Answers to Guest are again at the bottom.

Knight Commander Meredith glanced up from her work as Knight Captain Cullen opened the door without knocking. He bowed and said, "I apologize for the interruption Commander, we have captured a pair of thieves near your quarters. I assumed you would want to question them yourself."

Meredith stood and answered, "Quite right, do we know what they were after."

Cullen shook his head, "No. Orsino discovered them and alerted my own men. We had them searched but found nothing."

The Knight Commander began striding deeper into the Gallows, Cullen almost running to catch up. Finally she said, "I will make a thorough search of my quarters regardless. I will question them when finished. Give them to Ser Alrik in the meantime, and tell him to keep himself under control this time."

Cullen nodded and began down a separate hallway to the cells. Meredith sped up and finally arrived in her own sparse quarters. She quickly checked the holy relics, and found them all in place, then the safe she kept the years of unspent pay, and finally the few fineries she was allowed in her position. Nothing seemed to be missing. Then in horror she realized what was missing, the illegal relic she'd bought off of that idiot dwarf. Cursing Meredith ran back to the safe and threw the money aside, and at the bottom she found nothing. The relic, whatever it had been, was gone.

Without bothering to pick up what had been thrown aside Meredith almost ran to the where the prisoners would be kept. Orsino was there, arguing with Alrik over how the prisoners should be treated, with Cullen trying to act as Moderator. When the trio saw her approach Cullen and Alrik snapped to attention, and Orsino stood slightly straighter.

"Captain Cullen, are you sure there was nothing on these men when they were caught?" Meredith demanded, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

Cullen nodded quickly, "Yes Commander. I searched them myself. They had a pair of poisoned daggers I confiscated, but nothing else. You can inspect the weapons."

Breathing slowly Meredith calmed down slightly before finally saying, "I will in time. For now, the three of you wait down the hall and make sure no one approaches. I need to question the prisoners in private."

Cullen and Alrik saluted and exited the prison, Orsino following close behind. Meredith watched them go, then as soon as she was sure they were out of earshot she shut and locked the entrance, then turned on the two men. The first was tall, and relatively young, perhaps mid-twenties. The other was older, in his late thirties. Both looked like they had been trained well, and seemed to be in shock that they had been captured.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Neither one answered. Meredith sized the two up and finally asked, "Who are you working for?" Again no answer. With a growl the Knight Commander drew her sword and said, "I will ask again, and understand, your answer will decide how you die. I'm sure your employers will kill you for talking, but you will die either way." The one who talks gets a noble's death, a quick strike of the sword. The other will be left in the Oubliette to starve. Understand."

She glanced up and knew she was getting to the first, though the second retained the same stony expression. Pressing on Meredith asked, "Do you know how long it takes a man to die of hunger? Three weeks if you are lucky. Five if not. .Both of you look very strong, I wouldn't be surprised if I left you to hang for six weeks, with the sun constantly on you and the birds descending to eat you alive. And at the end I won't even give a proper funeral, you will be left for the birds to finish, not burned as a member of the Faithful. Just attempting to steal from me means the Chantry sets you aside…"

She was interrupted as the first man said quickly, "The Coterie sent us."

His companion snarled and tried force the talker to be silent. Meredith struck out with her sword, stabbing him in the gut. She sighed and said, "I know I promised starvation, but you will have to be content with a slow, painful, and lingering death from your wound instead." She fixed her eyes back on the man who was willing to talk and said, "Why?"

He looked terrified as he said quickly, "I don't know. We were sent to steal something, a red scepter."

Meredith nodded, and demanded, "Then where is it?"

With a stutter he insisted, "I don't know. We were caught before we made it to your quarters, I swear to Andraste."

Meredith sighed, but somehow she knew he wasn't lying. She opened the door and called Alrik back into the room. When the Templar entered Meredith pointed to the still uninjured thief and said, "See what else he knows. Throw the other one into the harbor."

Alrik nodded and Meredith knew he would do as ordered. Without another glance at the thieves she stormed out, Cullen and Orsino getting out of her way as quickly as possible. As she left Meredith went back to her quarters to search again. That relic had been her chance to leave the Free Marches behind, perhaps take a higher position in the Templar hierarchy. It had to be found, and the nature of the lyrium unlocked.

Before Meredith had time to start searching again there was a knock and Ser Thrask announced, "Commander, there's a situation in the city."

Meredith sighed, but set the search aside. "Very well."


Chapter 10

Hawke stared at the growing cloud one of Lowtown's districts. The yellow-green cloud had already covered most of the surrounding block and was still spreading. He fought down the urge to go and help immediately, Aveline would have already worked out what needed to be done.

Varric was the first out to meet him, and as he saw Hawke the dwarf looked up at the cloud and said, "Any idea what it is?"

Hawke shook his head, "No. Aveline said something about poison, but this…"

Varric sighed and answered sadly, "Its spreading. There's no room in Lowtown for people to escape."

"Hawke," a man behind them called, and when Hawke turned to look he saw Guardsman Donnic leading a twenty guards to the Hanged Man. Hawke nodded in greeting and asked, "Do you know what that is?"

Donnic looked pained as he answered, "We don't know. The Guardsmen we sent in all died, and there were bodies in the street. Some elf screamed at us from a rooftop about liberation and saving her people's culture."

Before Hawke could comment Aveline appeared from the same direction Donnic had come from with another thirty Guardsmen. She smiled tightly at the group and announced, "Okay people, we don't know what this is, but if we don't stop this gas from spreading Lowtown's going to die, who's with me?"

There was a short cheer from the Guardsmen, but it was halfhearted as they wondered if anyone actually could survive the cloud. Aveline turned and began marching toward it.

As the small force came closer to the edge of the cloud the air started to change, getting heavier and the smell changed. From the normal foul smell of Kirkwall it had become stronger, and the new smell was covering up the normal. As they drew closer someone shouted from behind, "What are you idiots doing?"

Hawke glanced back to see Clark, Bethany, and half a dozen soldiers in Fereldan outfits running to catch up, each had a rag wrapped over their mouth, and Hawke sincerely hoped the slight smell he caught was wrong. Aveline scowled and answered, "Our job. Someone has to clean this up."

Clark stopped, and after a moment motioned toward the cloud and demanded, "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"Yes, it's a threat to the city," Aveline snapped.

"That is chlorine gas," Clark answered, talking slowly. "If you go in there you will die, there is no way around it, it will quite literally get into your lungs and burn them until there isn't anything left for air." He continued explaining the exact effects on the human body until Hawke felt he was actually going to be sick. Several of the guards around him weren't so lucky and eventually did vomit as Clark explained the buildup of fluid leading to drowning, and then the burned eyes.

Finally Aveline asked, "Then what do you suggest?"

Clark sighed, "Normally I'd say let the gas dissipate, but unfortunately it's heavier than air and there are entrances to Darktown near the cloud, if it seeps inside you'll lose the entire district." He turned to Bethany and asked, "How good are you with wind?"

Bethany gulped and said, "I've never tried." Clark sighed and started to think when she said, "You said its poisoned air right? What if I put a shield up around us?"

Clark thought, then nodded, "Worth a try. Can you?"

"I think so," Bethany answered. She flicked one hand out and a small blue field engulfed her, Hawke, Varric, and a small group of Guardsmen and Fereldan soldiers.

Clark was quiet for a second, then asked, "Did it work?"

Hawke frowned at him and asked, "Can't you see the field?"

Clark shrugged, "Sure why not. Now, we need to find the sources of the gas and seal it, understand?"

Aveline nodded, "Listen to the expert people. Let's go."

The green cloud got thicker as the group descended deeper into Lowtown. Dozens of corpses lined the street, people who hadn't been able to escape the gas fast enough Hawke guessed. He stopped for a moment as he recognized one of the bodies, his uncle had been one of the victims. Bethany stopped next to him and glanced down at the body before saying, "Come on brother. You can come back later if you want to give him a funeral."

Hawke stared at his sister for a moment, then finally said, "I'll make sure mother doesn't see him like this. She always thought the best regardless of, well everything."

His sister shrugged, "Good riddance as far as I'm concerned, let's go."

She started forward again and Hawke reflected on how much Bethany had changed in Kirkwall, and he couldn't help feeling it wasn't entirely for the better. He gave his uncle one last look, then ran to catch up to the others who were almost out of sight in the cloud of gas.

The cloud was emanating from a warehouse, and inside it was nearly impossible to see anything. Even Bethany's shield was hard pressed to keep the poison out as Hawke entered the warehouse, and he started to have trouble breathing as there was just less air to breathe inside. Aveline motioned and ordered, "Donnic, lead a group to the upper levels, see if you can find the elf."

Guardsman Donnic nodded, and motioned for four guards to follow him. As they started up the stairs Aveline turned to the rest of the group and said, "See if you can find the source and seal it."

Hawke nodded and started down with Varric while Clark and Bethany started into the closer rooms. From above Hawke heard Donnic shout, but his voice was muffled. He looked at Varric who nodded, and the pair immediately ran up the stairs until they saw a group of guardsmen standing over the body of an elf woman, and half a dozen armored bodies.

Hawke sighed and said, "I guess there's the perpetrator. There was a crash from below and Hawke sighed and started running back down. He heard Varric curse, but the dwarf followed him down. They arrived in a room with Bethany standing over an open pit. The mage had one hand extended over it and was steadily extending the floor to cover it.

Slowly the pit narrowed, until finally it was closed, and the gas's source was covered. Hawke asked, "Is it over?"

Clark knelt down and carefully examined the top, before finally saying, "No. The wood is too porous. We need metal, but I'm not sure what kind."

He stood, and was just in time to catch Bethany as she swayed. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head before saying, "It's too much. Ask me to throw a fireball and I'm fine, but creation is a bit much." She coughed then said, "We need to get out of here. I can't keep the shields up much longer."

Hawke nodded and shouted, "Aveline, we need to get out, now. Bethany, can you walk?"

His sister nodded, "Yes, I just need a little rest." The shields flickered for a moment, and Hawke said, "Then let's move now." The group started to the door when the gas began to lift.

Clark looked up and said, "That's not a good sign."

"Why not?" Varric asked, "I'd think the less chance of choking on our own lungs would be a good thing."

"Oh that's a major upside," Clark answered, "But see, this gas is heavier than air. It only rises by pushing the other air out of the way, more or less, which means something is helping. Which means we are about to have company. Give me a second, I need to work out some jargon to get out of this."

A moment later the gas had dispersed, with only a few patches remaining inside the building. Shortly thereafter the door was bashed open and a series of Templars entered, led by a blonde woman who looked furious. She glanced up to see Hawke's group and ordered, "Arrest them."

A nearby Templar nodded and a group began to move up, until Aveline emerged from a side room and said, "Meredith, thank the Maker you got here." She noticed where Meredith was looking and quickly said, "They're with me. We were trying to staunch the gas before you came."

Meredith scowled at the guard captain and asked, "How did you survive? We had have half a dozen mages clear the streets."

Aveline stammered a few words before Clark called, "I can explain that." Meredith glanced up at him and he continued, "Okay basically, this stuff was a gas made from an element called chlorine, which reacts when exposed to a substance urea, latching onto the covalent bonds between the atoms, and rendering the poisonous parts harmless." Seeing absolutely no one following what he was saying Clark sighed and summarized, "We urinated into cloths and tied them around our nose and mouth. We encountered it looking for the Anvil during the Blight."

Meredith looked unconvinced, but behind her one of the Templars said, "I heard about that story, from Gregoir in Fereldan."

Meredith turned and said, "Are you sure Captain Cullen?"

Cullen nodded, "Yes Commander. And I recognize Clark, he was with King Alistair when they cleared the Tower."

The Knight Commander nodded, and while it was obvious she wasn't convinced she let the matter drop. Instead she ordered, "I will want a full report from the Viscount on this matter Guard Captain, including where the gas came from. Understood?"

Aveline nodded quickly, "Of course Commander. I will inform the Viscount of your request."

The Templars filed out and Bethany whispered, "Was any of that true?"

Clark shrugged and answered, "I have no idea. Those were just words I remember from chemistry, but they sound impressive right?"

She laughed, but nodded.


"And you're sure those responsible are dead?" Viscount Dumar asked as Aveline finished her report.

The Guard Captain nodded, "Yes sir. The elf and her band died in the gas."

"Very well," Dumar answered, falling back into his chair, then he said to Hawke, "Thank you for your aid Serrah. I'm glad there's one noble in this city with a spine." He sighed, then continued, "But I'm afraid our problems aren't over. While the guard was dealing with the gas a Qunari delegation disappeared from the Keep. I can't let word of this get out, the inside the city is barely kept as is. If you wouldn't mind, could you investigate, quietly?"

Hawke nodded, "Of course your grace. I'll put my people on it. We'll get back to you as soon as possible."


"But where did the gas come from," Cassandra asked.

"It was Qunari," said a voice from behind her.

Varric jumped, and glanced around the Seeker to see one of the giants had entered the room. Cassandra turned without showing any surprise and asked, "Are you sure?"

The Qunari nodded, "Of course. It was saar-qamek, a decoy we put in place to keep the recipe for gaatlok."

Varric said, "He's right. I was going to get to that, but yes it had been a decoy. Who's your friend?"

Cassandra turned back to the dwarf and said, "He's a mercenary, the Iron Bull. His group is one of the bands the Chantry hired. Probably the best we have too."

Iron Bull laughed, "Damn right Seeker."

The woman turned back to him and asked, "What did you need?"

"Some of our scouts have gotten word back about a shipment of lyrium going to Selenay," the Qunari explained. "We're planning an ambush, all I need is the word."

Cassandra's face brightened and she said, "Do it, but you know procedure. Run if it's the other kind."

Iron Bull nodded, "I know, learned that lesson the hard way."


And yes, I know the effects of chlorine gas aren't quite what are described in the game, or here actually. The Si was exaggerating for the benefit of people who have no idea what they are facing. the rest is artistic license on Varric's part. Poison gas is a horrible weapon, and to have it exist in late medieval times would be a huge shock to people who faced it, especially if they've never even thought of poisoning the air before.

To guest: Yeah, rather big gap isn't it? By the end of Act II most of his remaining knowledge of the events going on around him is completely obsolete, and much of it led to the wrong conclusions. Bethany will be going back to Fereldan a bit after the end of Act II, along with Leandra. Hawke stays in Kirkwall because it has become his home. Bethany goes back partly because the Templars have finally pieced together the name Hawke and an old apostate who fled two decades before, and partly because she and her brother have a slight disagreement regarding the situation with the Qunari, or at least one person involved in the situation. Finally, so far nothing the Fereldan's have done, apart from killing Bartrand have had any impact on the Hawkes, so she isn't particularly angry.