Anders had found clothing to help him blend in better and went down to see what the crowd was all about. He was glad to see Evan up there getting congratulated and wondered who all the other people with him were. Then he saw Claire, hiding herself in the back, just watching. He waited for the crowd to disperse so he could let her know he was there. He was a bit anxious on how well she'd react to him in the physical world, since she'd said it was so different, and figured he'd probably have to take it slow.

To his dismay, Evan had Claire go with him and a few others to follow another man. He didn't really want Evan to know he was there, but he also didn't want Claire to leave. He followed for a bit, then magically zapped Claire a little to get her attention. She turned quickly, fire in her eyes until she spotted him. She quickly said something to Evan, who nodded and continued walking.

"Anders!" She said, grinning. "They're about to discuss how to get into the castle I think. No one knows what's going on." He noticed she was fidgeting with her hands.

"Good to see you in person, Claire!" He grinned back. "It's been what, nine years now? And my word have you changed."

"Oh hush, it's not that different from the Fade!" She laughed, but it sounded nervous.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"You're here." She said. "It's... It's strange, and... and honestly, I'm afraid of it being different. If... if I don't touch you, it can't change, right?"

"Claire." Anders sighed. "It's still me, you trust me, yes? I won't hurt you." She slowly reached out her hand to take his and he could feel her tremble at the touch.

"I can trick my mind all I want in the Fade, but it doesn't compare..." She said, giving his hand a squeeze as she looked up at him. She let go and gave him a hug, melting into his arms as he hugged her back, and he relished her scent. He softly kissed the top of her head and she didn't flinch away.

"I love you so much, Anders." She murmured. "Thank you so much for coming. I never want to let you go..."

"Then don't." He wanted to be with her always, and for once, he believed it possible. The Templars could never take her from him, he could love freely.

"Where should we go?" She asked. "We can't stand here on the pathway forever."

"Are you sure you want to leave the Wardens?" He asked. "I thought you had to fight for justice and freedom." She shrugged, stepping back.

"I don't want to leave you more." She looked up the hill, where she saw some new people gathering. "But at the same time, I don't know. I want to help, but... I'm torn. Our little group is so strange, Anders." She proceeded to tell him all about each member, and how they were supposed to save the world. "It's like something from a legend, right?" She smiled awkwardly.

"I have my own business I want to take care of, Claire." He said. "But I'll be around. You know how to find me."

"Well you don't have to leave right now, surely!" She frowned. He smiled and pulled her into a hug again.

"Of course not!" He said. "I just got here."

Claire couldn't believe how she felt with Anders there, in person. The physical touch felt warm and welcoming, not strange like it had with Cedrik. She still had inhibitions and fears, but there was trust between her and Anders that helped. They didn't do anything physical, outside of hugging, that day, but she was fine with it. Towards the evening, they saw Evan leaving the castle.

"I should get back to them, I suppose." Claire sighed. "I need to at least let them know whether I'll be staying or not."

"You should stay, do some good."

She looked at him, surprised. "And here I was expecting you to be selfish!" She laughed.

"It's a little bit selfish." He pouted. "I have great faith in your ability to save this world from destruction, and I prefer the world not destroyed, so..."

"So you want me to keep your world happy?" He smirked, and something about his lips seemed irresistible. She quickly leaned in and kissed him. He brushed her hair back behind her ear and looked at her with wonder in his eyes. "I will keep your world happy, then."

"Well now I don't want you to leave." He laughed.

"You'll just have something to look forward to on our next visit." She grinned. "Where will you be going, anyway?"

"Oh, you know, here, there, and everywhere. I am still after my phylactery, after all."

"Hopefully you'll have more of a break this time."

"If not, I'll just break out again."

"Ever the optimist!"

Evan didn't question her when she got into camp, but he did give her a sidelong glance that made her wonder what he was thinking. She figured she should talk to him. If anyone would understand, it should be him. Waiting until after dinner, and after everyone got the rundown on what had happened in the castle, since only Morrigan, Alistair, and Leliana had gone with Evan, Claire approached him.

"I wanted to talk about what happened earlier." She said.

"Who was that?" Evan asked. "I couldn't make out his face."

Claire smiled. "Yes, he wants it that way. He's in hiding, but I figured of all people, you should be able to understand the best. You know how the Circle is, and the Templars. Can you blame a man for wanting to be rid of that?"

Evan nodded. "More than ever now that I have been rid of it! Do I know the man?"

"It's possible, though he was locked in solitary confinement for an entire year and just released."

"That could only mean Anders." Evan rolled his eyes and sighed. "He was always escaping, so of course he'd escape again. They act like solitary confinement would make him want to stay! How is he then? Happy to be free, I suspect."

"Yes, very much so." She said. "And that's one thing I wanted to talk about. I don't want you to worry, if I disappear for days at a time. I will try to be here for when you need the help, but at this point, I'm not sure how much help I'll be."

"You were a great help fighting those corpses." Evan shrugged. "You did great healing. And honestly, it'd be great to get Anders to help out as well, though I don't suppose that's an option?"

She shook her head. "No, unfortunately, he's enjoying his independence too much and doesn't want to be 'tied down' to anything."

He looked at her oddly, then asked, "How would you know him, anyway? I thought you were never in the Circle."

"Oh, when I was about fourteen, he tripped over me at the edge of the Korcari wilds. He'd just escaped and I followed him to Denerim, but we got caught by Templars. The..." She stopped and frowned, surprised at the sudden emotion she felt at retelling the story. "The second day, the Templar told me to run, then had fun chasing me down like it was a sport. He stabbed me and left me to die, but I healed myself and survived. I've kept in contact with Anders through the Fade ever since."

"Huh." Evan looked thoughtful. "So you've known him for a long time... and through the Fade. I'd heard of it, but in the Tower, there wasn't much meeting in the Fade going on. I'm not the most adept at wandering the Fade, though the Harrowing went well. I try to avoid the Fade if I can, but... if you ever need to contact me for any reason, or if I need to contact you, perhaps that would be the best way."

"Certainly. I personally love the Fade." She smiled. "I feel so much more comfortable there than here." He shook his head.

"No thank you. Firm earth beneath my feet and no demons and I'll be happy. I used to think spirits could be friends, I remember someone telling me that in the Fade when I was a child and still new to my magic..." Claire suddenly remembered speaking with him then .

"They can be, but it's dangerous because they can be corrupted by us." She said. "I don't blame you for staying out of the Fade, it's not for everyone."

As Claire started getting ready for bed, Alistair walked over. She looked up at him, wondering what the bastard prince could want from her, and then suspected it had to do with Duncan, especially judging by his sorrowful expression.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, standing up.

"Oh, you know, nothing." He was a bad liar. "I just was wondering if you might have a minute, to talk."

"Nothing better to do, what's on your mind?"

"You said... you told me that I probably would have died as well. You saw everything..."

"Alistair..." She put her hand on his arm. "I have nightmares every night, seeing their faces and hearing their screams. I am so thankful that you were spared, and I'm certain Duncan was as well. At least two Wardens were spared. You can think about the what-if's all day until you're mad in the head, but what matters is that someone who has a chance to beat this Blight, who can lead this country, survived."

Alistair didn't look relieved. "Well you're obviously not talking about me. I can't lead anyone to anywhere, we'll all get lost."

"By the time you're done uniting the land, you don't think you'll have grown by then? You really want that spoiled brat of a queen to rule?" She smirked. "She'll probably insist on a monument to her dear father..."

He looked horrified. "After everything that man has done?"

"She's a daddy's girl."

"As much as I don't want to be king, if it comes to it, I think I will just to spite her."

"That's the spirit!" Claire said, glad to see him happier, but then he frowned again.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you while we were in Denerim." He said. "But it's good to see someone Duncan trusted, who knew the others, survived as well. It makes me feel less alone."

"Are you lonely?" She asked. "Even with all these people around you?"

He snorted. "Morrigan's a bitch, Leliana is crazy, Sten is a murderer, and Evan doesn't like me."

"He doesn't?" Claire frowned.

"You know he almost went for the blood magic ritual today?" Alistair shook his head, disapproving. "But we managed to convince him to go to the Circle to get mages." Claire must have made a strange expression because he suddenly looked worried. "What, what's wrong?"

"It's... it's nothing, just a thought about the tower." She felt like she was also a terrible liar.

"Ah, yes, because apostate."

"Being enslaved in Tevinter was bad enough, I don't want to be enslaved here as well."

"I wouldn't call it slavery..." He frowned.

"No privacy, no free will, no getting to use magic whenever... Templar abuses..." He bristled a little.

"Not every Templar is evil."

"No, this is true, but those sadistic bastards more than make up for it." She spat. "Ser Daric especially. I was fourteen, Alistair! Fourteen! And he made me run so he could chase me down and stab me like I was prey." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to snap. I try not to judge Templars beforehand, but you have to understand, it's difficult. Like you and witches of the Wild."

"Hey, that's not fair." He pouted. She raised an eyebrow and he sighed. "All right, fine, I'll give you that one."

She paused for a second, then said, "Please don't worry if I disappear every now and then. I'll never be far away."

He looked at her quizzically. "Why's that?"

"I... have a friend." She smiled sheepishly. "I finally got to see him today after far too long, and he knows how important this group is, but he has his own work he has to do so he can't join, so when possible, I'll be meeting up with him."

"Please don't be too long, we need everyone we can get."

"Don't worry." She smiled. "You'll be fine, and I won't abandon the fight. We can win this, and we will. But you must be strong, Alistair. Even if you're not put up as king, you still have a duty to this world, and only the strong can win." He blinked, then nodded.

"Perhaps I should go get some sleep while I can." He said. "But thank you, it was nice to talk to you."

"And you. Sleep well."

Kinloch Hold rose high into the fog that surrounded the lake, and Claire wasn't sure she wanted to go into the Tower that had held her friend captive for so long. Evan could probably sense her dislike for the Tower and suggested she stay behind. She decided instead to fly up to the top and see if she could find Cullen. She began to wonder if Ser Daric was still around, and if he would be upset to see her like he said. She flew around, perching on various windows to see what she could find, knowing that Evan would take care of most of the problems. There. She saw Daric, with a Desire demon wrapped around him. She almost laughed at his predicament, thinking it only fair, but she knew she couldn't let a demon have free reign in her world.

"Hello, might I have a chat with this Templar without you interfering?" Claire asked as the demon noticed her. The demon scowled, but Claire didn't give it time to react before severing the connection between the demon and the Templar. Daric stumbled back while holding his head, moving away from the demon, giving Claire a clear shot. She didn't hold back, and while the demon put up a fight, Claire defeated it in rather short order. Daric blinked at her in confusion and suspicion.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Considering you love apostate stories, here's one that might jog your memory." She said. "A Templar tells a young apostate girl to run through the forest or he'll stab her friend, then proceeds to chase her down and stab her, telling her she's no better than a demon." His eyes went wide.

"I... killed you, you should be dead."

"You hate mages like me, you fear what we can do..." She found she didn't have any of the anger she'd had before towards him, but she was still wary.

"Yet... yet you came back, and... dare I say, rescued me." He looked bewildered, and she couldn't blame him.

"It may take a little time to get over the possession. This whole tower is overrun with demons, but we have some people coming in to help out. We will save as many as we can."

"Why?" He asked. "Why you? An apostate, one who... who I tortured and tried to kill... why would you come back and save us and risk your life?"

"Because I can't let people just die." She sighed. "The demons are the problem right now, we can worry about everything else later. We have a Blight to fight, as well, so maybe after that too. We need every one we can get, even if... even if they're... you."

"Where are you going?" He asked as she turned to the wall.

"To the Harrowing chamber. There are Templars being held there and I want to see if I can help them. I can't reach the mages... my friends are doing that." She shrugged. "We'll get this tower sorted out, no worries. It'd probably be better if you stay put, and watch for Evan and Wynne. They're here to help." The Templar nodded and Claire became a bird, flying out and to the room with Cullen in it. She flew down and became human again. Cullen was the only one alive, just like the game, and she could feel the energy from the barrier.

She put her hands against it and said, "Cullen, if you can hear me, help is coming." The Templar kept praying, muttering about dreams, and she sighed. The most she could do would be to try to ease his pain. Unfortunately, the barrier made it difficult and after a few hours, she felt as if it was actually draining her, sucking her mana from her. She began panicking as she tried to break free, her vision getting black spots in it.

"Cullen..." She gasped. "Stay strong, I can't hold them off anymore." He looked sharply up as she finally broke free and stumbled back, only to fall unconscious amid the strange masses that were growing on the walls and floor.