"Alistair." Hawke walked towards him and immediately began to set his arm. "What happened?"
"I am still attempting to figure that out." Alistair shook his head. "The lyrium warrior is dead. My son-in-law killed him."
"Loghain?" Fenris raised an eyebrow.
"Considering what has been said of the woman my daughter grows up to be..." Alistair flexed the newly healed arm. "I am starting to grow very concerned about the possibility of grandchildren." He nodded to Hawke. "Did you find your kids?"
"We found Leandra and Caleb." Fenris rubbed the back of his neck.
"Then they rode off on the back of a dragon that we are pretty sure was Urthemiel."
"After Cullen's son pulled apart yet another building." Fenris shook his head.
"Maker's breath." Alistair shook his head. "What is -"
He cut off as a half dozen qunari ran past their location. A heartbeat later a glowing young woman waving a massive long sword ran after them, yelling. "Women don't fight my ass! Why don't you qalaba-raas get over here and say that to my face?"
They all stood there silently. "We all saw that, yes?" Fenris asked.
"Of course, when it comes to having to be concerned about grandchildren..." Alistair shook his head. "I really have nothing on Cullen and Carver."
"Alistair..." Hawke glanced at him before turning to his husband. "Fenris..." He gestured out at where the city was starting to explode into chaos. "Our children are having fun without us." Fenris chuckled, and drew his blade. Alistair nodded and strapped the shield he'd taken off one of his dead guards to his arm. His smile was grim. Hawke twirled his staff, and grinned. "Let's go show them how it's done."
#
He saw the newly summoned shade fall to the arrow before it had even finished forming. The magister who had summoned it took the next arrow through the eye. The mage behind him barely managed to turn in the direction of the archer before she too was impaled. Another mage hurled fire in the direction the arrows had come from and he saw Duncan leap into the air a heartbeat before the spell destroyed the ledge he'd been standing on. He landed on the railing of a staircase and slid down, firing arrows at the enemy mages before leaping again as he landed. The few surviving mages sent spells at Alistair's son, missing as Duncan ran across the railing of the bridge, firing arrows at them.
The three remaining mages got a barrier up, and started calling up fire in their hands. Duncan ran to the edge of the bridge and leaped off into the empty air. Brehan started to shout, and then the dragon rose up from below, Duncan on his neck. A gout of fire caught the mages. From the back of an Old God, soaring through the air, the crown prince of Ferelden fired one last arrow. It went past Brehan's head and he turned to follow it, only to see it take a man who'd been trying to sneak up on him right between the eyes.
"Alright." Brehan nodded to himself. "I'm just going to add that to the list of things about this whole mess that I am never telling Cathiel."
#
"My daughter did what?" Lenore stared at Cullen. Carver covered his mouth with a hand as he tried not to laugh.
"Blew up the Dread Wolf before riding off on the back of a griffin with an ancient elven warrior."
Arenda threw her hands up in the air. "I have come to the conclusion that there is something deeply wrong with your children."
"At least we know where they are now." Carver pointed at the three towers that made up the highest point of the city. Lights in a variety of colors kept exploding at the top.
Lenore waved at where torches, lights, and spells could be seen throughout the entire city. "Everyone knows where they are now."
"It concerns me that might have been the point." Cullen frowned. "We should -" He sighed. "I have absolutely no strategies for this particular situation."
"I got one." Carver laid his blade across his shoulders. "Let's go show Tevinter just where these kids get it from." He grinned before walking out of the building. Lenore laughed and followed.
Cullen exchanged a look with Arenda before shrugging and heading out after them.
#
Salla stood, focusing her magic on the barriers around her companions. She felt a tingling in the barrier around Caleb, and sent healing magic in response. On the other edge of the roof, the dragon landed. Duncan leapt lightly to the ground. Agatha and Tisallan immediately leapt onto the dragon's back and it took off again.
Duncan refreshed his quiver before heading to the edge of the roof and looking down at the people starting to cross the bridge. He nocked an arrow and fired, pinning a magister's head to a nearby statue. The people on the bridge started to scatter and run. Near a fountain on the streets below he saw enemy forces trying to regroup. He concentrated, forming the map in his head. The dragon roared, and down below he saw the forms of Kels and Trian adjust their trajectory. "Status?"
"Everyone up, everyone moving." Salla reported back. Instinctively she strengthened the barrier on Leandra before directing healing energy into Loghain.
"Your fathers and mine have joined the fight." He nodded at where fire suddenly appeared on one of the streets below. "They seem to be doing some damage."
"I'll bet." She grinned fiercely. Her eyes closed as she drew upon the energy of the staff again. The workings were starting to make a notable dent in the power it had built up, and its ambient glow was starting to darken. With her eyes closed, she could almost see the map Duncan was creating for her companions, and wondered for a moment if this was what it was like for her Uncle Carver. Part of the map glowed for a moment, and she felt Kieran, Agatha, and Tisallan diving in that direction.
#
They made the short work of the first group of enemy combatants they'd encountered. Cullen was leading Lenore and Carver towards part of a fray when they heard a sharp whistle and looked up to see Trian. He was waving at a group running up the street. "Hey, Vints, yer mothers are all rock-lickers." The dwarf added a rude gesture before ducking under cover. The group started towards him.
"Shit." Lenore started heading in to rescue the dwarf.
The enemy forces came around the corner, fire starting to appear the hands of the mages. Kels and Loghain leapt down from the roof above, landing in their midst. The fire vanished in a pulse of energy a heartbeat before Kels took the head off one of the mages. Loghain ran a man through before pummeling another to the ground. Trian came out of his hiding place and charged, bowling two others over. Loghain and Kels stood back to back, and the Tevinter were down mere moments later.
"Lieutenant." Cullen stared. The eyes of his attaché were glowing. And so, for that matter, were the eyes of Trian and Loghain. Just as Agatha and Tisallan's had been earlier.
Kels saluted. "Commander."
"When did you become a templar?"
The young men exchanged looks, and Kels shrugged. "About half an hour ago, give or take a few minutes."
"What are you kids..." Lenore started to ask.
All three turned westward at the same time. Loghain shook his head. "Can't talk now, Leandra found a party." They jumped down what had to be a thirty-foot drop, landing easily before running off.
Lenore and Cullen both turned towards Carver. Carver chuckled. "Remember when you asked how a dozen Wardens could take on the entire Qunari vanguard in a single evening?"
"But..." Lenore shook her head. "But you had..." Her eyes widened. "Kieran is at a fraction of his power."
"Maker's breath..." Cullen shook his head. "The kids have the staff."
"And if we've figured that out, safe bet the Dread Wolf has too." Lenore growled.
"Well, hopefully they draw Baradies out before the Wolf catches them." Carver started towards the tower again. "Or this is going to get really messy."
#
"For Tevinter!" A group started to charge at Hawke's party.
"For mabari!" Another voice yelled, and Agatha Amell leapfrogged over one of the group, twisting his helmet to blind him, before heading down an alley. The entire group immediately switched directions to pursue her.
Hawke immediately raced after them, follow by Alistair and Fenris. Agatha came to a stop in the blind alley, turned, and grinned at her pursuers. One sneered. "Bad move, little -"
Enchanted swords came to life as another elf appeared in the midst of the Tevinter forces. Agatha drew her own knives and leapt into the fray as Tisallan's blades began to dance, whirling faster than the eyes could follow. Agatha moved as if she knew exactly where his blades were going to be, darting in and out to slice open the few that managed to dodge the ancient's warrior's attacks.
The last of the Tevinter forces fell before Hawke could even get a spell off. "What the..." Fenris said.
"Imagine." Tisallan looked towards Agatha. "These people actually believe they defeated the elven empire." He made a tsking sound under his breath.
"Boggles the mind, really." Agatha shrugged.
The two of them leaped into the air, grabbed ledges, and were running across the rooftops again a few heartbeats later.
Alistair turned to look at Hawke. "They did say in the future, she works for my son, right?"
"Yep."
"Good to know." He shook his head.
"I am not sure which possibility concerns me more." Fenris frowned thoughtfully.
"Possibility?" Hawke turned towards his husband.
"I am attempting to decide whether or not the children actually have anything resembling a plan."
Hawke casually flung a fireball at a small group starting to draw weapons and come towards them. "I see your point."
#
"Brehan."
"Bahalan."
The sentinel glanced at him before gestured at the city below. "The children have apparently declared war on Tevinter."
They stood for a few minutes, watching Leandra taunt a group into coming after her, only for a shot from Caleb's crossbow to strike a rune someone had stuck on the nearby wall, causing it to explode. Leandra went through the few survivors like Shale in a pigeon coop. Brehan turned to look at Bahalan. "A war they appear to be winning."
"I no longer feel quite so bad about having been captured by them." Bahalan gave a small chuckle.
"Yeah." Brehan nodded. "Same here." He shrugged. "You know, I passed what I'm thinking may have been a bar on the way up here."
"Such a thing would certainly seem to warrant further investigation." Bahalan nodded.
They turned and headed back down the stairs.
#
Beneath them, the entire city was awake. Those who were neutral or innocent were trying to get as far away from the chaos as possible. The enemy forces, drawn or herded by the actions of their companions, were converging on the tower. Duncan saw a small band of sentinels crossing the bridge, and sent an arrow. It pierced the head of one and continued into the stomach of the man behind him.
"I think we have everyone's attention now." He tugged slightly, and felt the dragon move in response, diving to collect some of the others. A few of the enemy forces had tried to take their own positions atop towers. Towers which were currently in flames. He smiled fiercely. A high dragon was dangerous enough on its own. Add a mind that had been tutored by a couple of the greatest generals Ferelden had ever produced, and one had an unstoppable force even without throwing in the Old God bit. His general should be here.
"You're doing fine." Salla smiled at him reassuringly.
It took him a couple seconds to realize he hadn't said the words out loud.
#
Lenore caught sight of Alistair's group, and gestured to her companions. "I don't suppose any of you know what is going on?" She sent a wave of ice over a group attempting to charge in their direction. "Such as where all these people are coming from?"
"Qunari. Crows. Cultists. Various Tevinter factions. Spotted some Carta." Cullen frowned. "Actually, the only group I haven't seen..." He shook his head. "No, there they are." He pointed at a group charging up a nearby staircase. They wore Orlesian style armor.
"Well, at least there are no -" Carver cut off as a pride demon came around the corner. "Oh come on, I hadn't even said it yet."
Hawke whacked him on the back of the head. "You should have known better than to even think it."
"Has anyone seen Brehan?" Alistair asked as he drew his blade.