Dearest Father,

It just wouldn't be a normal day in Kirkwall without an ambush or attack. Varric came to me requesting I meet with a contact of his, Edge, in the market district of Hightown. I should have known it was a trap when Varric presented me with very few details, but I foolishly went anyway.

Thankfully I had convinced Aveline and Sebastian to accompany us, because within seconds of entering the market district we were met by a handful of Antivan Crows. I thought at first this was revenge for the situation with Nuncio and Zevran, but we found a letter that the Crows were hired by Cavril's family. Aveline reminded me that Cavril was the name of the merchant we were asked to confront by Athenril in order to enter Kirkwall when we first arrived from Ferelden. All of these years they had been holding a grudge? Makes me wonder what other enemies from my past may be lurking in the shadows.

But that wasn't the most intriguing part of our confrontation. During the assault, an elven woman came out of nowhere and assisted us in the fight. Tallis was her name; a highly skilled rogue who moved with finesse and grace, yet deadly with her blades. I thanked her for her timely entrance, and that's when she informed us that she was hoping to run into me, and that she needed my help.

Thanks to Varric's wild tales of my heroics, Tallis believed I'd be interested in helping her retrieve a jewel that Duke Prosper had in his possession. I met the man during my celebration dinner the nobles arranged when I had become Champion, but honestly he was so repulsive I had hoped to forget him. I was well aware of the wyvern hunt he was hosting at Chateau Haine, but immediately ignored the invitation when it arrived.

I didn't want to go, but Varric convinced me that a trip to the Chateau would be good for Sebastian; no doubt several noble families would be there, and he could use the opportunity to gain support for reclaiming Starkhaven. I assure you, Father, that is the only reason I agreed to go; I had no interest in hunting or this stolen jewel Tallis was so concerned about. But if I want a future with Sebastian, I suppose I should start getting used to mingling with nobility from those outside Kirkwall.

Choosing who would accompany me was no easy task. I wasn't going to take Merrill on a hunt for wildlife, and Aveline had the guard to take care of. Fenris said he'd stand out too much and Anders wouldn't abandon the clinic. Varric said he couldn't leave Kirkwall because of guild business, but he assured me that Sebastian and I wouldn't be in this alone. I didn't know who to expect when we arrived at the Chateau, but I was overjoyed when I found out who was waiting for us.

"Carver!" Hawke released Sebastian's hand and ran toward her brother. He stood tall and proud in his templar uniform at the front gates of Chateau Haine, and he braced himself for the impact of his sister's embrace. "What are you doing here?" she asked, ignoring the pain from his armor as it dug into her chest.

"Happy to see you too, Sister," Carver replied, his voice muffled against her hair. He allowed her a few moments before gently removing her arms from around his neck. "Did no one tell you we're supposed to be stuck up nobles and this show of affection is inappropriate?"

Hawke laughed at his question. "I must have missed that message among the hundreds on my desk." She stood back and looked at her younger brother. "Maker, I've missed you."

"Ser Carver," Sebastian extended a hand to the templar. "Good to see you again."

Carver shook his hand. "Prince Vael. I see my sister has dragged you out here as well?"

"Prince?" Tallis spoke up, interrupting the reunion. "The whole way here and you didn't tell me I was in the company of royalty?"

"It's so easy to forget sometimes," Hawke said as she smiled at Sebastian. "Tallis, this is my brother Carver. Carver, meet Tallis."

Carver eyed the intriguing looking elf. "Nice to meet you. Let's talk over there for a little more privacy, the rest of the hunters are making their way toward the gate."

They moved away from the incoming groups of nobles with their mabaris and hunting gear toward a stone bench just off the main path to the Chateau. Hawke was still smiling ear to ear as she sat next to her brother on the bench. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Varric sent word to Cullen about your trip, and asked that I be allowed to accompany you," Carver explained. "The way Cullen explained it, he owed you a favor and this was the least he could do. He managed to convince the knight-commander that having templar presence at this hunt would show her extended reach within the Free Marches. There's an entire company of us here, but I'll be with you on the hunt."

Hawke was more than grateful for Varric and Cullen in this moment, having been given the luxury of spending an entire day with her brother. "Remind me to kiss that dwarf when we return to Kirkwall."

"I will do no such thing," Sebastian said with a grin.

"So this is still going on with you two?" Carver asked.

Hawke smiled as Sebastian took her hand. "It is," Sebastian replied.

"Well then, if my sister's happy, so am I," Carver said. "What's the deal with all this anyway? Why are we here?"

"We're assisting Tallis in retrieving something Duke Prosper has no right possessing," Hawke explained. "You're probably better off knowing as little as possible. We have to suffer through this hunt and gain access to the Chateau, get what we came for, and hope to be out of here before anyone notices."

Carver sighed. "Well that's just great, you have me stealing like we were back with Athenril?"

"No," Hawke said. "You are doing no such thing. Tallis and I will get into the Chateau, you and Sebastian will stay with the party. I don't want either of you involved in the actual theft. It wouldn't be good for the templar reputation or Sebastian's."

"Until something goes wrong," Carver muttered. "Have you not enough coin? Why continue the odd jobs?"

"Carver… please, let's not argue on the one day I get to spend with you," Hawke said. "You'll mingle, we'll get what she needs, and everything will be fine. Trust me."

"You allow her to still do this sort of thing?" Carver asked Sebastian.

Sebastian laughed. "It is not my place to grant her permission to do anything. She does as she wishes, and I assist when necessary."

"Hi, still here you two, thanks" Hawke said. "Let's just focus on one thing at a time. Anyone here ever hunt a wyvern before?"

"Between your brother and the prince here, you certainly have the armor for a hunt," Tallis commented.

"Where as you have… very little of it?" Carver noticed.

Hawke tried not to laugh at Carver's observation of Tallis' leather armor. "He's got a point Tallis, there isn't much protection going on there."

Tallis shrugged. "Less armor, move faster. Come on, the hunt is about to begin. The quicker we get that over with, the sooner we can get into the Chateau and reclaim the jewel."

The hunt was a success, more or less. I'll spare you the disgusting details as to how one actually lures a wyvern to their death. We managed to kill the wyvern, cure a mabari of wyvern poison, and save a scholar. There was a brief altercation with Baron Arlange; he felt he deserved to be crowned the winner of the hunt even though he did nothing to assist us in killing it. The host of this event, Duke Prosper, managed to calm Arlange before he attacked us.

After the hunt, we retreated to our rooms to clean up and prepare for the party. Sebastian took to the crowd immediately, introducing himself to the local nobility as well as those that were in from Ferelden. It was nice to see Bann Teagan again, as well as Leliana, and even a few fellow Kirkwallers were there. Carver stayed with the templars and I remained by Sebastian's side while Tallis worked the staff to gain access to the Chateau. Once she had a way in, I excused myself, feigning ill, and met up with Tallis outside the servant's entrance.

We managed to make our way to the vault by avoiding the guards, but once inside, we quickly discovered it was a trap. We were confronted by Duke Prosper, and he informed me that Tallis was an assassin as well as a Qunari. There was plenty of time to question her when Prosper threw us into the dungeon.

There was no jewel, she explained. The truth was she was there to intercept a rogue Qunari that was selling Qunari secrets to the duke, which included locations of innocent Qunari and their families. The last thing I wanted to do was get involved in more Qunari business; I suspect Tallis knew that and so she created this elaborate lie to get my help instead. I was less than thrilled with her putting me in that position, and hated the fact that I was now stuck with her in a cell. Thankfully Sebastian and Carver came to our rescue, and with Tallis' help we escaped the Chateau.

We fought our way through the underground tunnels, battling strange creatures that lived underground called ghasts. Just when we thought we could catch our breath, Prosper's bodyguard Cahir and his men confronted us, and so we had to battle them as well. And if that wasn't hard enough, once we made it outside, we were confronted by more ghasts, some Tal-Vashoth, and then Arlange! I didn't think things could get much worse for us until we ended up at some old ruin site where Prosper and the rogue Qunari were having their meeting, which Tallis interrupted, which led to a full on battle with Prosper, his pet wyvern Leopold, his guards, and more Tal-Vashoth. It was an exhausting fight to say the least, which ended in the death of Duke Prosper.

Carver had to return to the Chateau to reunite with his fellow templars, and Sebastian accompanied him in the hopes of distancing himself from any implication that he was involved in the duke's death. As it turns out, the party was still in full swing, and no one seemed to have any idea that all of this had happened. The last any of the nobles knew was that Prosper released his pet wyvern and took off, but no one knew why or where he had gone. I suppose the guards will piece it together later when they follow the trail of corpses, but with so many attending the festivities, it would be impossible to place the blame on anyone.

Tallis and I said our goodbyes outside Chateau Haine, and I met up with Carver and Sebastian a few hours later. We returned to Kirkwall together, thankful we made it out of there alive and without suspicion. It's sad that it had to end that way, but innocent Qunari families are safe, and Sebastian was able to form a few alliances for when he reclaims the Starkhaven throne for the Vaels.