The following morning, Gale woke to the crashing of thunder. The storm outside was nowhere near subsiding and neither was her worry.

Samuel had been up for a while, despite having had a bit too much to drink the night before, and was just watching the storm raging through the window. He glanced at Gale as she got out of bed, going to stand by the window. He watched her for a few moments, then stood to come stand behind her.

"It won't subside for at least another day."

Gale jumped a bit, not realizing that Samuel was awake. "When did you wake?"

"Awhile ago." Samuel looked down at her, seeing bits of her hair falling out of the braid she usually kept it all in. "How did you sleep?"

Gale sighed, blushing a little as she turned her attention back to the storm. "Alright, I suppose."

"You're really worried about your father, aren't you?"

Gale nodded. "It's just been the two of us since my mother died and Haven was the first time I've been away from home."

"Why did you leave? Why join the Inquisition?"

"To save the bakery, to save my father." Gale glanced at him for a moment. "Business had gotten slow, the bakery needed repairs and such to stay open, and my father took out a loan with some of the local merchant lords."

"And now he's in debt, everything is on the line, and you've been sending your pay to him in order to help."

Gale nodded, sighing as she went to her pack. "That bakery is all that he has left of my mother. If he loses that, he loses everything he's ever loved."

"He has you, doesn't he?" Samuel asked, looking at her.

"That's true, but even then there's only so much that I can do to ease the pain if he loses everything."

Samuel watched her rummage through her pack, pulling out a book. "How much debt does he have?"

Gale sighed as she pulled the book out. "It doesn't matter; as soon as he gets a payment to those pigs, they find some way to drive him deeper and deeper into debt. At this rate, it's going to kill him. And from what Leliana told me of her scout's report, it's gotten really bad." She looked at Samuel for a moment. "I, um, I'm going to grab something to eat."

Samuel watched as she left the room, her shoulders sunken with the weight of her worry. 'What can I do to help her?' He looked through the window at the storm. 'It would be dangerous to travel in this storm...' Sighing, he turned and left the room, going to find Boris. 'I have to do something.'

Gale sat in a corner of the inn's great room, her book- this one in particular the Legend of Calenhad- set against her lap as she leaned against the wall behind her. She ordered just a simple breakfast- some fruit, cheese, bread- and would take bites as she read. By the time she had finished with her breakfast, she realized that she had been reading the same page since she came down an hour ago.

'What am I doing...?' she wondered, sighing. Then, out of nowhere, she was hit with an unbearable sense of worry and dread. She gathered up everything, setting the dishes on the bar counter before heading back to the room. She hurried up the stairs and down the hall, finding the room she shared with Samuel empty. 'His things are still here...' she noted, seeing his pack by his side of the bed. She glanced out the window, the gusts of wind dying down just a bit outside in the storm. 'I can't wait... I'm sorry, Samuel...'

Her mind set, she gathered her things and made sure that her provisions were stocked. She pulled on her cloak, shouldered her pack, and hurried back down to the bar- leaving behind a note and her portion of the payment for the room on the bed for Samuel.

"Excuse me?"

The young man who had brought them dinner the night before turned and looked at her, his smile fading when he saw her packed and ready for travel. "Young miss, what are you doing? You shouldn't be going out into that storm!"

"I have to get to Denerim as fast as I can." Gale said. "Please, is there a dock with a ferry that can take me and my horse across Lake Calenhad?"

"Well, sure, there's Old Man Kyne's ferry just to the west of here, but-" the young man started.

Gale thanked him and ran to the stables, ignoring him as he called after her. She quickly tacked the mare and mounted into the saddle, urging the mare forward and into the storm. 'Please forgive me, Samuel...'

Samuel had stepped out to find Boris to ask for his advice and had been talking with him for an hour or so when the young man from the night before came running into the room.

"Boris..!"

"What is it, lad?"

"It's the young miss...! She's gone out into the storm..!"

Samuel stood and looked at him. "Was it the woman that came with me?"

The young man nodded.

"When did she leave?"

"A few minutes ago... I ran to find you as soon as she left..." the young man stood up as he caught his brother. "I told her about Old Man Kyne's ferry, just to the west of here when she asked about a ferry to take her and her horse across the lake."

"Damn it, Gale!" Samuel hurried out of the room, scaled the stairs, and rushed to get everything together. On the bed he found a note from Gale, telling him that she was sorry to leave him behind but she had to get to Denerim as soon as she could- storm or no storm. She had also left her portion of the pay for their room. Samuel crumpled up the note, tossing it into the fireplace, then grabbed her portion of the payment and his things before hurrying downstairs.

"Here, Boris. Our payment." He added his portion to Gale's as he set it on the bar counter.

"Now, lad, don't be hasty." Boris warned, setting an extra pack on the counter for Samuel. "You best go after her, but make sure that you have plenty of provisions. If you two get caught in the storm, you have to promise me to wait it out. It may be dying down now, but storms in these parts are incredibly unpredictable. It could very well pick up again in the blink of an eye."

"I understand. Thank you, Boris."

"Good luck, lad."

Samuel ran out of the inn to the stables, finding his gelding already saddled and ready- the stable hand having anticipated that he would go after Gale. He thanked the stable hand and urged his gelding forward, hoping that he could catch up to Gale before she got herself into any trouble. 'Damn it, Gale, why would you leave without me?'