A/N: I just realized that I forgot to post a chapter last week! It wasn't for lack of a chapter either, I just forgot! lol! I guess that's what being sick for a week does to someone. Anyway, once again, sorry if the chapter is a bit rough, as I am still without a beta. Hope you enjoy! :-)

—

Act One

Chapter Eighteen

All Work and Little Pay

Paden was right. It was a lot easier to find Emeric in the Gallows than even she anticipated. He was in the courtyard when they entered, and they recognized him. Paden approached him with the sack of human remains.

"This is what I found," she said, handing him the sack. "This was left in the foundry you mentioned in your notes. I was also attacked by shades," she added.

Emeric opened the sack and looked inside, arching his eyebrows in surprise. "These are human bones," he said. "Then there is no chance of finding Mheren alive, or any of the others."

"It is a logical conclusion," Paden said regretfully. "I saw someone leaving the scene, but they got away. I'm sorry."

"It was more than I accomplished," Emeric said. "I will bring this to the City Guard immediately. It should be enough to convince them the disappearances are worth investigating. Thank you, serah." He inclined his head to Paden, and then left with the sack.

Paden turned to the others. "Well, I guess that's done then," she said. "We just have to take the ring to Ghyslain, and hope he'll give us something for our efforts. We really have no other leads to follow."

"Well, we'd best do it quickly," Carver said. "The sun will be going down soon."

They took the ferry back to the city, and then hiked the hundred steps up from the docks into Lowtown.

"You all go ahead," Anders said once they reached the top. "I need to check in at my clinic; I've been gone too long as it is."

"So you're not coming to the docks with us tonight?" Paden asked in disappointment.

"Don't worry, I'll come. I'll meet you right here at nightfall."

They went their separate ways; Anders to his clinic, and Paden, Carver and Varric to Hightown and Ghyslain's house.

Ghyslain came out to meet them when Paden knocked on his door.

"This ring is all I have to return to you," she said, handing the ring to him. "I'm sorry."

Ghyslain took it and looked at it closely. "Oh," he gasped, sorrow filling his eyes. "Ninette's wedding ring. Yes…look at the engraving; 'Forever faithful. Forever yours.' Written in happier times." He looked up at Paden. "Where did you find it?"

Paden was about to tell him the exact truth, but the look of sadness on Ghyslain's face made her change her mind. She could see that he really had loved his wife, and that he was going to miss her, despite what she had done to him. She shook her head. "Just…know that she will not return," she said gently.

"Oh…" Ghyslain closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's better this way," he said. "Our marriage has been in shambles for more than a decade. I'll send the ring to her family. With luck it will appease them. Thank you, for all your help, serah." He handed Paden a coin. "Maker watch over you." And with that, he went back into his house.

Paden looked at the coin in her hand. It was a gold sovereign. She gaped at it in surprise and held it up for Carver to see.

Carver smiled and took the coin. "Better than I hoped," he said. "Only forty-seven more to go."

Varric chuckled. "It's a start anyway."

Paden sighed, feeling a little melancholy after talking with Ghyslain. "Let's go get something to eat before heading to the docks," she said. "I need to get my energy back up."

"Hanged Man?" Varric asked.

"Hanged Man," Paden and Carver said in unison.

—

At nightfall they met Anders, and then headed down to the docks. All the dock workers had already gone home, and the place was quiet except for the lapping of waves against moored boats.

"There," Paden said, pointing to a young teen boy loitering near a stack of cargo crates. A small locked chest sat on the ground by his feet. "That may be Pryce. Though, he's a lot younger than I thought he'd be. Let's talk to him."

As they headed over to the boy, he was approached by a group of armed men. Before the men could get very close, the boy ran from them, leaving the chest behind. He ran straight toward Paden and her companions.

"Get him!" one of the men shouted, and they gave chase, drawing weapons.

"Those are Coterie!" Varric exclaimed, referring to Kirkwall's most powerful thieves guild.

Paden smiled as she conjured a fireball in each hand. "I'll take the Coterie over demons any day," she said, and then hurled the fireballs at the thieves. They struck their targets and exploded, sending roiling flames in all directions. The force of the blast knocked most of the thieves off their feet, several never to rise again. Carver rushed forward to meet the remaining ones with his sword.

Paden took her staff into her hand and began sending basic attack spells at the Coterie thugs. From the corner of her eye she could see Anders beside her doing the same. Then she felt something whoosh by her head. An arrow hit the wall to her right and bounced off the stone facing.

Paden fell into a crouch and glanced around to see where the shooter was. There, three archers positioned some ways down the street.

"Anders, get down!" Paden shouted.

He responded just in time, falling into a crouch just as two more arrows split the air where he had been. Paden conjured another fireball and sent it toward the archers, but it fizzled out just before reaching them.

"Blast, they're out of range!" she said.

"Bianca can handle this herself," Varric said, running forward a bit, he aimed his crossbow and got off two shots in quick succession. Two of the archers fell, and the third was beheaded by Carver's sword. And that was the lot of them.

"Hey, that one was mine!" Varric called to Carver as he rejoined them, sheathing his sword.

"Too slow, Dwarf," Carver said.

Paden turned around to look for the boy, and saw him coming out of the shadows to meet them.

"Are you Pryce?" Paden asked.

"Yes. Thank you," the boy said. "I thought them Coterie men had me for sure. I guess the whole thing was a trap. There were no dwarves when I went to make the trade. Just Coterie waitin' to kill us. They got the rest of the boys. I ran. I was hopin' they wouldn't find me here, but they did."

"You're a bit young to be doing this," Paden said.

"I'm fifteen," Pryce replied. "But I can usually pass for a man. Me mama was ripped in two by one off them big-horned Darkspawn. It's just me and me sisters now." He bowed his head. "Workin' for Athenril's the only way to feed the girls."

Paden's heart broke for the lad. He had gone through a similar experience as she had; loosing a family member to Darkspawn, fleeing for their lives. Only, Pryce and his sisters had no one to watch out for them. The pay from Athenril for a job well done meant nothing to Paden compared to this boy's plight. She hoped Carver wouldn't hate her for what she was about to do.

"Why not take what Athenril gave you and start fresh somewhere outside of Kirkwall?" she suggested.

Pryce glanced over at the chest filled with fine goods that he was supposed to trade to the Carta. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Carver spoke up. "In Lothering there were always families willing to take in a strong lad and a few girls to help with the cooking."

Paden was pleased to hear that Carver still had a bit of softness in his heart for others. "There are farms all over the Free Marches," Paden said. "You could do well for you and your sisters."

"My father was a farmer," Pryce said. "Before the Darkspawn got him." He glanced over at the chest again, contemplating. "I'd rather do that than…work for Athenril." He went over to retrieve the chest, then looked back at Paden. "I'll go get my sisters," he said. "Please, make sure she doesn't come after us." He picked the chest up and hurried away.

"You're going to be in trouble with Athenril now," Carver said. "Losing her goods like that."

Paden shook her head. "There were Coterie. The goods were gone long before we got here," she said with a wry smile.

Carver chuckled. "Let's go home, Sister. Today has been a long day."

—

The next morning, Paden took a walk with Anders to the Red Lantern district of Hightown to face Athenril. She deliberately left Carver at home, since her good deed the night before had eased some of the tension between them, and she didn't want anything to jeopardize that.

"Well?" Athenril said when she saw Paden. "Are you here to socialize or did you bring my goods?"

"I rescued your boy and killed the Coterie," Paden said. "But your property was long gone." She had no qualms about lying to Athenril. Athenril was the one who had forced Paden to become good at it, after all.

"Coterie," Athenril spat. "I should have figured. They've got a lock on all trade with the dwarves. If I'd had someone decent on the job they would have dug into it first, not walked in blindly." She shrugged. "Well, no cargo, no coin. If you're ever looking for more work, I keep my books right here. Feel free to sign yourself up." She left and Paden sighed.

"Well, that's that," she said.

"That was a good thing you did for that boy Pryce last night," Anders commended. "Not many people would have given up a chance for gold just to help out a stranger."

Paden shrugged, trying to make light of it. "I imagined myself in his shoes," she said simply. "I wasn't far from ending up like him myself."

"Still," Anders said, and he gave her a smile.

She looked at him and realized that he had really been impressed by her actions. She blushed lightly and turned away to take a look at Athenril's books. She put her name down, glad that Carver wasn't there to see her do it. They still needed coin, and Athenril was still offering.

She sighed as she stood up straight and looked at Anders. "I feel like we're not getting anywhere," she admitted. They began walking, leaving the Red Lantern District behind. "I know we only signed on to this Deep Roads expedition a week ago, but in all that time we've had three jobs, but only got paid for two. And made only three sovereigns out of the fifty we need. And two of those were from selling stuff I looted from bodies! Where would we be if I wasn't doing that?"

"When is the expedition anyway?" Anders asked.

Paden shrugged. "It's whenever we have the coin to afford it. So at this rate it'll be in about a month." She sighed. "I was hoping it could be sooner than that."

"But is that even realistic?" Anders asked. "Coin is not easy to come by in this city. At least not for refugees. You know that."

"Yes, I know. I'm just tired of living in the slums, and…I'm tired of living in fear."

"Fear of Templars?" Anders asked.

Paden nodded. "I'm not afraid for myself or what they might do to me. But if I'm caught, then my mother and Carver will be thrown in prison for harboring an apostate." She sighed and gestured to Anders. "I'm sure you're an expert on how that works. What my family needs is a name that means something in this city. And money to back it up. With that kind of power the Templars wouldn't dare touch us."

"I guess that makes sense," Anders said. "But that doesn't seem like you."

She looked at him. "And what does seem like me?"

He shrugged and sent her a lopsided smile. "You are a simple, uncomplicated woman, Paden Hawke. And I mean that with the greatest respect. I've known you for less than a week, but that's enough to see that you don't want the life of a noble. You're a simple girl from Lothering, and that's all you really want to be. Or am I wrong?"

Paden shook her head. "No, you're not wrong. Dead right, actually. But what else am I supposed to do? We're not in Lothering anymore. There I knew who each Templar was, what their personalities were, which were sympathetic and which weren't. I could avoid them without effort. Here, there are too many. Too many." She rubbed her eyes wearily and then gestured broadly in frustration. "As long as my family remains refugees we have nothing to stand on, nothing to protect us. The only real future we have is to establish ourselves in Hightown among the nobles, whether it 'seems like me' or not."

"Then that's what you'll do," Anders said. "Another thing I've learned about you in the last five days is, you get what you want. You set a goal before you and don't give up until you make it a reality. Living in Hightown is a lofty goal. But you will see it done. I know you will."

Paden looked over at him, regarding him closely for a moment. Those had been the most encouraging words she had heard from anyone in a long, long while. "Thank you," she said, unable to find any other words to say.

He gave her a smile and then gestured in the direction of the Hightown Market. "Would you like to get a pastry before heading back? I sort of feel in the mood for one."

Paden grinned. "That sounds lovely," she said. They began walking toward the market. Paden wished that she could take Anders' arm and walk with him as she had often seen couples walking together. And before she could stop herself from thinking those kinds of thoughts, her hand slipped through the crook of his elbow.

"So, what kind of pastry is your favorite?" she asked him, partially to distract him from what she just did. If he noticed where her hand was then he didn't indicate as much. They continued walking like that and he didn't pull away.

"I like pie," he answered.

"What kind of pie?"

"Any kind. All kinds. I just like pie. How about you?"

"Branson's Bakery just above the market has this delightful pastry…I don't even remember what it's called, but it's so good. It's all flaky crust and chocolate cream."

"Sounds yummy," Anders said. "I might have to forgo pie this time and try it."

"You won't regret it," Paden assured.

As they walked through the chantry courtyard, they were approached by a distraught young woman.

"Please! Can you help me?" she said. "My brother…"

Paden frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

The girl let out a small sigh of relief that someone was going to give her the time of day. "He's gone missing," the girl said. "I don't know what's happened to him, I need help."

Paden sighed and glanced at Anders. "So many people missing lately," she commented. He arched an eyebrow at her and she turned back to the girl. "Why ask us for help? We're nobody to you. Isn't this a job for the City Guard?"

The woman shook her head. "They can't do anything, as I have a feeling this is an internal affair."

Paden furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Keran used to write to me every day, without fail. But then the letters stopped coming. I wrote him many times with no response. Then I went to the Gallows to see him, but Knight-Commander Meredith threw me out, they won't tell me anything."

"Knight-Commander Meredith?" Paden said in surprise. "Is your brother a mage?"

The girl shook her head. "No, a Templar—well, a recruit. Keran was always so devout, so idealistic. He was so proud when the Templars accepted him."

Paden exchanged a glance with Anders. He shook his head slightly, warning her to mind her own business. She looked back at the girl, forcing the expression on her face to remain neutral, but she wasn't sure she was completely successful, since the girl reacted.

"I pleaded with him not to join the order," she said, her tone desperate. "But he wouldn't listen." She looked at Paden with fear in her eyes. "You hear dark rumors about the Templars and Knight-Commander Meredith. And now my brother is gone."

"Why would your brother be missing within the Order?" Paden asked. "What rumors have you heard?"

"People harboring escaped mages just…disappear," the woman said. "Templars threaten and interrogate passersby. My friend has a cousin who's a mage. And she says he was made tranquil against his will. You hear more with every passing day."

Paden looked at Anders to see his reaction. His jaw was clenched and he met her eyes and nodded, indicating that either he had heard those rumors as well, or that he knew they were true. Either way the news was unnerving.

Paden frowned slightly. "But what about Knight-Commander Meredith?" she asked. "Does she sanction these things?" Paden knew next to nothing about the Knight-Commander, only that she was the leader of the Templars in Kirkwall.

"Some say she is terribly fierce, and utterly without pity," the woman said. "That she sees demons everywhere." She lowered her voice and glanced around, as if afraid someone would hear her. "It is dangerous even to whisper such things," she said.

"So, what are you saying—I'm sorry…what's your name?"

"Macha," the girl said.

"Right, Macha. What does any of that have to do with your brother? He's not even a mage."

"No, he's not, and that's why I know something must be wrong. Mages disappear all the time, but he's a Templar, not a prisoner. Why wouldn't they tell me what's going on?"

Paden shrugged. "Maybe they don't know."

"But then why not just tell me that?" Macha said, growing frustrated. "It makes no sense! They won't tell me anything, and it's been weeks."

"But what makes you think I can help?" Paden asked.

"I need someone who can go to the Gallows for me and ask around," Macha said. "They won't even talk to me anymore."

Paden held up her hands and shook her head. "No, no, I'm sorry. I'm not going to stick my nose into Templar affairs. It's too dangerous." She turned to walk away, Anders following her.

"Wait!" Macha called. "Please!"

Paden stopped and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh. She hated it when people pleaded with her for help when she didn't want to give it. She had such a difficult time saying no when they did that.

She turned back to face the girl. "Look, Macha, it's not that I don't want to help your brother, it's just that I can't get close to Templars. Do you understand?"

Macha met Paden's gaze, and after a moment realization dawned and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, messere, any secret you have is safe with me."

Paden smiled slightly and exchanged a look with Anders. "I appreciate that," she said to Macha. "But it is not you I fear. Your brother, and any other Templar I talk to is a threat to me. The risks are just too great."

Macha's face fell in disappointment and moisture rimmed the corners of her eyes. "But what else can I do?" she nearly wailed. "No one will help me. No one else cares about Keran. Please, messere, I can't pay you, but I'll do anything else in return for your help. Please."

Paden rubbed her hands down her face and let out a resigned sigh. How could she say no to this poor girl? Would she herself not be as desperate if Carver were missing? Would she not brave Templars and every other danger to get him back? Was this Keren's life worth less than Carver's?

"I doubt the Knight-Commander will talk to me," she said, her insides tying themselves up in knots at the very idea of meeting the leader of the Templars face to face.

Macha shook her head. "No, you wouldn't need to. All you'd have to do is go to the Gallows and find the recruits Wilmod and Hugh. They were Keren's closest friends in the order. If anyone knows where he is it's them."

Paden glanced at Anders briefly, long enough to see the frown on his face, before looking back at Macha. "All right," she finally said. "I will try to find out what happened to your brother. But I can't promise anything."

Macha's eyes lit up with relief. "Oh, messere, thank you! Thank you so very much. Maker bless you and watch over you in this endeavor."

Macha bowed slightly to Paden and then walked away. Paden turned to face Anders.

"This is not a good idea," he said flatly.

Paden held up her hands to stem his comments and began walking toward the market again. "I know, I know. I know the risks, I know the dangers. I know all the reasons why I should just stay clear away."

Anders fell into step beside her. "And yet you meddle anyway," he said.

She looked sharply at him. "You think I'm meddling? She came to me."

"And you should have insisted you're not interested and walked away. What are you doing this for? She can't even pay you."

"Oh, now everything's about money?" Paden said with an unamused laugh. "This from the mage who runs a free clinic?"

Anders said nothing after that. He simply stared at the ground as they walked briskly down the street.

Paden glanced at him and then sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "Me and my tongue." She rubbed her brow as her steps slowed a little. "I just know…how I would feel if…if my brother was missing."

They reached the Hightown Market and Paden stopped in the shade of the large tree that grew from the center of the square. She scratched her head and paced restlessly.

"I know it's not the smartest thing to do, Anders. All I know is that I feel in my gut that it's the right thing to do." She sat down on a stone bench under the tree. "I Can do it. I can help that poor girl find out what happened to her brother. Shouldn't I do what feels right if I can?"

Anders stood looking down at her for a moment in silence, then he sat beside her, clasping his hands in his lap. "You know I'm all for helping people in need," he said, his voice soft. "And I commend you for your desire to help. I realize you know the dangers even better than most. So… if I can't stop you from involving yourself with the Templars, then I'll go with you, to keep you safe."

She looked over at him in surprise. "You will? Are you sure? You don't have to."

He nodded and smiled slightly. "There's no way I'm going to let you wander around the Gallows talking to Templars alone. Your brother would kill me."

Paden chuckled. "He might kill you for letting me go. You're probably better off sucker-punching me and carrying me home."

He gave her his lopsided smile. "Sorry. I don't think black eyes are very becoming."

They both watched the goings on in the market for a few moments in silence.

"So, we were going to go get a pastry," Paden reminded.

"We were," Anders agreed. "How about we give that a rain check, though. If this Keran is indeed in trouble, then every moment counts."

She gave him a grateful smile and then stood up. "Thank you, Anders. It means a lot that you would risk this with me."

He glanced at her, and paused before saying, "Well, some things are important to me, too."

What did he mean by that? Surly he wasn't referring to the Templars. Was he talking about her?Paden smiled slightly at the thought that she was important to him.