She had been hopeful that Ferelden wasn't as bad as the rumors had portrayed it to be. Upon arriving at the Denerim docks, however, she found her hopes were shattered into a million painful shards of disappointment. The city was obviously fairing badly. Between recovering from the Orlais occupation and being hit with a Blight and mass exodus of the population, Denerim was practically a ghost town. What was left were those who were too poor or too stubborn to leave, choosing instead to stick it out where they were and believing in the strength of their fractured government to keep them safe.

But it was these same conditions that were making the city such a depressing eyesore of a pile of rubbish that allowed her to be here, unmolested by the White Divine's sycophantic Templars and their order and dictates. After landing she'd been given a short tour of the Alienage, or what they were allowed access to at any rate and had quickly surmised that the true junk in this city festered here with the knife-eared blood bags. It made it all that much easier to implement the plan to continue shipping out any healthy elf that could drag themselves onto a boat and place what little in the way of apprentices and henchmen she had left at her disposal within the walls and integrate them.

Of course the Arl had wanted to see her personally and discuss the matter of the tariffs. After being invited up to the estate, Magister Denailah had gotten down to the business of finding out exactly why her little business venture had failed in the first place. A bottle of wine and a little charm was all it took to pull out the answers from Rendon Howe, who seemed all too eager to share his self-important achievements and gloat over his quick rise of station. If the man weren't such a braggart, Denailah would have been impressed with is skills, but his loose tongue had convinced her that he just happened to be the sharpest knife in a drawer of rusty spoons. Once she learned that the organization killing her hirelings were actually based within the city it had been easy enough to send her people out on the street with eyes and ears open. A few bait and switches later, and she had the location of the den of elves that were causing her so much havoc.

It was one matter finding the blighted wretches, it was an entirely different matter getting rid of them, seeing as they had a track record of proving to be opponents worthy of caution. It was almost blasphemous, elves training themselves and standing up to their betters so rebelliously. She would have devised a plan herself, but there was the matter of having no more coin to barter with bodies that would delve into the den of elves. As little as she cared about the mercenaries that worked for her, they were no longer a limitless commodity as they once had been. This would take tact and cunning if she were to unearth the nest, and there was a certain glory-hungry Arl she knew with men and coin to spare. It didn't take much to have the information conveniently leaked to the Arl, and with a great sense of satisfaction, Denailah could sip her wine and watch the chaos unfold without even having to lift a finger.

Now all that was left was to negotiate the fates of the elves captured in the raid and the beginnings of her recovery would be well within her hands. It was going to be a good day.

•º•.•º•

Her footsteps knew the way to the Denerim estate with hardly a conscious thought. Back alleys disappeared behind her, Kallian's distance-eating lope quickly taking her to her destination. Finally, finally they were going to put a stop to this nonsense. Freeing the Alienage from the long purge wasn't exactly part of the objective, but if there was an opportunity to hamstring the Arl along the way, then she wasn't going to pass it up. Behind her Theron kept up, only ever a few steps behind and running as quietly as any rogue, even loaded to the gills with armor and weapons. By contrast Kallian looked positively unprepared for a castle raid with no armor to her name and standard issue daggers for weapons. That was fine, she knew enough about fighting to keep from getting hit.

There was a crowd in front of the estate and she heard many unkind words being thrown at the guards that kept the front door shut. Looking around, she saw three guards standing at the back edge of the crowd and recognized Aedan, Solona and Alistair under the armor. Good, then they'd all made it into enemy territory. "Let's get around this crowd." She said to Theron, and started working her way through the crowd on the right. The masses were especially thick here and it took a bit of working and more than a few stepped on toes to get through the crowd. Theron had a bit of a harder time following, but eventually they ended up in thinner crowds along the side of the castle. Standing on tiptoe, Kallian saw the last flicker of armor as the other three headed in the opposite direction around the other side of the castle. She heaved a sigh and uttered a quick prayer that they would make it inside the castle with little fuss.

Leaving the crowd behind the two elves moved around the side of the castle, keeping a wary eye out for lookouts. If there were any, then they seemed oblivious to the armed elves walking around the estate grounds. When they turned the first corner however, they found themselves confronted with a pair of guards standing watch outside a doorway with nothing between them for cover. Kallian ducked back behind the corner, lifting her face to the sky and thinking quickly. "Can't go that way."

"Why not?" Theron asked, putting his hands on the hilts of his swords. "There's only two of them. I could dispatch them easily enough."

"No way." Kallian replied, looking around the corner again. "There's a patrol that circles 'round here every hour. If the sentries are missing, whatta you think they're gonna think? They'll raise the alarm an' then all this'll be for nuthin' and we'll be stuck inside the estate with a buncha angry guards. I could get by if I took off all my weapons, but no way they'd let you pass."

He seemed confused, then looked down at himself and realized that city elves didn't wear armor or bear weapons. "I see your point. Where to then?"

She bit her lip, looking up at the sky when a crazy idea occurred to her. "You any good at scaling buildings?"

Theron looked to the stone wall above them, considering it momentarily, then started shifting his weapons so that they would sit on his back without restricting his arms. "I've climbed trees with less handholds. Lets go."

The two elves scaled the estate walls, Kallian reaching the top first and gave Theron a hand up. Once on the sloping wood tiled roof, she led the way toward the back of the estate, looking over the edge to make sure that there were no guards in the small courtyard with a fountain in it, peacefully bubbling water up from the pool into the hands of four Andraste statues. "The window is down there." Kallian pointed to a narrow passage inward from the courtyard that led to a window just large enough to slip through sideways. It was open to admit fresh air into the estate. "Don't break your neck gettin' down." With a challenging grin she dropped over the side, finding her handholds in the top of a window.

It was a tight squeeze, but Kallian dropped into the narrow hallway and moved aside to let Theron do the same, standing near the door that led outside into a long hallway. They appeared to have ended up in a bunkroom for the soldiers, the stone walls hidden mostly behind barrack-style beds. She cracked the door and saw a long hallway that appeared deserted for the moment. Quietly she closed the door again and went back to Theron. "Now we just gotta meet up with the others. I figure there's only one entrance that they coulda come in, so I'll go get them."

"You'll go get them?" Theron arched an eyebrow. "You mean we'll go get them."

Kallian shot him an unimpressed look. "You're not goin' anywhere. You'll blow our cover soon as a guard sees you. Here…" She slipped off her sword belts and took the blades out of their scabbards. Her supply belt came off next, and she handed the equipment to Theron. Looking around, she quickly went to one of the beds and stripped off the linens, folding them in a stack and putting her blades on top. Another stack of folded blankets was added on, hiding the daggers and she picked up the whole load. "Look, shems can't be bothered t'spare me a look if I'm just like one of their pets they got runnin' 'round the place. It's the other elves that'll notice what's up. Just stay here 'an kill anybody that walks through that door. I'll go get the others, 'an we'll go rescue the queenie. Think you can do that?"

He didn't look happy about being left behind, but Theron did nod and unsheathed his swords. "Be careful out there."

She shot him a roguish grin and moved out into the hallway, slumping her shoulders and keeping her eyes on the floor whenever the guards walked by. Nobody paid her attention, though she was more than a little nervous when she went into the mess hall and was confronted with the sight of half a dozen guards sitting about and talking to each other. She kept to the walls, staying as far away from them as was physically possible and went to the back where the kitchen was. The other elves were busy enough that they paid her little mind, though one did look up and seemed surprised to see her. A young lass with brown hair and large blue eyes stole away from her cooking pot to go to Kallian's side, clutching her spoon.

"Kallian? Maker, what are you doing here?" She whispered, looking nervously at the others in the room. "This is the worst place for you to be."

Kallian recognized the elf girl as Teodora, one of the elves that had been rescued from the Tevinters. She was a resident of Highever, taken away like many of the others and had managed to find a job that would pay an elf to help support the cause. "Quiet!" Kallian hissed back, looking at the others as well and pulled her toward the anteroom that led to the servant's exit where they would at least be out of sight. "Look, I can't tell you what's up exactly, but trust me when I say you don't wanna be here if fightin' breaks out, all right? You hear anythin', an' you get out right away. Take the others with you if ya can. But don't whisper so much as a word about seein' me to the others, a'ight?"

Teodora nodded, her eyes gone wide with fear. "Good luck." She scampered back to her pot just in time to miss the door opening. Kallian ducked her head and started for the storage room, but noticed that the armored people who'd come through the door were of the friendly sort. A smile broke over her features when she saw Aedan, Solona and Alistair. "Good ya made it through. I was gettin' worried 'bout you."

Solona fidgeted in her armor, obviously not used to the weight of the chain and plate. "I was getting worried too."

"Where's Theron?" Alistair asked, surmising quickly that the elf was not with Kallian. "Did he find something shiny and get stuck at a locked door?"

Despite being in an enemy camp and surrounded on all sides by unfriendlies, Kallian couldn't help but to smile. "Nah, he's a little ways in the fort keepin' his head down if we're lucky. Let's go before he starts gettin' antsy 'an puts his swords to use on some unsuspectin' guards."

"Hold on a moment." Aedan said, looking at the door that they'd just come through. "Erlina should catch up with us soon."

Kallian was about to ask who he was talking about when the dark-haired Orlesian elf from before came through the door, looking a bit flustered. "Auh, it took me forever to be rid of those pesky guards-"

"Andraste's bloody damn pyre!" Kallian hissed when she saw the woman, dressed in her fine clothes and with her prim gait. "Please, somebody tell me she ain't comin' along."

Erlina frowned at that, her lips pinching together. "Of course I am coming. My lady will not trust anyone who comes to her door unless I am there."

Kallian's following aggravated sigh bordered on nearly just too loud and she tapped her foot impatiently on the flagstone floor. "Any doubts I had 'bout you bein' the queen's lackey just flew out the window. What are you thinking showin' up here like this? Have you ever seen an elf servant that dressed like that? Gaugh!" She took her swords out from their sheet disguise and unceremoniously dumped the linens into Erlina's hands, the dark-haired elf looking more angered by the second at Kallian's outbursts. "Hold on to those 'an whatever you do, don't make eye contact with any of these shems out there, you hear? We'll be lucky if they don't figure you out right away." She mumbled something about Orlesians and their lap dogs along with several more slurs involving Andraste's various body parts and handed her daggers to Solona. "You lot walk in front, like yer leadin' us, 'an we'll stay behind 'an be dutiful little servant elves. Where're we goin'?"

For a second Erlina considered not answering, her pride obviously hurt by Kallian's brash attitude, but she turned to Aedan and refused to look at Kallian. "My lady is in a guest room off the main hall. Andraste guide us."

"Good, then we'll pass right by where Theron's hidin' out 'an we can pick him up. Let's hope there aren't any guards in the main foyer." Kallian's tone was dry, obviously having very little hope that there would be such a thing as an easy way out with this.

Their group moved out into the kitchen and mess hall without incident. A couple patrols of guards coming in to take their meal passed uncomfortably close, but they hardly even looked at the motley crew, engrossed in complaining about the dubious nature of their meals.

When they found Theron, it was obvious that he had kept himself from getting bored by going through all of the soldier's personal belongings in the room, drawers and chests hanging open after a thorough inspection by the Dale. He seemed relieved when they all appeared at the door and he and Alistair exchanged brief greetings before they moved on. At the entrance to the foyer Aedan halted the procession and took a few steps back. "Bad news. Guards ahead."

"Damnit." Kallian hissed from the back, squeezing her head between her palms.

"Hold on, I've an idea." Theron took one of the blankets that Erlina held in her hand, using his sword to cut a tear in the fabric then ripped it in half. "Disguise me as your prisoner. Elves who are caught bearing arms are arrested, yes?"

"Ooh, that is a good idea. We should do this more often." Alistair quipped with a laugh in his voice.

Theron raised an eyebrow at that. "Don't let it go to your head, Alistair."

"No worries there." Taking the ripped sheet, Alistair put it over Theron's head and tied it back so that it looked like a sack, and Theron held his arms behind his back as if he were chained. "You're sure about this?"

"As sure as I can be." Theron replied quietly from behind the sack. "If they catch on, then all of this sneaking will have simply been for naught and we'll have to fight our way out. Sound familiar?"

Alistair silently shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Too familiar."

"Let's get on, then." Aedan said once they had everything together. He took up the head of the procession, Alistair standing at Theron's side holding his forearm as if expecting him to dart away at any second. Solona took up the guard on his other side, still looking incredibly uncomfortable in her armor. Arranged, they stepped out into the foyer and walked with purpose across the way. The guards at the door seemed mildly intrigued by the event, but didn't say anything and quietly watched them go by.

The second that they were out of sight, Erlina dropped her remaining linen and ran ahead of the group to a door set back into the thick walls of the estate. She stood next to the door, which glowed faintly as if there were lyrium built into the thick oak boards. "The grey Warden is here my lady."

From beyond the door an exasperated female voice spoke back. "Thank the Maker! I would greet you properly, but I'm afraid we've had… a setback."

Theron, having just taken the bag off his head came forward. "What sort of setback?"

"My host…" Her bitterness was clearly projected in her voice "was not content with leaving me under heavy guard. He's sealed the door by magic."

"Magic." Theron hissed, staring at the door as if it were a darkspawn that had just popped out of the ground.

"Let me see." Solona moved toward the door, Theron standing back to let her run her hands over the wood. She concentrated on the lock and the hinges, her fingers tracing the patterns in the wood grains. "There's nothing I can do." She said after thoroughly inspecting the door. "This seal is very complicated, and very dangerous to try and unravel. Our best bet would be to find the mage who cast it and get them to lift the spell."

"Well, so much for secrecy. Maybe we should have just brought Oghren along after all. Barreled down the door, slicing up everyone in our way." Alistair said in a dry tone, leaning against the wall. "I'm sure Leliana would have written a song about it."

"Well, if Howe didn't know you were here before, he soon will." Anora replied through the door.

"Do you know where the mage might be?" Theron asked, amused at the idea of unleashing Oghren on the castle despite Erlina's earlier warning that a full-blown attack would probably get Anora killed faster than they could save her.

"He will most likely be at Howe's side, if I were to fathom a guess." Came the answering reply from behind the door.

"Good. I wanted to pay a visit to Howe while we were here anyway." Aedan said more to himself than anyone else, his tone tinged with a hint of darkness that bordered on bloodlust.

"We do not have much time." Erlina breathed in a light tone, seeming more flustered than she had before. "We must go before the guards discover us. Teyrn Howe will probably be in his room. They're at the end of the hall, on the left."

Aedan visibly tensed at the term Teyrn, but said nothing and turned about to go down the hall in the direction that the elf had indicated. Solona was quickly behind him, a worried look on her face as she tried and failed to catch his eye.

"You'd best stay here, princess." Kallian said, taking back her sword belts from Theron and buckling them on with practiced ease. "Where we're goin', yer dress is only gonna get dirty." Erlina frowned at that but said nothing as the rest of them walked down the hall, trailing after Aedan.

The room was empty when Aedan walked in, much to his disappointment. Theron started checking out the room, inspecting it in the hopes of finding a key. Kallian unleashed her lock picking tools and helped him look, but they came up with nothing but a stack of papers that Alistair thought looked suspiciously like Grey Warden property.

When sacking the room provided them with nothing useful, Aedan turned toward a set of stairs that adjoined the room that seemed to lead down into the basement. "He's got to be down here somewhere." Aedan grumbled and led them down the stairs, unwary of the solitary guard that was standing near a closed prison cell in the chamber beyond.

The man perked up when he saw the group round the corner, his face falling instantly into annoyance. "Who goes ther-" His words were cut off by an arm reaching out and grabbing the man by his armor, pulling him against the bars and a hand reached out to wrench his neck sideways with a sickening crack. The guard fell to the ground, limp and dead.

Startled, Aedan stood for a moment staring at the dead guard, but Theron and Alistair showed a remarkable lack of fear and moved forward to see who was in the cell.

A man who had obviously been treated rather poorly during his time in captivity stared back at the two, his black hair hanging in dirty clumps around his head, but had a good-natured smile on his face. "I thank you for creating such a distraction, strangers." He said, standing up straight, his Orlesian accent plain to the ear. "I have been waiting days for the opportunity. Do you think you could-" Sudden realization seemed to dawn on him, and his gaze snapped to Alistair with almost unnerving focus. "Alistair? Is that you?"

To the surprise of everyone else, Alistair seemed to recognize the man back, shock registering on his face. "Who..? Wait, I do know you. You were at my Joining? He's one of us." He said to Theron, who was ready to put his blades through the bars and silence the man permanently. The elf relaxed at hearing that and bent to relieve the dead guard of his keys and let their fellow Warden out of the cage. "A Warden from Orlais. Jader, I think. Or was it Montsimmard? I'm afraid I don't remember your name."

The Warden smiled, stepping out of his cell once he'd been released and affected a bow in Alistair's direction. "I'm Riordan, senior Warden of Jader, but born and bred in Highever and glad to be home." His gaze traveled to Aedan and he blinked, a look of recognition passing over his face briefly before he returned his attention back on the Wardens.

"I don't remember seeing you at Ostagar." Theron said, scavenging the dead guard for anything else of use and eyeing Riordan with suspicion.

"That is because I wasn't there." Riordan replied. "I was sent from Orlais when we received no word from King Cailan. The king had invited all the Wardens of Orlais and their support troops to join him, then… nothing."

Theron cursed, standing again. "Loghain. That must be where he's getting this idea that Cailan was betraying Ferelden to the Orlesians."

"That is probably true." Riordan nodded. "We were stopped at the border and denied access to Ferelden when we tried to come to the King's aid."

"Not to interrupt." Aedan cut in before more could be said on the subject. "But have you seen Howe?"

Riordan looked at him for a long moment before replying, gesturing toward the doorway that led into the basement. "I saw him go in the dungeons. He may still be there."

"My thanks." Aedan moved past the group and toward the door without waiting to see if the others would follow, eager to get down there and finally be able to exact his revenge. Solona followed readily, determined to keep a sharp eye on him.

Kallian however hesitated at the top of the stairs, her face gone white and it seemed as if she were stuck in place, unable to move forward. Theron remembered that look from seemingly a lifetime ago when she had paused at the basement entrance to the Highever estate. Ignoring Alistair's brief chatting with Riordan, Theron went over to Kallian and placed a hand on her shoulder, her fear-filled gaze swinging on him. "It's just a basement." He said quietly.

"It's not a basement." She replied in a quiet voice that trembled just enough to confirm his suspicion that she was scared out of her mind. "It's the basement."

Behind him Alistair had just directed Riordan on how to get out of this hellhole and told him to take shelter at Arl Eamon's place before coming over to stand behind Theron, staring at the scene unfolding with no small amount of curiosity. Voices echoed up from the bottom of the stairwell, too quiet to properly make out and Theron had a sinking feeling that the two who had gone on before them were about to wind up in a sticky situation. Leaving her to stand here could have been an option, but sidestepping his problems had never been Theron's style. "This is not going to be the same as last time. You're not alone Kallian."

She took a deep breath and looked back down at the stairway, touching the pommels of her weapons for reassurance then took the plunge and headed down the stairs at a brisk pace. Alistair had a please do tell look on his face that Theron casually shrugged off. "Later." He mumbled before heading down after Kallian, Alistair following along shortly behind.

They arrived at the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Aedan draw his sword and in the same quick movement bury it in the exposed neck of a man in light leather armor standing in front of him. The man gave out a pained cry and fell with a gurgle and a spray of blood, a handful of men who had been watching the two talk jumping to action with any number of odd weapons, ranging from swords, to mauls to whips and they were quickly thrown into the middle of a battle.

Solona stood with her back against the wall, flinging spells from her hands as fast as she could conjure them while Kallian did her best to keep Aedan from being flayed alive as the warrior had apparently forgotten that he had a shield and was mercilessly cutting down anyone that came his way. Alistair quickly moved to the front to cover him, Theron following quickly on his heels and helped to stem the flow of soldiers that were doing their best to try and get at the mage standing behind their group. Once the last man was on the floor they could all breathe easily again.

"You couldn't have waited?" Theron asked with no small amount of bitterness in his voice.

"The guards asked for a password." Aedan replied, his voice curiously emotionless.

"Yeah, but I'll bet the password isn't a sword in the throat." Kallian mumbled, cleaning off her daggers on the shirt of the nearest guard, and wiped some blood that had fallen into her eye from a cut on her forehead off. Solona was quick to patch the small wound and keep it from continuing to half blind her.

Aedan only gave the elf a quelling look, holding his shield at an awkward angle, his left arm not quite up to par for battle from being immobilized so long. But if it hurt, he didn't complain. "Let's move on. No doubt anybody else in this death warren will have heard the battle and will be prepared for us."

Theron and Alistair exchanged a long silent look with one another, wary of this change in the normally level-headed Aedan. They were left with little choice but to be pulled along with him as he continued his war path through the dungeon, ferreting out every jailer in every room in an attempt to find Howe, usually resulting in a giant struggle against several men stationed in the rooms with the express job of torturing various individuals. They came across more mutilated bodied than anyone cared to count, each cell growing more and more horrifying as they went.

After a particularly hard battle Solona put a stop to Aedan's reckless charge forward, physically putting her hands on his arms and halted him from continuing on. "Aedan, you have to stop. Let's think about this. You're going to get yourself killed before you ever find Howe if we continue on like this."

From the back of the room a thin voice, apparently alerted by the sound of battle, called out. "Hello?"

Kallian perked up immediately, wiping spattered blood off her face as she went, ducking around behind the torture room they were in to come into a narrow hallways with single-man cells lined up on either side of the walls. At the end of a hallway someone clung to the bars, and she rushed over to see the prisoner.

"Cousin?" Came the question from Soris, locked up and looking ragged behind the bars. He was severely emaciated; his cheeks sunk in and appeared to have only been fed the bare minimum to be kept alive.

"Maker, Soris! Oh holy Andraste, Soris!" Kallian reached through the bars, hugging him through the cell and tried hard not to cry. "I never thought… Oh Maker, I'm glad to see you're safe."

Theron rounded the corner when he heard the commotion, ready to do battle with swords in hand but instead found Kallian on the verge of tears, something he would never have thought to see from the strong red-head. "Kallian?"

"Theron, did you find a key? We've got to let him out right now." Kallian parted with her cousin briefly, running over to Theron and grabbing the key when he produced it from his pocket and hastily unlocked the door, her hands shaking. "Have you been here this entire time?"

Soris stumbled out of the cell weakly, leaning on Kallian's shoulder for support. "I feel like I've spent half my life down here." He replied, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. "I thought you were dead Kallian. What about Shianni? Is she…?"

The sadness on Kallian's face instantly made Soris worry the worst. "I don't know." She replied, the truth breaking her voice. "I think Vaughn released her after… after they were done with her. To be made an example of."

"They let you go too?" He asked, unsure if he should be hurt or glad that his cousin did not have to bear the months of being locked up.

Kallian shook her head, biting her lip. "No, they kept me, the same as you. I… they sold me into slavery, but I was rescued."

By the expression on Soris' face, it was easy to see that he understood the implications and reached a scrawny arm out to give Kallian a reassuring hug. "I'm so sorry cousin. But you made him pay, right? For Shianni and Nelaros, and the other girls?"

She shook her head again, and Sorri's face fell in disappointment. "Howe got him though. Vaughn is in these dungeons somewhere, locked up the same as you and I were."

That seemed to cheer up Soris somewhat, though there was no escaping the hopeless look in his eyes. "Let's get out of here." He said suddenly, looking at Theron and noting his tattoos with some fright. "I've been down here too long. We should go, back to the Alienage."

"The Alienage is locked." Kallian replied and quickly began the work of slipping off one of her arm bands, revealing the thick scars on her wrist. "But you need to get to safety. Go upstairs, get to the kitchen. Those shems won't notice another elf with everythin' else goin' on. When you get up there, look fer an elf named Teodora, show her this an' tell her yer my cousin. She'll keep you safe an' get you outta here."

Soris nodded and Kallian helped him get to the main hall of the dungeon, ignoring the looks she received from the others in their little war band. With a final hug, she sent her cousin on his way with a prayer that he would make it up to safety. She rubbed her now bare wrist, feeling naked without the marker that covered her scars and looked over her shoulder to see Theron quietly staring at her. "If you've got something to say, say it."

He appeared lost for words, and Aedan came to the rescue, released from Solona's grasp now that the mage had looked over him thoroughly and made sure that he was all right with his injured left arm. "We should move on. The sooner we find Howe, the sooner we can get the queen out of here."

Theron continued to quietly stare at Kallian until Alistair passed, patting him on the shoulder and he followed after everyone else. Feeling like she'd dodged an arrow, Kallian fell in behind them, taking one last look around the dungeon before they stepped out into the hallway.

After the little talk he'd received from Solona, Aedan no longer barreled head-first into the rooms that they came across, instead allowing Theron to check and see what was beyond before they moved on. It was a good thing too, or else they would have run straight into a rather nasty trap that would have had them all roasting alive. Another group of jailers that wanted to gut them all and use their entrails as nooses flooded out of the next room, alerted by the noise. After dispatching them the semblance of careful control had left Aedan, the adrenaline singing in his veins and his rage bubbling dangerously close to the surface.

Turning to the next door, he marched straight over, his shoulders tense. "Come out you bloody coward!" He yelled to no one in particular, as if the challenge would make Howe instantly materialize. Aedan wrenched open the door and was surprised when there were no traps, no hidden doors, no squad of mercenaries prepared to cut off his head the second he ran through, but instead came face to face with Rendon Howe.

"Well, well, Bryce Cousland's little boy, all grown up and still trying to fit into daddy's armor." The Arl-turned-Teyrn sneered, looking down his long nose at Aedan with contempt in his eyes, arms folded casually across his chest. It was only then that Aedan noticed several people were in the room besides Howe and understood that this was probably going to be the last stand. "I thought Loghain made it clear that your pathetic family is gone and forgotten."

"I'll never forget, and I'll make sure you won't either." Aedan hissed, stepping forward and brandishing his sword. "I'll carve the names of my family into your skin before I let you die."

If Howe was intimidated by the display, he didn't show it, the mercenaries behind him stepping forward and ready to jump into the fray.

"I'm not afraid of you, boy. Your parents died on their knees." Howe shot back. "I made your mother kiss my feet as she died, and it was the last thing your father saw." A smirk crossed his face, and he slipped his hands behind his back, pacing in front of Aedan. "I don't know how your brother got out of Ostagar, but that will soon be rectified. My soldiers will burn that manor to the ground before allowing him to make another escape. Then he can join his brat, burned on a scrap heap along with his Antivan whore of a wife. And what will be left? You?" He laughed, the sound grating on Aedan's already thin nerves. "A fool husk of a son clinging to the tatters of your family in obscurity. You're the last of nothing, boy. This is pointless. You've lost."

"Lie to yourself all you want Howe." Aedan readied his sword, hearing the others catch up behind him, no doubt looking on that the stare-off and waiting for the beginning of the battle. "But I know how this is going to end, and so do you. It's going to be you and me, and you're going to eat those lies on the tip of my sword."

"There it is. Right there! That damned look in the eye that marked every Cousland success that held me back." Howe sneered, looking at the people who had gathered at Aedan's back. "It would appear that you've made something of yourself after all. Your father would be proud." He almost seemed sincere in the compliment, reaching for his weapon as he backed up a step. "I, on the other hand, want you dead more than ever."

Instantaneous chaos ensued, a spell crashing against Aedan's shield, only to be met with return fire as Solona unleashed her own spell and Alistair and Theron rushed from their place on the threshold of the doorway, taking Aedan's place as he leapt forward after the retreating Howe. One of the mercenaries wielding a broad sword tried to intervene, his strike glancing off of Aedan's shield and suddenly Theron was there, jabbing into the side of the warrior with precise strikes that slipped through armor or cut away the thick leather that held the plates on in place. Aedan left the elf to his work, turning just in time to keep from having his legs cut out from under him as Howe launched on his offensive.

In the middle of everything Aedan found himself cut off from the rest of the group, Alistair spearheading their little knot and taking the brunt of the punishment, Theron and Kallian were frantically on the defensive to keep from being overwhelmed by the push of the mercenaries. Outside of this ring Aedan faced down Howe, his blade singing through the air as he squared off against the traitor. "Why did you do it?!" He yelled, consumed by his fury as he beat back Howe, a blade strike ringing against his shield, the head of Howe's axe barely missing his midriff.

Howe twisted nimbly out of reach of a sword strike that would have likely pierced his leathers and ended his life, knocking off two more blade strikes against Aedan, his axe clanging loudly against his shield while the blade caught him in the leg just below the chainmail, drawing a bright line of blood. "He was a traitor to me and his nation!" Howe spat back, dodging sideways under a strike from Aedan and thrust his sword at a chink between the plate armor, his blade turned aside by the thick chainmail but Aedan felt the sting anyway, snapping his shield around and nearly breaking Howe's wrist. "Your family squandered glory that was rightfully mine!"

"There is nothing rightful about what you did!" Aedan hollered back, catching Howe's axe with the hilt of his blade and thrusting his shield forward, crunching the tip of it into Howe's shoulder as he tried to turn away from the blow to lessen the impact. "Murderer!"

Howe was unable to respond for a few moments, a spell rocketing out of the blue and splashing on the wall behind him, the heat of the fireball knocking them both nearly off their feet and singing their hair. The fight with the others was winding down, the mage in the room desperately trying to keep the lone mercenary still left standing alive. Howe took the opportunity to drive his blade forward, catching Aedan in the side of the chest and putting a sizeable dent in his armor. Aedan held the offending blade to his side with his arm and turned, disarming Howe and was met with an axe on his shield, the pain of the blow nearly causing him to drop the shield altogether.

"If you think you can take this from me, that I will allow it," Howe hissed, battering at Aedan's weakened arm with a fury of blows, holding his axe with both hands and denting the shield inwards, "then you are very much mistaken!"

Aedan took a step back, causing Howe to over-swing and lose his balance, tipping forward. The opportunity provided was too good to be missed, and with a cry of rage Aedan's sword shot forward in a powerful thrust, shearing through Howe's leathers around his stomach, the blade nearly piercing him through to the other side. Aedan withdrew his sword, the blood spray that accompanied the motion splattering across his armor with little notice.

Howe looked surprised at the turn of events and fell, bleeding profusely from the deep gouge in his stomach. All the venom left in his body was directed at Aedan who stood over him, sword dripping with blood. "Maker spit on you!" He wheezed, barely able to draw breath for the pain that his wound caused him, clutching at his ruptured stomach as if that could slow the death that was quickly overtaking him. "I deserved… more!"

"You deserved worse." Aedan replied coldly. "Kallian, your knife."

Confused, Kallian stepped forward and handed her smaller purse cutter over to Aedan. With the knife in hand, Aedan sliced open Howe's armor along the rip that he'd already put in it to fell the mortal wound, laying his chest bare. Putting aside his sword, he kneeled over the dying Arl. "I said that I'd carve their names into your skin before you died." He whispered so that the Arl could hear, and Howe did his best to spit at him. "But you're not long for this world. Your life's been ended by my hand. Rather pointless, wouldn't you agree?" Without waiting for an answer he jabbed the blade against Howe's chest, drawing blood and carved a bowed line and the Arl gurgled in pain. A second mark joined the first, the two intertwined at their base, reminiscent of the pair of laurel branches that was the crest of the Cousland house. "This will just have to suffice. Now die knowing that all your scheming has come to naught. You've lost."

Aedan stood and picked up his sword, handing Kallian back her dagger and walked away from Howe, who was gasping his last painful breaths. "We should check to see if there are any other prisoners down here that have been wrongfully abducted. This place is a lyrium mine of evidence against Howe and Loghain."

Theron, Alistair, Solona and Kallian all exchanged silent looks with each other before following after Aedan, wary of any guards that might have been left to defend the dungeons. They met no resistance when they opened up a door that led to another block of prison cells, at least one of them occupied with a rather vocal prisoner.

"Who's there? You can't do this to me! I'll have you all flayed! I'm the Arl of Denerim!" The man behind bars looked somewhat worse for wear, his finely made clothes stained with dungeon grime and looking a little on the starved side. Whatever his treatment under Howe's care, he still appeared to have enough vitality to be throwing threats.

"Arl Urien died at Ostagar." Aedan replied nonchalantly, walking toward the bars with a pronounced limp in his walk. "Who are you?"

"I'm Vaughn Kendells," the man replied, as if this should have been incredibly obvious. "Heir to the Arling of Denerim! It's true!"

"It's true."

All eyes snapped back to Kallian who had stopped near the entrance to the cellblock, a horrified look on her face and her skin turned ashen. "Vaughn."

It took a moment for the self-proclaimed Arl to remember, but a look of understanding dawning on his face. "It's you! That little spitfire from the alienage! Listen, knife-ears, we can make a deal, can't we? Let me out of here and I can get you anything you want."

There was silence from everyone until Kallian stepped up, coming toward the bars. "A Landsmeet has been called." She said in a quiet voice, her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white. "The Wardens need your vote against Loghain."

"Is that it?" He seemed a little astonished, and then quickly recovered himself. "I mean, of course! Anything! Just let me out of this blasted cage!"

She nodded and obediently stood aside, letting Theron pass in front of her to unlock the doors, her head bowed. Even so, she did not miss the incredulous look that the Dale shot her, expecting her to have flown into a rage at being called a knife-ear from some pompous shemlen behind bars.

"You won't regret this." He said to Aedan, assuming that he was the Warden, or at least the keeper of the elves present here. "I'll see you in the Landsmee-" His words were abruptly cut off, the tip of a sword appearing through the front of his chest just at the bottom of his ribs. Everyone jumped back, surprised at the sudden spray of blood that jetted from the wound.

Kallian withdrew her blade and Vaughn fell to the ground, gaping and staring wide-eyed at the redheaded elf. "Why?"

"Life's a bitch." She replied in a monotone, laying the edge of her sword against his neck and was content to calmly watch him bleed to death. "Nobody missed you while you were gone. Another casualty of the riots, right? Consider this a delayed display of our undying hatred."

"No, please! All elves want money, right? I can pay!" He tried to move away from her blade, but couldn't get very far without a wave of pain immobilizing him and causing him to cry out.

"I want a better deal than that." Kallian replied, tapping the bottom of his jaw with her sword point and was satisfied to see him flinch in response.

"Anything! Please!"

"I want my wedding day back." She said in a low voice. "And all of this undone."

Vaughn's expression turned from simply frightened to horrified. "I can't change the past! Be reasonable!"

"Too bad. Those are the only terms on which I'm willin' to spare your life." She looked briefly over her shoulder at Alistair and Theron. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to cost you a vote." Before anyone could stop her she rammed the tip of her sword into Vaughn's windpipe until it hit stone, then twisted the blade and ripped it out sideways, splattering herself with blood from the ruptured jugular.

Hefting her sword over her shoulder, she met Aedan's eyes, he being the only one in the group not staring at her like she was crazy. "Looks like we both got our vengeance today."

Aedan nodded silently in response and tipped his head toward the exit. "We should get going. The queen awaits her rescue and I've had quite enough of this dungeon."

"Right, the queen." Kallian chuckled darkly. "I'd almost forgot 'bout her after all the excitement."

Before they left Theron went around the cells and made sure that nobody was left behind, releasing a number of prisoners in various states of mental distress. He kept an eye on Aedan and Kallian to see if anybody else in the dungeon had wronged the two before heading up the party, making their way back up the stairs to make good on their promise to rescue her royal highness.

Damn, that was a long chapter. But yay! Resolution of several plot points! It was real fun to write this chapter, especially just for the sheer brutality that Aedan could show when finally face to face with Howe. He has been keeping it all neatly tucked away for most of the story, but there's just really no holding back in the end. I did a lot of research to find all of the dialogue options when you find Howe, and their conversation is a bit of a compilation of what I thought was the most juicy details. The window entrance that Kallian uses is the same one that Lelliana used in the DLC "Leliana's Song". After playing through Leliana's Song, I had wondered why going through the secret window wasn't an option, but then again, chances are that some of your characters are in full plate and couldn't scale a wall if the archdemon was snapping at their heels. In the end, it was just a chance to let Kallian do her sneaky rogue things with Theron.

Also, while going through to edit this, I was suddenly struck with a wonder. Why would Howe allow Fergus to get away? Was it an accident that Fergus was already on the road when his men attacked? And then my writer's mind thought of something truly horrible. What if it didn't matter if Fergus/Bryce were caught in the Highever raid? What if it had been planned from the beginning of the Ostagar plan for Cailan to die? What if Loghain had assured Howe that the king would fall to the Darkspawn, and with him the Couslands, who were and have always been the king's biggest supporters? If Loghain knew about The Empress' letters to Cailan and the attempt to get the Orlesian Grey Wardens into Ferelden then that may have solidified his opinion of the boy and confirmed his suspicions that he was the worst thing to happen to Ferelden.

In addition, the Cousland's close alliance with the king might have made them seem more amiable to ally with Cailan to basically allow a second Orlesian invasion, the doubt on the Cousland house inflamed with whatever information Howe might have been feeding Loghain. I don't know if it's true or not, but… I kind of blew my own mind with this conspiracy. The fact that the darkspawn horde that appeared in Ostagar was bigger than anyone had planned was only a stroke of good luck for Loghain when he tried to convince everyone that he didn't purposely leave Cailan to die.

His hesitation to sound the retreat could have been the last dying gasp of the part of him that regretted what he was doing to Maric's son and his daughter's husband. Once that was gone, it was all down hill. He was eaten up by the nefarious whispers of his own betrayal, and he saw enemies in every corner and desperately tried to pull the Bannorn together. Now again, I don't know if that's cannon, but it makes a damn good story, and I think I'm sticking to it. Because lets be honest, Loghain wasn't a bad guy prior to that. He was just desperately trying to keep his country together.