Dawn was on them by the time they made it to the temple. It rested in a valley, half-buried by time but not hidden, and Dorian muttered when they saw it. "This wouldn't have escaped notice so completely. You can feel the thinness of the Veil from miles away. The Mortalitasi would have found it."

"They did find it. Vestalus knew its location well," said Solas. "But they've yet to penetrate its mysteries."

"This might be an obvious question, but if they haven't, how will we?" asked Darren.

Solas was already swinging off of his horse. "I have knowledge that they don't."

And, it became clear, knowledge that the rest of them didn't as well. When they made it to the entrance, Abelas was waiting with four guardians from the Temple of Mythal. He bowed deeply, and Cullen frowned. He'd only met the man once, when they'd returned after the war to secure the Temple from other incursions, but the elf hadn't struck him as submissive. But Solas had been leading them for some time, he reminded himself. They certainly looked to him for orders.

While the travelers donned their leather armor, the guardians explained that they'd subdued the outside threats, mostly local wildlife, but hadn't entered the temple proper. They had seen several human figures enter but had left them unmolested to avoid giving away their position. They had the stink of magic, according to Abelas, but none strong enough to cause concern.

"Mortalitasi," offered Dorian. "Still working on the temple. They'll be difficult to kill permanently, if they've mastered the art of animating corpses."

"Let's hope they have not," said Solas, but Cullen was already shaking his head.

"We can't kill Nevarran citizens in the middle of a diplomatic mission," he said. "Even if they're in our way."

Solas folded his arms. "Commander, there is no diplomatic mission. There is only this mission. And Ellana placed me in charge," he said. "You do remember how to take orders?"

Cullen drew himself up to his full height and glared down at the elf. Abelas, he noticed, was watching him intensely, and Cullen worked his hand to the hilt of his sword while he spoke. "I'll defer to you in many things, but everything will go more smoothly if you don't pretend you're a military expert," he said. "I'll make the tactical choices. We kill if we must, but we aren't walking in there prepared for a wholesale slaughter. We won't survive it, for one, and for another, they've done nothing wrong." And it will endanger Cassandra even more, he thought.

"They've done a great many things wrong," said Solas. "They are invading a place they have no right to touch, profaning it with human greed, attempting to take things that are not theirs. Under the laws of the ancient elves, their punishment would be death."

Dorian said mildly, "Lucky for them those laws have fallen out of fashion, then."

"The Imperium made sure of that, yes."

"It doesn't matter," said Darren. "Once we're in there, they'll all try to kill us anyway." He turned to Cullen. "You might not want to kill them, but we'll probably have to."

Cullen sighed. "Fine. But at least allow for the possibility we won't."

"Fair," said Darren. "And I, for one, will be taking my military cues from you. No matter who's in charge."

Dorian nodded in agreement while Cole looked solemnly between them all. Solas shifted and gave in. "Very well. Abelas, the Commander will decide our tactics."

"As you say," said the elf.

"Now that that's settled, let's meet our new hosts. Step one," said Dorian, "knock."

Knocking wasn't required, but fighting was, almost immediately. The doors opened into a large hall teeming with enormous spiders, and they were not at all inclined to welcome visitors. The guardians took up archery positions, the mages behind them, while Cullen, Darren and Cole closed for closer combat.

"How did the bloody Mortalitasi get past these without killing them all?" panted Darren as he hacked at another in an endless series of limbs.

An arrow sprouted from the body of the one Cullen had locked into combat, and he scrambled out of the way as it fell heavily. He finished it quickly and spun to a new target. "Stealth?" he offered before swinging again. A dagger in the ghostly hand of a boy struck out beside him as if to emphasize his point.

"Or they can turn into giant spiders themselves!" called Dorian as he settled another shield over them both.

"Fucking wonderful," said Darren. He took another overhead swing and cleaved a rearing enemy in two.

Eventually they ran out of eight-legged monsters to slay, and the three melee fighters cleaned themselves off as best they could. "If we have to fight a bunch of giant, magic spiders I'm blaming you for giving them the idea," said Darren, glaring daggers at Dorian. "You're lucky you're so gorgeous."

"And somehow, even covered in spider parts, so are you."

"Focus," said Cullen, and they both snapped back into readiness. Cullen assessed them all quickly. No major injuries, just a few bruises to Cole where he'd been stepped on, and the mages still looked fresh. He turned to Solas. "Where to now?"

There were dozens of doors in the place, but the elf pointed to a door half-hidden behind a fallen pillar that looked like it hadn't been touched since the dawn of time.

Cullen cocked a skeptical eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes. It will take us where we need to go, and also it has not been used by the Mortalitasi. Two gains in a single step."

It took the combined strength of Cullen, Darren, Dorian and Abelas to pry the heavy stones away and lever the door open, but when they did it opened on a cool, airy, and above all cobweb-free hallway. Dorian sent wisps of light out ahead of them, and they pulled the door shut as best they could.

They traveled in almost total silence, save a rushing of water in the distance that didn't bode well for the integrity of the temple's walls. "You know, if the walls have holes in them, there could be all sorts of things in here," said Darren. "Bears. Dragons."

"A lovely thought. I'm trying to stay positive, here," said Dorian.

"Says the man who planted the idea of shapeshifting death mages in my mind."

Solas glanced at them. "It's likely a design of the temple to allow the river to flow within it. For purification."

Cullen looked back at Abelas, who shrugged. Darren was less accepting. "How do you know so much about this place? I thought you didn't even know where it was."

"I didn't," said Solas. "But in my travels I've dreamed in many ruins of my people. There are similarities in their designs."

"Not to mention the war was practically a tour of the things," said Dorian. "Mythal, Dirthamen, a shrine to Sylaise… if we'd found Arlathan under a bush I would have hardly been surprised."

"But you knew where this hallway went," said Darren insistently. "Or where it's going to go, supposedly."

Dorain waved his hand airily. "One thing you'll learn about Solas is that the things he says he knows are mostly guesses," he said. He looked around as they turned into another empty annex. The group spread out to search it for enemies or items. "I wonder who this one belongs to, anyway."

"Elgar'nan," said Abelas. At their questioning looks, he pointed into a corner that wasn't as empty. It held a marble figure sitting cross-legged, balancing a block in each hand. "His statue."

"He's the Father, isn't he? Justice. The leader of the Pantheon," said Dorian. "If we must walk through these things, at least we find the important ones." He turned back to the guardians with a smile. "He and Mythal were married, according to legend. Does that mean you serve him as well?"

"We serve Mythal alone," said one of the women sharply.

Abelas added, "Elgar'nan was husband no more to our Lady, by the end. He was stripped of her protections."

"What happened?" asked Cullen, interested in spite of himself.

"The Wolf came," said Abelas.

"Silence," said Solas. "I hear something ahead."

They all fell quiet, and Solas motioned to Cole to take point as they moved forward. The spirit wavered and flickered as he moved, and Cullen followed closely behind him as they crept into the growing darkness. They came upon a door and there were noises, faint and skittering, and Cullen relaxed slightly. Not human. More wildlife - potentially deadly, but politically simple. When they opened on a nest of deepstalkers, he was almost relieved.

He was less so at the second nest, and even less when they discovered another group of spiders. "You'd think they would all kill each other and save us the trouble," he said when they'd finally dispatched them.

"And keep us from the glory of battle?" said Darren with a laugh. "I only have one skill, and I intend to keep using it."

"Don't," said Cullen, slashing a look at Dorian practically before his brother had finished the thought. The mage closed his mouth and grinned, his eyes speaking volumes.

The guardians watched them all quietly, and Cullen wondered in the absent way of the battle-weary if they even knew what flirting was.

But they couldn't avoid human combat forever, and eventually they stumbled on a lone Mortalitasi mage, a guard against the now-dead monster nests. Before Cullen could react, Cole pulled his dagger across the man's throat in one quiet motion. He died almost instantly, breath and blood rushing out of him in a wave, and Abelas and another guardian dragged his corpse back into a hidden corner.

"I didn't hurt him," said Cole quietly, a look of fear in his eyes at Cullen's unspoken anger. "Quick quiet kills, cutting life away before the string knows it's been touched."

"It was a good death, Cole," said Solas. "And necessary to avoid detection."

Cullen rounded on him. "What's wrong with you? You hate killing," he said. "Murder was the refuge of a barbaric society, I believe you told me once."

"I loathe unnecessary death," said Solas placidly. "But death is a part of the world. Some creatures must die so others may live."

"They're people, not creatures."

"A difference not so great as you might believe," said the elf. He stopped closer to Cullen and spoke in tones low enough to be only between the two of them. "If it were Cassandra, dying, what would you do? What wouldn't you do?"

Cullen thought back to the times he'd suggested an invasion of Nevarra or considered a full war simply to stop her from dancing with a stranger. He might have ordered thousands of deaths, Neverrans and his own men, with only his pride on the line. He looked away. "I'd do anything. But my friends would keep me from myself and my own lack of understanding."

Solas raised his eyebrows and stepped away. "We're not friends, Commander. And I know exactly what I'm doing."

A few twists and turns later, including a staircase so narrow that they could only travel in a single line, the corridor split into two directions. The party halted and waited for Solas's directions.

"We need to separate," he said. "I'm unsure which path will lead to the correct place."

Cullen sighed unhappily. "Are you sure? I don't like being this close to the Mortalitasi in such small numbers."

"Small numbers might keep us undetected," Darren pointed out.

"Which is all well and good until we aren't," said Dorian.

Solas didn't blink. "We have little time to waste. We must search each passage quickly," he said. "I suggest we separate equally to explore each direction, then meet back in fifteen minutes to compare. With a description of each path I'll be more certain."

"Fine," said Cullen. "I'll take Dorian and Abelas with two of his men, and you take the others."

The group had already started to shuffle into their positions when Solas spoke again. "I think it would be better if the guardians remained together. They are accustomed to working as a unit."

When Cullen looked at Abelas, the man nodded agreement. Cullen returned the gesture. "Okay. But scout only. Do not engage anything or anyone. Understand?"

They all acknowledged the order silently, and to Cullen's surprise Abelas gave him a solemn salute before melting into the blackness behind him.

Ten minutes later Cullen whispered, "Does this look like the right path?"

"I'm still not certain," said Solas. "If I'm right, there will be a large chamber ahead of us."

"The water is definitely getting louder," said Darren. "That's probably a good sign."

Cole faded in from the shadows. "Something is ahead," he said.

"A large chamber?" asked Cullen.

"Yes. And something hungry." He vanished again.

"One can always count on a spirit to lighten the mood," said Dorian sourly. "Why couldn't we have gotten a desire demon? They're much more enjoyable." He ran a finger over his mustache. "Hungry things are usually to be avoided, outside of the Skyhold dining hall. Shall we turn back?"

"No," said Solas. "Just a little farther. I have to be sure."

Dorian grumbled but fell back in line as they stepped around another corner into a cavernous chamber. Pillars so dark as to be almost black propped up a ceiling that seemed as far above them as the sky. A huge statue made of onyx showed Elgar'nan in his usual pose, but the blocks he held were brilliant blue and red. A river ran swiftly underneath the sitting figure, clearly guided by a stone trench, but the rocks around the entrance were collapsed and broken, crumbled into a heap that had only partially dammed the flow. Light trickled in between the cracks, and Cullen wondered where it was from. He was certain they were well underground now, though cave exploration had never been covered in Templar training.

"Look," said Darren, pointing at the ground, and Cullen hissed in a breath. Clear footprints showed in the dust that had settled over the flagstones. They may have come through the back way, but this place was clearly known to the Nevarrans. Solas's eyes were already on the archway where the footprints led, and he was climbing stone steps to reach it before Cullen could stop him.

"Solas," he hissed. "Get back here. Now that we know this is the right way, we have to go back and meet Abelas."

Whatever the elf would have said was lost in a sudden slithering sound behind them. The party whirled around to the river's entrance, where the glow of the light was increasing. The cause became clear when the head of a wyvern appeared. Fire danced in between its scales as it studied them, and then the fire cracked and released when the creature roared its approval of a new meal.

"Fasta vass," said Dorian, whipping his staff in front of him.

"If that means 'shit', I agree," said Darren. The hands that held his broadsword was steady, but his voice shook slightly. "Happen to know any spells for killing fire lizards?"

"Well, if one of you dies, I'll be able to bring your body back to try again."

"Maker, if you had to let me fall in love with a necromancer, why did it have to be one who thinks he's funny?" asked Darren to the vaulted stone above, but he snuck a glance to the mage behind him. Cole had already slipped against the walls, readying himself to flank, and Cullen moved in the opposite direction to try to distract the wyvern from a vulnerable Solas.

Dorian laughed as he readied a spell. "If you said that to make sure I shield you, I would never leave shoulders like yours exposed. Well, not exposed to attack anyway."

The wyvern roared again, and Cullen yelled back at them, "Flirt later. Darren, take left. I'll go right. Dorian, barriers, then spells, but make sure you ration your magic. Keep Darren protected. Solas, freeze the damn thing." And Cole will do whatever he wants, per usual.

As though Cole had heard his thoughts, the spirit floated briefly behind the wyvern and struck at the tail before disappearing again. The lizard wheeled with pained cry, and Cullen and Darren moved. Cullen barely felt the coolness of the shield as it settled around him. He was too busy trying to strike the creature without touching it. Fortunately the fire didn't actually shoot out of it, but touching it was an invitation to burns that might knock him out of the fight.

A patch of frozen scales appeared in front of him, and he wasted no time in plunging his sword between the cracks and twisting viciously. The wyvern spun and snapped at the new enemy, but it was already moving more slowly. Dorian focused his spells on the eyes, dancing lightning over them and making it more difficult for the thing to see the figures stinging it with their blades. Around and around it danced, weakening with each blow, and they danced with it. Darren's blade was the best, long and deadly, but all of them settled into a rhythm that left them mostly unsinged.

Cullen, despite the sweat that was running over him in rivers and the ache in his arms, started to hope that they might fell the thing without any major casualties when the wyvern tired of the dance and swung unexpectedly. Its tail whipped through Dorian's barrier and caught his shield and part of his arm in a vicious swipe. He cried out at the burning line that rose on his flesh even through the leather of his armor. Maker, but the thing was hot. He staggered, and the wyvern sensed an opening. It turned to follow its tail, biting only a handspan away from Cullen's head as he scrambled away. He fell heavily on the flagstones when he dodged, but he continued to crawl backwards.

The great monster pursued, only to run into a new, stronger magical barrier that suddenly snapped into place in front of him. It roared confusion and pain, but Cullen was already turning to Darren in horror. A shield of that strength meant Dorian must have pulled the protections from the other two to fuel it. Cole knew the feeling well enough to dance back, but Darren wasn't used to fighting with the Inquisition and was still pressing, so close to that fiery body and its dangerous, waving tail.

"Shield Darren," he yelled, but Dorian didn't hear as the wyvern continued to come after the injured prey. "Darren, get back!" Solas fired off another ice spell at the head, allowing Cullen to roll away and rise.

Just in time to see the wyvern's tail catch Darren full across the chest and toss him across the room. His body slid into one of the impossibly tall, almost black pillars and was still.

The rest of the fight was colors without thought. The red haze of violence as Cullen attacked furiously, sword flashing and twisting into the beast's belly. The bright orange of fear, wondering if his brother still breathed where he lay. The blue coolness of magic that was enhanced by the thin Veil that covered them. The purple flashes of Dorian's lightning, striking almost as violently as Cullen's blade. The yellow flashes of the scales as the wyvern bled and died under the relentless assault.

When the lights went out of its body and darkness ruled, Cullen felt the pain of his wounds touch him again. He shrugged them off and ran to the body where Dorian and Solas already knelt. Cole shimmered in behind them. "He hurts," said the spirit, voice full of distress.

If he hurt, that meant he was alive. Cullen breathed out in a relieved rush. He leaned against the pillars and looked down at the solemn mages. Solas's pale green magic settled over Darren briefly before he rose. "Commander, let me see your arm," he said.

"Did you heal him?" asked Cullen. "Why isn't he awake?"

Even as he said it, Darren's eyes blinked open. They were tight and lined with pain, but they were aware. "I feel like I just got hit by a giant, angry lizard," he said weakly.

Dorian shushed him gently by giving him water from his flask, but the mage's eyes were furious on Solas. "Heal him fully."

"He is out of danger," said Solas. "He can remain here until we return." He grabbed Cullen's arm and unsnapped the armor deftly.

Cullen stared at him as healing magic flowed through his burn. "Absolutely not," he said. "The Mortalitasi could find him at any minute. And we need another blade. Heal him."

"I can't afford to deplete my magic. It will be needed for what's ahead," said Solas. Cullen looked meaningfully at his arm. Solas's hard expression didn't change. "You must be whole to fight."

"He's right," said Darren, eyes closed again. "I'll be fine."

Dorian's hand stopped its movements through the warrior's dark hair. "Don't be so noble," he said. He rose up and advanced on Solas with his staff raised in a half-threat. He whispered rapidly, "You're not leaving him here like a wounded animal waiting to be killed. He's hurt. He can't defend himself. I revive the dead, not the living. You're the healer. Do your job."

"My job, as you put it, is to retrieve what we came here to find. Making Darren whole enough to be of use will require too much of my power," said Solas. "He will live until we return, and if we don't return, then he may still have a chance to survive. That's all I can promise."

Dorian's staff flickered sparks to match the ones in his eyes. "Not good enough," he said. "Cullen, tell him."

Both mages studied him as he warred within himself. But the choice was already made before the first argument began. Ellana's pale eyes versus his brother's pale face. "The mission comes first," he said and closed his eyes against Dorian's accusing glare. "You swear he's stable, Solas?"

"I'm great," said Darren vaguely before the elf could answer. "Go."

Dorian knelt down again. "I'm staying with him," said the Tevinter man. "I know some healing magic. And any man, or monster, is welcome to test my ability to cause them harm."

Cullen sighed and looked at Solas, asking silent permission to tell him the stakes they were playing for. To his surprise, the elf only shrugged. "Very well. Three of us will be enough for this." He backed away and headed again for the stairs and the arch at the top. Cole followed, face still pained but less acutely.

"What about Abelas?" asked Cullen. "I could go find his group and bring them back. They could help."

Solas didn't look back. "They've encountered several Mortalitasi. They'll be of more use to Dorian and your brother by continuing to distract them," he said.

"How do you know that?"

"It stands to reason," said Solas as he reached the arch again. He waved his hands and muttered, then clutched at the wolf's tooth he wore around his neck. "If we came the right way, they did not."

"But that doesn't mean they've been discovered. You said that like you knew. For certain," said Cullen. He looked at Dorian and saw the same confusion reflected on the mage's face.

Solas didn't answer, but the air underneath the arch began to glow. "Come, Commander," he said. Cole was already waiting with the deep stillness he'd perfected in the halls of Skyhold. It was the stillness of a being who only moved when required, and moved so quickly that he seemed to have always been in the new place he'd found.

Cullen turned back to the two men against the pillar. "I'm sorry," he said helplessly.

"It's okay," said Darren through labored breaths. "You're the hero. Go be it. But remember what I said."

I'm no hero, thought Cullen, but he didn't want to argue. Instead he leaned down and gripped his brother's hand in his own and felt the returning squeeze. "I will. Stay alive. That's an order."

"Yes sir. I'll try my best, sir."

Dorian rolled his eyes, but his expression was tender. "Maker, if I had to fall in love with a soldier, did he have to be so damn self-sacrificing?" His hand slipped down to clasp Darren's free one in his own.

Darren smiled slightly. "Yes, Cullen always has thrown himself into the front lines, from what I've heard. You'll get used to it."

"None of those jokes," said Dorian sharply. "Not now. A soldier should make it policy never to annoy his healer, amatus."

"Did I ever tell you I speak Tevene fluently?" asked Darren. He rattled off a string of words that Cullen didn't understand but made Dorian's cheeks flush in an entirely uncharacteristic way. Cullen released his brother and rose to leave them to their gentle squabble. As he climbed the steps, he heard Darren's weak laugh. "So, amatus am I? I bet you say that to all the boys laying on temple floors."

The rest of it was lost as Cullen stepped through the arch's glow and the world faded away.