Chapter 21: Templars and Mages

"So, that was how the Champion first got involved with Viscount Dumar?"

The Seeker sounded more than a little smug, she was obviously reading too much into that first encounter between Moira and Viscount Dumar. When it had come to Hawke, Dumar had not been interested in the least. She had been a simple hireling; the seeker's comment suggested that it was the start of some grand conspiracy.

Varric rolled his eyes.

He had been there when they had returned Saemus to the keep. The Viscount barely said three words to Hawke. He had offered her a brief thanks, then son had accused father of putting him in danger, and of not understanding who and what the Qunari were.

Moira for her part had stayed out of it. She had performed a service, and had only been interested in being paid for it. Sometimes Varric wondered if things would not have been better for them had they not gone to the Wounded Coast that day. Would Saemus of survived his encounter with the Winters? Would what happened later come to pass if he had not been saved by Hawke?

The dwarf sighed.

He really did not know. At the time, all they had been worried about was getting the coin they needed.

In that at least, the job had been worth the trouble.

"Yeah," Varric said answering Cassandra, "Her first meeting, and not her last."

The Seeker pinned him with her cold gaze.

"I suppose that the Champion honored the Viscount's wishes, that she did not tell others about what had occurred?"

Varric chuckled.

"You may be surprised to hear this Seeker, but yes, Hawke did keep her word."

He shook his head.

"Others were not so discreet. A few Winters survived their scuffle with Hawke. They no doubt went back and told whoever told them about Saemus' situation, and what had happened when they had tried to collect. Whether those people were allies or enemies of the Viscount did not matter. They started asking questions about who decimated the Winters mercenary company. Coin was likely spread around and finally someone in the Viscount's office talked."

Varric leaned back and met Cassandra's cold gaze with one of his own.

"Hawke honored the Viscount's request. Officially, no one knew about the incident with the Winters. Unofficially, everyone knew."

The Seeker's eyes narrowed.

"What?" Varric said, "I'm sure you have spent enough time in noble circles to know how their world works. Secrets are not easy to keep when it comes to a city's ruling house.

Cassandra snorted. She did not seem very eager to concede the point to Varric, but she was smart enough to recognize that he was not lying.

Finally, she nodded in acceptance.

"What happened then?" she asked.

Varric shrugged.

"What do you think happened, Seeker," he answered, "People in Kirkwall were now getting curious about Hawke. Some of them even had jobs that needed doing. The fact that she had served the Viscount was not lost on anyone. Soon the agents of the wealthy, powerful, and the needy were descending on Lowtown to gain the aid of the Ferelden refugee that had saved the Viscount's son. Not surprising of course, the tale of what had happened began to circulate, becoming more outlandish with each telling."

Cassandra glared at him.

"Are you going to tell me that that was not you're doing?"

"Not at first," he said, "My pride did eventually get the better of me, and I started passing on a few tales of my own. That was likely the start of the creation of my 'Tales of the Champion'."

The dwarf pursed his lips.

"We don't get to choose what stories others take with them Seeker, the ones we get famous for don't start out that way."

Cassandra snorted.

"Famous or infamous?" she inquired.

Varric grimaced.

"Either or," he replied.

The Seeker sighed and shook her head.

"So Hawke was not trying to garner the nobles' attention?"

""No," Varric replied.

"But she was not above using it?"

"Of course not."

"And what about the Templars? Did she not think that they would investigate reports of a rogue mage in Lowtown?"

The dwarf sighed.

"We did not know it yet, but Kirkwall's iron lady had more things to worry about right then than just random mage rumors. This-ironically enough led to Hawke working for the Templars, or rather…working on behalf of them."

Cassandra's brow furrowed.

"I find that a little hard to believe dwarf."

"Believe what you want," he said with a shrug, "But trust me, it happened."

The Seeker glowered at him.

"Tell me what happened." She ordered.

"If you insist Seeker," Varric said offering her a smart salute.

"Whatever you say."

IOI

Moira leaned back in her chair. She watched as Ghislain deCarrac made his way out of the Hanged Man. Personally, she found the man and his opinions repulsive; on the other hand he had offered her five sovereigns to help find out what had happened to his wayward wife Ninette.

Coin had a way of…inspiring her best work.

Rescuing Saemus Dumar had proved to be a boon for their work. She was not sure how any of these people had learned her name, but it was clear that they wanted her help, and were willing to pay handsomely for it.

The mage smiled slightly.

How could she afford to turn any of them down?

She had already spoken with Hubert, one of the merchants from Hightown, the man had interests in the Bone Pit mines outside the city, and needed someone to go there and deal with a production problem. Being that both she and all of his workers were Fereldan, Hubert thought that Hawke might be able to get to bottom of what had happened.

It seemed promising, Hawke thought, leave the city, get some fresh air, and earn some coin while they were at it.

Hawke sighed and stretched her hands over her head. Though it was dark in the Hanged Man the heat of the day continued to beat against the sand stone structure, between that and all the people wandering around in here, she found herself feeling a little sleepy.

Gamlen would likely be out doing…whatever it was he did during the day. Mother would likely be home but would not begrudge her eldest taking a little rest, especially when the night would likely bring more patrols with Aveline, hunting down the scum that threatened the city in the dark proved to be very profitable.

Moira yawned.

She thought of going home and taking a nap, but quickly dismissed the idea as Merrill and Bethany made their way through the crowd. They were accompanied by a matronly looking elf with rust-colored hair.

"This is Arianni, sister," the younger Hawke informed her.

Moira nodded in greetings.

"Arianni's son is missing Hawke," Merrill said giving the woman a compassionate look.

"She needs our help."

Moira leaned back while the Dalish woman told her tale. Arianni had been born to the Dalish but left them after finding herself with child since dabbling with an Antivan born human merchant. Her son, a boy she named Feynriel had since gone missing. Feynriel, cursed with the gift of magic had fled Kirkwall when he learned that his mother had contacted the Circle about him.

"I dinnae wish them to take my boy," the woman almost sobbed, "But…his magic, it is doing something to him. He has dreams you see, dreams of demons whispering to him, urging him to enter their world."

Arianne wiped idly at her eyes.

"I fear that without proper training, my boy will kill himself."

Moira nodded. She and Bethany both knew a little about demons. They were not constantly haunted while they slept, but more than few times demons had come to them, offering them their hearts desire if only they would let the demon in.

Father had warned them about that, and had done everything in his power to make sure that his daughters could stand up to such creatures.

So far, Moira and Bethany had managed just that.

Still…she was not sure about taking this job. Arianni had already contacted the Templars, she had admitted that. Which meant that she and her fellows would not be the only ones out on the hunt for this Feynriel, the Templars would be hungry to bring the boy into the circle, but that did not mean that they would not take the Hawke sisters if they were discovered during the course of the hunt.

No, Moira thought, I can't take the risk.

This time, she was going to have to say no.

Arianni dropped to her knees. Her elven earls lowered so their tips almost touched her shoulders, so great was her fear and worry about her son.

"Please messere," she said clasping her hands before her, "Find Feynriel for me, he is all I have left, all my family."

The woman whimpered.

"I just need to know that he is okay."

Bethany who had moved to her sister's side whispered in the elder Hawke's ear.

"We need to do something Moira," she advised, "Just look at this poor woman, this could just as easily been mother."

The elder Hawke winced at that.

The thought of their mother begging for aid was enough to even get her to ignore her fear. For a brief moment she felt a wave of shame wash over her. The fact that she had been willing to let this poor woman suffer was beyond cruel.

She reached out and put a gentle hand on the elder Dalish's shoulder.

She smiled down into the woman's tearful eyes.

"We will find your boy," she said.

"I promise."

It was enough to get the woman off her knees. She gave Hawke two names, the first being Vincento, the boy's father, and a merchant in the Lowtown Bazaar had only recently returned to the city. Feynriel had expressed a desire to meet him. The only other lead the woman could offer was the name of a Templar, a man she knew as Thrask. Thrask had been assigned to bring Feynriel back to the Circle, if anyone knew anything about the boy's where about, he might.

Moira promised that she would look into it. She had no intention of visiting the Gallows and speaking with the Templar. Perhaps Aveline could contact him, arrange a place that was safe for a meet. Which of course meant that she needed to find the boy's father, with any luck this Vincento would know something about his son's whereabouts, if they were lucky, he might even have taken the boy in himself, though Moira was not going to hold her breath on that.

She frowned slightly.

Maybe it was the fact that she had grown up with a father that had loved her, but the mere thought of some bastard abandoning his child before he was even born made even her see red.

Hawke took a deep breath.

She would have to keep he temper in check when she and the man met.

Hoping that they were done for the day, she started to rise again only to be stopped by young woman, the girl, likely no older than Bethany was clearly out of place here in the Hanged Man. She looked around nervously as she made her way through the crowd. Hawke had never seen her before; given the state of the girl's clothes she was likely the daughter of some retired soldier from Hightown, or perhaps a minor successful merchant. She was pretty in her own way, with short platinum blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, eyes that were clearly red from crying.

"Are…are you Serah Hawke?" the girl asked.

Moira nodded.

"Please," the girl sobbed, "You…you must help me…my brother."

Hawke's brow furrowed.

"What about your brother?" she inquired.

The girl almost whimpered.

"My…my name is Macha, Serah," she said offering a slight curtsey. "My brother Keran…he…he has vanished, and no else will help me. I…I asked the Templars but they practically threw me out of the Gallows. No one will tell me anything!"

"The mage frowned slightly.

"What does this have to do with the Templars," she asked.

Macha took a shuttering breath, slowly trying to gather her wits.

She sighed.

"Keran," she murmured, "He…he was always so devout. He…he wanted to do something good with his life, make a difference here in Kirkwall."

The girl shook his head.

"Now…my brother is gone."

Hawke felt a chill down her spine.

She swallowed hard; suddenly her mouth had gone as dry as a desert.

"Your…your brother," she managed to say, just barely avoiding squeaking, "He…he is a Templar?"

Macha whimpered and nodded.

"He is a recruit, he has been training for almost five years now," she clarified, "I begged him not to join the order, pleaded with him. You hear so many things these days, so many dark rumors about the Templars, and Knight-Commander Meredith. She has many admirers, those that hold her in high esteem for keeping the mages in check, but it is also said that she is terribly fierce. That she sees demons everywhere, and is utterly without pity, that she…she…"

The girl hugged herself, suppressing a shiver. She once again glanced nervously around the room.

"It is not wise to say such things, not out loud. People that help rogue mages are said to disappear without a trace, anyone that asks questions or raises any doubts against the order…"

Moira's eyes narrowed.

She was used to being afraid of the Templars, she and Bethany both. It felt strange, seeing someone with no magic so afraid that the Templars might be speaking out against them.

Did the chantry not control the Templars? Was the order not simply servants of the chantry's will?

Bethany put her hand on her sister's shoulder; Moira could see the fear in her younger sister's eyes. Merrill looked upon the girl Macha with compassion, the Dalish still did not understand how dangerous the order could be to anyone with magical talent.

Bethany said nothing, but her honey brown eyes spoke volumes.

She was willing to risk helping Arianni because there was a path to find her son that did not move them too close to the Templars' gaze. If they took up the search for Macha's brother, they would be hard pressed to avoid Templar scrutiny.

Not enough time had passed since their fight in the chantry. The Templars would no doubt still be hunting for Ser Bardel's killers.

Moira worried her lip with her teeth.

She was no revolutionary, she had no desire to be, but if the Templars had grown so powerful in this city that they could even threaten those without magic, wasn't that a problem the nobles needed to face?

If she spoke up, it was unlikely that anyone would believe her. What mage wouldn't lie about the Templars? If someone respected in this city spoke up, say the City's guard captain?"

Moira frowned.

She knew she was technically abusing her friendship with Aveline, but wasn't it for a good cause? Aveline had been married to a Templars after all. Hawke had not known Ser Wesley very long, but he had seemed like a reasonable soul.

Hawke did not believe that her friend would tolerate corruption in the Templar ranks, if they had stepped outside their mandate, did they not need to be put back in check?

Macha was not the only one who had heard rumors about the Templars and their Knight-Commander. True most of those rumors had come from Anders, but Aveline had confirmed at least a few of them. No mage had been allowed to attend the Viscount's court in months. No circle mage had been allowed to address not a single grievance to the city leaders.

That was not fair, it was not right.

Plus, she hated to admit it, but she could sympathize with Macha.

She and Bethany had lost a brother too.

She would not wish that fate on anyone.

Anyone.

She gave Bethany a determined look.

Her sister shook her head no, but Moira would not be discouraged.

She turned back to Macha.

"Can you think of anyone who might know anything about what happened to your brother?" Hawke asked.

Macha seemed to relax slightly.

"You should seek out Wilmod and Hugh; they were Keran's best friends in the order. If anyone may know what is going on, it is them."

Macha rose and curtseyed.

"Maker bless you, messere," she said, "May Andraste guide you in this endeavor."

The girl turned to leave.

Moira sighed and turned to her sister.

Bethany did not look pleased.

"What have you gotten us into sister?" she demanded.

Moira tried to come up with some quip to lighten the mood, alas, she could not think of one.

She sighed again.

"We should go talk to Aveline," she suggested.

Hawke's frown deepened.

"I'm not going into the Gallows without at least some protection.

Bethany gave her a nervous look, the color draining from her cheeks.

The Gallows.

Moira did not blame her, her sister was afraid, she knew.

Moira was scared too, but what choice did they have.

It seemed that fate was pushing them back towards the Gallows.

They needed to be ready…

…They needed to be brave.