"So," Varric questioned as she walked out of the clinic?
"He has agreed to help us if we help him," Hawke stated simply.
"What have you agreed to," Aveline queried?
"We are going to help him free a mage," Hawke smiled.
"Tari, why do you always do this? How do you expect to remain free when you draw so much attention to yourself," Carver began to argue?
"Junior, sometimes I think you really are dense," Varric chuckled.
"Anyway, lets discuss this in the privacy of Varric's room," Hawke hissed. Carver crossed his arms glaring at his sister, but followed anyway.
As soon as they walked into Varric's room Aveline started in on Hawke, "What exactly have you agreed to do"?
"He will give us maps of the deep roads in this area in exchange for helping extract his friend from the Gallows. His friend has agreed to meet him in the Chantry after dark tonight. All we have to do is escort them out," Hawke smirked as she explained.
"You think it is going to be that easy," Carver shook his head?
"Of course I don't," she laughed harshly, "nothing is ever that simple. It is the price of doing business with our Healer-Warden and I am willing to pay it".
"And if I am not," Carver crossed his arms?
"Then you don't go on the job. It is that simple," Hawke's voice was sharp and her eyes narrowed at her brother as she answered.
"I don't like it, but I will go with you if you need me," Fenris offered.
Carver crossed his arms and scowled at being dismissed so easily. "Do you think I would allow my sister to do something so dangerous without me," Carver interrupted glaring at Fenris?
Hawke rolled her eyes at him but otherwise ignored the outburst.
"Aveline, do you think you can make sure the patrol of guards is elsewhere while we get this done," Hawke asked?
"I think I can manage that," Aveline nodded.
"Isabela, you have been quiet," Hawke's eyes narrowed at her.
"I'm in," she nodded.
"Varric, Isabela, Fenris, and I will go then," Hawke nodded.
Carver protested, "I will go instead of Fenris"!
She looked at Fenris as he shrugged, "If you need me I'll go but you know how I feel about this kind of thing".
"Fine, Carver goes and Fenris stays. Are we all clear about what we are doing," Hawke questioned?
"We dash in and rescue the mage," Isabela quipped with a smirk on her face as she put her hand on her hip. Hawke nudged her with a smile.
"Be prepared for anything. The job sounds like a trap and I fully expect templars," she advised.
When they arrived Anders appeared from the shadows. He had been waiting for them. Hawke gave him a slight reassuring smile with a tip of her head in his direction. He briefly eyed her companions; the boy and the dwarf had been with her at the clinic.
"I brought back up just in case. I would not see either of us lose our freedom. I would rather die than be caged or made tranquil," Hawke whispered to him as she gently touched his arm in reassurance.
Justice flared for a brief moment at the contact. Hawke gave an uneasy smile holding eye contact looking past Anders and directly at Justice.
Justice growled in his head. "Stop it she is helping us," Anders admonished!
Hawke looked around at everyone, "Are we all clear on what we are to do here"? She got nods of acknowledgement from her crew.
Her intense green eyes settled back on Anders. "We are ready when you are," she said with a nod.
The atmosphere in the Chantry felt wrong as they entered. They found Karl easily enough. The hair on the back of her neck rose as he spoke, his lack of emotion damning. They made him tranquil, this had become a nightmare. Hawke could feel the rage coming to the surface in Anders; his magic began to swirl around him. Templars appeared and that tipped the scales.
"NO", Anders fell to his knees! When he stood he seemed to have cracks in his skin; blue spirit energy seeped from him.
The duel voice made its appearance again, "You will never take another mage as you took him"! His eyes lit up glowing with the same blue energy.
"This certainly tops anything I might have expected," she groused internally.
Magic pooled around him strong, potent, and raw. Spirit fire engulfed his body. Unrestrained indignation turned violent magic on the templars with spectacular results. Hawke wanted to gawk at the display, but dealing with the templars seemed to be the more immediate necessity. She instinctively moved putting herself between the templars and the two other mages allowing the others focus on aggressive actions while she worked on protection and support, it really wasn't her forte. Ducking a templar's sword Hawke threw a barrier over Anders and Karl. She danced around the templar deftly, getting behind him with seemingly inhuman speed. Her daggers were drawn she charged them with lightening before stabbing the templar through a gap in his armor. The charge from her daggers arced across the metal armor as the templar fell to his knees; Hawke slit his throat insuring his death. Another templar locked on to her nicking her upper arm as she dodged using a weak force spell to throw him back landing him on his ass.
"Carver, keep them off of us," Hawke yelled over the fighting!
"Hey, shit face," Carver roared over the clanging of armor getting the rather gullible templar's attention.
As the templar that Hawke knocked down came to his senses, Varric pinned him with a shot allowing Isabela easy access to a deadly backstab. Anders took out three templars with one spell as Hawke renewed the barrier around Karl and him. Hawke scanned quickly for more movement seeing nothing aside from her companions. Anders seemed to return to his normal self.
Her companions exchanged glances. She warned them to silence with a threatening glare. Her little group had the good sense to keep quiet as Karl and Anders spoke sharing an intimate moment. Karl begged for an end knowing that this reprieve from being tranquil wouldn't last. Anders looked at her and then back to Karl, the weight of their pain crushing her on the inside.
"Anders, you would want him to do the same for you," her eyes were glassy with unshed tears for this man that she didn't know.
Anders stabbed Karl in the chest before he slipped away. Karl smiled a small sad smile looking from Anders to Hawke and back again.
"Thank you, Anders," Karl whispered as he fell to his knees.
Anders caught him before he fell over. Silent tears streamed down Anders' face. Hawke unconsciously put her hand on Anders' shoulder.
Karl's eyes looked back at her softening as his life ebbed away, "So bright". "Intertwined, fate, its going away," he groaned, "stronger together," Karl drew a ragged breath focusing on Anders reaching up to touch his face.
Cradling Karl in his arms on the floor Anders watched his breathing slow, "Anders," Karl's voice so weak Anders barely heard, "trust…her".
Anders sobbed silently holding Karl's limp body.
Hawke steeled herself her voice barely a whisper in Anders' ear, "We need to go before more templars show up".
She squeezed his again shoulder causing him to look back at her. Justice stirred in him but didn't take over. He only showed Anders what she looked like through his eyes. She bled empathy in soothing blues and purples, it seeped out of her and wrapped around him completely enveloping them both. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded as he stood. He left without a word. Hawke's crew left quickly and dispersed having planned to meet back at The Hanged Man in the following afternoon to debrief. No one spoke on the way out even Carver managed to keep his mouth shut.
Carver looked at her as they walked into Gamlen's. Tari had been quiet the whole way home and it wasn't like her. He could see how red her eyes were from the tears that she had shed for a man that she didn't really know. It always baffled him that she could have the strength to do what needed to be done yet manage to carry on with her sensitivity. He felt conflicted. He felt for her, but she risked so much for others that it angered him. He wanted to protect her; she wouldn't have it though. He wanted to hide his sister away so no one could hurt her. He already lost Bethany and as much as Tari got on his nerves he couldn't bear to lose her too.
"Tari, are you going to be okay," Carver asked pulling her into a hug?
She nodded absently into his chest wincing at the cut on her shoulder.
"I need to talk to Anders tomorrow after our debriefing. I am sure he is shaken by this whole ordeal. I advised him to kill his friend," She trailed off into silence.
Carver flared in anger, "You can't be serious right now! He is an abomination! I won't allow it"!
"Carver, please, it isn't what you think," she soothed.
His eyes narrowed at her and a scowl remained on his red face as he growled at her, "Don't even try to tell me I misconstrued that"!
"Andraste's knickers, Carver, you don't know everything! You need to trust me on this," Tari pleaded.
"And you do," he snorted?
"Spirits are often single minded. You saw a spirit not a demon. Had it been a demon it would have consumed Anders and turned on us," She explained with a calming whisper.
Her brother huffed to himself looking at her with concern. She had studied such things in great detail; while he was apprehensive he knew better than to argue with her.
"I am exhausted and have no energy to quarrel with you about this. Talk to me in the morning when you are clam and I am rested," Tari sighed.
He nodded disappearing into his room. She sighed again ducking into her room. She quickly stripped her armor off and collapsed on the bed.
As slumber claimed Hawke she knew that she would need to seek answers in the fade. She shaped the fade in her dreams. She sought the serenity of her pool with the waterfall. Soft glowing green moss clung to the cliff face near the waterfall. Tall lush trees grew around the water's edge. The trees bloomed with white flowers as did the glowing moss. Violets and bluebells littered the ground under the trees leaving a wash of blue, purple, yellow, and green in their wake. Fireflies danced all around adding to the soft evening glow of the moss. The moon shown full reflected in the water painting the rocks in a silver glow. The surface of the water was dotted with pink and white water lilies.
Hawke smiled to herself as she dipped her toes into the pool. The spray from the waterfall made a cool damp mist around her, but the water temperature matched her body temperature as she continued letting it wrap around her naked form. She relaxed in the water listening to the soft lapping of the water on the shore and the constant swoosh of the waterfall. Wisps began to lilt about playfully skipping along the surface of the water randomly illuminating the space as they flitted about. She smiled watching as they played in the space she created. Hawke's spirit friends appeared as the tension left her.
She was no longer alone in her place of solace. Her fade companions appeared with her in the water. A spirit of empathy, a spirit of wisdom, and a spirit of protection now sat quiet and calm on the rocks in her pool letting the water swirl around them.
Empathy spoke first, "Feeling their pain touched you deeply".
Tari nodded and wrapped her arms around herself as if she needed a hug. Empathy moved behind her and rubbed her shoulders.
"Karl wanted to die free I respect that. Anders felt so conflicted. They had been close at some point in their lives," Tari spoke softly.
"Karl saw your light. He spoke of fate," Wisdom looked at her pointedly.
"His message was rather cryptic and I believe intended for Anders," Tari mused.
"Karl saw something deeper, but couldn't explain," Wisdom said simply.
"You protected them, Anders, his spirit, and Karl," Protection reminded her
"I tend to do that. That is why you sought me out when I was so young," she teased.
"Anders' spirit is curious about your nature; he studies you," Empathy revealed.
"The spirit scrutinizes me from behind Anders' eyes. They share Anders' flesh. I am unsure how that works," Tari's voice low with sadness.
"I have much to consider," Tari sighed before diving under the water for a swim.
"So our Healer-Warden is an abomination," Varric led the conversation.
"Not quite," Hawke told him.
Carver scoffed, "You barely know him Tari; there is no need to make excuses for him"!
Now she was annoyed she had already explained this to Carver last night. Hawke's lips became a straight line and her arms crossed over her chest. Varric watched Hawke's body language become rigid as it did when she got angry.
"I will explain to everyone here what I explained to Carver last night. What you saw was a spirit not a demon. Were it a demon it would have consumed Anders and turned on us," Hawke explained simply.
"Spirit or Demon, I don't see the difference. The mage is possessed," Fenris argued!
"Hawke has a point, I have never seen an abomination retain their humanity," Isabela said.
"Hmmm, it would seem things aren't as cut and dry as the Chantry has led us to believe," Varric thought out loud.
"I don't like it, Hawke," Aveline stated.
"I respect your opinions, but I still choose to deal with him," Hawke admitted.
"I will to go and talk to him. No matter how you look at it he lost Karl last night," Hawke pointed out.
Varric and Isabela nodded in agreement. Aveline looked at Carver and shrugged, knowing that Hawke can take care of herself. Fenris looked aghast.
"You can't be serious," Fenris blurted!
"Let me check," Hawke patted herself down then felt her face not quirking a smile as she did so, "Yes, quite serious, thank you," she answered with a stern tone.
"Fenris," She responded mocking his tone and posture!
Varric laughed at her impression of the elf. Fenris continued to scowl knowing that he would not win, but feeling the need to squabble anyway.
"Hawke, I'm serious, I am going with you," Fenris growled!
"Fenris has a point, Tari," Carver chimed in.
"Are you gentlemen concerned about Anders, the spirit, or my ability to take care of myself," Hawke asked flippantly?
They exchanged glances but remained silent.
"I thought so," Hawke responded with a lopsided smirk. "Is there any other business that we need to discuss now," Hawke prompted?
She was met with head shakes and shrugs.
"Okay, I'm going. Carver I might be home for dinner or not so don't worry if I am late," Hawke told him vaguely as she pulled the hood of her cloak up.
Carver huffed and crossed his arms as she left, "Stubborn mage".