Cat continued to struggle, though there wasn't much she could do when she was being carried over someone's shoulder, her limbs tied, and a sack over her head. She focused her energy on her breathing, staying calm, and using her senses to try to pinpoint where she was.

She waited, biding her time, since there was hardly any noise besides the men walking, and the only thing she could smell was the sack currently covering her face, and she frankly wished she could smell less of that. She couldn't quite decide if the sack was used for dirty laundry or maybe something that had died, because it completely reeked.

After a time, she was roughly dropped down, landing painfully on her wrist, since her hands were tied behind her back. She groaned in pain, and rocked to get into a sitting position. Someone grabbed her shoulder, yanking her upright, and she felt a wall at her back, leaning against it as best as she could. She could hear the men around her laughing and talking now, and very quietly to her right, she heard what sounded like crying.

The sack was pulled from her face, and Cat winced, blinking to adjust her eyes to the well-lit room. She looked around slowly, noting how the men ignored her, even the one who had pulled off the sack, had thrown it on the ground and was walking away without speaking.

She looked to her right, and noticed a girl, probably in her late teens, wearing what Cat liked to think of as "standard mage attire". The simple robes, with the ornate woven belt, shoes that looked more like house slippers, and the cowl. She didn't see the appeal, especially with the purple feather adorning the top, standing up from her forehead. How anyone thought they hid the fact they were a mage dressed like this was shocking.

"Hello," Cat said quietly. "Are you all right?"

The girl looked up at her, her eyes darting from Cat's face, to the men around them, and back. "You shouldn't talk, they'll punish you," she whispered back.

"I'm Cat," she replied with a smile. "If we whisper, and keep looking forward, they won't notice that we're talking." There was a pause, but Cat turned her face forward, to prove her point.

"Olivia," finally came the response, though it was so quiet, Cat could barely hear it herself.

"Do you know where we are?" Cat asked.

"No, but I heard some of them talking about getting rid of us soon."

Cat kept silent as a couple of men walked past, somewhat closely. Once they had moved past them, she whispered again. "So, do you know who they are, or what they want with us?"

She could see in her peripheral vision Olivia's surprise, as she turned to gape at Cat, though she quickly hid her expression, and turned back to look forward. "They… are slavers. We've already been sold to them, and will be sold again."

Cat's eyes narrowed, and she looked again at the men around her. Little things began to make more sense, especially why the man she had passed in Darktown looked so familiar. The robes, the cowl with a big centerpiece that made it look like he had horns growing from his head… and the large handlebar mustache. Dan… something.

Cat could recall the quest with clarity now, questioning the slavers in Darktown, trying to find Feynriel, the half elf who didn't want to go to the circle, and was sold into slavery while trying to make his way out of the city.

The people they were with now, seemed like the middle men. Wasn't there some sort of captain, who kept them in a building by the docks? Cat thought to herself. Her eyes moved back to Olivia, as she remembered the mage girl who was there, who tried to run and eventually… turned into an abomination rather than be captured. The mage girl who left behind a note, that they took to her father, Thrask.

Cat closed her eyes then, thinking furiously. There's no doubt that Issy will come, the question is when, and with who? If she could be sure of either, she could make a more concrete plan, however her first priority was now keeping Olivia from desperation- for Isabela's sake as much as Olivia's.

A burly man came in the building, and began walking toward them, followed by several others. Cat quickly spoke, no longer caring if they saw her speaking. She turned to head to look at Olivia.

"Olivia, no matter what, just stay with me, okay? They don't want to hurt us, because then they won't get as much money. My friends will get us out of here, we just have to play along for now, okay? Trust me."

Olivia watched the men coming nearer, her face showing her fear.

"Olivia!" Cat hissed, breaking through, and getting her attention. "It will be okay, stay calm. I'm here with you."

The men were on them now, one of them cutting the ropes from their feet, and pulling them up standing. The man who was obviously in charge stepped forward and backhanded Cat across the face. It hurt like hell, and Cat was wincing as she tried to look at him.

"I'm fine Olivia, just stay calm," she said evenly, though she couldn't see Olivia now.

"You've got balls, girl." Cat looked back at the man, his smirk wasn't one of amusement, and she could tell he wanted to keep hitting her. He refrained, probably in order to get a bigger payday. "You two come along without trouble, and you won't be harmed. Otherwise…" he raised his hand again, and Cat unwillingly flinched. "Got it?"

"I understand," Cat replied. "My friend is a little skittish, so if you keep her near me, it will help keep her calm. Mages can be unpredictable when upset."

The man looked back and forth between the two women, not trusting the loud one, but the younger one definitely looked… off. It couldn't hurt to keep them near each other. The older one was obviously not a mage, and the younger looked scared enough to not try anything.

"Tie them together, and get going. You have until dawn." he shouted at his men as he walked off. "Oh," he stopped, looking back. "and I won't accept less than fifty sovereigns for the three of them."

Hawke watched as Anders paced in front of his clinic, berating himself quietly as he walked. Hawke didn't like that the man was blaming himself. Obviously Cat had left on her own, and it wasn't as if Anders had been tasked to keep her there.

"Anders, you need to stop, this isn't your fault," Hawke said as he halted Anders' pacing with a hand on his arm.

"How can you say that? She was under my care, and now she's gone!" After the shout, Anders deflated and added more quietly, "who else is there to blame?"

"I agree," Fenris added in, from his spot behind them, leaning against the wall. They were waiting for news from Carver and Isabela as they searched for a trail.

"Not helping," Hawke said with a turn of his head to Fenris, who shrugged. He turned back to Anders. "Cat is a grown woman, and she decided to leave. That's hardly your fault."

Anders face crumbled further into despair, as he scrubbed his hands over his face. "You don't understand…"

"So, help me then."

Anders looked at Hawke, noting again how noble he could seem. He truly is a man of many faces, going from a jester, to a cunning rogue, a mighty warrior, a fellow mage who understood his need to rebel against the chantry. All in all, a good man to know, and call friend.

"We were talking… and…" he stopped, unable to share details of what was most definitely a private conversation. Cat had confided in him, he couldn't break that trust.

"And?" Hawke asked.

"I upset her. I didn't agree with her, and I could tell she was upset about it. I suggested we go to bed, and we could speak more in the morning. Then I woke up in the middle of the night, and she had left."

"So?"

"What do you mean, so? Obviously I upset her enough that she felt she had to leave."

Hawke rolled his eyes at his friend. The man could twist anything to fit his own point of view. "Or… she could have wanted to think about your side of things. Or, she couldn't sleep and didn't want to wake you, so she went for a walk. Or any number of other possibilities. A simple disagreement doesn't make this your fault."

Hawke grabbed his shoulders to make Anders look at him. "Would Cat just leave the city, leave Isabela, because of your disagreement?"

"No." That was one thing Anders could be certain of, and so was Fenris, if the snort they heard was anything to go by.

"Then the reason we can't find her is…?"

"Someone took her." Immediately after saying this, Anders finally understood what Hawke was trying to get him to see. Even if Cat was upset enough to leave, someone else was to blame for her being missing. He felt the fury grow within himself. Fury at himself, for dwelling on his own feelings when Cat was in trouble, and fury for whoever had waylaid her.

Hawke gripped Anders' shoulders a little tighter, seeing the blue cracks growing in his skin, his eyes shinning an unnatural blue color. "Stay with me here, Anders. We need to find her first… then we'll get revenge."

"Not revenge… justice."

"Right," he replied. It was always disconcerting to hear that deep, otherworldly voice coming from his friend. "Just, you know… stay calm." He was relived to see the blue clear from his eyes and skin, as well as seeing the determination on Anders' face. It was so much better than the guilt.

"If you boys are done hugging it out, we've found something." Isabela spoke up from across the hallway. The three men walked quickly over to join her, following her down the alleyways. After a few turns they came upon Carver, who was crouched, and looking intently at the ground.

"You've tracked them this far?" Hawke asked, looking at the ground and trying to see what his brother was seeing, but only saw dirt.

"Yes," Isabela replied. She used a hand on Hawke's shoulder to turn him toward the wall. "See this mark here? That's from Cat."

"Wait, this dark mark?"

"No, I'm fairly certain that's blood." Shaking her head, Isabela followed the scratch on the wall with her finger. "This mark. She used her boot to make this."

"How can you tell? It looks completely random," Fenris asked, looking intently at the mark.

"Because I taught her how to do it," Isabela sighed. "Look, do you really want me to explain it? That will take time Kitty may not have. Or, you can trust me, and we go get her back."

"We trust you, of course," Anders answered for everyone, and the others nodded along.

"Good. Here's the tricky part." She gestured towards Carver, and he took over the explanation.

"They most definitely went this way, however there are more tracks heading east," he pointed the opposite direction, which was the way towards Lowtown.

Isabela interrupted, "We've already gone some distance in both directions. There are a group of men this way, but no sign of Kitty. However, they may be our only lead, because we couldn't find any sign of her that way," she said with a nod towards the east.

"Then we find out what we can from them," Hawke said decisively. "We have no time to lose." He reached out a hand to Carver, helping him stand. "Lead the way, brother."

Carver nodded and strode off. They followed quietly, each of them separately hoping to receive the answers they needed to find their friend. After a few staircases, they stopped momentarily, Carver pointing out the group of men loitering in a corner of Darktown.

Hawke nodded, and took the lead, walking the down the last flight of stairs towards the men. As they were noticed, the men stood and gathered around their leader, a man dressed in robes, and large cowl, with a thick handlebar mustache and small, squinty eyes.

"Excuse me friend, but we're looking for a friend of ours, and it seems she may have come this way, perhaps a few hours ago?" Hawke asked civilly. He didn't like the look of these men, especially if they had come across Cat all alone, but he had no proof… yet.

The man in charge smirked, "Nobody comes to this part of Darktown without my say so. This is my territory."

Hawke smiled charmingly. This man obviously knew something, the smirk gave him away, but two could play this game. "Ah! We found the right person to ask then. She's about yea tall," he said while showing Cat's smaller stature with his hand by his neck. "Dark hair, pretty thing. Any chance you've seen her?"

"Sorry, friend. As you can see, no pretty things around here."

"Liar." They both turned at the sound of Isabela's voice behind the men. She had a man in a choke hold, a dagger pressed to his throat. "Show my friends what you've got in your hand, big boy."

The man scowled, but held up his hand, showing off the long dagger. It appeared to be a normal dagger, but when Hawke looked closer, he noticed the blue color of the handle, with the blue dyed leather fringe hanging from it. It was one of Cat's daggers, and not only that, but one that she hardly used because she prized it so fiercely.

"She would never willingly part with that," Fenris said quietly.

Hawke, Carver, Fenris and Anders all turned at the same moment to glare at the leader, who flinched slightly at the heat of their glares. Then he smirked.

"Looks like we have a few more volunteers, boys. Clap 'em in irons, and let's see what the Tevinters will pay for 'em."

"Slavers," Carver spat out. Hawke could feel the tension around him, his group ready to kill them all, but he didn't have time to mess with this filth.

"Fenris… I need answers from him."

Fenris tilted his head slightly, then the slightest of smiles graced his lips as he strode forward. His skin seemed a beacon in the darkness of the area as his tattoos flared to life, and he pushed his hand directly into the man's chest.

To say the man was surprised would've been an understatement, and he grunted in shock and pain. Expecting to be impaled, but still breathing, he looked down, eyes widening in shock from seeing the arm protruding from his chest, with no blood. His knees buckled, but he was held upright, and felt a pain he had never experienced, feeling as if his heart was being squeezed, like the grip would continue until his heart was squashed into paste.

Fenris gave no sign of emotion, as the man panted, the heart picking up its pace in his hand, and he gripped tighter, holding back only enough to let the man still speak. "Where…. is…. she?" he growled out menacingly.

"We… we sold them to a ship captain…" the man wheezed, all confidence and bravery gone as he faced his own demise. "In… Lowtown." He panted, trying to gain enough air to continue. Talking was much harder than he had thought it would be, his heart racing as if he had been running for hours. "He took them… to the docks. That….that's all I know…"

Fenris said nothing, just crushed his fingers tighter, and the man wailed. "I… I swear! That's all I know!" With satisfaction, Fenris brought his fingers into a fist, crushing the soft organ in his hand, and retracting his hand so the man fell into the dirt, lifeless.

The other men around him immediately put their weapons down, surrendering, while the others that were further away, gave battle cries. Isabela made quick work of the men on the outskirts, stealthily moving in and out of the surrounding shadows.

Anders cast Haste on his friends around him, speeding their movements, though to each of them, they were moving as normal, and the enemies around them were moving slowly. Fenris and Carver used their large swords in sweeping arcs, cutting down several men at once, and Hawke cast Winter's Grasp, freezing the last few in place before Carver shattered them into pieces.

"Thirty seconds to loot, Isabela, then we're leaving," Hawke called out, catching his breath and stowing his staff.

"As if I needed that long," Isabela scoffed from the staircase. "Let's move slowpokes."

Isabela grabbed the handle of her dagger and pulled it out of the captain, flicking it a few times away from herself to clean the excess off. She looked up, noting the angry expressions on the others' faces. "What?" she finally asked, with a shrug.

"What?!" Hawke asked back sarcastically. "We needed to question him!"

"Did we really though?" She asked back with overt sweetness, batting her lashes.

"What do you know that we do not?" Fenris asked accusingly.

"Oh, just where they took Kitty. The man over there tried to bargain for his life,"she replied, gesturing to one of the bodies with her dagger as she spoke.

"You could have said so," Hawke grumbled. "I wanted to kill him myself."

"I'm sure I can think of a way to make it up to you, sweet thing," Isabela purred, stepping closer to Hawke.

"We don't have time for this," Anders spoke up. "Where are we headed now?" He asked Isabela.

"The wounded coast," she replied, and Carver groaned.

"What is with these slavers? This better not be some wild goose chase."

"A little advice?" Isabela offered as they headed out of the city. "Don't refer to Kitty as a wild goose again. She wouldn't appreciate it."

"I wasn't… that wasn't what I… you know I didn't… ugh! Women!" Carver spluttered. Isabela laughed, and started jogging ahead.

"Let's go boys, I want to be back in time for breakfast!" she shouted behind her, and for a moment, they enjoyed the joke on Carver, before steeling themselves for the fight ahead, and jogging after Isabela.