Upon returning to the elven camp, Izarre heard faint sobbing as he neared the unmarked graves. There she was kneeling before them. A hand reached out to stroke the dirt mounds in sorrow before clutching a fistful of soil in rage. This motion was repeated over and over again, each time she pounded against the cold earth to she scream out her frustrations. She also knew only too well who was behind her, watching her quiver in such deep despair and hatred. "Why are you still here?!" Izarre stopped a few feet away and held his arm out to pause to the Wardens. "I told you to stay away from me!"

"Did you really think I would leave?" he asked as he walked to her side by himself to reflect upon the makeshift headstones.

As he approached, the elf jumped away defensively. "I warned you! This place is not for you!"

"You've killed innocent people!" the Commander snapped back as changed to a more militant stance.

"Innocent?! They deserved everything I have done to them! They brought this on themselves, just as you have!" A green glow appeared as she began to cast a spell with her dirt-caked hands, but the blade at her throat convinced her to disperse the magic. "I…want to die where my loved ones died. Will you give me that, at least?"

"I came to talk to you first," growled her attacker as she was pushed back, but the sword still remained outstretched near her somewhat exposed chest.

"Talk?" she scoffed. "There's nothing you can say that will…"

"The humans are not to blame for what happened here."

"You expect me to believe that? What of the weapons, or my sister's disappearance?"

"Planted by the darkspawn after they slaughtered your people. They killed the humans to take their weapons first."

"They should have never have come here in the first place! If they had just left us alone, all this would never have happened!"

"The darkspawn don't just leave people alone," Izarre argued. "But this? There's no excuse for any of this!"

"Well if it wasn't the humans who killed my people and took Seranni, are you saying the darkspawn did it?"

"I found this on one of the beasts that attacked us earlier. It looks…elvish," Nathaniel said as tossed an amulet over to her. "They often loot the bodies of people they kill." Catching the trinket, the scorned woman's rage only grew instead of subsiding.

"That…that is Seranni's! She would never willingly part with that! Our mother gave it to her before she died!" Clutching the necklace to her chest, her bitter voice cracked as she attempted to hold back another round of sobs. "Why would the darkspawn do this?"

"We're here to find out. They've been…tricky," Nathaniel offered to ease her worries again with a smile and the intention to place a comforting hand upon her bare shoulder, but she immediately pulled away.

"They turn women into broodmothers," Izarre stated plainly as he yanked the Howe by his belt before he embarrassed himself even further.

"Are you saying Seranni will…become one of them? I will not allow that!"

"If you go down there alone, they will capture you as well. You are no Warden which means you are not immune to their influence and sickness."

"I've survived on my own before. Do you doubt me?"

"Doubt? No…but if you're going there anyway, we'll be heading in the same direction…"

You…you want to find Seranni? W-why?"

"Commander," Justice interrupted. "A moment in private?" As the elf's face pinched in at the cheeks, Izarre moved to answer the call of his friend.

"Yes?" he asked as his arm was taken by the Spirit to be pulled even further away as not to be overheard.

"This murderer should be brought to justice. Why should we assist her at all?"

"Because she's a looker!" Anders teased as he let himself into the huddle. "What do you think her sister's like?" he then whistled as Izarre rolled his eyes at them both.

"You need to trust that I will do the right thing, Justice. Immediate results are not always the best….and Anders?"

"Yes? How can I assist you this lovely day?"

"Shut up and try not to fuck the rampaging elf. Tuck that tiny thing of yours away."

"T..tiny?! It's not tiny at all! It's huge! Heavy even!"

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that," Izarre smiled and stuck out his tongue before returning to the woman while Anders kept sulking next to Justice.

"Have you decided?" she asked while peering curiously at the Commander when he returned.

"We are going to hunt for the darkspawn, yes. Come with us if you'd like." With that, Wardens turned to walk away while she stood there with her lips pressed together and hesitantly shuffled her feet. Looking down, she eyed the graves once more before turning her sad gaze to her sister's trinket.

"My name is Velanna, if you care for such things. Do you know where the darkspawn might dwell?" she asked while hurrying to catch up.

"Tunnels, most likely," Izarre replied as he stood still to look at her.

"There is an abandoned mine some ways to the north of here; the tunnels run far into the earth. We will likely find the darkspawn there." Agreeing, the Commander took lead once more to follow an abandoned dirt road towards a second set of stone ruins believed to be a fortress once with a recently cleared brush and rubble. Upon closer inspection, they saw what they then assumed to be the mine's entrance with darkspawn guarding the barred door, more or less confirming Velanna's suspicions, but she barely got a spell off from her staff before the Wardens had already taken out the bulk of them. Her interest in the Wardens grew, particularly on the white-haired young man who was annoyingly confident in his abilities and hid his amateurish magic use behind honed blade skills and finesse.

"You two," Izarre said as he turned to Nathaniel and Oghren after the skirmish. "Return to the camp and be on the lookout. If we don't return by sunrise, return to the Keep and warn them about the darkspawn here. Tell them what happened to the merchants."

"You want us to stay behind?" Nathaniel asked, surprised. "You're making it sound like you won't be coming back…"

"I…just have a feeling," Izarre smiled. "Oghren is in charge, by the way. Do as he says."

"What? You can't be bloody serious…OOF!" The complaining stopped when the Dwarf punched him directly in the family jewels.

"Don't fret, Commander. I've got this. Straighten up, boy! Go scout the area!" Groaning, Nathaniel limped away to do as he was ordered while Izarre turned his attention to Anders.

"You can stay as well. Justice and I will be fine if…"

"I'm coming with you and that will be the end of it, yeah? Let us be off into the dark, dank, and dangerous-looking cave then, shall we?" he smiled and offered his arm out. Instead, he got a playful elbow to his side as Izarre laughed while walking ahead. Justice felt the amusement as well, a more common reaction to these types of affectionate displays, and followed along with Velanna close behind. It was a slippery walk down the path towards the barred door which led to the mines, but as they approached, the taint in the Warden's blood suddenly spiked to near painful heights. It was a nauseating feeling; the type of sickness and churning one would feel after eating rotten food. That's when they saw it; a twisted malice of an emissary darkspawn staring down at then from above the rocks and the magical trap they stumbled upon underneath their feet.

"Shhh," it whispered as if its mouth were hovering just above their ears. "Sleep."

"My body," Justice struggled to say. "I cannot…" Reaching out, he slowly fell over onto the ground.

"Iz…Run," Anders tried to save his friend as he soon joined Justice.

"No!" cried out Velanna as she too began to fall to her knees. "Seranni!" Izarre was the one left standing, but as his companions fell, his own strength was eventually sapped away as darkness overcame him.

"Oh!" Alistair exclaimed as he walked through the night markets of Orlais. "There's an enchantment stall over there! I wonder if they have any of those figurines…" he said as he squeezed his lover's hand in excitement. It was a gorgeous night in Val Royeaux. The air was still warm with a clear starlit sky as an ongoing celebration took place which was really an excuse for fireworks, fine wine, roasted meat, and poorly named cheeses. The royal couple had come to expect as much from the Empress when she invited them to spend part of their honeymoon in her capital city as a sign of peace and as a way to show her stronger claim to the throne by displaying an allied front. King Alistair and his new Queen had accepted the invitation, which they also knew to be a guise for negotiating better terms with between the rival nations; something Celine had attempted before with Calian.

Of course, since Alistair was actually fond of his spouse, the terms had been drastically altered from a potential international marriage arrangements to simply relaxing a handful of trade regulations and an alteration to the import/export taxes. The entire process was long and grueling for the new King, but at least he had his nights to do with as he pleased. Tonight, all he wanted was to get away from the gaudy palace and masked nobles to spend more alone time with his handsome prince.

"You…want to go over there?" Izarre asked, not really sure what his husband saw in the odd little decorations, but went along with it anyway. It was nice to see Alistair's true personality when they were together opposed to the characters they had created for themselves as nobility. "They could have a few dragon ones as well. You know, with the little crystal settings in their maw?"

"By the Maker, don't tease me!" Alistair laughed as he pushed the silk and beaded curtains to the side with his free hand. There were several customers already in the store browsing gems and jewelry as the tranquil shopkeeper bowed politely to the Ferelden royals.

"Good evening, King Alistair," she spoke in a traditional monotone voice. "And to you, Prince. May I assist you?"

"Yes," Alistair smiled as he removed his hand from Izarre's only to drape the arm around the small waist. "Do you have any of those little carvings of black marble of different creatures?"

"Yes, of course," she answered and slowly extended her arm to the stocked back shelf nearby. "May I also suggest an enchantment while you are here? A sword, perhaps or something more intimate?"

"Intimate?" Izarre asked with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Many of the enchantments we offer are for novelty as well. As newlyweds, we have True Love's enchantment for your rings. I will inscribe a rune on the inner band so only your true love and yourself may ever remove it. I hear it is also helpful to avoid losing your rings to pickpockets and thieves as well."

"Is that even such a thing?" Izarre asked as he made a face at the mention of being robbed. As a former ruffian, he knew how such things could easily happen to the wealthy and unassuming.

"Yes, it is said to have been created by a woman whose lover was in the army. She worried for his safety and asked a mage to enchant their rings so if he fell in battle or ran off with another, she would know immediately. If the love simply fades, the ring will slip off without warning."

"And if they…die?" Alistair asked hesitantly.

"If the other dies, the ring will burn so hotly, it will leave a permanent mark so you will never forget them."

"…Well, both of those sound awful. Izzy, promise me you won't run off with a barmaid or something. Or die. Neither one of those things." It was a half-joking comment, but Izarre seemed to be intrigued.

"Let's do this."

"Ha…what? Really? Why?"

"I don't want my ring stolen."

"…Did you not hear about the burning part?"

"Do you plan on dying?"

"No…"

"So, why not then?" Alistair stared for a moment, but eventually caved.

"Fine, but I'm getting one of those dragon statues. A big one too! Putting it in bed chambers!" Laughing once again, he carefully pulled off his ruby and gold wedding ring to place it on the counter as his spouse did the same with his own before hurrying to the back of the store. By the time he returned after choosing a full-sized dragon bust, the enchantment had been engraved and his statue paid for to be delivered to their castle back home. Taking Alistair's hand first, Izarre slipped the heavy gold ring back onto its finger much like how he put it there in the first place when he proposed. The scene caused for the onlookers to stare, watching the royals blush at each other as Alistair did the same with Izarre's more slender hand. As they kissed while completely forgetting where they were, the applause and coos from the crowd helped them remember.

"We should head back," whispered the younger Warden as his gentle touches and urges hinted at a reason to return to the palace which had nothing to do with trade compromises.

"Really?" Alistair asked with a bit of pout. "But I wanted to watch the...oh. OH! Yes, let's…let's go back."

In a small, dark prison cell, Izarre remained unresponsive as a small female elf with yellow hair and black marks on her skin removed his armor and handed it over to the darkspawn assisting her. She had already stripped Anders, Justice, and her own sister from their protective clothing and weapons. All that remained was the Commander. It was then she saw it, the silver and sapphire-encrusted ring on his slim, pale finger. It was nearly hypnotizing, and while she was told to only take what was important, the urge to steal the piece of fine jewelry grew to be overwhelming. She waited until the darkspawn shadowing her steps moved on with the stolen goods before acting upon her impulse. With a delicate touch, she gave it a gentle tug, but the ring would not budge. A second more forceful pull also did nothing. It was the third attempt where Izarre's green eyes snapped open and he moved to put an arm around her neck.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" he yelled, twisting her bones to a near breaking point and cutting off her air supply.

"Please…don't," she pleaded and reached out to the others on the floor. In a white flash from her palm, the spell seemed to break as the other prisoners came to their senses.

"Seranni!" Velanna cried out as she pushed herself to stand. "Let go of her! Oh creators, what have they done to you?" Reluctantly, Izarre released his hold on the frightened elf and she quickly dashed out of the cell, locking the door behind her.

"They haven't done anything. I…I'm fine Velanna," she whispered as she stood outside of the bars. "It's not me he wants…" Anders had finally made it to his feet as well with Justice's assistance and moved to stand near Izarre's side to make sure he was alright, only to watch the Commander twist the wedding ring around his finger protectively.

"What do they want then? Or who?" Izarre growled while demanding answers.

"…I…have to get you out before something bad happens. I don't want anyone else to be hurt."

"Weren't we already hurt?" Anders asked as he rubbed the back of his sore neck.

"Yes, all right," Velanna simply agreed. "Let me out and I'll take you home."

"…The darkspawn have your things," the younger sister said to the Commander as she seemingly ignored her sibling. "You can still get it all back if you're careful and clever." Turning her head, she heard the shuffling of slow footsteps from the corridor. "They're going to come to check on you. You have to hurry!"

"You know something! Tell me what's going on!" Izarre raised his voice again loud enough to at least intimidate their captor.

"I…don't know anything!" she insisted still and turned to her sister. "But take this key. It…it opens a chest in the emissary's room. Maybe you'll find some answers there."

"How in bloody hell did you get a key in the first place?" Anders questioned further.

"I…found it," was her response. "But they're coming! You have to go, find a way out of the mines! Please!"

"I can't just leave you! Seranni, wait!" Velanna cried out, but her sister was long gone. As soon as she disappeared into a different area of the dungeon, the door mysteriously unlocked itself.

"There is no coincidence in her sudden arrival and our freedom. I fear this is a trap, Commander," Justice grumbled as he had been observing the scene quietly since their awakening.

"You are correct," Izarre agreed. "I only awoke because she was attempting to rob me of my wedding band, but it's enchanted. Only I or someone I love can take it off my hand without removing my entire finger first," he smiled at it. "Which means only Alistair could…"

"Yes, yes we understand how enchantments work. How…romantic," Anders said as he poorly hid his sarcasm. "So, she woke us up to bargain for her life and now she's telling us to run? Don't buy that for a second."

"She's my sister!" Velanna interrupted. "She came to help us! We must find her! Let us hurry before the darkspawn come!" Pushing the door open, she marched out and began to head down the same hallway Seranni disappeared into. Justice and Izarre shared a mutual understanding glace, one which Anders immediately disapproved of. Before he could once again place himself between the two, they had already begun to follow the elf out of the prison cell and deeper into the ruins.