ACT II: The Glass Half Empty


Note: Thank you all for sticking it out and leaving encouraging reviews! I hope you'll enjoy the next round as much as the last!


The Inquisition had taken the rest of the day to clear out and gear up our newly acquired fortress with the midnight raid being a success. Scout Harding had Leliana's birds at the ready, as well as spies, and our web spread across Crestwood rapidly. I had been found curled up in Bull's protective cradle, fast asleep and exhausted from my attempts at God. It was no surprise to me when I woke up hours later with a tent over my head and the rain pattering against the cloth with the sound of voices circling my tent.

I could hear Vivienne and Harding distinctively, their voices carried over the constant din of chatter from passing messengers and soldiers. Glancing around, I was undressed to my underclothes, a clean bandage wrapped around my left palm, and a poultice of something rubbed over my arm. Huh. I didn't think I was feeling any pain. That… could be a bad thing. Yikes. I rose from my cot, the tent visibly larger than any I had previously.

I wonder if we took this from the highwaymen? The spoils of a raid, I suppose, but the thought still made me mildly uncomfortable. It may have been stolen from someone else in the village. Inspecting the rest of me, I didn't obtain any new injuries or wounds. The normal, jagged scars over my left arm remained, the lacerations from my encounter with Corypheus a vivid reminder of the massive gap in power. I sighed, clapped my hands on my knees and stood to get dressed.

When I poked my head outside, the rain immediately smothered me. I hadn't been completely dry upon waking, but it had been nice enough to be warm. Vivienne spotted me from across the courtyard. It appeared the Inquisition had set up on the second level. My Enchantress rose a hand to pause her conversation with Harding and made her way over to me.

"Inquisitor," She greeted politely with a glance over my form, "good to see you awake. If we may?" She didn't wait for me to agree and lead me toward a table that was housed under a three-quarter tent. Maps, old and new, were spread out over the tabletop. Candles housed in glass lanterns to protect them from the wind and rain sat at each corner. I peered at the information, curious.

"Is this Crestwood?" I asked, looking over the map. I tugged gently at a corner to bringing it closer to me.

"Yes," Vivienne nodded. "Sera took a few scouts out and managed to map a good portion of the surrounding area."

"In the rain?" I asked, dumbfounded with a look to Vivienne.

She snorted delicately. "She was restless. She is competent, I sent her on her way to pick apart the land."

"Good on you." I thanked her. "Last thing we need is another jar of bees lobbed into the madness."

"You're quite right." Vivienne sighed and crossed her arms. "As it is, we've managed to bring in a hefty force. The Nightingale deemed it sufficient to maintain our influence here, so half of the Inquisition went back with the Bull's Chargers." Lightning struck my chest and I shivered at the feeling, forcing my expression to remain straight. Does that mean they all left? Bull, too?

Instead, I asked; "Solas and Varric?"

"Missing." Vivienne intoned. "But considering the extensive knowledge they both possess on avoiding capture, I am not surprised."

"But they haven't reported in for a while, have they?" I clarified with a searching look over her face. She shook her head and rested her arms under her bosom, but she seemed unconcerned. My hand came up to my face and rubbed at my chin, where could they have gone? Where would they get trapped up? I could see areas circled on the map with the Thedas word for camp written on them. One was marked with a large sweeping X.

"What's here, Vivienne?" I pointed to the mark. Her gaze graced it for a moment.

"Venatori camps. Sera spotted them and some more highwaymen further out into the hills." Vivienne leaned over and drew her fingers over the map, circling a few other unmarked areas. "There are armored warriors along the lake, as well as a dragon's nest out here." She circled a mark for another fortress.

"Of course there is." I grumbled, my hand moving from my chin to my forehead. "Fucking hell… no. Okay, I gotta deal with the dam and the rift first. Then Hawke and Stroud."

"We're running out of time, Inquisitor." Vivienne warned me, her voice low. "The Wardens are becoming bold, they're marching to our doors and demanding we turn out our fortress for them."

"Refuse." I answered easily, bringing my gaze up to hers. "This is our fortress. Even if Stroud was here, he was disowned by the Wardens. He would belong to the Inquisition."

A smirk flirted with Vivienne's lips. "Good. I'll see that the guards are updated on the situation. Are you to head out to the dam?"

"Yes." I nodded. "Have the troops prepared for the quake. Emptying that much flood water will cause a stir."

"Understood, Inquisitor." Vivienne tipped her head lightly, eyes closed briefly. "Your men are awaiting orders in the mess hall."

"Thank you, Vivienne." I watched as she left me and stepped back out into the rain. The beauty she held was enough to remained unchanged with heads turning to spy her as she walked. My attention turned back to the map. Venatori at one end. Dragon on the other. We still don't know where Hawke and the others are, and I got the dam to finish up. With a sigh, I left the cover of the tent and made my way over to the mess hall.

I found Blackwall and Dorian sharing a small table. My Warden was stiff as a board, but Dorian looked perfectly at home despite the soggy nature of his surroundings. The mess hall was dark with limited torchlight, the other tables and chairs were empty around them. My shoulders slump as I walked toward them, saddened that Bull was nowhere in the immediate vicinity. So much for that idea, he must have left with the Chargers.

"If it isn't our beautiful sunflower!" Dorian said sweetly. "You look positively drenched. How are you, my dove?"

"Alive?" I answered with a shrug, chuckling softly. "I cannot believe you're in such high spirits. You're unnatural."

Dorian sighed happily. "These looks weren't born on this earth, yes, I agree."

"Come off." Blackwall grunted with his arms crossed. He brought his gaze to me, inspecting my face. "We heard about what happened at the last fight. A rift appeared?"

I winced. "Well… in a way? I made a rift."

"No one just makes a rip in the Veil, my love." Dorian's sudden shift from playful to absolute seriousness startled me. He rolled a small barrel out with his clever footwork and motioned for me to take it. I did so, stunned and silent.

"This no one does." I answered quietly, mindful of the tension in our Tevinter mage. "The Mark gives me an unnaturally strong connection to the Fade. I can close and open rifts nearly at will."

"Nearly?" Dorian pressed with a lean forward to place his elbows on the tabletop.

"Well, like." I stuttered, wondering how to explain my situation without raising the alarm. "I can't do it all the time. It takes a lot of energy, as you saw." It feels like my soul is being ripped out through my arm, but I couldn't tell anyone that. Surely that explanation would get me locked up and I would never see the light of day again.

"Did you pass out again this time?" Blackwall asked darkly. My shoulders hitched to my neck and I shot him an accusatory glance as Dorian shifted his attention between the both of us.

"I didn't — I mean, last time I did, but not this time. Not immediately." I retorted defensively. "I had a pretty good idea what I was doing, and it saved our asses." It was an old argument Blackwall and I had from time to time, and to have it now in front of a newcomer was a low blow on his part. He sensed it, his gaze shooting to Dorian, and with a sigh he let the argument go.

"Can you see the rifts before they happen?" Dorian asked with piqued curiosity.

"I can feel them more than anything." I explained, tilting my head and bringing my left hand up to the table. The gloves I wore hid the Mark from sight, but that in no way stopped the feeling of grasping fingers that spread across the table. I could feel the presence of Blackwall and Dorian (he being the brightest) if I focused on it long enough.

Dorian eyed my hand suspiciously. "Can you feel anything? You insinuated you could tell if I was lying."

"I can feel emotions. Strong ones." I explained, curling the fingers of my left hand, my armor glinted in the low torchlight. "The rifts are the same. I can feel when they're about to burst, or find the weakest points."

"Maker." Blackwall breathed, staring at me in alarm. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"What? Hear the screaming in my head? Forever." I joked, but it didn't settle well with Blackwall. Dorian snorted lightly, smirking at my humor and shaking his head with a clear hint of amusement. There was a scrape behind me and I jumped at the sound, turning around to find the source of the noise.

From the dark end of the mess hall I could see the rise of horns in the light, shadows cascading across Bull's face and shoulders as he stood and wandered over to us. An irrational sense of dread flooded my gut and turned it cold, how long was he there? How did he hide in the shadows like that?

"What on earth are you doing over there?" I played my fear off my humor, my mind racing. "Scare the shit out of me. Did you guys know he was there?" I laughed, turning to Blackwall and Dorian. The mage shot a disinterested look at the Warden and my fear turned into low-key rage.

"You did." I deadpanned. I turned to the Ben-Hassrath. "What were you looking for?"

"We were worried, Boss." Bull answered, tilting his head apologetically. He came up beside my left and dropped carefully down to his haunches so he would be closer to my head level. "It's been a wild ride you've taken us on, we just wanted to check on you."

"And you couldn't think to ask me first?" I demanded low in my throat, glaring at the Qunari.

"You've lied to us before." Bull fired back easily. "You end up getting hurt because you don't tell us where the limit is."

"That's not a very nice way to say it." Dorian scolded him, narrowing an eye. I squared my shoulders, readily agreeing and offended at being thrown under the bus in such a way. Bull's gaze never wavered or left my face. A faint smile touched his lips.

"You wouldn't believe me if I sweet-talked you, would you?" He said, focused solely on me. Slowly, the tension faded from my shoulders and shame echoed through my muscles, slumping them slightly.

"... you don't have to be so smug about it." I replied quietly. He chuckled and nodded his head, smug all the same about having caught me in the crosshairs. He stood from his squat and the joints of his knees popped as he did so. My eyes found Blackwall.

"What about me isn't trustworthy?" I pinned him with my question. He fluttered for a moment, gaze going wide and arms tightening around his chest in surprise. Bull walked around behind me and the tips of his fingers trailed along the back of my shoulders in warning; don't shoot the messenger. Right.

"I trust you, Inquisitor." Blackwall defended, straightening in his seat.

I raised a hand to stop him. "No, that isn't what I asked. What about me isn't trustworthy? Something I'm doing is making you question me. What is that?" Dorian watched us, entertained greatly by the discussion, his eyes alight as he gathered information.

"We've had this discussion before." Blackwall attempted to sidestep. Of course we've had the discussion before, I remembered all of them vividly and they each centered on the same theme: self-preservation. A heavy sigh left my lips and I pressed my right thumb and index to the bridge of my nose between my eyes.

"Blackwall." I started.

"It's a constant with you." He immediately retaliated, wrangling his voice down to an acceptable level and glaring at Dorian to keep your mouth shut as the discussion flared up. Bull stood with his back to the main yard, keeping us blocked from casual glance. His gaze stayed only momentarily on Blackwall and Dorian, but it came to rest on me as we continued.

"And we've had this discussion more times than I care to fucking count." I snapped back tiredly. "You can't just keep me in a bubble and hope the world fixes itself!"

"But certainly throwing yourself into the abyss isn't going to do that, either." Blackwall challenged, his arms loose from being across his chest and planting his hands on his thighs. "You cannot lay to trust that someone will always be there to save you."

Maker give me strength. I'm going to punch his face. I prayed quietly and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it for a brief second or two. He means well. I know he does, but doesn't he see the situation we're in? I can't be scared of meeting the crazy shit we have to face.

"Blackwall." I tried again, keeping my voice level. How do I get him to understand? There was a beat of silence between all of us and I broke it with another sigh. "I need you to listen to me, because I'm only going to say this once. Clear?"

Blackwall hesitated before giving me a nod.

"I'm going to die from this." I stated flatly. He riled up and I raised a hand to silence him. "No, you listen. I am going to die from this. It's spreading. Slowly, but it is. Solas knows it, I can feel it." And talking about my own death should have been alarming, but… Knowing that Corypheus is out there, hunting me, it makes it easier.

"I need you to understand, Blackwall, that I am running on a very, very tight schedule." I continued softly, lowering my hand and glancing at all of them, my gaze lingered on Bull, but his expression was pleasantly neutral. What would the spy care if I died or not? Would my friend care? Emotions for a different time.

"This doesn't mean that I want to meet death faster, but I cannot wait for it to reach me." My gaze shifted to my Warden, willing him to understand. "Sooner or later Corypheus is going to come for me, and I need to be ready. I need to have my list of things to do, finished."

"I can understand that, Inquisitor, but I — it seems like every action you take could be your last." Blackwall chewed through his words, trying to find the right path to take to get me on his side. Trust me, buddy, I am on your side, I want to live but I can't trust that I will. An old conversation with Bull flickered through my thoughts.

"Yeah, because I can believe that we'll finish this and we'll all get to go home and get fat and happy." I ignored the way Bull's gaze flickered over my face to catch my gaze. Blackwall blinked at me and I continued, "We won't, but I can think we will."

Dorian, silent through most of the argument, leaned in and took my left hand in his, turning me away from Blackwall. His palms were warm against my cold fingers and he brought the back of my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles with full lips.

"You are, without a doubt, the most insane woman I have ever met." Dorian said with my hand wrapped in both of his, his lips pulled into a full smirk. "Try not to kill the rest of us with you." A snorting laugh bubbled up through my nose and I pulled my hand away, smacking his once it was free.

"That's the plan." I said and to Blackwall I turned. "We keep having this conversation, Blackwall, and I can appreciate that you care about my wellbeing, but you're going to have to let it go."

"And let you kill yourself?" Blackwall bit back darkly, displeased with how the conversation had turned. I stood from my barrel and stretched my arms over my head, my armor clinking together. I considered his question, I had to as it was unfair to leave him without an answer. An honest one.

"What I do, I do so that you don't have to." I found myself saying. Warmth bloomed in my chest and the Mark in my left palm pulsed with the emotion, selfish and deeply ingrained in my soul. I couldn't stand to lose any of you, not now. It would be the end of me if I did. Selfishly, I'd rather go first than watch any of you die.

Selfish as hell, for sure.

It was enough to silence my Warden. I reached out and patted his shoulder affectionately and with a swift snag, he grabbed my wrist and held it firm. We waited together, his gaze off to one side on the floor and I watched his face, curious. Anger warred over his face with something else, his eyes pinched with pain. His fingers squeezed around my wrist from heartbeat to the next and he released me just as fast. He stood and gripped his shield from against the table, adjusting his hatchet at his side.

Dorian and I shared a look, the mage rolling his eyes gently before standing as well. Bull's attention followed Blackwall until I reached his side, his one eye came around to me with horns tipped to the other side. Curiously I tipped my chin up to him, a silent question of do you think it worked?

It did, was his nod. Silent as the grave, we gathered up our things and adjusted our armor before making our way out toward the dam.

-0-

"Here we go." I worked around in the many pockets of my gear to find the key that Mayor Gregory had given me. We stood on the wall of the dam itself, a tavern sat at the center and looked out over the lake. The rift and its energies burbled against the water and ghosted upward toward Crestwood and into the clouds. I joked about it affecting the weather, but could I be right? We would have to see.

The door to The Rusted Horn opened readily enough. That's… suspicious as fuck. I held my hand up for my crew behind me and they froze. The space was too small for my maul so I reached for the small dagger in my belt and pulled it out into an underhanded grip. Slowly I entered and inspected, the hall from the door was narrow and lit with the bright light of a torch. The hairs along my neck pricked my skin as they stood.

"Torches," I whispered to anyone behind me. Blackwall came up to my right side, pressed against the wall and my armor. He looked over my shoulder and nodded to slip past me, his shield up and at the ready. I clung to his back, dagger steady in my grip as Dorian muttered something under his breath to make the shadows around us darken. Bull stood guard at the door to keep anyone from escaping.

We reached the end of the hallway and Blackwall turned sharply toward the center. There had been a

breath of giggling before shocked shouts rattled through the empty tavern. My gaze landed on the young faces and instinctively my hand shot out and snapped to Blackwall's shoulder. Not that I needed to stop him, he was just as surprised as the ones we had intruded on.

The female did her best to scramble together her clothes and slipped back into her shift with lightning speed. Hurriedly I hauled Blackwall back and shoved him into the hallway and pointed at all three of them with a silent, motherly finger of stay the hell here, you dogs and went back into the main room. The male was not as quick to clothe himself, his pants were on, but his shirt was lost somewhere.

"We didn't know you were here, ser, please don't tell anyone!" The young man held his arms meekly across his chest, hiding what he could of his pale skin and standing as best he could to block the woman from my sight until she was decent.

"How…" I stuttered with a shake of my head. "How did you get past the guards?" As far as I was aware, we had guards posted around the fort, and the only other way to the tavern was through the lake itself.

"There weren't any when we got here." The young man shook his head, shivering despite the blaze of the fireplace right next to him. Surprise lit my face, no guards when you got here? They must have slipped through sometime during the transition of ownership.

"We just heard you killed the bandits, Your Worship." The young woman spoke up behind her companion, decent in a dress and coat wrapped around her shoulders. "We didn't know you were moving in, we promise."

The young man ducked his head, eyes pleading with me. "You… won't tell people we were here, will you?" A second passed and my mouth opened to lecture on the dangers of going into abandoned buildings with demons and bandits about, but my words came to a full stop in my throat. Nearing thirty though I was, I wasn't so quick to forget the dalliances of my teenage years.

I held in a laugh, but my voice fluttered with it. "I won't, I swear, but I really need you guys to leave."

"Of course! Thank you!" The young man nodded his head with charged relief. "Oh, Lonnie's mum and dad would've had my head."

"I told you we shouldn't have come here." The woman murmured to him. He shushed her and turned to snatch his tunic from the ground behind her. I swallowed as much of my laughter as I could and turned on a rickety heel to find my men huddled at the mouth of the hallway with Bull's horns plastered above all of their heads. I flapped a hasty hand at them to shoo them off and comically all three hurried to trip backwards back into the shadows.

"Do you need an escort back to the village?" I cleared my throat on my words. "I can have one of my men at least guard you to the edge, in case of any bandits."

"No, Your Worship, thank you." The young man bowed his head and bundled up the woman against his side, holding her close with an arm around her shoulders. "We should be all right, you've made the place a lot safer for us. Thank you, again." I waved them off as they ducked their heads and scurried between my guys, shooting out the front door like a bullet. All three of my gentlemen turned to me and my face went red with laughter.

"Oh my god," I held my hands to my chest, snickering, "that was so — I was having flashbacks, my dudes."

"What?" Dorian laughed with me. "Am I to believe that our chosen by Andraste isn't a virgin?"

"What the fuck. Who told you that? I'm not a vir— fuck you!" He was laughing at me, the asshole. Harder laughter struck me and I was not any better at stopping than they were; my cheeks were red and hurting. Dorian and Bull wore matching grins, and Blackwall was doing his best to hide a smirk. I was not about to justify my sexual activities with a bunch of boys. Who were apparently eleven years old, collectively.

"I hate all of you." I announced, smoothing a hand down my chest to calm my giggling. "Launch yourselves into the lake, please." There was no room for argument, my weight turned on my heel as laughter followed me toward the back end of the tavern. According to the mayor's instructions, the dam controls would be located there. The door to the controls unlocked, the key struggling against the disuse, and swung open.

"... hey. Didn't the mayor say the controls were broken when the darkspawn invaded?" I asked the suddenly quiet room. Before us, the large dam controls were in perfect working order. The wooden handles were old and dusty, but whole. The turnstile was intact. I walked up to the closest handle and leaned on it as it came up to my hip. It was solid and resisted. It's working?

With narrowed eyes, I set down my maul out of the way and gripped one of the handles. I leaned my full weight into it and slowly with a painful groan, the turnstile gave way and creaked. My arms shook with the effort and I slipped once or twice as I went around the turnstile, but eventually the sound of chains locked up and the tavern shuddered with the force of the water that was rushing under it. I stood straight and wiped my brow and then turned to grin at my companions.

"I cannot believe you." Dorian shook his head, arms crossed. "Did it occur to you to ask for help?"

I paused.

"Oh." I said lamely. "I guess I should have."

Blackwall sighed as if his soul had left his body with Bull's bark of laughter just behind him. Dorian held his hands clapped together in prayer, his eyes twinkling at me with immense amusement. Sheepishly, I retrieved my maul from the ground and hooked it back into its holster, grinning at my crew.

"So." I broke through the door to enter the tavern past them. "The place is shaking. Sounds like it might be working. Should we go check?"

"Might as well." Blackwall sighed. "It will be a while before that much water is drained out." Agreed on the next course of action, we made our way through the tavern, dousing the torches and putting out the fireplace to avoid any additional destruction from unattended flames. The chatter of rain could still be heard from outside and we all avoided leaving for the longest minute possible.

With a sigh, I led us outside into the downpour and locked the door behind us. Don't need anymore escapades in my absence. Once shut, I turned back to the long walkway toward inland, but with only a few steps out there was a deafening cacophonous roar that shattered the air and twisted the rain as it fell. So close was the noise that my eardrum on my right side popped and knocked me to my feet. My hands slapped over both ears and I waited until the whirlwind from flapping wings passed with the beast's shadow.

Looking up, the beast flew over us with another screech, the patterned body glowing against the rain and dim light of the sky. Alternating stripes of browns and whites with blotches of purple splattered the dragon's body, horns curved forward over its face like a battle-helmet. Its tail whipped and cracked just over the walkway as its body twisted to make a sharp turn and circle us before disappearing into the storm clouds.

"Fuck you, you stupid reptile!" I shouted into the storm with a pinky twisting in my right ear. No blood came away in my hand, the pressure of the roar had only disrupted the equalization within my ear. Good, last thing I need to deal with an ear infection from a ruptured eardrum. Fucking asshole. After a hard glare at the clouds, I checked on my teammates.

"You do realize you just tried to shout a dragon down, right?" Bull was struggling to keep in his laughter. Blackwall's gaze had followed the dragon as it left us, a worried frown on his lips. Dorian shared Bull's amusement at my childish reaction.

"Fus Ro Dah, motherfucker." I pouted angrily and waved off their laughter.

"You what?" Bull asked with wild curiosity, moving up to my right side with Blackwall and Dorian following behind us. "Sure as shit that wasn't the common tongue. Or Qunlat."

"I made it up." I shoved at his side, fighting a smile that touched the corner of my lips, and then raised my index finger to my mouth and shushed him; it's a secret. He grinned at the implication and seemed to purr with contentment knowing he would be finding out later. What a goofball. I missed the looks that Dorian shot at our backs. Blackwall scowled heavily, but we were finally clear of the dragon and continued walking back.

"It seems to be draining at a rapid pace." Dorian peered over the edge of the bridge and glanced down. The water level was decreasing swiftly with water pouring out on the other side of the dam from giant wolf mouths. If the river below hadn't already been swollen from the rains, I would have had a deep concern for the sudden ecological damage I was creating with the influx of water.

"Look at that." Blackwall leaned against the wall close to Dorian, pointing out toward the center of the lake. As the water drained, we could see the bubbling, violent eruption of the Fade from the ground as it broke through the surface and cascaded across the escaping flood.

"He wasn't joking, huh?" I murmured, watching as the Fade snarled upwards into the air. "It really is in the caves. I wonder what's down there…"

"What do you mean, love?" Dorian turned to me with curiosity tilting his head.

"Usually rips in the Fade like that appear because there's energy there, a strong force that's trying to break through." I rested my hands on the parapets and glanced down, but the water hadn't lowered enough for me to spy anything underneath the surface just yet.

"You think the caves are haunted?" Dorian clarified.

"I mean," I gave him a shrug, "I wouldn't be surprised? This place was flooded ten years ago because the darkspawn managed to get to the controls and…" I paused, looking back between the side where the old village of crestwood had been and the other side of the dam that laid bare with the river cutting through the hills.

"You see it, don't you?" Bull questioned me quietly, watching me think through my mental notes. "Doesn't add up, does it?"

"How?" I asked the open air, swiping the rain from my face. Blackwall and Dorian neared us with worried glances between my Qunari and me.

"Enlighten us?" Blackwall prompted with mild annoyance.

"The controls are intact. Pressure is greater on the side of Crestwood than the river, but the place was flood." I looked back to Crestwood, but through the rain I had limited field of vision. "How do you flood a lake if the lake didn't already exist?"

"The mayor told us that Old Crestwood sits under the lake." Blackwall interjected with a confused frown and he patted the stone parapets. "But look at the dam, it's built with the river on the other side."

"Nothing here makes geological sense." I replied, pointing to both sides of the dam. "Why hasn't the river refilled this side of the dam? How come the lake is the only large body of water?"

"Could a river be diverted?" Dorian asked the group, his own matching frown at his lips. "This flooding happened ten years ago, the darkspawn had overpowered the villagers and taken over the dam, they may have released the controls by accident and the mayor had the river diverted to avoid flooding on this side."

"Even if it was by accident," I derailed him with a wave of my hand, "why would darkspawn care? Why would you flood a hunting ground? What does it matter if the people in the village drowned?"

"Darkspawn kill wantonly, but they don't have enough intelligence to plan something like that." Bull shook his head and tipped his chin toward Old Crestwood. "All they would care about is the slaughter. As far as we know, Corypheus is the only one with that kind of mental capacity."

"Otherwise we would have been massively overrun during the last Blight." Blackwall rubbed a gloved hand down across his face. "Are we speculating that someone other than darkspawn started the flood?"

"Who else would be able to get into the tavern?" I asked him pointedly. The keys jingled in my grip as I raised them into sight. "The mayor said these keys belonged to the old gamekeeper, which means he's the only one that had access to the tavern and the controls."

"And nothing in the tavern was broken or destroyed." Bull agreed with a nod of his head. "The bandits already have a fortress, there would be no reason to restore a useless tavern, and the lake ensures the main road is the only road."

"But if the gamekeeper is the one that flooded the village, and the mayor had the keys, why did he wait so long to clear the area?" Dorian asked us, his voice increasingly angry. The implications flying around were devastating. To think someone had killed their own people, but for what reason? Surely not to kill the darkspawn?

"Oh no." I breathed, my heart shuddering with a vicious crack. I glanced back at Old Crestwood, the water reduced to see the lake bottom. "Oh my god, that can't be…"

"Boss?" Bull leaned over to catch my attention. "What is it?"

"What if… holy fuck," I muttered vehemently, "What if someone flooded the village to kill the darkspawn?"

"Madness." Blackwall heatedly rejected the thought. "Why would anyone sacrifice their people?"

"One for the many." I replied sadly, turning to meet his angered gaze. "Why wouldn't you? It's good math."

"Those were living people!" Blackwall barked. Dorian leaned away from him, alarmed at the sudden outburst. He remained quiet, his hands folded to his lap as he waited for the verbal storm to break.

"Not if the Blight had afflicted them." Bull reminded him quietly with his expression carefully neutral, any humor or amusement had been wiped from his face. "That someone may have done it to save the rest of the village."

"No one has the power to judge that cost." Blackwall replied hotly. "There must have been other ways. Innocents don't deserve to die because mass murder was easier."

"I…" I was very ready to tell him I agreed, that I wouldn't have brought such a blow to innocent people, but my throat tugged and my heart had me pause. Wouldn't I, though? If the village was overrun with plague and the only way to save the rest of my people was to — nothing was so black and white. Blackwall narrowed on my hesitation.

"Inquisitor?" Blackwall demanded.

"We're speculating." I answered him, tucking the keys away. "Let's deal with the rift first, and then we'll deal with what happened ten years ago." The answer sounded hollow to my ears, but it was the best I could offer him. I wasn't about to damn people to imprisonment or death over theories. We needed proof. We had to stop the dead and find the mayor.

This is going to be a long day.