"This is Skyhold?"

The fortress was larger and admittedly far more impressive than Nyssa could have imagined, especially now that they had finally reached the bridge connecting to the winding path back down the mountain.

It had been a surprisingly pleasant journey from the Dales, if one did not count the freezing wind that had plagued their ride up the mountain path. Or rather, the walk, for there had been no spare horse for Nyssa to ride. There would be a mount provided in future, Inquisitor Lavellan assured hir, but Nyssa didn't mind. The exercise got hir blood pumping, and the lend of a spare cloak from a fallen scout kept hir warm better than hir own threadbare shawl. It also gave hir the opportunity to observe the Inquisition—and its leader—closely. Even though they had spent over a week in the Dirth, this was the first time they had returned to Skyhold.

"This is it," Lavellan said. He brought his mount to a halt just past the first gate and let Nyssa past so zie could take it all in.

"Yes," Nyssa said. "Tarasyl'an te'las, it was called in ancient times. The place where the sky was held back."

"That's what Solas said, too. You know of its history, I take it."

Nyssa shrugged. "A little. My hahren told me once—" zie cut hirself off; it wouldn't be smart to reveal too much just yet. "Well, he said it was a ritual site for ancient elves thousands of years ago, but I don't think the castle was there at the time."

"The castle came later, yes," Lavellan replied. "Some of our construction workers found Fereldan and dwarven architecture in the lower levels."

"Carved dogs and Paragons. An interesting combination."

As they crossed the bridge there was a faint shout from the ramparts, and the clanking and groaning of the metal gates as they opened. Beyond the gates lay a courtyard framed by the fortress walls. There was a stone staircase leading up to what was presumably the main hall, and the dirt path lead further west into the grounds. Nyssa caught sight of a few stalls and a barn. The faint smell of hay and heated metal mingled with air heavy with rain, though the sun still shone through the clouds.

Zie closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply, inhaling the scents and listening to the activity and—there it was. The Veil thrummed quietly, almost like an undercurrent of sound beneath layers of noise.

"The Veil is very thin here," zie said.

Lavellan laughed. "Solas says that too."

Solas. Nyssa wondered how he was doing since the encounter with his spirit friend. He had been gone by the time they'd returned to camp, and it had been a week since.

"Lady Nyssa?"

Nyssa opened hir eyes to see an elven woman standing before hir, wearing the uniform of the Inquisition, though with leathers in place of armour. She had large dark eyes and a nervous expression.

"Begging your pardon, my lady," the woman said, "but I've been asked to bring you to Sister Nightingale. As soon as they return, she said."

"Who is Sister Nightingale?" Nyssa asked Lavellan.

"Our spymaster," the Inquisitor replied, as he dismounted. "She's a good sort. She sees everyone who walks through these gates."

Of course the Inquisitor would have sent word ahead of their return, especially if his new recruit was a mage. Nyssa's hint about knowing what created the Breach had no doubt raised a few eyebrows also.

"If it can wait," Nyssa said, "I have some things to unpack."

"There's people to do that for you, my lady," said the messenger. "Your belongings will be taken to your quarters. The spymaster wants to see you now."

There would be no avoiding it, then. Nyssa sighed. "Very well."

The messenger lead Nyssa through the small crowd and up the stone stairs into the upper courtyard. There were more buildings on this level, and the acrid smell of hot metal was stronger. Zie noted stairs to the ramparts, and another staircase leading into the castle proper. It was those stairs the messenger took.

"How did you come to join the Inquisition?" Nyssa asked as zie followed the woman.

"I have a sister in the kitchens, my lady," the woman replied. "We joined at the same time. I got picked for runner since I was faster. I get three meals a day and a roof over my head, so I can't complain." She eyed Nyssa. "Begging your pardon, my lady, but are you one of them Dalish?"

"Yes, I am. It was the tattoos that gave me away, right?"

"Right," said the elven woman, and Nyssa smiled at her.

The main hall was so enormous zie could barely see the ceiling. Long tables were laid along the walls and crowds of humans in Orlesian and Marcher clothing chattered amongst themselves. At the far end was an empty chair decorated with Inquisition livery.

The messenger led hir through the hall and into a room on the left, which opened to what looked like a sitting room or an office of some sort. A woman sat at a desk near the fireplace, her dark head bent over a piece of parchment. She didn't look up as Nyssa and the messenger passed by, heading to the next corridor. At the end was an enormous, intricately carved wooden door, with a smaller door set into it. The messenger opened the smaller door and let Nyssa in.

The room beyond was made of simple stone and almost bare, save for a large polished wooden table in the centre, upon which lay a large map. Leaning over it was a human woman with short red hair talking to Solas. At the other end of the table stood a tall woman with cropped dark hair and intense eyes. In the corner, a man wearing Templar regalia. Nyssa's heart began to pound as all four turned to look at hir.

"Lady Nyssa, Spymaster," the messenger said.

"Thank you, Calista," said the red-haired woman. "Please go to see Varric and remind him that I need that letter. He'll know which one."

Nyssa swallowed the lump in hir throat as Calista left, shutting the door quietly behind her. For a moment all five people regarded each other in silence.

Zie had been expecting this, and yet zie couldn't stop the tightness growing in her chest. The urge to flee was almost overwhelming, and more than ever Nyssa wished zie had hir staff. Zie had surrendered it before they reached Skyhold, with Lavellan's promise it would be taken to hir room. Even if zie had it with hir, it was unlikely to help.

"Don't pay Commander Cullen any mind," the spymaster said, indicating the Templar. "He insisted on being present, but this is not an interrogation. I only wish to ask you a few questions."

"You first," Nyssa said, with far more bravado than zie felt.

The woman laughed lightly. "I suppose that is fair. I am Leliana, spymaster to the Inquisition. I once served as the Left Hand of Divine Justinia V." She indicated the dark-haired woman. "This is Lady Cassandra Pentaghast, who served as Right Hand."

"Interesting."

This time it was Cassandra Pentaghast who answered, her voice heavy with an accent Nyssa recognised as Nevarran. "What is interesting?"

"That you should have chosen a Dalish elf to lead you, considering your Chantry roots." Zie indicated the Commander with a twitch of hir head. "Templar. A lay sister. A Seeker of Truth. Yes, I recognise the symbol on your tunic," zie added, as Cassandra opened her mouth with a frown. "And yet you have elves, dwarves, humans and Qunari all serving."

"Inquisitor Lavellan was already our leader in all but name," Cassandra replied, though her frown did not abate. "It was a natural choice. All those who wish to serve are welcome. Including mages."

"And as I am sure the Inquisitor has told you, mages are in no short supply at Skyhold." Leliana paused delicately. "That is why I must ask you to agree to magical testing before you join us."

Nyssa nodded; it was a fair request considering the recent events. "Do you wish me to take a Harrowing? Is that why your templar is here?"

"I'm not a templar," said the Commander. He moved away from the wall and approached the table, resting a casual hand on his sword. "Not anymore."

"You wear a templar's tunic," Nyssa pointed out.

He smiled wryly. "I didn't have time to change on the way to Skyhold."

"Commander Cullen was Knight-Captain of the Templar Order in Kirkwall," Leliana said, as Nyssa folded hir arms. "He was recruited by Seeker Cassandra after the unfortunate events in Kirkwall three years ago."

"Unfortunate is not how I would describe it," Nyssa replied.

Annoyance flashed across Cullen's face. "I don't—"

"If we could return to the present topic," Leliana interrupted. "It is a simple test carried out on every mage who has come to us." She indicated Solas, who was standing quietly by the war table. "I believe you and Solas have met. I thought you might feel more comfortable being tested by someone who is more familiar to you."

At Leliana's nod he began to approach, rolling the sleeves of his tunic to the elbows.

"May I?" he asked, and extended a hand.

Nyssa tried to concentrate and remember hir mentor's words. He had always been at hir to clear hir mind and let hir senses pick out details zie might have missed otherwise.

Solas pressed hir fingers between his. They were slender and long, cool to the touch and pale in comparison to the golden-brown of hir skin. He had the same callouses on his palm and fingers as zie—roughness from frequent use of a staff. He was taller than hir, though most people were. He towered over hir as he drew closer, turning hir hand palm up. His other hand pinched hir chin between thumb and finger.

"Look at me," he said, and Nyssa obeyed reluctantly. Solas stared at hir, examining the features of hir face. It was uncomfortable—especially considering what zie had witnessed in the Dirth.

"Satisfied?" zie asked, when he let go of hir chin.

"No."

Zie flinched as his magic warmed hir hand suddenly. He must have felt hir fingers tremble, for he glanced down at hir and said quietly, "Tel'enfenim, da'len. This will not cause pain."

With a shock, Nyssa realised who he reminded hir of.

Solas lifted his hand and made a sweeping motion. Energy rushed through hir, hard enough to make hir stagger. Only a strong grip on hir elbow kept hir from falling.

"She is fine," he said to Leliana, when the magic faded. "If she were possessed by a demon, it would have defended itself. Do you require anything further?"

"Yes, just a few more moments." Leliana inclined her head to Nyssa. "Thank you for your co-operation. I can imagine as a mage you are used to such distrust."

Nyssa shrugged. It seemed churlish to openly agree.

"The Inquisitor sent an… interesting letter ahead of your return to Skyhold. In it he mentions you spoke of an artefact that created the Breach."

Of course the Inquisitor would have written to his council, Nyssa thought, and suddenly regretted speaking up. If this Sister Nightingale really had been the Left Hand of the Divine, then she would have been a skilled player of the Game indeed. No doubt zie had already revealed far more than zie wished to such a keen eye. On the other hand, if zie refused to tell them what zie knew, people might suffer for it.

Nyssa repeated what zie had told Lavellan of the artefact, and described it as zie remembered it: a heavy, carved metallic orb warm to the touch. Leliana, Cassandra, Solas and Cullen listened intently, although the spymaster and Seeker occasionally exchanged glances. Solas remained silent, watching Nyssa with an inscrutable expression.

"Their proper use is to channel magical energies," zie continued into the silence. "If a madman like this Elder One managed to unlock its powers, that could have been how the Breach was created."

"They?" Cassandra pressed, straightening to her full height. "There are more of them?"

"I don't know. I only knew of one, and it was stored in the vaults of the University of Orlais. At least, it was until last year, when it was removed."

Leliana frowned. "How do you know of this?"

Nyssa paused and swallowed as hir throat burned uncomfortably. The anxiety was nearly unbearable, but zie had to say it.

"Because," zie replied, "I was the one who removed it."

For a moment the room was utterly silent.

It was Cassandra who first spoke. Her mouth turned down at the corners, pulling at the healing scar on her cheek.

"You." Her voice trembled with anger, and she made a move as if to step towards Nyssa. "You delivered the orb to Corypheus?"

"Cassandra," Leliana said sharply.

This was the most dangerous part of telling hir story—mixing truth with lies, a technique zie had used often over the years. Never with a player of the Game, though, and not with such high stakes. Without hir staff, in the presence of a templar and angry Seeker, it would be easy to feel intimidated—but zie was Dalish, and zie did not have to submit to these humans.

"I was not finished speaking," Nyssa said, with as much dignity as zie could manage, and forced hir voice to be steady. The Seeker cast Leliana an angry glance, as if it were she who had spoken, but found only a coolly neutral expression on the other woman's face.

Finally, she looked begrudgingly at Nyssa.

"Continue."

Nyssa took deep breaths through hir nose and tried to remain calm.

"I was paid," zie continued, "to take the orb and replace it with a replica—one which I had created. This is what I also did in Orlais: I created copies of valuable artefacts at the behest of the University of Val Royeaux. These copies were displayed at the University itself, or loaned out to Circles."

"And someone hired you to steal the orb," Leliana said thoughtfully. "Do you have a name?"

"No."

This time it was Cullen who made a disbelieving sound. "How convenient."

"Believe me or don't believe me as you like," Nyssa replied coolly. "I can tell you the one who paid me was an elf, and he accepted the orb on behalf of his clan."

Solas frowned. "Elvhen?"

"Yes," zie said, as the humans glanced at him. "It's not the first time a clan has approached me for this sort of work. They paid me, but I would have done it for free."

"Clearly you were deceived by this elf, whoever he is," Cassandra said.

For the first time, Nyssa dropped hir gaze.

"Many things have happened that I thought were impossible," zie replied, and zie was unable to keep the bitterness out of hir voice. "Least of all being taken advantage of by my own people. Clearly, I am not immune to foolishness or naivety."

Silence fell. Nyssa lifted hir chin, anxious and uncomfortable, and let them study hir.

Then Solas spoke. "Da'len—"

"I am no child."

He didn't respond, pointedly, but continued talking. "The existence of this artefact is… not unknown to the Inquisition. I witnessed Corypheus wielding the orb at Haven, and identified it for what it was."

Hir eyes narrowed. "Then why ask me for information you already know?"

"We know very little about this orb," Leliana said. "Beyond what Solas has been able to tell us. Most people know less. We didn't expect…" she trailed off, and a little frown creased her brows.

Nyssa didn't bother being offended by the implication. "You didn't expect a Dalish elf to know about such things. No doubt your elven mage expert told you we are all ignorant, stubborn fools."

"Not in as many words," Leliana replied, and shot Solas an apologetic look.

Nyssa laughed. "I'm not offended. For a nomadic people, we're not very well-travelled."

"But you are."

"I've seen much in the last few years. That's all I'll say for now." Nyssa straightened, the weight in hir chest lifting, and let hir gaze wander over hir audience. "I don't know if I bear any responsibility for what's happened, but I still want to help, and I will do what I can to convince my people to do the same. The Dalish are also a part of this world."

The spymaster gazed at hir thoughtfully.

"I'm sure we can," she said eventually. "A room has already been set aside for your use. If you could prepare a list of names and locations of your Dalish contacts, I would be grateful."

There was a quick knock on the door and a dwarven man entered with his head down, rifling through a sheaf of papers he carried.

"Nightingale," he said, "you got any idea where Ruffles went off to? I need her to pull some strings for me. Got the papers all done up and everything." He looked up, eyebrows raising as he took in the other people in the room. "Oh, are we having a party in here?"

Leliana fixed him with a look of mild exasperation. "You could have sent a messenger, Varric."

The dwarf shrugged. "Walking a few feet to the war room doesn't seem so bad when the Inquisitor's got me trudging through corpse-infested swamps every other week." He shot Nyssa a curious look.

"This is Nyssa," Leliana said, following his gaze. "One of the Inquisitor's new… friends. Lady Nyssa, this is Varric Tethras. He is our—"

"Storyteller, ruffler of feathers, and the bane of Seeker Cassandra's existence," Varric finished, while looking hir up and down. Cassandra scowled. "What're you in here for? You call some human a shem?"

"Nyssa will be putting her knowledge and magical talents to good use for the Inquisition," Leliana said.

"Elven magic, eh?" Varric tilted his head and addressed Solas directly. "They talk this over with you, Chuckles?"

"Do me a favour and show Nyssa to her quarters," Leliana said, before Solas could reply. "She's up on the top floor. Next to you, actually."

"Sure, if you leave this for Ruffles. Tell her I said thanks." Varric gestured to Nyssa. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour."

The door swung shut behind Varric and the Inquisition's newest recruit. A moment of heavy silence descended upon the room. Then Leliana glanced around and asked, "Thoughts?"

"I do not trust her," Cassandra said immediately, and Cullen nodded in agreement. "It seems far too convenient that she appears in the Exalted Plains exactly when the Inquisition arrived."

"Scout Harding's report mentioned she had been there for at least a few months."

"I am aware, Leliana. I read the report. The mage had been observing the camp for three days before she approached and asked for the Inquisitor specifically." Cassandra made a noise of disapproval, her dark brows furrowing, and tapped impatiently on the war table. "Solas, I would welcome your opinion. You have worked with her in the field, have you not?"

Solas, as always, carefully considered his thoughts before responding. 'Powerful and knowledgeable' was not inherently a cause for suspicion. The Inquisition and its leader tended to attract remarkable people, even moreso now after their settlement at Skyhold.

He thought of Nyssa: the fine-boned features, the vallaslin dedicated to Mythal. The ease with which she pulled magic from the Fade. Her pained grimace in close proximity to the pride demon. The fluent elven. The bitterness in her voice as she spoke truth and lies combined.

"Inquisitor Lavellan seems to find her sincere," Solas pointed out. "He has yet to mis-judge those he brings to the Inquisition. We would not be as successful otherwise."

"Yet as we grow, spies will be inevitable," Cassandra said grimly. "Can we trust a mage who admits to being a thief?"

Solas did not miss the quick, annoyed glance Leliana shot at the other woman. He had never seen the spymaster display so much as a single tell in the months he had observed her at work. Had the Seeker hit a nerve, perhaps?

"She readily confessed to having taken the orb," the spymaster said, and picked up another set of papers lying on the war table. "Elven criminals are punished severely in Orlais, moreso after the last rebellion in Halamshiral. Why risk death for such a lie?"

Why indeed, Solas thought. The child was a curiosity if nothing else. Whether she could be an asset or a liability was yet to be determined.

"The point is," Leliana continued, "we may be able to find how the orb fell into the Elder One's hands."

"Does it matter?" Cullen asked.

"Yes," she replied simply, and her expression brooked no argument. "My scouts will keep looking. Solas, will you find out what you can?"

"Of course," Solas said, and turned a thoughtful gaze to the door. "I will discover what she knows."