A/N: So 6 weeks instead of a month for an update is definitely much later than I planned it :(. I will try my very best to get the next chapter up inside of a month this time to make up for it. Just keep in mind that even if my updates are sporadic they will never stop altogether and bear with me - thanks for the patience everyone!

Also I didn't quite get to the expedition by the end of this one, as I have a couple of interactions I want to do before the expedition and the chapter was long enough as it was. However next chapter will definitely be the long-awaited start of the expedition. Hope everyone enjoys the last regular quest of Act 1!

For anyone who's interested, I added a bit of a teaser into events that haven't happened in this story yet to Together or Not at All to let people know there was a sequel in the works. Check it out if you're interested to see where the story is going when the expedition is done!

Thanks as always to everyone who has read, favorited and followed the story so far, I'm really glad you're all enjoying it!

Extra special thanks as always to my totally awesome reviewers, ElyssaCousland, Ioialoha, Candle in the Night, NeedaMoment, Lethal Dragon, Asilyessam29, Tactus501st, Alastair279, Alkeni and the new reviewer BrotherCaptainShepherd. I always love hearing what everybody has to say!

PLEASE REVIEW - ANOTHER GIFT FIC WILL BE AWARDED TO THE 100TH REVIEW!

Disclaimer: As always, any characters or dialogue/events you recognize are Bioware's, everything else is mine.

Chapter 10: Act of Mercy

"Well?" Brianna demanded coolly when Isabela didn't immediately say anything. "What is it that you're so determined to talk about that you got Varric to help you ambush me?"

Isabela gave a low whistle as she flopped down in Varric's vacated chair. "I can see where you earned that reputation of yours, Hawke." When Brianna merely raised her eyebrows at her in response, Isabela sighed and leaned back in the rather throne-like chair. "Well, firstly, I wanted to apologize. If I'd known that you and Mardin were involved, I wouldn't have trespassed. There are a lot of things I like to do, but that's not one of them."

Brianna frowned, shaking her head as she immediately denied, "You weren't trespassing."

"No?" Isabela replied skeptically, raising her eyebrows in turn. "Because you've certainly been acting like I did."

Brianna blinked as she considered the pirate's words. Perhaps she had been treating things as though she had some sort of claim to Mardin and Isabela was the "other woman". She hadn't really meant it that way, however. "I suppose I have been, a bit," she conceded. "I wasn't really avoiding you because I was mad at you. Or not completely, anyway. It was mostly just awkward for me, knowing that you'd been with him. But I'll try not to let that bother me anymore. Was that all?"

"No." Isabela shook her head, meeting Brianna's gaze steadily. "I also think you're being a little hard on Mardin."

"What?!" Brianna snapped, her previous feeling of forgiveness for Isabela disappearing in a wash of anger. "But he –"

"Yes, yes, I know all about it," Isabela interrupted her, waving her hand. "I don't need to hear the details again. He screwed up, it's true. But you also hurt him."

"I did not!" Brianna scowled at her, struggling to control the rising tide of anger in her. "When did I ever hurt him? He's the one that hurt me!"

"He did," Isabela agreed with a nod, "after you'd hurt him." She held up her hand to halt the flow of angry words Brianna was about to unleash. "Just hold on, and let me explain. I know he would never have told you this, because men have their pride, after all. But when you rejected him and ran from him, like he was a demon, as he put it, he was hurt. I could see it when he was telling me about it. It's why he was drowning himself in drink here that night when I found him. Honestly, given the swill Corff gave him and the nearly empty bottle, I'm surprised he wasn't passed out already. So, yes, when he was hurt, and drunk, he made a bad decision. People tend to do that. He thought he'd done something wrong, or terrified you somehow. And just look at him. He's obviously never been told no by a woman in his life before – especially not one that was already kissing him. It's not surprising he reacted badly the first time he had a taste of rejection."

Brianna sat back, a little deflated at Isabela's explanation. It had honestly never occurred to her to think that she'd hurt him. He always seemed so self-possessed and confident, she wouldn't have even thought it was possible for her to hurt him. But hearing that he'd said she'd run from him like he was a demon, she realized why he might have felt that way. Demon was one of the terms Saemus had used to refer to Mardin when he had seen his shifting abilities, and she didn't doubt other people had used it to describe Mardin as well. She was sure he was used to people running from him in terror, shouting that he was a demon. And she had been terrified when she had run from him, too; just not of him. She'd been terrified of her own feelings, but she hadn't explained that to him at the time. Still, even if he had been hurt – "That doesn't excuse what he did," she told Isabela firmly.

Isabela shrugged. "Maybe not, at least not completely. But it does make it easier to understand why he would have acted the way he did, doesn't it? If he thought you were terrified of him, he certainly wouldn't have been thinking that you'd be angry with him for being with me, right?"

"I suppose not," Brianna admitted after a moment. He'd probably thought that the rough way he'd kissed her had scared her, she realized, remembering how he'd said something about her making it clear she didn't want him touching her. That wasn't what she'd meant at all, but she could see how he might have mistakenly viewed it that way, and how he might have wanted to turn to somebody else that wasn't frightened of his attentions. She didn't think that was enough to make her forgive him, however. Especially not if he'd gone and discussed all their personal affairs with Isabela. "Why exactly did he tell you, anyway?" she demanded. "And why do you care?"

Isabela sighed. "Oh, don't go and be mad at him for talking to me, too. I don't think he really wanted to confide in me, but I heard him cursing and breaking the wall after you spotted us together and asked him what was going on. And who else was he going to confide in, or explain to him what he'd done wrong? It sounds like he's pretty new to Kirkwall, and everybody he knows are your friends too, right? Besides, I'm pretty sure he didn't give me all the details. Just that he'd flirted with you, the two of you finally kissed, and then you ran off before coming back and seeing us together."

Brianna was relieved to hear that it sounded like he'd not said a word to Isabela about her being jealous of the other woman, nor did it sound like he'd given details on just how intimate that kiss had gotten. At least he had some sense of privacy, it would seem. And Isabela did have a point; Mardin was a stranger to their world, not just Kirkwall, and knew nobody here except Brianna's companions and her own brother, all of whom had known her longer. And she still hadn't felt like she could confide in any of them about what had happened, so why would he feel like he could? She hadn't realized before now just how lonely it must be for Mardin here, especially as he'd yet to meet with his sister, the only person in this world he'd known for longer than a couple of months. She could see why he'd decided to confide in Isabela, who was probably the most neutral party he knew. "All right," she said with a sigh, "I won't be mad at him for talking to you. I still don't see why you care about what happens between us, though."

"Because, like I said to Mardin when he asked me the same thing, if neither one of you are going to have fun with me, you might as well be having fun with each other. Unless you're willing to have fun with me, in which case, you can forget about this whole thing and we can go to my room right now. What do you say?" Isabela grinned wickedly at her.

Brianna laughed in spite of herself, shaking her head at the pirate's offer. "Thank you, but no. I'm afraid I'm not interested in other women that way."

"Ah, I see," Isabela sighed dramatically. "Your loss, then. You're missing out on half of the fun you could be having. Not that cocks aren't a lot of fun, too, but so are –"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure they are," Brianna interrupted hastily, not really wanting to hear how the pirate had planned to finish that sentence. "Anyway, what did you mean about neither one of us having fun with you? Are things really over between you and Mardin?"

"Honestly, Hawke, it was just the once. As soon as he'd sobered up a little more, he turned down my offer for a second round and left. That's when you saw us together. And . . . he wanted it to be you. I didn't know who he was wishing I was while it was happening, but I could tell it wasn't really me he wanted. I can always tell." Isabela almost looked sad as she said this, before she went on brusquely, "Anyway, after I'd talked to him and found out what happened, I told him getting another chance with you was likely going to be hard, and offered him free use of my bed if he'd rather have it easy. He said no."

"He did? Why?" Brianna was shocked at this latest revelation; she'd accused Mardin of only wanting sex, of not caring about her or whether he was with her or not, and she'd sincerely believed that at the time. Yet if that were true, why would he turn down such an offer with the gorgeous pirate?

"Oh, that idiot," Isabela groaned. "Did he really not tell you?"

"Not tell me what?"

"Men," Isabela muttered, shaking her head. "He said, and I quote, 'There was something different about kissing her, and I want to know what it was'."

Brianna gaped at her, shocked. What exactly was different? And why hadn't he said that to her himself? "Why didn't he tell me that?" she exclaimed.

"Because he's an idiot who has no idea what he's doing when it comes to sweet-talking a woman?" Isabela said with obvious exasperation. "I thought he would've at least been smart enough to tell you that."

"Well, I don't know if it would have made a difference," Brianna said at last, trying to work through how she felt about this latest revelation, other than confused. "What does that even mean, 'there was something different'?"

Isabela studied her for a moment. "Have you been with other men, Hawke?"

"Yes, I have," Brianna replied, a little embarrassed, but also wondering what the pirate was getting at.

"Well, did anything about kissing him feel different than kissing them?" Isabela prompted.

"Well, yes," Brianna said slowly. "With the others, it was pleasant and enjoyable, but it wasn't as . . ." she trailed off, unsure how to describe it.

"Mind-blowing?" Isabela supplied, and Brianna nodded, reluctantly.

"That . . . was one of the reasons I ran. It was overwhelming, and I was afraid of losing control, being a mage and all," she admitted, not entirely sure why she was confiding in Isabela too. Perhaps it was easier because Isabela already knew most of what had happened, and obviously wasn't the type to be judgmental about it.

Isabela nodded. "I thought that whole mage thing might be one of the reasons. Anyway, believe me when I tell you, that 'something different' is very rare. I've been with a lot of men and women and never found one that felt different. I've only heard of it from other people, so it would be a bloody shame if you just let it go to waste."

"I don't know if that's enough to make me give him another chance, though." Brianna leaned back in her own chair, drumming her hand on the table as she tried to think. "I mean, I'm not sure I can just enter into some short little fling just because it might be 'mind-blowing', as you put it, without any intention of it being something serious one day. And I don't think he knows how to do anything but that."

"Well, I'm going to tell you two things that should help you decide, then I'll leave you alone." Isabela propped her feet up on the table, one booted foot over the other. "One, if a guy like that is already turning down 'short little flings' because he feels something different with you, he's already in deeper than he realizes. Two, and this one comes from my grandmother, who's a very smart lady, when you're old and about to die, it's not the things you did that you regret. It's the ones that you didn't do. And the couple of times I've had my life flash before my eyes, I have to admit she's been right. So, just think about that before you decide to write off the mind-blowing sex completely, just because it might not last long." Isabela winked at her.

"Those are some good points," Brianna conceded, "but I'm not sure they'll help me to forgive him."

"If the apology wasn't enough, make him work for it," Isabela replied simply. "Make him grovel if you want. Just make sure you tell him how he's supposed to make it up to you. Subtle hints don't usually work on men. You'll have to spell it out."

"I'll think about it," Brianna told her, standing up. Isabela had actually made some surprisingly good points, but she needed more time to think on the pros and cons of changing the decision she'd made about him, and whether she could actually forgive him enough to consider him as a potential lover again, and not just as a friend. The idea of establishing some conditions with him to find out if it was worth giving him a second chance wasn't a bad one, however, and was one she'd have to consider carefully. Right now, though, she had a job to do, and she'd put it off long enough already while talking to Isabela. "I can't promise I'll change my mind, but I can promise I'll at least give it some thought."

"Great!" Isabela bounded to her feet and stuck out her hand, which Brianna shook after a moment's hesitation. "That's good enough for me. And don't let all this discourage you from asking me for help. I owe you a debt for helping me out with Hayder, and I want to repay it."

"Fair enough," Brianna agreed. She was actually finding that she didn't dislike the pirate, in spite of all that had happened, and that it might be enjoyable to have her around on occasion, now that she didn't find it so awkward to talk to her. "I don't think I'll need your help on this particular job, but I'll keep you in mind for any future ones. After the expedition, anyway. I don't think you'll want to come to the Deep Roads."

"Varric told me about that." Isabela wrinkled her nose. "No thanks. I like treasure as much as the next pirate, but I'd rather avoid the darkspawn and being stuck below ground. Not being on a ship on the open water is bad enough."

Brianna nodded. "Then I'll let you know when I get back if I've got any work for you."

"Just make sure you all come back alive," Isabela called over her shoulder as she reached the door out of Varric's room. "I want to see that treasure."

Brianna grinned as she followed the pirate to the door. "Don't worry, if I find any, I'll make sure to brag about it."

"See that you do," Isabela said before heading further down the hallway towards the other rooms, presumably going back to her own room.

Brianna took the left turn out of Varric's rooms instead, heading towards the stairs that led down to the tavern itself. When she reached the bottom she spotted Varric sitting alone at a table off to the right, drinking from a mug of ale. She crossed over to him.

Varric set his drink down and looked up at her. "No visible bloodstains and I don't see smoke coming from the stairway, so I'm guessing my room isn't on fire. It must have gone well, then?"

Brianna rolled her eyes. "Did you honestly think I was going to try to kill her, Varric?"

Varric shrugged, grinning at her. "One never knows with women. A fight would've been better story material, though."

Brianna crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at him. "I thought you weren't going to write this down?"

Varric held his hands up in defense, looking the picture of innocence, not that Brianna believed it for a second. "Of course not, Hawke! It was merely an observation!"

"I'm sure," she drawled. "Anyway, we should get going to the mansion and get some more help for this job. The note says innocent lives are at stake."

"Aren't they always?" Varric said, but he followed her as she headed out the door of the Hanged Man, regardless.

"How long have you known?" Brianna asked hesitantly, once they were outside and heading towards the stairs to Hightown, not quite able to bring herself to look at Varric.

"Since the night after we rescued that Feynriel kid. You'd finally come back to play Wicked Grace, but you were acting off, and so was Red." Varric must have caught the alarmed look on her face, because he quickly added, "He didn't go blurting it out to everyone after you left, Hawke, don't worry. He stayed at the bar drinking after the others had all left too, seemed pretty depressed, actually. So I pestered him about it until he finally told me what happened. You know I can never resist a good story. And then Rivaini came to me the next day asking if I'd help get you to talk to her. What did the two of you talk about, anyway?"

"Nope. No way." Brianna shook her head firmly. "You know too much about it already, and I don't want you writing any of it down."

"Aw, come on, Hawke, curiosity killed the dwarf!" Varric protested, looking up at her pleadingly when she finally looked down at him.

Brianna felt amusement trying to melt the stern look she was going for, but she did her best to hold on to it as she shook her head. "In your case, that will probably be true one day, but it's still a no."

Varric heaved a sigh. "Fine." Brianna thought she caught him mumbling something that sounded like "make it up myself" but they had just passed a large group of giggling noblewomen at the top of the Hightown stairs, so she couldn't be sure, and decided to let it pass.

There were a few minutes of silence between them as they made their way through the streets towards the mansion, and Brianna finally broke it by saying in a low voice, "I didn't tell you myself because I thought the whole thing was kind of embarrassing." Varric was probably her best friend after Aveline, and she thought he deserved at least a little bit of an explanation as to why she hadn't confided in him. Besides the obvious, of course. "I didn't actually tell anybody."

"Not to worry, Hawke." He patted her on the arm in sympathy. "I won't tell any of the others, and I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would. You know you can talk to me about things if you need to, though. I promise to be good and not publish any of the really embarrassing stuff." He put his hand over his heart dramatically as he met her eyes.

She couldn't help but laugh at that as she said dryly, "I appreciate your restraint." After another moment, she added softly, "And thanks, Varric."

"Anytime, Hawke."

They had reached the door to the mansion by then, and Varric pounded on it with his fist. The door was wrenched open almost immediately by Fenris, whose look of mild panic was replaced with one of annoyance as he saw Varric. "I should have known it was you, dwarf." He looked over at Brianna, nodding to her. "Hawke."

"Fenris," she replied, slightly amused as Varric said at almost the same time, "Nice to see you, too, Broody."

Carver and Mardin had appeared behind Fenris at this point, and Carver wiped sweat off his forehead as he asked a bit breathlessly, "You found a job?"

"Sounds like it," Brianna answered with a nod, relaying the contents of the note to them and handing Carver the map of the Coast showing the meeting spot.

"Sounds ominous," Mardin observed. "Could be a trap."

"It could be," Brianna agreed, "but we're still a few sovereigns short for the expedition, and it's next week, so . . ."

"We need the money," Carver finished for her.

"Right. Shall we go, then?" Brianna asked, mainly for Fenris's benefit, as Mardin had said she didn't have to ask him, and she had never left Carver behind while going on a job, either.

All three of them nodded in response, however, and in a few short minutes, they were on their way, Carver in the lead again with the map.

It took a few hours for them to finally arrive at the meeting spot marked on the map of the Wounded Coast, so that it was nearly noon when they arrived, the sun shining high above them out of a cloudless blue sky. It was also stiflingly hot, too, Mardin thought as he wiped more sweat off his forehead and neck. There wasn't much of a breeze to help alleviate the heat today, making him wish longingly that they could go jump in the ocean rather than trek along the coast. He knew they couldn't, of course, not if there really were innocent lives at stake, and so he kept his thoughts to himself, including the unbidden one of what Brianna might look like if they went swimming in the nude. It was not something he was ever likely to see, now, and so there was no use in dwelling on it.

"This must be it," Carver said, interrupting Mardin's thoughts as he pointed to a small, rocky outcropping in the midst of a sandy clearing ahead of them.

"Let's go find out who we're meeting, then." Brianna strode out ahead of Carver, and Mardin hurried after her along with the others, mindful of the fact that this could be a trap.

Once they had reached the outcropping, however, and the man they were meeting stepped out of the shadows of the entrance to a cave, Mardin knew it wasn't. The older man with the red hair and short beard in the heavy silver plate armor awaiting them was Thrask, the Templar he had met a few days ago when he had delivered Feynriel to the Circle for Brianna along with Varric and Fenris. Mardin had known as soon as he'd met the man that the rumours of his kindness were true; that this man was the first trustworthy Templar he'd met since his arrival in Kirkwall. Of course, the only other one he'd met had been that Varnell who had accompanied Sister Petrice, so it wasn't like he'd had good comparisons so far. "Serah Trichlor," Thrask said with a nod.

"Ser Thrask," Mardin replied with a nod of his own. "It was you that sent the note, then?"

"Indeed. You had spoken highly of Mistress Hawke, as did your companions and many others; I thought it best to enlist her help in this matter. You must be Mistress Hawke," he continued, turning to Brianna who had tensed up at the realization they were meeting a Templar. "I was unaware you were a mage."

Mardin tensed up himself at those words, his hand straying almost involuntarily to his sword hilt as Brianna said evenly, "Will that be a problem?"

"Not for me," Thrask answered after a moment, shaking his head. "You have done much good for the citizens of Kirkwall, and will hopefully do the same here. In this case, it would do more harm than good to bring you in, and so I will pretend ignorance of your apostate status."

Mardin relaxed at those words, as did Brianna, who nodded at Thrask in appreciation. "Glad to hear it. What did you call us here for?"

"So much for not attracting Templar attention," Carver muttered under his breath, still looking a little anxious as his eyes flitted back and forth between Brianna and Thrask.

"At least this is good Templar attention," Mardin whispered back. "He's not going to turn Brianna in, and he'll owe us a favour after this, right?"

"I suppose," Carver answered dubiously, and Brianna glared back at them, shushing them as Thrask began to speak.

"There are a number of apostates hiding in those caverns," Ser Thrask explained, gesturing to the open cave mouth behind him. "I was hoping you might speak to the group, convince them to surrender peacefully before my fellow Templars arrive. As a Templar under Meredith, I am unable to show them any kindness. You are not so limited."

Brianna frowned, darting a glance to the cave mouth herself. "Who exactly are these apostates? Did they escape the Kirkwall Circle?"

Thrask shook his head. "They did not. These are the mages of the former Circle at Starkhaven. It burned to the ground and their Templars sent for us to relocate the survivors. Unfortunately, they escaped on the journey. With their phylacteries burned, it has been nearly impossible to track them."

"But you found them," Brianna supplied, and as Thrask nodded in return, she continued, "And you believe that your fellow Templars aren't interested in being peaceful?"

Thrask looked distinctly uncomfortable now, Mardin noted as the Templar replied, "Ser Karras is a knight-lieutenant of the Templars, a great crony of Meredith. Should he find apostates hiding from pursuit, Meredith will consider him justified in murdering the lot of them."

Mardin scowled at Thrask's revelation; he'd heard some disturbing rumours about the Templars in Kirkwall over the last few weeks, but he had hoped they were only exaggerated. To hear otherwise from Thrask was alarming, and he vowed to keep a closer eye on his mage companions. He would not allow the Templars to take any of them, not Anders, not Merrill, and most especially not Brianna. It appeared that it would be far too dangerous to allow any of them to fall into this Meredith's clutches; he might never see them alive again were that to happen, and that was a thought too alarming to contemplate.

Carver was frowning as if he was thinking the same thing, his fists clenched tight as he asked warily, "Is Meredith really that bad?"

"She is a . . . stern Knight-Commander, to say the least," Thrask answered carefully. "Her distrust of mages runs deep, and so she has changed the rules for mages in Kirkwall. They are less free than in other Circles. She believes this to be best, but I daresay she has created as much dissent as obedience." Before any of them could reply, Thrask turned to Brianna. "At any rate, these mages have shown they attack Templars on sight. You have a better chance than I to convince them they are better off alive in the Circle than free and dead. Ser Karras hunts them as well. If they have not surrendered by the time he arrives with the others, this will be a blood bath."

Brianna glanced back the way they'd come, and Mardin followed her gaze; he did not see any sign that anyone had followed them from Kirkwall just yet. "Do you expect him to arrive soon?" Brianna asked.

"Likely within a few hours, Mistress Hawke. It would be best if you hurried."

Brianna nodded. "Let's get going, then." She headed for the cave entrance, and Mardin and the others followed her. Mardin almost had to turn sideways to squeeze through the narrow gap that passed for the cave entrance, but fortunately the passageway opened up a bit more after they'd gone a few feet. They all halted for a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the dim light inside the cave, a stark contrast to the blinding sun outside.

"Do you really think this is such a good idea, Hawke?" Varric asked as they waited. "What if they refuse to come along and decide to attack us?"

Brianna sighed. "I'm hoping it won't come to that. They may be more willing to listen to a fellow mage. And if any of them are willing to come along peacefully, I can't allow this Karras to slaughter them."

"Then we need to get moving before he gets here," Carver prompted, waving towards the winding tunnel that Mardin could finally make out ahead of them. It looked rather similar to the smugglers' cave they had found Feynriel in, only narrower. "Do you still remember the spell Father taught you?" Carver went on.

"I do." Brianna nodded. "Now that I know there are Templars here, I'll make sure to use it. It's a spell to conceal my magic from Templars and hide my identity," she explained when Mardin raised his eyebrows in question. "Father used it frequently to keep us safe from the Templars when we were younger, and made sure Bethany and I learned how as well. If I had known we were meeting a Templar here, I would already have used it."

"I'm glad to hear it," Mardin told her as they began moving down the tunnel. "That should make things easier if we haven't managed to leave before Karras arrives."

Brianna nodded, but before she could say anything further, the sounds of rattling bones and clanking metal interrupted her as they came around a bend in the tunnel which opened up into a larger chamber. The torchlight burning on the walls illuminated skeletons emerging from the ground at their feet, shambling towards them with rusted weapons held high.

"What in the bloody Blight are these?" Carver exclaimed as he blocked the swing of a sword from one of the corpses, similar to the ones they had fought on Sundermount. "The mages raised the dead?"

Fenris sprang past him, separating the head of another corpse from its body, causing it to fall in a heap of fleshy bones at his feet. "Mages will always resort to the forbidden if they feel enough need," he declared darkly.

Mardin rolled his eyes as he beheaded a corpse of his own; in general he liked the elf, broody though he might be, but his unwavering prejudice towards mages was growing rather annoying. Brianna clearly thought so too as she snapped, "Excuse me, Fenris? Do you think I would resort to blood magic?"

"Perhaps not, Hawke," Fenris murmured as she blasted the heads off two more corpses, fury written starkly across her face. "But there are few mages with your strength of will."

"There are more than you think," Brianna shot back as they continued to battle the dozen or so corpses remaining.

"Broody, Hawke, how about less fighting each other and more fighting these things?" Varric grunted as he loaded Bianca, firing a bolt into the skull of another corpse.

Both of them nodded tightly in reply, and the remainder of the fight was finished without further comment from anyone. Once the corpses were all down, Mardin took point in case they were attacked again, leading the way through twisted passageways in the rocky cavern, up crumbling man-made stairs and past abandoned fire pits here and there. Moss and other stunted plants littered the cave floor and walls, along with rusted tools that indicated people had once mined here. The further in they went, the more Mardin felt a sense of increasing danger. Thrask may not have set a trap for them, but he didn't think all of the mages would be willing to go quietly.

This was proven true when they ran across a mage in another cramped cavern who raised more corpses from the ground around him as soon as he saw them, attacking them with a fire spell immediately after as the corpses shambled towards them. Brianna faced off against the mage, countering his spells with her own, while Mardin and the others rid the cavern of the freshly raised corpses. By the time the last corpse had fallen, Brianna had taken the mage down as well.

The smell of the dead was so overwhelming in the small cavern that Mardin wasn't surprised to see that he'd missed the presence of another mage, as a young dark-skinned mage in purple and gold robes with a deep hood emerged shakily from a shadowed corner of the cavern. "Are you with the Templars? Please, I need to go back to the Circle," he begged as he stopped cautiously a few feet away from their party. "I never wanted to get involved in this. Not when he started making those . . . those things!" He gestured wildly at the corpses littering the ground around them.

Brianna stepped forward, saying softly, "Ser Thrask has sent us to offer a peaceful resolution, yes. Now who exactly is 'he'?"

"Decimus . . . it was his decision," the young mage said unhappily. "He kept saying the Templars would label us blood mages if we fled – why not use it if it's our best tool?"

"Typical excuse," Fenris growled.

Brianna shot a glare at him, but before she could say anything further, the mage went on, "He slit his wrist, and the magic . . . it rose from the blood and woke the skeletons in the cave. I ran. Decimus is wrong – blood magic is a work of evil, not just a power the Templars keep from us for spite!"

"You're right," Brianna agreed when the boy had finished. "Now, is Decimus the leader of these mages? Tell me about him."

"He's crazy. He said, with our phylacteries gone, no one could find us. We would be free . . ." The young mage darted a glance over his shoulder at the rickety wooden steps that led up to the next cavern, continuing in a whisper, "I think maybe he set the fire that destroyed the Circle. There must be a demon working through him. No normal man would profane the dead like this."

Brianna sighed. "I hope not. Listen, the Templar Thrask is waiting outside. He is a kind man, and if you surrender to him, you won't be hurt."

"I surrender!" The young man exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "Take me to the Templars! I don't want anything to do with this . . . blood magic. The rest of them, they're still following Decimus." He pointed behind him again, at the wooden stairs, before adding, "He's gone mad. I think he'd kill us all just to take the Templars down. Please be careful, Serah!"

Without waiting for a reply, the young mage darted past them into the tunnel they'd emerged from, obviously heading for Thrask and the entrance. Mardin turned and watched him go for a moment before looking back at Brianna. "I guess we have to do something about this Decimus," she said at last. "Let's hope that once we defeat him, the other mages will be willing to come along peacefully."

Fenris snorted. "That is extremely unlikely."

Brianna, clearly choosing to ignore him, simply turned and went up the wooden stairs to the next level of the cave, not even bothering to see if they were following her. Mardin cast a glare at Fenris before heading up the stairs himself, followed by the others. They made their way through a few more narrow, winding passageways before they came out into a vast cavern that seemed surprisingly well-lit compared to the rest of the cave they had passed through. Mardin was unsure if it was the numerous torches along the walls or the glowing ball of light surrounding a male mage in the center of the cavern; an older, craggy-faced man with long, greying blonde hair and a shaggy beard, wearing robes that were a mixture of black, red and white. His instincts started clamouring in alarm as soon as he spotted the man, and he knew that this had to be Decimus.

Decimus straightened up as soon as he spotted them, the light around him disappearing; Brianna had halted several feet away from the man and the other mages with him, and Mardin and the others came up to stand with her as Decimus declared, "They're here! The Templars have come to take us back to the Circle!"

"Seriously, do I look like a Templar?" Brianna groaned in exasperation, at the same time as the female mage next to Decimus cried, "Decimus, no! Stay your hand. These are no Templars!"

"What do I care what shield they carry?" Decimus growled, raising his hands, a staff gripped tightly in his right hand. "If they challenge us, the dead themselves will meet the call!"

A flare of magic accompanied the statement, and corpses rose from the ground all around them, far more than Mardin had yet seen. Decimus almost immediately shot a lightning bolt at Brianna, who blocked it with a magic shield of her own before sending a blast back at him, which bounced harmlessly off his own shield. A few other mages around the room began to attack their party as well, though several mages ran into a corner of the cavern, among them the woman who had called for Decimus to stop.

Quickly assessing the situation, Mardin decided shifting was his best bet, and after a moment of concentration, the shift wrenched its way through his body. He lumbered forward towards one of the other mages who was firing spells at Carver, unsure if his teeth or claws would break Decimus's barrier, and swatted the distracted mage with one massive paw. The mage went down with a scream, blood spurting from the claw wounds, and Mardin ripped his throat out with one quick twist of his jaws.

The rest of the fight passed in much the same manner; Mardin swatted the heads off corpses left and right as he moved around the cavern, trying to avoid the blasts of magic. Fenris was attacking Decimus along with Brianna, and Carver and Varric were eliminating the remaining mages and corpses. Shortly before the fight ended, a blast of lightning struck Mardin in the flank, and he roared with the pain of it; his head swam for a moment as his control wavered and the bear nearly took over. He crouched low on the ground, forcing himself to breathe deeply through the pain until he could think clearly once more, and seized upon the opportunity to shift back to human.

By the time he had done so and struggled to his feet, his left leg throbbing with pain, Decimus had fallen; Brianna had broken through his barrier with a powerful fire spell, and with his shield gone, Fenris had seized the mage's heart from his chest and crushed it, causing Decimus to crumble at his feet in a bloody heap. At the same time, Varric and Carver were finishing off the last of the corpses, the other mages having already fallen. Mardin dug in his pouch and produced his last healing potion, downing it all in one go; the pain faded to a manageable level, and he limped his way over to Brianna, who he noted with relief looked to be uninjured.

The others had a few minor scrapes and burns, and all of them drank from their own potions as the female mage from earlier raced over to Decimus's fallen body. "You killed him! Oh, Decimus, you should have listened to me, love . . ." She was a pretty woman, Mardin noted absently as she shook her head in despair, with a tattooed face and dark hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a light blue robe girdled in gold. He tilted his head, trying to reach beyond his pain and decide what his instincts were saying about her as she lifted her head, her face streaked with tears, and glared at Brianna. "I saw what you are! How could you murder one of your own just for daring to defy the Templars?"

"Actually," Brianna retorted coolly, "it was more the blood magic, raising the dead, and trying to kill me and my friends that I had a problem with."

The woman stood up, pacing back and forth as she shook her head. "I warned him. I told him, once he marked himself as a blood mage, that was all anyone would see."

"Are we supposed to believe that you had no part in his actions?" Fenris demanded, his body tense as he stared at the woman, presumably waiting for any sign that he would need to attack.

The woman shook her head vigorously. "I swear to you, I have had no truck with demons. My name is Grace, and I want only safety and freedom for those of us remaining." She gestured to the handful of other mages that had stayed out of the fight, now gathered behind her with anxious looks on their faces. "Without your help, the Templars will execute us all for Decimus's crimes."

Brianna looked to Mardin, raising her eyebrows in question. He hesitated, having a hard time reading the woman's - Grace's - intentions fully, before he finally whispered in Brianna's ear, "I think she's telling the truth about not being involved in the blood magic. But I do think she's not entirely trustworthy – she could be dangerous if she goes free."

Brianna pursed her lips, nodding in understanding before she turned back to Grace. "What precisely do you intend to do, if you do not return to a Circle?"

"I hear there are places, outside the Free Marches, where the Templars are not so vigilant," the other mage responded quickly. "But if we are to escape, we must first throw off pursuit. There is a Templar who followed us. You must have met him when you entered. Kill him, and we can get clear of Kirkwall before the Templars send more men." Grace's face was hard and set as she said the last, her stance determined as she met Brianna's eyes.

Mardin growled at the woman's words, even as Brianna recoiled in surprise. "What?! We are not killing Ser Thrask! He's the one who brought us here to help you so the other Templars wouldn't just kill you!"

"We are not about to start killing Templars," Carver added. "Especially not the ones that are willing to help."

"But we cannot return to the Circle! You must buy us time to flee Kirkwall!" Grace cried.

"We will not buy you time by murdering a good man," Brianna snapped coldly.

"Then lay down your arms," Grace said with a sigh, nodding at Fenris who had yet to sheathe his sword. "I am trying to save our lives, not throw them away. We will come with you."

Brianna nodded shortly, looking pointedly at Fenris, who reluctantly sheathed his weapon. "We'll make sure the way out is clear," Brianna began, gesturing to Mardin and Carver. "You two stay at the back," she continued, gesturing to Fenris and Varric. "Keep an eye on them."

"Gladly," Fenris growled, as Varric added, "Will do, Hawke."

Brianna led the way out of the cave, Mardin sticking to her right side while Carver walked to her left, Grace and the other mages falling in behind them with Fenris and Varric bringing up the rear. Mardin still couldn't quite suppress the pain in his leg, and Brianna noticed the limp almost immediately as they exited the cavern. "Stray lightning bolt," he explained as she looked at his leg questioningly.

"Hold on a minute," she ordered him, halting the whole procession as she laid a glowing blue hand on the side of his leg. A soothing coolness spread throughout his throbbing leg, leaving only a few minor, almost unnoticeable twinges in its wake. "Is it better?" she asked softly, letting her hand drop away.

Is that concern in her eyes? "It's definitely better," he told her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "That was the best I can heal it with what magic I have left, especially if I am to use my concealment spell. If there's any pain left, you should see Anders when we get back."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, thank you." She was concerned, Mardin thought with surprise. He doubted that it meant anything, though. She would likely react the same if Varric or anyone else was hurt; there was no use in getting his hopes up that she might be starting to forgive him.

As if sensing his thoughts, she flushed slightly and turned, striding forward through the tunnels again. "We should hurry, before that Karras gets here."

Their trek back to the entrance was uneventful; no more corpses rose from the ground to attack them, and Grace and the other mages remained quiet and subdued, apparently having entirely given up fighting. Brianna stopped briefly in the first cavern they'd entered to cast her concealment spell, and once she'd finished, they continued forward to the last tunnel. They were only a few feet away from the entrance when they heard a sneering voice echoing from up ahead, "Are you saying that there isn't anyone inside? Then where did that apprentice come from?"

"Shit," Varric muttered from the back. "Sounds like we're too late."

"Sounds like it," Brianna agreed with a resigned sigh. "But there's no other exit, so we have no choice."

She kept heading towards the entrance despite Grace's noise of protest, Mardin and Carver keeping pace with her as they heard Thrask answer the other man, "I followed the tracks from the caravan site, but the boy says the others have already left."

"Don't lie, Thrask," the other man snarled in answer. "I know you're soft on the robes. I followed the same tracks and –" At that precise moment, their party rounded the corner and emerged from the entrance of the cave, Grace and the others still trailing reluctantly behind. "What do we have here?" A large man with a shaggy blonde hair and beard on a wide-set face, decked out in the Templar's standard uniform of silver plate, drawled as he spotted them. Several other Templars stood behind the man, a few feet from where he faced off with Thrask.

As soon as Mardin saw him, every fibre in his body screamed for him to kill the man; the hairs rose on the back of his neck and his hand was on his sword hilt before he'd even realized what he was doing. He gripped it tightly, taking deep, steadying breaths, telling himself that he couldn't just kill this Templar in cold blood, not with so many other Templars watching. It was too dangerous; one of the others could get hurt or killed in the ensuing battle, especially as they were already weary from fighting the mages. He halted where he was, ordering himself to calm down as Brianna took a few steps forward, addressing both Thrask and Karras. "The blood mage and all who followed him are dead. These mages agreed to willingly return to the Circle."

"The Circle?" Karras scoffed in disbelief. "As if we would let these demon-worshippers pollute the minds of our mages. No." He shook his head. "Once they've tasted freedom, apostates are good for nothing. Better to silence them now."

"No!" Grace wailed, running up next to Brianna as she pleaded desperately, "And you wonder why we fear them? Please! You must protect us!"

"There's nothing we can do now," Brianna murmured to her, looking torn as she continued, "There's too many of them. Thrask will do what he can to keep you safe. And it's better than becoming an abomination. They deserve a trial," she finished loudly, looking Karras directly in the eye.

"They're mages. They ran. Done," Karras replied coldly, slashing his hand through the air.

Mardin gripped his sword even tighter, feeling the hilt dig into his gloved palm as he imagined how satisfying it would be to rip Karras's throat out. "Don't," Brianna said softly, laying a hand on his left arm to stay him, even as Thrask protested, "The Circle is a sanctuary, not a prison! If you kill these people, I will see you disciplined by the Divine herself!"

Karras shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with Thrask's threat. "Knight-Commander says no rebel robes get to preach to the tame ones."

"Are you truly going to send us off with this monster?" Grace demanded anxiously.

"I'm sorry, but we have no choice," Brianna replied, and Mardin could hear the hopelessness in her voice. She obviously could not see a way out of this; nor could he, at least not without risking the lives of Brianna and the others, and he couldn't bring himself to do that, especially as he still had the feeling that Grace herself might be dangerous.

"Then we truly have no hope," Grace said quietly. She turned to Thrask, steeling her shoulders as she went on, "You seem a decent man, Templar. I must place the lives of all these people in your hands."

"Don't count on him being around long enough to help you, Sunshine," Karras mocked her.

Thrask shot his fellow Templar a glare before he bowed low to Grace. "I will do all I can. I swear you this. Now you must return to the Circle with us." He took a few steps towards Brianna, handing her a small pouch of coins. "I thank you for the assistance, Mistress Hawke. Do not doubt that you saved lives today."

With that, the party of Templars rounded up Grace and her companions before marching away, leaving Mardin and the others staring after them.

"Did I do the right thing?" Brianna asked, once the Templars were well out of earshot.

"Of course you did," Carver said immediately. "Those mages weren't like you and Bethany. They helped a man who used blood magic and they wanted to kill a man who helped them."

"Grace was harder for me to read than Karras or Thrask, but I definitely got a feeling of danger from her. And there were too many Templars to fight without the chance that someone might be killed," Mardin added, wanting to relieve the burden Brianna was obviously feeling. "Besides, I can always just kill Karras later when he's alone. Random bear attack. No one would know."

Varric laughed, Carver grinned and even Brianna smiled before she shook her head. "We can't just go killing him. It could bring the others down on us, and then someone might figure out your abilities. It's too dangerous."

Mardin studied her face as she met his gaze firmly, noticing that she looked quite serious about this matter. "All right, if you say so. But keep it in mind."

Brianna nodded. "I will." She opened the pouch, doing a quick count of the coins inside. She looked to Varric when she was done. "This is it. We have enough for the expedition."

Varric whistled. "Just in time, Hawke. We should go visit Bartrand tomorrow and settle the details."

"Okay. I'll come by the Hanged Man tomorrow and we can go meet him," Brianna agreed as she tucked the pouch away and started down the sandy path towards Kirkwall.

"Why not come by the Hanged Man when we get back and play Wicked Grace?" Varric suggested brightly as they all started after her. "How about it, Red? Junior? Broody?"

Mardin shrugged. "Why not?" It was as good a way to pass the time as any, after all. Carver and Fenris added their agreements, as did Brianna.

"Great!" Varric declared. "Then let's get back to Kirkwall! I've had more than enough of sand for one day!"

As they continued along the path, making their way back to Kirkwall, Brianna eventually dropped back next to Mardin as the others debated about adding a wild card to their game tonight. "Are you still willing to come on the expedition?" she asked him softly.

"Of course," Mardin replied instantly, looking down at her in surprise. "I told you, you don't have to ask. I'll help whenever you need me."

She studied him for a moment before she smiled. "Then, thank you. I'll have to decide who else is coming along besides you and Varric. Do you want to meet us at the Hanged Man tomorrow and help plan the expedition? You might have some valuable insight from your days as a Captain."

"Well, I don't know much about the Deep Roads, obviously, but I've certainly planned missions before," Mardin agreed. "I'll offer whatever help I can."

"Good. We're leaving in less than a week, and we need to be ready."

"We will be." Mardin wondered as they continued the long trek back to Kirkwall if he was right, or if this expedition would turn out to be part of the darkness he was here to help Brianna with. If it was, he only hoped that he could stop whatever might be coming.