Chapter 45

The trip back to Kirkwall was taken at a much slower pace, much to Varric's relief. Dwarf he may be, but running around out of doors was still tiring if one's stride was half that of their companions. He had watched Anders and Fenris closely, waiting for an explosion of some kind that never came. Surprisingly enough, it seemed the two had managed to come to some kind of truce. The result was a near constant smile on Hawke's face the whole journey back.

As they neared Kirkwall's gates, Gavin suddenly remembered he had yet to ask for Varric's help on his mother's behalf. "Varric, my mother is seeing someone, has been for some time. The thing is, she knows next to nothing about him."

"And you're concerned that it's someone going after her for her money, or as the case may be, yours through her," the dwarf finished.

"It may be nothing, but I have tried to get him to come to dinner more than once, and each time something has come up," he frowned. "All she could tell me for certain was that his name was Quentin and he was a merchant."

Varric frowned, "Don't recognize that name. I know all the merchants in the dwarven guild and all the regular human merchants that hang around. He must be new to Kirkwall."

"No, he's been seeing mother for over a year now," Gavin shook his head, a knot forming in his stomach. Varric knew everything that went on in the city that had, in any way, shape or form, to do with making money.

"Huh?" Varric frowned. "All right, I'll ask around. The guild doesn't like it when someone conducts business in Kirkwall without their knowledge. If he's been there this long, someone knows about him."

"What if he's not a merchant though?" Anders asked. "If he lied to her about that, then the guild would know nothing."

"Damn, you're right," Varric grumped. "I'll have to ask around the Coterie as well." He turned to Hawke, "You'll owe me big for this one. I hate having to deal with that group of cutthroats."

"If it keeps my mother safe, I don't care," Gavin replied.

They passed through the gates and were just deciding on whether to go back the Hawke estate or not, when a guardsman ran up to them. "Thank the Maker you're back, Messere Hawke."

Gavin felt a chill run down his spine, "How did you know to find me here?"

"Guard Captain Aveline had us watching all the entrances to the city," the young soldier answered. "She said it was important that whoever saw you first brought you straight to her office in the keep."

"What is this about?" he asked as he hurried after the young man.

"Captain didn't say, just said it was imperative you be brought to her," he shrugged.

The group silently followed him, each lost in thoughts of what had gone wrong this time. It seemed like a week couldn't go by without some menace to the city and her people cropping up. They reached the keep in record time and were ushered without ceremony into Aveline's office.

"You're back, good," she said, standing up and coming around her desk to lean on it, arms folded.

"What's the problem this time?" Gavin asked apprehensively. Her hesitation before she answered made his stomach clench.

"You're aware of your mother's weakly visits with Gamlen?" she asked. When he nodded she continued, "That was supposed to happen three days ago. When she didn't arrive, Gamlen went to the estate to see what was wrong, thinking she might be sick. Bodahn told him that she was probably with her suitor. A suitor Gamlen apparently knew nothing about."

"I told her I didn't want her to see that man until I'd had a chance to meet him," Gavin exclaimed, worry lacing his voice. "Is Bodahn sure about this?"

"Well, no, she didn't say anything to him," Aveline frowned. "Apparently she received some white lillies that had a note attached. She left shortly afterwards."

"Hawke, that's what Ghyslain's wife received just before she disappeared," Varric exclaimed.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Gavin retorted sharply. "They're popular flowers." He could see Varric didn't agree and deep inside he knew he was grasping at straws.

Aveline cleared her throat and continued, "Yesterday morning, Bodahn came to see me. Leandra wasn't at the estate in the morning. I immediately alerted the guards on patrol and sent off duty personnel into Hightown and Lowtown to ask around and see if anyone had seen her. When that produced no results, I made inquiries about getting a hound to do tracking."

"So you found her trail right?" Gavin said hopefully.

Aveline shook her head. "Sorry Hawke, but we did such a good job getting rid of the street gangs that there was no one willing to lend us a hound."

"Well, it's a good thing we're back," Varric snorted. "Fang will find her trail, no worries."

Anders had been silent up till now, "You shouldn't have come after me Hawke. If you'd been here-"

"If he'd been here, she might still have gone missing," Fenris interrupted. "Hawke is constantly being hounded by the Guard, the Viscount, merchants and others. No one in this city seems able to solve their problems without his help. If this is the same man responsible for the other disappearances, then he is sneaky and clever, and able to go unnoticed for years."

Everyone fell silent at those remarks for they couldn't deny the truth. "It's okay Fenris, Anders," Hawke said quietly. "No one forced me to take on all these tasks, I chose to do so." He turned back to Aveline, "Do you have any suggestions on where to start my search?"

"Yes," she nodded, swallowing down her own feelings of guilt. "From what little information we were able to gather, she was last seen in Lowtown."

"Lowtown is an overcrowded, teeming mass of people," Varric pointed out. "Fang might have an easier time finding a scent when the streets are empty." He saw Gavin about to protest and pointed out, "She's already been missing for two days."

"Meaning she's probably already dead," Gavin choked out. No one answered that question.

"Let's not waste any time," Fenris said firmly. "Get back to the estate, find an article of Leandra's for Fang to sniff, and start tracking."

Aveline watched them go and then called Donnic into her office. "Take a couple of men with you to Lowtown and make sure no one gives them any grief."

"What is the likelihood that his mother is still alive?" he asked her.

"Very slim, but until we find her body we can hope," she told him. "Dismissed."

Gavin stood still and silent, staring at the door to the Foundry. It had taken Fang some time to find his mother's scent and it was now nightfall and the streets were quiet. Here in this spot, people seldom tread for the place had been abandoned long ago. Here they had finally found disturbing evidence: a blood trail.

"Let's go," he said to the group. Once inside the place, he felt a strange sense of having been there before.

"This is where we found that severed hand and bag of bones," Varric whispered, his eyes wide and voice trembling slightly.

They all remembered the last time they were there and prepared to face Maker knew what. However, as they went further in, they met no resistance. Finally, Fang woofed and pawed at a trap door.

"We didn't see this the last time, it must have been hidden," Gavin said hoarsely. "Mother must be down there. With him."

"This must be the monster's lair," Fenris growled. "He is most likely a blood mage. Be prepared for anything."

"Let's go," Gavin said and led them downwards.

They slipped down into the basement of the Foundry and it was there that they finally met resistance. Skeletons, rage and sloth demons, in numbers too large to count. They battled forward until they found what was obviously the living space of their target. Gavin saw a portrait over a fireplace and moved forward for a closer look, disbelief filling him. "That looks just like my mother," he whispered.

"This is a shrine," Fenris stated the obvious.

"No, really Broody," Varric snapped. Realizing he'd been rather rude, he apologized. "This place is creeping me out. Sorry."

"Hawke, the books here," Anders caught the other mage's gaze, "they're about Necromancy."

"Then our foe isn't a Blood Mage?" Gavin was confused.

"Necromancy is a whole different can of worms," Anders said, his voice thick with disgust. "Usually those who study it want to control or destroy undead. However, it can also be used to reanimate the dead."

"Reanimate?" Fenris' brows went up.

"Yeah, take dead bodies and make them walk and talk," Anders confirmed.

"That's not something I ever saw in Tevinter," the elf shook his head.

"These books must have come from the Circle," Anders looked down at them once more. "While Blood Mages are universally feared, Necromancers are universally abhorred. Tampering with the dead is considered a more heinous crime than making a deal with demons. It is a type of magic that isn't taught anywhere, not even in Tevinter."

"If it isn't taught anymore, why are there so many books about it?" Gavin asked, holding a hand to his stomach as it rebelled at the idea of bringing the dead back to life.

"I don't know, but only an insane person would work this kind of magic," Anders said quietly.

"We should move on, I have to find my mother," Gavin strode off again.

"I don't think we're going to find her alive," Varric whispered, but Gavin heard him anyway.

"I think our chances aren't good, but I'm not giving up hope," he snapped at the dwarf.

They continued onward, fighting more demons and undead. Finally, they came around a corner and saw a man facing them. He was well-groomed, dressed in clean robes and had a slight smile on his face. But his eyes were round and staring, gleaming with a crazy light.

"Leandra said you would come for her," he told them pleasantly.

"Where's my mother?" Gavin growled, his hand clenching on his bladed staff. When the man ignored him and started spewing some nonsense about a dead love, he lost his temper. "Where IS she?" he yelled, and the ground seemed to heave slightly even as the very air trembled.

Fenris winced at the wave of magic he could feel emanating from Gavin. He glanced at the others, saw they felt it too, and gripped his sword tighter. He hoped that Gavin would be able to stay in control of his power. They were deep underground and he didn't relish being buried alive.

"Come my dear, there's someone here to see you," the old man said with a laugh. The figure seated in the chair next to him rose to it's feet and turned.

Gavin gasped in horror at the sight of his mother's face on the thing the monster had created. Rage filled him and he charged forward, caring only for getting to the man and killing him. He lost track of time and reality as he and the others battled wave after wave of demons. When the dust had settled and the noise of battle died away, he suddenly found his mother's body in his arms. Slumping to his knees, he cradled her, his mind unable to grasp what his eyes were seeing.

"She's dead Hawke," Anders said softly, swallowing hard to keep from vomiting. "His magic was the only thing keeping her here."

"I should have been here, should have found you sooner," Gavin choked out, guilt washing through him.

"Dont' cry love," Leandra whispered. "You've freed me and now I will get to see your father, and Bethany, and Carver once more."

"I-," Gavin choked and swallowed hard. "I love you." He saw a smile cross his mother's face and then she was gone. Silence fell and he felt himself grow numb. His mind shut down, unable to process all that had happened.

Varric looked at the others, "I'll go tell Aveline about this. Make sure he gets home okay." The other two nodded and he left.

"Come Gavin," Fenris said softly, his hands gently pulling the mage's shoulders.

Gavin allowed himself to be lifted to his feet and led away. Anders took one last look at the body that had once been Hawke's mother. Tears rolled down his face at the loss of such a gentle and kind woman. "How could any mage do something like this?" he questioned softly. For the first time, he began to wonder if Fenris was right after all. Justice was silent on the subject, probably as shaken as he himself. Shaking his head, he quickly followed the others, eager to leave the horror behind him.