Hello Readers!

I haven't forgotten you, I promise. But I'm trying to get a bit more of a buffer-zone between where you are and where I am. I typically like to keep three chapters between us so that I can go back and fix things that need to be tweaked if it ends up not fitting. Anyway, for the last few chapters you've been catching up faster than I had a chance to write and got dangerously close to breaking into my buffer zone.

That said, I made progress and actually finished two chapters this week :) Guess I just needed a bit of a spur in the ass .;

But I want to thank all of you for sticking by this story even though it hasn't been as reliably updated recently. And to those of you just joining us, I hope the sporadic updates for the next while won't put you off too badly.

Thank you for reviewing rebelgoddess19, Kira Kyuuketsuki, Raven Jadewolfe, Jessie Arr, and fujingodofwind. And of course, thank you to my ever loyal stalker/beta fishy Evalyne.

Just a quick plug for her story then I'll let you get on with the chapter :) You should read her story Abandoned Sanctuary that I've been betaing since she began it. If Stars is my baby than AS is hers... Which makes me its aunt... And you wouldn't tell me you don't want to meet my beloved neice/nephew, would you? Would you?

Anyway, any joy this next chapter :) I'll try to get you another one next week, but at the very least I promise to have one to you within two weeks.

.oO***Oo.

The small group all stood looking at each other for a moment.

"S-so what do we do now?" Levi stuttered, asking the question they all were wondering.

"That would depend entirely on what is keeping them out and whether or not it will hold, yes?" Zevran answered.

"Do you have any idea what it could be, Kali?" Leliana asked and all eyes turned to the elf who'd been surprisingly quiet. She was sitting on the bottom step with her arms wrapped around herself. Her blank stare wouldn't have been overly concerning were it not for the bluish tinge to her lips and the way her whole body seemed to shake. "Kali?" the bard asked again to catch the mage's attention. The young elf's eyes focused on the redhead.

Kallia didn't say a word as Alistair slipped one of his gauntlets off and touched her hand. "Maker! You're hands are like ice!"

The moment the warrior's hand touched hers she pressed her skin against his, curling both her hands into a tiny ball that nearly fit in his palm. He quickly slipped his other gauntlet off and wrapped both his hands around hers.

"I thought magic would keep you warm," Leliana said, though it came out as more of a question.

"It does, but it can only do so much and it was much colder out there than it was before," Kallia responded.

"But you've been lower on magic than you are now and weren't shivering..." Alistair stated, rubbing her fingers vigorously while Levi removed his cloak and wrapped it around the shivering elf.

"It was much colder outside than inside," Zevran answered for her. "She probably had just enough to keep her warm before, yes?"

"But it would have been just as cold inside as out," Leliana frowned. "The only fire burning in the entire Peak was the one in Sophia's office… There wasn't anyone to keep a fire going anywhere else."

Kallia shook her head, "But there were rage demons. They manifest as pure fire and produce a lot of heat. There are no demons of any kind here at all."

"Why?" Alistair asked, disappointed when the elf pulled her hands from his. She pointed to intricate black drawings along the walls that encircled the entire room.

"Because we're protected," she replied and started taking off the cloak Levi had given to her.

"Keep it, Warden. I grew up in these temperatures. I'm used to it," he replied.

Kallia's hands dropped from her neck to hold the thick cloak tightly around her as she nodded her thanks to the merchant. "They won't follow us. We move forward," she told them and moved towards the staircase. Using her hand to cover an amused smile as Alistair automatically fell into step beside her muttering about mages and towers and their ungodly amount of stairs…

.oO***Oo.

Kallia relaxed as they began their ascent up the spiraling staircases. If she closed her eyes, it almost felt like she was home again. More like home than the Tower had felt the last time she'd been there, anyway. Within the protection of the black circles, the Veil was more intact than she had felt for days. The elf couldn't help but ignore everything around her and focus on the feeling of Veil. The way it rippled and swayed… It was almost as though it was coming to life around her and her companions.

She reached out her arm from the protective warmth of the cloak around her shoudlers and lightly ran her fingers along the Veil, just enjoying the feel of it under her fingertips. To her companions it looks as though she were running her hands along an invisible wall or barrier that only she could see but if they found it odd, they said nothing.

.oO***Oo.

Every floor the companions checked was emptier than the last.

While the lower stories of the tower contained bedrooms and libraries that had obviously been lived in regularly at some point (even if it had been over a century since they'd seen any sign of life), the upper stories seemed almost bare. After a certain point the rooms didn't even have windows.

When the companions began passing through rooms filled with several cages large enough to hold humans, the companions looked at each other with worry. Kallia had simply pulled her cloak around her tighter and tried to push back the faces of fellow Wardens that had been kept in those cages. She had no memories of their names, only the number assigned to them and the combination of substances in the concoction that had killed them.

Avernus had lived on the top floor and had so many shields and wards setup on the lower floors that none of the Warden's even tried to come up. The empty floors were a sound buffer, for all his skills with science he'd never been able to maintain a simple silencing spell.

The elf shook her head and put all her attention towards her companions. "We're nearly at the top," she commented as they reached a room with high windows all around.

"How do you know?" Alistair asked curiously looking around as though he'd find a large map of the tower with a big arrow that said You are here.

"This room looks pretty much the same as the others," Leliana commented.

The elf paused to point out the row of high windows around the top. "No windows, then a row of small ones was nearly at the top of the tower when we were looking at it from the outside," she explained.

A quick glance at her companions confirmed that the Templar and bard seemed to have believed her story. Zevran, on the other hand was looking at her with an almost curious expression. He knew she was lying, he couldn't possibly know what about or why, but he knew that she was.

And she was mostly convinced he wouldn't say anything.

.oO***Oo.

The Warden was becoming more and more uncomfortable the closer to the top of the tower they got. Her steps were becoming more hesitant. Though he was sure the two humans in the group dismissed it as simply tiring out, Zevran could tell the difference between tired and hesitating.

This added to the fact that she had lied about how she knew they were at the top… Her explanation had been feasible, to be sure, but not for her. She was not the type that would have noticed the pattern of the windows.

Zevran wasn't going to say anything to the two humans about it though. Not until he had more information about how exactly his fellow elf had acquired this knowledge, at least. It would do no good to make accusations; he was still on rocky ground with the Templar, after all. Until then, she was entitled to her secret.

Still, he was not entirely sure what to think or what was going on and that was never a situation he enjoyed being in.

But he had at least learned enough by now to know to go along with it. He might not like not knowing, but she wouldn't intentionally endanger them, especially not with her Templar among their ranks.

But the lie itself still begged the question of Why.

Why did she lie? More importantly, how could she possibly have known the layout of the tower?

.oO***Oo.

Kallia stopped at the top of the stairs.

This was it.

This was the room where so many Warden's had died in ways no one should have to.

She almost didn't dare to step over the threshold for fear that the memories that she was trying so hard to ignore might overwhelm her.

She jumped when she felt a light hand on her shoulder and Leliana jerked her hand back instantly. "Is everything alright, Kali?" she asked.

"There's extra warding around this room, I was trying to see if I could tell what was in there," Kallia told her. It wasn't entirely a lie. There really was extra warding around the room (the kind of wards that should have worn of long ago) and she really couldn't tell anything through them. The special wards acted as a wall, keeping her blind as to what the Veil looked like beyond the room they were in. It was as though it suddenly vanished a foot away from the door.

"Is there something dangerous inside?" Alistair asked, already reaching for his sword and shield.

"There could be," Kallia replied with a sigh. "I just can't tell."

"Well," the Templar started, tightening his grip on his weapon. "There's only one way to find out."

He stepped passed Kallia and before she could voice the warning that the wards could be dangerous, he'd already reached his hand across the threshold to grab the door handle. He froze for a moment, waiting for doom to wreak it's vengeance upon them, but after several seconds nothing happened.

He looked over at Kallia and, with a shrug, opened the door.