"They keep coming! Help—" The templar's words cut off as the darkspawn overwhelmed him. Meredith didn't seem phased much by the sight. It had happened too often in the past hour to warrant any emotion. She didn't have much left to begin with, not with all that's happened. These darkspawn were no better than the blood mages they kept in the tower. Perhaps after this is done, the Knight-Commander will finally be convinced to annul the whole Circle outright…

"Knight-Captain, move!"

Speak of the demon, she thought. But she wasn't interested in whatever order he was about to bark at her. The battle was simply too chaotic to entertain his prattle. She kept herself focused on her self-appointed task: bringing as many of these foul creatures down as she possibly could.

Before she was able to bring her greatsword up, a pair of hurlocks charged at her. She stepped back, hoping to give herself the moment she'd need to defend herself. But instead the Knight-Commander appeared before her suddenly, blocking the hurlocks' blows with his shield. He shoved them backwards, they stumbled just out of his sword's reach.

Cullen readied himself, waiting for the darkspawn to make their move before he'd attack. This was nothing like fighting mages. His templars had made quick work of the emissaries, but somehow the grunts posed a greater threat. Many of the recruits had been lost already, and more than a few Lieutenants. He was down to his elite officers, Maker help him.

They never trained for this. But Andraste as his witness, he would make damn sure they were prepared next time. And there would be a next time. He shot a quick glance around, surveying his remaining forces. They were tired now, the darkspawn seemed endless. Their position seemed hopeless…

The hurlocks regained themselves and charged at him once again. But before they came within his reach, they were both pegged with expertly aimed arrows. Cullen scanned his surroundings and quickly found the archer, perched precariously on the roof of a nearby building. He didn't recognize the man, but that armor…he was a Warden. Thank the Maker for small miracles.

From behind him, one of the Knight-Lieutenants began shouting. "The Lady Seeker! She's alive!"

Even in the midst of the battle, Cullen picked up on the disgusted look Meredith shot her. He'd have to remember to scold her for her demeanor later. Cassandra let loose a battle cry as she charged up to one of the Hurlock Alphas. With three precise hits and a few helpful arrows, the monster fell. With it's death, some of the grunts began to scatter aimlessly. The templars were able to cut them down easily now.

With the momentary reprieve, Cullen called to his men. "Focus on the Alphas! Hold nothing back!"

The battle turned in their favor quickly once they were properly coordinated. More and more of the grunts fell to the Warden's arrows, leaving the templars open to deal with the bigger threats. It was only a few more tense moments before the last monster before them was cut down. Cullen looked to the rooftop, hoping to thank the Warden for his help but the man unfortunately had vanished already. The templars cheered triumphantly, celebrating their victory amongst themselves.

But Cullen was in no mood to celebrate. All he could see were the lives lost; he couldn't help but feel personally responsible for each and every one of them. His family remained safe within the sturdy walls of the Chantry behind him. But so many more people were overrun. Innocent people. His own Templars, too. Maker save him, he should have done more…he should have…no! He wouldn't think of that. Not here, not now. Preferably, not ever. But that would be too much to ask…he never got to make it right, if he even could…

"Knight-Commander?" The Seeker asked with concern in her voice. "Are you well?"

"Yes, of course. Apologies, Lady Seeker." He straightened his posture purely out of ingrained habit. "What would you ask of me?"

She didn't appear convinced of his well being but she mercifully recognized it was not the time to press the issue. "I'd like to apologize for my absence…I was indisposed, unwillingly. It will not happen again."

Cullen smiled politely to her. "No need to apologize, Seeker, I'm simply pleased to see you in one piece."

Cassandra returned his smile with a short nod. "I assume you've defended the civilians successfully?"

"Of course! The Templars could not be defeated by these foul creatures!" Meredith eyed Cassandra with an arrogant sneer. "We were blessed by the Maker's hand today, and we did not falter!"

More than a few of the remaining Templars cheered at her words. Their reaction seemed to spark anger in Cullen. He whipped around to face them. "Need I remind you of the cost of our victory? Of how many of your brothers and sisters died to achieve it?" He stepped up to Meredith and nearly spat his words at her. "You lost your command for your careless actions once. And your bloody pride nearly cost us our foothold today. If you so much as take one step out of turn, I will personally see you exiled."

Meredith was enraged, she shouted right back at him. Cullen might have tried to keep her discipline discreet, but she would not go down quietly. "You would sentence your own Knight-Captain to exile? For doing the Maker's work?"

"You do your own work!" Cullen's shoulders squared, he pointed his finger accusingly at her. "You think of everyone and everything around you as some sort of pawn! I will not allow your arrogance to jeopardize my people further!"

"How dare you—!" Meredith's hands clenched into fists and she stepped towards Cullen. But before it could come to blows, Cassandra placed herself between them.

She shoved them away from each other as she scolded them. "Enough! This is getting us nowhere!"

Cullen grunted towards Meredith. "Well, I think we're agreed on that much."

"We are agreed on nothing—"

"I said enough!" Cassandra shoved Meredith further away. "Your Knight-Commander has spoken. If you take offense with his rulings, I'll escort you to the Divine myself." It wasn't hard to notice the sneer on Meredith's face deepened into a scowl. "I'm sure our Most Holy would be delighted to have you in his presence again."

Cullen had to bite back a smirk as he watched Meredith stomp away defeatedly. With the spectacle clearly over with, the remaining Templars shuffled back into the Chantry, likely for a much-needed rest.

Perhaps the Lady Seeker had truly seen Meredith for what she was during her time here in Lothering. He couldn't help but admire her for her diligent observations in her short time here—would it be inappropriate to compliment her? Probably, don't risk it. A small bit of hope brewed in him; maybe, just maybe, the Seeker could remove Meredith from the Order once and for all. He cleared his throat as Cassandra turned back to him. "Lady Seeker, I must apologize for that display."

"Unnecessary." She waived off the sentiment as if it were a pesky fly. "In fact, I agree with your judgement. I believe the Knight-Captain has much to answer for."

Cullen's expression grew serious. "Have you discovered something?"

"I cannot say for sure. But certain circumstances are…suspicious to say the least." Cassandra took a quick look around, ensuring no one was listening. "Tell me, did she pick her patrol this morning?"

"Yes, but that is standard procedure. She makes the schedule; therefore, she allows herself the preference."

"I see…She's made no secret of her resentment of your leadership. I find it curious that she was the one who responded to the watchtower so readily when the wall began to fall."

Cullen's mind was never made for secrets and machinations. He was glad the Seeker was kind enough to spell it out for him. "Curious is one word for it, certainly. I have questions for her myself. She went on patrol this morning with my newest Lieutenant. He didn't return with her."

"Forgive me, Commander, but is it not likely that he perished in the fighting?"

"Possibly…"

"But you do not believe that."

"No, I don't. The Lieutenant was—is—a friend of mine. I trained him myself. His beliefs might be unorthodox but he's a capable warrior. If he truly fell to the darkspawn, then Meredith had a hand in it, I'm sure of it."

Cassandra seemed rather interested in this new accusation. "Would she have had a reason to betray him?"

Cullen hesitated for a moment, knowing he was about to have a difficult conversation with the Seeker. He had come to respect her now. He truly hoped this wouldn't be the end of their cordiality. "Alistair was raised as one of the Chantry orphans. He's only half-human. Meredith made it very clear when I recruited him that she wouldn't accept an 'orphaned half-breed' within our ranks."

Much to his surprise, Cassandra made a disgusted noise. "I assure you, neither the Maker nor the Divine have ever declared such nonsense. There are plenty of elves that serve the Chantry in many forms, for that matter. Purely ridiculous."

He let out a heavy breath. "That's a relief."

"Were you expecting a racist rant, Knight-Commander?"

Cullen chuckled nervously, despite himself. Andraste preserve me, I hope that wasn't too informal. "I've found that I prefer to be pleasantly surprised rather than unprepared."

Cassandra grew a smirk as she nodded in agreement. "With your leave, I would like to question her personally."

"You don't need my permission, Lady Seeker." Her consideration brought a smile to his face. When she first arrived within the city, he thought she meant to depose him. But as the weeks passed, she'd grown on him. A small part of him hoped he could call her a friend. But now wasn't the time for such petty sentiments, there was still too much to be done after all.

"Of course not," She said, returning his smile. "I ask out of respect, for a friend."

Whatever reply Cullen was about to formulate was interrupted by some metallic object flying at their heads. He noticed it far before Cassandra did, snapping his shield in front of them to block the projectile.

"Hey! That's not the right 'ship!"

More and more objects were being thrown at them within seconds of the last. Cassandra managed to peer around Cullen's shield. She recognized the assailant immediately. It was none other than that damnable elf. "You!"

Myrris lifted a templar's helmet high above his head dramatically before he chucked it at Cullen's shield. "Nobody suspects the Fereldan Inquisition!"

"You there, Elf! Surrender, now!"

"You'll never take me alive, Scruffles! Wait, no, that wasn't it…um, oh yeah! Curly!"

Cullen was so perplexed by this madman that he wasn't sure he even wanted to arrest him so much as question him. "What in the Maker's name…?"

Cassandra drew her sword and charged toward Myrris. "Commander, with me! After him!"

Myrris cackled manically as he sprinted away, ducking and diving through streets and alleyways until he had successfully led Cullen and Cassandra to where he last saw Salem. With only a brief couple of moments to spare before they caught up to him, he peered around the final corner carefully, hoping that he had made the right decision to get her help…