"Um..." Loghain stared at the man holding him by the front of his breastplate. "Grandfather. Fancy meeting you here."

"Grandpa." Kieran smiled. And then suddenly his face fell and his voice took on a frantic note. "I can explain!"

"And I can't wait to hear it, considering you were told, repeatedly and at great length, to stay away from anything having to do with the Blight."

"Wait..." Trian raised a hand. "Who..." He glanced at the rest of the party. "Is anyone else concerned that somebody just stepped out of the Fade?"

"A little, yes." Salla nodded.

"It's Grandpa." Kieran gave them what he probably hoped was a reassuring smile. "He does that."

The newcomer's eyes turned towards Duncan. "And I suppose it was too much to hope that at least one Therin would have the sense to stay out of the Deep Roads, let alone to not actively go looking for trouble." He released his grip on the front of Loghain's armor, and narrowed his eyes at the younger man. "Your mother is frantic with worry, and you couldn't bother to so much as send her a message?" He looked from Kieran to Loghain and back again as he continued dressing both of them down rather thoroughly.

"I..." Loghain looked down at his feet. "Should um..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm an asshole."

"Aren't you be a little concerned about the part where he's not four years old?" Caleb asked.

The elder Loghain gave him an annoyed look. "I'm a Warden. It's going to take a bit more than that to faze me."

"Oh."

"And to the surprise of absolutely no one, if you wanted to escape these tunnels, you are going the wrong way." The elder Loghain shook his head. "Follow me."

#

"Are you the one that stopped the darkspawn from attacking?" Gavren asked.

"I did not stop them from attacking. I merely redirected them towards a different prey. Had the qunari not been nearby as a suitable target, you would have all been eaten." He shot a pointed glance at the women in the group. "Or far worse."

"Did The Warden send you?" Caleb asked.

"Her father..." He jerked his head at Leandra. "Had a clearly justified concern that you might find yourself in over your heads, and was perturbed that you would not reveal your current location. He asked me to find you."

"I have been warding our dreams to prevent us from being found through the Fade." Gavren frowned.

"As have I." Salla nodded.

"And I." Kieran added.

"And we were all awake at the time," Gavren said.

"Interesting." The elder Loghain shrugged. "It is almost as if none of you know as much as you think you do."

Gavren could just barely make out Tisallan's low chuckle from the man's position at the back of the party. "Except you're not a mage." He nodded. "You're a..." He frowned. "A spirit, I suppose."

"How can he be a spirit?" Caleb gestured back at where an abashed Loghain was walking. "He's Loghain's grandfather, so he's..." He frowned. "Magic is confusing."

"True." Gavren nodded. "Even Fen'Harel didn't quite know what to make of him."

"He is Vigilance." Kieran waved a hand. "And he is Loghain Mac Tir. The first one, anyway."

"Kind of like how you are Kieran and Urthemiel."

"No." Kieran shook his head. "Nothing like that at all."

"Yeah, that's not helping with the clarification part at all." Caleb rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm going to go with 'he's a ghost'." Kels said. "I can wrap my brain around that."

"Which means we are currently following a ghost through the Deep Roads." Trian said.

"I was kidnapped by an Old God, Fen'Harel's apprentice, the King of Ferelden, and my boss's kid from the future. We picked up two ancient elves and are on our way to confront a demon from the dawn of time." Kels sighed. "Following a ghost through the Deep Roads seems like a logical progression of events, all things considered."

Trian shook his head. "I really hate that you have a point."

#

Iron Bull tossed Cullen a casual salute. "We found a few of the cultists holed up, but they don't seem to have been high enough up to know anything useful." He glanced at Sebastian before looking back at Cullen. "Ex-slaves mostly, following because this Siofra freed them."

"We'll take that into account when deciding how to deal with them." Cullen nodded.

His eyes went to the wreckage at the top of what had been the guard tower. "So, looks like being an ass-kicker runs in the family."

Cullen smiled. "Hawke and Lenore both claim they couldn't have pulled that off."

"What, seriously?" Iron Bull raised an eyebrow. "They both come in at ten points, same as the Inquisitor."

"Points?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Iron Bull rolled his shoulders and grinned. "They put me down at eight. War golems and dragons only come in at seven."

"We'll be heading into Tevinter as soon as Carver and King Alistair return." Cullen shook his head. "Have you managed to learn anything regarding the Ben'Hassrath movements?"

He shook his head. "Between me being tal'Vashoth and the number The Warden's people pulled on the vanguard a couple years back, I'm not even sure where to start looking. Songbird and I have gone over the spies we know, but we've pinpointed who they are working for." He folded his arms. "It's the ones we haven't found that have me worried. Don't like the notion that there are spies out there better than us."

"Have the mercenaries recovered yet from..." Sebastian frowned. "Whatever it was occurred?"

"Recovered..." Cullen sighed. "Might be a strong word. The two that joined the Chantry have told us everything they know. Unfortunately, it just isn't much. They were hired only a few days before the attack. Paid well enough that regicide didn't exactly seem to be a concern for them."

"Though they're not all that bright." Iron Bull shook his head. "I'd have opened negotiations at around four times what those guys were paid." He looked up at the tower. "And turned the job down."

"If we had known what they were capable of, we never would have tried apprehending them." Melavan spoke up from where he was quietly observing.

"Yeah, how did they manage to get you guys working for them anyway?" Iron Bull glanced at him.

"One of them is a god."

"There is only one god." Sebastian glared.

"If you wish to debate religion and semantics, Magister Adralicus is in there." Melavan pointed.

Cullen shot them a look over his shoulder and both of them subsided, but continued glaring at each other. "Lord Hendry's estate was damaged by fire, thus Prince Vael has agreed to allow us to headquarter here in the palace for the time being. Per Divine Victoria's request, the Chargers are to aid him until the Starkhaven guard has recouped from their recent losses." He couldn't quite stop himself from smiling. "Viscount Varric and Guard Captain Aveline have agreed to provide additional forces should you feel it necessary. Hawke and Fenris are also remaining."

#

"Stop dawdling."

Leandra glared at their guide. "I'm not sure exactly who put you in charge."

"Your father." He returned the glare steadily. "And need I remind you that your mother is also extremely worried about your safety and wellbeing, a fact which you have completely disregarded?"

"I..." She shook her head. "You know, it's not exactly like our folks lived the most sedate, secure lives themselves. Kind of hypocritical for them to be frustrated with us."

"Unlike you, most of them had no choice. They fought and sacrificed in the hopes that you need never face the same trials and dangers they did, and it is unconscionable for you to throw that back in their faces."

She started to square her shoulders, and then swallowed. "Yes, ser."

"We didn't choose this fight either." Gavren put a hand on Leandra's shoulder.

"We were, in fact, quite literally dragged into it by demons." Duncan glared.

"Spirits." Kieran said.

"What?"

"The demons were the things attacking. The spirits were the ones that brought you here."

"I...' Duncan shook his head. "That is somewhat beside the point." He glared at their guide. "And you were one of the trials and dangers my father faced." He gestured. "You sent assassins after him. And had my mother thrown into Fort Drakon, not to mention you unleashing Howe."

"Indeed, it is amazing the mistakes one can make when they become so convinced of the rightness of their actions that they allow their anger and hatred to blind them to the consequences." He shook his head. "And it would be far better, young man, if you decided to learn from my mistakes rather than repeat them."

"Are you going to spend the entire trip out of the Deep Roads yelling at us?" Caleb asked.

"Yes."

"I'm starting to think we'd have been better off with the ogres."

#

"I am several times older than the kingdom of Ferelden." Alai glared at the elder Loghain. "I do not need to be lectured."

"And you would think at some point in the past thousand years, you might have learned the importance of cleaning the blood off your blade before sheathing it." He stared back at her. "Darkspawn blood will etch into the metal and weaken its integrity." He pointed, and his eyes glowed briefly. "And I shouldn't have to tell you just how stupid it is to leave any trace of it on your armor.

She glared at him before a rag thrown by Tisallan hit her in the face. She made a vexed sound before stalking off to tend to her gear, and Jerath heard her start admonishing Kels to do the same. He frowned into the darkness as they made camp. Even knowing the camp was warded did little to assuage his nerves. The shadowy catacombs held too many potential threats. "General Mac Tir." He pitched his voice low.

"General Gilmore." The man nodded.

"Are you sure camping here is a good idea?"

"We are still some hours from the surface, and they are exhausted." He shook his head. "There are no darkspawn within a mile of this location."

"Well, that just leaves the giant spiders, deepstalkers, dragons, and qunari survivors to worry about." Jerath rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. He frowned. "The qunari were looking for us, but not expecting to find us where they did. Or they would have laid a far better trap." He shook his head. "They'll have sent word." He glanced at the party, and lowered his voice further. "Caleb had a theory that the cult will be holed up in the city of Solas. Kieran and Gavren think the theory is sound, and based on what information we have, I must admit they have a point."

"I will pass the word." He nodded, and then smiled. "Your king is going to be annoyed at you."

"My duty is to protect him." Jerath squared his shoulders. "Even if that means from himself."

"The latter is the more difficult task."

#

Duncan glanced over at where Jerath was discussing tactics with the elder Mac Tir. Tisallan joined them a moment later. Those two were the only ones he hadn't rebuked since stepping out of thin air. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the man's help. His father may have reconciled with Teyrna Anora, but he'd never spoken of her father without it being obvious how much anger he still had for the man. He'd betrayed a king to his death, and murdered Duncan's namesake, a man Alistair had loved as a father. He glanced at the younger Mac Tir. "How much trouble are you in?"

"It's times like these that I'm reminded he was also a rage demon for a considerable number of years." Loghain shook his head. He turned towards Kieran. "How much trouble are you in?"

"Well, if Mother doesn't kill me for meddling with the time-space continuum, Father is going to kill me for running headfirst into a darkspawn warren."

"You know, that really puts me swinging on the chandelier back home into perspective." Caleb shook his head.

"Except for the part where you also ran headfirst into a darkspawn warren." Kels elbowed him.

Salla glanced at Kels. "How is your ankle?"

"I think it's healed, thank you."

#

"I didn't mean to frighten Mother." Loghain tightened the strap on his pack as they broke camp.

"She's lost enough." His grandfather narrowed his eyes. "Losing you would cost her everything she has left."

"I'm supposed to be a four year old boy, not..." He shook his head. "We are trying to put everything right. It should be another eight years before she really has to start worrying about me doing something stupid."

"Eight years?"

"Ser Alec takes me on as his squire when I turn twelve. And promptly takes me on a dragon hunt. Mother..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "May have reacted poorly."

His grandfather chuckled. "I can imagine." His eyes went to the dragon on Loghain's face. "You wear the mark."

"Some things..." Loghain shook his head. "Yes. I bear the mark. You think for one moment I would hesitate to answer that call, or flinch from that duty?"

"No." His grandfather nodded. "Not you."

He was silent a moment. "You're a hero again, in Gwaren. In most of Ferelden. They don't..." He took a breath. "It's the part where you fought against the Archdemon and died saving the Herald of Andraste that they remember. The Warden..." He nodded. "He could have let Mother fall, and instead he preserved the heritage you'd won for her. And we both know how much Father owes him." Blue eyes met blue eyes. "Some things are written in stronger than stone or blood. Tabris calls, Mac Tir will answer."

"I doubt I'll say it often enough in the future." His grandfather nodded. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you."

"Though I cannot believe you slept with my girlfriend."

Loghain choked, and then laughed. "What can I say? You have excellent taste in women." He shrugged. "And she was half your age."

"Which still makes her twice yours." He growled and shook his head. "Of all the traits to inherit from your father."

"Could be worse." Loghain shrugged. "I could have an obsession with cats."

#

They were stopped by a gate. "Alright." Salla held up her torch. "It's got to be one of these mechanisms."

Caleb glanced at the man next to him. "Trian, ideas?"

"You do know that not all dwarves are engineers, yes?" Trian gave her an annoyed look.

"It's a dwarven mechanism." Caleb shrugged. "Even Uncle Varric knows about things like this."

"That is because your Uncle Varric is a trapsmith and lockpicker, not because he simply happens to be dwarven." Trian shook his head. "You know more about locks and things than I do."

"It's that one." Kieran pointed to a lever.

"How can you be sure?" Duncan asked as he walked over and began examining it.

"It's the one with the glowing outline."

"It..." Duncan blinked. "What?"

"What?" Kieran looked back at him.

"Why do I even..." Duncan pulled the lever and the gate slowly creaked open.

#

"Look." Leandra couldn't quite contain her glee. "Daylight."

"Where on the map is that going to put us?" Kels turned towards their guide and offered the parchment.

"Here." He tapped a spot.

"Not a shortcut then." Kels sighed.

"Kels?" Salla asked.

"We've been going west, rather than north. If anything, this detour added a few more miles to the trip."

"It does change the direction we are coming from though, so if word did get out, they won't be looking for us here."

"Hopefully, they'll assume we were eaten by the spawn." Caleb smiled.

"That would involve us having luck on our side." Agatha shook her head. "Hasn't happened yet."

"While fleeing qunari into a darkspawn warren, one of the only two beings in Thedas that could save us happened along at just that moment." Tisallan raised an eyebrow at her.

"I..." Agatha blinked. "Alright. You have a point. Our luck isn't so much bad as just..." She sighed. "Really, really weird."

"Papa says it comes from being an Amell and a Hawke." Salla shrugged.

"He is aware that with the exception of Leandra and Varric junior, the entire current generation of Hawkes and Amells were adopted, right?"

"Yeah, that part doesn't seem to matter at all." Salla shook her head.

The elder Loghain turned back towards them. "Is there any chance at all you can get to where you are going safely and in a sensible fashion?"

"Uh..." Salla considered the question a moment. "No. None whatsoever."

Duncan glared. "Outside of the army of qunari and darkspawn, we have taken care of ourselves just fine."

He stared at Duncan for almost a full minute before turning and patting Jerath on the shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Jerath nodded.

The air around him shimmered a moment, and then he vanished.

"Wait, where did..." Kels' jaw dropped.

"He stepped across the Veil." Gavren starred.

"That..." Caleb grinned. "Is awesome."

#

Sebastian paced the room. His guard captain was still glaring at Iron Bull. Iron Bull leaned down towards Brehan. "How'd I piss him off?"

"It's mostly the horns." Brehan shrugged. "He used to be one of Kirkwall's templars. He was there during the invasion."

"Dorian reports he'll be here this evening." Cullen nodded to Sebastian.

"And the magisters will be accompanying you to Tevinter?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

Cullen rested his hands on his sword hilt. "Unless you would prefer we leave Magister Adral -"

"No." Sebastian's voice was firm. He clasped his hands behind his back. "My scouts have reported sightings of qunari. At least two small bands, attempting to remain unnoticed. There may be more groups comprised solely of viddathari." He flicked his eyes towards Brehan before returning them to Cullen. "There have also been an increase in the sightings of Dalish."

"Brehan, how many of those are yours?"

"Entirely too few." Brehan sighed. "Fen'Harel's agent provided me with information on qunari movements in the area. They mentioned the same groups Prince Vael's people spotted."

"I am not comfortable with this notion." Sebastian shook his head.

"None of us are." Cullen sighed. He turned at the sound of footsteps, and the door opened to admit Carver and Alistair. "Did your riders spot anything?" He raised an eyebrow at Carver.

"They've confirmed reports we already had, but nothing new. Still no sign of the kids."

Alistair raised a hopeful eyebrow. "I don't suppose they told the Inquisitor where they were heading?"

"To no one's surprise, our children are among the most foolhardy and stubborn people in Thedas." Cullen folded his arms. "Will you be ready to head into Tevinter in the morning?"

"Yes." Alistair nodded.

He turned towards Carver. "Do you have a means of contacting..." He gritted his teeth. "I am not happy about this."

"I understand." Carver nodded. "And yes, I've set that in motion."

"You're not happy about this?" Sebastian gestured angrily.

His guard captain glared at Carver. "I cannot understand why Divine Victoria is allowing these criminals to wander free."

"Indeed." Sebastian sighed. "I truly must protest the involvement of that maleficar."

"Being that he is in Tevinter, he is somewhat beyond Divine Victoria's authority." Cullen shook his head. "And at the moment, we have a larger concern."

"You mean he's going to get away with his crime because he fathered a child on some Ferelden whore." The guard captain spat.

Alistair's eyes darkened and Carver started to take a step forward. Cullen was holding up a hand to forestall the movement when the air near the guard captain shimmered slightly. And a fist slammed into the man's jaw, sending him to the ground where he lay groaning. A form seemed to step out of thin air.

Carver grinned. "General."

"Junior." Loghain Mac Tir nodded to him.

"You found them?" He raised an eyebrow.

"And I know where they are going."

"Would someone care to explain what just happened?" Sebastian was staring at his unconscious guard captain.