Running On Empty: Homeward Bound

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It took us nearly a full month to get to Val Royeaux. Without horses (again) and traveling with a group made things a bit tricky. Cassandra, at least, was warmer toward me. I may not have believed in the things that she believed, but to know that I didn't shoot her down first thing gave us a chance. Now, I just had to work on Solas and Varric. A handful of months spent together did not friendships make, not if I spent most of my time running away from them and my duties.

Still, time would tell. Best not to force it.

Afternoon of the last day of our travel, I was exhausted. My heels had disappeared into my ankles, my calves were hissing with low, angry, cackling fire and my torso had a permanent stitch in both sides. I treasured my water-skin like a firstborn child and had it refilled more than was necessary, simply because of how much I drank. The Sahara had taken residence in my stomach. The city had pulled up in front of us like the towering city horizon of New York, but with less lights and more glittering gold and brass. So perhaps a bit more like New York, but I couldn't judge accurately as I had only visited once in the eight grade.

The city was massive and in a beautiful oasis of swaying trees and copper toned stones that bristled under the sunlight. There was a bridge, one of the few main ones, that led into the mouth of the city. It was very reminiscent of Wizard of Oz, now that I stopped to think about it as we crossed over the bridge and toward the gates. The road wasn't golden (that might have been a bit too gaudy for them, I would think), and the buildings weren't emerald blazed, but the feeling was very much the same. A fairy land, a wonderland so much like the big cities of my world and yet so painfully, inescapably different.

I stared as we walked, Cassandra leading the way.

As our troupe of four made their way over the bridge, from the bottom of my vision as I stared up at the spires that were the buildings, I could spot people stopping to gaze at us, and a handful even bolted from sight if they had made eye contact with myself or Cassandra. Like a new puppy, my head tilted toward Cassandra, silently begging an explanation.

"The city still mourns." She offered with a frown. "Val Royeaux has always had a strong connection to the Chantry, as well as the Divine. Her passing has been a great blow to them."

Right, my mouth scrunched over my chin, I am going into the viper's lair that I've already rustled. Fantastic.

"This is just a guess, Seeker." Varric murmured from behind us, watching as another couple dashed away from us. "But I think they know who we are."

Cassandra dropped a deadpanned look upon him like a bomb. "Your skills at observation never fail to impress me, Varric." Solas and I snorted behind the pair and promptly glanced away to murmur about the blue pigment used on the walls when Cassandra's lightning gaze found us. I continued to snicker when she finally turned away, Solas smirking at my amusement. Varric snorted at us and shook a fist in a brief, mock sense of offense.

A slender figure caught my attention as it ran up toward us, directly toward us and not off to one side as the others had. I focused as Cassandra drew up sharp to her shoulders. Varric and Solas, as per the usual, kept behind us and quiet, waiting patiently.

"My Lady Herald." They were young, by the sound of their voice. I couldn't tell who they were, as the hood they wore came down low over their brow and the rest of their armor smothered them in ambiguity. My bones jumped under my skin when I realized they were speaking to me and not Cassandra. My viper took the initiative and stepped forward with a permissive glance at me.

"You're one of Leliana's people." Cassandra addressed the scout with a tip of her chin. "What have you found?"

"The Chantry Mothers await you, but..." The scout looked back to me, saddened. "So do a great deal of Templars."

Cassandra cast me a worried look. "There are Templars here?"

"Yes," the scout murmured apologetically. "People seem to believe that the Templars will protect them from - from the Inquisition." A wince snapped at my eye. We should have seen that coming. The mages and the Chantry may not have been friends or allies, but the Templars still had support and a place to stand amongst the people of Thedas. My lungs drew a cold breath that stung along my throat and steeled my shoulders. I should have seen this coming. This isn't a viper's nest, it's a lion's den. My body shivered upon consideration that I may not have worn enough armor.

"Where are they?" Cassandra demanded with her fists tight at her side.

"They're gathered on the other side of the market. That's where the Templars intend to meet you."

I exhaled the breath I was holding, "It feels like an a-ambush."

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Varric always dove into my panic headfirst when he knew I would start to noose myself. My eyes shot down to him at my side and he smiled wide, arms spread in placation. "You have the Seeker here, and Chuckles. There's nothing scarier in this city than these two."

"Varric." Cassandra growled. Solas patiently pretended to miss the jab. My nerves were far from soothed, but his humor calmed me. Varric was much like my long lost brother from my realm. A realist, to be sure, but with a gallows humor that was spot on most days. A sigh escaped me and I nodded, at ease next to my companions.

Cassandra pinned her gaze back on the scout. "Only one thing left to do, then. Return to Haven, someone will need to inform them in case we are... delayed." I spared the scout a nod as we walked past them. A second glance over my shoulder had them gone from sight like a fly into the wind and I hurried to be at Cassandra's heels, flashing back to my first trip to school and wishing desperately to hold someone's hand. I was twenty-six years old and not once in the whole time that I had been here did I feel like I was old enough to be on the ride.

My viper was seething. I could practically hear her hissing.

"Cassandra?" I inquired gently once I caught up to her side.

"They wish to protect the people?" Cassandra snarled quietly; her strides long. "From us?" There was nothing I could to ease her agitation, though. The rest of us followed in her terrifying wake and were bombarded upon entry. The market was circular, a spiraling building at the center that was surrounded by a small moat that was fenced off and bridged as well. It was a decorative work that drew the eye, but it also blocked from view our impeding evisceration. As we came around the market, dodging through a few small groups of people, the chatter grew to a cacophony as we spied a raised platform past the public gallows, on it stood a collection of Chantry members and Templars.

My spine trembled as we approached and I forced my feet to continue forward, ignoring the sensation of how they melted into the ground.

"Good people of Val Royeaux, hear me!" The voice was smooth and commanded presence at the middle of the raised platform. She carried over the chaotic conversations that bubbled at her feet. The crowd drew in a breath of silence, erratic as they focused on her. I peered through the crowd up to the Chantry Mother, Cassandra glued to my side with Solas and Varric at my heels. "Together, we mourn our Divine! Her naive and beautiful heart silenced by treachery!"

I was pinned to where I stood as the Chantry Mother made her way across the platform to me, glaring down with her self-inflected righteousness.

"You wonder what will become of her murderer?" The Mother stepped away from the edge, her boots scuffed on the wood. The crowd finally realized where her gaze had landed and circled on me like predators. My spine was electrocuted as I became the center of attention and snapped itself upright, my maul a heated, heavy rod at my back. The Mother's glare turned vicious and crinkled her eyes and mouth, "Well, wonder no more!"

Cassandra and Solas immediately shadowed up to my sides, barriers of protection against any ambush. Varric stayed low and away from the crowd, out of the corner of my sight.

"Behold," The Mother sneered, "the so-called Herald of Andraste! Claiming to rise where our beloved fell!" Her shoulders bunched under her cloak as she paced along the platform. A few of the Templars behind her eyed me with suspicious and curiosity, perhaps waiting for me to smite (smote?) the Mother where she stood. Please, I begged the clouds just above the Mother's head, Maker if you exist here, strike me dead and let Cassandra deal with this.

That's cruel, don't do that.

"We say that this is a false prophet!" The Mother narrowed her gaze on me and stood stone still at the center of the platform. "No servant of anything beyond her own selfish greed!" There is literally nothing in this world I could want, I wanted to argue, but it wouldn't help the situation. If I had the power they thought I did, I would go straight back home and let them all deal with this, and then desperately try to ignore the pull in my heart for abandoning all of them.

I wasn't perfect, cruel or otherwise. Cassandra stepped forward, but for some fucking reason, my hand snaked out and snapped at her elbow. She paused, but did not look at me. She knew, like I was starting to understand, that we had to present a united, cohesive front. One shield, one banner, one Inquisition. Deep from the bottom of my stomach I breathed and stepped forward, my head inclined to allow my voice to carry like the Mother's had.

"Please, we came in peace!" I called out to her, and then looked to the crowd. "Simply to talk - and this is what you do?" I was all for instigating a fight when I knew my odds, but here my odds were not good. This was not my world, for the hundredth time that I had to remind myself, and their rules were different. The Mother was unmoved and I implored her once more, "Please! We have a gate of demons sitting over our heads, let's sit down and talk about the real threat!" The crowd around me chattered, alarmed at the mention of the Breach. You couldn't see it from Val Royeaux, and once I would have thought it comforting, but it made it far too easy to forget the danger it posed.

"It's true!" Cassandra came up to my side again, her voice stronger than mine. "The Inquisition seeks to end this madness before it's too late!" Solas twitched behind us, mildly uncomfortable, I would suspect. I turned to reassure myself that no one had accosted him or snatched his staff, but his gaze was away and I followed it. My eyes grew wide and I hastily pawed at Cassandra's arm as she argued with the Mother. My viper's eyes caught sight of the newest addition to our madness. Their armor clanged and hissed as they marched toward the platform, the Mother smug as she stepped back to allow them space.

Templars. A whole troupe of Templars.

"The Templars have returned to the Chantry!" The Mother cried. "They will face this Inquisition, and the people will be safe once more!" I felt both Cassandra and Solas' hands trap my elbows in their grip and my stomach plummeted to my knees at the thought that we would have to dash through this massive crowd to escape an armed force. That was not to be, however, as all three of us jolted with alarm as a second Templar behind the leading one struck the Mother at the back of her head.

There was a beat of silence, and then chaos.

Instinctively, my legs wrenched me forward toward the platform and caught the mother's head before she kissed the wood. Her headdress rolled from her head and the other sisters around her dove to her side. I glared up at the Templars, a bubbling, growling rage under my ribs. The Chantry as a whole was against me, but that gave no one the right to strike an elderly woman's head in a wild sucker punch. The fucking nerve.

"What the fucking hell is your problem?" I growled, my voice a rumble in my throat. A few Templars looked at me sharply, worry marred their expressions. Even my viper's gaze searched my face hastily, surprised by my sudden anger. The Mother was pulled away from my hands by the sisters and I resisted the urge to haul my ass up onto the platform. This wasn't a schoolyard or barroom fight. Best to stay on the ground and make him come to me, if he decided to strike.

"Her claim to authority is an insult." The Templar snarled. "Much like yours." My shoulders itched at the dismissal and I pushed off the platform to follow him as he stormed away. Cassandra made an awkward dash to get in front of me and addressed the Templar with shock.

"Lord Seeker Lucius," Cassandra called as she dove between people to follow him, "It's imperative that we speak -"

"You will not address me." The supposed Lord Seeker pinned Cassandra with a heel turn. My viper paused with a stuttered step.

"Lord Seeker?" It was a first to have Cassandra sound so lost. My annoyance spiked as I came up behind her, my palms itched to hold my maul. Solas flanked Cassandra's other side, his honed gaze flashing between both parties, unsure of where the threat was to strike first. Varric was gone from my sight, but I assumed he was behind us, as that's where he was most useful.

"Creating a heretical movement," The Lord Seeker began, his dark eyes chained to Cassandra, "raising a puppet as Andraste's prophet. You should be ashamed." Solas' hand once again appeared at my elbow and it was the only indication that I had stepped forward in retaliation. This was ridiculous. I knew, expected it, even, that people would spit down at me and smear my forged name across the coals, but to hear someone go after Cassandra set something ablaze in my stomach. No one cruellysassed Cassandra, not while I was within fucking earshot.

"You should all be ashamed," The Lord Seeker spat, his attention now on the rest of us. "The Templars failed no one when they left the Chantry to purge the mages!" My spine reared up with a vicious shudder and I glared at Solas' hand and then up at him. Gently, with all the patience of a saint, Solas brought a hand up and placed his index finger over his lips to silence me behind Cassandra's back. The muscles under my skin trembled with ice, but I obeyed. Angrily, but I still obeyed.

He's right. This is not my place. Of all the times to find my bravado, fucking hell.

"You are the ones who have failed." Lord Seeker Lucius condemned. "You who'd leash our righteous swords with doubt and fear!" The Templars around him shuffled on their heels, their gazes bouncing between Cassandra and the Lord Seeker. There was doubt, the Seeker was not wrong about that, though it seemed he failed to notice where the doubt spread. "If you came to appeal to the Chantry, you are too late. The only destiny that demands respect is mine." Cassandra was frozen in front of me and that brought a heated snarl to my lips.

"What we need," I swallowed back my swear words as I surged forward in front of her, "is an alliance to seal this Breach - or have you forgotten that it won't stop at the Temple?" The Templars around the Lord Seeker hesitated. They glanced to each other, their gazes searching for reassurances between their brothers-in-arms. I prayed one would break, would cave to the plea. I just needed one to break the unification. Mother Giselle had never been more right in giving me such advice.

The Seeker gassed me with a wicked grin. "Oh, the Breach is indeed a threat, but you certainly have no power to do anything about it."

"But Lord Seeker," a new voice entered the fray and my heart clenched; I just need one of you. The new Templar spared me a small look before he turned back to his leader. "What if she was sent by the Maker? What if -" He was young, too, about my age if not a year or so older. Darkened skin like I hadn't yet seen before at Haven, with blazing eyes and a proud line along his shoulders. Doubt touched his mouth and wrinkled his eyes, but he faced his leader fully.

He was promptly smacked down by the Templar who had punched the Mother, "You are called to a higher purpose. Do not question." This other Templar set himself about to herd the troupe that had followed their leader, sectioning them off from the crowd and marching them away.

"I will make the Templar Order a power that stand against the void." The Lord Seeker commanded darkly. "We deserve recognition, independence!" He turned back around to me, my lanky frame a reed compared to his armored tank of a torso and ego. My ribs expanded as I inhaled and puffed like a fish, resisting the mighty urge to bare my teeth at him. I wasn't an animal and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how far he clawed under my skin, but I was inches from striking the first blow.

Inches.

"You have shown me nothing." The Lord Seeker's lips shook as he restrained a snap of his jaws. "And the Inquisition... less than nothing." He turned to the troupe that stood behind him, shifting like an uneasy and stormy sea. "Templars! Val Royeaux is unworthy of our protection. We march!" The troupe was soon herded like frantic sheep, a few among their number stared back at Cassandra and me as if we would save them from their departure. I didn't have it in me to try, I was already exhausted from the unexpected upheaval of righteous emotion I felt for Cassandra.

Varric finally appeared from within the crowd, furthest away from us as I had assumed. He tipped his head to us and sighed, "Charming fellow, isn't it?"

"Has Lord Seeker Lucius gone mad?" Cassandra finally pulled up out of her stupor and stood beside us. She turned her eyes to me and I shrugged, it's not like I know the man.

"How well do you know him, Cassandra?" I asked. Her astonishment had come from somewhere, with wide eyes and a furrowed mouth, I was hard-pressed to believe this was the regular attitude of the man. Cassandra bounced slightly on her heels as she pondered the question, her expression twisted up with confusion.

"Lord Seeker Lucius was an honest man." She replied, hinting at her own doubt. "He was never one for grandstanding or political power, this... this is very unlike him."

A heel of my palm rubbed into my eye. "Well, it doesn't look like the Templars are going to be any help with the Breach."

"I wouldn't write them off so quickly." Cassandra tempered my response. Her eyes still held some hope for the Order. She shook her head, "There must be some in the Order who see what he's become." My gaze followed back to where the Templars had marched off. The one among them that had broken rank to question the Lord Seeker, with emerald gaze and concentrated brow, but we hadn't caught his name. I sighed, I'll have to get Leliana to look into it. If one broke, I have a footing. God damn it.

"I suppose so." I relented with a soft glance at Cassandra. "But for now, they're as unreachable as the Breach." Solas nodded in agreement, his hands ever behind his back and Varric took a moment to scratch at the back of his head. This plan was falling apart like a demolished Lego house under someone's boot. With a roll of my shoulders, I set my feet to leave and head back to Haven to inform The Hydra of the crumbling plan.

"Excuse me," the accent caught me more than the pardon and all four of us turned to look behind us. A masked woman (I assumed, simply because of the dress, but you never knew with Val Royeaux) stood at the center of her little shaded shop and waved at us once she had our attention. I gave Cassandra a questioning glance, but she shrugged and we both made our way back toward the decorated lean-to. The woman was ornately dressed in a multitude of colors and glittering jewels. She was like a wind chime and with every turn, she sparkled and clinked.

"Can we help you?" I asked politely. The situation around us was unclear. With the Chantry Mother still recovering from her blow to the head and the crowd still in pockets of dissent, it was extremely difficult to tell who was an enemy and who was not. The woman bowed to us, as best she could in all of her skirts.

"Hello, yes." The woman seemed to smile under her mask. "I am Lady Belle, owner of this little shop. I do beg your pardon, as I did not mean to eavesdrop, but... is it true, are you with the Inquisition? The Herald of Andraste?"

My shoulders went stiff, but I bowed my head as I had no skirts to curtsy with, "I am. How can I be of service to you, Lady Belle?"

"Charmed," she laughed, "but I am disturbed, Herald, and the apparent disregard our mages and Templars have for the situation at hand." It was not a curious conversation topic, as the Breach affected everyone, but I was startled by the straightforward point she presented me. This was what Cassandra and The Hydra had talked about, that people would look to me for leadership in the coming storm. Guilt welled up in my belly, because I knew these poor people were being led by a blind captain.

"We share the same concerns, Lady Belle." I answered as I hastily puzzled together what else to say. "Unfortunately, with how the Inquisition stands right now, our power cannot be diverted into pacifying tempers. People need us to help sustain them." The lady under her shades considered me. Panic rose up in my throat as I began to second-guess my response. I wasn't cut out for this, I didn't know what words to say to sway people into helping us. Cassandra made no move next to me to patch up my poor attempt at democracy.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance?" Lady Belle replied carefully. "I would not be able to do much more than assist with trade of food and supplies, but if the Inquisition is in need of it, I offer my services." My skin tingled at her words, startled by her acceptance of my half-assed play of diplomat. I blundered about in my mind for a reply and weakly turned to my viper at my left.

"Cassandra?" I hiccuped. My viper gave me a bemused smile and chuckled.

"I believe she was asking you, Herald." Cassandra prompted. It took everything in me to keep the whine deep in my throat. My gaze flickered back to Lady Belle and my feet shuffled before I bowed my head again, swallowing against the bundle of nerves at the base of my tongue.

"We would be honored to have you in our fold, Lady Belle." I murmured as I raised my head. The woman smiled brightly at me.

"Wonderful," she cheered, "I will see to making my way toward Haven." With a stiff swallow, I nodded my head and we hastily made our way through the market again. I shuddered under the three pairs of eyes that bore into my back and I gave them a swift glare over my shoulders.

"Do not start with me, assholes -" there was a short whistle that shot past the front of my body. Varric was the first to starch up under his armor, his gaze swiftly finding the arrow and its path before the rest of us could. My gaze followed his and finally spotted the arrow that was embedded in the cobblestone work of the market's pathway.

"What's that?" Cassandra startled about as well as a horse, nickering. "An arrow with a message?"

I snorted and walked over to it, "Your skills at observation are astounding, Cassandra." The tease was enough to loosen my group. A scowl promptly plastered itself onto Cassandra's features, Solas dipped his chin down to hide his smile and Varric barked with a hearty laugh. With a gentle tug the arrow came loose and I unfurled the paper that was wrapped around it. I frowned. It was strange, because I could understand most of their words, as we had a shared language, or an alphabet in some ways, but certain words were still lost to me.

Solas was already beside me as I turned to hand him the note. He read it over briefly, his eyes scanning the parchment more than a few times. I peered over his shoulder. The letter was short and it had large, flowing script, with manic doodles all around the edges. Solas leaned toward me, turning his hand so that I could read it again, despite my first poor attempt.

"It says; People say you're special. I want to help, and can bring everyone." He huffed, the parchment crinkling in his hand. "There's a baddie in Val Royeaux - stop giggling, it's the wording of the letter. Hush," he glanced at me, annoyed briefly, but mainly amused. "I hear he wants to hurt you. Have a search for the red things in the market, the docks, and 'round the cafe, and maybe you'll meet him first. Bring swords."

"That is a very poor attempt at an ambush." Varric popped up from under the letter. "Let me see that." He took the letter from Solas; my eyes had already starting looking around to spot anything red and obnoxious, but I didn't know this market well enough. "Huh," Varric glanced up and around as well, "The market, the docks, and the cafe..."

"Do you know where we can find these things?" I asked, wide eyed.

"Do we have time for it, is more my question." Cassandra grumbled.

I gave her a shrug, "I know we're a bit pressed for time, but someone's actively attempting to contact us or kill us."

"Best to get them out of the way now. Traveling to Haven and back again is time we don't have." Solas agreed behind me. Varric was already off on his trek to find the red things mentioned in the note and I trotted along behind him. He was fast for a dwarf. It took us a bit of a while to find all the bundles of red cloth with more clues and notes. All with the same script. At the very least, it had given me a chance to become a bit more acquainted with the bustling city. Memorization was key to survival. In the end, the clues were disturbing. They led us to believe that I had been followed and watched, and gave a location as to where to find the perpetrator.

"We'll hold off on that one for now." I murmured to my group. Solas pocketed the notes in his bag, our glorified secretary when we were out and about. "Last thing we want to do is have me look like some vigilante off arresting people for no good reason."

"Agreed." Solas answered with a sigh. "Perhaps later tonight we can take a detour. Less people and public eye to worry about." We all shared a nod and set that particular pot on the back burner to simmer. We jumped around a bit more, or rather, my group allowed me a bit of freedom as I dashed between the shops, eyeing up what I could and what would be worth some note for Lady Montilyet. I had no doubt in my mind she knew these shops well, but I wasn't entirely eager to go back to Haven, yet.

The little emotional outburst I had over defending Cassandra had set my nerves on fire. It was vastly different from getting my point across with a fist, but my limbs had trembled and my heart raced up to my sinuses from the push to step forward and protect my companion. She was by no means weak or feeble, alas she'd strike me dead if I said such a thing to her, but I think I was starting to understand it. Leading was less about empowering myself and more about supporting others.

Just maybe, I could do this.

We found the Mother again, supported and protected by a circle of other Mothers and Sisters of the Chantry. She held her head and side, her headdress still gone from her skull and she leveled a heated look as we approached, most of her ire focused on the face of my viper.

"This victory must please you greatly, Seeker." The Mother growled lowly, pain laced in her words.

"We came only to speak with the Mothers." Cassandra rebuffed, hand on her pommel. "This is not our doing, but yours."

"And you had no part in forcing our hand?" The Mother returned darkly. Her gaze flashed to me. "Do not delude yourself." She took a shuddering breath and the clerics around her rustled with worry, as they could hear the rattling in her lungs as well as I did. "Now we have been shown up by our own Templars, in front of everyone. My fellow clerics are scattered to the winds, along with their convictions." My gaze found Cassandra, but my viper only shook her head in reply. There was nothing we could do since this was exactly what we had planned from the start (not beating a Mother senseless, though, that was not a part of our plan).

"Just tell me one thing," The Mother brought her eyes to me and I straightened. "Do you truly believe you are the Maker's Chosen?" My mind pondered the question. I didn't believe at all, and I had mentioned such to most of my companions and The Hydra, so that we were on clear terms from where I functioned. I searched her face and could see the strain of terror and chaos that hid behind her eyes. She was terrified, just as much as I, and she was looking for answers. My shoulders slumped as realization hit; she may not have been from another world, but her world was falling apart at the seams, unraveling, and all the answers she thought she had from her scriptures were failing.

It's the Second Coming of Jesus Christ for you, isn't it? Revelations had hit this world and their god, if this disaster was anything to go by, had damned them to their fates.

"I couldn't tell you." I answered honestly. Cassandra shuddered next to me, her gaze sharp and telling. I ignored her. "All I know is that I am capable of sealing this Breach, and I need all the help I can get to do it. Why must we fight each other like this when there's a greater threat than the writings of a religion?"

The Mother chuckled weakly. "It is all we have, child. When the world was built on the Maker and he abandons us, what more do we have aside from nothing?" She shook and another Sister step forward and pressed a moist cloth to the Mother's forehead. The Mother sighed and closed her eyes, "... in the end, I am left to question all that I've been taught. I suppose it is all out of our hands now. We'll see what the Maker has planned for us in the days to come."

I reeled angrily, bile bubbling in my throat. "Help us! Why is the first response you have to this danger sitting back and let it eat you up?"

"Herald." Cassandra interrupted gently. My teeth came down on the inside of my cheek and I waved it off. I knew better than to argue with the religious. With a hefty sigh I turned on my heel and marched toward the exit. Forget the Red Jenny. Forget the mages and the Templars. Whatever bravado I had was now washed away with my anger. My companions caught up with my hasty retreat, but Cassandra came up to my side and pointed to someone off to the side, a man in robes who stared directly at me.

I growled, but marched over to him instead. "You're staring. How may I help you?" I was quick to tact on the polite reply when I could hear Cassandra sigh behind me in disgust. My temper was starting to match hers and get the best of me. Calm your fucking attitude, Jaime. The man in robes turned his head to me, eyes a bit vacant and open.

"You are the Herald of Andraste, are you not? I have an invitation for you." He held out a envelope for me, dressed in glitter and gold flecks, with a dark wax seal. I looked up to question the robed man, but he was already walking away. Annoyed, I pulled out a small knife that I had stashed in my belt (can't swing a maul in close quarters, as the Commander said) and slit the wax from the parchment and opened it. I snorted and immediately handed the invitation to Solas when the script was even flasher than the first one. No way in hell I could read that.

"Well, it is indeed an invitation." Solas took a moment to read the rest. "Hmm. It's from the First Enchanter of Montsimmard, Enchanter to the Imperial Court, Lady Vivienne De Fer, asking you to attend her salon at the Chateau of Duke Bastien de Ghislain."

I turned to Cassandra with a pistol whip look. She jumped at the attention.

"Never again tell me my name is strange." I pointed at her. Varric blinked rapidly for a few seconds, attempting to catch up with the conversation before he burst into laughter. He wasn't there for the original conversation on how Jaime Wyatt was a strange and foreign name, but listening to Solas read the letter to me, I knew now it was utter bullshit. Solas hid a smirk as he pocketed that parchment note as well; Cassandra's face lit up like an electric stove left on high.

"And gods almighty," I groused with a look to Solas' knapsack. "The fuck was that, someone's career list?"

Solas chuckled. "Well... yes. The nobility and high court do enjoy spending the ink on their accomplishments."

"What do I do? Reply?" I answered briskly, once more taking the walk up toward the exit bridge. "Hail First Enchanter Lady Vivienne-something, I shall attend your whatever. Sincerely, A Shithead."

Varric had a sudden case of whooping cough behind us, wheezing that no, bad idea, but like I gave two polite shits about what this Enchanter could think of me. With a sigh, I relaxed, the group (and myself) in a briefly better mood than before. It wasn't meant to cushion us for long, as upon approach of the gates we were caught from behind by another robed figure, a woman.

"If I may have a moment of your time?" A woman called behind us. My eyes closed and I could feel my eyeballs burn under my eyelids as I turned my head up toward the sky, asking for peace. I looked over our collective shoulders and spotted an elven woman. She was dressed in full, furred robes, with worn boots and short cropped hair. I felt the stirrings of shame tickle up my back when a thought of elves wear shoes? popped into my head. Of course they wore shoes, not everyone was like Solas.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona?" Cassandra murmured with surprise.

"Leader of the mage rebellion," Solas followed up, shifting closer. "Is it not dangerous for you to be here?"

"I heard of this gathering, and I wanted to see the fabled Herald of Andraste with my own eyes." The Grand Enchanter stepped toward us from the shadows of the gate, her gaze raking over me for a full inspection. "If it's help with the Breach you seek, perhaps my people are the wiser option."

My eyebrows shot to my hairline. "The mages weren't willing to talk to us before, according to our ambassador. Why now?"

"Because now I've seen what you are." She bowed her head lightly with half a smile on her lips. "And I've seen the Chantry for what it is. Consider this an invitation to Redcliff: Come meet with the mages. An alliance could help us both, after all." I could understand her smile now, she was calculating. The Templars had turned me away, spurned for their own independence and standing, and it left me in a position of a beggar.

Now I have nothing left to choose but you, huh? I wasn't going to readily fall into that trap. As far as I was currently concerned, either side was a menace. I had a very nagging fear that this could very well turn out like a reenactment of the Holocaust if I wasn't careful. The last thing anyone wanted in this world was another Hilter. Or their first one, I should say.

She bowed her head to me again. "I hope to see you there. Au revoir, my Lady Herald." I watched her go in surprise. That was French? That sound like French. Not that I could ask any of my companions, as I was the only one that knew what French was, or where it had come from; it was just another nail in the coffin in making me think this place wasn't so dissimilar to my world.

"Come on," I tugged my companions along behind me, "Let's deal with the follower first and then we can head back to Haven."

- 0 -

Whoever the hell this stalker was, they were loaded. We had taken Solas' advice and waited until the fall of twilight before heading out toward the secluded courtyard that my stalker had taken residence in. It was alarming how tight the space was once you left Val Royeaux and wandered into the further reaches of the city.

That's where the bodyguards had found us. There was a handful of them, regular swordsmen and an archer or two. Cassandra was quick to leap into the fray after the first arrow was shot our way and clanged off her shield. I readied my maul in my hands and took comfort in its weight as I dashed in after my companions.

Varric and Solas made quick work of the guards on the ledge of the storage floor we were herded into, and I followed Cassandra as the viper struck hard between two swordsmen. I came around behind her and swung for the legs of one of the guards, listening to him squawk as his ass hit the ground. My gaze turned away to the other guard as Cassandra brought her blade down swiftly and dispatched the fallen foe.

I still wasn't comfortable watching death happen. It was easier for me to ignore it and lay blame away on others if I never dealt the killing blow. My throat constricted as my maul came up and smacked on the blade in front of me, it wobbled in the guard's hands and twanged off the floor as he spun to meet me again. The maul hissed through the air as I brought it down and around my ankles to keep the sword from biting into my chest.

He was a bit stronger than I was accustomed to, and I had no doubt in my mind that the soldiers back at Haven pulled their swings when sparring with the Herald. Regardless, the swordsman bounced off my maul and stumbled back toward Solas, the latter whom brought his hand up smoothly and sent a shock of rippling ice through the guard's back.

"Holy shit, dude." I breathed hard, exertion burned my lungs. "Talk about a cold shoulder."

Varric groaned from behind me. "That was awful, sweetheart, really?"

I grinned at him maniacally. Adrenaline was one hell of a drug. We spritzed off toward the other section of the storage area, dodging around boxes and stacked crates before getting to the double doors. I pushed through only to be yanked back by Solas' quick hand as a spitting fireball slammed just past my face and into the metal door. I pouted, peeved at the sucker punch. A second one came just as quickly, with Cassandra's stone grip dragging both Solas and myself down for a hard duck.

"Hey!" I came up with a sputter, annoyed, maul scraping against the ground.

"Herald of Andraste!" The masked man approached us with his nose in the air, hands daintily on his hips. "How much did you expend to discover me? It must have weakened the Inquisition immeasurably."

"I didn't spend a single fucking cent, my guy." I said, amazed. This guy was beyond the cloud line and into space. He bristled under his marshmallow shoulder pads and faced me only with his profile.

"You don't fool me!" He snapped with a shrill. "I'm too important for this to be an accident! My efforts will survive in victories against you elsewhere!" What the ever loving hell? I knew egos around Val Royeaux were top tier at worst, but this took the last slice of cake. I blinked and turned to my companions for answers.

I received wide eyed stares.

A body dropped dead behind my attacker and all our attentions snapped to the slumped guard, another elf appeared behind him, bow and arrow at the ready. Bianca clicked behind me and whirled her gears, ready for a shot, but the elf was focused on the masked man in front of us.

"Just say 'what'!" She demanded.

"What is -" an arrow split through his open mouth, choking him. My heart stuttered in my chest as the body dropped with a thick, wet thud and rolled as his legs bent awkwardly under his weight. A swallow forced its way down my throat and Cassandra stood before me with a shield, stone faced and ready.

The archer giggled, "Squishy one, but you heard me, right? Just say what! Rich tits always try for more than they deserve."

What.

"Blah, blah, blah! Obey me! Arrow in my face!" She continued, bouncing toward the fallen nobleman and yanking the arrow from his throat. I choked a bit at the noise, my hand on Cassandra's arm to steady myself. "You followed the clues well enough. Glad to see you're - oh. You're normal! That's good!"

"Someone translate." I murmured to everyone around me, but my eyes flashed to Solas.

"Do not think for one second that I could." Solas sassed, his ears twitched indignantly. My eyes rolled and I shuffled around Cassandra, easing my viper away with a gentle push. My head ducked a bit as I walked up to the archer, my gaze carefully on her hands that held the bow. She had been fast.

"I mean, it's all good, innit?" The woman grinned wide at me. "The important thing is; you glow? You're the Herald thing?"

"Well, I s-suppose the Herald Thing is a bit better than Andraste's." I muttered. It set the archer off into a giggle and, impossibly, her grin set wider on her mouth. My throat cleared to catch her attention, as sporadic as it seemed, "Who are you and what's this about?"

"No idea," the girl rushed, "I don't know this idiot from manners. My people just said the Inquisition should look at him."

Confusion incoming. "Your people? Like elves?"

"No!" She snorted. "People people! Name's Sera, this is cover, get around it."

"Wait, what?" I felt like I was literally trying to catch smoke within my fingers. Nothing that came out of her mouth made sense. The woman groaned and shook her head, taking my shoulder and shoving me behind a stack of crates. Varric and Cassandra hiccupped in offense, stepping toward us.

"Hey! It's for the reinforcements." She snapped with a narrowed eyed glare at my companions. "Don't worry, someone tipped me their equipment shed."

"What the fuck, honestly." I muttered darkly, peeking up from behind the stack of crates.

"They've got no breeches!" She sang as the first arrow flew from her bow. It struck a guard in the throat as they were coming down the stairs nearby. Instinctively my head ducked and I found Cassandra materialized at my front, shield and sword brandished. I stood from cover and popped around her open flank with my maul, lying it out on the ground flat and sweeping it as another guard ran toward her.

With his ankle gone out from under him, he hit the crates as Cassandra and I dodged to one side. Spun on a heel, Cassandra snarled as he blade came down and it was only then that we noticed the guard had no pants upon his person.

I growled, "Why didn't you take their weapons!"

"Because no breeches!" The girl laughed somewhere above my head. That makes no fucking sense, oh my shit. Despite the annoyance I felt growing for her, she was a devastating shot and was faster than Varric when it came to pinning someone down. I took mighty offense to it and justified that Bianca had a better draw and power behind her than the girl's arms could match. There was only a few of them and they were quickly dealt with by my group. I barely had to swing my maul.

My feet turned and I rounded on the giggling girl.

"Friends really came through with that tip!" She snickered. "No breeches!" She faced me, sweaty and excited, but it disappeared in a blink once I was within arm's reach of her. My lungs paused, startled by the sudden shift in her expression. "So. Herald of Andraste. You're a strange one. I'd like to join."

My world view of her took a tilt. Within seconds she had changed from chaotic terror to a glacier's tip, sharp and fractional to the rest of its body behind frigid waters. Seriously. Who the fuck. Cassandra did not have enough soap in the world for me. The girl met me with a solid face, eyes wide and searching.

"... how about we start with introductions first." I ventured carefully. "With names and such."

"One name," she answered promptly. "Well, two. See - it's like this. My friends put those red things for you to find. Friends of Red Jenny. That's me. Or well, I'm one. So is a fence in Montfort, some woman in Kirkwall. There were three in Starkhaven. Brothers or something."

My mind reeled at the information. She's part of a guild? Across Thedas? From the sounds of it, either they weren't actually very well connected or she was throwing me off to make sure she didn't endanger anyone else. Fuck, I couldn't tell with this girl. Sincerity and being daft seemed to go hand-in-hand with her. The words she gave me came out like a whirlwind of bluster and smoke.

"It's just a name, yeah?" Sera was nervous and twitched under my gaze. "It lets little people, friends, be part of something while they stick it to nobles they hate."

Ah, it's a gang. Okay. I was still confused as all hell, but we were getting somewhere, at the very least.

"So here, in your face, I'm Sera." She sniffed and shuffled on her heels a bit. "The Friends of Red Jenny are sort of out there. I used them to help you. Plus arrows." My mind continued weak attempts to keep up with her. I understood it, in a way. A gang of some sort that took their fights to the nobles. A civil movement, perhaps?

"So if I understand it, you're like spies?" I tried weakly.

Sera rolled her eyes. "So here's how it is. You important people are up here," her hands flew above her head and I leaned back on my heels to be out of reach, "- shoving your cods around. Blah, blah, I'll crush you. I'll crush you!" She wiggled her hands and arms around as if she was in a spat (or seizure, it was anyone's guess at this point) and puffed her cheeks at me.

Patiently, I waited. This had a point, and to quote Marlin, it's like she's trying to speak to me. I know it.

She made kissing noises and moved on swiftly with a cleared throat, "Then - you've got cloaks and spy-kings. Like this tit. Or was he one of the little knives?" She pondered with a frowned. "All serious with his... little knife." She snorted, chuckling. "All those secrets and what gave him up? Some houseboy who don't know shit, but knows a bad person when he sees one."

They're urchins. I had a quick, unsettling flash back to my apartment, reading a tome of Sherlock Holmes. They weren't spies or fighters or a civil movement at all. They were like Holmes' urchins that flooded the streets and alleyways that no one noticed as they came and went, their little ears and eyes picking up information that others missed.

"So no, I'm not knifey shivdark, all hidden." She snapped, bringing me back to attention. "But if you don't listen down here too, you risk your breeches."

I was starting to understand. In spurts.

"Like those guards? I stole their -" She was losing her nerve about as quickly as I was. "Look, do you need people or not? I want to get everything back to normal. Like you."

The stares of my companions bore down my neck and made me sweat. This woman was beyond anyone's control, madness wrapped in chaos and sharp edges. Egg shells dipped in poison, where the slightest thing could potentially set her off (because you just didn't fucking know) and she could break, but she'd poison the cut she made just to spite you.

Oh, Lord.

"Alright," I choked, alarmed at my reply. "You can come aboard. Report to Haven and look for Leliana. She'll set you up."

"Yes!" She cheered, jumping on her heels. "Get in good before you're to big to like. That'll keep your breeches where they should be! I'll see you around, Herald - this, is gonna be grand!" My back went painfully tight as she bounced off into the shadows of the compound, her laughter following her. My knees knocked together for a second when I turned around and saw the incredulous looks of my companions.

"Hey, look." I defended immediately, "I would rather have her chaos where I can see it, then for it to come sailing out of nowhere and kill me."

"Point," Varric and Solas agreed. Cassandra snorted and shook her head. I slumped and fastened my maul to my back and drug my feet under me as I worked my way back out of the death tomb.

"Can we go home now?" I muttered with a hard rub to my eyes.

"Yes, let's." Cassandra sighed. "Before you decide to pick up any more strays."

"You decided to keep me, Cassandra."

"Herald."

"Haven it is."


Note: This one came out a bit longer than the others, simply because of travel time (no teleportation like in game) and Sera couldn't be introduced in the other chapter as she would have made it too stressful for Jaime in addition to meeting The Iron Bull.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed!