As the group reentered the city, Isabela turned to speak to Cat, but only smirked at the obvious discomfort she was feeling, still being held in Fenris' arms. Cat leveled a glare at her, knowing what was going on in her mind, and their earlier conversation coming back to her. Cat could try to explain about chemistry or the lack of sparks, but knew that Isabela would counter that she was in denial or some such thing.

As Cat thought about it, she couldn't think of how she would describe the state she was in. Mostly, as much as she was beginning to feel like she belonged here, she knew she didn't. There was still a chance for her to go back home, even if there was hardly any reasons to do so. She did miss her family, but in all honesty, they were all she had. She was undoubtedly let go from her job, and her friends, and most likely her family had all moved on and probably didn't think about her much.

She had been truthful with Isabela, she had old fashioned views when it came to relationships. She was romantic enough to still believe that once she gave herself to someone else, she gave it all. And that was most likely the biggest problem. How could she give all of herself to someone here in Thedas? She hadn't been able to in her marriage, what made her think she could succeed now?

And that, she thought, is precisely why I can't have a relationship. I swore I would never have another like I did with Steven… pretending to be happy while a hidden part of me died.

"Kitty?"

Cat shook herself, realizing that she had been glaring at Isabela the entire time. "Sorry Issy, got lost in my thoughts. What's up?"

Isabela glanced upwards, an attempt to make Cat smile in remembrance of all the times the crew had done exactly that whenever she had posed the question. She was rewarded with a giggle, and the smile that remained.

"I'm wondering if you want us to go to the foundry without you, or wait until you are healed."

"But Anders can heal me, so I'll be fine right after, and then we can go to the foundry."

"Not likely." Hawke said. "Healing takes care of the wound, but the body still needs time to recuperate. You will most likely need several days of rest for that serious of a wound."

"Oh…" Cat paused in thought. "I'd rather have it done, then worrying about what will happen if we wait, but-" she emphasized, "you need more than just you four."

"I can get Carver and Aveline to join us," Hawke offered.

"Fenris?" Cat asked, looking up at him.

"I can return after taking you to the healer."

Cat relaxed visibly, "If you take everyone, then yes, I would appreciate it. And remember our deal Issy."

"Of course Kitty, have I ever let you down?"

Cat grinned back, as Isabela came forward and whispered, "Be sure to enjoy your time alone with Anders."

Cat scowled, and batted at Isabela's shoulder to get her away. "Not funny," she muttered.

"Fenris, we'll meet you at the hanged man, say in an hour?" Hawke said, and they split off, Isabela and Varric heading toward Lowtown, Hawke and Hafter towards Hightown to get Aveline, and Fenris with Cat in tow started walking towards Darktown.

"Thanks again for this, Fenris. I know you don't like Anders, so I really appreciate it."

Fenris grunted, which Cat took to mean, "no problem". She was trying to come up with something else to talk about, when Fenris spoke instead.

"Do you remember the conversation we had when we first met?"

Cat, surprised, just nodded.

"While I do not believe you mean me or the others any harm, and you have been somewhat open about who you are…" his mild expression became a scowl, "but there are too many inconsistencies for me to believe what you say."

"Wait, what?" Cat asked, confused. "What does that mean, you think I'm a liar?"

"Much in the same way as the pirate, however while she does it for fun, or to keep people at a distance, you on the other hand, want to believe what you are saying and hope that others will do the same."

Cat just blinked, her mouth agape as she tried to understand what exactly she was being accused of. "I am not a liar. I may omit details about my life, but I do not make things up to fill their place." she started struggling against him, angry that he was still holding her gently as he demeaned her. "Let go of me."

"Then if I ask you a question, will you answer it honestly?" He asked, ignoring her demand to be released from his hold.

"Why should I? You'll just assume I am lying."

"If you answer honestly, then I will believe you."

Cat fumed, as she had to stop her movements because of the pain from her injury, and she had been unsuccessful in getting released. She didn't comment, but Fenris took her silence as consent.

"What is your homeland like?"

Cat paused, debating answering him at all, then realizing that she wanted to tell someone something of her home, as she felt that it was slipping so far into memory that sometimes it no longer felt real.

"It was beautiful, lush and green in the summer, white with snow in the winter. My town was smaller, but there was a bigger city nearby, which had thousands of people. Life was…" she paused as she sighed, "simple. We had a farm where I grew up, though mostly crops, not too many animals." She sighed again, wigging a bit to get more comfortable. "My mother got a job in the city, and they sold the farm and we moved. It was much more hectic there, but I liked it also."

Cat stared out ahead as they moved into the under city, she'd need to keep her senses about her so they didn't get attacked.

"And the mages?" he asked hesitantly, which Cat wondered about, but mistook for the hatred and/or fear he felt towards them.

"There are no mages in my homeland,"she replied softly, feeling the jerk as his body tensed. "Because there is no magic."

Fenris didn't respond and Cat looked up at him. The look on his face was very scary, and she worried that he would at any time drop her and pull out his sword to slice her in half. So she did what she always did when nervous… she babbled.

"I mean, that's not the only difference! There, we didn't have to fight everyday. In fact we didn't even carry weapons, I mean, the police did, er, the guards. But that is just to protect others. We grow up, go to school, get married, get jobs… that's the norm back home. And, yeah in comparison, it's kind of boring… but it's nice to not worry about dying every day…" Cat waved her arms around animatedly as she talked, wanting to glace back to see if he still had that look on his face, but also not wanting to see it again if he did.

There was another uncomfortable silence, and Cat opened her mouth to speak again, but Fenris beat her to it. "And where is this land of yours?"

Cat deflated slightly, but was determined to tell the truth, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't kill her. "Not anywhere in Thedas, as far as I can tell. It feels like a completely different world… And, to top it off… sometimes I know things that will happen." Cat winced as she said that, preparing for the worst, the silence between them seeming to last forever.

"All right."

It wasn't often that she was stunned speechless, but Cat couldn't speak, just turned her head to gawk at Fenris. After a moment, she became coherent enough to croak out, "That's it?"

He in turn glanced at her, amused. "You were wanting something else?"

"To be completely honest, I thought you wouldn't believe me, think there was some kind of evil magic at work, and kill me. I have a hard believing it myself sometimes. How can anyone know what will happen in the future anyway? It's crazy!"

"Right." He kept an eye on her peripherally as he continued to walk.

"You are really not what I expected," Cat said, the uncertainty evident in her voice.

"Hmph," he grunted in reply.

"I mean, if I had been held captive by mages for that long, I'd probably not be able to trust anything that sounded like magic, or you know, want to destroy all mages or something."

Cat wanted to face palm when her brain finally caught up to her mouth, and she avoided looking at Fenris in her embarrassment.

"Well…" He drawled. "Not ALL mages," which had Cat glancing up at him. "Hawke is decent, I suppose. So far."

Cat took in his smirk, and realized he was teasing her, and started giggling, just as they approached the clinic door. "Here," she said between giggles as she reached out. "I'll get that."

"No need," he replied, and lifting his leg, kicked the door open with a loud "BANG". A few people that were inside, quickly moved out of the way, afraid.

"Cat?! What happened?" Anders looked from her to Fenris, practically hissing, "What did you do?"

Cat jumped in, wanting to diffuse the situation. "Hi Anders! While Fenris could do as much damage as a dragon, this time, it was an actual dragon- out at the bone pit. Fenris insisted on bringing me here, though Hawke offered to heal me." She spoke, as Fenris placed her sitting on a cot, all while glowering at Anders.

"What?!" Anders stopped his glaring contest with Fenris in order to grab Cat's hand. She had not seen him look like this before, so serious… and angry? "Cat listen to me, until I tell you differently, never let Hawke heal you. Understand? NEVER."

"Um… okay." Cat was shocked as Anders' face immediately brightened, and she almost wondered if she imagined it.

"Okay then, let's see what we've got."

Cat began lifting her shirt, with Anders helping her, to keep it from peeling her skin off as well. She felt movement, and lowered her arms slightly to look out over the fabric around her face. Fenris was now in front of her, and the way Anders was fixing his robes, he had obviously pushed Anders down. Fenris glared are her and growled out, "What are you doing?"

Cat had been in plenty of awkward positions before, but she couldn't think of ever talking to someone who was angry with her, while her shirt was practically over her head. "Um… taking my shirt off?"

Fenris' eyes narrowed. "I can see that. WHY?"

Cat's eyes darted back and forth between the two men, very confused. "Because… that's where the injury is?"

"Surely you can show the injury without completely baring yourself to him." Cat finally understood, and turned red.

"It's not like that-" she muttered.

"Excuse you. I am a healer." Anders spat out. "I look at the injury, not the patient."

"Of course," Fenris replied, his eyebrow raised in mocking. "Then you won't mind if she keeps her clothes on."

Anders sighed, and came forward to Cat, helping her untangle her shirt from her arms. He helped adjust her position so that she was facing sideways, putting her burned side towards him, while Fenris stood nearby with his arms crossed.

"Ugh, why is he even here?" Anders asked under his breath.

"Because he insisted on bringing me here." Cat replied sweetly. "This is waaaay to much drama for a simple burn. I'm starting to think I would have been fine with Hawke healing it.

"No." Anders said quickly and with emphasis. "Remember what I told you." He gave an exasperated sigh. "Just hold your shirt over the injury please, and turn this way slightly so I can see it better."

Once the injury was healed, Cat realized that the others had been right. Not only was Anders exhausted from the effort, but so was she. Fenris watched as Anders helped her lay down, and pulled a blanket over her.

"Get some sleep Cat, you're body needs time to rest." She nodded in reply and Anders slowly made his way to his own room. Fenris came forward, and Cat asked, "Will you tell Issy to come see me tomorrow? So she can tell me about the foundry?"

"Certainly," he said. "Goodbye Cat."

"Bye Fenris" she said as she slipped into sleep.


About twenty minuted later, Fenris entered the Hanged Man, seeing Hawke sitting at a table with his brother, the guard captain, and the dwarf. He headed to the bar, seeing Isabela perched there.

"Cat requested a visit from you tomorrow, so she can hear about the foundry," he told her, causing her to to smirk, which he didn't really understand.

"Oh really? And she didn't request you?" Isabela asked him.

"No, just you," he responded, then turned to walk back to Hawke. He wanted to get this done with, and head back home.

"Is she okay?" Isabela asked, putting her arm through his as they walked.

He looked down at her arm, then back at her face as he replied. "Yes, she is healed and resting."

"Good." Isabela released him as they came up to the table. "Hawke, we're all here, let's get this over with."

"Agreed. I'll be glad to have this done."

"What resistance are we expecting?" Aveline asked as they all stood to leave.

"According to Cat, a powerful necromancer who is responsible for several women that are missing,"

"I hesitate to ask how she knows all this..." Aveline commented. "As well as his hiding place."

"We're going off that evidence from that templar, Emeric." Hawke replied, leading the way through the streets toward the foundry.

"Hmm." Aveline responded, unconvinced. "I suppose it can't hurt to investigate."

"If there is a necromancer, we will destroy him." Carver declared as he marched ahead to the building.

"Not so fast junior," Varric said with a smile. "If there actually is a necromancer, it would be better if we had a plan, not just barging in."

Hawke glanced at Carver, the displeasure evident on his face, and sighed. "Very well Carver, you can go first. But-" he added quickly before Carver ran in, "you have to have a barrier."

Carver's expression soured, but finally he relented. Hawke moved his staff in a simple pattern, and the barrier sprung up around Carver, who immediately raced into the foundry. The others all went as well, but at a much slower, almost nonchalant pace.

"It's so cute how he's trying to be the hero," Isabela commented, which had the others smirking.

"Too bad Cat doesn't seem to want a hero," Varric added.

"Wait, what?" Hawke asked.

"Please Hawke, you must have noticed," Isabela said to him with a roll of her eyes.

"Noticed what, exactly?"

"Men…" Aveline huffed. "He's been mooning over her since we met her, Hawke. Always trying to protect her, or walk next to her."

Isabela lowered her voice so Carver wouldn't hear them, though the way he was pushing through each room of the foundry, she doubted he was even paying attention. "Or coming to the Rose whenever he can…"

"WHAT?"

"Oh, really….?"

Varric and Hawke glanced at each other, not really understanding the others' reaction. "He's a grown man, Hawke, you can hardly blame him for pursuing a beautiful woman."

"It isn't that," Hawke muttered. "I just don't want him making her uncomfortable or anything."

Isabela laughed, "She can handle herself Hawke, no need to fret." Her smile turned sly. "Unless there's another reason you don't want men pursuing her?"Her eyebrows wiggled in suggestion.

"Of course not." Hawke quickly shut her down. "I'm just looking after my team, that's all. I would hate to lose the two of you because my brother made untoward advances. And besides, she's not the type of woman to bring home to mother, is she."

"I wouldn't worry," Isabela replied, ignoring the comment as she turned to head after Carver. There were here for a reason after all. "She doesn't pick up on most of what he's doing, and what she does, she ignores."

The group continued forward, further into the foundry, only to be stopped as Carver came back to them.

"This is the only thing I've found," he said, handing a ring over to Hawke.

"It looks Orlesian," Varric commented.

"Indeed. Perhaps Ninette's ring? Ghislain did say it was Orlesian." He mused a little more, then asked Carver, "Where did you find it?"

Carver gestured with a nod toward an open doorway. "Right there in the doorway," he stopped Hawke as he made to move, "on a severed hand."

The group looked at him curiously. "Really?" Hawke asked. "Just a hand?"

Carver nodded. "Cant' find a trace of anything else."

"Well, let's have our experts take a look," Hawke said, motioning for Isabela and Varric to take the lead.

The others stood back as Varric and Isabela entered the hallway, walking slowly, their eyes looking at every odd colored piece of wall or floor, looking for anything hidden in plain sight.

Isabela took her time, but she knew exactly where she should be looking. Cat had given enough detail, that she knew this hallway was where she would find the trap door to a hidden underground passage. She was suddenly very glad Cat insisted that they bring the others. Isabela was fairly certain now… they would be facing a necromancer.

She made her way to the corner, calling out for Fenris to help move the barrels and sacks that were placed there. She grabbed the top of a sack, and prepared to heave the heavy thing away, and almost fell over as she pulled.

"What's wrong?" Hawke asked, as she righted herself.

"It's not heavy at all," she replied. She grabbed her dagger and split it open, looking in at the tufts of wool that was inside.

"That's strange, why would this be here?" Varric asked as he came over to look inside the sack. "It's fluffed out in order to take up more space in the sack."

"To make it look heavier," Isabela replied. She glanced over at Fenris with a questioning look.

"The same," he answered. "These barrels are empty."

"This doesn't make any sense." Varric complained. "Why store empty barrels and light sacks to look full in this corner? It's not like there is a trap door or anything."

"Wait, there's not?" Isabela looked over where he stood.

"Not that I can see." He answered, looking perplexed. "Were you expecting there to be one?"

She smiled as she did some quick thinking. "Wouldn't you, after seeing this stacked here?"

Varric nodded. "Good point."

Hawke joined them then. "If there isn't anything here, then we need to search the other rooms."

"No," Isabela replied, still searching the walls in the corner. "It's here. This isn't some misdirection, it is just very well hidden. But I will find it."

"You are certain it is here?" Fenris asked her.

"Yes."

"How?"

"I just know," she replied. The others kept talking around her, and Varric eventually gave it up as well. Isabela however refused to leave, knowing she would find a way in. This man thought he would never be found, but she would prove him wrong.