"So this Baradies is a mage?" Leandra sat in the chair Gavren pulled out for her, and patted his knee when he sat down next to her.

"According to our magister friend." Agatha shrugged. "Who I'll point out also claimed Brehan Mahariel was a dwarf despite having just spoken to him that morning. I'm just hoping we are in the right town at this point."

Salla chuckled. "Alright, I think we split up into teams and start searching around. Gavren, you and Leandra take Kels and head north into the residential district. Loghain, Agatha, check out the docks and maybe check around the alienage, then meet up with them. Duncan, you and Jerath take Caleb and head into the upper market district. Trian, Kieran, and I will see what we can locate in the lower market and then meet you at the noble quarter. We'll all meet back here at nightfall."

#

"Lord Brehan?"

He turned. "Magister Arenda."

"I've received word back from my contacts." She shook her head. "Word about what happened in Kirkwall has reached various ears. Details are a bit mangled, but the information that several people were pulled from a point in the future has spread."

"Frankly I'm surprised it took this long. And the events in Nessum?"

"A living temple? That news hit Minrathous five minutes before it happened." She shook her head. "Most of the attention seems to be focused on Val Royeaux, but..." She sighed. "Griffins don't go unnoticed. People know we are here. It's only a matter of time before..."

"Before those kids do something else stupid to draw attention to themselves."

"I was trying to phrase it more politely than that, but yes." She folded her arms. "Which does bring to mind another concern."

Brehan raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"They aren't particularly cooperative, and they..." She frowned. "Apprehending them safely might present some problems."

"If the choice is between harming them and letting them get away..." He sighed. "No, I see your point. We may need to bring them in for their protection, considering just how big the threat might get. Time to bring in some alchemists."

"I'll ensure the mages with us are versed in paralysis and slumber spells."

#

"If we send a bird now, it will be in Kirkwall in two days. And there is an Inquisition safehouse."

"Give it a rest, Kels."

"We should at least send them the information we've found. Gavren..." Kels shook his head. "You know Brehan, and Iron Bull, and Sera. They could uncover the truth in minutes."

Gavren sighed. "We'd be putting them in danger."

"Maker's breath." Kels stared. "You can't be serious. Gavren, it's the Inquisition. It's..."

"My parents. They've had enough demons messing with their heads. This one is my problem." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Like you said, there is an Inquisition safehouse. You want to walk away, Leandra and I won't follow. We shouldn't have dragged you into this in the first place."

Kels stared at him. "How dare you." He clenched his fists. "You think there is anything in this world that could make me go to Commander Cullen and tell him his son is in danger and I walked away?"

"Flames, Gavren." Leandra laughed. "You do recall you're talking to the man whose sole concern about facing down assassins was that they got blood all over the report your father was expecting?"

#

Brehan nodded to the bartender, and passed him a small pouch of coins. "Send a messenger immediately if you see any of them."

"Will do."

He turned and started for the door just as it opened to reveal a young blond man with a dragon tattooed on one side of his face, accompanied by a lovely elven woman. Blue eyes stared back at him in surprise before the door abruptly slammed shut again. Brehan shook his head and laughed.

#

"Was that Brehan?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"There is no possible way, in a world the size of Thedas, that we open a door to a random tavern and find the Inquisition's spymaster on the other side. The world simply does not work in such a manner."

"That was Brehan, wasn't it?" Agatha raised an eyebrow.

Loghain nodded. "Run."

#

Duncan shaded his eyes with one hand. "Griffins."

"Well, shit." Caleb sighed. "Maybe it's a coincidence?"

"Or maybe Kels managed to get a message out?" Duncan sighed.

"Looks like Salla might have been successful." Jerath gestured at where others were heading towards them.

He headed down to meet them. "You found something?"

"An herbalist knew the name. I've got an address." Salla nodded. "He's in the noble district."

"Let's collect the others." Jerath started walking.

"No time." Duncan shook his head. He gestured to the north. "Griffins. Our folks are here. Let's go see what this Baradies knows and get moving before they catch up to us."

"I'd prefer additional backup."

"We'll be fine." Duncan shrugged, and nodded to Salla. "After you."

#

Agatha stumbled to a halt, and glanced back at her companion. "I think we lost him."

There was a faint scraping sound, and then the Dalish spymaster landed right in front of them. Agatha took a step backwards in surprise. "How'd you...?"

Brehan shook his head at her. "You do realize I've been doing this since before you were born?"

"Would it help if I pointed out we have you outnumbered?" Agatha raised an eyebrow hopefully.

"No."

"Well..." Agatha sighed. "Shit. Okay, new plan. Loghain, tackle him so I can warn the others. We'll rescue you later."

"I'm not..." Loghain frowned and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Particularly comfortable with that idea." When she gave him a disbelieving look, he shrugged defensively. "What? He fights dirty."

"Loghain!"

"Ugh. Fine."

Brehan sighed.

#

"This is where we were supposed to meet the Agatha and Loghain, yes?" Gavren glanced back at his companions.

"I told you I spotted griffins." Leandra sighed. "How did they know we are here?"

"You remember earlier, when I made a point about spymasters?" Kels smiled.

"Wipe the smug off your face, it's starting to drip." Leandra glared at him.

Gavren sighed. "We've got the address for Baradies." He shook his head. "And if the Inquisition is here they are probably waiting. Let's see if we can intercept the others."

#

"In hindsight... ACHOO... splitting up and running in opposite directions would have been a much better idea."

"That is the benefit of experience."

"We'll know next time."

"Next time I'll use rashvine."

"Now that's just... ACHOO... mean."

Lenore walked into the common room when she heard Brehan talking to someone, and sighed. An unfamiliar young blond man with a tattooed face had her unconscious daughter slung over his shoulder. "What happened?"

He sneezed. "I failed to learn my lesson about walking through town with Amells the first time." The blond man shook his head, and glanced at Brehan. "Where should I put her?"

"In a barrel." Brehan pointed at a nearby bench. He looked up at Lenore. "Deep mushroom. She'll wake up in another half hour or so."

The young man limped to the bench and laid Agatha on it. He straightened back up and winced. Lenore frowned at him. "Are you injured?"

"Mostly his pride." Brehan answered before the young man could. "Lenore Amell, Loghain Mac Tir, though I do believe you've technically already met."

"You kids are causing quite a bit of trouble." Lenore folded her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"You cannot convince me that comes as a surprise to you." Loghain shrugged, and then sneezed. He started to say something else, and then sneezed again. "Flames, that stuff is -" He sneezed again.

Brehan sighed. "Come on, I'll take you to wash up."

#

Salla knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she frowned and turned to her companions. "Let's get the others, try again this evening."

"Better idea." Duncan moved past her. "Make sure no guards are looking our way." He pulled a lockpick out of his pocket.

"That might not be a good idea." Jerath shook his head.

"We can get in, look around, get the information we need, and be gone again without him even knowing we were here." Duncan glanced back at Salla. "No trail."

She nodded. "Be quick about it."

Caleb snickered. "Ferelden politics are awesome."

"Please don't get us into a war with Nevarra." Trian sighed, and went to keep a lookout.

#

Lenore's fingers glowed white as she performed a small healing spell for Loghain. "Where are the others?"

"I forget." He shrugged.

"We've got agents all over the city." Cullen folded his arms. "We will find them."

"After this morning, I'm inclined to agree." Loghain rubbed the back of his neck. "Five gold on Brehan."

"So noted." Lenore folded her arms. "Since you agree, why not just tell us?"

"Cassandra punched me. It hurt my feelings." He leaned back in the chair.

Cullen frowned, and turned to Cassandra. "You punched him?"

"He so very much asked for it." She narrowed her eyes.

"All I did was admire your breasts." He shrugged, and smiled up at Lenore. "Yours are also quite lovely."

Rainier's laughter was cut off by Cassandra elbowing him in the stomach. Sigrun made a choking sound as she fought against laughter of her own. Lenore raised an eyebrow at him. "Why thank you. You're here looking for Baradies?" She folded her arms. "We've got two agents inside his home and four more watching." Her voice became serious. "Loghain, what happened in Nessum?"

"If you're asking, then you know." He grinned up at her. "You're a mage. You probably know more than I do."

"And you are a knight of Ferelden." Alistair's voice came from the doorway. His voice hardened. "You do recall who I am, yes?"

"Yes, your majesty." Loghain looked down at his feet. She couldn't blame him. Even as long as she'd known Alistair, it was still a little bit frightening when her friend vanished and the king took his place.

Alistair stepped into the room. His face was stone as he stared down at the young man. "And you do recall your oaths, yes?"

"Yes, your majesty." Loghain's voice was little more than a whisper.

"You will tell me where the rest are staying, and you will answer Lenore's questions and do as she tells you. That is an order."

Loghain swallowed. Lenore actually felt herself starting to feel sympathy. He nodded, and winced as he spoke. "Winter Rose Inn, near the south gate."

Alistair nodded before striding back out of the room. Cassandra, Cullen, and Rainier followed.

#

The heavily curtained windows let in barely enough light to navigate the hallways. Jerath looked around the corner before continuing, and frowned. There was dusty on tables, but he could see light coming from various rooms ahead. And if the Inquisition knew enough to come to Hasmal, surely they had to know why. "Something's off." He readied his shield.

"You sure you aren't just paranoid?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"He's a professional bodyguard. Of course he's paranoid." Trian readied his own shield. "Doesn't make him wrong."

"The Veil is thin here." Kieran tilted his head. "It rumbles beneath the echoes."

"I'm going to interpret that as 'we should get out of here'." Jerath started to wave them back. Inquisition soldiers should be watching the place, at the very least. So where were they?

"I'm going to interpret that as we are on the right trail." Duncan shook his head.

"We should get the others." Salla frowned. "If it does come to a fight I'd like Jerath to have some blades backing him up." She blinked. "No offense, Trian."

The dwarf just shook his head and smiled. "None taken."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "We're tracking down a bookworm. Come on." He started walking forward.

Jerath sighed, and followed, lengthening his stride for a few paces until he was again in front of Duncan. He saw a shadow move in the room ahead, and held up a fist to halt the others. Both Kieran and Salla readied their staffs, and Duncan nocked an arrow. He nodded and stepped into the room.

A tall, thin man was standing near a desk, frowning down at a piece of paper in his hand. He looked up with Jerath entered. "Ah." He blinked, and his eyes went to Jerath's shield before going back to his face. "Hmmm..." He frowned. "I'm sorry, who are you?" His eyes suddenly widened as the others entered behind him. "Oh! Of course, you're the ones Magister Adralicus mentioned, aren't you? The ones that wanted my expertise." He smiled widely and held out the paper he was holding. "Your timing is perfect."

His hand went to the hilt of his sword as he started to walk towards the man. Suddenly the air in front of him shimmered as a barrier sprang into place. Kieran's voice was sharp when he spoke. "Jerath back away."

He drew his sword as stepped back, positioning himself between the tall man and the others. "Kieran?"

The man's smile changed to one of satisfaction when he shifted his gaze to where Kieran stood. "Well, well. And here you are." He showed just a hint of teeth. "Finally."

#

"I don't see anyone." Leandra frowned. "Maybe the Inquisition already caught the others and took them in?"

Gavren shook his head. "They'd still have people here watching in case the rest of us showed up."

"Gavren."

He turned at the urgency in Kels' voice. Kels was behind a pile of crates. He walked over to see... "Maker's breath, is that...?"

"Scout Pelan." Kels shook his head. "Single thrust, up through the back and into the heart." He looked up from where he was kneeling by the body of the man in Inquisition colors. "He never saw it coming, wouldn't have been able to shout a warning."

"Fuck." Gavren unlimbered his staff as Leandra drew her sword. "It's a trap."