A/N: Sorry this chapter is late. Busy busy weekend. Anyway, here it is, hope you enjoy. Again, sorry it's such a rough chapter. I'm still without a beta, and the position is still open if any of you are interested.

—

Act One

Chapter Nineteen

Thin Ice

Paden had managed to avoid coming to the Gallows for any reason the entire first year her family lived in Kirkwall, and now she'd managed to find herself there three times in one week. She hoped this was not a new trend.

"So, we're looking for recruits called Wilmod and Hugh," she said as she and Anders entered the courtyard.

"Best person to ask would be another recruit," Anders suggested.

Paden saw a group of three recruits on the side of the courtyard, so she headed over to them. As they drew closer she overheard the woman call one of the men Hugh. She glanced at Anders. "Looks like luck is on our side today." Paden stopped beside them, effectively halting their conversation. "Excuse me, do you know a recruit named Keren?" she asked. "His sister is looking for him."

The female recruit folded her arms across her chest and looked at Paden. "We cannot speak to you, messere."

Hugh looked at his companion with a frown. "To the void with that, Ruvena" he said. "Keren and the others are missing."

"But our orders…" the other male recruit cautioned softly. He had a large mustache that made him look a lot older than he probably was.

"The knights aren't doing anything to find them," Hugh said, matching his friend's low tones. "Maybe it's time to ask for outside help."

Paden arched her eyebrows in surprise. "I wasn't even certain Keren was missing. Who else is gone?"

"The first ones disappeared weeks ago," Hugh said. "There's been at least half a dozen. Wilmod and Keren were the most recent."

"Why must you keep silent about Keren?" Paden asked.

"You obviously aren't a Templar, messere," Mustache remarked.

"They told us not to breathe a word about Keren and the others," Hugh said. "If a knight-lieutenant gives you an order, you obey, without question."

"They must have their reasons," Ruvena said.

Hugh looked at her. "And that will be a great comfort if you go missing next?"

"You can trust me," Paden said. "I'm only trying to keep Keren safe. His sister asked me to find out what happened to him. Do you know anything?"

"I hear that Knight-Commander Meredith has some new initiation you have to go through," Mustache said. "If you're not strong enough, or fervent enough in belief, you don't make it out alive."

"Figures," Anders muttered behind Paden's shoulder.

"And you honestly believe that?" Ruvena asked.

"Recruits keep going missing," Hugh said with a slight shrug.

"Wilmod came back," Ruvena announced.

"What?" Hugh exclaimed.

She nodded. "He did. I saw him this morning."

"So apparently they aren't missing for good," Paden said. "Can you tell me more about this initiation?"

"You hear about some…eh…questionable things the Order must do these days," Mustache said. "The Knight-Commander only wants Templars that can do…what must be done."

"Andraste alive," Hugh exclaimed. "She's killing recruits that might question her orders isn't she?"

"That's rubbish," Ruvena said. "She wouldn't do that." But her voice did not contain the conviction her words implied.

Paden felt a nervous fluter in her stomach. The more she heard about Knight-Commander Meredith, the more dread she felt knowing that woman was in command of the most powerful army Kirkwall had. It was a position of tremendous power, and, to Paden's mind, the wrong kind. These were probably all just rumors of course. But knowing that did little to quell her apprehension.

"So, if Wilmod came back, he might know more about the other missing recruits," Paden said, getting things back on topic.

"I bet he would," Hugh agreed.

"Wilmod told me he was going outside Kirkwall," Ruvena said. "Clear his head, he said."

Hugh looked at her in astonishment. "Why didn't you tell us this?"

"Knight-Captain Cullen ordered me not to," Ruvena said. "Right before he chased after Wilmod." She looked at Paden. "If you hurry, you may catch them on the road."

Paden nodded. "Thank you for your help," she said.

She and Anders left them alone, heading back to the Gallows main gate. "What do you think?" she asked him.

"Something suspicious is definitely going on," Anders said. "It's hard to tell what, though."

"Agreed. We need to go find Wilmod then. Seems he's one of the few who might hold the answers."

"The Knight-Captain will likely be with him," Anders cautioned.

"Do you know anything about him?" Paden asked.

"Quite a bit, actually. He was stationed at the Circle Tower in Ferelden when I was there. Cullen is a reasonable man, but he's still a Templar and second only to Meredith. I wouldn't deem it wise to make his acquaintance."

"Maybe we can spy on them then. Not let them see us, or at least not the Knight-Captain. We can talk to Wilmod alone as soon as we get the chance. We have to do something."

Anders sighed. "Very well. But maybe we shouldn't go alone."

"We'll be passing through Lowtown anyway. Carver and Varric were at the Hanged Man playing cards last I saw. We could stop by on the way through and get them to come with us."

"That's probably a good idea," Anders agreed.

—

They went back to Lowtown and found Carver and Varric just where Paden had left them. She told them the situation and their plans to follow Wilmod and Cullen. She purposefully left out the part about Cullen being the Knight-Captain. She didn't want Carver to make too much of a fuss.

He made some fuss, of course. Over the fact that she had involved herself in Templar affairs. But in the end he did as Anders had; agreed to go with her if only to keep her safe, since she was determined to do it with or without him.

The four of them hiked out of Kirkwall, following the main road that skirted the foot of Sundermount. After about twenty minutes of walking, Paden spotted the smoke from a campfire rising over a low hill in the near distance. She cautioned the others to stay quiet as they snuck closer to see who was there.

As they peeked around the side of the hill, they could see a basic campsite near the side of the road. Two men were in the camp, both wearing Templar uniforms. One was a young man with black hair and a frightened expression, backing away from a middle-aged man who must be Knight-Captain Cullen.

Cullen grabbed Wilmod by the arms and shook him. "Andraste be my witness, Wilmod," he all but shouted. "I will have the truth from you now!"

"Mercy, sir," Wilmod begged. "Mercy!"

Cullen's hands gripped the front of Wilmod's armor and he shook him slightly. "Would that it were that easy," he said.

Wilmod shook his head and begged, "Don't hit me."

Cullen punched the young recruit in the side where he had no armor protection. Wilmod doubled over and staggered back a couple steps before falling to the ground. Cullen drew his sword and pointed it at Wilmod's face.

"I will know where you're going, and I will know now!" he ordered.

Paden could stand still no longer. Cullen seemed out of control and she didn't want him to hurt Wilmod. She walked forward into the camp, deflecting Anders' hand as he tried to grab her arm to pull her back.

"I thought Templars only treated mages this badly," she commented. "Nice to see you're branching out."

"It's the blasted Knight-Captain," Carver warned in a harsh whisper as he came up beside her. "Don't."

Cullen looked at her, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "This is Templar business, stranger," he said.

Before anyone could say anything else, Wilmod began to laugh. It was a strange, creepy-sounding laugh that sent chills up Paden's spine. They all turned to see him getting up from the ground, laughing.

"You have struck me for the last time, you pathetic human!" he cried, his voice not his own. He backed away against a rock outcropping that bordered the campsite, and raised his arms out to both sides. "To me!" he called.

Upon those words, a bright light burst forth from his body, totally consuming him and obscuring him from view of the others as they threw up their hands to block the glare. Paden squinted through her fingers but could see nothing of Wilmod as his moans and cries raked up and down her spine. Something horrible was happening to him, but Paden had never seen anything like it. Well, that wasn't entirely true. When Anders had manifested Justice he had spoken in a different voice and light had come from his body, too. But Anders hadn't cried out in agony like Wilmod was doing. Whatever was happening with Wilmod, Paden had the feeling it wasn't voluntary.

Finally the light dimmed, and Paden took a couple steps back. Wilmod was no more. In his place was a Shade. The Shade gestured to both sides of itself and other shades came rising up out of the ground all around them.

Cullen pulled his shield off his back and took a defensive stance. "Maker preserve us," he breathed.

Paden looked at Anders. She knew there was only one thing to be done here now; these demons had to be killed, even the abomination that used to be Wilmod. But they were in the presence of the Templar Knight-Captain, and if they did any kind of magic, he would know what they were and their fate would be sealed. They had been in a similar situation before, but somehow this one seemed more dangerous.

In the time it took the two mages to exchange a glance, Carver drew his sword and Varric brandished his crossbow. Anders gave Paden a nod, and then took his staff into his hand. A moment later the demons were on them, and Paden was fighting for her life, using as little magic as possible. She didn't know if she should touch the demons in order to transfer spells secretly. She noticed that Anders seemed to be avoiding it, so she did, too. Instead she used her magic for defense only, conjuring an invisible spell shield around herself while she used her staff as a weapon.

The battle was hard, as the humans were outnumbered, and the shades were difficult to kill. Luckily Cullen was a Templar and had a few magical abilities that he used against the demons. Of course, the fact that he was a Templar is what was preventing Paden and Anders from using their much more potent magic in the first place. But shades and abominations could be killed by the sword, and so that's how they fell.

Each time a shade died it exploded into a black vaporous cloud that stung the skin if contacted. Paden's and Anders' spell shields protected them from the vapor; but Carver, Varric and Cullen each suffered the inconvenience.

Cullen and Carver both concentrated on taking down the Wilmod Abomination, while Varric picked off the lesser demons with Bianca. Anders and Paden used their staffs to deal physical damage wherever they could.

Wilmod finally went down, but there were a few other demons left. One came up behind Cullen and slammed into him so hard the Knight-Captain was thrown forward. His sword flew from his hand as he sprawled to the ground. The shade rushed him then, towering over him, it began to pummel the Templar with its fists and claws.

Paden glanced around quickly for someone with a more deadly weapon who could help him. But Carver was on the other side of the campsite hacking away at a different shade, and Varric was currently reloading Bianca. When Paden heard Cullen cry out in pain and desperation, she knew she had to do something quickly.

Without thinking of the possible consequences, she conjured a fireball in her hand, and built up the power in it until it was almost white in intensity. Then she threw it with all her strength at the shade that towered over Cullen.

The force of the blast knocked the creature off its feet. It fell to the ground on its back several yards from Cullen, and didn't rise immediately. Paden didn't give it a chance. She ran forward until she was standing close to Cullen, and sent three consecutive bolts of electricity into the shade. It exploded into a cloud of vapor.

Paden stood over Cullen, breathing heavily as she stared at the dissipating cloud. Only then did she realize what she had just done. She looked down at Cullen, a silly hope entering her head that maybe he hadn't noticed.

He was lying on the ground, eyes wide with shock as he stared up at her. He said nothing, and she said nothing, though her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it. Cullen pulled himself to his feet and picked up his sword. He gave her another long look, and then turned away from her to fight one of the few remaining demons.

Paden blinked, not sure what had just happened between them. She hoped she didn't live to regret saving the Knight-Captain's life. She looked over her shoulder and saw Anders on the other side of the campsite, watching her, his face expressionless. She quickly looked away and returned to the fight.

A few minutes later it was over. All the shades had vanished, except for the Wilmod abomination, whose body lay in a twisted, grotesque heap on the side of the road.

Cullen sheathed his sword, coughing lightly from loss of breath and irritation from the vapor. "I knew…I knew he was involved in something sinister," he said, his voice a bit rough. "But this…is it even possible?"

"Do you think he was possessed?" Paden asked. It seemed like that would have been obvious, but Wilmod was not a mage, and as far as Paden knew only people with magical abilities could become possessed by spirits.

Cullen crouched beside the corps. "Normally we only worry that mages will fall victim to possession," he said. "I have heard of blood mages, or demons in solid form who could summon others into unwilling hosts." He shook his head in disbelief. "I had not thought one of our own would be susceptible."

He stared at the corps a moment longer and then stood up and faced them. "I am Knight-Captain Cullen," he said. "I thank you for your assistance." Paden met his eyes when he said that, but he quickly looked away, apparently choosing to ignore the fact that she was a mage. At least for now.

"If you didn't know he was possessed, why did you draw your sword on him?" Paden asked.

"I meant to scare him into a confession," Cullen said. "He had to believe my threats were genuine. You see, I've been conducting an investigation of some of our recruits who have gone missing. Wilmod was the first to return." He sighed softly and looked down at the dead abomination. "He'd only been back a few days when he left again secretly. It set off some warning bells. I had hoped to confront him quietly, out of sight."

"So what the recruits believe isn't true then?" Paden asked. "That Meredith was conducting some sort of deadly ritual?"

"What?" Cullen sputtered an amused laugh. "That's preposterous. Recruits can be worse than a weaving circle with their rumors." He rubbed his forehead wearily. "There is a vigil before Templars take their arms, but the gravest danger they face is falling asleep."

"So do you know what happened to Wilmod while he was gone?" Paden asked.

"Obviously more than I had anticipated," Cullen said, looking around at the campsite. "Wilmod has never been fully…convinced of the Order's rules."

"What do you mean?" Paden asked.

Cullen looked at her. "He was sympathetic, a little too much so. Mages cannot be our friends, they must always be watched. I thought Wilmod might be meeting with some old friends who'd escaped the Circle."

Paden forced her expression to remain neutral. Cullen knew she was a mage, but he was talking to her like she wasn't. She should have just let it alone, but she couldn't help the comment that slipped out. "I know some mages. Are you saying they need to always be watched as well?"

"Sister, don't," Carver warned softly.

Cullen's eyes narrowed and he took half a step toward her. "I was at the Circle Tower in Ferelden during the Blight. I saw first hand how a Templar's trust and leniency can be rewarded."

"Trust and leniency," Anders said. "Is that what you call it?"

Cullen narrowed his eyes at Anders, as if trying to place a face that was just beyond the grasp of memory.

Paden had heard about that event in Ferelden. In which a Circle mage called Uldred had become a powerful abomination, and managed to turn more than half the mages against the Templars. If it wasn't for the Gray Warden who managed to defeat Uldred, every mage in the Tower would have been put to death by Right of Annulment. As it was, it had taken a long time for them to rebuild and move on from that tragedy.

Cullen shook his head sadly. "I still have nightmares of Uldred's depravities."

Paden didn't like the way the conversation was going. If Cullen had been at the Circle Tower when that happened, he most likely held extra strong views about the dangers of mages. He knew she was a mage, of that she was certain. That he pretended he didn't know unnerved her. Was he letting her go, or biding his time? Would her good deed come around to stab her in the back one day?

In any case, she quickly changed the subject back to the matter at hand. No use allowing him to dwell on thoughts of mages and how dangerous they could be.

"I was trying to find another recruit, a friend of Wilmod's. Do you know where Keran is?"

Cullen shook his head. "He also disappeared. They were last seen together at the Blooming Rose. But I had no luck interrogating the…uh…young ladies…there." He blushed and glanced away. "I doubt they know anything of magic or demons, though," he added.

Paden smiled slightly, amused by his bashfulness. "But still, you can learn a lot from pillow talk. They could tell you nothing?"

"No one at the brothel would speak with me, for fear I would shut them down for serving our recruits," Cullen explained.

"I could speak with them if you like," Paden said.

Cullen arched an eyebrow at her. "You would help me with this, why?"

Paden shrugged. "I told Keran's sister I would try to find out what happened to him. This looks like the best lead to follow."

"The Order would truly be in your debt if you helped us with this," Cullen said.

"Really?" Paden narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "How much in their debt, exactly?"

Cullen met her eyes for a moment, and some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them. "More than is permissible, I'm sure," he said.

Paden eyed him warily, not completely sure what that meant, but deciding it must be good for her situation.

"If you learn what manner of creature did this to Wilmod, please, come tell me in the Gallows. I will ensure you are rewarded." Cullen gave her a slight bow and then he turned and left the campsite.

Paden let out a tense sigh and turned to face her friends. "Well, that was… interesting," she said.

"I told you there'd be trouble with this," Carver said.

"We're not in trouble," Paden assured. "He doesn't seem to mind what I am."

"Are you sure? He could just be using you now, waiting to arrest you once you bring back this Keran person."

"Don't be ridiculous, Carver," Paden said, though that thought had crossed her mind as well. "I'm pretty good at reading people…most of the time…and Cullen seems like a kind man and sincere. I saved his life. I don't think he would trick us."

"He's still a Templar," Carver said.

"Your brother is right," Anders said. "I know Cullen. He may be a kind person, but make no mistake, he will still do his duty. Do not relax your guard around him."

"I'm not," Paden said defensively, feeling like they were ganging up on her. "I'm just saying, it seems like if he wanted to make an issue over the fact that I'm a mage then he would have done so."

"He wouldn't even know you're a mage if you hadn't cast that spell," Carver said, raising his voice slightly. "What were you thinking, showing your hand like that in front of a Templar?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Paden demanded. "Let him die?"

"Yes," Anders said. "By his very nature he is a threat to you, and you to him. If he thought for one moment that you were a danger to him or anyone else he would cut you down without remorse. Do not underestimate him."

Paden stared, wide eyed, first at Anders, then at Carver. "I can't believe you two," she said. "We're talking about a human being who deserves the benefit of the doubt."

"That's a noble sentiment," Anders said, softening his voice. "But it's also naïve. I've seen Cullen kill mages before. You would only be another notch in his belt."

Paden stared at him for a moment more, and then turned away, pacing in the awkward silence that followed. She didn't want to believe what Anders said was true, partly because she didn't want to be wrong, but mostly because she had hard time believing that Cullen would betray her after everything she had done to help him. Was she being naïve? Maybe she was.

"Well, in any event," Varric said cheerfully. "Off to the Blooming Rose?"

Paden stopped pacing and glanced at the dwarf, giving him a soft smile. "Carver and I were just there yesterday."

"I know," Varric said, mock pouting. "You went without me."

"Well, we might as well continue the investigation," Paden said. "At least now we'll be compensated for our efforts if we can find out what happened to Keran."

"Or arrested when we go to collect," Carver said. Paden ignored him, not wishing to continue the argument.

"Chances are Keran's an abomination as well," Anders said. "If that's the case, we may never find him."

"Well, we still have to try," Paden said wearily. And then she turned and headed back toward Kirkwall, walking ahead of the others. She needed her own space for a while.