As Morrigan slumped over, Cassandra reacted on instinct. She rushed forward, barely raising a hand to shield her face from the energies swirling around the well. Despite everything that had happened, the thought of seeing Morrigan fall cut the bottom out of her stomach and left behind a sucking, empty pit. She hesitated at the Well's edge, but swiftly realized that there was no more water to avoid. It had vanished, leaving only Morrigan's limp form lying across the tiled stones.

She sensed Herah beside her, but didn't bother waiting for the Inquisitor to join her. She took the steps two at a time, crouching down by Morrigan's side. Breath filled her lungs again when she saw Morrigan's eyes twitch beneath their lids. "Thank the Maker, she isn't dead," she whispered as Herah knelt beside her.

"Aw, Shiny, I didn't know you cared." Sera's shadow hovered over them, but she didn't bend down.

Normally, Cassandra would have objected to the comment, but she was far too distracted. Morrigan began to stir, and the Seeker slid an arm behind her back without thinking, helping her to sit up. The witch's yellow eyes snapped open, wild and confused. They were frightening to look at, but Cassandra didn't draw back. She kept a tight hold on Morrigan's arm, trying to prevent her from staggering to her feet, then helping her when she insisted. Strange words spilled from Morrigan's lips, a string of elvish Cassandra couldn't understand, and the sickening fear returned. She's alive, but what has happened to her?

"Morrigan?" Cassandra asked, not bothering to hide the urgency in her voice. "Morrigan, are you all right?"

Morrigan's eyes finally seemed to recognize her. They softened ever so slightly, and the lines of panic faded from her face. "I..." She breathed in, seeming to take stock of herself. "I am in-tact... Cassandra"

Cassandra felt another burst of relief. At least Morrigan recognized her and was speaking the right language again. "Careful," she said, steadying Morrigan's elbow as she continued to sway. "You were unconscious moments ago."

"Was I?" Morrigan's eyes grew blurry again, as though she was lost somewhere far away. "There were whispers, but your voice didn't come until..." She shook herself, blinking several times. "There is much to sift through."

"Wait, you're telling me the Well put voices in your head?" Iron Bull asked. He had lumbered down the steps to join them, but was keeping a fair distance. Cassandra could read the mistrust on his face. Obviously, he wasn't happy that Herah had allowed Morrigan to drink. Neither was Sera, but that wasn't a surprise. She hadn't wanted anything to do with elvish magic in the first place. Perhaps Sera was right, Cassandra thought as she watched Morrigan try to make sense of her surroundings. I know I said Morrigan should take the risk, but this was not what I expected to happen. She felt a stab of guilt for her earlier words, and she wished she could take them back. If things had gone differently, if Morrigan hadn't woken up...

Black fog slithered along the ground, swirling around their feet and filling the empty basin of the well, making Cassandra finally tear her gaze away from Morrigan and look up. At first, she only noticed Herah's frightened expression, but when she followed it back to its source, she saw something far worse. They were no longer alone. A tall, cloaked figure was standing on a far balcony, looking down at them with fury on his deformed face.

"Shite," Sera spat, speaking for them all. "Coryphy-tits found us. Let's run, yeah?"

"The eluvian," Herah said, gesturing toward the mirror. "Hurry!"

Cassandra didn't need to be told twice. She helped Morrigan toward the mirror, refusing to look back. The witch stumbled along beside her, struggling to keep pace, but she had enough coherence to lift her hand. The glowing glass flashed an even brighter blue, vibrating audibly as they drew near. Cassandra hesitated for a split second. She had never gone through one of the eluvian before, and she had no idea where it would lead. But to her surprise, Morrigan squeezed her arm. She didn't speak, but Cassandra understood the gesture of reassurance and if it came down to trusting Morrigan or battling the seemingly unkillable Corypheus, she was going to trust Morrigan.

Without further pause, she leapt through the mirror, followed closely by Morrigan and then the rest of the Inquisition's expedition. What Cassandra saw on other side was enough to make her temporarily forget everything else. The temple had vanished, and instead they stood on a misty plane, a strange wasteland with no vegetation and little light, covered only by dozens of eluvians and a series of bizarre statues that reminded her of trees without really resembling them. It was unsettlingly alien, and she was not the only one who thought so. Sera had huddled close to Herah, and even the normally imperturbable Bull looked decidedly uneasy. Only the two mages seemed unmoved by the sight in front of them, perhaps because they had been here before.

Morrigan's voice snapped them out of their reverie. "Step away from the eluvian," she ordered, and seconds after everyone rushed to comply, the glass exploded inwards, spraying back through the portal they had just emerged from. Its glow vanished entirely, and Morrigan told them, "There. Now Corypheus will not be able to follow us."

Sera bit her lip nervously. "That's grand and all, Spooky, but we're not, uh, stuck here, are we?"

Herah squeezed her shoulder. "Nah, we're fine. Morrigan has another one of these things around somewhere. It will take us right back to Skyhold." She turned to the witch. "You do know how to find it from here, right?"

"Of course," Morrigan replied. "That way. 'Tis not far at all."

Indeed it wasn't, and only a few minutes later, they stood in front of another mirror, the only other one Cassandra had seen that glowed. Morrigan waved her hand and its light grew brighter. "Simple enough."

As Morrigan moved towards the portal, though, she abruptly stumbled. Her legs seemed to turn to jelly, but before she could hit the ground, Cassandra was there, catching the witch in her arms.

"I… I am all right," Morrigan protested, but her voice trembled when she spoke and Cassandra could see sweat coating her skin.

"No, you are not." She braced Morrigan against her torso, letting her body take most of their combined weight. Together, they walked through the portal, and an instant later, they were back in Skyhold as if they had just been taking a stroll in the courtyard rather than many leagues away.

Morrigan gestured back at the mirror. Its glow stilled, but that seemed to take whatever energy she had left. Cassandra eased her down to her knees, and the witch drew out a long breath. "It is done. And I really will be all right," she insisted. "I am still processing what I absorbed from the Well, nothing more."

"Bloody weird," Sera said, shaking her head. "All of it is too bloody strange. Places should be next to where they're next to and water should just be water."

"I can agree with that." Iron Bull hoisted his sword onto his back. "And you know what else? Ale should be ale, and after that weirdness, I think it's time for a drink. Or a whole round of them."

"Now that's a sodding good idea," Sera agreed. "How 'bout you, Inky? Drinks?"

"In a little bit. I better make sure everyone's okay and the castle hasn't fallen down with all of us out in the Wilds."

"Go do that then."

Sera sounded a little annoyed, but that was Herah's problem. Cassandra was more concerned about Morrigan. The witch remained slumped against a wall. Strands of her dark hair were plastered across her face, and her eyes were half-closed.

"Are you sure you will be all right, Morrigan?" Cassandra asked.

"I will be. I simply… I will need some time to absorb all of this and recover my strength."

Cassandra nodded. "As you say. Let me help you to your chambers at least."

Morrigan didn't say anything, but leaned forward into her arms, allowing herself to be helped back to her feet. As they made their way through the castle, Cassandra's thoughts were troubled. Others might have seen her as stubborn, and perhaps she was, but she was also a realist and reality was not pleasant. After everything they had been through that day, there was no denying that things between them were even worse than she had realized. Attraction was bad enough, but actually caring was a disaster and there was no way to get around the fact that she did care about Morrigan.

Sera slammed her mug of ale back down onto the table, ignoring the wave of foam that sloshed over its lip. She had only been drinking for a little while, but she was already past tipsy and well on her way to drunk. This time, however, it wasn't the cheerful, forgetful sort of drunk. The more ale she drank, the gloomier she got.

She wished she and Herah had never gone to the Arbor Wilds. She wished they hadn't stumbled upon an ancient race of creepy, snooty elves and gotten mixed up with a long dead- No, nonexistent-elven "Goddess". And most of all, she wished she could forget the image of Corypheus hurting toward them on the smoke-filled wings of his black cloak.

He had scared her before, although she didn't like to admit it. That was the reason she had filled Herah's hat with apples, drawn his face on it, and gathered Skyhold's residents to beat it with sticks. In her experience, seemingly unstoppable boogeymen could always be taken down a peg. But then the Fade had happened, and the creepy spells in the Western Approach, and all the hocus-pocus nonsense in the Arbor Wilds was the last straw. Things she didn't want to understand, things she couldn't understand, were trying to kill the woman she loved, and she couldn't bear it.

"Titfucking arsebugger," she slurred, the only phrase she could think of to sum up the situation.

"Tell me about it," Bull grunted beside her. Although he had invited her to drink, they hadn't talked or interacted much aside from sitting near each other. "This whole thing is a sack of cats, isn't it?"

Sera snorted, slurping another bitter mouthful of her ale. It burned as it went down her throat, and some didn't make it past her lips, instead spilling down her chin. "I was thinking a sack of shite, but whatever."

"I'm just saying, you aren't the only one who doesn't like the way all this crap is falling apart," Bull said. Sera glanced over at him, and the uncertainty on his face wasn't reassuring. If Bull was scared too, things were just as bad as she thought. And that meant Herah was in as much danger as she thought, too.

"You know how these stories end, right?" she complained. "The hero always dies. Sacrifices their life for some stupid cause. And it's bloody rubbish, 'cause that's just stories, but..."

"I'm not going to die," another voice said. It took Sera a moment to confirm that she hadn't imagined it. She slid her mug aside to join the other empty ones and turned around in her chair, half-expecting to see only empty air. But Herah was standing behind her. Or, more accurately, Herah's belt buckle was standing behind her, and she wasn't sure whether to be angry or relieved.

"You can't promise that," she said flatly, still scowling. "And I thought you didn't want a drink?"

Far, far above her, Herah's head shook, although that might have been the booze again. "I said I had things to do, not that I wanted you to run away and get angry-drunk without me."

"Oh, I'm keeping out of this one," Bull said with an uncomfortable note in his voice. He left his stool and his mug of ale behind, nodding goodbye. "Good luck, boss. And that's all I'm saying."

Sera barely noticed him go. Her lower lip trembled, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to curse or cry. Seeing Herah made all the sick, scared feelings even stronger, but her presence was also reassuring. She didn't want her lover to stay, but she couldn't bear to let her go, either.

Before she could say anything, Herah made a suggestion. "Why don't we head up to your room? It's more private there."

"Fine, then." Sera gulped down the rest of her ale before following Herah up the stairs. As she walked, everything that had happened that day kept swirling around in her head: the bad, the weird, and the kind of humorous. By the time Herah was closing the door behind them, Sera couldn't stop a little laugh from forcing its way past her clenched lips.

"What exactly is the joke?" Herah asked, sounding somewhat confused at her sudden change of mood.

"I'm sorry. No, wait, I'm not. It's just the funniest, isn't it? That creaky old Abelas in Mythal saying the elves weren't destroyed by Tevinter."

The flat, puzzled expression didn't leave Herah's face. "An admission that did not come easy."

"Course it didn't. 'Cause that's elves elf-y thing. Being the sore losers of history and never hear the end of it. Like being sad makes them better than me. Turns out they're not victims. They're the same as everyone else: arseholes. Plus, a big old temple full of demon-worshipping lies. Grand, that."

Herah didn't seem to share her certainty. "So, your main take-away from everything we just went through is that elves worshipped demons?"

"Well, they never call them that, yeah?" Sera insisted. "But that's what it had to be. I mean, it was impressive and all. Makes the Dalish look like tits for living in the woods. But so what? There can't be a bunch of gods and the Maker. Don't matter how much or how little you believe, those don't fit. So call me stupid, but I believe the stuff not made up by dead people who failed. Mythal is a ruin full with demons." She dipped her head, suddenly unsure of what she was saying. As much to convince herself as Herah, she added, "I mean, it just makes sense, right?"

But her lover refused to be reassuring. "There's so much history," she replied. "What if some of it is true?"

"No," Sera insisted, shaking her head while her voice became increasingly frantic. "Now you're stupid. You can't think that, because it's stupid."

"But everything we saw…"

"Why believe it?" she demanded. "Because Abelas looked weird? If that's all it takes, Coryphy-shitheel is full of lumpy truth." And he couldn't be. She couldn't accept that, and before she realized what was happening, Sera had lost her composure completely. She threw her hands in the air, and screamed, "You're the Herald of Andraste. You keep saying this, you'll sound like an idiot."

Instead of yelling back at her, though, Herah's face softened. Crossing the room, she pulled Sera into those strong arms of hers. "Hey, what's really going on here? Something's wrong, and it isn't whether or not some elven legends are true."

Ugly tears started to run down Sera's face, and in spite of her best efforts, she wasn't able to get them under control. "It can't be true," she repeated, out loud this time. "It just bloody can't."

"Why not? Would it really be so bad if there used to be some other gods? I mean, we already knew the world's a pretty weird place."

"But… but if it is. If you're not…"

Herah tiled her head up, so that Sera was looking directly into the qunari's big, brown eyes. "If I'm not what?"

"If there's not a Maker, if He didn't send you… How are you going to beat Corphey-suck? You saw it. That elven thingy killed him and he didn't die. How're you supposed to fight something that won't die when you stick an arrow in its bloody gob?"

Herah's strong hand brushed Sera's hair out of her face and she bent down, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I know it's frightening, and I'm scared too. I'm no cleric, or an expert on ancient magic like Morrigan, but I can tell that this is big, and it's weird, and we don't know everything that's going on. But pretending we do isn't going to make this stuff go away. We've got to face it head-on so we can figure it out, and I need to know if you can do that with me."

Sera sniffled back her tears as best she could, wiping away the rest with her hand. She felt like a blithering idiot, carrying on like this. "I'm sorry, Inky. I didn't mean to… This stuff messes me up. And thinking about losing you messes me up more. Big tits always take away the good stuff, and you're the best stuff of all."

Herah smiled. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Not if I can help it."

Sera grabbed a hold of the edges of her robe, pulling her in closer. "Show me, then. Right now."