Author's Note: There is method to the madness. Hope you enjoy! :)


Harry looked askance at the uniforms Erlina had brought for them- as they were sets of armor. Even if he could theoretically fit into one of them, they would be far too clumsy for his liking, and Morrigan was sneering at them as well.

"I think we'll just rely on our magic to sneak in instead," he suggested as he turned to Morrigan. "Have you tried out the disillusionment charm yet?"

"Yes, but only once," she replied.

"I'll make sure we're both covered when we head for our target," Harry said.

"But, how will you get past the guards?" Erlina frowned.

"Let us worry about that," he answered. "You lead the way, we'll follow and deal with any problems that come our way."

"Be careful," the elf fretted. "My queen is already in danger; I would not have this made worse by magical combat as we try to free her."

"If all goes well, they'll never even know we were there," Harry said confidently.

"I hope so," Erlina sighed.


It took awhile for them to manage the journey winding through the streets of Denerim into the center of the city. Erlina told them there was a servants' entrance in the rear, and that was where she was going to lead them. Harry and Morrigan disillusioned themselves and quietly followed her around the large manor building.

"Are you still there?" Erlina whispered once she was sure there were no guards in sight.

"We're following," Harry answered quietly. "Just try to relax and act naturally. Morrigan and I can handle any problems with our magic, but hopefully we won't have to get into any combat."

"Alright."

The estate was rather impressive as he surveyed it- there was even a small garden with crops and chicken coops in one rear corner. Erlina drew them to a halt just past that area when she came to the corner of the building and pointed around the back wall.

"There are two guards," she said. "I can distract them, but-"

"We'll handle the guards," Harry replied before whispering to Morrigan. "We'll confound them once we approach and then slip inside."

"I'll take the left one," Morrigan answered.

"If you're sure..." Erlina took a couple of deep breaths and then approached the armed men. She was clearly unnerved by the two invisible mages.

"Isn't that the Queen's little knife ear?" one of the men asked.

"Aye, I hadn't seen her around for a day or two," the other said. "Where have you been, girl?"

"I was running an errand for my queen," Erlina said.

"Well, go on then," the guard shrugged.

Harry had felt Morrigan release his hand as she stepped towards her target. Thankfully, the Confundus charm was one he had a lot of practice with so he waited for her to make the first move.

"Confundo!"

When Morrigan's incantation rang out, he hit the right guard as well, and both of them were left standing there looking quite dazed.

"Inside, quickly," Harry prodded at Erlina, who opened the door.

Once they were inside, Erlina let out a sigh of relief. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Don't worry, just lead us to Anora," Harry replied.

"Very well," she exhaled and then led them out the entrance area and into a kitchen.

Harry felt Morrigan grasping at his side and he took a moment to find her hand. Bumping into each other could be a problem, of course, but also it was just nice to have her by his side. Maybe he was an old softie.

The next room was a large dining area with a number of guards sitting at a few long tables and eating. Thankfully, there was enough room for them to follow Erlina's path as she scooted around the outside and kept her head down.

Soon, they found themselves going down one hallway, through a room, then another long hallway. Eventually they found themselves going past a large entryway and Harry realized they had wound around to the front of the estate. Turning through one more doorway, Erlina ran over to a door at the end of a short hall.

There was an obvious magical glow in front of the door, and Harry frowned as he looked it over. Did they have a mage on hand to somehow ward or otherwise lock the queen inside?

"The Grey Warden is here, my lady," Erlina said.

Anora raised her voice to answer from within. "Thank the Maker. I would greet you properly, but I'm afraid we've had a setback. My 'host' was not content with leaving me under heavy guard. He sealed the door by magic. If you can find the mage who cast the spell-"

"Thankfully for you, I am a mage as well," Harry interrupted. "Give me a moment and I'll have this taken care of."

"Be careful," she replied. "They may detect your attempts at breaking this enchantment."

He snorted briefly and ran his wand over the area twice. The lock was decently powerful as it did stop physical effects to bypass it, but Harry's magic was much stronger. Dispelling it took only a moment and then they were inside.

Harry also brought down his invisibility and then bowed slightly to the queen. Her appearance had given him a brief pause- she was a rather tall and beautiful blue-eyed blonde. But it was the specifically haughty body language and patrician type of beauty that threw him. If there was just a little more frostiness in her voice, it would have been an uncanny reminder of his long lost wife.

"You have my thanks," Anora said. "Now we just have to get out of here somehow."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "I can handle that in just a second. Is there anything else we should deal with while we're here?"

"I heard there was another Grey Warden that was captured," she said. "Howe likely dragged him off to the dungeons, but he may still be alive, assuming they wanted information."

"I see," Harry frowned and rubbed his chin.

"We could rescue him as well," Morrigan spoke up. "With the skills we've already used, 'twould be easy enough to search for this other Grey Warden."

Harry sighed but had to agree. "If you'll stay here for a moment, I'll take these two to Arl Eamon. Then we can go in search of whoever may be imprisoned. From what little we've heard of this Howe, I wouldn't be surprised if he has others locked away, for personal or political reasons."

"How do you think we'll be able to escape so easily?" Anora asked. She had frowned at the voice of an invisible witch who seemed to be with them.

"If you and Erlina will take hold of either side, I have magic that will solve that in seconds." Harry shot a quick imperturbable charm at the door in order to stop the sound from escaping once he apparated.

The queen raised an eyebrow at him. "I can't remember a commoner ever suggesting that I embrace them before."

Harry chuckled and wrapped his left arm around the elf. "If you want to get out of here, then hold on tight, my lady."

Anora rolled her eyes but stepped next to him and cautiously took his other arm.

"I'll be right back," he said to Morrigan and they disappeared with a crack.


Harry kept them all standing when they arrived at Eamon's estate, but both the queen and her handmaid were soon bent over and gagging. Thankfully, the nausea passed without either of them vomiting.

"Dear Maker, what was that?" Anora groaned.

"The sensation isn't too comfortable, but the effect is worth it," Harry replied as he motioned to the bedroom they were standing in, the guest quarters he and Morrigan had shared.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Arl Eamon's place."

"Then take me to him," Anora replied. "We have many things to worry about."

"I can lead you there, my lady," Erlina piped up. "I believe the Grey Warden has tasks of his own."

"Of course," she agreed. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he said as he disappeared.


Returning to the room where Anora had been kept, Harry looked around for the blurred outline of Morrigan. "Any problems?"

"No, you were quick enough." Her voice drew his attention to where she had sat down. "Shall we?"

Harry held out his left hand for her and then reapplied the disillusion charm on himself.

"I assume you want to continue to avoid any conflicts while we search?" Morrigan asked.

"For now, at least," he agreed. "We should make sure we get everyone out that we need to rescue, but there is the possibility that combat may become necessary. I'd rather go for stealth as long as we can though."

"Worried about us being outnumbered?"

"No, I just don't want to get blood on you," Harry teased. "That would delay us from celebrating once we're done."

"I don't know..." Morrigan drolly answered. "Wouldn't it be fun to clean each other off in the shower?"

Harry chuckled. "True, but I'd have to find a place to set up the tent."

"And 'twould be more time wasted," she agreed. "Let us deal with our task here then."

"If we run into any single targets, let me handle them," Harry said as he prepared to take down the privacy charm and open the door. "We'll need to practice silent casting with you later."

"Very well."

The two of them made their way back out into the main hallway that had led from the entrance and they followed it, quietly checking every room they came to for anyone or anything useful. At the end of another hallway, they came to doors leading off to either side, and once unlocked the right door revealed quite a sight.

"That's a lot of gold," Harry murmured. It was little more than a storage room but it had a couple of containers full of treasure as well as literal piles of gold covering the floor.

"Better to take it for ourselves than leave it for our enemies," Morrigan suggested. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes." He began by casting a notice-me-not charm at the doorway so they wouldn't be interrupted. Then he conjured another chest and they each began to levitate the coins into it.

"I assume we'll use shrinking charms to more easily move them once we're finished?" Morrigan asked.

"Yes, and let me cast them," he replied.

"Why?"

"Conjurations are temporary."

"Yes. And?" Morrigan prodded.

"It's a bit of theory you may not have come across yet," Harry began to elaborate. "The interaction of another's magic is theorized to shorten the duration. Of course, conjurations used in battle aren't often meant to last very long, but that's part of the evidence. In this case though, if you were to shrink the chest that I conjured then it's possible the magic would wear off quicker than if I were to shrink it instead."

"I see," she replied. "I'll shrink the other one then."

He nodded and finished packing up the loose gold. "Only one door left. We should be getting close."

Through the next door they found what appeared to be the master bedroom area- and a doorway leading to a tunnel that led underground.

"I have a feeling we're about to stumble into the dungeons," Harry mused as he came to a halt.

"We should be careful then," Morrigan agreed. "I'll let you handle things unless we need to deal with multiple foes."

"Alright."

Opening the door at the end of the tunnel, they found a much rougher section of stonework, and a startled voice called out. "What? Who goes there?"

Before Harry could even think of answering, he heard a struggle. Slowly moving closer, they found a man reaching through a barred prison cell's doors and choking the guard. Instead of letting the unknown man finish killing the guard, Harry stunned him and he fell to the floor.

The prisoner pulled the guard's body closer until he could reach the keys and free himself.

"That was a convenient distraction." The prisoner peeked out of the cell and looked around for a moment. He was stripped down to his underwear and a few marks showed that he'd likely been beaten, but he was still mostly in good condition. Fairly strong and healthy, with dark hair and a short, groomed beard, Harry would have guessed his age as maybe forty or so.

Since he was still unarmed, Harry decided he would take the risk that this was the Grey Warden they were looking for and thus he revealed himself.

"Now that is a type of magic I've not seen before," the prisoner said. His voice also had a slight accent, not as pronounced as Leliana's or quite the same as the native Fereldans who mostly sounded like people from back home in England.

"I would have been surprised if you had," Harry replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Riordan," he answered with a slight bow of the head. "I am a Grey Warden. While I mostly served in and around Jader, I was born in Highever. When word was lost after Ostagar, I came here to try to discover what was going on and how bad the Blight had become."

"But you were captured," Harry said.

"Indeed," Riordan nodded. "But not before I had heard that one of my fellows had survived and was becoming a rather annoying hindrance to Loghain and Howe."

"Yeah, sort of," Harry sighed, knowing that his deception was once again going to be a bit of a pain to deal with now that a real Grey Warden had been found. For the moment, he decided to merely offer his hand. "The name is Harry, and I'm here to rescue you."

"Harry..." Riordan shook his hand but looked at him strangely for a second. "That was the name given to a powerful mage who was supposedly one of us, but-"

"But I can explain later, once we're not in enemy territory."

"Very well." Riordan looked over at the guard. "I suppose I can probably squeeze into his outfit and-"

Harry conjured up a simple robe and handed it over. "Quicker and easier for now. Let me take you back to Arl Eamon's and then-"

"There are others trapped further below," the Grey Warden said. "I can make my way out of here on my own. You should see if you can free them instead."

"Trust me, my way is faster and I can come back for them," Harry countered, grabbing the man's hand and disappearing with another crack.

Morrigan sighed and floated the guard into the empty cell. "I hope there's something more interesting to find down here- and perhaps someone to kill. This has been far too easy so far."


When Harry returned a few minutes later, he was once again already invisible, but Morrigan recognized the sound and she stood up from the stool she'd conjured. "Finally. What took you so long?"

"Riordan had some papers that he wanted me to retrieve," he replied. "Grey Warden business; I told him I'd try to find them."

"There were a couple of locked chests upstairs in Howe's quarters," Morrigan said. "However, another thought occurs. Do you know of any magic we could use to sense how many more guards we may find down in the dungeons?"

"I have a simple way to do that," he admitted.

"Like you did back in that little village where we found Shale?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then let me handle those locked chests while you peer into our future," Morrigan replied as she walked back up the tunnel leading to the ground floor of the manor.

Harry sighed and got on with it. Death had been close at hand for so very long; perhaps one of these days he would learn to not let that thought bother him quite so much.

Darkness slid over him and his eyes gazed through stone and earth. The sensation sort of reminded him of seeing videos of night vision with the way heat would show up, although in this case it was specifically the life force that his eyes beheld.

And Morrigan was right to suggest this as he saw a lot of people in the dungeons. Even if half of them were prisoners, they were going to need to deal with a lot of guards, torturers, and whoever else may get in their way.

Not to mention more of those mabari guard dogs that were so damn vicious. Dog bites were never fun to deal with, and he wasn't looking forward to dealing with the local equivalent of something like a rottweiler.

It would be so easy to snuff them all out. To crush these annoyances like they were nothing more than vermin crushed underfoot.

Torturers...

He'd been tortured a few times over the course of his life. Those who delighted in giving pain to helpless victims- why should he bother sparing people like that?

The hell with stealth.


Morrigan unlocked the chests with one of the simplest spells she'd learned from the first book Harry had given her. Papers were definitely inside, although they appeared to be written in some form of code. Perhaps it was something the Grey Wardens did while in enemy territory?

And speaking of Grey Wardens, now that she had access to one, what would she do about her original plan?

Riordan was older and had likely been a Grey Warden for too long. That might make the ritual fail anyway. And he wasn't Harry. That mattered too.

It mattered more than she wanted it to.

What was wrong with her? Hadn't she been taught better? Didn't she know how self-serving people were? Was Harry really worth throwing aside everything she believed?

And to her terror, a small voice screamed out that yes he was.

Morrigan rolled up the papers she'd found and tried to ignore the indecision that was trying to plague her.

But her thoughts were torn away from all that when she felt a horrible presence seeping out from the dungeons- and the terrible magic that had to be causing it. There was only one thing she'd ever felt that was like that, so she ran back down the tunnel to the dungeons and through another hall.

Morrigan soon came across several dead bodies of guards, all without any marks upon them showing obvious violence. She turned another corner and saw even more bodies through open doorways and heard a scream off to her left. Charging inside, she found a tall figure cloaked in darkness striding towards a man strapped to a torture rack. Several more bodies lay dead on the rough stones.

"Sleep," the deep, hollow voice said to the prisoner whose eyes rolled back in his head. Morrigan almost flinched when the Master of Death turned back to her. "Stun and transform the innocents into something small that you can carry. I will deal with the others."

She nodded and raised her wand, thinking of which version of human transfiguration she should try. It was supposed to be a tricky bit of magic, so she decided on something simple, turning them into ferrets. For some reason he hadn't yet explained, Harry found that particular spell very amusing.

She conjured up a sack to place the man in, assuming there would be more victims to rescue soon enough, and then she heard more screams as it seemed that Harry had already found more guards and torturers. Following the sounds, she found Harry's dark cloak walking through another doorway and then yet another command to sleep.

"In here, Morrigan," he called to her.

There was a row of very small prison cells on either side. Two human men and one elf were trapped within.

"Leave the elf," Harry said quietly. "It was too late for him."

As she looked closer, Morrigan saw why he said that- the poor elf looked like he'd been dead for days already and judging by the numerous wounds all over him, it had not been a pleasant death. Instead, she went to work stunning and transfiguring the two who were still alive.

The heat from a rush of flames made her turn around and she saw Harry's wand raised up out of the dark cloak, burning away the remains of the tortured elf.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," he whispered before heading back into the main section of the dungeons.

Most people may have been afraid or at least unnerved by this power of Harry's, but Morrigan merely found it fascinating. Due to his unique circumstances, there was no doubt that this was something Harry could not share with her, but it also reminded her of just how much he already had and still could teach her of the magic of his home world.

Therefore, she caught up with him as he appeared to glide down the hall.

"Have you grown more comfortable with that form?" she asked.

Harry paused, his dark shroud turning back to look at her. Although she couldn't see his eyes, she felt the gaze anyway. "Sometimes it is easier this way."

He continued on his path then and pointed to a door on their right. "One more time."

Morrigan nodded and raised her wand, even though she knew there was little chance she would have to use it. Still, she had come with him to watch Harry's back, and she wasn't going to consider the job done until they were finished here and she had her legs wrapped around him in their bed.

The door slammed open with a blast of force from Harry's left hand and Morrigan peered around him to see several men flung onto the ground- including the one and only Arl Rendon Howe.

Before they could get back up, a snap from his fingers made the other men in the room go completely still. The casual bringing of death was amazing in a way, and Morrigan watched in delight at the power Harry wielded.

But it was at that moment that Harry's form stopped and loomed over Howe. An oppressive force seemed to be holding the other man on his knees.

"What are you?" the gasping noble sneered as he tried again to stand up.

"There is darkness in your soul," Harry said. "How many deaths have you caused? How quick with a knife in the back of those who called you friend? How much did you enjoy the rewards your betrayals brought you? And how much pleasure have you found while bringing pain and misery to others? It is a rare monster that makes me wish to torture another, and yet you would deserve it."

"I won't stop you," Morrigan said from behind him.

"You are lucky today, Rendon Howe," Harry added. "Unlike the many victims you've had, I will not grant you the justice you deserve, but only because I do not wish to taint myself with the suffering you should face. That is the only mercy you shall have today."

Harry raised his left hand and Morrigan watched the black gem on the ring send forth a beam of magic that struck Howe in the forehead. He was dead before his body hit the ground.

And with that, the Master of Death departed, with Harry reappearing from the shadows and taking a moment to sit down. "That's still a bit tiring."

"Very powerful though," she replied.

"It helped," he whispered. Closing his eyes, Harry took a moment before he continued. "I cannot say how tempting it was to torture that man. I saw his past so clearly and he had done so many foul things. Even to his supposed best friend- he slaughtered their family. That hit a little too close to home."

"Why didn't you then?" Morrigan asked. "I certainly wouldn't have judged you in any negative way."

"I've been tortured before," Harry said with a sigh. "My heart is not as pure as it was when I was young, but I refuse to inflict pain like that on others. It's a line in the sand I hope not to cross."

He stood up and took a moment to stretch his arms and neck. "Killing can be quick and painless. Then it's up to whatever lies beyond death to judge them."

"Are we finished here?"

Harry pointed back to the hallway. "There is a group coming towards us from upstairs. I'm going to see who it is, just in case it's important."

Before turning invisible again, he reached out his hand and Morrigan took hold. Using his wand and fading from sight, they strode together back out into the hall.

A woman was giving orders to several men who were running around checking the bodies of the fallen. "What in the Maker's name happened down here?"

"Ser Cauthrien," Harry whispered to Morrigan.

She placed the name then- it was the female soldier she had thought of as Loghain's attack dog.

"Shall we kill her too?" Morrigan asked.

"No, you go home," he replied. "I'll see what she has to say."

"But-"

Harry cut her off as she tried to protest. "After what you've just witnessed, you should know I'll be fine. Trust me."

She let go of his hand and grumbled to herself briefly before apparating back to their room at Eamon's manor.

If Harry hurt himself, she was going to be very, very angry.


It had been a lot of death he'd brought throughout the dungeons. Torture tended to make him see red a bit like that. Perhaps some of them had only been following orders, maybe not fully cognizant of the horrors being carried out.

Whatever the case, Harry had just killed a lot of people. For that reason, he wanted to try to tone it down a bit. That was part of the reason why he wanted to speak to this Ser Cauthrien. A warrior who had risen high under her benefactor. Was she complicit in the deeds of Loghain and Howe?

It was a question he wanted answered.

On top of that, the way she had snarled at him during their brief meeting also made him want to chuckle. But then, Harry did have a bad habit of poking the bear.

He canceled his invisibility, slid his wand into his trusty mokeskin pouch, and walked over to the harried soldiers. Ser Cauthrien was the first to spot him.

"The Grey Warden!" she growled. "I should have known. I hereby place you under arrest for murder."

Harry wondered at that while he looked at her. She hadn't asked about the missing queen or Grey Warden captive, nor had she yet found Howe's body. Perhaps she just wanted to seize the opportunity presented to her. He shrugged and stepped forward.

"I surrender."