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It was a relief to leave the muck and the stench of the lowest level and be back amongst good dwarven craftsmanship, Varric thought, looking around at the stone walls with something resembling appreciation. Of course, returning to the upper levels also apparently meant returning to Larius. The ghoul had been nowhere in sight as they waded across the swamps at the bottom of the tower, but now suddenly here he was again. If he'd known a better way across, maybe he should have shared it, Varric though sourly.

Suddenly the whole tower shook, dust and pieces of stone falling around them.

"He feels the seals weaken! He knows you are close." Larius was standing too near Hawke for Varric's liking. "Be ready." A sound came from behind him, a scraping like boots on stone. Turning in alarm, Larius said, "What's that? Who? No! No, no. They're here."

Varric reached for Bianca.

"Speak plainly," Hawke snapped. "Who's here?"

"The Wardens. They listen to Corypheus. They want to bring him into the light."

"That sounds bad," Sunshine muttered.

Larius nodded. "Stop them. You must stop them!"

He hobbled away and was gone.

"Anders?" Hawke asked. "Wardens, or no Wardens?"

"It's hard to tell—there's so much taint here, and Larius feels just like a darkspawn. I itch to kill him." His hands flexed. "But there are more Wardens here. I can feel them."

"Do we trust them?"

Blondie shrugged. "Hard to say. If we trust Larius, then no. But he's farther gone than anyone should be and live; if he's got so much taint, why is Corypheus not controlling him? On the other hand, we've seen how Corypheus can get into Wardens' heads." He grimaced as if he was still hearing the voice. "So I think we have to wait and see."

"Lovely. My favorite answer ever."

"Sh," Varric said urgently. He could hear voices coming toward them. He didn't pull Bianca, but he kept a hand on her just the same, for ease of deployment if she were needed.

Hawke stepped forward, arms crossed, waiting for the newcomers.

There were four of them, all in Warden armor, clean and bright. They were discussing the quaking of the tower in low voices that nevertheless carried farther than they seemed to be aware of.

They stopped short when they saw Hawke. The lead Warden, a woman with brown hair, frowned. "You. You have the key. And you have come through the seals. But how?"

"I'm Mina Hawke."

"Child of Malcolm."

"The very same."

The Warden leader nodded. "I am Janeka."

"Why are the Wardens so interested in our father?" Sunshine asked, coming to stand beside Hawke.

Janeka looked at both of them, her eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Then you don't know? Without Malcolm Hawke, this prison would have fallen thirty years ago."

"I'm not here for touching family stories. I just want to get out of here, and stop crazed dwarves for coming after my blood."

"You must understand—Corypheus is the most powerful darkspawn we've ever encountered. We encased him in the strongest spells that we could devise, but even the best magic fails over time. The Wardens needed to reinforce the seals. The last mage to perform that ritual, using his own blood, was your father."

Sunshine caught her breath. "Blood magic? Father?"

"To avert the Blights, forbidden magics are sometimes necessaary," Janeka said coolly. "And now … we can use your help, Hawke. I have done extensive research into darkspawn and I believe the original Wardens were wrong."

Behind him, Varric heard Blondie mutter, "Here we go again."

"He isn't a threat to humanity—he's our greatest opportunity! A darkspawn who can talk, feel, reason …"

It sounded like a nightmare to Varric, and the Warden leader's green eyes were a bit too bright and glittery for his taste as she rhapsodized.

"Corypheus cares nothing about Blights. He is using you." Larius was suddenly next to her, appearing from the shadows, sounding much stronger and more together than he had since they'd met him.

"Warden Commander!" one of the other Wardens said.

"Don't listen to this … creature. He's half darkspawn himself." Janeka looked Larius over with disdain. "I know how to harness Corypheus, to use his magic to end the Blights."

It sounded like rose-colored glasses to Varric. Hubris.

And Larius agreed. He waved his arms vigorously at her. "No! The Wardens knew. Corypheus is too powerful!"

"Don't do it, Hawke," Blondie said. "You can't trust a darkspawn to honor any deal."

"Varric?" Hawke asked.

He shrugged. "Either way, it's one more darkspawn to stick a bolt in." And maybe a crazed Warden, too, while they were at it. Or a couple of them.

Hawke looked at Sunshine. "Father would have considered this, done the research. Trust that he was right."

"It's not that simple. He was forced into this, remember?"

Sunshine sighed. "Maybe not."

Larius shook his head, limping toward Hawke. "Corypheus calls her, and she listens. She brought him the Carta, sent them to you."

"Is this true?" Hawke demanded.

Janeka didn't answer. "You must help us," she demanded in her turn. "Understand, I am making no deal. I have a spell which will control Corypheus, bind him to my will."

"Where have we heard that before?" Varric asked Hawke, tilting his head toward Blondie.

Hawke shook her head sharply. "You are delusional," she told Janeka.

"We will find a way to do this, with or without you." Janeka turned to the rest of the Wardens. "With me!"

They hurried off.

Hawke turned to Larius. "Any bright ideas?"

"Hurry!"

"Hurry. Well, that's a thought. You know a shortcut, by any chance?"

His mental acuity seemed to have gone with the Wardens. It took him a long time to rack what few brains he had left. Finally he nodded. "This way."

"I don't like it, Hawke."

"I didn't like either option, Varric. If we could do this without any of them, I'd prefer it."

"Fair enough. At least this one doesn't seem to be dancing to the tune of some ancient darkspawn."

"No, he just is an ancient darkspawn."

"Better, then."

She smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

And they followed Larius into the dark.