Where Fate Takes Us

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: Dragon Age is property of BioWare

Thankies to me best minion Asilyessam for betaing/proof reading behind me.

Chapter 2

According to the book, and to what he could remember from lessons he sat in on as a young child, there was a lot more to shape shifting than just wanting to become an animal. It wasn't enough to simply say 'I want to be a cat' or 'dog', it was more than that. One had to think like an animal, think about how the animals looked and moved and behaved.

So Atreyu had taken to studying Mr. Wiggums. Mr. Wiggums was one of the towers mousers, it technically didn't have a name at least not an official one, but one of Atreyu's friends Anders who adored cats had bonded with the critter and given it the name. Atreyu wondered just why in the void Anders thought 'Mr. Wiggums' was a good name for anything much less a cat.

Fear and desperation were also great motivators in learning Atreyu found, every night he was worried than a Templar was come and fetch him for his Harrowing. In the past Atreyu would have welcomed a chance at the Harrowing, if only to get the hell out of the apprentice dorms and into one of the rooms upstairs. Still a prison but at least a little bit more comfortable one. But with the key to his and the other's freedom in his hands, the last thing he wanted now was to go through the Harrowing and passing, that meant his phylactery would be sent out of the tower once he was an official circle mage.

So it was, one biting chilly morning, when Atreyu finally made the break through and shifted into a cat.

"Kitty!" Revas said clapping his hands in excitement.

"Shhh Revas, you don't want us to be caught do you?" a girl said, holding a finger up to her lips. The girl was Silvia Amell, Silver to everyone in the tower, and another of Atreyu's friends. Silver was a year or so younger than Atreyu with long black hair and bright green eyes. Originally from Kirkwall, Silver came from a long line of mages. She came to the tower when Atreyu was 11 after her mother had been killed by bandits while they were traveling. They had come from the Free Marches to visit a favorite cousin of her mother until disaster struck and Silver was sent here when the Chantry she was sent to discovered she was a mage. The girl was sweet and most everyone in the tower loved her.

Revas's silver colored eyes became wide and he clamped his hands over his mouth.

"What's right, we need to be quiet," Silver whispered. "But you do make a pretty kitty-cat Atreyu." She added as she glanced over at Atreyu the cat. Atreyu had turned into a short hair cat with silvery white fur, the same shade as his natural hair color.

"I can't believe you really did it," Jowan said in awe as he watched Atreyu move around in his new body. Atreyu glanced over at his best friend and seemed to smirk. Mr. Wiggums, who was also in the space with them, came over to sniff the strange new cat then dismissed Atreyu as a non-threat as he went back to his spot in the sunlight.

Atreyu couldn't believe all the senses a cat had! The colors all around him were different, he could smell things he couldn't before, he could ear even better than he could as an Elf. And Elves had some pretty damn good hearing. Moving around took a bit to get use too, Atreyu had to remember that he had to move around on four paws instead of two feet. But once he did, he was soon walking, running and leaping like he always had that form.

"That is really amazing," Silver said in awe. She giggled as Atreyu walked over and started to rub up against her then rubbed his face against Revas's, sending the 4 year old into a mad fit of giggles.

"Soft," he said as he touched his favorite person in the tower fur.

"He is, isn't he," Silver agreed. Atreyu looked a bit startled as he started to purr, his whole body rumbling with the sound. After a few second the Elf pulled away and let out of the transformation, turning back into his normal form.

"What was it like?" Jowan asked as soon as Atreyu was back to normal. Atreyu shook his head and grinned.

"It was a rush," he said. "I have been dreaming about doing that since I was a small child, to finally be able to shape shift…" he closed his crystal blue eyes, filled with emotions as he finally achieved a dream of his when he was still free from this blasted tower. He remembered his grandfather turning into a beautiful white wolf, his father into a playful raven. A tear gathered at the corner of his eye as he thought of his family and slid down his cheek.

"No cry 'treyu," Revas said as he climbed into Atreyu's lap and touched his wet cheek. Atreyu's eyes opened and he gave the child a soft smile.

"Alright yes, no crying," he agreed softly then looked at his friends. "It was amazing. Cats can see and hear so differently, it was odd walking on all fours but once I got use to it, it was fun."

"So you can really do this then? Get into the room with our phylacteries?" Jowan asked.

"I think so, that's my plan anyway," Atreyu said with a nod. "But not as a cat, too large to get under the doors."

"What about a mouse then?" Silver asked. "That should be small enough."

"Yeah, but I'm kinda afraid of the tower cats coming after me," Atreyu said.

"Spider?" Jowan suggested then flinched back at the glare Atreyu gave him at daring to suggest turning into a spider. Atreyu was terrified of spiders, the little normal ones at least. The giant sized spiders didn't bother him as much, but only because they were too big to do something like crawl into his ear. "Alright alright, sorry. No spiders."

"Oh!" Silver gasped and clapped her hands together. "What about a snake?"

"Snake?" The boys asked at the same time. Silver nodded and grinned.

"You know, like that ones that come up from the lake when it gets warm out? This is about the time of year that they start coming into the castle," Silver said. Atreyu and Jowan looked at each other considering her words.

"It's possible," Atreyu said. "Either that or the mouse like she suggested."

"Do you think you can learn how to turn into a snake that quickly?" Jowan asked. Atreyu nodded and ran his fingers through Revas's hair, smoothing the soft strands.

"Now that I know what the magic feels like and how it works I will be able to take on different forms," he said.

"Ohhh this is so exciting," Silver gushed happily. "It'll be so nice to be able to be outside again, out in the sunlight."

"So when do we do this?" Jowan asked, feeling better and better about this idea now that he had seen Atreyu shape shift. He was so glad he decided not to study blood magic now, he wouldn't need it now. Atreyu considered the question, looking up at the skylight in the ceiling.

"At night," he said at last. "Most of the higher up Templars are asleep at that time. And those who aren't patrol the floors with the circle mages. They send the new Templars to guard the first floor most of the time, or those who are being punished. And almost every guard on the floor ends up falling asleep after a while because they are so bored."

"So… who do we free? Or tell even?" Jowan asked next. Atreyu hummed at that and ran his fingers through Revae's hair again, finding it soothing.

"Anders for sure," Silver said. "Tell I mean since he's a mage, his phylactery won't be here."

"He'll certainly jump at the chance," Atreyu agreed. "The kids, all of them if we can manage it, before the Templars and the Chantry ruin them for good."

"Ohhh, don't tell Keili," Silver said. "I found her praying again in the chapel, for the Maker to forgive her for being a mage." Atreyu sneered and snorted in disgust, to say he didn't like people like Keili was an understatement. It didn't matter what gods you believed in, magic was a gift not a curse.

"If you two can tell Anders, and spread the word to those who won't tell on us and want freedom," Atreyu said. "Then I can work out how to get into the storage room."

"Leave it to us," Silver said with a grin. "Remember Revas, this is a secret, you can't tell anyone."

"I promise," Revas said with a bright sunny smile.

"Come on, we need to appear at dinner or the Templars will start looking for us," Jowan said as he got up off the floor then helped Silver up. Atreyu stood with Revas on his hip, the four year old Elfling clinging to Atreyu. Leading the way, Atreyu slipped out of their hiding spot with Silver and Jowan close behind.


Night fell over the tower once again, casting the halls and chambers in shadows. Atreyu lay on his bed feigning sleep, keeping his eyes closed so the low torch light did not reflect off his eyes and give off the glow that would give away that he was awake. Instead he used his ears to track the Templar guard in the room. He listened to the man's breathing, to the sound of settling bulky armor as the Templar leaned back against the wall. Soon the man's breathing was even in sleep with little snores escaping every now and then.

Slowly opening his eyes, Atreyu looked over at the guard who was slumped against the wall sleeping. Atreyu had to give the Templar's some credit, they were good at sleeping while standing up. Quietly slipping out of his bed, Atreyu started to slowly walk toward the door. He felt a hand brush against his leg as he moved and looked down, seeing Jowan awake as he was. He felt many of the mages in the room were awake, word had gotten around to those who could be trusted that there would be an attempt to free them that night and all were waiting to see what happen.

Jowan looked up at Atreyu and mouthed 'good luck' to his friend. Atreyu nodded and continued his way out of the dorm. In the hallway Atreyu checked for patrolling Templars, keeping his eyes and ears open. When he heard no one coming, the teen gathered his mana to him and concentrated on being a snake. How a snake looked, how it moved, how it acted. Almost instantly Atreyu felt himself shrinking, losing his arms and legs, lying on his belly on the cool stone floor. It was certainly different to be a snake than it was to be a cat he noticed fight away. His tongue flitted out tasting the air and he could feel the vibrations of the tower under his scales.

Atreyu allowed himself to move on instinct to slither across the floor, finding himself able to tell where somebody was just by the heat they gave off.

'Fascinating,' he thought as he glided into large ante-chamber before the library. On the other side of the room were a set of stairs and a door that lead down into the basement level of the tower. A templar was leaning against the wall in a bored fashion, not quite asleep just yet but looked to be on the edge of it. The Templar never even noticed the snake that slither past him and down the stairs, then slipping under the door into the hallways beyond.

The next door Atreyu stopped in front of and flick his tongue out at it, he could see the heat from the ward on the door. It was a lot heat that only covered the wooden planks on the door itself. Atreyu had heard of the door, called the Victims Door by the Chantry, each plank for one of the original Templars. The mage snorted mentally, victims his ass. The Templars were no victims, mages were. They were treated even worse that non-mage Elves just for being a mage all because a handful of mages from Tevinter decided it was a good idea to enter the Fade to storm the fabled 'Golden City of the Maker' only to curse the city and bring back the first Blight. This resulted in the Chantry deciding to punish all mages even though most mages were peaceful and just wanted to live their lives. The Chantry decided to conveniently forget that their beloved 'Bride of the Maker' Andreste had been a mage as well.

Mentally sighing and shaking his head, Atreyu easily slipped in under the crack between the door and the floor, not stopped by the ward as it only covered the door itself. The door to the repository was easy enough to find, everyone knew it was the first door after the Victims Door. Unlike the Victims Door, there was no heat that Atreyu could read off the door yet he could feel something in the air that made his skin crawl like Magebane. Slithering closer, Atreyu could just make out the runes around the door, runes that stopped magic from being cast around the area of the door.

'That would explain why no one has ever been able to just break down the door with magic, no one would be able to cast anything near the door,' Atreyu thought to himself. 'Yet I'm right in front of it and it hasn't forced me back into my real form… ah well I suppose now that I'm in the form, no active magic is being cast. If I tried to turn back into my true self I suppose the runes would stop me.' It could be the only reason why Atreyu's shape hadn't been forced back to normal and he was grateful for that otherwise this wouldn't work. Looking at the door again, Atreyu tried to find a way under. It took a moment to spot it but there was a gap in the wood along the bottom that was just large enough for Atreyu's small snake form to slide through.

The room on the other side of the door was cold. Instantly Atreyu could feel his body starting to become sluggish and he quickly moved far away enough from the door that he couldn't feel the runes anymore and shifted back into his Elven from.

"Burrr," he said with a shiver and rubbing his arms. The Magestones on the wall provided just enough light for the Elf to see by. Atreyu was in awe of the sight before him, rows and rows of shelves and tables were filled with phylacteries of all shapes and sizes. He started searching for his own phylactery right away, feeling that he was due a little reward of have his vial smashed first for all his hard work to get this far. It took a few minutes but Atreyu soon figured out the system set up for the phylacteries, the younger mages were in the lower part of the room furthest away from the door while those who had been in the tower longer were closer to the door itself. It only took a few minutes for Atreyu to find his on a shelf almost right next to the door. He wondered if it had been placed there since he Harrowing might have been coming soon so they could easily destroy it if he failed or have it moved to Denerim should he pass.

But that didn't matter now as Atreyu slowly picked up his phylactery with his heart pounding. His name was etched on the front with runes along the side to keep the blood in the glass container fresh. He couldn't believe he was holding his phylactery; it was almost like a dream. Then Atreyu opened his hand and let the vial fall to the floor, the action almost seeming to be in slow motion as the vial fell down to the stone floor. As the phylactery struck the hard stone, it cracked and shattered leaving broken glass and blood seeping into the stone.

A startled laugh escaped Atreyu as he looked down at the destroyed remains of his phylactery. He had done it, he was free of the only shackle keeping him chained to the Chantry and the tower. He was free, free, free! He was free to leave the tower at last, free to go home to his village, free to return to his family!

"I'm free," he whispered then laughed in glee. He had done it! His plan had worked! Now all he had to do was destroy the rest of the phylacteries and they could all flee the tower to freedom. As Atreyu stood looking at the rest of the phylacteries trying to decide where he should start and how best to destroy the rest, his ears twitched as he head a sound behind him. Moving quickly, Atreyu dodged to the side just in time to avoid the blade that had been aimed at his head. The sword and the Sentinel holding it crashed into one of the tables sending splinters of wood and phylacteries flying everywhere. The vials of blood smashed open as soon as they landed, letting out the blood within.

Atreyu paid little mind to all this as his full attention was set on the second Sentinel and the Sentinel Guardian walking up the stairs.

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," he muttered to himself as he dodged again and blasted one Sentinel with a fire ball to the face. Casting magic without a foci staff or stone was a lot harder do as spells were cast much slower. Ducking between two of the Sentinels, Atreyu watched as one hit the other, sending the second Sentinel flying into the shelves on the wall destroying even more of the phylacteries. Getting an idea in mind, Atreyu started to lead the Sentinels around, attempting to get them to hit the vials of blood or each other with his own spells tossed in for good measure.

"Ha! Take that!" Atreyu taunted, spinning out of the way of the Sentinel Guardian at the last second and letting it hit one of the other Sentinels. The strike decapitated the Sentinel, sending the suit of armor to the ground. "One down, two to go." Atreyu snatched the downed Sentinel's sword for extra protection and darted around behind one to jab at its back. "Catch me if you can!"

Atreyu leaped over the railing to the lower part of the storage room, using an arcane bolt to attack the approaching Sentinel's. The Elf dodged around one Sentinel as it tried to hit him, sticking a foot out to trip it and send it crashing into a table full of phylacteries. He then followed this up with a powerful freezing spell on the Guardian freezing it in place. In the meantime the other Sentinel had recovered from its fall and was attempting to attack Atreyu from behind again. Atreyu spun at the last second to get behind the Sentinel and stab it in the back. He them planted his foot into the back of the enchanted armor and shoved it at the frozen Guardian, shattering it on impact. Not giving the last Sentinel time to recover, Atreyu quickly cut off its head.

"That worked out better than I thought it would," he mused as he looked around. Most of the phylacteries had been destroyed in the fight. With any luck, Greagior and Irving would believe the Sentinels had gone mad and had destroyed the room on their own. Or at least they would be scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened.

Using the sword, Atreyu quickly smashed any remaining vials that had somehow escaped the fight. He then doubled, tripled check that all of the phylacteries were destroyed and let out a gleeful laugh as he looked at the mess.

"Ohhhh Greagior and the Chantry are not going to be happy," he said as he tossed the sword back with the Sentinels. Careful to avoid all the blood and glass on the floor, Atreyu shape shifted into his new snake form, leaving the same way he came in making sure to move quickly so the cold in the room wouldn't make him sluggish. Once outside the room Atreyu paused in the shadows to make sure no one had come running and once he was sure the coast was clear Atreyu slid under the Victims Door then out of the hall completely.

Slithering his way up the short set of stairs, Atreyu waited again to see if anyone was coming. Amazingly, it seemed like no one had heard his battle with the Sentinels or the damage that had been caused during the fight. The three doors and walls of stones had seemingly blocked all sound coming from the lower chambers. The Templar on guard duty was sitting on the ground slumped over, his helmet rattling with his snore, Atreyu noticed in amusement as he slithered past quickly.

Back in the hallway where he had originally transformed, Atreyu changed back after checking he was alone and slipped into the dorm. Checking the guard to make sure the Templar was still sleeping, Atreyu rushed over to Jowan's bed.

"Jowan get up, we need to get a move on," he hissed in the other's ear. Jowan instantly sat up, clutching Atreyu's arm.

"You did it?" He asked.

"Yes, all the phylacteries are destroyed," Atreyu confirmed. That seem to be all the encouragement other's awake in the room needed, instantly other apprentice mages were up and moving around.

"Someone cast a sleep spell on that Templar," Atreyu heard one boy said.

"Go tell the girls to get ready," another said. A couple of mages who were good at Entropy and Creation schools of magic worked on putting not only the Templar but any mages in the room who would work against them under sleep spells and glyph of paralysis. Their work done here, the mages left the room to repeat the process in the girls' dorm and any Templar still on their level.

"Seems I wasn't the only one planning," Atreyu said with a laugh.

"I think everyone once has had dreams of what they would do if they had the chance to escape," Jowan pointed out. "I certainly fantasized about setting more than a few of them on fire."

Atreyu laughed softly knowing Jowan was serious then squeaked loudly as he was picked up off the floor in a tight hug.

"You did it!" Anders said happily as he swept Atreyu up. Anders was a full circle mage and a spirit healer who had been at the tower longer than any of them as he was a few years older. He mostly acted as a big brother to Atreyu, Jowan and Silver, not that he hadn't slept with each of them at some point. He was also a lover of cats.

"Anders, what are you doing in here?" Atreyu asked in surprise.

"Well after Silver told me your plan, I thought it would be safer if I sneaked down and waited here instead having one of you come and fetch me," Anders said as he let Atreyu down. Anders was famous in the tower for having escaped several times, not that he stayed free of course. Each time the Templars had hunted him down with his phylactery.

"Well then I'm glad to see you here already," Atreyu said with a soft laugh. Around them the mages were gathering their few possessions while others were rousing the children from their sleep. A few seconds later Atreyu felt little arms wrap around his legs. "There you are da'len," he said with a smile as he leaned down and picked up Revas.

"We leave now?" the tiny Elf asked.

"Yes, we're going to leave very soon," Atreyu agreed then turned to his two friends. "I suggest grabbing whatever you can that we can sell outside of the tower, we're going to need money."

"On it," Anders said as he walked over to the Templar and started striping the man of anything that couple be sold, placing it all in a hold all bag he snatched from the lower levels last time he had to help down there. Atreyu put Revas on his bed and opened his foot locker, quickly gathers his flute and the book on shape shifting. His amber amulet was already around his neck.

"Atreyu Atreyu, I'm ready to go," Gary said as he ran over, all but bouncing in excitement.

"So are we," Atreyu said as he pushed a few things he could maybe sell into his own hold all bag given to him by Anders.

"Can you take me back to my clan?" Gary asked.

"I can take you back to a Dalish clan da'len," Atreyu said. "As I'm as clueless as you are who and where your clan is. Maybe whichever one we find will be able to help."

"Yeah ok, that's fine," Gary agreed. Atreyu smiled and picked up Revas again, heading to the door with Gary on his heels.

"I found some weapons to sell," Jowan said as he joined them.

"Atreyu! Jowan!" Silver called as she rushed over to their side. "Oh this is so exciting."

"It is, but let's go before the Templars get wise to what's going on," Atreyu said. Jowan and Silver quickly agreed, running to the door with Gary to leave. Two Templars were slumped over on the ground knocked out and the doors wide open.

"I wasn't able to find much on short notice," Anders said as he caught up to them. "But some of this stuff should catch a few coins."

"I think anything would help at this point," Jowan said as they entered the cave that housed the docks. The magelights on the cavern walls cast a low light around the area. Many of their fellow mages were loading the younger ones into the boats docked here. Atreyu followed their example and put Revas in a boat, Gary quickly climbing in beside the smaller Elf.

"Just sit here Revas, I'm going to be swimming right next to the boat ok?" Atreyu said soothingly petting the boy's hair as he fussed a little. "Be brave."

"Ok," Revas said as he settled down. Two older mages climbed in and started rowing the boat out, many of the other apprentices already in the water swimming to land, those who could swim anyway.

"This is it," Silver whispered in excitement and a little wiggle then dove into the water.

"I hope we know what we're doing," Jowan muttered as he jumped in after her. Atreyu laughed and dove in as well, swimming next to the boy with the kids as he promised.

"Goodbye Kinloch Hold," Anders said with a grin as he jumped in after his friends.

The trip across the lake seem to last forever, the water was freezing and Atreyu's limbs felt so heavy and tried by the time they made it to the docks he wasn't sure if he could keep moving. His robes clung to his skin as did his hair that had come undone from the braid he usually kept it back in. He was on his hands and knees panting, Jowan on one side and Silver on the other as they tried to recover from their swim.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Anders said as he watched them.

"You've… done this sort of thing… more times than us…" Atreyu pointed out. Only one other time had he ever swam the lake and that was the first year he lived in the tower when he and Jowan had escaped with Anders, never until now had they tried again.

"Treyu!" Revas said as he climbed out of the boat and ran over to the teen. Atreyu wrapped his arms around the tiny boy, who didn't seem to mind he was getting wet, and watched as the other mages who made it to the shore were already scattering like rats. It didn't seem to be as many as before and Atreyu hoped no one had drowned in the lake.

"We need to leave," Jowan said as he stood up with a groan.

"Right," Atreyu said as he stood as well, Revas on a hip. Gary had rejoined him and was holding onto Atreyu's other hand while Anders helped Silver up.

"Where do we go?" The only female of the group asked.

"I don't know yet, but somewhere far away from the tower would be good," Atreyu said as he started walking. Jowan started to follow then stopped looking back at the tower one last time. A small tear escaped from the corner of one dark eye and he sighed.

"I'm sorry Lily," he whispered. He had thought he might take her with them but things had moved so fast and there had been no way he could sneak up to get her without alerting the other people from the Chantry. His chance with any sort of life with her was ending before it even started.

"Jowan!" Atreyu called from ahead.

"Yes, I'm coming," Jowan said as he turned away and ran after his friends.


"Excuse me sir, I have come to deliver a message," the dead sounding voice of one of the Tranquil said from the doorway. Greagior sighed in annoyance, he hadn't even had breakfast yet or his morning ale and already something had come up that needed his attention.

"Yes, what is it?" He snapped as he finished putting on his Templar armor.

"The apprentice mages are missing," the Tranquil woman said. Greagior's eyes widen and his head snapped up to look at the messenger.

"What!?" He all but screamed.

"The apprentice mages are missing," the woman said again in that dull, dead tone. Greagior cursed and grabbed his sword, pushing past the Tranquil servant and ran for the door that led to the lower floors, calling to any awake Templars to join him.

On the next floor he was joined by the First Enchanter Irving.

"I see you received the same message I did," Irving said as he walked quickly by his Templar counterpart's side. Greagior just growled and tossed open the doors to the next room. Side by side, Greagior and Irving entered the first dorm room and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Maker's breath," Greagior said as he looked around. It seemed that the Tranquil woman's message was not completely true, there were a small handful of apprentice mages still in the tower all huddled together by one wall under the guard of two Templars. But all the rest… yes they were gone. "Has the rest of the tower been checked? Are all the other mages accounted for?"

"Yes sir," Cullen said as he stood behind his commander. "All areas have been checked for the missing mages but they are nowhere to be found. All circle mages are accounted for…. Except Anders."

"Sir, all of the boats from the dock are missing," another Templar knight said as he joined them. Greagior ground his teeth and spun on his heel.

"Never in all these years has there been such a large scale escape," He said to Irving in harsh tone.

"Yes, I am surprised as you are Greagior," Irving agreed in a much calmer tone.

"We will need to send as many Templars as possible after the escaped mages, send word to the Chantry that more Templars are needed," Greagior ordered one of his men as they past. Greagior, Irving and a small troop of Templars entered the basement levels of the tower and opened the Victims Door. Each drawing a key out of a pocket, Irving and Greagior unlocked the door to the phylactery storage room and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Maker…." Irving said in shock as he looked around. The floor was covered in glass and spilt blood.

"The phylacteries…" Greagior said in horror. He stepped in further, checking to see if any vials were still intact… but no, he didn't see any.

"Greagior," Irving called. Greagior turned and saw Irving standing over one of the Sentinels. A quick check of the room found the other two, all three destroyed. There were bits of glass and blood sticking to their armor and weapons.

"The Sentinels did this?" Greagior asked in disbelief. "No, that is impossible. They had to have been fighting who ever broken into here."

"And just how did someone break in?" Irving asked, ignoring the shocked gasps of the other Templars as they entered the storage room. "The door was locked and we are the only two people within the tower with the keys to the door. There doesn't seem to be any other opening into the room." Greagior huffed in anger and annoyance, the blasted First Enchanter was correct of course. "And who would even be able to pull this sort of thing off?"

"…. I noticed that your beloved student wasn't among those who remained," Greagior pointed out quickly. "If I discover that he is behind this, nothing will stop me from either performing the Rite of Tranquility or sending that blasted Elf to Aeonar!"

"Clam yourself Greagior," Irving said in a soothing tone. "I am sure Atreyu had nothing to do with this. I do not believe any of the mages in the tower had anything to do with this."

"What about that Jowan boy? The rumors that he is a blood mage," Greagior said latching onto another idea. "He could have-"

"How?" Irving interrupted the other man. "The runes would have stopped any magic that was being cast near the door, including blood magic. No Greagior, we must accept facts, something went wrong in the magic on the Sentinels and they destroyed the phylacteries."

"Then just how did the apprentices know that we would be unable to track them when they escaped?" Greagior pointed out. Irving frowned then shook his head.

"That I do not know," he admitted. Greagior groaned and rubbed his forehead. It would take weeks to recapture all of the mages that escaped, and it was possible that not all of them would be found as they had no way to track them now.

"Well Anders will be easy to recapture at least," a woman's voice said from the doorway. "I'll even lead the party myself if it pleases you commander." The woman's voice was just a touch smug and Greagior sighed mentally. Rylock was one of the few women within the ranks of the Templars and one of only a hand full at the tower itself. She was good, there was no doubt about that. She was everything a Templar should aspire to be and she was more often than not the one to bring back Anders each time the mage escaped. Rylock seemed to take joy out of it even.

"No Lieutenant," Greagior said as he turned to face Rylock and Cullen who were both standing in the doorway. "Our concern right now are the mages whose phylacteries have been destroyed, recapturing them before they can do any damage is our first priority. The mage Anders can wait."

"But… but sir-" Rylock tried to protest.

"That is an order Lieutenant," Greagior snapped. "Anders will be recaptured but he is not a first priority, he had proven in the past to be mostly harmless and therefore not as big of a concern. We have his phylactery and when the time is right, only then will be you are allowed to lead the hunt for it. If by some miracle he is found while searching for the others then by all means take him in but you are not to go searching for him do I make myself clear!"

"Yes Commander," Rylock said in a slightly sulky tone.

"Yes Commander," Cullen said at the same time. Greagior sighed and rubbed his forehead, he knew he was going to be having a constant headache for months over this.

"Send word to the Chantry informing them what has happened here," he said. "And that we are requesting any Templars that can be spared to assist in the hunt. You are both dismissed." Rylock and Cullen saluted then turned, both leaving the store room.


It was a mad dash to get as far away from the tower as possible. It was made all the harder with wet clothing sticking to their still until they finally stopped outside of a farm house where some wash that been left out to dry on a line. Why it had been left out overnight was anyone's guess but Atreyu and Jowan didn't question their continued luck and stole some of the clothing off the line. Robes were dropped to the ground in a heap and the escaped mages' dressed in the borrowed clothing.

"It'll help us hide better at least," Atreyu mused as he tore off a strip of his former robe to make into a belt, the pants were a little large on him. "They'll be looking for people wearing robes. If we're careful, they won't pay much attention to us." His friends only gave a tired mumbled agreement. It was the wee hours of the morning before they found a cave to hide in, both children being carried by the older mages. It wasn't comfortable but it was empty and dry and most importantly well hidden in the woods. The group ended up huddled together at the back of the cave sharing body heat as they fell into exhausted sleep.

It was well into the afternoon before anyone really woke up, all tummies growling in hunger. Once again it was Atreyu and Jowan who went looking for something to eat leaving Anders and Silver in the cave to watch Gary and Revas, both having some experience in finding edible food from their childhoods in the Wilds. When they came back it was with nuts and berries.

"Not the most filling thing in the world," Atreyu said as they sat around and ate.

"It's better than what they fed up in the tower," Silver said.

"So what are our plans now?" Jowan asked.

"Well… we need to get someplace far away of course and the Wilds might be our best bet. My tribe is there, they'll gladly take us in," Atreyu suggested. "And there is a Dalish Clan that lives there, they can hopefully assist Gary in finding his clan."

"I hate that name," Gary said with a scowl. "I hate it. That is not my name. That is the name those shems insisted on calling me."

"Well… what do we call you then?" Atreyu asked. Gary bowed his head.

"I… I don't know…" he whispered in shame. He couldn't remember his name, the name his parents had given him it had been so long since heard it. The Templars and their Chantry made him forget. He looked up at the older elf shyly. "Can… can you give me a better name Atreyu. Something that isn't as horrible as… Gary?" His nose wrinkled in distaste. Atreyu chuckled and reached over to ruffle the younger Elf's hair.

"Alright cub, just give me a bit of time to think about it hmm?" He said. Gary nodded happily.

"So that's the plan then? Try to get down south to the Wilds?" Jowan asked.

"I can't…" Anders said softly. "I can't go with you all."

"What?"
"Anders no! We need to stick together?"
"Why?" Jowan, Silver and Atreyu asked at the same time. Gary and Revas watched with wide eyes.

"Because… they still have my phylactery. Sooner or later, they're going to send someone after me. I can't stay here with you, I'll just end up leading the Templars straight to you," Anders said as he stood. "I could end up leading them to your people Atreyu! So no… I don't want to leave you guys but I have to, to protect all of you."

"Damn it all but he's right," Atreyu said angrily. "But Anders… will you be alright?"

"Sure, it's not like this is the first time I've escaped. I have gotten a little better each time," Anders tried to joke then looked both sad and serious. "I… I just want to keep you three and the little one's safe. I may always been on the run, I might end up back in that tower. But you guys are free now, and I want you to stay that way. So… I'm going to leave. They should be busy a while trying to figure out what to do, so maybe I'll have a good head start on the Templars."

"Oh Andy," Silver got up and hugged Anders's tight. "Be careful. We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too Sil," Anders said hugging her back. "I… who knows… maybe we'll all be together again someday without having to worry about the Templars and the Chantry. I… I think I should go now or I won't be able to make myself leave. Here," he took off the hold all bag he was carrying and gave it to Silver. "Everything I took from the tower. This and what Atreyu has should be enough to fetch you a little coin. Just be careful on the roads."

"Wait, what about you?" Atreyu asked as he stood as well. Anders shook his head.

"I'll be alright, I have learned a few tricks from my previous escapes. I'll be fine," Anders hugged Atreyu then Jowan, he would miss all of them. He ruffled the kids' hair then turned and started north, the sooner he left the better it would be.

"Damn…" Atreyu said softly once Anders was gone.

"Do you think he'll really be ok on his own?" Jowan asked.

"I guess, he's right he has done this before," Atreyu said. Jowan sighed and nodded.

"So… what do we do now?" Silver asked. Atreyu sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"We find someone we can sell this stuff too, someone who doesn't ask questions. Then we get new clothes so we don't stand out anymore than we do. Get some food, water skins, weapons if we can. No staffs, like our robes that's a dead giveaway we're mages. Only use magic went we are alone or if we can't avoid it," Atreyu said. "And just make our way to the Wilds if we can." Neither Jowan or Silver had a better idea and agreed with Atreyu.


"I might be able to part with 3 sovereigns my boy, but not a coin more," The Dwarf merchant they had found said.

"This dagger is surely worth more than that," Jowan argued. How he ended up being the one to barter with the Dwarf he wasn't sure. The Dwarf, who introduced himself as Bodahn Feddic, was friendly and seemed to really want to help the young Mages out. His son Sandal was busy playing with Gary and Revas as the teens shopped.

"Well… maybe I can throw in a couple of silvers, but I really can't go much higher than that," Bodahn said rubbing his chin. Atreyu hid a grin as he picked through Bodahn's wares, looking for something wear. Atreyu was sure Bodahn was giving Jowan a lot more, even at 3 sovereigns, than that dagger was worth. Silver giggled also, Jowan almost seem to be having fun bartering and shared a look with Atreyu who grinned back at her.

"Alright fine, 3 sovereigns and 2 silvers," Jowan finally agreed. He had sold pretty much everything they could sale that was in the two hold all bags.

"Ahh," Atreyu said in triumph as he finally found something he liked, something very much unlike the mage robes he had been forced to wear for so long. It was a sleeveless top made out of thick leather armor and lined with thick soft fur. There was a hood attached it to and all of the edges were boarded with the same thick fur. He also found a pair of sturdy thick buckskins and a pair of fingerless gloves. He forewent the shoes; he had never liked wearing shoes preferring to feel the earth under his feet and instead had wrapped cloth around the middle of his feet to protect them leaving his heel and front of his foot free.

Silver had also, after quite a bit of digging, found something she felt she could be comfortable with. Unlike the boys, Silver didn't really have a problem with robes in fact she had been quite comfortable wearing them. She had only wished they had been a little bit more functional like armor and didn't look like the circle robes as she had quite enough bad memories of that place thank-you-very-much. Still she did find something at last she could be satisfied with, a thick long sleeve shirt and tight black leather pants with knee high boots and after a bit more digging, a blue hooded cloak to hide her features until they were someplace safe.

"Not quite robes, but it'll do," She said with a grin. Maybe she could find a mage robe she liked that would work well with the top and pants later. Silver and Atreyu ducked behind the back of the cart to redress while Jowan looked for something to wear. He found a set of light leather tunic and matching pants that looked like a stitched together from different pieces of leathers in various shades of brown and tan. He then found a pair of boots that went with it and a fur lined cloak that looked like patch work leather on the outside.

"Well, I don't think anyone is going to look at us and think 'mages'," Atreyu said as he fasten his new armor up to his neck.

"Isn't that the point?" Silver asked with a giggle. Jowan handed Atreyu the bag of coins and ducked behind the cart to change as well.

"Ma serannas, Master Feddic, for helping us out," Atreyu said with a slight bow to Bodahn.

"Ah think nothing of it," Bodahn said with a wave of his hand. "On the run I take it, from the Chantry?"

"Yes," Atreyu said. "You're not going to turn us in are you?"

"You haven't committed a crime have you?" Bodahn asked.

"Only if being a mage is a crime… which according to the Templars it pretty much is," Atreyu deadpanned with a roll of his eyes.

"Well you lot seem alright to me and I haven't a problem with mages," Bodahn assured Atreyu. "Met quite a few decent mages in my life I have, ones outside the Chantry sight. You'll find most dwarves don't care one way or the other."

"Again, my thanks Master Feddic," Atreyu said glad to have met someone who didn't care that they were mages.

"Oh Bodahn is fine. Plus my boy likes you and the young ones, that's good enough for me," Bodahn said with a laugh as he patted Atreyu on the back. "Shall we get the children set up then? I'm sure I have a few things that will fit the wee ones."

And lucky for them, Bodahn did have a few shirts and pants that would fit Gary and Revas. They were a little big on the children, especially on Revas, but it would do until they reached a settlement. The three teens also bought weapons more fitted to them so they would have a backup plan should they have to hide their magic or if they were unlucky enough to run into Templars at least they could better protect themselves. Any coins left over would be used to buy some food and other supplies from the village Bodahn pointed out to them.

"Enchantment?" Sandal said as the mages got ready to leave. He was holding out a amulet to Revas in the shape of crescent moon.

"Thank you Sandal," Revas said with a bright smile then hugged the young Dwarf.

"Enchantment!" Sandal said with a clap of his hands.

"Say goodbye my boy," Bodahn said.

"Goodbye," Sandal waved. Revas and Gary waved back as they left with Atreyu, Jowan and Silver, Revas clinging tight to Atreyu's hand.