After a long and very restless night, she awoke the next morning to a summons from the viscount. When she went to see him, she learned his son Seamus had gone to the Qunari compound, having decided to convert to the Qun. The viscount desperately pleaded with Hawke to convince him to come back.
Hawke didn't see how the situation could end in anything but disaster, but she agreed to talk to Seamus. Aveline was in the barracks, so Hawke dragged her along to the docks to visit the Qunari compound. Seamus was gone by the time they arrived, supposedly to meet with his father at the Chantry - but why would the viscount have sent Hawke if he'd already planned to meet his son?
By the time they had raced back to Hightown, the boy was dead. They found him propped up in a kneeling position before the statue of Andraste in the Chantry; at Hawke's light touch, the body slumped to the floor. Reverend Mother Petrice tried to push the blame off onto Hawke, but Grand Cleric Elthina saw through the deception. She declared her intention to hand Petrice over to the courts. The woman didn't live to stand trial, though; a Qunarai archer shot her through the head and heart before she could leave the building.
Later that night, Hawke met the others at the Hanged Man and told them what had happened.
"Nobody came out of that looking good," was Varric's reaction. Hawke was inclined to agree.
"Poor idiot Seamus," she mused over her ale. "He always had more sincerity than sense. I'm sure he was trying to force a reaction, but how could he not know they'd try to kill him? What a mess. And it's not over yet." She shook her head. Suddenly, a gurgle of laughter bubbled out of her. "Mother tried so hard to set us up... At least I never said over his dead body."
Varric grimaced.
"Well, it's something I might have said!" Hawke insisted with another slightly hysterical giggle. Varric only shook his head, but Fenris' lips quirked.
Hawke looked down into her mug, and her grin faded into a sigh. "Mother... she used to make me so angry. I never thought I'd miss her nagging."
Anders reached over and gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. Fenris looked the other way, shoulders hunched. Hawke drank her ale for a while in silence.
As she had expected, the situation soon got worse. Much worse.
First, Isabela's missing relic - the one she'd supposedly never seen - turned out to be an ancient Qunari religious tome, which naturally the pirate had known all along. The moment they finally located it, both Isabela and book disappeared. Then, Aveline took Hawke to meet with the Arishok about fugitives from city justice who had taken refuge by converting to the Qun. Unfortunately, the Arishok had no interest in discussing that situation.
"This is all irrelevant. I would speak to Hawke about the relic stolen from my grasp."
"If you give me time, I'll get it back for you," she offered, silently hoping it would be possible.
"It is much too late for that," was the Arishok's ominous answer. "I cannot leave without the relic, and I cannot stay and be blind to this city's dysfunction. There is only one solution."
As he turned away, he signaled his men to attack. Aveline and Hawke made it out of the compound; the guards who had accompanied them were not so lucky. As they fled, they realized the attack had not been just a personal one. Qunari soldiers filled the streets. Aveline and Hawke ran down a twisting series of side alleys toward Lowtown. All around there was shrieking and the crackle of fire.
They were trying to take down a Sten and his company when Fenris, Varric, and Anders swooped in to their defense. They'd been at the Hanged Man waiting for Hawke when the trouble broke out, and set out to look for her.
"I knew we'd find you in the middle of this mess," said Varric, slapping Hawke on the back and trying not to sound relieved.
"Let me guess," said Fenris, as he wiped the blood from his sword. "Our friends from Par Vollen decided to take over after all?"
"That's about the size of it," agreed Hawke. Funny how much more confident the elf was in a crisis. Of course, Fenris had firsthand experience with Qunari warfare; it had been the backdrop of his escape, after all.
"The Arishok has been planning this for who knows how long," worried Aveline. "We should go to the keep to rally my guardsmen."
They fought their way through to Hightown, picking up Knight-Commander Meredith along the way when she saved them from an unexpected Saareabas attack. She greeted Hawke dryly. "I know you. The name Hawke has turned up in my reports many times. Too many." She told them that the Qunari were taking people to the keep, and asked for their assistance.
"Always happy to help in a life-threatening crisis," Hawke replied. She was concerned what the Knight-Commander would make of Anders, but the woman seemed content to focus on the larger issues at hand, for now. Hawke would do her best to see it stayed that way.
The group moved towards the keep, finding First Enchanter Orsino and some of his mages along the way, her sister among them.
Hawke threw her arms around Bethany. "It's good to see you safe," she whispered into her sister's shoulder. What else did you say when so much had happened?
Bethany pulled back and gave her a half smile. "The city is under attack. We're all in danger," she pointed out.
"So, pretty much a normal day for the Hawke family, right?" Hawke smiled back.
They were interrupted as Orsino and Meredith began to argue over who should lead the charge. Hawke listened for a moment and realized the situation was getting out of control. She stepped forward. "I won't have you two at each other's throats. I'm in charge."
"Why am I not surprised?" muttered her sister.
