Neria gave up after another hour of Nathaniel's tutelage. She didn't know how he managed to move so quickly and lightly.

"Aren't elves supposed to be nimble and light of foot?" teased Nathaniel. He called after her retreating back, "I can hear you coming a mile away. For such a tiny woman, it is incredible how much noise you make. Like an ox, or a bronto!"

"Bronto? I'll show him roasted bronto." Muttered Neria. She would have turned around to blast him, but it seemed like so much work, and she was tired. Her legs and sides ached. Her palms smarted from falling into the brambles after the stupid rock on the stupid ground tripped her.

Anders looked up from his food, and then spit it out, laughing.

"Did you get into a fight with a bush and lose?" he asked. "You're all scratched up, and look! Leaves, in your hair." Said Anders, and began plucking bits of grass and leaves from her hair.

Neria sighed. "Nathaniel tried to teach me to dodge, and be all sneaky like him. He failed, and the bush won. Maker, I had forgotten exactly how terrible I am at anything requiring coordination."

"Not anything. I remember the sounds that used to come outta your tent with Alistair. If you need some tutoring in that-" started Oghren. Neria shot an icy glare in his direction, and he swallowed. "Well, I ain't the one to ask. Nope."

Anders touched her arm. "All these scratches are from one bush? You took down a Keep's worth of darkspawn with fewer injuries." He murmured a few words, and the scratches disappeared. "There you go. Pity about your hair, though."

Neria shook her long braid, and then began eating. The food restored her energy, and she led her group down the winding road.

Anders noticed it before she did. He grabbed her arm, startling her. He winced, shaking his hand.

"Did you have to burn me? Ouch." He whined, though his hand was already healed.

"Sorry." Said Neria. "I've changed my mind about these woods. You and Nathaniel are right. They are creepy."

"You feel it, then?" whispered Anders. "The air here, it is …charged."

Neria stopped, and stood perfectly still. Now that Anders pointed it out, she did notice it. The air felt alive with magic. Neria felt as if she could channel a thousand spells without tiring. It reminded her of the feeling after drinking one of Wynne's potent lyrium potions.

Neria heard a muffled shriek, and looked up to see Nathaniel frog-marching an elven woman toward them. She had what looked like, no what was, a dirty sock shoved into her mouth.

"While you two were busy figuring out why the magic here feels different, I went out and caught the mage responsible for it, and all this trouble." Sneered Nathaniel. "I found her ahead, standing over a caravan she just blasted apart. Luckily for me, she's too tired for many more spells. I gagged her, just in case." Nathaniel looked rather proud of himself. Neria was impressed. She walked forward, unhappy to note that the woman was taller than her. Neria prided herself on her height, and had never met an elven woman who was taller. The woman was currently glaring over her shoulder at Nathaniel, pure malice in her eyes. Neria chuckled, thinking how similar Nathaniel's expression had been, the first time she met him.

Neria approached the woman, noting the Dalish tattoos on her face, and the wicked-looking staff slung over Nathaniel's shoulder. She congratulated herself on recruiting such an efficient, competent man.

"I'm going to take the sock out of your mouth. You try any spells, and I will freeze you into a block of ice so solid, you won't thaw until next summer." Said Neria. She heard Anders snicker behind her. The woman in front of her looked steadily at her, though her gaze was not quite so angry as the glare she shot at Nathaniel.

Neria pulled the sock from the woman's mouth, grimacing. At least it was one of Nathaniel's. One of Oghren's probably would have killed the poor girl.

The woman spit, wiping her mouth against her shoulder. "So an elf leads a group of shems. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Yes. I'm Commander of the Grey Wardens, and I heard that something or someone was attacking trade caravans traveling around Amaranthine." Said Neria. "That something seems to be you. Yet, you didn't take anything from the wagons. Curious."

"What use do I have for such garbage?" scoffed the woman.

"Then why did you do it?" asked Anders.

The woman ignored him, still looking at Neria.

"Well?" asked Neria.

"Those bastards killed my clan and kidnapped my sister. I'll burn them all alive for what they did. If they killed her, I'll find their homes, and burn those down, too." Said the woman, her blue eyes flashing.

"Hmm. We didn't hear any reports of kidnapping or unrest with the Dalish clans." Said Neria.

"Why would you? I wouldn't expect a flat-ear like you to know the first thing about us." Said the woman.

Neria laughed coldly. "You think a racist little comment like that is endearing you to me? Try harder, honey. Now, I'm going to take you back to Amaranthine and let the captain of the guard decide what to do with you."

Fear crossed the woman's face briefly before it settled back into a defiant snarl. Neria nodded at Nathaniel, and he gagged the woman once again.

That night was uncomfortable, to say the least. Because the woman was a mage, she could not be safely ungagged. Neria felt sorry for her, despite the woman's unrepentant confession of the destruction and murders. Neria had seen the raw anguish in the woman's eyes when she mentioned her clan and sister.

Neria awoke to Nathaniel's angry voice growling at Oghren and Anders.

"I know it was stupid. I felt sorry for the gal, is all. I didn't think it would matter much if I took the sock out of her mouth. Her hands and feet were tied, right?" said Oghren. Neria ripped open the flap to her tent, pulling her robe over her head as she charged out.

"She's gone? Damnit!" swore Neria. "What were you thinking, Oghren? Maker!"

"It's not all his fault. Anders was supposed to keep an eye on her, too." Said Nathaniel. Neria saw Anders glaring back at him.

"I went to the woods to take a piss, alright? I was gone two minutes, maybe." Said Anders. "How was I supposed to know that the dwarf would lose his freaking mind in that time?"

Neria sighed. "Oghren, you really should have known better. Anders, you should have gotten one of us if you needed to take a break." She saw them bristling, about to argue, and held up a hand. "But it doesn't matter, now. We have to catch her before she kills more merchants."

Nathaniel led the group, following the woman's tracks through the woods. He looked down at the invisible trail admiringly.

"What?" asked Neria.

"She's good. Really good." Said Nathaniel. "I can barely follow her, and she hardly had time to prepare. I've never seen anyone move this lightly."

Neria rolled her eyes. "Well, keep on it."

They came to the remains of a Dalish camp. Neria saw the wreckage of wagons, and slaughtered Halla. She crept forward after Nathaniel, alert to any sign of magic.

"Andraste's blood." Whispered Nathaniel, crouching in front of her. Neria looked down, and gasped. A little elf boy, hardly more than four or five, lay broken and battered in the leaves, his head positioned unnaturally. Neria reached out and closed his eyes, whispering the one elven prayer she knew.

"Oh." Said Anders, coming up behind them. He turned away.

Neria forced herself to look at the rest of the destruction. Corpses littered the clearing, their faces twisted in fear and horror. Neria came to a girl, her hair the same color as her own, her build similar.. In a different time or place, they could have been mistaken for sisters. The girl was not much younger than Neria, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. Her throat had been cut, and her hair was dried to her neck in black clumps Neria saw the dagger clutched in the girl's hand, and then saw the way the girl's skirt was hiked around her hips. Neria swallowed heavily and looked away, but not before she saw the blood smeared on the girl's thighs. She realized, then, that the dagger was not stained with the blood of whomever had done this, but instead, with the girl's own blood, that she had cut her own throat rather than live through the indignity. Neria felt a sob rising in her throat, and she covered her face. It had taken a long time to build up the thick skin she usually wore, and now, it felt like it had been stripped away. She wept into her hands, wryly remembering the look of horror on Alistair's face the first time she had cried like this, after they had killed the starving group of farmers in Lothering. Neria had not wept when Alistair dumped her, nor the night she had laid awake, knowing he and Morrigan were having sex. She had thought herself tough, beyond the wide-eyed, soft-hearted girl who had left the tower.

Neria looked out from behind her hands, and saw the girl's body. Fresh sobs wracked through her body. What kind of idiot was she, thinking that a royal decree would change anything for the elves! If anything, it had just made the humans feel threatened, and resentful. It would never change. Neria hated herself at that moment, felt like the flat-ear the Dalish mage had accused her of being, of a traitor to her race. How could she associate with monsters like the ones who had done this? Humans did this sort of thing often, she knew that thanks to Shianni, but still, she considered them friends? Lovers?

Neria heard Anders's soft footsteps behind her, and she wiped at her face furiously.

"Neria?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Neria heard his sharp intake of breath when he saw what was in front of her, and she heard him retreating quickly. Neria looked up to see him vomiting into the bushes. The sight of it comforted her, strangely. It reminded her that all humans were not capable of atrocities like this, that they were like any other people, with saints and monsters.

Neria stood up shakily, her face streaked with tears and snot. She looked up to see Nathaniel holding a sword, turning it in his hand.

"Humans didn't do this." Said Nathaniel.

"What?" asked Neria. "Of course they did! Look at all the weapons!" Human-sized weapons were scattered around the clearing.

"Exactly." Said Nathaniel. "Why would anyone throw down their perfectly useful weapons? Look at this sword. It's practically new."

Neria looked around, saw that he was right.

"Who was it, then?" asked Neria.

"Darkspawn." Said Nathaniel. "Look at this footprint. It is clearly that of a Hurlock."

"What?" asked Neria. She stared down at where he was pointing, and sure enough, the distinctive longer third toe stared back at her. "So darkspawn set this up, to set off that mage? Why? Are they even capable of thought like this?"

"Well, we did meet one who talked." Said Anders, wiping at his mouth. "If they can talk, they can reason."

"If they can reason, they can set up things like this." Said Oghren. "Now, we gotta find that mage. If I saw a scene like this, with my family…"

Neria was reminded uncomfortably that the man had indeed seen things comparable to the scene behind them, happen to his family. It had sent Ogre into a three-day rampage, which, while helpful at the time, was not really what she hoped for in regards to a powerful, renegade mage.

Neria pushed them past exhaustion, tracking the woman through the woods. She seemed to be circling the area, returning to the camp every so often.

Finally, Neria was about to call off their search for the day when she heard a loud, mocking laugh.

"So the lapdog hunts for her human masters, too." Said the woman, leaning idly against a tree. "When I first saw you, I thought maybe the clan had come around, that they were ready to help me with vengeance, but then I saw your plain face and your filthy companions, and I knew. Just another flat-ear, happy to lick the boots of the shemlen."

Neria heard Anders take a step forward, and she put a hand against his chest.

"You don't know what you're doing here." Called Neria in a calm voice. "Humans didn't kill your clan."

"What?" shrieked the mage. "Of course they did! I watched you look over the camp. I saw you cry over the body of my cousin! Is your memory really so short?"

"It was the darkspawn who did it." Said Neria.

"Human weapons were scattered all over the clearing!" shouted the mage, and shot a bolt of lightning toward Neria. It hit her, square in the chest, and she staggered back, breathing heavily.

Neria felt anger surge through her, and she held out her hands. Cold blasted from them, toward the mage. The trees around the woman froze, but she dodged out of the way, ducking under the icy branches.

"Why would they just leave their weapons? The darkspawn are changing. A month ago, I met one that talked!" shouted Neria furiously as she continued calling forth lightning and frost.

"Liar!" screamed the other mage. She shouted something guttural and staccato. The trees around Neria began to groan, bending toward her.

Neria looked up, briefly surprised, and then let loose the leash on her anger and grief over the Dalish camp. Power flowed through her, and around her, the trees went up in flames. Neria heard Anders swear next to her, and saw a shimmering shield wrap around the both of them, just in time to prevent a nasty flurry of hail from the Dalish mage. Neria threw her head back and howled, electricity flying from her fingertips, the escaped hair from her braid standing on end.

The other mage jerked as the lightning hit her, then somehow managed to shield herself. Neria felt someone grasp her shoulders and shake her. She snarled, and a burst of energy flew from her, knocking him off his feet.

"Stop! Neria!" shouted Anders. Neria shook her head, and looked down at Anders, whose face held a mixture of awe and anger. Neria let the magic dissipate, and held out a hand to help him up.

"Nathan ran after the mage, with Ogre hot on their heels." Said Anders. "Judging from the distinct lack of her weird yodeling, I'd say they caught her."

Neria grinned. "She does have some strange magic."

"Hm. Same could be said about you." Said Anders, lifting an eyebrow at her. "You are what they warn Templars about. Maker, what a sight! You looked like some sort of vengeful goddess out there, your hair whipping all over the place, fire shooting up around you, lighting crackling from your fingertips." Anders grinned at the memory.

Neria gave him a strange look.

"Uh. Did I say that out loud? Oh, look! Here they come now!" said Anders lightly, avoiding her eyes.

Nathaniel had a hand-shaped burn on his arm, and a fierce expression on his face. He dragged the mage along, ignoring her limp. The sock was back in its familiar position.

Neria marched forward and grabbed the woman. She ripped the gag out of the woman's mouth.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't execute you right here." Said Neria.

"I have to save my sister." Said the mage, her blue eyes shifting between accusing and begging. "I don't care what you do with me, but if the darkspawn have her, I don't have much time. She's the only one I have left."

Oghren shook his head despairingly. Anders and Nathaniel did not know Neria well enough to predict her behavior, but Oghren did, and he knew as soon as the crazy bitch mentioned her sodding sister, that Neria would bring her along. He waited, watching as Neria pretended to consider.

Neria looked at the woman. She was obviously extremely powerful, and Neria felt her old thirst for knowledge awaken. This woman knew primal magic Neria had never even heard of, and for that alone, Neria would have considered keeping her alive. Aside from that, Neria admired the woman's bravery.

"Well, what should I call you, then?" asked Neria, holding out her hand. The mage looked down at the proffered hand as if it were holding a bag of dung.

"Velanna." Said the blonde mage, and then gingerly extended her hand. Neria took it firmly and shook.

"Wait, what just happened here?" asked Anders. "Wasn't this person just trying to KILL US?"

"Yes, but she's not going to do that anymore." Said Neria calmly. "Because if she does, she will die."

Nathaniel shuddered at the sinister tone in Neria's voice. After witnessing her in battle earlier, he was certainly glad that he had not tried to assassinate her as he had planned.

"Oh? So, now, to join the Grey Wardens, you just need to attempt to kill the commander, and fail. Great. So we're not only recruiting psychopaths, but ones who are incompetent, as well." Muttered Anders.

"You seem to forget that I found you surrounded by fresh Templar corpses." Said Neria mildly.

Anders saw Velanna look at him speculatively. "It's Nathaniel who's the other psychopath, in case you're wondering." He said.

Velanna showed them the entrance to an old mine, from which she had seen darkspawn emerging. Nathaniel took the lead, scouting ahead. He didn't return for an hour, and Neria began to get worried. Another hour passed, and she got to her feet.

"I'm going in after him." Said Neria.

Anders sighed. Oghren simply nodded. Velanna followed them, cautiously. Neria walked forward into the damp, chilly tunnel, and then everything went black.

Cold cobblestone greeted her when she awakened. She rubbed her arms, then pulled away, surprised. Someone had stripped her of her robe, and in its place was a simple homespun dress. It was obviously made for a smaller woman, and was so tight it prevented her from taking deep breaths. Neria heard someone moving next to her, and saw Anders getting to his feet.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Looks like a dungeon." Said Anders. He looked at her, surprised. "Did you change clothes?"

"Did you?" asked Neria. Anders looked down at himself and his eyes widened.

"Someone changed them for us." Said Neria. "Strange. When I was locked in Fort Drakon, they just stripped me of my robe and threw me into my cell wearing nothing but my smallclothes.

Anders nodded. "That is usual procedure. Why would someone go through the trouble of dressing us?"

"Maybe the darkspawn are having a fashion show." Said Neria, then began to snicker.

Anders looked at her strangely. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, have you seen their emissaries? They put even the most fanciful of apostates to shame." Said Neria.

Anders laughed, and clapped a hand across his chest. "My lady, I am most offended! No, seriously, why do you think darkspawn did this?"

"Don't you feel it?" asked Neria.

Anders stood, his face screwed up in concentration. "Hmm. Nope."

Neria heard shouting, and she held a finger up to her mouth to silence Anders.

"If you had just let me pick that lock, we would be out of the cell by now. Now you've melted it, and it's completely useless!"

"Just give me a few more minutes, Shem. I can't believe I actually fell for this! How humiliating, to be captured by a bunch of dim-witted humans."

"You think humans did this? Pah!"

Neria looked over at Anders, who was listening intently.

"Want to show her up and blast our way out of this cage?" asked Anders.

"You would be the expert on such matters." Said Neria. "Blast away."

Anders grinned crookedly, and stood in front of her. "Behold, my manly manipulation of the elements!" Neria felt a wave of cold air wash over her.

"Tricky bastards!" said Anders admiringly. "Neria, would you mind countering the anti-magic field they have surrounding the bars?"

Neria nodded, pushing energy toward the door. Anti-magic wards were difficult to defeat. They required just enough magic to overtax them, but not so much that they self-destructed and took out the mage trying to remove them. Neria began to sweat at the effort of holding a steady level of energy. Neria preferred to work in short, intense bursts.

"Just a little longer." Said Anders. "Yes! That's it, Neria, keep going!"

The lock shattered, and the door swung open.

"From the way Sparkles here was groanin', I woulda thought the two of you were ruttin'." Said Oghren, turning the corner. Snuggles stood next to him, his tail wagging furiously.

"How did you get out?" asked Anders, frowning down at the man.

"My wife was a Paragon from the Smith Caste. I didn't get through that marriage without learnin' a thing or two about metal." Said Oghren mysteriously. "Now where are the other two nug-humpers?"

A loud explosion shook the area. Neria pitched forward into Oghren, and Anders fell on top of them. Snuggles jumped over to them, barking happily and licking their faces.

"What in the Ancestors' nutsacks was that?" asked Oghren.

Neria wiggled out from beneath Anders, who somehow still managed to smell amazing, though Neria thought that might just be in contrast to Oghren, who smelled like the arse-end of a donkey.

"Anti-magic ward, I would guess." Said Neria. Anders nodded.

They ran down the hallway, and found Nathaniel, looking dazed with an unconscious mage lying next to him. The door was barely on its hinges, and was warped out of shape.

"Maker's Breath, is she dead?" asked Neria, looking down at Velanna.

Anders, who was already crouching next to Velanna, shook his head.

"She's been depleted of magical energy and knocked out from the blast, but otherwise, she should be fine." Said Anders. He tapped Velanna's head, and was rewarded with a punishing left hook to the jaw.

"Fuck!" swore Anders, backing away from her. "See if I help you again!"

Velanna shook her head, trying to clear it. She looked at Anders, who was rubbing his jaw, and then at Nathaniel, who looked bemused.

Neria held out a hand to help her up. "It must be strange, waking up surrounded by human men. I don't blame you for punching him."

"What?!" complained Anders.

"Just how would you react if you woke up with Templars crowded around you?" asked Neria.

"Point." Said Anders.

They crept forward through the empty hallways. Neria saw a flash of blonde hair, and stopped the group, pointing. Velanna cried out happily and sprinted forward.

Neria jogged after her, watching as Velanna hugged an elf woman who resembled her greatly. Neria felt the corruption in the woman, and was surprised to hear her talk normally. Usually those who were as far gone as she was were nothing more than mindless husks.

"Seranni, I thought you were dead!" said Velanna.

"I don't have long. I don't want Him to know I'm gone. Here, take this key. It will unlock the chests with your belongings." Said Seranni.

"What? You're coming with us!" said Velanna. "I've come to rescue you."

"No, Velanna. My place is here." Said Seranni, and then she was simply gone. Velanna looked around, her face confused.

"Where did she go?"

Neria didn't feel Seranni's presence anymore, and she frowned. How the woman had simply melted away was a mystery. She didn't have time to puzzle it over, though, because the loud howl of a hurlock interrupted them.

"Nathaniel, Oghren, and Velanna, get behind me! Anders, I need shields!" shouted Neria. With no weapons, they were at a significant disadvantage against the group of darkspawn advancing on them. Neria needed to have the freedom to truly unleash her magic, and she couldn't do that without keeping the others behind her.

Anders took his place next to her and began chanting. Without a staff, magic was harder to channel, and the rhythmic chant took on the role of the staff, helping him to focus. Neria heard Velanna whispering along with Anders, though her magic was depleted.

Neria brought down the group of darkspawn, and then sat heavily down, panting. Oghren patted her on the back.

"That was amazing, Commander!" he said excitedly. "Maybe magic isn't such a pansy option, after all."

Velanna tapped her foot impatiently. "Can we get a move on? I need to find my sister."

Neria nodded, gasping for breath, and stood, shakily. Anders glared at Velanna. "She just took down ten darkspawn on her own while you hung in the back. I think she deserves a break."

"No, Anders, she's right." Said Neria. "Let's go."

The found their gear in the chest Seranni had described. Neria could feel a strange, powerful presence nearby. She saw Anders and Oghren stop and stare in the direction it was coming from.

"You feel that?" asked Neria. "That's the Taint. It allows you to sense darkspawn. Whatever is behind that door is extremely powerful, so be ready."

"You can sense darkspawn?" asked Velanna interestedly.

"That's what Grey Wardens do." Said Neria impatiently. She watched Oghren finish strapping himself into his armor, and was glad for the convenience of her robe.

Neria waited until Anders had them shielded, and then pushed open the door. The strangest darkspawn she had ever seen stood on a balcony over them. Seranni and another woman stood at his side. The other woman was dwarven, and wore heavy armor.

Neria shouted up at the darkspawn. "Hey! Let Velanna's sister go, you ugly beast!"

The darkspawn let out a tinkling laugh. "My, my. I had not foreseen your escape, but I suppose fate works in strange ways. Seranni is free to go, if she wishes. Do you wish to go, Seranni?" The darkspawn's odd, melted-looking face showed its amusement as Seranni shook her head.

"You've done something to her! Give her back!" screamed Velanna, and roots shot up from the floor around the darkspawn.

"Tsk, tsk." Said the darkspawn. "There is no need for fighting. I am the Architect, Grey Wardens. I am…different from others of my kind."

Neria looked around the room, and saw a body, its skin a ghastly grey. Next to it was some sort of large flask, with something that looked like a bellows next to it. The flask held at least a gallon of dark red, viscous liquid. Neria saw a shield lying discarded in the corner, the griffon heraldry facing outwards, and realized what the liquid was, and whom the body had once been. This darkspawn was one of those responsible for the attack on Vigil's Keep, and had dragged off the Wardens for whatever dark experiments it now performed.

Neria whipped around, flame blasting from the end of her staff. The Architect patted out the flames on his robes and then took a step back into the shadows. Neria saw, now, that the shadows behind him were the opening to a tunnel.

"After him!" she shouted, and watched Nathaniel sprint up the stairs, taking them three at a time. She heard the Architect's bell-like laugh, and watched as the tunnel collapsed behind him.

Velanna ran up the stairs behind Nathaniel. She pounded her fists against the rocks, howling for her sister.

Neria followed them. She was about to send energy toward the rocks when Oghren stopped her.

"It won't be any use. Tunnel is collapsed at least thirty feet in." said Oghren.

Neria looked at him.

"Stone sense. I haven't been on the surface that long." He said, and cackled.

Neria turned to Velanna, who was unleashing spell after spell on the rock.

"Stop that!" said Oghren sharply. "You want to collapse the whole damned place around us?"

"My sister is behind this rock!" said Velanna desperately.

"Your sister went with them willingly." Said Anders. "Maybe she doesn't want to be saved. I never heard of darkspawn groupies before, but…"

"Anders." Said Neria warningly. "Velanna, you're coming with us. You have two options: either face whatever punishment the captain of the guard decrees, or become a Grey Warden."

"A Grey Warden? So, I'd be able to sense these creatures?" asked Velanna.

"In time, yes." Said Neria. "You'd also need to put aside your search for your sister, at least for the time being."

Velanna's face hardened at that.

"Or, you can rot in a jail cell and then be hanged, your choice." Said Anders. "As someone who faced that choice a month ago, I'd suggest the Grey Wardens. They give your own room, and everything."

They returned to the Keep a few days later. Velanna was under heavy guard, with two people watching her at all times. She made no further escape attempts, instead keeping up a sullen silence, despite Nathaniel's attempts to engage her in conversation. Neria was intrigued by Nathaniel's persistence. He had certainly never been as talkative with anyone else in the group. Neria suspected he was the sort of nasty person who enjoyed heckling irritable people, which was ironic, considering how irritable he normally was. Since she gave him the bow, Nathaniel's demeanor toward her had improved so that he no longer overtly disdained her, but she wouldn't call him friendly, exactly. Not that she would know if he was, indeed, being friendly, due to his face's natural scowling expression.

Neria took a long bath upon her return, scrubbing off the film of sweat and dirt coating her skin. Velanna had survived the Joining, much to Oghren's disappointment, who had two sovereigns riding on the deal. The Merchants' Guild in Amaranthine was very happy with the news that those responsible for the raids were dead (so far as they knew), and rewarded Neria with an eye-boggling sum of gold, which Mistress Woolsley had promptly snapped up. It was probably for the best. When given control of money, Neria tended to spend it all quickly on frivolous things like candy and candy for orphans. Morrigan had often accused her of being a sucker, and after one notable instance in which Neria had given their food money for the week to a couple of 'war veterans' in Denerim, had taken over money-handling duties. Neria had gladly given those duties up, though Alistair nearly had a coronary when she told him about it. He was no better with money than she was, giving all the money he had saved to his worthless sister. Neria wondered if Alistair had finally wised up to the way of the world, and then grinned, thinking of her newest recruit. Alistair wouldn't be terribly pleased about Neria recruiting another apostate, this one openly homicidal.

Neria combed out her hair, noting with surprise that it now extended past her shoulders. Growing up, she had kept it cropped chin-length, due to her unfortunate habit of getting it caught in spells she was working. Leiliana had begged her to grow it out, showing her how to braid it and care for it properly. Leiliana's own hair was now nearly to her waist, straight and gleaming copper.. Neria envied it, sighing at the drab color of her own hair.

Anders knocked at the door, and then opened it.

"Oy! You done with the tub yet? I'm a grimy mess." He said. He saw her standing there with nothing but a towel wrapped around her.

"Hoping to catch me naked, Anders?" asked Neria teasingly.

"I was, actually." Said Anders boldly, grinning at her.

Neria felt a blush creep up her neck. He wasn't supposed to answer her! Alistair had always blushed and fumbled when she said outrageous things, and she knew better than to engage Zev in such talk.

"Oh-ho! Who shouldn't play with fire, now?" asked Anders. "I'm going to take a bath, now. You can stay, if you like." He began pulling his robe off over his head, and Neria caught a glimpse of his smooth, muscled back before she turned away.

Neria felt as if she would combust, and given her talent for primal magic, the possibility of bursting into flames was very real. She turned sharply and fled from the room, grabbing a robe off the hook on the door. Anders's cackle echoed after her down the hallway.