in his hands thoughtfully. "I noticed you don't just call me 'mage' anymore, Fenris. You use my name."

The swordsman bristled and frowned. "Everyone else calls you 'Hawke,' as well."

Hawke shook his head, smiling slightly. "I was just going to say thanks. I know you and magic… well." He shrugged. Maybe he shouldn't call attention to Fenris seeing past his magic. Maybe doing so would make him stand-offish and distrustful again. Well, more so than he still was now. "Just, thanks."

Fenris hesitated, then nodded.

"So," Hawke said, changing the subject. "Find anything else useful?" he asked. They had been going through the slavers' camp set up with the cavern.

Fenris listed off his findings. They had found a fair supply of lyrium, elfroot, and other useful potions, as well as food, medical supplies, weapons, clothing, and of course the tents.

Hawke frowned. "It looks like they were set up to be here quite a while."

Fenris nodded. "From what the captives said, the slavers were snatching people from Darktown and the Alienage in Lowtown. They've been at it for near two weeks, though the captives had difficulty keeping track of time in this cavern and the ship's hold."

"The ship could've held, what, another twenty people or so? Even if filling it took them another two weeks, that would still leave a lot of supplies leftover," Hawke said, looking around at the camp. "It looks like this was supposed to be a long-term arrangement."

"You're right about that. Looks like they were out to reestablish some of the old slave trade that used to run out of these caverns," Varric said, approaching with a sheaf of papers in his hands. Isabela was close behind him, smiling, carrying a small drawstring bag.

Varric held out the papers to Hawke. "We finally got that trunk open. Found these under the false bottom. There's letters from slave merchants, estimates of value for the captives, and a record of costs associated with setting up a long term post in the Free Marches."

Hawke shifted through the papers, scanning the information, his expression dark. He paused on one sheaf in particular. "I recognize some of these names," he said, voice weighted. "This is a list of Kirkwall officials and nobles."

Varric nodded. "My guess would be they're people the slavers thought they might have to bribe."

"That's what these were for," Isabella said. She dumped out the drawstring bag on the crate next to Hawke. A small pile of gems spilled out, glinting in the firelight from the torches that lit the cavern.

Fenris swore in Tevene. "They were going to let their own citizens be carted off as slaves!" he snarled, jabbing a finger angrily toward the list in Hawke's hands. "They deserve no better than the slavers!"

Hawke spoke quietly, though his voice was tight with suppressed anger as he tried to be rational. "If there's still these gems here, maybe the slavers never actually bribed any of them. Still, we need to check them out," he said, looking to Varric.

The dwarf nodded. "I'm on it, Hawke. I'll ask around, see if any of our friends here had any out of town visitors lately." He took the papers Hawke offered, rolling them up and placing them in his jacket.

Isabela scooped the gems back into the bag. "Aren't you glad I saved the trunk? We would've missed out on this information. And these pretty little things," she said, holding a particularly bright ruby up to the light.

"We should sell those, and spread the coin amongst the captives," Hawke said. At Isabela's frown, he continued. "They were kidnapped, beaten, and almost forced into slavery, Isabela."

"Fine," Isabela said with a sigh. "You know just how to ruin a girl's good mood, don't you, Hawke."

Hawke ignored Isabela's pout. "Aveline said she'd get a list of those she and Carver took back already. We'll get the names of those here and ask where we can find them later. Think you two could find discrete buyers?" he asked of both Isabela and Varric.

"These are already perfect for discretion," Isabela noted. "Just gems, plainly cut. If they were set in jewelry or cut in particular styles they'd be easy to track. These guys knew what they were doing."

"I doubt the slavers were new to bribery and other unhanded dealings," Varric said. "Anyway, she's right. That'll make it easier to move them in the underworld. I'll speak to a few contacts."

Hawke nodded, then stifled a yawn. I had to be close to dawn by now, though it was hard to tell in this cavern. "Alright. You guys get some rest. I'll take first watch," he said, stretching a bit as he stood. All of them were exhausted, having been up and fighting all night. Anders and Merrill were still across the camp, seeing to the others they had rescued. Anders would be especially exhausted, his healing put to extensive use. Though they were all tired, they still needed to set a watch. Who knew if there were more slavers that might return? Or what other dangers the Wounded Coast could throw at them.

"There's one more thing," Varric said, pulling a couple folded papers from his pocket. "Seems they were keeping an eye out for runaway slaves. There were also some wanted posters in the trunk. These in particular caught my eye."

Fenris took the papers Varric held out to him. "It's a decent likeness," Varric said as Fenris unfolded the papers. "But they didn't really capture the broodiness."

The first poster had two sketches of Fenris. One was a close up of his face, the other full length to show his distinctive armor. Fenris couldn't read the script on the poster, but he recognized the emblem in the bottom corner. The symbol of Danarius's house.

Fenris sneered, moving to rip the paper to shreds.

"Hold on there," Hawke said, snatching the papers from his grasp. "You didn't even read it." The script was in both Tevene and the common tongue. Hawke read it aloud. There was a physical description of Fenris, though it just called his lyrium markings tattoos. "'Called Fenris. Last seen in the Free Marcher city of Kirkwall. Likely armed and dangerous.' Heh, that's one way of putting it," Hawke chuckled.

"Danarius wants me captured and returned, but doesn't want everyone to know what I can do, else someone should take me for themselves," Fenris ground out.

Hawke nodded. "That's quite the reward he's offering," Hawke said, tapping the large sum listed on the poster. "'Wanted alive. Property of Magister Agoston Danarius of Minrathous,'" Hawke finished reading.

"The coward sends others after me," Fenris sneered. "Let some mercenaries or slave hunters try to capture me. Once I kill enough of them, he will be forced to face me himself."

"Calm down, Broody. He's not here now, so you can stop glowing," Varric said. Fenris's tattoos had started to glow as his anger grew.

"This one is… Raven?" Hawke asked, drawing the others' attention. He was now looking at the second poster.

This one had two sketches as well, though both were portrait-sized. One was face forward, the other in profile to show one of her cut ears. Hawke read the script on this one aloud as well. The sketches and physical description matched Raven, including the cut ears, scarred forearms, and the scar that cut through the corner of her lips and down her neck. "'Skilled with daggers. Called Avis. Property of Magister Octavian Antonius of Minrathous. Reward of – '" Hawke read, before Fenris interrupted him.

"Antonius?" Fenris asked, blinking in surprise.

"Someone you know?" Isabela asked.

"He and Danarius experimented with lyrium together." Fenris gestured at his tattoos. "These markings. Antonius helped Danarius create the process to carve lyrium into my skin." Fenris's expression darkened as he remembered the two magisters, working in Danarius's laboratory. Remembered the screams of the slaves they experimented on. Remembered how he had done nothing to save them.

"If he was her master, then that would explain the lyrium in her blood," Hawke said, frowning.

Fenris was not alone in his surprise, Isabela and Varric also looking bewildered. Hawke saw their expressions, then sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Right, you three didn't hear that part earlier, when the slavers had us pinned down. Raven convinced Merrill to use her blood. She said there was lyrium in it, which would fuel and amplify the spells," Hawke explained.

"That… doesn't seem healthy," Varric remarked.

"If her abilities are the result of an expensive experiment like yours, Fenris," Hawke said, "that would explain the high reward listed here."

"That's a big bounty. No wonder she's trying so hard to hide," said Isabela, looking over Hawke's shoulder at the poster. "Covering her ears, saying she's human, staying in Darktown. Going by a different name, too," Isabela said, tapping the name 'Avis' on the poster.

Hawke sighed. "We can ask her about it when she wakes up. Do you… want yours, Fenris?" he asked, holding out the poster of Fenris.

"No," was Fenris's snarled reply. "I'll take first watch," he said, storming off.

"Well if he doesn't want it, I do," Isabela said in a sultry tone as she plucked the poster from Hawke's hand.

"And I don't want to know why," Hawke said. He folded the poster with Raven's likeness and slid it into a pocket. He would show it to Raven later. He wasn't sure how she would react to such a thing as a wanted poster, but surely she should know that there actually might be slave hunters in Kirkwall looking for her. "Since Fenris volunteered for the watch, I'm going to get some sleep," Hawke said with a yawn.

"Need some company?" Isabela asked, tone still sultry.

Hawke waved a hand over his shoulder dismissively as he walked toward the tents. "Goodnight, Isabela, Varric." He heard the dwarf chuckle, then footsteps going in the opposite direction.

He headed for one of the smaller tents. He hesitated before entering, deciding he should check on Raven's condition before heading to sleep. Anders was likely still helping others, or maybe catching a much-needed nap between patients.

Hawke approached Raven's tent and pulled the flap aside quietly. He had to smile at the already sleeping kids. Raven was on the bedroll they had found at one side of the tent. The kids had laid out blankets from the side of the bedroll to the other side of the small tent. Lily was curled up next to Raven, close but not touching the injured woman. At the other side of the line of blankets was Bran. The rest of the kids slept between Lily and Bran, piled nearly on top of them and each other in the small space. The human boy, Garen, actually was on top of Bran, laying on his stomach across the teen's abdomen.

Hawke slipped in, doing his best to not to step on anyone. He finally managed to get to the other side of Raven, though he was forced into a crouch and had to lean forward a bit right next to the slanted tent wall. Maybe he should have insisted the kids sleep in another tent, if only to make it easier to get to Raven to check on her. He didn't have anything near Anders's skill with healing, but he knew the basics. He could check Raven's condition, and would know enough to determine if Anders was needed.

Raven lay still on the bedroll covered in a thick blanket, her eyes closed and expression relaxed in sleep. Her breathing seemed steadier now, if still a bit quick. Hawke was just relieved she was still breathing at all, really. Besides the knife wound to the gut, she had sustained a wicket slash across her shoulder, another over her knee, bruised ribs, and the self-inflicted cut down her forearm, in addition to a half dozen other bruises, cuts, and bumps. They'd had to remove her armor as well as her clothing down to her smallclothes to get to her injuries, the bloodied armor and clothing piled in the corner near her head. Maybe they should've moved it elsewhere before letting the kids in here. They had at least cleaned up all the bloodied rags and medical supplies.

Hawke lifted Raven's wrist gently, finding her pulse still weak and fast. With the blood loss her heart was working overtime with what it had. Hawke pulled back the blanket so he could check the other wounds. He was glad to see she hadn't bled through the bandages at her shoulder or abdomen, confirming that Anders had succeeded in closing the wounds without magic. Anders had complained briefly about having to stitch them closed – magic was so much quicker and cleaner, with less risk of infection. With what Bran had said about magic hurting her, though, they had to find a balance so that their efforts to save her didn't kill her.

Hawke replaced the blanket. He looked at Raven's face as he thought, drumming his fingers on his knee. Someone really should stay with her, as her condition could change suddenly. The kids where all asleep already, including the older two. Not that he could blame them. They'd been through a lot, especially for kids.

Hawke stifled a yawn. He managed to maneuver into a semi-comfortable sitting position next to Raven, leaning against one of the tent poles. He would keep an eye on her.