"You were in Denerim during the Blight, Sera? Did you see many Grey Wardens?" Blackwall glanced over at Sera.

"Not a one." Sera shook her head. "Not in person. They were killed or something?"

"Or something." Blackwall sighed. "Betrayed while defending a nation."

"Right, well, I suppose there's worse, yeah?" Sera took a long drink from her mug.

"Is there?" He took a drink from his own mug.

"Well yeah? Could have died defending some poncy fool's hat. Or stepped in shit." She frowned. "Was it raining? Could have been raining."

"It was raining." Blackwall blinked, and turned towards where Brehan sat at the shadowed corner table. Brehan shrugged. "It was raining, and I think Shale actually did step in shit at one point. But not all of us died."

"Oh." Blackwall shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. You would know."

Brehan rose, then sat down at their table. He gave Blackwall a friendly nod. "I think Duncan mentioned your name once. He recruited you, didn't he?"

"Seems forever ago now." Blackwall took another drink.

"Glad to see you're keeping the squirrel on the chin tradition alive for him."

Sera spat out the mouthful of beer she'd just taken and started cackling. Blackwall sighed. "Thanks." He nodded to Brehan. "Thanks for that."

"Hehe. Squirrel."

#

"You wanted to see me?" Sulana walked across the ramparts towards Bull. She was halfway to him when two men attacked him. He grunted, then flung one of them away. "Bull." She started running.

"I got it." He punched the other man in the race.

She came to a stop. He certainly did. She shrugged, and watched him toss the two attackers around. One went over the edge. She should probably buy a drink for whoever had to clean that up. "Ebost issala, Tal-Vashoth." The remaining one attacked again.

Bull caught him and flung him off the other side of the wall. "Yeah, yeah, my soul's dust. Yours is scattered all over the ground, though, so..." He grunted, and looked at where the knife had grazed his shoulder. "Sorry, boss. I thought I might need backup."

"I'm always happy to watch your back, Bull." She glanced over the side. "Well, that's a mess." The man had hit on an incline, then slid down, leaving quite the trail of gore behind him. Yeah, she definitely owed the servants some drinks.

"Guess I'm not even worth sending professionals for." Bull shook his head.

"You expected them?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Little change in the guard rotation tipped me off."

"You know, if you tell me these things ahead of time, then I get to hit them too." She folded her arms and glared at him.

"You go through years of Ben-Hassrath training to hide facial expressions when I wasn't looking?" He glanced down at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "See? Like that." He shrugged. "If I'd warned you or the guards, the assassins would have been tipped off."

She gestured at his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. Hurt myself worse than this fooling around in bed."

"Yeah, but I'm guessing you don't use a lot of poison in bed. Assassins, on the other hand..." She glanced around, trying to pinpoint the closest mage.

"Oh, they definitely used poison. Saar-qamek, liquid form." He shrugged again. "If I hadn't been dosing myself with the antidote, I'd be going crazy and puking my guts up right now." He gave her a reassuring nod. "As it is, stings like shit, but that's about it."

"So, do we need to go punch anyone in the face now?" She smacked one fist into her opposite palm.

"Who?" He sighed. "The entire Ben-Hassrath? Besides, this wasn't serious. Sending two guys with blades against me? That's not a hit. That's a formality." He leaned on the rampart. "Just making it clear that I'm Tal-Vashoth." He lowered his head. "Tal-Va-fucking-shoth."

Sulana leaned on the rampart next to him. "You acted like a Tal-Vashoth for years. That didn't change you. Neither does this."

"That was just a role. This is my life, as one of those..." He sighed. "I killed hundreds of Tal-Vashoth in Seheron. Bandits, murderers, bastards who turned their back on the Qun. And now I'm one of them."

She stepped back, shrugged, and then kicked him in the ass. He stared at her. She glared. "Bullshit. You're a good man."

"Without the Qun to live by..."

"Hey." She drew her leg back to kick him again, and he dodged. "You're a good man. If the Ben-Hassrath don't see that, it's their loss."

He smiled. "Thanks, boss." He jerked a thumb at the mess below. "Anyway, I'll get this cleaned up and let Red know what happened." He started to walk away, then turned back again. "Boss?" When she looked up at him, he nodded. "Whatever I miss, whatever I regret... this is where I want to be. Whenever you need an ass kicked, the Iron Bull is with you."

#

"Uncle Solas..." Sulana called out as they entered the rotunda. "How do we turn this amulet thing on?"

"You found one of the amulets?" He rose. "Excellent. May I?" He held out his hand, and Cole handed the amulet to him. "It is simple enough. You put it on, I charge it with magic, and you should be protected."

"You're sure?" Sulana raised an eyebrow. "It's not like going to explode or anything?"

"Have faith, Inquisitor." Solas smiled.

"I think it's a fair question." She folded her arms. "Lots of things that aren't supposed to explode have been exploding lately." She turned towards Cole. "You ready?"

Cole nodded. "They can't make me a monster."

It didn't quite explode, but it didn't quite not explode either. It sparked, and Cole yelped. Varric immediately entered. "What was that?" He immediately went to Cole. "Oh for... What are you doing to the kid?"

"Stopping blood mages from binding me like the demons at Adamant. But it didn't work." Cole was starting to fret again.

"Something is interfering with the enchantment." Solas frowned.

Varric shook his head. "Something like Cole not being a demon?"

"We know he's not a demon." Sulana put a hand on Cole's shoulder. "We are trying to make sure he never becomes one." She turned towards Solas. "Can you fix it, or are we just going to have to keep stabbing any bad mage who gets too close to Cole?"

"Focus on the amulet." Solas looked at Cole. "Tell me what you feel."

"Warm, soft blanket covering, but it catches, tears, I'm the wrong shape, there's something..." Cole shifted his weight from foot to foot, then turned and pointed. "There. That way."

"Alright. Let's go find it and kick its ass." Sulana nodded sharply. "Assuming, of course, that it has an ass."

"All right, kid." Varric smiled at Cole reassuringly. "Get Cullen and work with him on the map to figure out where you're sensing something wrong."

"Will you come with me?" He looked at each of them in turn. "All of you?"

"We've got your back, Cole." Sulana patted his shoulder. He turned, and went towards the war room.

"All right. I get it. You like spirits. But he came into this world to be a person. Let him be one." Varric turned to face Solas.

"This is not some fanciful story, child of the Stone. We cannot change our nature by wishing."

"You don't think?"

"However we deal with the problem, our next step is to track down whatever is interfering with the enchantment."

Sulana looked from Varric to Solas, and frowned. "Him being a spirit doesn't stop him from being a person and real. Like the one in the Fade at Adamant. She was real, a hero. Being a spirit didn't change that." She sighed. "What matters is keeping him safe and him."

"Well said, Inquisitor." Solas nodded to her.

#

Sulana stared. She'd seen Cole fight, and knew he was dangerous. It was just until that moment she'd never truly thought of him as scary before. She took a deep breath, then stepped into Cole's path, preventing him from chasing after the man. "Okay, before we do any killing, what's going on here?"

"Cole, this man cannot have killed you." Solas stepped to Cole's side. "You are a spirit. You have not even possessed a body."

"A broken body, bloody, banged on the stone cell, guts gripping in the dark dank, a captured apostate. They threw him into the dungeon in The Spire at Val Royeaux. They forgot about him. He starved to death." Sulana stared at Cole as he spoke. "I came through to help... and I couldn't. So I became him. Cole."

Varric shook his head. "If Cole was an apostate, that'd make the guy we just saw a templar. Must've been buying lyrium."

"Let me kill him. I need to..." Cole started to walk past her. "I need to."

"Solas?" Sulana raised an eyebrow at him.

"We cannot let Cole kill the man." Solas shook his head.

"Right." She nodded. "You keep Cole here; I'll go kill the guy."

"Inquisitor..." Solas held up a hand. "Cole is a spirit. The death of the real Cole wounded him, perverted him from his purpose. To regain that part of himself, he must forgive."

"Come on." Varric scoffed. "You don't just forgive someone killing you."

"You don't. A spirit can." Solas met her eyes.

"So we have to..." She glanced over her shoulder. "So we have to let that..." Her fists clenched, and she took another deep breath. "Alright, Uncle Solas. If you can convince Cole that asshat is worth forgiving, then..." She nodded to him.

#

"Not possible, not possible..." The templar stared as Cole appeared in front of him.

"Can you feel this man's pain, Cole?" Solas's voice was gentle. Sulana had to keep her hands clasped behind her back to prevent herself from going over and punching the templar in the face. The templars had been doing a lot of good the last couple months, but they still had a long way to go.

"He remembers now. He knows he killed me." Cole was glaring.

"No. Feel his pain. His guilt. The shame that drove him from the templars." Solas took a few more steps towards the scene before them.

Cole's voice became contemplative. "'Don't worry, we'll erase his records.' They clap me on the shoulder, smell of oiled metal and blood. They smile like Louis did when he made me drown the kittens. Laughter bounces off the walls like a thin child's fists."

"I'm sorry." The templar fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry."

"He's hurting, Cole." Solas stepped to the templar's side. "And you are a spirit of compassion."

For a moment, Cole stood there. Then he walked forward, and held his hand up to the templar. "Forget."

The man stood, confusion evident on his face. He glanced at them before walking away. Solas put his hand on Cole's shoulder. "I believe we are finished here."

"Yes. He's free. We're both free." The amulet on Cole's chest started to glow, a soft, soothing blue.

Sulana wiped the tears from her eyes, and nodded.

#

"The amulet appears to be working. Cole should be adequately protected." Solas nodded when she entered the rotunda.

"Have you talked to him since?" Varric folded his arms. "Have you heard what he sounds like?"

"He sounds like a spirit." Solas smiled.

"Nonsense words, like Bartrand at the end." Cole appeared, sitting on Solas's desk. "'Just need to hear the song again. Just for a minute.' I'm all right, Varric."

"What matters is his happiness." Sulana clasped her hands behind her back. "Cole, how are you feeling?"

"I am well. There is work, wounded to help, hurts to heal, but the weight is off. The old chains have fallen."

"You're not still angry with the man who hurt you?" Varric asked.

"No. I helped him forget. His pain no longer pulls at me." Cole looked up. "A woman with two names slips a knife in darkness to a left hand. Honey stirred into Leliana's wine. Faith, not revenge." Cole vanished once more.

Varric's voice was sad. "He could have been a person."

"Possibly. Would that have made him happier, child of the Stone?" Solas looked down at Varric. The dwarf just sighed, and walked away.

Sulana started to follow, and then hesitated. She turned back to Solas. "When he made that templar forget what he..." She frowned.

"You are concerned a murderer was not brought to justice." Solas raised an eyebrow at her.

"A templar's job is to protect. Not to..." She growled. "I mean, there are bad mages out there, and sometimes yes, that means a templar has to hunt them down, but that's part of protecting. Shields, not swords. And..." She waved a hand. "The lesson he learned didn't go away, right?"

"What he learned will remain with him." Solas nodded.

"Then..." She sighed. "Then I guess it's as good as it's going to get. And..." She nodded to herself. "And I've got something I need to do. You'll keep an eye on Cole?"

"Of course." He nodded.

#

"Hey, Josie." She entered the office to find Josephine sitting with Brehan and Leliana. "Oh, this looks like a plot. Are we plotting?"

"We were discussing the upcoming masquerade." Josephine smiled up at her.

"Oh, yeah. Vivienne explained to me what a masquerade is. But I'm not wearing one of those fancy Orlesian get-ups." She shook her head. "You can't fight for shit while wearing fifty pounds of lace."

"I've seen Leliana and Queen Cathiel both pull it off." Brehan chuckled.

"Yeah, but they're Leliana and Queen Cathiel. I'm just me." Sulana grinned. "And that's not why I'm here. Josie, I need you to arrange a thing."

"Any 'thing' in particular, Inquisitor?" Josephine raised an eyebrow.

#

"You sent for me, Inquisitor?" Ser Barris looked around the great hall. He looked just a bit nervous.

"Knight-Templar Delrin Barris." Cullen stood to her left, his face and voice both stern. "We have gathered to review your military service to the Inquisition."

Sulana sat forward in her chair. "You showed exceptional valor defending the people of Val Colline from Venatori, and broke a siege of demons in Ansburg. You stood against an entire town that wanted to kill a mage for imagined demonic possession. Without raising a sword." She smiled. "In thanks for your service, and your help at Therinfal Redoubt, I endorse your promotion to Knight-Commander of the Templar Order."

"Your Worship. I..." Ser Barris stared at her in shock. "I am not worthy."

"You've shown loyalty, determination, courage..." She looked around the room at the other gathered templars. "As all templars should."

He knelt. "I will honor your faith in me."

Cullen's voice rang out. "Templars. Will you take Ser Barris as your knight-commander?"

A resounding cheer answered his words.

#

It took her a moment to realize she wasn't alone in her quarters. She nearly dropped the report when she saw Iron Bull sitting on her bed. He shrugged. "So, listen. I've caught the hints. I get what you're saying. You want to ride the Bull." He rose, and walked toward her. "Can't say I blame you. But I'm not sure you know what you're asking. Not sure if you're ready for it."

She gave him a challenging look. "Oh, I'm ready for it."

"See, you say that, but..." He looked down at her. "You really don't know what that means."

Sulana raised an eyebrow. "So why don't you show me?"

He moved quickly, catching her wrists and pinning them above her head. She tugged, and smiled a little when he didn't release her. "Last chance..." He met her eyes.

"A little slower..." She smiled. "And a lot harder."

#

Brehan followed Leliana up towards the Inquisitor's room. He blinked when he saw Iron Bull leaving it. Leliana raised an eyebrow. "Is the Inquisitor inside? We have some information that may be -"

"No." Iron Bull held up a hand. "Let her rest." He walked past them down the stairs.

Leliana exchanged a look with him, and then they both glanced back at the closed door. "You don't think..." Leliana tilted her head.

"I need a drink." Brehan shook his head.

"Remember when Sten..."

"Make that two drinks."

"How do they even..." Leliana scratched her head.

"Ma halam!" Brehan headed down the stairs. "Ar'din nuvenin glandival."

"Yeah." Leliana nodded to herself. "A drink sounds good."