"Iain." Melavan smiled at the sight of the scholar.

Lord Hendry immediately stood and walked towards him. "You crazy..." He shook his head. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed! I..."

Melavan put his hand on Lord Hendry's shoulder. "Peace, lethallin." He nodded to Delaon and Ionai, and took a deep breath. "Noamin has fallen."

Delaon closed his eyes, and Ionai hung her head. Lord Hendry made a pained noise. "Oh Mel. I am so sorry."

#

Salla saw the glow fade from Kieran, and he gave her a confused look. She smiled. "Back with us?"

He tilted his head slightly, half closing his eyes. "I did not anticipate that particular vulnerability."

"I'm not sure it's a vulnerability. Your alter ego is a bit..." She shrugged. "Well, he's not quite as nice a person as you are." She furrowed her brow. "Though he did help us. I admit to being just a little surprised by that."

"We are not wholly separate individuals. If he was unwilling to take on this quest, I would not be either. We walk the same paths." He touched her hand. "I hope he did not disturb you."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "He didn't. But I am glad to have you back."

Kieran smiled, and returned the kiss.

#

Ruya stared at the crystal in her hand, trying to process what her husband was telling her. "And he is certain it was Abelas?"

"He claims the sentinel with him at the time, Tisallan, called Abelas by name." Cullen's voice held sympathy. "Their target appeared to be Kieran."

"What about this staff?"

"Assuming we can trust the information provided by Melavan, it is an item powerful enough that an Old God not only personally hid it away, he erased his own memory of it completely. Melavan claimed that even now, Kieran cannot retain the memory of anything regarding the staff."

"It's possible Solas's interest has nothing to do with the staff. Kieran is vulnerable, and the son of the two biggest threats to Solas's plans." Ruya started to pace the room. "And the sentinels with the children?"

"One of their number, Noamin, died protecting the kids. Two remain with them, Tisallan and Alai. At least according to the most recent sighting of the kids." Cullen's voice came back over the crystal.

"What do we know of them?" She'd seen the sentinels fight. In the Arbor Wilds, they'd been a more dangerous threat to her forces than the Red Templars. Had there been more of them…

"Alai's mother was the sister of Melavan and Delaon. If I'm interpreting what they said correctly, she was in that library place you found through the eluvians when Fen'Harel created the Veil. That combined with what he did in regards to Mythal seems to have soured them on him fairly well. Though they have clearly stated that they have no interest in going to war against the sentinels that did follow Fen'Harel and are reluctant to even give us information on them." Cullen sighed. "I sympathize. Even with what I knew the other templars were doing, it was hard to raise a blade against them."

"I know. Assure them we won't ask them too."

"Like the others, Alai is an arcane warrior. She's apparently much heavier on the warrior than the arcane. Ionai mentioned that Alai has a 'fondness' for young Loghain, and when Lenore pressed..." She could almost hear Cullen blushing. "Well Lenore is continuing to express her doubts that young Loghain and Old Loghain are related in any fashion."

"Oh Maker." Ruya shook her head. "I think I'll leave that part out of what I tell Anora."

"Melavan reminded me that Alai is a sentinel, and they held their duty as protectors for thousands of years. He seems certain she will stay with the children to defend them until relieved of that duty."

"And the other one?"

"Tisallan." Cullen was silent a moment. "The one the cult killed earlier, Enara, was his daughter. Noamin was Enara's apprentice and surrogate son. Tisallan already killed two other sentinels defending Kieran, one of whom was a former student, and Brehan said Tisallan is the one that took him prisoner when he tried to bring Salla and Kieran in. Melavan..." Cullen swallowed. "He said the only reason Tisallan came with them was Enara and Noamin, and admitted he is not sure which direction Tisallan would otherwise have gone."

"But he was willing to fight Abelas?"

"Brehan made a comment about bringing Salla back to us in a sack. Tisallan's response was to nearly dislocate Brehan's shoulder, and he informed Brehan that if he made any moves Tisallan could possibly interpret as a threat to Salla, Tisallan would snap his spine."

"Threat to Salla?"

"Yes."

"Not to Kieran?"

"Tisallan didn't seem to be of the opinion Brehan could present a threat to Kieran."

"That..." Ruya shook her head. As formidable as she knew her spymaster was... "He might have had a point. Though I did once see Brehan push Jerath into a river." She stared down at the crystal. "So this Tisallan is both willing to defend the kids and has reasons of his own to want to deal with the cult."

"There is more, though you'd have to get Brehan to confirm details. They used a lot of words I don't understand, but the gist of it seems to be that Urthemiel and Tisallan have some kind of previous acquaintanceship due to Tisallan's wife having been a disciple of some kind. All three sentinels agreed that Tisallan would be perfectly willing to kill anyone he thinks is a danger to Urthemiel. Cult, follower of Fen'Harel, or..." Cullen sighed. "Us, if it came to that. And that he might have a liberal interpretation of 'danger' in that regard."

"Great." Ruya leaned on the wall and bowed her head. "So we've got a loyal defender and a wild card with the kids."

"For the time being, Melavan has accepted my authority, and the others are following his lead. Which is good, because it's keeping them from assassinating Prince Vael. They are rather angry regarding his treatment of Lord Hendry." It was several seconds before Cullen continued. "The matter of Lord Hendry is complicated. He violated his agreement with the Inquisition, and thus with the Divine, and thus technically is a criminal. However..." Cullen's voice became frustrated. "If I attempt to arrest him, I'll also have to arrest the sentinels, which will cost us their cooperation. Melavan was quite willing to die protecting Lord Hendry, and had Carver not called the other two off, we'd have already had an incident."

"What's this about Carver calling the other two off?"

"He used his templar abilities, then asked them if they knew who he was. It seems they did, and that was enough to get them both to settle back down." Cullen's voice was quiet when he spoke again a moment later. "Carver informed us that Mythal knew of the sentinels' presence in Starkhaven and had chosen to leave them be."

"More secrets." Ruya sighed down at the crystal.

"There is..."

When the crystal remained silent, Ruya frowned down at it. "Cullen?"

"No, you need to know, because it could be a factor. One of the secrets that has recently been revealed is the current location of Anders. Which Carver has apparently known all along."

"That is how the cult got Sebastian to work with them?" Ruya closed her eyes and considered banging her head on the wall. "Capture Leandra to blackmail the information from Carver?"

"No." Cullen took a deep breath. "It seems that..." He sighed. "Young Loghain is Anders' son. The cult apparently offered to let Sebastian keep Loghain, and gain their assistance in dealing with Anders, in exchange for the rest of the children. Sebastian refused that offer, which I think is the only reason Hawke didn't set him on fire over recent events."

"Well." Ruya actually did bang her head on the wall. "Shit. Who else knows this information?"

"Sebastian, his guard captain and a couple others in his guard, who knows who in the cult, myself, Alistair, Hawke, and Fenris. And I suspect Brehan knows, but I'm not sure how long he's known. Carver confirmed the information, and made it very clear how bad an idea following up on it would be."

"I..." Ruya sighed. "I'll talk to Anora. As gently as possible."

#

"Melavan instructed me to send word as soon as you were safely away from the city." Alai folded her arms.

"We sent Fluffy back." Salla nodded.

"I..." Alai shook her head. "Lady Salla, I'm not certain that counts."

Salla sighed, and then nodded. "The problem is sending a message that cannot be intercepted." She frowned. "Agatha, does House Brosca have any ciphers that might work?"

"Yes, but it's likely Fen'Harel has spies in our ranks as well, so..."

"Ugh."

"Not to mention just sending a message would give them information on which direction we went when we left the city."

"I'm kind of assuming Fen'Harel knows that already. He's got to know we'd still be following the cult." Salla rubbed the back of her neck, and then suddenly smiled. "No, I know what to do."

#

Gabriel looked around the Fade. Why had he dreamed himself into the Kirkwall's templar hall? Granted, the place no longer made him nervous even if it did once again host templars, it was just an odd place to find himself. He was starting to focus to send himself elsewhere when...

"Hawke."

He turned, and smiled. "Feynriel." He started to open his mouth, and then sighed. "Oh for the love of..." He shook his head. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Salla and I do have some prearranged signals." Feynriel smiled. "It's good to see you, even here. I am on my way to Minrathous to assist Magister Pavus. Salla asked me to let you know they are all safely some ways outside of Starkhaven and Kieran is no longer glowing."

"Both something of a relief. Can you keep an eye on her?"

"Two or three years ago, I would have said yes." Feynriel shook his head. "She's grown in strength and skill since then, and can hide from me easily enough now. But she promised to meet me at our normal place for lessons in three days to check in again."

"How did you find me?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"You were sent to my dreams once before, and this was the location. I pulled on the echo. It's a trick I unfortunately have yet to teach Salla, which is why she couldn't come to you directly." Feynriel smiled. "And I think she's a little afraid you are going to be angry at her."

"I am absolutely furious at her." Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Running headlong into danger like..."

"Like a mage who once risked his life against templars, demons, and slavers to save a boy he'd never met." Feynriel put a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "Only to later risk worse than death in the Fade to save that same boy?"

"I am apparently a lousy role model." Gabriel shook his head. "How is your mother?"

"She's well. She runs a shop in Gwaren now."

"Do give her my regards."

"Take care of yourself, Hawke."

#

"I admit, having tents does make being on the road a little easier." Caleb stirred the pot over the fire. "But I'd still like to get an actual bed."

Trian poured coins back into a pouch. "We've two hundred seventeen gold, horses, gear, and weapons." He looked up. "How are we doing on other things?"

"We've got adequate healing supplies." Gavren examined one of the bags. "This staff is the next best thing to a broom though." He tapped the staff he'd taken from the healer on their way out of the jail, then gave Salla a curious look. "Where did you get that staff?"

She touched the faintly glowing green staff. "Kieran and I weren't able to grab our staffs when leaving the estate. Urthemiel made this one." She trailed a hand down it. "He just sort of grew it out of the Fade."

"Could..." Gavren frowned. "Could this Tilde Staff be something like that?" He shook his head. "We should have thought to ask Urthemiel while he was here."

"I did." Salla shrugged.

"And?"

"He said, 'what staff?'" She rolled her eyes. "But my guess is you are on to something." She offered the staff to Gavren.

He took it from her, and let out a low whistle. "This is..." He balanced it in hands. "Different." He wrinkled his nose, and offered it back. "Itches." He wiped his hands on his tunic after she took it from him.

Salla looked down at the staff. "What do you mean itches?"

"Like a prickling in my hands when I touch it." He raised an eyebrow. "You're not getting that from it?"

"No." She waved Kieran over. "Can you explain?"

"It is tuned to your key." Kieran nodded. "He plays a different harmony."

"Tisallan, could the Tilde Staff be something like this one?" Salla turned towards him.

"Staffs are not my area of expertise." Tisallan folded his arms. "However, you may be on to something. Though that would imply that it was Urthemiel himself, rather than Ostalias, who made the staff."

"What are we discussing now?"

"I'll explain in a bit."

"Alright."

Gavren looked at the staff in Salla's hand. "That one is at least as powerful as Hawke's. Something made by Urthemiel at the height of his power, wielded by a mage as powerful as Fen'Harel?"

"As if we didn't have enough nightmare fuel." Duncan said quietly.

"That would also explain why they need Kieran." Jerath began gathering the dishes. "Urthemiel crafted it, and warded it. He is the only one that can unlock it." He frowned. "And for some reason, they think they can get him to do so."

"That is not a comforting thought." Kieran frowned.

"No. It certainly is not." Kels stood, and started taking the tents down.

#

"And my accent is fine."

Even though he wasn't actually in the room, Leliana controlled her urge to smile. She was afraid he'd hear it in her voice. "And it is natural there would be some lingual shifts over thousands of years, as well as multiple dialects."

"And if I was butchering idioms, Jerath would never have passed up the opportunity to make a smart remark about it."

The laugh did escape her at that point. "Especially considering how often you directed that particular idiom at him." She shook her head fondly. "And I seem to recall you and Solas yelling at each other in elvish on at least one occasion."

"Anyway, Feynriel said Salla reported the kids had all regrouped and made it safely out of Starkhaven, but had not determined their next destination. They did arrange another time and place for checking in, and Feynriel said he will bring Hawke along for the meeting. He might be able to bring some others, but made no promises, and reminded us that the Fade is dangerous enough for mages."

"I recall." Leliana shook her head. "I'll let Dorian know to expect Feynriel."

"Ar lath ma, emm'asha."

"And I you, vhenan."

#

Salla watched Kieran and Gavren set wards around their camp. Considering their track record with buildings, it seemed to make more sense to remain outside the city. And this way, enemies would have a harder time sneaking upon them. Her brother had grumbled about the lack of real beds before further lamenting the loss of their confiscated whiskey. Or he had, until Kels had threatened to gag him.

Loghain and Alai were out gathering firewood. She could only hope they actually remembered to bring some firewood back when they were done. Kels and Trian were going over maps and trying to restore what notes they had. She was starting to think Kels just had some sort of compulsion towards making reports. Tisallan was showing Agatha some combat techniques using a small sickle like weapon in each hand. Duncan was going through the arrows they'd collected, repairing some and rejecting others. A few feet from him, Jerath sat with his back against a tree, and she thought the man might just be asleep.

"You okay, Lala?" Leandra came and sat down next to her.

"Just trying to decide where to go next. I had thought we'd dealt a considerable blow against the cult back in Nessum, but they still had the resources to throw a lot of mercenaries at us."

"Not very good mercenaries." Leandra shrugged. "I think it's closer to they threw a lot of barely armed desperate men at us." She sighed. "Even in our time, the Inquisition is still dealing with rogue templars, mages, and Venatori turned bandit after all the trouble."

"Is that what you and Gavren do?"

"The Inquisitor and the Divine have a lot on their hands, and can't be everywhere at once. So, sometimes they send Gavren." Leandra smiled at where Gavren and Kieran were having a friendly argument about types of wards. "Just the fact that he is the Inquisitor's son is enough to soothe a lot of ruffled feathers."

"And when it's not?"

"He's also a pretty good diplomat. And if diplomacy fails..." Leandra touched her sword hilt. "There is me." Her smile faded. "We win more than we lose, but you can see the storm clouds coming." She looked down at her hands, and rubbed at her fingers. "Did I tell you we were eloping?"

She shook her head. "No. Somehow you failed to mention that."

"Our folks want us to wait. They say we are too young." Leandra shook her head. "But it's him and me. Always has been. Always will be." She chuckled. "You'd think our parents would be the first to understand something like that."

"You'd think our parents wouldn't be surprised about any of this. And yet the only ones not freaking out are Kieran's folks."

"And Loghain's father."

Salla drew her legs closer to her. "Though that might be because my fathers are involved and there are still a lot of hard feelings there."

"Yeah." Leandra furrowed her brow. "I bet Prince Vael isn't having a very good week." She smirked. "Which one of your fathers do you think punched him first?"

"Fenris." Salla nodded. "Definitely Fenris." She turned towards Leandra. "When this started, our information put the cult at the border between Tevinter and Orlais. I think they are heading back that way to regroup."

"That makes sense. With the entire Starkhaven guard, our folks, and the Chargers underway, they'd want to put some distance. The Inquisition doesn't have forces in Tevinter, and even sixteen years from now the Lucerni would be hard pressed to rally a significant military challenge. Even with the Black Divine being a reformer."

"Then we head that way."

#

Loghain put his arm around Alai, and she leaned into him. "Brehan is with the Inquisition. He will see that Noamin is treated with respect."

"He didn't want to stay in Starkhaven." Alai sighed. "He was thinking of going to Ferelden. Joining the settlement there." She smiled sadly. "Taking up a craft again, perhaps finding some apprentices to ensure what he knew lived on. He and Enara used to shape images in crystal. And now they are both gone. There is no one left in all the world that knows how anymore."

"The world is made smaller by his loss." He held her tightly as she wept.

#

Anora held the teacup in both hands, staring down into the liquid inside. "I thought I was barren. Maker, I was past forty. Didn't realize I was pregnant. Just thought I was getting old a little sooner. I..." She sighed. "My son was a gift, Inquisitor. A wish I'd been making for so many years. When my father told me goodbye, he told me my wish had not gone unheard."

"It's true then." Ruya half closed her eyes.

"I know. You're wondering what I was thinking." Anora shook her head. "I wasn't. I know you met Anders, a few times. He looked like Cailan, shared some of the same traits." She turned the cup around in her hands. "Not a strong resemblance. Just enough that..." Her smile was sad. "Just enough that a sad old woman could sometimes pretend for a few precious hours she was with the one she loved. I was the same for him. I don't love Anders. He doesn't love me. But we share a son, and he is so very precious to us both."

"Anders knows about Loghain then." That might complicate the issue. If Anders found out what was going on…

"He visits. He brings Loghain books. Sometimes a toy or other trinket as well, but always books. Sometimes I'll come into Loghain's room to tuck him in, and find Anders there, reading him a bedtime story." She took a sip of the tea, and then her face hardened. "I trust Prince Vael has been informed of the potential consequences of going near my son again."

"Carver Hawke..." Ruya nodded. "And for that matter, Cullen, Alistair, Hawke, and Fenris, all made that very clear to him."

"Good."

#

Duncan hid a smile when he saw Jerath gently brush some of Agatha's hair away from her face. It was good, seeing his friend take a few minutes for himself. A little weird, seeing him and Agatha look at each other that way, but good. He ran a whetstone over the blade of one of his knives. Jerath stepped in to spar with Tisallan, and Duncan gestured for Agatha to sit with him.

"How many knives do you carry anyway?" Agatha glanced at the knife in his hand.

"Usually around four. You?"

"Right now I've only got seven. I haven't had time to put all the sheaths and stuff in my new gear yet. Next time we pass through town I should get some thread."

"I recall an occasion one of the Inquisition's agents visited my court. Charter, I think her name was. For some reason, we ended up taking bets on which one of you was carrying more knives."

"Who won?"

"Nobody. We could never get either of you to divest yourselves of all your knives so we could count them."

"Papa Zevran told me about a time he'd gone on a job with eighteen knives, and ended up not having enough. So now, before heading out, official House Brosca policy is to always carry at least one more knife than enough."

"And how many is enough?"

Agatha winked at him. "Oh, Duncan. A girl can never have enough knives."

He chuckled, and tested the edge of the knife before replacing it and drawing a different one. "So you and Jerath."

She went still for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah." She shrugged. "It an issue?"

"He's my best friend." Duncan slid the whetstone over his knife. "Has been my entire life."

"What was her name?" Agatha's voice was quiet.

"Anya."

"And she..."

"The scar, the one next to his heart?" Duncan tested the edge of the blade. "It was an arrow. He saw it at the last second, no time to do anything but step into its path. So he did. If he'd hesitated at all, I'd have died that day. Instead, he nearly did." He replaced the blade, and then drew the one from his boot. "When he recovered, Anya asked him to go to Highever with her. A new life. A safe life." He turned the knife over in his hands. "And he said no."

"So she went alone."

"She threw his ring back at him and said she wasn't going to waste her life on a man convinced he was born to die for another. Left Ferelden altogether." Duncan looked down at the whetstone. "Twenty-four years, he's been at my side. My sword and shield. So..." He met her eyes. "Break his heart, and I might just kill you."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Duncan, I've got the feeling you and I could be good friends."

#

Cullen looked down at the map. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as memory can be. Unfortunately..." Melavan shot a glare towards Sebastian. "Someone set fire to the information we'd gathered."

"Well, the three of you seem to mostly be in agreement on the locations." Brehan leaned on the table. "And the Dread Wolf's spies are all too good at what they do. I'll see about getting agents to these locations, as carefully as possible."

"I'll show you to the rookery." Sebastian nodded to Brehan and led him out of the room.

"I suppose it is too much to hope the kids don't have this information?" Alistair raised an eyebrow at Melavan.

"All of them had a chance to look it over."

"Including Kels?" Cullen looked up.

"Kels was the one that took dictation while we translated."

"Then they are likely doing better than we are. Kels hasn't forgotten a report detail in eight years."

"And Trian practically runs a noble dwarven house. Safe to say the kids are doing all right on their logistics." Alistair shook his head.

"Kels..." Melavan folded his arms. "He at one point claimed they had kidnapped him."

"They did." Cullen nodded. "Though I think at this point he's a willing enough prisoner."

"He was rather afraid of your wrath. The phrase 'latrine duty for the rest of his life' was uttered multiple times."

"Considering they also managed to kidnap Brehan..." Alistair chuckled. "Which I haven't given him nearly enough grief over."

"I trust Kels." Cullen shrugged. "He's family, and if I thought he was going along for an adventure rather than because he was trying to look out for Gavren, I would be angry."

"I suppose that does explain why Kels and Jerath seemed to be the only two with any sense. Both along solely to protect their charges." Melavan nodded, then looked up at Alistair. "Though it does appear your son knows the value of such loyalty."

"I am pleased to hear it." Alistair smiled. "He..." He shrugged. "Well, as a child, he tended to take it for granted."

"While they are young, and prone to the mistakes of youth, you have raised fine sons. Though I admit to being somewhat surprised at your eventual choice of son in law, all things considered."

"Wait..." Alistair blinked. "What do you mean son in law?"

"I..." Melavan looked taken aback, and then his eyes widened. "You..." He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "They didn't tell you."

"You." Alistair narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."

"After..." Melavan glanced over his shoulder as if contemplating the distance between himself and the door. "Duncan made a reference to Loghain being married to his younger sister."

"I..." Alistair took several deep breaths. "I..." He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Okay, did they happen to mention whose idea that was? I need to know who to execute."