They'd cleared the templars and mages, only for bandits to move in. They dispatched the first batch on their way to the location the scouts had provided for the Grey Warden. Solas noted the men seemed rather well coordinated and equipped for bandits, and Maxwell agreed.

"Are you sure this Grey Warden knows what happened to the others?" Adaar asked.

"That's why we're asking him," said Maxwell. "If he doesn't know who he may point us to someone who does."

A trek around the pond gave them their first glimpse of their target. Or Maxwell assumed the man wearing the griffin emblazoned breastplate was their target. He was drilling three other men in shield work. He glanced over his shoulder at Cassandra, who gave him a shrug.

"Remember how to carry your shields!" he said marching up and down. "You're not hiding, you're holding. Otherwise it's useless!"

Maxwell then approached the man. "Blackwall? Warden Blackwall?"

He turned towards her, his expression startled. "You're not—" He took a few steps towards him. "How do you know my name? Who sent…" He must have caught something out of the corner of his eye, because he was able to bring up his shield in time to block the arrow that would have hit him. "That's it. Help or get out. We're dealing with this idiots first! Conscripts! Here they come!"

Adaar drew her blade and he did the same with his daggers and they led the attack. Solas put up a barrier around the trainees as Ellana used lightning to strike at the back ranks of the approaching bandits. Erdic, Blackwall and Cassandra charged in, the trainees only a few steps behind them.


"Sorry bastards," said Blackwall as he rose from where he'd been checking one of the dead men. He turned towards the trainees. "Good work, conscripts, even if this shouldn't have happened. They could've—" He shrugged. "Well, thieves are made, not born. Take back what they stole. Go back to your families. You saved yourselves." He waited until the trainees were disappearing into the distance before turning to face him. "You're no farmer. Why do you know my name? Who are you?"

"I know your name because I'm an agent of the Inquisition." He gestured towards the valley, where the Inquisition's camp could just barely be made out in the distance. "I'm investigating whether the disappearance of the Wardens has anything to do with the murder of the Divine."

He actually looked insulted. "Maker's balls, the Wardens and the Divine? That can't—" He shook his head. "No, you're asking, so you don't really know." He paced a length of shoreline. "First off, I didn't know they disappeared. But we do that, right? No more Blight, job done, Wardens are the first thing forgotten. But one thing I'll tell you: no Warden killed the Divine. Our purpose isn't political."

"I'm not here to accuse," Maxwell assured. "Not yet. I just need information."

"We've only found you. Where are the rest?" Adaar asked.

"I haven't seen any Wardens for months. I travel alone, recruiting. Not much interest because the Archdemon is a decade dead, and no need to conscript because there's no Blight coming. Treaties give Wardens the right to take what we need. Who we need. These idiots forced this fight, so I 'conscripted' their victims. They had to do what I said, so I told them to stand. Next time they won't need me." His eyes became distant. "Grey Wardens can inspire, make you better than you think you are."

It sounded plausible enough. Leliana knew something of the Wardens, she could always verify the information with him later. "I wasn't aware Grey Wardens could take whatever they want."

"It's complicated. If there's a Blight, everyone has to help the effort to fight it. The treaties are ancient." He twitched a shoulder. "Outside of Blights, it's as binding as a clever tongue can make it."

That sounded a bit more reasonable. "Do you have any idea where the other Wardens could have gone?"

He considered the question, and then shook his head. "Maybe they returned to our stronghold at Weisshaupt? That's in the Anderfels, a long way north." He adjusted the strap on his shield. "I don't really know. Can't imagine why they'd all disappear at once, let alone where they'd disappear to."

He glanced over his shoulder at his companions, then back to Blackwall. "Why haven't you gone missing like the rest of them?"

"Well, maybe I was going to." He narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe there's a new directive, but a runner got lost or something. My job was to recruit on my own. Planned to stay that way for months. Years."

Leliana was likely not going to be pleased that they'd found more questions than answers. "It's been a pleasure, Warden Blackwall, but this didn't help at all."

He'd gone only a few steps when he called after him. "Inquisition… agent, did you say? Hold a moment." He walked to catch up. "The Divine is dead, and the sky is torn. Events like these, thinking we're absent is almost as bad as thinking we're involved. If you're trying to put things right, maybe you need a Warden. Maybe you need me."

"The Inquisition needs all the support it can get, but what can one Grey Warden do?"

He drew himself up and gave him a steady look. "Save the fucking world, if pressed." He glanced over his shoulder at where the Breach was visible in the sky. "Look, maybe fighting demons from the sky isn't something I'm practiced at, but show me someone who is. And like I said, there are treaties. Maybe this isn't a Blight, but it's bloody well a disaster. Some will honour them. Being a Warden means something to a lot of people."

Valid points. And a man who cared enough to protect people from bandits seemed exactly the sort they sorely needed right now. "Warden Blackwall, the Inquisition accepts your offer."


Sera and Blackwall seemed to hit it off immediately. It was rather nice to have someone along who seemed to be able to follow the elven woman's chatter. With Five warriors, two archers, and two mages, the bandits didn't stand a chance.

Locating Solas's artifact didn't take them long. A Dalish woman was seeking the same thing, and they joined forces. The Dalish woman was rather arrogant until Solas said something in elvish. Then she got wary. They slew some demons and activated the artifact. Ellana examined it for a while, but even she wasn't certain what the thing really was. Solas convinced the Dalish woman, Mihris, to hand over some trinket she'd found.

The veilfire was fascinating, and uncovered an enchantment. Ellana took notes and tucked them away in her beltpouch. Surely one of the crafters back at Haven could do something with the enchantment.

"That's the bandits done with," said Adaar. "We just need to head to the coast and locate the Bull Charges, they were looking for a job and thought the Inquisition would hire them."

"Head of the company?" Maxwell asked.

"Only this and that, but there are a good bunch," said Adaar.

"Then let us see what they're capable of."

Maxwell had to say that it was strange leading them wasn't sure if it was pleasant or unsettling. When they reached the camp Scout Harding approach them with the report of the terrain.


"You're Worship. For what it's worth, welcome to the Storm Coast," she said, but instead of her cheerful face she was deeply concerned. "I would have sent word sooner, but our efforts have been… delayed."

Maxwell noticed the concern in her voice. "How so?"

Harding pointed. "There's a group of bandits operating in the area. They know the terrain, and our small party has had trouble going up against them. Some of our soldiers went to speak with their leader." Harding tossed a worried look over her shoulder. "Haven't heard back, though."

"I'll do what I can to find our people."

"Thank you, Your Worship. That's a relief." She gestured at the map spread out on a stump. "The soldiers didn't have an exact location for the bandits, but they were starting their search farther down the beach." She sighed. "With all this fuss, we haven't been able to conduct a proper search for the Wardens, either." Her cheery smile returned. "Well, good luck, and enjoy the sea air. I hear it's good for the soul."

"Adaar you better meet up with the Bull Charges with Edric, Varric and Sera. Me, Ellana, Cassandra and Solas will find out what happened to our people," said Maxwell.

"Right," Adaar nodded.


On the shore, a group was engaged in a fierce battle with a group of Tevinter. They were skilled, that much was obvious. By the time she and her companions had reached them, the fight was all but over. A booming voice carried over the shoreline.

"Chargers, stand down!" said the Iron Bull. The man wasn't hard to miss, he was the only Qunari among them and was at the moment cleaning the edge of an axe that probably weighed more than she did. "Krem! How'd we do?"

The young man she'd spoken to earlier replied. "Five or six wounded, chief. No dead."

"That's what I like to hear. Let the throatcutters finish up, then break out the casks." He turned, and walked towards her and laughed. "Hot damn, it's true! Oh, the Chantry must love you. A Qunari mercenary is one of Andraste's chosen. Who'd'a thought?"

Adaar looked around at the carnage and the casks of wine. "I see are not the only one doing well for myself."

Iron Bull shrugged. "I get by." He gestured as he seated himself on a piece of driftwood. "I assume you remember Cremisius Aclassi, my lieutenant."

Krem gave a small bow. "Good to see you again." He turned his attention to Iron Bull. "Throatcutters are done, chief."

"Already? Have 'em check again. I won't want any of those Tevinter bastards getting away. No offense, Krem."

"None taken." He shrugged. "Least a bastard knows who his mother was. Puts him one up on you Qunari, right?"

"Soo…" Iron Bull waited until Krem was a few paces away before looking up at her. Even seated, he didn't have to look up much. "We're expensive, but we're worth it…" He gave a pointed look at the dead Tevinter. "And I'm sure the Inquisition can afford us."

"How much is this going to cost me, exactly?" She had no real idea what the Inquisition could afford.

He shrugged. "It wouldn't cost you anything personally, unless you wanna buy drinks later. Your ambassador—what's her name—Josephine? We'd go through her and get the payments set up." He gestured lazily. "The gold will take care of itself. Don't worry about that. All that matters is we're worth it."

She couldn't deny that they needed professionals, most of the recruits were just pilgrims of those who lived at Haven. "The Chargers seem like an excellent company."

"They are." The pride in his voice was evident. "But you're not just getting the boys. You're getting me." He gestured at himself. "You need a frontline bodyguard, I'm your man. Whatever it is—demons, dragons? The bigger the better." He rose, and took a few steps further away from the others. "And there's one more thing. Might be useful, might piss you off. Ever hear of the Ben-Hassrath?"

She didn't like where this conversation was going, as a Tal-Vashoth she was one of many people that the Ben-Hassrath tried to kill. She looked at him and frowned at him. "I heard of the Ben-Hassrath from my parents. They are the enforces of the Qunari, and the spies."

"Yeah, that's them." He turned towards her. "Or, well, us." He shrugged. "The Ben-Hassrath are concerned about the Breach. Magic out of control like that could cause trouble everywhere. I've been ordered to join the Inquisition, get close to the people in charge, and send reports on what's happening. But I also get reports from Ben-Hassrath agents all over Orlais. You sign me on, I'll share them with your people."

She quickly reach for her blade. "Stay back!" she warned. "You expect me, a Tal-Vashoth, to trust a Qunari?"

"Well… yeah," said Iron Bull as if it was some sort of joke. "Or tell me to leave. Either way's fine. You wanna talk Tal-Vashoth, we can do that in detail some other time. But the short version? If you're not a bandit who's terrorises innocent people, I've got no problem with you.

"You're a Qunari spy, and you just…" She slowly shook her head. "Told me?"

"Whatever happened at that Conclave thing, it's bad. Someone needs to get that Breach closed." He nodded to her. "So whatever I am, I'm on your side."

Adaar hoped she wouldn't regret this, but there was no denying they needed all the help they can get. "All right. You're in."

"Excellent." He turned, and shouted towards his lieutenant. "Krem, tell the men to finish drinking on the road. The Chargers just got hired!"

Krem looked annoyed. "What about the casks, chief? We just open them up. With axes."

"Find some way to seal them. You're Tevinter, right? Try blood magic." He then looked at Adaar. "We'll meet you back at Haven."


Meanwhile Maxwell and the others found the bodies of the Inquisition soldiers strewn about a ruined farmhouse. From the looks of things, they'd been led into a trap.

"We should see that their families are notified," Solas said.

"Agreed. Look around, see if you can find anything."

A few minutes later, they had a map to the bandit camp, and something about a crest of mercy that would enable them to challenge the bandit leader without having to fight their way through the entire camp. It took Ellana and Solas only a few minutes to put one together.

"Our men were murdered by a group called the Blades of Hessarian," Maxwell sighed. Knowing who had done it didn't make it easier. He wasn't looking forward to telling Harding.

Cassandra shook her head and glared. "Hessarian's blade is supposed to represent mercy, not random slaughter."


When they returned to camp Maxwell managed to forge together enough pieces to create a crest of mercy. With any luck this would provide him the right to challenge the bandit leader, he might even be able to put them on a righteous path if he won.

"Someone's come with a challenge?" The people on guard stepped to the side to let Maxwell and his party pass.

"The others failed."

Maxwell continued walking forward through the gate confidently, despite the corpses handing from the posts above his head. The camp looked well defended. If this didn't work, they might be in some trouble. As they caught sight of the crest around him neck, the bandits parted to let him continue on him way.

"So you would challenge the Blades of Hessarian?"

"You killed soldiers of the Inquisition," he said in a strong and firm voice. "We cannot let this stand."

"You want justice? Claim it." He howled a war cry as he started towards him.

Maxwell drew his daggers and blocked his axe as he swung it down on top of him. Then two armour covered mabari rushed towards her, and Cassandra and Blackwall instantly took up defensive positions. As the bandit leader pulled his axe away and got ready for another swing, he dodged it and then plunged his daggers right into his chest. He twitched, then went still.

"It's done."

One of the men approached him. "Your worship." He bowed. "The Blades of Hessarian are at your service. If you want eyes on the coast, here we are."

"I've not heard of the Blades of Hessarian."

"Our work is often misunderstood, but we serve Andraste—and whoever proves worthy of wielding us."

"You and your Blades are loyal to the Inquisition?" he enquired, he didn't fancy going through all this again.

"We're loyal to you." He shrugged. "I suppose that's the same thing, Your Worship."

"So there's no ill will over what happened with your former boss?"

He glanced at the corpse, and he saw his mouth actually twitch into a smile. "The man was a bastard. You're not the first to stand up to him. You're just the first to win, and we're happy with that." He bowed again. "Besides, I would rather swear my life to the Herald of Andraste."


They headed back into the Hinterlands to seek out the horsemaster. What he ended up wanting was slightly more complicated. First they had to kill some wolves, and then they had to put up some watchtowers.

The horse he gave them were magnificent. Though Erdic had some problems getting on his due to his size and he narrowed his eyes anyone who laughed at him.

A rift was hanging in the air above some crops. There was no way around trampling the seedlings, but at least they managed to get it sealed. "How many does that make?" Maxwell asked Ellana.

"Eight, by my count."

"Based on the reports we've received, there are plenty more," said Cassandra picking up a strange bit of something from where the rift had been, and tucked it into their pack for Mineave to examine.

"The farms are safer now, anyway."


"I am very pleased you joined us, Warden Blackwall."

"The honour is mine, Lady Seeker."

"We need strong, righteous warriors-now more than ever."

"Righteous?" Blackwall chuckled. "High praise, Cassandra. Many Wardens have hardly lived righteous lives."

"True, yet you give yourself to an Order that would die to protect others." She actually smiled. "It is never too late to do better, and become more than what you are."

"That is the hope." Blackwall smiled.

Maxwell glanced at Cassandra. "Have you known many Wardens?"

"I've encountered a few over the years, but I can only really claim to have known one."

"Which one? Maybe Blackwall knows them."

Cassandra glanced at Blackwall. "Did you know Warden Constable Mahariel?"

"The Hero of Ferelden?" Ellana gasped. "You actually knew him?"

"I never actually spoke to him, but I saw him with the Divine a few times," said Cassandra.

"Heard stories, but never actually met the man." Blackwall shrugged.

"Wait… Mahariel?" Varric frowned thoughtfully. "I met him once, in the Deep Roads with Hawks' brother, Carver?"

"Ah. That is right. You also encountered his clan near Kirkwall." Cassandra frowned. "He was not pleased when he learned what had occurred."

"Nobody was, Seeker. Nobody was."

"Is he among the missing then?"

Cassandra was silent for a moment, and then she shook her head. "No. We went to Vigil's Keep before we traveling on to Kirkwall. When we got to the Vigil we discovered the Wardens had vanished, but Theron had been killed in an excursion in the Deep Roads." She sighed. "Leliana did not take it well. They were… close, once."


Solas' guess about a demon taking over the wolf pack appeared to have been accurate. Blackwall flanked it as Cassandra moved in. The terror demon started to dive down, and she quickly hurled a blast of energy to knock it off its feet. Both warriors immediately stepped in, and it was dead a heartbeat later.

The few wolves in their vicinity continued to attack, but it appeared the rest of the pack slunk off as soon as the demons were dead.

"With the demon dead, the farmers should be safe from the wolves." Cassandra wiped her blade clean.

"And the wolves are no doubt happy to be freed from the demon's control," Solas added.

"I don't like what I hear about the Wardens disappearing," said Adaar.

"Do you think they might be involved with the Divine's murder?" Maxwell asked.

"Maybe, but I doubt they would ever do something like this," said Addar looking up the Breach.

"I have a feeling that the answer is not as simple as we think," Maxwell frowned.

"We will need to head back, see if we can't arrange to get people out here to build those watchtowers."

Cassandra nodded to Adaar. "And report back our findings along the Storm Coast."

"Hopefully, they'll have decided by now if we are going to talk to the mages or the templars."