Questions and Answers.

Right. So, shoving Flemeth off of that cliff and then jumping onto the witch's back probably hadn't been Neri's brightest idea. That was becoming more and more apparent as she clung to her scaly back while Flemeth soared up and up and up and then nose-dived right back down. Neri couldn't even hear her own screams, they rushed passed her ears so quickly.

But as quickly as this impromptu trip had begun, it ended as Flemeth landed heavily on some other mountaintop. Neri slid off the dragon the second it started to glow a vibrant gold and shielded her eyes as the witch shifted back to human form.

When she pulled her hand away from her eyes, Flemeth was stalking toward her. Neri clenched her jaw and held her ground.

"Never in all my years has someone pushed me off a mountain," the witch said. Neri braced herself for the anger, but Flemeth started laughing heartily instead, head thrown back and all. "When you're my age, girl, experiencing new firsts gets rarer and rarer!"

Neri blinked a bit and shifted on her feet. "Well…glad I could help you cross that off your bucket list." She let out a soft breath. "Always happy to help with near-death experiences."

Flemeth chuckled and eyed her curiously with those cat-like eyes of hers. "So many chances to kill me, and yet here I still stand...very much alive."

Neri scoffed. "Don't tempt me." She shook her head and sighed at the wtich. "Wouldn't do me any good to kill you before I get answers, anyway."

The witch's yellow eyes looked absolutely predatory as they stared down at Neri. "Ahh, answers, such tricky things. Always we search for them, never quite certain if the answer found is right or wrong."

"Yes, yes," Neri muttered with an eyeroll. "I know how fond you are of riddles. Cut the shit, lady."

Flemeth smiled a sharp little smile. "So impatient."

"I've waited long enough," Neri growled out.

Flemeth hummed. "And what would you have me tell you, I wonder?"

"The Dark Ritual, the one you sent Morrigan to tell me about and convince me to do. You knew, didn't you, that killing the Archdemon would leave me tainted? More tainted?"

The witch glanced at her, looking at least a little sympathetic. "Ah, child. It has left you much more than that."

Neri frowned. "What do you mean by that? And why didn't you tell me it would do that to me?"

"Would you still have done the Ritual if I had, or if my Morrigan had?"

Neri's ears flickered with her uncertainty. "Did she even know about that little side effect?"

Flemeth smiled a touch fondly, almost. "Morrigan thinks she knows a great many things but of that, I assure you, she knew nothing. Take that small comfort."

Neri exhaled roughly, perhaps with a little relief at that. "Why did I end up more tainted, why did the last slayer of the Archdemon, Garahel?"

Flemeth actually looked impressed for a fleeting second. "My, you have been digging up secrets buried deep." She paced around the rocky outcropping and came to a stop looking out over the view. Rain finally started to fall and Neri crinkled her nose. "To free the Old God's soul of what corrupted it, said corruption needed to pass to you, instead." Flemeth glanced at her. Neri was about to open her mouth to ask if she could be cured but Flemeth continued. "There is no known cure, Neria," Flemeth replied, apparently reading her mind. "Many have tried. In the end, even the strongest of your Order succumb to it. For that, I am truly sorry."

Neri exhaled, face streaked with rain. She glanced down, feeling droplets drip from her nose. "Garahel's Old God baby… she's bat-shit insane, right? Will that happen to Morrigan's kid?"

Flemeth walked toward her, somehow still looking immaculate despite the weather. She smiled a little wryly. "No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness, girl."

Neri rolled her eyes. "Can't you give a straight answer, for once?"

Flemeth chuckled. "And where would the fun in that be?"

"None of this is fun," Neri growled out. "Is Garahel's Old God baby the same blood mage bitch that's been messing with me for a year now?"

"And why ask questions you know the answers to?"

"I don't know," Neri bit out. "I heavily suspect, sure, but I don't know."

"Follow your gut, girl."

Neri exhaled roughly and shoved a hand through her sopping wet hair, pushing her curls back from her face. "What does she want from me?"

"Ha! A great many things, I suspect. Alas, she is the only one who can answer such a question."

"You must have some idea? Can't you make an educated guess?"

Flemeth tilted her head. "What is it you would want if you were the only of your kind free?"

Neri frowned a bit, then her eyes widened. "She's going to try to free the other Old Gods?"

"Is she now? Perhaps you ought to stop that, Warden?" Flemeth laughed.

"I don't know how to stop that, how to stop her! How do I kill her?"

Flemeth chuckled softly. "I have said enough." The witch started to glow again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neri screamed. "You can't just leave! It's your fault she exists at all… you have to help!"

"I have helped you more than enough, girl."

"How in the fuck have you!?"

Flemeth just chuckled as she shifted back to her enormous dragon form. Neri had to take a few steps back and shield her eyes from the transformation. She watched helplessly as the witch took to the sky, soaring upward into the dark clouds.

"You could have at least given me a lift back down the mountain!" Neri shouted at her, to no effect.

She kicked a rock and exhaled heavily. "Fuck."

It didn't feel like she had any more answers—just more fucking questions. Why did this bitch care about Neri and her loved ones at all? It didn't make any fucking sense. Especially if the bitch's intention was to free her brethren from their prisons.

She needed to be stopped, that was for sure—not just because Neri hated her guts, but because another Blight was the last thing anyone in Thedas needed. Neri needed more answers and if Flemeth wasn't going to give them, she'd need to ask the only people she had left to ask and forcing them to give her answers.

She sighed heavily and pulled her hood up and started walking.

Neri knew how easily she could drive herself mad worrying over all of this, so she forced herself to stop and think about something else. Like how torrential this downpour was. Storms always reminded her of her time in Ferelden during the Blight. There had been a storm almost as bad as this one just as they had left Orzammar. Oghren had already been freaking out about the sky and Neri had only made it worse by telling him the clouds and wind were plotting to carry him away. She smiled at the memory of Oghren running around their camp, waving his axe at the sky. That had also been the same night Neri and Zev had properly slept together for the first time. Her heart ached. She knew Zev had gotten caught up in the blood mage's schemes somehow, she could feel it in her gut. And the fact that she hadn't heard from him for so long now only made it that much worse.

She shook her head, trying to clear her dark thoughts. None of this could be sorted right now. She just needed to get back to the others, who were probably worried sick, and sort the rest out later.

…

Theo glanced at Fenris for the hundredth time. Still the elf hadn't said much since the mountaintop where a spirit had done something to him to make him cry out. What that something was, Theo couldn't even begin to imagine. It wasn't like the elf cried out at very much, not in pain or fear. But he had as they walked through that creepy and foggy graveyard on Sundermount. It wasn't like Theo could get him to talk though, not when Fenris was so adamantly staying silent on the topic. It was clear he had been unnerved by the experience however; he had this disturbed look in his eyes that constantly had Theo frowning with worry.

And Theo wasn't the only person worried, although Merrill was worried for entirely different reasons. She hadn't stopped freaking out about Neri and Flemeth since Neri had shoved the witch off the mountain. Theo couldn't blame her for worrying though; it had been insane. Merrill seemed to think Flemeth was going to come back and roast them all for disrespecting her. Not that Theo would mind a bit of fire right now with this freezing cold rain pelting down on them all.

"This demon you made a deal with," Anders was saying to Merrill, "you know it's going to try to possess you, right?"

"No, it was a very nice spirit," Merrill replied. "And it can't possess me, not while it's trapped in its prison."

Anders let out a derisive snort. "It will use you to get out of it!"

"Not if I don't let it, it won't."

"It's already got a foothold in your mind, it's only a matter of time before it's free entirely," Anders argued. "You can't be this foolish."

Fenris scoffed. "Of course she can."

"Ganging up on her isn't going to change anything," Bethany said, frowning at them.

"And she's not hurting anyone right now," Carver pointed out.

"Junior's right. Daisy doesn't look like a threat to me."

"Not yet," Fenris mumbled.

Theo could feel the tension in the air and it had nothing to do with the storm raging overhead. He sighed. "Do you mind me asking why you left your clan, Merrill?" Theo asked. "It's just, Kirkwall isn't exactly the nicest place for elves to live."

"Try one of the worst," Varric added.

"It was my decision. I had to leave," she said. "Staying with the clan…it wasn't an option anymore."

"Is that because of your blood magic?"

Theo could see Merrill frowning at Anders, but she was saved from answering by Bethany's shout.

"I see Neri!"

They all looked to where his sister was pointing and, sure enough, through the blur of pouring rain and in the brief seconds of light the lightning afforded them, he could see a tiny figure standing on the road ahead of them, a blue barrier shielding her from the elements.

Anders started running, and Merrill let out a huge sound of relief. "Oh, thank the Creators! If Asha'bellanar didn't kill her then maybe it's all alright. Unless she killed Asha'bellanar. Oh, she wouldn't do that, would she? I hope not, I'm not sure how I'd ever explain that to my—ah, I suppose they're not my clan anymore, are they?"

Theo patted the little Dalish elf's shoulder and smiled at her. "It's alright, Merrill. We'll be your new clan."

Merrill ducked her head, blushing. "That's very kind of you, thank you. I didn't know humans even had clans. Is it common to have a mix of races in them? Only yours has elves and dwarves…and lots of mages."

Theo smirked. "We're less of a clan and more a dysfunctional gang, Merrill. But you're with us now, we'll keep you safe."

"You'll be settled in no time," Bethany agreed, smiling. Theo hoped that was true. He knew he'd struggled to get used to city life upon coming to Kirkwall after living on a farm in a village for so long. It was a big change, getting used to the crowded streets, the toxic fumes and the lack of a proper garden. At least they had some chickens now, he supposed. It felt like they had a little slice of Ferelden with them.

Neri waved sheepishly at them as they reached her side. She looked like a drowned rat with her hair hanging limp over her face, dripping with rainwater. Anders was holding her hand and didn't look particularly impressed.

"Freckles, what the shit?" Varric exclaimed.

"Agreed," Anders said, scowling at her. "Of all the reckless, stupid, idiotic, dangerous-"

"I know, okay?" Neri said. "I may have been holding in more resentment and anger toward Flemeth than I realised."

"Never would have guessed it, Freckles."

Neri smiled a little. "She laughed. So it's fine."

"The Witch of the Wilds laughed at you pushing her off a cliff?" Theo asked incredulously.

"Yep."

Theo let out a breath of surprised laughter, head shaking. Flemeth had seemed to have a decent sense of humour on her when they'd met her back at the start of the Blight, still, he couldn't imagine many people being okay with being shoved off a cliff. Then again, most people couldn't fly.

"They're here now," Anders said. "What did you talk about, what did she say?"

Neri let out a big sigh, her shoulders slumping. "It was mostly confirming stuff I already suspected. The blood mage who has been messing with me is actually a witch with the soul of an Old God inside her."

"…How is that possible?" Theo asked. "Aren't Old Gods all Archdemons?"

"It's complicated," Neri said. "But yeah, this one was the Archdemon from the fourth Blight. Calls herself Andora now instead of Andoral – because of the gender change, I guess."

"How the shit did a dead Archdemon come back to life as a…witch?" Varric asked, brow heavily furrowed. "And what do they want with you?"

"A magical Ritual thing," Neri said. "And…I don't know." She glanced up at the sky, shivering slightly. "But now is hardly the time to stand around chatting, right?"

Theo nodded a little reluctantly. He could tell he wasn't the only one who wanted more answers than that. "…Alright. We have been gone a long time, but I think we all deserve answers, once back?"

Neri nodded a bit. "I'll try to explain what I can, but I really don't know too much."

They started walking again with the shower still raining down on them. The winds weren't quite so bad on the lowlands, but the surrounding fields didn't offer much protection, either. He noticed Bethany breathing into her cupped hands, trying to warm them. And his brother looked miserable as he fought against the wind to keep his hood up. Merrill just looked in awe of the clouds over head and the forks of lighting arcing through the skies, not caring about the cold weather at all as she walked barefoot over the rocky, wet ground. Varric had his coat wrapped around Bianca as much as possible as he tried to shield her from the worst of the rain and Fenris didn't seem to give a shit that his hair was a dripping wet mess as he carried on walking silently forwards. Theo stuffed his numb hands back under his armpits, hoping they didn't run into any bandits while on the road.

"How much danger is she, to you, to us?" Anders asked Neri.

Neri shrugged a shoulder. "I intend to find out."

"You're not seriously planning on fighting her?"

"I don't have much of a choice, love."

"Of course you do!"

"We can talk about it later."

"In other words, you've already made your mind up," Anders muttered angrily.

"Anders…" Neri tried to reach for his hand but Anders pulled away and walked on ahead. Neri's shoulders slumped again. Theo couldn't blame Anders for being annoyed, but he also couldn't blame Neri for wanting to deal with this threat, one that had apparently been messing with her and those she cared about for a while now. Theo knew he'd do the same, risking his own neck to protect his loved ones. And he'd do it in a heartbeat, too. But he also knew how much that would upset and worry those that also cared about him, but it wasn't like being pestered by and Old God Witch was a very common occurrence in his life. He wasn't sure how he'd handle that one.

The walk the rest of the way back to the city was mostly quiet. Varric grumbled multiple times about the bad weather, the horrible terrain, his aching feet and legs… Merrill on the other hand had started asking them all sorts of adorable questions about the city, which, thankfully, Bethany answered instead of Neri. Theo didn't doubt the shit Neri would make up, if given the chance.

Theo was already planning all the things he needed to do once back in the city. He needed to pop his head in to his mother, make sure she was alright and let her know they were all back. He would need to send someone to check on Olivia, Thrask's daughter, and make sure Isabela hadn't ended up causing the girl to keel over out of embarrassment. Then there was his biggest priority: Fenris. After nearly losing him, he needed to make sure Fen knew the routes out of Hightown, hell, around the whole city. It was a lot of work, but Fenris was a quick study. Lastly, Merrill needed a place to stay. He wasn't sure who to delegate that to; Neri would certainly have the most sway with the Alienage elves, being an elf herself, and a hero. He just hoped she didn't end up corrupting Merrill too much.

…

Bethany had ended up going with Neri to help get Merrill a house, so Theo was at least a little less worried about the Dalish elf now. Anders had promised to go help Olivia, saying he should be able to sort out safe passage for her. Varric, naturally, had gone back to The Hanged Man where it was warm. Theo and Carver had returned home, with Fenris tagging along with them.

To absolutely nobody's surprise, mother had been thrilled at their return, running over to them all and hugging them—even Fenris had not escaped the group hug, much to the elf's apparent surprise and embarrassment. For once, however, mother hadn't been worried, merely glad to see them again, and Theo wondered if that was because she too felt like they were all a lot safer with Neri around. He felt a little guilty that they might all be putting so much pressure on the elf to keep them safe, but he also knew it was a well-placed expectation. She'd already gone out of her way to keep them safe, even prolonging her stay in Kirkwall by months just to make sure none of them got hurt in the Deep Roads.

Mother had put their armour by the fire, and Theo had given Fenris some of his clothes to wear. They'd left Carver to fill mother in on their adventures—Theo didn't fancy trying to hide the fact that he had torn a slaver apart or that Fenris had nearly died, and he especially didn't fancy telling her that he'd been carrying a witch around his neck all this time. They were in Hightown again now. It was still dark and stormy out so all the shops were closed because no Hightowner would risk ruining their hair or shoes in this weather, and although that would make learning the rooftop routes more dangerous, it would be good practice for Fenris seeing as slavers seemed to like night time ambushes.

"So, rooftop routes again?" Theo asked as they walked through the deserted market.

"Can we…not?"

Theo glanced at the elf, brow arched in question. "You don't want to go on the rooftops…?"

"No." Fenris was scowling and Theo tilted his head, trying to read his unreadable expression.

Theo rubbed the back of his neck. "We can go in the sewers if you prefer, or just…not tonight." Fenris stayed silent and Theo shifted on his feet. "I can just go home if that's what you-"

"I remembered something," Fenris suddenly blurted, cutting Theo off and making his eyes widen. "From my past."

"Holy-" Theo shook his head in disbelief. "What did you remember?"

"Danarius," he said, lip curling. "He was showing off in front of guests. Summoning demons." Fenris' fists clenched and the elf let out a rough exhale. "He needed more power, so he called a slave forward."

Theo's heart clenched in his chest. "Shit."

Fenris gave him a grim nod. "I think…I think that was the first time I saw someone used for blood sacrifice," he said, lip curling with repulsion.

"Maker, Fen." Theo shook his head, scowling—of all the shite things to remember. "And you…don't remember anything else, just that one memory?"

"Yes."

He swallowed a bit, fighting a strange urge to hug the elf. "When did this happen? You just randomly remembered it, or…?"

Fenris shifted on his feet, looking a bit uncomfortable. "In the graveyard. The spirit that touched me."

Theo's eyes widened, everything suddenly making much more sense now. "That's…How do you think that gave you back a memory?"

"Does it matter?"

"Well, yeah." Theo rubbed at his neck a bit. "We could go back there, try to trigger more memories or-"

"What would be the point?" Fenris all but snarled. "I have enough memories of my life as a slave. I do not need more."

"But you could have family or-"

"They are not here now, otherwise I would have met them when with Danarius."

"That doesn't mean they're dead though, maybe only you got captured as a slave, maybe we could track them-"

"Hawke," Fenris said, voice rough.

Theo sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "Sorry."

"You mentioned the rooftops?"

"Uhh, yeah." He cleared his throat a bit. "Would be good to do the routes at night, don't you think?"

"Very well."

They started walking again, in a slightly tense silence. Theo couldn't imagine not wanting memories back—memories of potential family members or old friends. There had to have been some good in Fen's life, unless he was born into slavery, Theo supposed. He sighed a bit. Maybe Fen was right and learning more of the abuses and horrors he'd seen or been part of wasn't going to do him much good.

"We aren't alone," Fen suddenly said, ears twitching as he locked onto something ahead of them. Theo spotted the flash of silver in the darkness beyond the market steps and groaned.

"It's one of those gangs." He drew his daggers and looked around just as several men ran out of the darkness toward them. "Up here," he said, dragging Fen toward the steps that led to the upper market. Fen nodded, drawing his sword, and Theo tossed down one of his oil jars, watching as the slippery liquid spilled down the steps.

"These guys are such dicks," Theo muttered, readying himself for the fight. Fenris just snorted, grip on his sword tightening.

Then the first of the gang members were on them, rushing up the steps, blades glinting wickedly in the moonlight. Theo snarled at them, willing them to come at them. The first slipped and crashed backwards down the steps, neck snapping. The next two moved a bit more cautiously and Theo tossed two of his knives at them, getting one in the neck and watching as blood spurted out, the second knife impaling the other's wrist, making him drop his dagger. Fenris finished that man off, chopping his head clean off.

More of the gang rushed them then, angry at the loss of their comrades, and Theo lit a match on the wall and tossed it on the oil, watching as it went up with a loud whoosh. Several of the men screamed, caught in the flames, and Fen cut them down with the wide reach of his greatsword.

"Come and fight us like men!" one of the gang members bellowed from the bottom of the steps, glaring up at them through the flames.

"I assume you mean fight with honour," Theo said down to them, "in which case, you're being dicks by fighting as a group when there's only two of us. So no offense, but I think we'll stay up here." He flicked another knife at them, watching with grim satisfaction as it got a man right in his eye.

The man that had shouted at them lost his patience and charged again with all of the men left alive. Theo gave Fen a nod and the elf lit up that fierce blue of his, lyrium near blindingly bright, and bolted down the steps—phasing straight through three people with expert skill, killing them instantly. Theo then threw down his ice jar, smirking as ice blasted out from that spot, coating the steps and making more of the men slip, and even embedding one with an ice shard. Theo dragged his dagger across one distracted man's throat and kicked another down the steps onto Fen's waiting blade.

With the gang trapped between him and Fenris, it wasn't long before they were all dead, their corpses littering the stairs. Theo wiped the blood from his daggers on their trousers then went about carefully collecting his throwing knives.

Fenris was staring at him and Theo arched a brow at him. "What?"

"That was…rather skilfully handled of you, Hawke."

Theo chuffed out a laugh and shoved Fenris' arm playfully. "I can fight well when I've got time to think, you ass." He smirked a bit, eyes dancing with something wicked. "Besides, I always feel better with you at my back."

Fenris snorted, head shaking. "A good thing I like being at your back, then."

Theo swallowed thickly, blushing a bit. "Very good." He smiled, gaze locked on the pavement a moment. "We're good together—at fighting together, I mean, don't you think?"

Fenris hummed, a slightly knowing smile at his lips. "I do."

"You know, I wouldn't mind having you at my back more often—these, uhh, gangs, are a real nuisance. We could fight them together?"

Fenris gave him a look. "You don't consider that me training you?"

Theo bit his lip and hummed. "I…don't. I don't think. It's us taking down asshole bandits and thugs so that the streets are a bit safer. If it makes me a better fighter…then great, but that's not why I'll be doing it. And it's not like I ever went around murdering people with Tanner, so that'll help stop me from over-thinking too, I hope."

Fenris nodded. "Mmh. Would be good to rush straight into some fights, get you better with sudden ambushes and the like. Would also help prepare us should more slavers ever come for me."

Theo groaned a bit, hands clenching at the mention of slavers. "Yeah, you're probably right. Just no…actual training, okay? I still…I still can't do that."

"Very well, Hawke."

He cleared his throat a bit. "For now…let's see how you do with the escape routes at night, hm?"

"Yes, let's."

….

"I have friends at Ferelden's new mage school," Anders said to the mage at his side, giving her a soft smile as he did so. "You'll be safe there, and happy too, hopefully."

Olivia smiled back, head nodding. "I hope so too. I've certainly heard good things about it."

Anders hummed as he walked her down through Lowtown. "Hard not to when mages are finally in charge of things instead of the Templars."

"Not all Templars are bad," she pointed out. "Some do want what's best for us."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Your own father didn't want to send you to the Gallows because he knew how horrible it was there, but even he, knowing that, doesn't or can't do much more than that. He's still a Templar. He hasn't quit."

"It's not so easy for Templars to quit, you know. That man, the ex-Templar who sent me to the Captain, was an addict. He might like mages, want to help them, but he still wanted back into the Order just to get a hold of some lyrium."

"I don't think Samson counts as a particularly good person. He did send you to slavers, after all."

Olivia visibly shivered. "I hadn't forgotten."

He winced. "Sorry."

She gave him a slight nod, eyes on the ground.

"The entrance is here. Might want to hold your nose…" He pushed the door open and led the way inside.

"Eugh." Olivia coughed a bit, her nose crinkling.

Anders smiled. "Told you."

It was a few minutes later before they were in Darktown proper, exiting the lift and heading through the makeshift market that always sprung up near Darktown's entrance.

"Bet you're glad you don't have to live down here," he said.

"I'm not sure what'd be worse, living here or in the Gallows," she mumbled.

Anders nodded a little gravely and headed straight for his clinic. He wasn't sure yet how he'd get a hold of the Mage Underground. He was hoping he could head to the room they often met in, leave some sort of note perhaps, not that he was sure how long such a thing would take to get read.

As he got nearer to his clinic, however, he heard shouting. Olivia and he shared a concerned glance before rushing ahead to see what the commotion was.

"Get those healing pots, now!" he could hear a familiar voice shouting.

As soon as he reached the doorway, he hissed in a breath. He could smell the blood already and his gaze landed on the grimacing and sweating form of Sparky, the Mage Underground's lightning mage.

"What happened?" Anders asked as he ran to his side.

El's relieved look was short lived as Sparky groaned in pain. "He was attacked by a blood mage on the Coast."

Anders inhaled sharply, rolled up his sleeves, and called his magic to his fingertips. He could see the wound on Sparky's abdomen. It looked like someone had slashed him across the gut with their bladed staff. Anders' face twisted. He hated it when mages attacked other mages—didn't they have enough people wanting them dead without turning on one another? His magic flared and he got to work healing the dark-skinned man writhing in pain on his medical table.

He wasn't sure how long he spent healing Sparky—gut wounds were notoriously dangerous and he'd spent a long time checking that nothing from his intestines had leaked into the surrounding area, for that was a sure way to get an infection and an early death. He wiped his brow as he pulled back, and Kit immediately appeared at his side with a lyrium potion and then health poultices and bandages to use on Sparky. Anders took the lyrium with a grateful nod then sat down in a chair while Kit finished up dressing Sparky's now mostly-healed wound.

"Thank you," El said genuinely, her features looking tired but much more relaxed now. "I don't know what we would have done without your help."

Anders smiled softly up at her. "You really don't have any other healers in your network?"

She shook her head. "Not ones we can readily reach. As I've said, healers are rare, unfortunately."

He nodded. "Well, I'm glad I could help." He tightened the tie in his hair and caught sight of Olivia standing awkwardly off to the side before looking back up at the older woman in front of him. "Actually, I was hoping to find you."

El's brows arched in surprise. "Oh?"

Anders nodded at Olivia. "She needs safe passage to Ferelden's school of magic. I was hoping you could arrange that?"

El looked at Olivia for a long few minutes before returning her gaze to Anders. "Her story?"

"Apostate," Anders replied. "Daughter of a Templar at the Gallows."

El hummed in interest. "Which Templar?"

"Thrask."

"Ah." She smiled. "He's always been rather…sympathetic to mages. This explains why."

"It does," Anders agreed. "So, can you help?"

"Of course," El said softly. "I'll have her out of the city by nightfall."

Anders sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, lad." She glanced at Olivia again and smiled. "It would be good to have more contacts in that school, anyway."

"Still trying to work with them?" he asked.

"We are." She gave him a slight wry smile. "Your friend, Solona Amell, is understandably rather wary of it."

"She doesn't want to lose what they've got by working with apostates, I take it?"

"Mmh. Precisely." El waved her hand dismissively. "But enough of that, hm?"

He nodded his head. "The mage that attacked Sparky, who was it?"

El let out a heavy sigh and took a seat next to him. "An apostate, technically." Her brows furrowed a bit. "Have you heard the news about Starkhaven's Circle?" Anders shook his head. "It was burned to the ground this week."

"What?"

She looked down at her lap, expression unreadable. "There were rumours that the Circle was to be annulled—we had yet to confirm if this was true or not when the blaze was started, likely by one of the mages inside."

"Why was it going to be annulled, if it was?"

She gave him a sad look. "Because the mages wanted freedom, just like the mages of Ferelden have. They'd been acting out, rebelling more and more against their Templar jailors."

"Maker's breath."

"Mmh. As I said, we hadn't confirmed if the rumours were true or not," she said. "But we were planning to help them any way we could." She sighed a bit. "When the fire began and the mages were evacuated, we managed to free some, help them escape. There was one group who pled with us for assistance in getting out of the country." He watched as her brows furrowed and head shook. "There was something very…off about this group. About two of the mages in particular. We refused to help them because our network has to be made up of mages we can trust and count on. As soon as it was clear we wouldn't help them, they saw us as the enemy, saw us as potential snitches."

"So they attacked you."

She nodded grimly. "The man, the leader of the group, slashed Sparky with his staff and started using blood magic. It was only thanks to Birdie's barriers that we got out of there at all."

"Where's Birdie now?" he asked as he glanced around, not seeing the little punky mage in his clinic.

"She went to tell the Templars where that dangerous group of apostates were hiding."

"Really?"

El nodded. "Mages like that, loose and scared, are a threat to everyone."

"Still…"

"I know it seems harsh, but as soon as they turned to blood magic, they were beyond our help." She put her hand on his knee and smiled. "But enough of that, hm?" she said as she pushed to her feet. "I'll make sure Olivia is properly looked after and I'll get Sparky out of here too."

"He'll need bed rest for a while…"

"I know, lad." She smiled. "Thank you again."

He got to his feet too and nodded. "Any time."

She'd just turned away to head to Sparky when she suddenly turned back around. "Oh, before I forget…" she said as she rummaged through her bag. "Karl wanted you and Neri to have this." She handed him a book and he took it carefully, running his fingers gently over the front cover, surprised Karl would have anything to give him.

"What is-?"

"Just read it," she said softly. "It's an inside look at the Gallows. One I'm sure you'll both appreciate."

He frowned. "Why would I appreciate seeing how horrendous it is in there?"

She chuckled. "It'll be…eye opening, at the very least."

"…Alright."

….

"Nnff." Neri's hands trembled as they added yet another potted plant to the pile of shit she was carrying with her force magic. "Think you've got enough plants yet, Merrill?" Neri asked from behind the pyramid of stuff floating around and above her.

The little Dalish elf hummed as she tapped her chin. "Do you think we need more flowers? Is there too much green? I wouldn't want there to be too much green."

Bethany giggled. "Some of these will bloom into flowers later, right? I think there's enough."

Neri sighed in relief a bit. "Might want to focus on buying things like food and plates and mugs, you know, so you aren't eating with your hands, or something?"

"Oh! Yes, I forgot I'll need all of that too! I'm so used to everything just sort of being there…I didn't even check what the house came with!"

"It's alright, Merrill," Bethany said, putting a soothing hand on her shoulder. "I had a look around, so I know what we need." She glanced at Neri, smiling sympathetically. "Might be worth dropping all of this off first though?"

"We shouldn't drop any of it, that'd break the vases."

Neri chuckled a bit breathlessly. "It's a turn of phrase, Merrill. We'll take all of this back to your new home, then go out shopping again—maybe in like a little while though?"

Merrill gave her a worried look. "We can carry some of it-"

"I'm alright…just….let's get back to the Alienage sooner than later, hmh?"

Merrill gave her a few quick nods, her green eyes a bit bright and wide and then started heading in completely the wrong direction. Bethany laughed and dragged her back the right way and Neri followed behind them, focused on keeping the giant stack of mostly-plants from crashing to the ground. Thankfully, most people were wise enough to get the fuck out of their way, and soon they were back at the Alienage.

They'd managed to get Merrill a pretty decent place—a house right off the market that, admittedly, needed some work done to it but it was worth it for the safety that came with a place near the busiest part of the Alienage, rather than down some dank alley. There was also less chance of Merrill forgetting where it was when it was next to an herb store that had already had her babbling excitedly with the owner of said stall.

As soon as they got in through Merrill's front door, Neri very carefully put everything down, then collapsed into one of the few chairs the place came with. "Maker's arse, that was one helluva workout."

Bethany smiled down at her as she took stock of all the stuff they'd just bought. "You carried more than I thought you could."

Neri huffed out a breath. "Should have listened, I did say I could do it."

"I am terribly sorry for ever doubting you," Bethany said, holding back a giggle.

"As you should be," Neri said, grinning.

"Can I get you something?" Merrill asked. "To eat or drink?"

"Unless we're planning on eating plants and cute little halla carvings," Neri said. "I don't think you have much to offer us, Merrill."

"Oh. You're right, we didn't buy any food, did we?" The Dalish elf looked around, chewing at her lip.

"It's fine," Neri said, trying for a smile. "We can head to The Hanged Man, get something there and see the others."

"Good idea," Bethany said. "Think I'll pop home first to see mother then meet you there."

Neri nodded. "We'll walk you there," she said as she got back to her feet with a bit of a groan.

…..

"Welcome to The Hanged Man!" Neri said with a bright grin on her face that only widened at seeing Merrill's expression drop. The little Dalish elf apparently wasn't a fan of the stench of vomit and piss or the drunkards hanging around outside wolf-whistling at every remotely attractive woman that walked past.

"It's very…"

"Smelly? Gross? Dirty?"

"I was going to say brown."

Neri laughed. "Yep. It is that." She shoved the door open. "Come on, I'll show you around inside."

"Alright, thank you—Oh!" Merrill's nose crinkled. "I stepped in something…sticky," she said as she lifted her foot to check it.

"Yeah…can't say I'd ever want to go barefoot around here." She nodded for the stairs. "Varric's suite is up there, that's usually where we hang out. Although it looks like he's not in, so I guess we'll sit down here." Neri pulled out a chair at a table in the corner and sat down, watching as Merrill did the same. "Would you like something to drink, Merrill?"

"Oh, you mean like alcohol?"

"Yes, alcohol."

"Isn't it a bit early?" Merrill asked as she put her sac of food they'd picked up in the market on their way here on the ground between her feet.

"It's never too early." Neri smiled and waved down Nora. "Two ales, please."

"'Course, love," the barmaid said before disappearing again.

Neri leant back in her seat and propped her legs up on the chair next to her, legs crossed over one another and let out a contented sigh. "So, what do you think of Kirkwall so far?"

"It's…very big."

"Mmh. Cities usually are." She smiled. "You've never been in one before, I take it?"

Merrill shook her head. "No. I've been in Ferelden and the Free Marches but my clan always made a point of staying away from human settlements."

"That makes sense." Their drinks arrived and Neri took a long sip. "I'll make sure you get given a proper tour, and it'll probably be worth you not going too far on your own for a while—don't want you getting lost or attacked." Merrill nodded a bit meekly and took a tentative sip of her drink, her nose crinkling from the bad taste. Neri chuckled. "You'll get used to most things tasting like shit, trust me."

Neri put her drink back down and scratched at her breastband, annoyed that it was getting itchy, only to find something that wasn't her tit stuffed in it. "The fuck…?" She pulled out a folded piece of paper with a scowl. "How did that get in there?"

"Oh! Did someone hide a note on you? What does it say!?"

Neri was still scowling as she unfolded it and her breath hitched as soon as she saw the handwriting within.

Miss me, Cara mia?

Alas, I cannot say much, only that my mind was not my own.

It is now.

Burn this note and tell no-one we're communicating.

I'll write to you again soon,

Z

Neri stared at the note, her relief so strong she felt like she'd melt in her chair. Zev was alive. He was okay. He was writing to her again. Thank the bloody fuck for that. She had been worried that he had been under the influence of the blood mage, and it looked as if she had been right to worry. But whatever he had done to free himself, had clearly worked. And she'd hear from him again soon! She could barely contain her excitement as she scrunched up the note and glanced up at a very curious looking Merrill.

"Can you burn this for me?" Neri asked.

"Uhm…of course. What is it though? What did it say?"

Neri smirked. "I can't tell you."

"Oh, is it a secret note from a secret person?"

"It is." She handed it to Merrill and watched the little elf set it aflame. Watched as the edges crumpled, catching the flame and charring into black ash.

"I love secrets! Can't you tell me anything at all?"

"Mmh. It's from someone I haven't heard from for a very long time."

"Oooh. Someone you care about?"

"Something like that, yeah." Neri took another sip of her drink, and this time she was smiling as she did so.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever hear from an old friend of mine," Merrill said, suddenly looking nostalgic. "He disappeared before the Blight. We all tried looking for him, but we never found any sign of him."

Neri nodded sadly. "You were close with this friend of yours?"

Merrill bobbed her head. "He was one of the few people who actually liked me. And then he was just…gone."

"That's… sort of what it's like with me and the person who sent the note. It's not easy, is it, when you don't know if they're okay or where they are?"

"Not at all," she agreed. "Especially when you have to move on yourself, stop the search and leave without them."

"Maybe you'll see your friend again, Merrill."

"You think so?"

"I think, even if you don't, it's better to imagine they're out there safe, just not with you, than it is to think of other alternatives."

Merrill gave her a firm nod then took another sip of her drink.

"The others should be here soon; until then, we can just stay here. I don't know about you, but I'm knackered."

The Dalish elf gave her a guilty look, biting into her lip briefly. "Having you carry all those potted plants probably didn't help, did it?"

Neri let out a chirp of laughter. "Probably not, but I did offer, Merrill. So don't sweat it."

"Oh, I didn't sweat at all-"

Neri snorted.

"Did I miss something, again?"

Neri smiled. "It's a turn of phrase," she explained. "Know what? Let's go over a few common sayings while we wait."

Merrill nodded and Neri took a long draught of her drink. Despite Merrill proving an adorable and amusing distraction, Neri was already wondering when the next note would arrive, what it would say, when she'd get to see Zevran again. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, felt like her gut finally didn't have such a huge knot in it. He was alright. He was writing to her. He'd write again. She just had to wait patiently. Ugh. She hoped he remembered how impatient she was...

A/N: Nf. Right. Posted, finally. Sorry about that. I still feel like it's a super disjointed chapter, but there was a lot to cover and I wanted it all in one, really, rather than cutting it in half.

Hope you liked it!

As always, thank you Elyssa for betaing. You rock.