Chapter 1

Maxwell Trevelyan leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the table. Folding his hands behind his head, he looked at the dwarf on the other side of the table. "Tell me again," the mage said.

"He looked at him and told him to kiss his ass," the dwarf repeated the last part of his story as he picked up his drink. Chuckling, he shook his head slightly. "If I did not know Hawke like I did, I would have expected him to drop her pants right there in the middle of Hightown. If it were not for Fenris pulling him off, Choir Boy and Curly would have gotten a full view of her backside."

"Oh, I'm sure that the Commander enjoyed that," Maxwell said, before shaking his head. A sour look on his face now. "Vael…what an arse." Shaking his head, he began to laugh as he picked up his glass of wine to finish the remainder of it. "I don't remember that in the book about the Champion, Varric."

Taking another drink, Varric Tethras nodded. "A few things were left out. I didn't want to make Hawke bigger than life."

"No more than you already did?" Maxwell asked, looking over the rim of glass.

"Have to leave some mystery, don't I?"

Dropping his feet to the floor, Maxwell leaned forward and looked at the other man. "I want to meet him some time."

Varric laughed. "Kid, he'll chew you up and spit you out." Pointing a finger at the younger man, he said, "That is if Broody doesn't first."

The table rattled as a large hand came down on it. Both men turned to see a woman at the end of the table with an irritated look on her face. Varric lifted his drink to his lips and looked over the rim of his mug at the woman.

"Seeker," he said. "Need something?"

At the end of the table stood Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast. The scowl on her face showed her disappointment about something. But to Varric it could be the wind was blowing in the opposite direction than she wanted it to be. This was just an ordinary day for her.

"I expected a report when you returned," she said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the two men. "Not to find you both getting drunk."

Maxwell picked up his bottle of wine and emptied the contents into his glass. "Maybe when I finish this, I'll be drunk. Right now, I'm sitting…" He held out his hand and waved it. "Oh…maybe midway drunk. Just not completely drunk yet."

Sighing, Varric shook his head. He enjoyed working with the young mage but sometimes he felt more link a babysitter than companion. "I'm sure our Inquisitor has already completed the report just as you asked and put it on your desk."

Cassandra looked away from the dwarf to the mage. His wine glass was to his lips as a shrug lifted his shoulders. A groan escaped her as she lifted herself to her full height. "You both are insufferable," she muttered. Spinning on her heels, the Seeker turned and stormed off towards the exit of the Singing Maiden.

Maxwell laughed as he lowered his glass. "She reminds me of my sister." He shivered as he lifted his hand. Pointing two fingers at his eyes, he looked at Varric with a somber expression. "It's the eyes. She'll stare you down and make you wet your pants."

Varric lifted an eyebrow and scoffed. "The Seeker?" Shaking his head, he continued, "She's scary, I'll give you that but not that scary." Taking a long drink, he thought about the young mage's words. "Your sister? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your sister much before."

Taking a deep breath, Maxwell sighed. "She's lucky she's alive. Just like older siblings, she watches out for me. Tries to keep me out of trouble." The mage's head lowered as his eyes closed. "She was supposed to be with me at the Conclave, but she went back to the temple because I forgot something." A heavy sigh came from him as he ran the back of his hand across his eyes. "We were the lucky ones."

Varric nodded. "You haven't met Bartrand," he thought quietly to himself. Seeing the sober look on the mage's face, Varric patted him on the forearm. "C'mon, kid. It is past your bedtime. We got a busy day tomorrow."

Nodding slowly, Maxwell pushed his chair back and stumbled slightly as he stood up. "I'm tired of riding smelly horses. Can we take a carriage next time?"

"Sure, Kid. We'll see if we can take a carriage next time," Varric replied as he led the mage out of the bar.

Commander Cullen Rutherford looked at the report with a disgusted expression. "Trevelyan wants a carriage?"

Trying her best not to smile, Ambassador Josephine Montilyet kept her head down and her eyes focused on the notes scattered on the desk in front of her. "As it would seem. Our young mage has requested a carriage for his next assignment."

Dropping the report down on the desk, Cullen started to pace. "why not ask for a flying carpet? Or something else as ridiculous?" Lifted his hand, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "If he wasn't the – "

"But he is, Commander," Josephine reminded him. Gathering her reports into a neat stack, she stood up. "We must make some concessions."

Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the diplomat. "I am not allowing a carriage."

Josephine folded her arms and pondered what he said. "Maybe…for diplomatic relations. Such as going to Val Royeux or some other mission that does require something more of a show."

The door opened to the office and a woman stepped inside. Without saying a word, she approached the table to the side of the room and dropped a dirty, leather satchel down on top.

"I hope you find something useful in here, Minaeve." The woman looked at the elf who was approaching. Frowning, she said, "Sorry. Didn't have time to clean up."

The elf looked excited as she followed the woman to the table. Opening the satchel, she began to remove the contents. "Oh, yes. Most certainly," Minaeve said with delight. "Oh…are these red lyrium shards?"

"Yeah," the woman said as she stepped away from the table. "Just be careful with those." A worried look crossed the woman's face. "Please. I don't want any of this getting in the wrong hands."

The mage scholar nodded as she carefully wrapped the shards back in the thick cloth that they were previously in. "I will."

"Thank you," the woman said, giving the elf a friendly smile. Turning around, the smile faded as she was greeted by the commander and ambassador. "Did I interrupt something important?"

"Um…no," Josephine answered after seeing that the commander was suddenly without a voice. "We were just discussing the report given to us by – "

A leather gloved hand camp up to stop her from continuing. "Let me see it," she said.

Picking up the report, Cullen handed it to her. "The assignment was completed as requested. He along with Varric, Iron Bull and Madame Le Far traveled to Redcliffe Farms and spoke with Master Dennet as requested. A deal was reached, and horses were presented to the Inquisition as well as Master Dennet's assistance. There was some resistance from Templars during the journey but there was no threat."

Wiping the back of her hand across her cheek, she only smudged the dirt more across her face. Her eyes scanning across the report, carefully reading everything that was there. When her eyelids narrowed and she began to mouth the words on the page, it became apparent that she was near the end of the report.

"Seriously?" she questioned as she pushed the report back at Cullen. "He wants a carriage?"

Cullen nodded as he took the report that she thrusted in his direction. Josephine stepped forward, nodding.

"So, it seems," Josephine answered.

The woman shook her head. "Maker give me strength." Placing her hands on her hips she lowered her head. "If Dorian wasn't with me, I'd swear he coaxed him into it." Raising her head, she looked at the two Inquisition advisors. "I'll speak with Maxwell."

A new voice spoke up as they entered the room. The Inquisition spymaster Leliana frowned. "I see she has seen the report."

"Yes," Cullen said. Resting his hand on the pommel of his sword at his side, he looked at the spymaster. "How are the mages fairing?"

"Very well at this moment. Some are still shaken at what happened in Redcliffe." Turning, she exited the office and made her way to the war room. "We must allow them a couple of days to recover from what has happened."

"If we wait too long, we may be giving these Venetori or whoever more time to regroup on us," Cullen said as he walked to the other side of the table.

"Cullen's right. If we delay, we may have a bigger problem," Cassandra said as she entered the room. She stepped beside the woman who quietly studied the map. "I assumed you saw the report?"

A groan came from the woman. "I'll talk to him in a bit." She turned to Josephine. "See that the mages are taken care of for me. I didn't travel through time and get into a huge shouting match with the King of Ferelden – "

"Which we need to correct as soon as possible," Josephine added. She wagged a finger at the woman, scolding her.

The woman nodded. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from me again." Taking a long deep breath, she slowly exhaled. "I'm going to take a hot bath, talk to the idiot and take a nap before I do anything else."

The four advisors watched as she turned to walk away. Cassandra called out to her.

"What about the breach?"

"That's a question for our Herald," Leliana said.

The woman stood in the doorway, looking out across the chantry. Turning around, Evelyn Trevelyan look at them. Taking a moment, she looked at each of them briefly.

"The breach can wait long enough for me to kick my little brother's arse, take a bath and a nap. Then we seal that hole up and I can send Maxwell back home to my parents." She started to leave again but stopped. "By the way, Dorian Pavus is going to join our little party."

Cassandra groaned. "Yes. Magister Pavus."

"Altus," Evelyn called out as she walked away. "Good night everyone."

Making her way out of the Chantry into the cool, night air Evelyn stopped to look around. Even in the late hour soldiers and support were moving around doing various jobs. Occasionally someone would slow their pace and salute her or acknowledge her by addressing her as Herald.

Her life had been turned upside down since leaving her home in Ostwick. The Chantry asked her to travel with the remaining circle mages to Haven for the Conclave. The journey to the Temple of Sacred Ashes was a long and tiring trip. After getting there her memory escaped her. The only memory she had since arriving at the Temple was waking up in a jail cell, bound and being interrogated.

"So…" a voice said to her left. "You're going to wave your hand in the air and all of that is going away."

Sighing, Evelyn kept her attention on the sky. "That's the plan, Dorian."

Dorian Pavus looked out at haven from where they stood in front of the Chantry. "And this rabble of ex-templars, mages, mercenaries and Maker knows what is going to help you seal the breach?"

Evelyn turned to look at the Tevinter mage. "That's the plan, Dorian."

"She of many words," he said with a chuckle. "I see that you are going to be so much fun to be around."

Taking a deep breath, she slowly blew it out. "I'm sorry, Dorian. I have a thousand things going through my head right now." Running her fingers through her hair, she said, "I'm tired from our little adventure in Redcliffe. I need a bath – "

"Most definitely," Dorian added.

A faint smile curled her lips. Finding Dorian in Redcliffe and his assistance was unexpected. The witty banter between them was refreshing and desperately needed. After traveling with Cassandra and Varric who seemed at odds all the time. And then there was Solas whom she was unsure about. Vivenne and Sera irritated and annoyed her. Iron Bull and Blackwall was easy going but she had ordered Bull to be her brother's bodyguard while they were gone. She needed someone that kept her mind both on mission and distracted at the same time.

"Yes, I need a bath," she said. "And a drink. But first I need to find my brother."

"Oh," Dorian replied enthusiastically. He brushed off the shoulders of his tunic and smiled. "And is he as charming and delightful as you, Herald of Andraste?"

She aimed a finger at him, saying, "Don't, Dorian. Do not even think about it. Maxwell is off limits."

Rolling his eyes, Dorian faked a pained expression. "You wound me, my dear."

Turning she began to walk away. "Not yet. But when I do you won't see me coming."

The mage laughed as he watched her leave. "Oh. I am going to like it here."

"Welcome to the Inquisition, Altus Pavus," she called out over her shoulder.

Cocking an eyebrow, Dorian tapped his finger against his chin as he watched a group of soldiers walk by. "Yes," he thought. "This is exactly where I need to be."

Evelyn opened the door to her cabin that she shared with her brother. The only light filling the room was that of the fireplace. She found Maxwell curled up on his bed, snoring loudly as he slept. Grabbing a pillow off her bed, she approached her brother's bed.

"You think that's a wise thing to do?" she heard from behind.

"Probably not," she answered before putting the pillow over her face and groaned inside of the pillow.

Varric watched her as she muffled her scream, surprised that the brother was still asleep. "The kid did well this trip. Held his own."

Lowering the pillow, she tossed it back onto her bed. "Sure, he did. I hear he's needing a carriage next time."

The dwarf lifted his hand and scratched the back of his head as he watched her remove several items of clothing from a chest at the foot of the bed and shoved them into a bag. "Where are you going?" he asked as she brushed passed him.

"I'm heading over to the stables to take a bath in the trough then I'm going to find a hole and get some sleep."

Following her out of the cabin, Varric stayed by her side. "Come on. I will find you a bucket of clean water. You can bunk with me."

They walked in silence for a moment before she stopped. Blowing out a heavy breath she turned to him. "I appreciate the offer, Varric," she said before turning away. "But I need to be alone right now."

The dwarf frowned as she walked down the stairs and out of the main gate to the soldier's encampment. Looking back at the cabin behind him, he shook his head. "Looks like another pair of Hawke siblings," he thought before heading to his tent to get some sleep.