Chapter 22: An Unforeseen Enemy

The real trouble came a few days later.

"We have a problem," Lavellan said, approaching Varric at a desk covered in stacks of dusty old books and scrolls.

He glanced up from his journal where he was copying out text from a faded page. "A new one? And what is that, pray tell?"

"Someone is interfering with my letters."

Varric set his pen aside and rubbed his chin. "Well, that's not too surprising for Kirkwall. Mail delivery has always been a mess with the streets the way they are."

"No, Varric. I mean, it's not just like a letter or two have gone missing. I think they've all been intercepted."

"All? That can't be right. No one even knows you're here. I don't think any Venatori spies are hiding out behind my flutterby bushes."

"I didn't think so either, at first. One or two I could expect to fail to arrive or experience delays. At first, I only wrote to Solas, to let him know where I was, but my messages to Leliana have gone unanswered as well. The same is true for the ones to Dorian and my uncle. No one has written to me back."

Varric frowned, shadows falling across his stubbled face. "Well, shit. That's pretty damning. Still, might just be a fault with the delivery system. New delivery boy or something like that."

Again she shook her head. "No. It's more than that. I've been trying to reach Solas in the Fade. I can't enter it, Varric. When I try, I get stuck in a cloud of mist."

Varric, who had bent his head over to make a note again, stilled and looked back up at her. "Oh. Shit. That's not normal."

Biting her lip, she nodded in agreement.

"Any idea what could cause that?" Varric asked, squirming a bit and glancing around as if some enemy were lurking just out of sight.

"Not specifically. All I know is that doesn't just happen for a mage. I think someone knows I'm here and worse, Varric… I think they might be after me." This was bad. She knew this meant someone was plotting against her, but as to what their aim or end goal was, she couldn't be certain. And that made her nervous.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll send a few messages to people I trust. And then we'll get you out of the city."

"What if whoever is doing this is planning an ambush?"

"Luckily for you, I know a few people who are good at smuggling. You don't get seasick, do you?"

"I'm pregnant, Varric. I get seasick standing up on solid ground."

"Then this will be rough."

Rough did not quite cover it. Isabela's boat was many things, but steady it was not. It rocked and rolled beneath Lavellan's feet and she clung to the side of the ship, trying with sheer willpower to keep her stomach from acting up. Surely by now there was nothing left in her stomach.

"I take it this is why we never traveled by boat anywhere?" Varric asked, turning his face up towards the sun. "I just assumed you couldn't swim."

"I can swim!" she retorted hotly, wiping the sweat off her brow and trying to find her balance. "I just… have a healthy fear of drowning, that's all."

"For me it's the sea monsters. Lots of tales coming into Kirkwall's port about all kinds of sirens, krakens, and enormous monsters with sharp teeth."

"You'd be right to listen to those tales," Isabela smirked, coming up behind him. "Though I think we've more to fear from pirates and choppy water from the looks of things," she said, looking pointedly at Lavellan. "I assumed from all the stories that the Inquisitor would be a bit more… seaworthy."

Lavellan slunk down, tipping her head back against the boat's railing. "And I thought traveling by ship would be exciting. Turns out I was wrong. It's terrible and I don't know how you enjoy it so much."

"Ah, patience pet. Give it some time. Once you have your sea legs under you and you get that breeze in your hair, you'll understand."

Lavellan just grimaced and groaned as a wave rocked the boat. "Varric, how much longer?"

"A few more hours, I'm afraid," he said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Do me a favor? Just knock me out and wake me up once we're there?" she asked, only half-joking.

Varric chuckled. "And risk the wrath of Fen'Harel? Mm, no thanks."

"His wrath I can take. This is torture."

Isabela retied a knot, adjusting one of the sails. "Varric, why did you insist on bringing her out of the city this way?" she asked, clearly disgruntled over the prospect of someone puking on her ship.

"If someone is following us they'd be easier to see on the ocean. Besides, a day out on a boat with two beautiful women? No one's going to question that."

"I thought it was the Inquisitor here who was being followed."

"Then I'm just having a nice day out on the water with my friends."

Isabela gave him a look. "Varric, the whole world doesn't revolve around you, you know."

"Doesn't it? I always seem to turn up to the shit show right on time it seems."

Isabela laughed and took a sip from a bottle of ale. "You and me both. Don't worry this time. I can get her out someplace safe."

"Have I mentioned lately how much I adore you?"

Isabela smirked. "You could afford to say it more often."

Lavellan listened to their banter with her eyes shut, wishing time would move faster. A few minutes later, however, and she was back over the edge, spilling her guts. When she pulled her head back up something caught her eye. "Varric… Is that… a dragon?"

His head whipped around and both he and Isabela followed where her finger was pointing and stilled in horror. An enormous dragon was flying straight for them, wings outstretched, gliding further and further down towards the ship. Everyone swore and sprung into action all at once.

Varric pulled out Bianca and readied the bolts. "Shit, how are we supposed to fight a dragon on this thing? We're sitting ducks out here!"

"There's a smuggler's cave up ahead!" Isabela shouted, steering the ship towards the cliffs along the coast.

"Will we make it in time?" Lavellan shouted back, readying her staff.

"We fucking better!" Isabela replied. "Or that thing will roast us alive first."

"FIREBALL!" Varric yelled, ducking down.

Lavellan held the mast for stability and conjured a barrier spell to protect the boat. The fireball hit and the impact knocked the boat, nearly capsizing them. "The shield isn't going to hold forever," Lavellan cursed, resealing the cracks in it as sweat beaded on her forehead.

Varric swore as his flurry of bolts from Bianca glanced off the beast's scales. "That thing is fucking magic. I'm useless over here!"

"Help me sail this thing then!" Isabela howled instructions at Varric, who obeyed as quickly as he was able.

"Fireball! Incoming!" Lavellan shouted, just in time for the others to brace themselves for the reverberation.

The dragon swooped down, claws extended, aiming straight for Lavellan. They scratched over the top of the domed shield, cracking it like an egg. Luckily, the talons didn't pierce the shell. Isabela fired a harpoon at the beast. It sank into the dragon's front leg and the beast pulled back, ascending into the sky with a terrible screech.

"Nice shot!" Varric said appreciatively. But then the dragon circled back again and he cursed under his breath.

"Hold on!" Lavellan shouted. This time the fireball missed them, hitting the water next to the ship and splashing them. The boat rocked and Lavellan sent out a blast of magical energy to counteract the force, righting them once again.

Varric threw himself on top of a crate to stop it from going overboard. Grabbing some rope, he lashed it down to the boat to secure it. When he looked back up, his eyes widened in fear. The dragon descended upon them, claws extended, shattering the shield spell, snapping the top of the mast off as its belly grazed the wood. Lavellan just barely managed to avoid its talons, sliding on her side across the deck. The ship rocked again and Varric clung tightly to the wooden railing. "Got any more harpoons?!" Varric shouted to Isabela, but she shook her head.

"I'm out. And the mast has snapped. We've got some wind in the sail, but it'll be hard steering through the rocks," she told him, pointing to the large, looming stones coming out of the waves not far from them.

"I'll grab an oar!" Varric shouted, running over to grab one, for all the good it would do.

"I've got an idea! Hold tight!" Lavellan shouted, pointing her staff at the sail. A gust of force pulsed from her staff, briefly filling the sail and pushing them forward.

"Yes! Thatta girl! Keep at it!" Isabela grit her teeth and turned the boat with all her might, aiming for the clearing between the rocks.

"FIREBALL!" Varric yelled again. Lavellan whipped around, dropping the staff and holding up her hands to brace her shield spell just in time. The fireball glanced off of the shield, ricocheting into the water. Lavellan went flying from the impact, landing in the salty surf with a splash. The boat scraped against the side of the rocks as the wave pushed the boat through the passage, away from Lavellan. "No!" Varric shouted, running to get a line to throw to her. "She went overboard! Turn this thing around!"

"I can't!" Isabela shouted through gritted teeth. It was true. With the rocks so close, she couldn't even attempt it.

Lavellan sputtered and gasped as the cold water sucked the air from her lungs. She tried to speak, to think, to conjure some sort of spell to help in this situation, but all her body could do was gasp and try to breathe. She saw Varric throw her a line and forced her body to swim towards it. The waves were cruel though, and every paddle forward seemed to drive her backwards. The dragon's roar sounded as it flew straight for her, claws at the ready. There was nothing she could do to block it now. The pendant around her neck glowed in the water and instinct kicked in. At the moment before its claws reached her she sent out a pulse of energy, but this time it knocked both of them in opposite directions. She went flying backwards, narrowly missing the rocks. The dragon was less lucky. It crashed against the spires of sharp stone, howling in pain. A sound came from somewhere nearby and Lavellan saw a rope splash a few feet from her and she swam for it, latching on with her false and numbed hand as tightly as she could as Varric pulled her to the boat.

They slipped inside the opening of a dark cave. When they touched the dock, Lavellan scrambled out of the boat, clinging to solid rock in breathless gratitude. They all waited in the cave, afraid the dragon might try to attack, but to their relief, its cries disappeared into the distance.

"What the hell was that?!" Isabela snapped, tying her boat securely to a post as Lavellan lit the torches. "Do you owe that dragon money or something? Because the two of you owe me a new ship! Look at her!" The ship was certainly the worse for wear: scratches ran along the sides, the top deck was still flooded in water, and the mast was hanging by a few splinters.

"I'll pay for your new ship. I promise," Varric groaned, rubbing his neck and checking that the crate he had saved earlier was still secure and intact.

"What was that? When you said someone was out to get your friend here I didn't think that someone was a DRAGON!"

Lavellan and Varric exchanged a look. "Guess we know who's after you," Varric said grimly.

"Mind clueing me in here?" Isabela crossed her arms.

"Yeah. The thing is, we've seen that dragon before. Only, it's not exactly a dragon. It's an apostate named Morrigan. I'm not sure why she wants you, Inquisitor, but I'll bet now she's really pissed off. But at least we're alright. Right? Nobody got hurt?"

Lavellan tried to assess any injuries, but she was shivering from cold and her body felt numb. Fear rushed through her like ice in her veins. Putting a trembling hand to her stomach, she felt for the tiny flicker. "Please. Please. Please," she prayed. She moved her hand around her stomach, searching desperately. And then there it was, soft and faint. "I think-I think the baby is in shock." Her heart pounded in her chest, pulse racing as fear took hold of her. She looked at the other two, blinking. "I-I-I need a healing potion, and blankets to warm back up, and…" she trailed off, falling to her knees as her own shock cut out her legs from under her. "...And Solas," she whispered as her lids closed and she slumped to the rocks.

In his sleep, Solas lay on a plaid blanket in the middle of a field. Beside him, his beloved lay, hair splayed, smiling up at him as she twisted daisies between her fingers. He liked it here, out in the middle of the field. It was peaceful and calm. They were hidden here; tucked away in the tall grass where no one could see them, kissed by sunshine and a playful breeze. She laughed and he cupped her cheek in his hand. She looked into his eyes and her lips parted. He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him with a finger to his lips. "Wake up."

His eyes flashed open and another pair of eyes were staring back at him, but they were not those of his beloved. No. But he knew those eyes. "Cole?"

The pale spirit who took on a human form perched next to the bed, eyes wide in panic. He was twisting his fingers as he spoke. "She needs you. Cold, seeping into the bones, deep, under the skin, like ice in the belly. She is afraid, she tries to hold on, but it's too much, water flooding the boat, sinking. A name, whispered like a prayer, desperate, drowning, reaching for air."

Solas sat up immediately. If Cole was here, it could only mean one thing: she was in danger. "What happened? Where is she?"

"In a cave, shivering, shaking, struggling. The dragon's fire is nothing beside the sea. Lost within, she cannot wake, dreams broken, bloodied. She tried to reach you, but the ravens never came."

"Where? Cole, where is she?" Now was not the time for vague words. He needed clear, concise answers.

Cole vanished and reappeared by the window. "Waves crash outside the cave. Varric is scared, he's afraid she'll die. To move her or not to move her, he wonders. Help is too far…"

"Varric? Is she in Kirkwall?" Terror gripped his heart in a cruel, tightened grip. "I'm sorry, Cole, but I have to know. I have to see what you've seen." He reached into Cole's mind, searching through the images. Flashes showed him enough. Pulling back, he activated the eluvian and pulled on his clothes. Cole followed right behind him as he stepped through. He tried to reach out to her, calling through the Fade, but there was no answer. Heart in his throat, he hurried across the grass as the scent of salt upon the air reached his nose.

A strange sound echoed in her head, like a dull drumming. She opened her eyes, her body weak and heavy. And cold. She was so cold. But a warm hand was pressed to her head and another to her belly.

"Look! She's awake!" came a familiar, gravelly voice.

A hand tilted her face and she saw Solas above her, his face fraught with worry. "Vhenan? Can you hear me? Vhenan?"

She tried to smile, but she wasn't sure she managed it properly, she was shivering so much. "I always hear you."

He sighed in relief. "Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"I'm cold. And I can't feel my arm."

For a moment Solas panicked, but then he touched the wooden arm and she looked down at it. "Oh, right. Still gone. What about the baby?"

"The heartbeat is steady again. We need to get you warmed up though. Cole, help me sit her up." Cole obeyed, appearing behind her in a flash. Solas withdrew a healing potion from his pocket and she drank it down.

The effects were immediate. She began to feel warmth spreading through her fingertips. Even Varric sighed in relief as her color improved. Solas dried her clothes with a spell and pulled her into his arms. She did not even care that she was supposed to be angry with him. He was here when she needed him and that was enough for now.

Solas held her to his body, afraid to let go. Afraid she might slip away again. He couldn't bear it. He wasn't strong enough to lose her, to lose their child. This was his family and he had sworn to protect them at all cost. And yet he had failed.

"What happened?" he asked, brushing a wet tendril of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

He looked upon her with such tenderness and even after their fight, he did not look upon her with anger or hate. Only concern. She touched his hand. "We were attacked."

Solas nodded. "Cole said you were attacked by a dragon."

She shook her head. "No. It wasn't a dragon. It was Morrigan in dragon form."

"You are certain?" Solas looked briefly from her to Varric, both of whom nodded.

"Yes. It was the same form she took when fighting against Corypheus. She caught us out at sea."

"And ruined my ship," Isabela grumbled with her arms crossed.

"We barely escaped. I was thrown into the water."

"Why were you on a boat in the first place? You hate water."

"I do not hate water. I have a healthy and now very legitimate fear of drowning," Lavellan replied hotly. "And to answer your question, Varric and Isabela were trying to smuggle me out of Kirkwall."

Solas's brows drew together in confusion. "Why would you need to be smuggled out of Kirkwall? And what were you doing in Kirkwall to begin with?" he demanded.

Lavellan frowned and grit her teeth. "I came to see Varric. But then strange things started to happen. My letters received no reply after a little while. And then I tried to contact you in the Fade and found my connection blocked. I'm still not sure how, but I suspect Morrigan was behind that. So I couldn't reach you or Leliana or anybody. Evidently, Morrigan was trying to cut me off from additional support."

"You tried to reach me? In the Fade?" Solas asked, surprised.

"Well, yes. After a while when you didn't respond to my letter."

"You wrote to me?" he asked, even more surprised.

She gave him a look, as if she was not quite comprehending why he was so surprised by this. "Yes. Of course. Okay, it was after a few days, but I needed to cool off. But I wrote to you, telling you I was in Kirkwall with Varric and that I was in good health. Some of it was a bit snippy, granted, but I wasn't going to leave without informing you about my whereabouts."

Something in his expression weakened and she saw then that he had expected her to leave and never return. To drop off the map entirely and disappear. Like he had done to her. But she was not him. And though she needed space, she would not give up on him or their relationship so easily.

When he couldn't reach her in the Fade, Solas had feared that she had left him for good, taking their unborn child with her. To know that she wanted to be with him still, even after all that had transpired, after they had fought… His eyes brimmed with tears.

She reached up and touched his cheek. There were so many things she wanted to say in that moment, but seeing the worry and fear behind his eyes struck her hard in the chest. She looked into his eyes and spoke gently. "I'm sorry, ma vhenan." Then she wrapped her arm around his neck as he returned the gesture, pulling her close.

Isabela squinted and lowered her voice so that only Varric could hear. "This is the elven god you call Wolfy? I thought he'd be… hairier. Though I don't mind those cheekbones. It would be something to spend a night with a god-"

"-I'm gonna stop you right there," Varric cut her off, flashing a warning look that caught her by surprise, as Varric usually enjoyed their risque banter. "Stay away from him. I'm not kidding on this one."

She crossed her arms and frowned, glancing back at the two elves. "Fine. Fine. I see you have no humor in this case. Look at them. They've only eyes for one another. Tragic."

A shadow fell across Varric's face and he couldn't help but silently fear just how tragic their love would prove.

"Who did this?" Solas asked, drawing back.

Lavellan's shoulders drooped. "We think it was Morrigan. In her high dragon form."

His brows drew together in confusion. "Morrigan? But why would she attack you?"

"Not sure. But I can guess at a few reasons."

"Wild anger, deception and lies, a deep hate, scarred in a place that hurts. The hate had a place before, but now it's gone and burns like hot confusion, twisted and turning. Like a game of chess, she must command the board. She will not be the pawn, sacrificed, used, cast aside. Power is a game she must win."

They turned to look at Cole. A chill ran down Solas's spine.

"She might have been after the same thing you are," Lavellan whispered. She hadn't wanted him to discover it. But if someone else knew, then she would need his help getting it to safety. With a shaky hand, she pointed at the crate on the ship.

Solas turned to look, as he began to understand why his partner had come to Kirkwall to begin with. He looked over at Varric, who glowered at him and then at the box tied to the deck of the ship.

She gripped his arm, tight and fearful, and he turned back to look at her. "Please," she begged him. "Please do not use it. Solas-" Tears welled up in her eyes.

It broke his heart to see her so worried for him. He covered her hand with his own. "I will do all I can to avoid it, ma vhenan." He would not lie to her. If his need was great, he might very well have no other recourse but to use its power.

Her nails dug into his arm. "Please, vhenan. I don't want anything to happen to you."

He took her into his arms once more, cradling the woman he loved. "I know, vhenan. I feel the same way about you. I'm sorry I failed. I should have been with you today. I should have protected you." Hating himself for his failure, he hugged her closer, terrified at the thought that she might have slipped away from him forever.