"I can't return the delegates bodies to the Arishok in this condition," the Viscount groaned. "Tell me, Serrah Hawke, you have had more dealings with the Qunari leader than I have. How should I handle this?"

The mage didn't hesitate, "do not hide this your, Excellency. The Arishok will know, and it will just make matters worse."

The Viscount sighed and massaged his temples," you're right. It seems the stress of this situation is impeding my sense on how to handle it civilly. Will you go to the Arishok, and explain what has happened here?" He asked, almost begging. The Viscount knew he put too much pressure and responsibility on the Apostate.

Cullen bit his tongue. The Arishok had tried to communicate peacefully. There was no way he would accept any one other than Hawke now. Still, she shouldn't have to do this.

Hawke smiled gently at Dumar. He was in an extremely tough spot and she couldn't start pouting now, her freedom depended on this. "We will leave right now."


"I didn't think it possible, but I respect your Viscount even less, and yet he still remains in control of this city. Tell me, why have my delegates been returned to me in such a manner," The Arishok rumbled.

"It is the abuse of zealots, trying to get the faithful to ally against you." Blunt with the Qunari leader had worked so far, she hoped it didn't back fire on her now.

"I accept that."

A collective sigh ran through the companions, "Well that was easy," Hawke said.

"You have not hidden the flaws of your kind and it is clear that you disagree with the way things are here. Panahadan, Hawke, I will keep one good thought about your kind."

The companions took that as their cue to leave and made a hasty retreat from the compound.

"What now?" Anders asked when they cleared the gate.

"We can't do anything more than that with the Qunari ordeal. We will just wait until we are summoned again. Since we are down here, let's ride over to The Gallows and let Emeric know what happened last night at the Du Pois Mansion.


"Serrah Hawke?" A female templar asked in surprise when the group entered the courtyard.

"Do we know each other?" Hawke ran through the list of known mage hunters and the only female one was Meredith.

"No, Serrah, I am a friend of Emeric's. He said that you asked him to meet with you later tonight."

"Did I say that?" Hawke turned to her companions thinking she had forgotten. None of them recalled her setting up a meeting with the Templar Investigator.

"You don't remember sending this letter?" The Templar retrieved a piece of parchment from one of her pouches.

The letter was definitely not her handwriting, but her name was signed at the bottom. "I didn't send this."

"Well, I don't know. Emeric has been acting very strange lately. He is a templar, not a city guard. If there are murders going on in Kirkwall, he doesn't need to be a part of it. " With that she saluted the Knight-Captain, who returned one in kind, and walked away.

Hawke looked at the sun as she gauged what time it was. It would soon be preparing it's descent towards nightfall. "It would be tacky if I was late for my own rendezvous. Let's go see what I have to say."


The group walked into an ambush of demons. Emeric was motionless in the middle of their "meeting" alley, and Hawke wasn't sure if he was unconscious or dead. She tried to get to him to see what his condition was, but couldn't break away from the onslaught. A desire demon manifested behind her and she reached into her magic pool for a spell. She fumbled around, trying to grasp at an incantation, but she still hadn't recovered completely from her bust of power at the rally.

She pelted the Desire demon with basic attacks and slowly backed closer to Fenris, who was slicing and dicing at two Shades.

Cullen watched Hawke's slow retreat, but he and Anders were working on a Rage Demon. He couldn't catch a break to go and help her.

The Healer glanced over at Hawke and quickly cast Frost on the Desire Demon, slowing her to a crawl. Hawke was able to put enough distance between herself and her pursuer, allowing her to turn away and help Fenris take the Shades down. By then, the Templar and mage team had finished the Rage and the four of them combined forces to destroy the Desire Demon.

Hawke caught her breath before she raced over to the fallen Templar, "Anders?"

The healer shook his head, "he's gone."


The companions headed back to Hawke's estate. "Do you think it was Du Pois?" Cullen asked trying not to let the anger color his voice.

"I don't know what to think," Hawke murmured. She hoped it wasn't Du Pois, but they had no other leads.

Hawke opened the door to her house, "Enchantment?" Sandal cried excitedly.

"No, Leandra. Lee-ann-dra." Her Uncle Gamlen raged.

Hawke sighed, was a quiet evening too much to ask for? "Yelling at him isn't going to help, you know," Hawke said as she entered the foyer.

"Thank the Maker, you're back!" Gamlen said. "Is your mother ill?"

"She seemed fine this morning," Hawke glanced back at Cullen and Anders to see if they had noticed anything out of sorts before they left.

"I don't even remember seeing your mother this morning," the Knight-Captain admitted guiltily. Come to think of it, neither had Hawke, some daughter she was.

"Well. today was our monthly meeting day and Leandra never showed up at my house. Is she home?"

"No, Serrah," Bodhan said stepping from the den, "She hasn't been home all day. I wouldn't be too worried though, she is probably just out with her suitor."

"Suitor?" Gamlen and Hawke exclaimed in unison.

The man servant wrung his hands nervously, "well, these white lilies came for her not long after you left and. . ." Bodhan continued talking, but Hawke couldn't hear over the blood pounding in her ears.

"Didn't Gascard say..." Cullen broke off his whisper when he saw Hawke nod shakily.

"Who?" Gamlen asked.

"We need to find her. She could be in danger," Hawke's voice quivered.

"No, no one would hurt Leandra!" Her uncle panicked. "I-I'll keep looking in Lowtown. She may have just taken a different path to my house and got lost," he reassured himself.

Hawke didn't think that was the case, but the alternative was too much for her to grasp. They followed Gamlen out of the estate.