Kieran's head came up sharply. "Kieran?" Salla turned towards him.
"Your brother and Loghain are that way." He pointed. "I need to go to Duncan." He kissed her. "I will find you."
"Be careful." She nodded.
He turned into a hawk and flew east.
She gestured to the others and they continued the way he had pointed.
#
Caleb kept close to Loghain as they moved through the alleys, twisting and winding through the city. Hundreds of questions ran through his mind, and he kept his mouth shut. His knuckles were white on the staff as he held it to him.
There was no doubt in his mind Adralicus was dead. The man's scream still rang in his ears. He'd saved them. Guilt wracked him as he thought of how they'd treated the man back in Nessum. A hero in the end, when it mattered. Two now. Adralicus and Alai. Two people who'd died so he could live.
If he ever made it back to Kirkwall, he was never going to go adventuring again.
#
Tears blinded him as he ran. He stumbled, nearly tripping on an uneven part of the street. He caught himself on a wall, and then punched it viciously. "Fuck." Duncan yanked the bow off his shoulder and turned to go back the way he had come, praying it wasn't too late.
Feathers brushed past his head, and then Kieran stood there, blocking his path. "Duncan."
"Jerath needs our help. We've got to..."
Kieran caught him by the shoulders, stopping his forward momentum. "Duncan."
"I..." Duncan choked on his breath. He looked up at Kieran. "He..."
"His music is ended."
"No." Duncan shook his head. "No. He can't..." A ragged sob escaped him. "Oh fuck. I..." He jerked backwards and started slamming his fists into the stone wall. "I got him killed. I didn't think. I ran off, and..." His knuckles tore, leaving blood on the wall. "I got him killed. I didn't listen and I got him killed."
Gently, Kieran pulled him away from the wall, and put his arms around him. Duncan clung to the other man as if he was drowning. He buried his face in Kieran's chest and wept like a child.
#
Brehan came out of the doorway and saw Lenore talking to a man in servant's robes. "Are we sure we are in the right building?"
"He..." She indicated the man. "Says he was threatened by a man who matches Jerath's description." She gestured to the man to go about his business, and started down the corridor. "Perhaps they are already -"
"Lenore!" Terror filled Alistair's voice.
Immediately they started running towards the sound. They found Alistair kneeling next to the still form of a red-haired man. "Oh, Maker, no." Lenore flung herself down next to him, hands glowing white. "No, no, no."
Brehan walked forward. Jerath's eyes were open, staring sightlessly up at the night sky. Blood glistened from where he'd bitten through his lip. "Jerath?" Alistair touched the young man's cheek. "Jerath?"
"I'm sorry, Alistair." Brehan put his hand on Alistair's shoulder. He looked around at the garden, but saw no sign of Duncan. There was also no sign of further struggle. There is no way Duncan would have been taken quietly, not with his oldest friend lying dead on the cold stone.
"I was there. The first time he saw the sky. Cathiel sat with Nesiara, and Rory brought him out to the balcony. He was..." Alistair swallowed. "I gave him his first sword. Cathiel and I didn't think we'd ever have children, and..." Tears rolled down his cheeks.
He knelt, putting an arm around Alistair's shoulders. "I'm so sorry."
"I woke one evening, after we got back from Redcliffe. Went to the nursery, just to check. Duncan's crib was gone. I started to..." He swallowed again. "Panic, and then I saw it. Jerath had moved it to over behind his bed. I came over and..." He brushed the red hair back from the dead man's face. "Asked him why he'd moved it. And this brave little boy clutched the little toy sword I'd given him and looked up at me with huge eyes and said..." Alistair's shoulders shook. "'So the monsters have to come through me first.'" He brushed a hand over the face, shutting Jerath's eyes. "They killed one of my boys. I need..." He let out a ragged breath. "I have to find Duncan."
"We will." Lenore put her hand on Alistair's arm.
#
Salla lead them to yet another flight of stairs. "This city is actually more confusing than Kirkwall."
"There." From beside her, Tisallan pointed, and she saw a glimpse of movement below. Two familiar shaped figures were running into an alley, and a moment later armed figures moved into the alley after him.
"Tisallan, get down there and help them. We'll come around and back you up." She gestured, using her magic to put a barrier around the elven man. He leaped down, bouncing from ledge to ledge before hitting the ground at a dead run and moving after the vanishing figures. She turned and gestured for Gavren to head down one flight of stairs while she took the other half of the group down the other. Anyone after her brother was going to be caught in the middle.
#
Loghain gritted his teeth in frustration. "For the love of..." He shook his head. "How many of you am I going to have to kill?"
The leader of the group took a step towards him. "Where are the rest of you?" He spoke with an Antivan accent.
Next to him, Caleb's mouth opened. "Crows? Seriously?"
"One day, I am going to learn not to walk through a town with Amells." Loghain winced.
Two of the men aimed bows at them. The one who'd spoken earlier showed his teeth. "Throw down your weapons, and we will show mercy."
A foot of glowing blade suddenly protruded from the chest of the first archer. A heartbeat later, another blade removed the head of the second. "If the gods intended mercy..." Tisallan stepped into their midst, hands glowing where he held the magic swords. "They would not have sent me."
"I am definitely going to steal that line." Loghain hefted his shield and charged.
#
Leandra brought her blade down on the man who'd just ordered her to surrender, bisecting him vertically. She looked at the four men that had been behind him. "Allow us to make a counter offer..." Next to her, green fire lit around Gavren. Leandra smiled. "Run."
She'd barely finished getting the word out when they did exactly that. Agatha rolled her eyes. "Seriously, that's what passes for Crows these days?"
#
Kels stared at the man as though he were speaking a completely incomprehensible language. "Are you saying you are surrendering to us?"
Trian shook his head. "No, I think he actually expects us to surrender."
"There are five of them." Kels looked down at the dwarf. "Five."
"There was a team of three once that though they were going to take on my fathers." Salla shrugged.
The Crows started looking at each other in confusion. The one in the lead shook his head. "I will be honest. This is not the reaction we usually get."
"You do know who we are, yes?"
"Well, actually..." The man frowned. "Other than descriptions of your appearances and a couple first names..." He shook his head. "No."
"Salla Hawke."
"Trian Saitada."
"Kels Marland."
"Our friends over there are Loghain Mac Tir, Caleb Hawke, Gavren Rutherford, Leandra Hawke, and Agatha Amell." Salla gestured at where the sounds of combat could be heard. "Jerath Gilmore, Duncan Therin, and Kieran Tabris are on their way and will be here any moment."
"Ah." The man paled, and then gave her a small bow. "We apologize for disturbing you. Please have a pleasant evening."
The rest of the men also bowed before following him out of the area. Salla shrugged, and headed into the alley.
#
Caleb looked to his left to see Leandra leading Gavren and Agatha towards them. A glance to his right showed Salla followed by Trian and Kels. "You might want to rethink this." He looked at the men who had just stepped out of the nearby building, and gestured at the men Loghain and Tisallan had cut down like weeds. "It doesn't look like this night is going well for you guys."
"Ferelden dogs. I'm going to -"
Tisallan kicked the severed head of the man he'd killed earlier. It hit the speaker in the face, sending him staggering backwards and shattering his nose. One of the other men took another look at the alley, grabbed the speaker, and hauled him back into the building. The rest of the men followed, shutting the door behind them.
He turned towards Tisallan. "Can you be my grandfather too?"
"It really wouldn't come as much of a surprise." Tisallan shrugged.
"Caleb?" Salla took a step towards him, her eyes wide. "That's..."
Slowly, he lifted the staff up. "Adralicus. He got it away from her, and she killed him for it."
"Shit." Leandra shook her head. "Now I feel really bad about the rabbit ear thing."
"Where is Kieran?" Loghain looked around.
"He went to get Duncan and Jerath." Salla waved a hand. "Let's get to out of the open. He'll find us."
#
Alistair stared down at the crystal in his hand. Brehan started to offer, and he shook his head. The boys had been his responsibility. He looked towards where Jerath's wrapped body lay next to the still forms of Adralicus and Dorian. Then he turned his eyes to Fenris. "When you..." He swallowed. "I mean, your ability..." He hung his head before looking back up at Fenris. "Did he suffer?"
"No." Fenris shook his head.
"Maker, I wish you were a better liar." He stood, and took the crystal into the next room.
#
Nesiara fell to her knees, shoulders shaking. Cathiel knelt next to her, putting her arms around the other woman as tears of her own began to fall. Rory sank into a chair, his eyes starring off into the distance as he shook his head in disbelief.
#
"Chief?"
Iron Bull took a deep breath, and then put his fist through the wall.
#
Agatha looked up when she saw Kieran walking towards them, followed by Duncan. She looked for Jerath, and then frowned. Her eyes went to Duncan's face, and she felt her heart lurch. She took a halting step forward. "Jerath?"
Duncan turned away, clenching his fists. She closed her eyes. Salla put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her in close as she started to cry.
#
Hesitantly, Caleb handed the staff to Kieran. Kieran looked down at it, frowning slightly as he did so. He tilted his head, and closed his eyes.
Gavren glanced at Salla before looking back at Kieran. "So..."
"It was raining. Drops beating a pattern on a stone roof. They piled what they had. Armbands. Knives. A flute. Harp strings. Sand through the hourglass, knowing what was to come. Our last working, secret and sacred, and they were gone." A tear rolled down his cheek. "And then so was I."
"You remember." Salla laid her hand on his arm.
"I remember." He opened his eyes again.
"So..." Caleb glanced around. "Is it a key, or..."
"It is not a key." Kieran shook his head. Green fire lit his eyes, and magical energy suddenly crisscrossed his entire body. Urthemiel's voice reverberated through the room. "It is a door."
"A door?" Salla blinked.
Slowly, he put his hand into the loop on the top of the staff. It vanished from view rather than coming out of the other side. Urthemiel smiled, and pulled his hand back out, holding an item.
"Maker's breath..." Kels breathed the words.
"Stone." Trian echoed him.
Salla stared as the orb in the Old God's hand began to glow. "Alright." She nodded. "So, we need to kill Baradies. And keep that thing the hell away from Solas." She looked around. "Ideas?"
Urthemiel smiled. "Yes."