Dearest Father,

I think for the first time since I've met Varric, he was nervous to be around me. I admit it startled me to see him actually sweat when I went to visit him this morning. My reassurances seemed to calm him a bit and he finally admitted that his brother may be back in town. I wasn't aware that Bartrand even owned a home in Hightown, but apparently that's where he was hiding out. Varric's anger clearly ran deep towards his brother. When I asked him how he was holding up, he said he couldn't be better, knowing that Bartrand was within arms reach.

I wasn't happy either with how the Deep Roads turned out. Had I returned a few days earlier I may have been able to convince Carver that joining the Templars was a bad idea. But I didn't have the same level of anger towards Bartrand because of it that Varric had...the poor man was livid, and so I was very careful in my choice of who I wanted to bring along with us to speak to the dwarf. As much as I have grown to love and care for Varric, I wasn't sure my word alone would calm him should a fight break out between the Tethras brothers. I asked Anders to come along for the extra healing in case Bianca really got twitchy, and I invited Sebastian. His first time assisting us I figured should be something rather simple, and his calming influence may help in the situation.

How wrong I was about all of it.

The house seemed abandoned when we got there, and my bright idea to search the house for clues nearly cost us all our lives. Two mages and two archers expecting to intervene on a small family matter turned into the four of us struggling to stay alive as we were relentlessly assaulted by crazed guards. There seemed to be no end to them, and I was kicking myself for not bringing Aveline or Fenris along with us. It took an extreme amount of teamwork to fight our way through room after room of these men who would not (or could not?) stop and listen to reason. Anders and I would pin them with a few ice spells and Sebastian and Varric would finish them off with a downpour of arrows. More than once Sebastian had begged Andraste and the Maker for forgiveness as each of the men fell; I guess he didn't know what he was getting himself into by volunteering to aid us.

The corpses that weren't of our making started to concern Varric and I. They littered the floor of the estate in several rooms. Their appearance did not show any normal death, and I admit I was apprehensive in going further. But upon reaching the second floor we ran into Hugin, a servant of Bartrands, and what he told us was overwhelming to say the least. Apparently that idol we found in the Deep Roads had caused Bartrand to begin hearing voices. After he sold the idol, the madness took hold. Gruesome accounts of forcing servants and guards to ingest raw lyrium; lethal to mages so I can't imagine what it would do to regular humans. On second thought I do know; we faced dozens of the result in those guards. Hugin confirmed that Bartrand was indeed in the estate, and so we prepared for anything as we entered the last room.

Anything did not cover the extent of Bartrand's madness. He attacked us, with a strength that was beyond what any normal dwarf was capable of. Trying not to hurt him and instead subdue him, Anders and I managed to restrain him with a few carefully placed glyphs and finally he stopped his assault. He began talking to someone none of us could see or hear, going on about a mistake that he had made. Varric had his confrontation, yelled at his brother for leaving us in the Deep Roads, asking him over and over again why he had done what he did. But Bartrand's mind was not comprehending the words his brother spoke.

I tried to see if I could sense anything physically wrong with him, but there wasn't. His mind didn't feel right to me, but I saw no way to correct it. Anders followed my lead and he too focused his energy on Bartrand. We both agreed that it didn't feel like any natural spell or illness. Anders said it felt more like the presence of a demon, though with Bartrand being a dwarf that was impossible. He sensed the poison in Bartrand's mind as well, and being the more experienced healer he was able to isolate the corruption for a few minutes so we could speak to him and be understood.

I have to agree with Varric, it may have been better had we left Bartrand crazy and not listened to his pleas for us to kill him. The strong, stubborn, pain in the neck dwarf we had met years ago was gone. What stood before us was a broken man, begging for the pain to end, his nightmare to be over. It broke my heart Father, and I had to turn away from the both of them. I regret not having the strength to stand by Varric's side in that moment, but all I could think about was Carver, and what it would've been like had I been put in that position to see my brother so fragile and lost.

I admit I shed a few tears as Varric spoke to his brother behind me, and it wasn't until I felt a hand on my back that I realized Sebastian had joined me. In that moment I was glad I asked him to join us; his silent support was enough for me to snap out of it and return to the brothers. I have little doubt Varric was considering ending Bartrand's misery, the pain in his eyes was clear to us all. But I know he would've regretted that decision in the end, so I convinced him to take a moment and really think about what he was going to do.

Sebastian surprised us all when he gave us the solution. He told us of a place where Bartrand could go and be cared for by people who were familiar with the effects of lyrium and the madness it can bring. I know he was trying to protect me when he didn't elaborate, but I already knew the place he was speaking of. Bartrand would go to Val Royeaux, to live among the retired templars whose minds had deteriorated due to long-term lyrium dependency. One day Carver will join him there, and that is the day I fear the most.

"Are you alright?" Anders asked Hawke as they walked to the Hanged Man for a much needed drink.

She nodded at first, not wishing to discuss the thoughts running through her mind. But when she turned to look at him, the concern in his eyes caused Hawke to let down her guard. "I miss Carver," she admitted silently.

"You still haven't been to see him have you?" Anders asked, though he knew the answer.

Hawke sighed, reluctantly admitting the truth. "No. I know I should it's just..."

Anders put his arm through hers. "When you're ready, you will," he told her without judgment. "I'll even go with you, if you want."

Her mouth opened in surprise. "You'd willingly go to the Gallows?" she asked.

"Of course I would," Anders replied, softer and with a touch more caring than Hawke would've liked. Though she had made it clear to him that theirs was a strictly platonic relationship, it seemed he still held a torch for her.

"You're a great friend Anders," she reiterated, nearly stressing the world 'friend' in the statement. "Thank you."

To the rear of them, Sebastian and Varric were having a very similar conversation about family. "It may be difficult to see now," Sebastian began, "but you must forgive your brother."

Varric scoffed at the taller man beside him. "While you were off playing prince, Bartrand trapped us in the Deep Roads and left us to die."

"When you hold on to anger, it colors everything you do," Sebastian countered, ignoring the slight insult. "You escaped the Deep Roads, did you not? From what I see, you built a life without your brother. Do you still want him haunting you?"

The dwarf considered several replies, none of them particularly nice or appropriate after what Sebastian had just done for his brother. Withholding what would have been a rude answer, instead Varric sighed. "You may be right Choirboy. I spent a long time being mad at my brother, but what good would it do? He's so far out there now he doesn't even recognize his actions."

"Tis true. And wise of you to notice," the prince offered. As they walked behind the mages, Sebastian couldn't help but notice Anders and Hawke walking with arms linked at the elbows, much like he had witnessed the night they were fighting street gangs three years ago. "Tell me something Varric. Anders and Hawke..."

"Aren't what you think," Varric informed him. "Though Blondie still holds out hope." He glanced up at Sebastian curiously. "Why?"

Sebastian shrugged. "No reason really, just trying to learn about Hawke and her companions so I don't fumble future endeavors."

Varric wasn't buying that excuse, but allowed Sebastian to live in his denial. For now.