Commander Cullen stood against the war room wall, head in his hands. There was no doubt any longer; it was her. They hadn't spoken a word to one another since they had finished with the spy. There was nothing any of them could say that could change how they all felt.
"I'll need to send ravens to the others, they would want to know," Josephine said finally.
"Maybe we should hold off; wait until we've seen her for ourselves," Cassandra said, still holding on to a glimmer of hope.
"I promised Dorian I would tell him as soon as we knew anything. He'd never forgive me if I kept this from him. The others deserve the same courtesy," Josephine replied.
Cassandra didn't seem to have the strength to argue and Josie left to send her ravens unhindered.
"What do we do now?" Cassandra asked weakly.
"We find her," Leliana stated with determination.
"What? We can't do that! You heard what she said! She doesn't want us!" Cullen cried in a wounded voice.
"I don't care what she wants; we need answers and we're finally in a place to get them," Leliana replied. Her voice was disturbingly calm. "The spy said he thinks they're searching for something and he knows places they might look. Perhaps if we were to keep an eye on these places then she would walk right in to our path."
"You want to place soldiers in Maker knows how many locations in the hope that Ellana happens to walk in to one of them? Do you not hear how ridiculous that sounds?" Cullen retorted, his anger bubbling over.
"They just acquired this Dalish clan and if I'm right then it was for these locations. If we have eyes on them then we should start seeing elven agents turning up pretty soon. Even if I am wrong, we'll know quickly and nothing will have been lost," Leliana added coldly. "But if I'm right…"
"Then one of those agents could be Ellana and we can get answers," Cassandra finished. She paused, lost in thought. "Do it but disguise the men; we can't let them know it's us. Even if we don't find Ellana directly, this could be the lead we've been looking for."
"As you wish," Leliana uttered, leaving to set to work.
"You know we shouldn't do this," Cullen said desperately, hoping Cassandra might see sense. "She doesn't want to be found, Cassandra! Why can't you just accept that?"
"She forfeited her right to ask anything of me when she abandoned us," she replied bitterly. "She betrayed us like we meant nothing to her, all for him. You're the one who needs to accept that."
She walked angrily from the room; leaving Cullen to sink in to despair.
Days had passed since Ellana and her love had reconciled in the forest. He had fully accepted her decision as he promised; lending his aid whenever she needed it. Theirs lives had returned to the comfortable normalcy Ellana had become used to. As the Magister wasn't due darken their door for some weeks, they had the gift time and with it, some well-earned respite. Sadly, their time together came to an end as Solas left to attend the field for a few days. Ellana didn't probe too deeply; it was such a rare thing for him to physically participate in a mission so she knew it must be something important. She chose to take his departure as an opportunity and planned with her friends to visit the Denerim Alienage. Both Varden and Solas had suggested the team needed to know the place before the day came. Now seemed like the perfect time.
When they finally reached the great gate that separated the Alienage from the rest of the city, Ellana was relieved. Their walk through the city streets had been trying. Men called out to them with vulgar phrases and sounds. In an unfortunate alleyway one had even tried to grab at Miris and was rewarded for his efforts with a fist to the face. He was lucky they managed to restrain Shivra in time; otherwise he would have paid for his actions with more than just his pride.
Seeing an Alienage for the first time was not a pleasant experience. Denerim's was actually nicer than those Shivra and Lis had previously described but it still harked of squalor and desperation. Many of the buildings looked to be little more than shacks but it was clear that some had undergone more recent updates to make them more comfortable. A great tree grew from the centre, the last remaining symbol of their elven heritage. Beyond it sat the largest of the buildings. It was more carefully constructed than the others and marked with colourful paintings of elven women. Lanterns hung across its walls, unlit due to the early hour. This building was no doubt the home of the dancing girls; taking back what they were owed from the humans in exchange for their honour.
"I fucking hate these places," Shivra remarked as they walked.
"You didn't have to come here, you know? You could have stayed home," Ellana said.
"And leave you guys to fend for yourselves? Fuck no! Who knows what you'd get yourselves in to without me!" Shivra added.
"So this is how city elves live?" Areina mused, her usual excitement gone.
"Not the same as wandering the forest is it?" Ellana replied.
"Definitely not," the Dalish girl said.
A disgruntled elven woman approached them from one of the houses. Her face was withered, although Ellana was sure from her other features that she couldn't have been that much older than her.
"You're early! The raven said you wouldn't be arriving until midday!" she angrily exclaimed.
"I apologise," Ellana replied. "We left at dawn, thinking it would take longer to travel here. I didn't expect anyone to be meeting us. I thought…"
"Well you thought wrong! The girls won't be up for at least another hour!" the withered woman yelled.
"The girls?" Ellana asked, completely confused.
"Yes! One of your people arranged it all. Which of you is going to learn the craft?" she asked disgruntledly.
"The craft?" Ellana asked cautiously, ready for another tirade.
Before it could come, another elf appeared.
"Brilla, calm yourself! I will attend to our guests until you are ready," said the new elf.
The withered elf stormed away, much to the teams' relief. The elf they were left with was exceptionally unremarkable. He seemed to have no distinguishing features at all. He lacked the gaunt look of a life of squalor which brought Ellana to the conclusion that he must be a fellow agent. He led them away in to one of the houses before finally speaking.
"I hope you travelled well. May I ask, which of you will be trapping our target?" he asked.
"I am," Ellana replied.
"Ah, the fabled Fen'Asha. The rumours of your beauty are true, I see. That is good," he remarked.
Ellana hated surprise compliments; she never knew how to respond. Part of her wanted to thank him while the other wanted to curl away inside of herself. She opted instead to ignore him.
"I take it you are a fellow agent?" she asked.
"Yes. We were informed of your imminent arrival. There is much you need to learn if we are to succeed as planned," he replied.
"Much I need to learn?" Ellana inquired.
"The Magister is something of a regular to this place. We need him to choose you of his own free will and let his guard down enough in your presence to give us a chance. He won't do either of those things unless you can portray yourself in a certain way. I would hope you will need instruction in how to achieve that," he said.
"Who exactly, is going to teach me that?" Ellana asked.
"Hey! You can't just stop! If I'm doing this then you guys are too!" Ellana shouted.
The withered elf and a troupe of her best girls had been putting them through dance drills for well over an hour. Watching her friends' hilarious attempts was getting Ellana through the experience. Most of them had the moves down; dexterity from years of battle experience finally paying off. The only one who had any real difficulty was Areina who seemed completely incapable of dancing. She just bounced around excitedly, much to the annoyance of the girl trying to teach her. Only Lis seemed in to it; dancing along happily with her instructor. The girl assigned to Ellana was growing frustrated with her. The blonde was apparently the best dancer in the business and really lovely to look at but she certainly lacked patience.
"You can do the moves fine and you're certainly pretty but that will only get you so far! You need to dance with feeling!" the girl exclaimed. "You'll never get him to pick you unless you present yourself as both desirable and mysterious; that's what these people want to see!"
Ellana stifled a laugh. She certainly didn't feel desirable or mysterious; she felt like a complete idiot.
"You're a spy right? So you've taken on roles before! You should be able to do that!" the blonde said in exasperation.
"That's completely different. I have never had to dance around as a spy!" Ellana scoffed.
"No, it's exactly the same! What do you do as a spy? You convince your target that you are what you want them to see. This is just like that! It doesn't matter who you're dancing for, you convince that person that you are the only thing they need," the girl remarked angrily.
"I suppose…" Ellana replied.
"So how would you do it in your world?" the girl asked hopefully.
"Well…usually I draw on my own experiences, it's more convincing that way," Ellana replied.
"Exactly! That's what I do too," the girl said happily. "So do you have anyone you care about; anyone who has already seen you in this way?"
"Hell yeah she does!" Shivra exclaimed annoyingly from nearby.
"Then think of that person. If you can convince yourself that you're dancing for him then the client will be convinced too," the blonde stated.
Ellana placed her head in her hands, wanting to scream. Mercifully before she was made to dance again, the withered elf piped up.
"I think that is enough for today! You lot need to get out of here before customers start arriving!"
Ellana and her friends were ushered out of the premises as the dancing girls sighed with relief. Despite their failures, her friends seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
"That was fun!" Areina exclaimed. "Those dancers were amazing! It would be great to just dance around all day!"
"Not the way you were doing it, kiddo!" Shivra added, ruffling Ari's mouse brown hair. "You'd turn the punters right off!"
"Go easy on her! She did her best," Lis remarked. "At least she had fun with it, unlike some people." She nudged Shivra in the ribs.
Ellana interjected before Shivra could respond, "Please tell me there is somewhere we can get drunk that doesn't have dancing girls?"
The group had eventually been directed to a building at the back of the Alienage; an inn that catered exclusively to the residents. It was a wise idea, elves and humans drinking in the same place could only lead to trouble. There were certainly no dancing girls but the place was far from quiet. The group gravitated to an area of seating towards the back and ordered a round. The elves around them were much too occupied to question the appearance of these strangers. Some were lost in eager conversation while others danced to folksy music on a makeshift dancefloor in the centre. The sorrow of the outside world seemed pleasantly forgotten in this place.
Conversation and drinks flowed freely between them. Lis and Shivra shared their own experiences of Alienage life, neither wholesome nor happy. Shivra suffered at the hands of humans as so many of their brethren had. She spoke of a noble taking umbrage at her protecting a sister from his advances and how he had made her suffer as a result. She skirted vaguely around the subject but Ellana could tell that she had experienced something more horrifying than she was letting on. Even still, Ellana did not doubt that Shivra paid that pain back in kind. Lis was different; most of her suffering had been at the hands of her own kind. Lis had already shared such stories with Ellana long before now so she knew more than the blonde elf was saying – an arranged husband, a secret lover, murder and a baby lost to pain.
"You're stories are all so sad!" Ari cried, sniffling loudly.
"You've never had anything sad happen to you?" Lis asked.
"Not really." Ari shrugged. "Well…my dad died saving my mother from bandits and then she died giving birth to me but I don't remember them. My clan were my family so I guess it never mattered. But now, you guys are my family!"
"The weirdest fucking family in the world!" Shivra slurred, putting an arm around Ari.
Ellana tried to fully enjoy the evening with her friends but her worries still played on in the back of her mind. She felt bonded to these women and she feared that her connection to the Inquisition could endanger them greatly. She was certain her former friends would not want to harm her personally; wanting answers more than anything; but she was sure her friends would not be treated with the same esteem.
"You alright? You look troubled," Lis asked aside from the others.
"I'm worried about the Inquisition. I'm worried what might happen if they catch up to us. We need a plan; I need to know you guys will all be safe," Ellana uttered.
"So let's talk about it," Lis replied. "Everyone, listen up! Shivra shut it for a damn minute! We need to have a plan in case the Inquisition finds us and now is as good a time as any to discuss it!"
"You really think they'll put out the resources to try and catch up to us?" Miris asked pensively.
"They already have! They wasted a load of manpower just trying to find Ellana, I'm sure they won't back down now that they've found her," Shivra added.
"But what will they do if they do find us? It's not like they're going to kill her, they were friends once," Lis questioned.
"No, they wouldn't hurt me. Not without talking to me first. They'll probably want to take me in," Ellana mused. "I'm more worried about all of you. They don't need you alive and to them, you're just like any old elves."
"Protecting you is our first priority, it doesn't matter what happens as a result of that," Lis said.
"It matters to me! They won't hurt me but you…" Ellana stopped, unable to finish. "My priority is ensuring you survive such an encounter; if that means I get captured then that is what we do."
"But we can't let them take you! You're the leader!" Ari exclaimed.
"Yes, you will," Ellana replied, her thoughts racing. "If they come for us we have no choice. Even if you fight to protect me, they will cut you down and I will be captured anyway. All that matters to them is me…" An idea was forming in her head. "They don't want to attack me; they can't get what they want if I'm dead. If they corner us, I'll make them an offer they can't refuse. I'll agree to let them take me without conflict if they agree to let you all go free. They get what they want and you all stay safe."
"Nah, fuck that! They might agree until you're in chains but they'll come after us. They can't let us just wander off to get back-up," Shivra remarked.
"Oh… You're probably right…" Ellana replied, mind still slightly hazy from drink. She paused as her mind formulated the answer. "That's exactly what you need to do; you need to get help and fast. As you say, they'll start hunting you down but we can make that more difficult for them and buy us the time we need."
"We split up, throw them off the trail. With more than one group to follow, it will take them much longer," Ari added.
"Exactly," Ellana agreed. "Two of you take an obvious route, doing little to hide your trail. Hopefully they will go after that group first, diverting attention from the second couple. The last two will take a less travelled route, avoiding detection for as long as possible. They are the ones that will have to get a message out before they are found."
"Well, Lis and Ari are best at avoiding detection; they should take the second group and Miris and I will take the first," Shivra remarked.
The group nodded their approval.
"But how are we going to get a message back here?" Lis asked.
"Ari, do you think you can keep some ravens up in the air nearby?" Ellana asked, remembering Ari had an odd kinship with the birds.
"If I can choose who we take then yeah, they'll come when I call," Areina replied.
"Then we have a plan," Ellana stated with relief. "Hopefully we'll never need to use it."
"Couldn't Lis and I just sneak away when their busy with the others?" Ari asked.
"I would doubt that," Ellana replied. "They're not fools; they know if they let you go you'll be back with more numbers. They will do everything in their power to hunt you down." She paused, a terrible thought occurring to her. "When they do find you then please, all of you must give up immediately. Even if you haven't managed to get help you must throw down your weapons and do whatever they ask; hopefully then they won't hurt any of you. I couldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you. Do you understand?"
They all solemnly nodded in agreement.
"Good. Now let's go dance! This discussion is too depressing!" Ellana asked.
"We're all right behind you," Lis remarked, getting up and brushing herself off.
"Lis, who do we send the raven to?" Ari asked quietly as Ellana walked off.
"Who do you think kiddo?" Lis asked. When Ari didn't reply she continued, "Who's going to be the most enraged if she gets captured?"
Ari's eyes widened, "Ooh! Of course! But I thought we're not supposed to tell him?"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. We'll need all the firepower we've got to get her out and I can think of no one better than him," Lis replied.
"Indeed! Good luck to those Inquisition bastards." Shivra added. "They're going to need it when the Dread Wolf comes knocking!"
Ellana and her team had spent a couple of days in the Alienage. They'd been put through many more drills by the dancers and Ellana's instructor claimed she was improving. She'd even been convinced to perform with Lis on the club's stage. Her instructor insisted it would be best to get her first performance out the way when there weren't such high stakes and Ellana couldn't exactly argue with that. The girls told her she had been very well received with many of the patrons offering ludicrous sums of money for a private dance from her. Much to their disappointment she declined all the offers; not wishing to get any closer than she absolutely had to. She'd hated wearing the outfit they loaned her; a floaty thing that covered so little one could barely call it a dress. The withered woman had insisted she would need her own, properly fitted dress for the actual event; taking her measurements to have one made. It really wasn't Ellana's style and it seemed like such a waste. She was open to being convinced of the merits of such a thing but Solas had never shown any interest in anything like that. She had always got the impression he would much rather see her wearing nothing at all.
They left as soon as they were ready. None of them were particularly sad to leave but Ari danced the whole way home. She had definitely not improved.
Ellana awoke the next morning in Lis's tent. It was a relief to be back home. Solas was still away so she didn't want to spend the night in the lonely tower; opting instead to spend it with her friends. He was due back today so she awoke excited. It was good to spend some time apart but she couldn't deny she had missed him terribly in his absence.
Shortly before midday, a buzz of sudden activity came over the camps. Ellana overheard talk of their leader's imminent return from the Crossroads. Barely able to contain herself it took real effort not to run to the tower. When she entered she saw him across the entrance hall thanking the team who had accompanied him. Once their conversation was finished she eagerly stepped forward.
"Ellana! It's…" he tried to say, cut off by her crushing embrace.
She didn't care that they had an audience. In fact, the thought didn't even occur to her.
"It's good to see you," he finished, returning her affections. "We should probably go upstairs," he whispered.
Ellana, suddenly aware of those around her, pulled away from him. She reddened as she glanced around the room at the gawping audience.
"Sorry…" she whispered back.
He chuckled. "Go, I'll follow shortly," he said before turning to speak with a nearby elf.
She barely had time in the office to compose herself before he followed. She ran the short distance to him, embracing him once more. He lifted her as she reached him and their lips met feverishly.
"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?" Ellana remarked angrily.
"We suffer together, vhenan. Most of all when we are apart," he replied.
He kissed her again before lowering her to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He leaned in to her in kind, taking in her scent.
"Please tell me you got what you needed. Tell me I didn't suffer in vain," she requested, still buried in his chest.
"It wasn't what I wanted. An orb still eludes me but there was power…power I can use," he replied.
"A replacement for the orb I got destroyed?" she asked, finally lifting her head so her voice was clear.
"It wasn't your fault, vhenan," he added.
"I know but maybe I could have done more…"
"There was nothing you could have done differently," he said firmly. "Rectifying my mistake was already enough of a task; I would never have expected anything more."
She laughed. "Too true. You still owe me for that!"
"I owe you much more," he said, kissing her again.
"Well, I guess I could let it slide…for you at least," she said, smiling broadly. "So no clues to an orb replacement but you did get something out of it?"
"Yes. The ruins housed an old power, one I took for myself. I'm going to need a great deal more before this is done," he replied. "What of your time in the Alienage?"
"It was illuminating to say the least. I knew things were bad in the cities but I never imagined… I have never been so glad to be Dalish," she remarked sadly.
"Did you..." He swallowed hard before continuing, "learn what you needed?"
"Eventually. I still need practice but it's getting there," she replied. "So, you didn't find anything that could lead us to that key Mirwen was talking about?" she asked, eager to change the subject.
"No, nothing but that was only one of the locations she suggested. There are others…" he mused.
"And you're going to go to each one?" she asked, disappointed at the prospect of him leaving again.
"Not necessarily. This one was closed, blocked by rubble. It would have taken a team weeks to clear it all whereas it took me only minutes. It would have been foolish to wait. Mirwen told me most of the other locations are fully accessible; she even explored a few herself. I see no reason why I can't trust agents to check them in my place, if they're trustworthy enough," he replied, smiling.
"You mean me don't you?" she replied, feigning annoyance.
"I have another matter to attend to in the next few days and I thought you would prefer to be out in the field rather than waiting here…" he added slyly.
"Definitely. It's ages until we move on the Magister, I need something to keep me occupied!" she replied.
"Excellent, we can go over the details later but now…now I have something else in mind," he said, pulling her close again.
"Oh, really?" she asked with a devious smile. She brought her lips painfully close to his but no further. "What could that be, I wonder?"
"She's here! She's here!" Ari called out as Ellana neared their camp.
She'd stayed at the tower much later than usual on this morning so she hadn't been surprised to find her friends up and about. However, she was immediately suspicious of their excitement to see her. The looks on the others' faces as they appeared did nothing to quell her suspicion.
"What are you up to?" she warily asked.
Ari came to stand with the rest of the furtive bunch; hopping about excitedly.
"Nothing…nothing at all," Lis remarked, shaking her head unconvincingly.
"We have presents!" Ari exclaimed happily.
"For fucks sake, Ari! We're not ready yet!" Shivra yelled angrily.
Areina looked hurt, "Sorry, I couldn't keep it in any longer!"
"Presents?" Ellana questioned. "What sort of presents?"
"We got something for you, for all of us!" Shivra replied, also sounding excited. "We were going to… Give us a minute. Wait right there!"
Her friends scurried back in to Lis's tent. Ellana could hear them giggling as she waited. After what seemed like an age, Lis called out from the tent.
"Okay Ellana, we're ready!" Lis shouted. "So we're a team now; all working together as one but we don't look like a team. We thought that we should rectify that, we are professionals after all! So…we got us…" The group emerged suddenly from the tent. "…matching team outfits!"
Ellana couldn't deny that it did look much better. The group all matched; each wearing black with silver armour pieces. However, each person had their own stylized pieces, no two exactly the same. Miris's was obviously more mage-like with a leather base in the centre and billowing cloth portions at the back and sides. Her shoulders were covered by silver metal pauldrons that were styled to look like a mass of tiny icicles. Lis's outfit was made up of largely figure hugging black leather. A separate, sturdier piece was attached across her shoulders and arms which left a mischievous circle of skin visible below her neck. Shivra's concealed her entirely with gradated leather around a central breastplate and chainmail elements for good measure. Areina's was suitably Dalish in style. A leather centrepiece gave way to a layer of chainmail beneath. The leather was stylised with subtle tree designs, hinting to her heritage.
"You look amazing!" Ellana exclaimed, getting up to hug her friends.
"We look like an actual team!" Lis cried happily.
"So where's mine?" Ellana asked.
"In there," Shivra replied, gesturing to the tent. "Go try it on!"
"Keep an open mind," Miris remarked, widening her eyes knowingly.
The boots were her favourite part; she had never worn anything so comfortable. They were the only part of their outfits that matched exactly and Ellana now understood why. They were knee high and made from the same dark leather. Silver metal was dappled up the front surface, giving added protection. She was unsure about the rest. The trousers she could deal with, simple black leather. The shoulder pieces were a mixture of leather, metal and wolf fur; descending down her arms and finishing with a gauntleted hand on her left and simple leather on her right. That was fine, in fact she was impressed they had thought to conceal her abnormal arm and she thought the wolf fur a fitting touch. What gave her pause was the central portion. The leather neckline plunged far beyond where she would have chosen. A chainmail vest beneath kept her protected and helped somewhat to maintain her dignity but not nearly enough for Ellana. The neckline finished just above her waist where a beautifully engraved plate of silver wrapped around her and held two pieces of soft leather that extended down the side of each leg, billowing satisfyingly as she moved.
Once she had worked up the courage, she emerged from the tent and was met with her friends' eager grins.
"Was it supposed to be so revealing?" she asked, hoping not to hurt their feelings.
"You're our leader! You need to show off your best assets!" Shivra answered, laughing.
"My best assets?! Are you serious?!" Ellana exclaimed.
"What? It looks good!" Lis added.
"Good? My tits are practically out!" Ellana shouted.
"No, seriously! It does look really good on you! I wish I could pull something like that off," Ari remarked.
"You think?" Ellana asked doubtfully. "It actually looks good? You guys aren't just messing with me?"
"No, take it from me, you look damn good," Miris said.
"The real issue is, do you feel…you know…supported?" Shivra asked. "Wouldn't want anything to pop out when we're in the middle of a fight."
Ellana ran off and did a couple of quick handsprings to be absolutely certain.
"Nope, nothing. This is surprisingly supportive," she replied, nodding in approval. "I guess I could get used to it; would certainly get people's attention."
"Yeah! If you've got it, you may as well show it off!" Lis added.
Everyone nodded their approval.
"Look at us! We're like a real little team!" Ari exclaimed. "So we're wearing this to the ruins right? Our first proper team outing!"
"Hell yeah!" Shivra replied as everyone else agreed just as enthusiastically.
Talk of their imminent journey gave Ellana pause. Solas seemed certain it would be completely safe. They only needed to complete some fairly simple rituals to get to the chamber where the key was supposed to reside but Ellana still felt uneasy. She wondered if the Inquisition knew yet of her betrayal and how far they would go to see her again.
Cullen, Leliana, Josephine and Cassandra were gathered in the war room once again. Another emergency meeting had been called as their gambit had paid off but it had not been without cost.
"The troops reported seven elves were present, likely all agents of Fen'Harel," Cullen stated, what little hope he had left now dashed.
"Did they capture any of them?" Leliana asked hopefully.
"Scores of my men were slaughtered, Leliana. Those that survived barely made it back here. Some will still die of their injuries," the commander replied angrily.
"I am sorry Cullen but we couldn't have anticipated he would be with them," Cassandra added.
"You're certain it was Solas?" Leliana asked. "Their injuries sound consistent with what we know of his magic but we need to be sure."
"It was definitely him. One of the injured men has been with the Inquisition a long time and remembered him from before," Cullen replied mournfully.
"How many did we lose?" Cassandra asked.
"Two died instantly and another three were killed shortly after. Two more died while trying to return here. Three more are injured with one unlikely to make it beyond today. The wounds resist most conventional means of healing. Those that do survive will be permanently disfigured," Cullen reported.
"Maker's breath," Josephine whispered in disbelief.
Cassandra let out an angry cry and punched the table in a rage.
"All that destruction… It was all him?" Leliana asked.
"Yes. When my men appeared he apparently sent the other elves away. It was just him," Cullen replied, anger rising in his tone.
"But he didn't realise they were Inquisition?" Leliana requested.
"The reports suggest he had no idea. Perhaps if he had known then we wouldn't have lost so many," Cullen mused bitterly.
"Perhaps but this is good. We'll need to take the proper precautions; be certain Solas is not present before we approach," Leliana mused.
"You can't be serious? We need to pull our men out of there!" Cullen shouted.
"No, we're on to something. We can't just give up now! This is the first real lead we've had in much too long," Leliana snapped.
"She's right, we need to take a more cautious approach but we can't abandon this," Cassandra added.
"Maybe we should give it a chance, Cullen? At least for now," Josephine agreed.
"Then whatever happens, on your heads be it," Cullen said, leaving the room angrily.