"I can't believe you kidnapped me again."

"No, this time we rescued you."

"How do you figure that?"

"You really want to explain to Commander Cullen that we ran off on your watch twice?"

Kels hung his head. "I hate you all, so very much." He frowned. "And which one of you assholes put ribbons in my beard?" He narrowed his eyes when Agatha smiled.

"Okay. Talk." Salla gestured to Kels.

"Talk?" He started untying the decorations.

"You reported to Cassandra. Share."

Kels shook his head. "I don't think you get how this works. You. Kidnapped. Me."

"Rescued!" Caleb called from where he was stirring something over the fire.

"How much did you tell them?" Agatha asked. "Do they know where we are going? What we plan to do?"

"You don't even know what you plan to do." Kels glared at her. He spread his hands. "Why are you even doing this?"

"Father instructed me to handle this situation." Kieran tilted his head. "I do not believe he would consider the current status of the situation to be handled."

"A plan would be useful." Jerath rested his hands on the hilt of his sword. "Did Cassandra give you any information on our target?"

"No."

"He's lying." Agatha shook her head. "Badly. So, what did she say?"

"I have absolutely no interest in cooperating with your scheme." He folded his arms.

Salla mirrored his stance. "The way I see it, you have two options here. Tell us everything we want to know. Or..." She gestured at Caleb. "Antivan poetry."

#

Lenore sat down on the edge of Cassandra's desk. "What more have we learned?"

Cassandra folded her arms. "I was able to get an explanation from Gavren regarding the Dread Wolf. It was..."

"Disturbing." Cullen shook his head. "To say the least."

"And Kels was able to provide us with his observations."

"Where is Kels?" Sigrun raised an eyebrow.

"They appear to have taken him with them when they left." Cullen frowned. "I am not certain why."

"Isabela has gone to retrieve her ship, and the others are out with my Seekers searching the town in the unlikely event they are still here."

"You didn't learn anything else?" Sigrun asked.

"I learned..." Cassandra waved a hand. "I learned we should keep in mind exactly who we are dealing with here."

"And what is that?" Lenore turned to face her.

"Your children." Cassandra made a frustrated noise. "I attempted to interrogate all of them. It was less than successful. I tried first with Gavren, and he called my bluff, pointing out they know us very well. I tried again with Leandra, and she called my bluff by pointing out they have no reason to fear us." She shook her head. "I tried a third time with Loghain, and that little..." She glared. "Propositioned me."

From the door came Brehan's voice. "He did what?"

"Wow. That apple fell far from the tree." Lenore shook her head.

"Not really." Sigrun grinned. Her grin only widened when they turned to stare at her. "What? You think I made the trips to Orlais for the frilly cakes?"

"Just..." Cullen shook his head at her. "Stop talking." He turned to Brehan. "Did you find them?"

"Individuals matching the descriptions of Trian, Duncan, and Jerath purchased a dozen horses, and individuals matching the descriptions of Salla and Kieran made additional purchases of gear. And someone robbed an Inquisition safehouse of gold and lyrium vials."

"We'll start for Nessum in the morning." Lenore hopped off the desk. "Dorian is having a couple of his people meet us there." She frowned. "He added that he is very sorry and will make it up to us somehow."

"He said what?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"No. No, no, no." Brehan shook his head and turned to Cullen. "I quit."

#

Duncan accepted the bowl Caleb handed him, and glanced over at where Kels was laying on the ground with a blanket over his head. "He held out longer than I thought he would."

"Yeah. I was worried I was going to have to break out the limericks." Caleb took a seat, and stirred his stew. "With the griffins, they'll beat us to Nessum, assuming they don't spot us from the air on the way in. Keeping off the road is only going to help us so much."

"An elf mage. An escaped slave from Tevinter." Leandra leaned against a tree trunk. "Not a lot to go on."

"So, this mage one of Fen'Harel's pets?" Duncan raised an eyebrow at Gavren.

Gavren narrowed his eyes, but Kieran responded before he could. "The Dread Wolf is no ally of the Forbidden Ones. He was still Mythal's champion when she led the charge to banish them."

"What makes you so sure?" Duncan narrowed his eyes.

"I was there." Kieran met Duncan's eyes. "And Solas assisted the Inquisitor in killing Imshael in Emprise du Lion. Revenge is a virulent desire. Wrath is not made weaker by being righteous or wrong." He tilted his and half closed his eyes. "This world trembled at the footsteps of your parents. Will is written in blood. The Formless One does not fight. It corrupts, hiding in the shadows of subverted destiny. You were to be its weapons."

He felt a chill creep down its spine. "It took us to turn us against the world?"

"King Maric failed. King Alistair refused. The great dragons wake only for their own, and heed the blood of Calenhad." He nodded to Duncan. "And it is not just the dragon in your veins, firstborn. You were made before my father cleansed the taint from yours."

"That..." Agatha drew her knees up to her. "You are starting to creep me out just a little."

"He's creeping you out?" Duncan shook his head at her. His father had told him only a little of what had happened in Antiva, swearing to tell him the rest when he was old enough. He'd been killed before he could do so. Had... Had that been why the Formless One's cultists had him assassinated? He turned to where Leandra and Gavren sat. "And I take it Gavren was targeted for similar reasons?"

"Yes."

"It's not going to stop targeting us, is it?" Duncan turned back to Kieran.

"No."

"How much danger are we putting the rest of you in?" Gavren asked.

"Oh no. Get that thought right out of your head." Leandra immediately put her arm around his neck and pulled him towards her. "I will use you as a saddle the rest of the trip before I let you ride off on your own."

"Yeah, I think you're going to find the rest of us in agreement there." Agatha nodded.

The others echoed her. He didn't have to look over his shoulder at Jerath. If he pushed, Gavren wouldn't be the only one doing time as a saddle. He looked back at Kieran. "How did you know about my father and Yavana?"

"I read the graphic novel."

He blinked. "What?"

Kieran gave him an equally confused look. "What?"

#

Trian sat quietly by the fire, considering what he'd overheard. No one had mentioned the letter. Or they had merely assumed Kels had been the one to send it. He wondered if what Kieran had told them warranted another letter. Alistair clearly knew of the dragons, but would he know of their significance to the Formless One? Stone, they were traveling towards a land where blood magic was all but practiced openly.

"Well, you've got your serious face on." Loghain sat down next to him.

"The more information we uncover the more clear it is we have no idea what we are doing." Trian frowned. "I do not like going into a situation blind. And we are hunted by both enemy and ally."

"The additional challenge makes the game more fun."

He shook his head at the blond man. "Nothing about this is a game."

"Isn't it?" Loghain smiled. "And we the pawns of gods."

The campfire flickered, giving the illusion of movement to the dragon mark on the other man's face. The same mark worn by those who had followed The Warden into battle. He glanced at where Leandra sat, talking quietly to Gavren. A mark not worn by the daughter of two of those same followers. Saitada had asked. Even gone to Gwaren to ask Caronel and Valya in person. None would answer. "Why the tattoo?"

"If you were meant to know, you would." Loghain shrugged. "Makes me look dashing though, don't you think?"

"You've fought demons before?"

"I'm a member of the Order of Vigilance. It's kind of our job."

"Darkspawn aren't a problem?"

"If you go looking for them. They've been driven back a long way. Not sure what it's like in other nations. I'm not all that privy to Warden intelligence."

It was almost too hard to believe. Even with the lessened threat of the past few years. "Get rid of the spawn just in time for the qunari to invade?"

"We do like to keep things interesting in Ferelden."

#

Leandra leaned into Gavren, and he draped an arm over her, pulling her still closer. "My father will have his riders out."

"At best, he'll be able to bring a dozen griffins. The forests here are thick enough even close to the road, and it's a lot of ground to sweep."

"And how has our luck been running so far?"

"Pretty much the usual." He kissed the top of her head. "So, in addition to being the Dread Wolf's apprentice..."

"Don't." She sat up to look him in the eye. "I'm not going to let you act like any of this is your fault." She caught his robes and pulled him to her, kissing him soundly. "I owe that stupid wolf a punch in the snout, and this demon thing needs to get something through its head." She kissed him again. "You are mine, Gavren Dorian Rutherford."

He kissed her back. "I can live with that."

#

Salla sat cross-legged in front of Kieran, watching the Fade flicker around him. It looked similar to how Feynriel shifted the Fade during her lessons with him, only she and Kieran were both awake. She concentrated, and began duplicating the weave of energy. It felt raw, unfinished, as if it was waiting for something more. "Nothing is happening."

"Nothing will. Until you will it. You cannot will what you have yet to understand."

"Right. I can't shift into an animal unless I know more about it." She chewed her lower lip. "What animal did you start with?"

"A raven. Experiencing the world from the sky changes its shape, revealing treasures and truths the eyes of a human can never fully comprehend. The form is not enough. As a human, your movement is driven by hips and feet. A bird contradicts, moving with shoulder and hand. To be a bird, you must first learn to fly, until the seeming becomes the same."

She frowned, and nodded. "Could you take other forms? I mean, other human forms?"

"Do you find this one displeasing?" He tilted his head at her.

"No. I meant..." She ran a hand through her hair. Nothing about his current form was anything close to displeasing. Distracting, maybe a little, but not displeasing. "It would be nice to make myself beautiful."

"You are beautiful."

She rolled her eyes. "Now you are poking fun."

"I am not." He shook his head. "I assure you, I am an expert on this subject matter."

"What's that..." She blinked. "Oh. Right."

#

Caleb held the shield in front of him. "Like this?"

"Angle it down." Jerath made a small adjustment, shifting the angle slightly and raising his arm. "Spell hits, nothing will splatter you in the face."

"Oh. You've fought a lot of mages?"

"King Alistair was a templar once. He often oversaw my training." He'd spared with the king almost as often as he had with his own father. And it had been the queen who'd taught him to use a bow, encouraging him and Duncan equally as they sought their targets. "Draw."

The blade made it out of the sheath cleanly, but the other man held it with knuckles that were nearly white. "Loosen your grip."

"But then it might get knocked out of my hand."

"Keep holding it like that your hand will be numb inside a minute, and any blow is going to send reverberations up your arm." He drew his own sword, showing Caleb the grip.

"Aveline always said if someone takes your blade away, people will die."

"She's right. Snug. Not tight." While he doubted he could turn Caleb into a soldier, he could at least get him to the point that bandits wouldn't point and laugh. Jerath walked him through a drill, and then stood back to observe. Agatha came to stand next to him. She shook her head and smiled. "You manage to teach him to fight, Aveline will give you the keys to the city."

Jerath shook his head. "Only the Viscount can award those."

She gave him a strange look. "So, we know each other in the future?"

"Yes. Officially you are the diplomatic attache from Kal'Hirol."

"The diplomatic attache from the dwarven kingdom of Kal'Hirol to the human kingdom of Ferelden is an elf?" She smirked. "Does anyone actually believe that?"

"I could not say." Her position of spymaster had never really been much of a secret, especially considering her mother was good friends with several other notable spymasters including the Divine herself. "I doubt it."

"I guess I'm just kind of surprised. I mean, trusting elven spies with everything else going on."

"My mother is an elf." She'd been governess for all the Therin children, and though the attack on the palace had left her a widow Nesiara had refused to abandon them.

"You have a sister too, right? What's she up to in the future?"

"She joined the Chantry. She's a mother now. Somewhere in the West Hills, I think."

"So, Trian's apparently married, and Duncan's getting that way. What about you? You've a lady?"

"No."

"Seriously?" She raised an eyebrow. "Nobody."

"There was someone." Anya's face flashed in his mind, just for a moment.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Was she killed when..."

"She married someone else."

"Oh. I..." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry."

He smiled. "That's never stopped you before."

#

Agatha watched Jerath walk over to talk to Duncan. His smile had been brief, but it had been... Wow. Her heart was actually hammering. Which, considering he was only supposed to be thirteen years old instead of near thirty, was really not a good thing. As if everything wasn't complicated enough.

Well, if she was supposed to be a spymaster, she'd best get started. She headed over to go through the papers Caleb had swiped from the Seeker.

#

"Wait a minute." Caleb narrowed his eyes. "You're married?"

"Everyone always seems so surprised by that." Loghain shrugged.

"You slept with his fiance's brother." Caleb gestured at Duncan.

"Well, yes." Loghain smiled. "Tenth in line for the throne. I thought about working my way through the line, but number nine was clearly off limits and number thirteen was..." He shuddered, and then frowned contemplatively. "Where is Cassandra in the line again?"

"One black eye wasn't enough?" Caleb laughed. "Isn't she a little old for you, anyway?"

"Have you ever seen Cassandra go into battle?" Loghain let out a low whistle. "Some things are just timeless."

Caleb laughed. "So, what does your wife think of your..." He shrugged and went with "extracurricular activities?"

"Well -"

"Loghain!" Duncan's voice rang out.

Loghain winced. "Your majesty?"

"What have I told you?"

"Mentioning your sister and sexual relations in the same conversation will result in me being bodily flung from the nearest sufficiently elevated surface?"

"Change. The. Subject."

"Yes, your majesty." He glanced back at Caleb and shrugged. "So, attended any good jousts lately?"

#

Leliana waited for the sending crystal to glow. "We have trouble."

"When don't we?" Lenore's voice came back over.

"Rumors have begun to spread." She paced back and forth. "It's no longer just us looking for the children."

"Not an unexpected outcome. And I doubt we'll be lucky enough have them run into Cassandra again."

She tried not to smile. "How did Caleb manage to get away from the Seekers?"

"They let him talk. Give Varric a good kick for me next time you see him. He's been a terrible influence." The amusement left Lenore's voice. "Crows?"

"Among others. Our spies in Rivain think word may have reached the Ben-Hassrath."

"Well. Shit. A cult led by an insane mage, assassins, qunari sticking their noses in..."

"Lenore, if you say this is just like old times I will declare an Exalted March on you personally."

"It's not like old times until we end up in the Deep Roads." There was silence for a moment. "We are going to end up in the Deep Roads now, aren't we?"

#

"On the Waking Sea I ply my trade.

Wink, good ser, and tell a saucy tale!

The yarns I spin do please the maids.

So buy the lads a round!

Oh, the Storm Coast may yet claim these bones,

But I'll sail until they do.

So tell the girls I'm coming home,

With coin enough for two."

Caleb sang the Ferelden shanty as they rode through the trees. Gavren joined in on the chorus, his own voice pleasantly deep. They let the melody die away. After a while, he shrugged and turned towards Gavren. "So a human, an elf, and a dwarf walk into a bar..."

Loghain's voice came from behind him. "The human says 'you're lucky you're so short. That hurt like mad."

"Stop helping." Caleb shot him a glare. "So some Fereldans are in a bar when a chevalier walks in. 'Hey stranger,' one of the Fereldans says. 'Where are you from?' The chevalier sticks his nose in the air and says, 'I come from a place where we do not end our sentences in prepositions'. The Fereldan nods. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are you from, asshole?'"

Gavren and Leandra laughed. Leandra shrugged. "A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'hey'. The horse says, 'you read my mind, buddy.'"

"Oh, I hadn't heard that one." Caleb grinned as several of the others laughed.

Duncan shrugged. "A man walks into a bar and says, 'all Tevinters are bastards.' Another man turns and says, 'I object.' The first man sneers at him and says, 'why, are you Tevinter?' And the second man says, 'no, I'm a bastard.'"

"An Orlesian dowager walks into a bar with a duck under her arm." Trian shifted slightly in his saddle. "A Ferelden walks up to her and says, 'where'd you get the pig?' She sniffs haughtily and sneers, 'this is a duck.' He nods to her and says, 'I know, I was talking to the duck.'"

Caleb snickered. "Alright, who is next?"

"The past, present, and future walk into a bar." They turned to look at Kieran. He tilted his head to one side, and nodded. "It was tense."

He nearly fell off his horse. "That was terrible."

"You do realize that if they are looking for us, they merely need to have ears?" Jerath shook his head at them.

"Hey Kieran?" Caleb called back over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"After you kill the demon that meddled with time, can you go get the one that ate Jerath's sense of humor?"

"I will certainly try."