Once she reached the Hanged Man, Cat avoided the group's table and found a small one on the other side of the room. She had thought she had a handle on everything, but now there was a large wrench thrown in the works, and his name was Garrett Hawke.
She sat and ordered a meal, brooding over the events of the past few hours, wondering if she should have done something differently.
"That's quite the scowl Kitten," Varric noted as he sat down next to her. She looked up and around, wondering if she had somehow sat at their normal table by accident, but no, Varric had simply come to join her at the table she had chosen.
"Yeah, well, I can't be happy all the time," she muttered, looking back down at the table.
"You know what would help? A story," he said with a half smile, "particularly telling a story… maybe about something that happened in the past?"
"No thanks Varric, though I appreciate you getting creative in trying to worm out details from me," she responded.
"I do my best," he said, now with a full smile. "How about telling me why you're sitting over here?"
"Just needed to think," she replied. "Hard to do that around our group."
Norah brought her food and drink then, and Cat just stared at it, wondering why she had ordered anything at all. She wasn't hungry, and it looked… sketchy.
"You try and enjoy that," he said as he stood back up. "We'll be leaving once everyone gets here, so don't think too long, all right?" He patted her back as he turned back towards his normal table. "I gotta write a letter before we go, but I'm here if you need an ear."
"Thank you," she replied, picking up her fork, and forcing herself to take a bite. It tasted like cardboard, but she wasn't sure if that was because of the food, or her mood.
Her thoughts continued to run rampant in her mind, and she just tried to sift through them as best she could without emotion. Logically, she could see where Hawke was coming from, even though she couldn't understand him. If he didn't trust her, why…? When he had leaned down… she shook her head, trying to clear it. She didn't need to dwell on those feelings again, she had already spent the entire walk from Hightown trying to figure them out with no success.
She heard a burst of laughter, and turned, seeing Isabela next to Hawke, both of them laughing loudly, making her smile. If anything, I'm just glad to see Issy happy.
She turned back to her meal, her smile growing as Varric's words ran through her head again, and an idea formed. A letter… she thought. Why didn't I think of that sooner?
Isabela had her wiles, and she knew how to use them, but Cat was one tough nut to crack. She had seen her glance over when the group laughed at her joke, but there was no trace of jealousy. In fact, she had almost seemed pleased, which confused Isabela even more, but she supposed she should be used to it. After all, Cat never acted as Isabela expected, ever since they met.
"Are you going to tell me what happened in the Rose?" she asked Hawke quietly, once the others at the table were conversing with each other, and no longer listening.
"She was with another woman," he began, surprised when she didn't give some sort of comment to that, but continued on. "I almost didn't interrupt, but finally decided that you were right. Better angry than dead."
"And?"
"The woman was some sort of mage. She had Cat bewitched, and was trying to have her slit her own throat."
Isabela turned her head to glance at Cat again. "So she's dead then," she said, and Hawke sighed.
"I let her go," he said softly. "She wasn't actually able to make Cat do it, she just had her holding the dagger to her throat, and both of them were weeping. Once I realized what it was, I broke the spell, and had the woman talk. She was most definitely connected to our blood mages, and knew their entire operation. I gave Cat time to compose herself, and then we came here. Oh, and Cat lost her job on our way out," he added hastily.
"Tough day then," Isabela smirked, glad that she had gotten Hawke to follow them. It could have been so much worse…
"I'm assuming Cat heard about the blood mages summoning demons into others from that woman, but what I don't understand," his voice rose, as his frustration came out again, "is why she waited to say anything!" He took a deep breath, realizing others had looked his way. "That recruit is dead, because she held her tongue."
"Oh really?" Isabela asked with a dry look.
"What does that mean?" he glared back at her.
"So Kitty comes to you a few days ago, and says, 'I heard about some blood mages that can do creepy things, Hawke," making her voice higher as she imitated Cat. "and what?" she asked. "You go hunting for them? You wouldn't even know where to look if that woman hadn't told you."
"Well yes, but-"
"But nothing. Kitty is a good friend to have Hawke, but she's not perfect, and she can't work miracles."
"She's keeping secrets," he growled lowly. "Secrets that affect the rest of us."
"Ah, so Hawke is just nosy."
"That's not- ugh! That is not what I'm saying."
"I get what you're saying, handsome," she said, as she ran her hand through his hair, ruffling it. "But dwelling on it won't help anything. Cat will open up when she is ready, and not before. Like a stubborn lock," she added. "Keep forcing it, and all you'll do is break your lock pick."
"That was right poetic Rivaini," Varric said without looking up from his writing.
"Also works for advice about sex," she replied and she laughed again, while Hawke shook his head and smiled at her.
Cat had never felt the same dread others did when they walked through Darktown, which was how she had almost gotten sold into slavery, she knew, but it hadn't changed anything. It was a place of danger, yes, but one she felt comfortable with. When walking with such a large group, no one dared to even stay in their path, skirting out of the way before they arrived.
Cat followed the others, as Hawke led them to an unassuming corner, and turned behind an old, rusted mining cart. There on the ground was an opening, with a ladder leading down into the dark.
Hawke wasted no time in climbing down, and Cat wished again that Fenris or Anders were here with her. They had plenty of fighters, with Aveline and Carver, Isabella and Varric, and Merrill and Hawke. But she was missing the two that would be keeping close to her, as they both had other things they needed to do, after this morning's activity.
A pity party, huh Cat? She asked herself, shaking her head and smiling ruefully at her own whining. She thought of Idunna, and refocused on the task at hand. These mages were going down. It's too bad the guys aren't here for this, as they would actually agree with each other this time, she thought.
As everyone made it down the ladder, and looked around, Varric stepped forward to creep along, looking for traps.
"Are we certain we can do this without templar aid?" Carver asked quietly. "We have no idea how many there are."
"Shades!" Varric called as he backed up, and Carver and Aveline surged forward. Isabela immediately went into stealth, and Cat side stepped, bringing up her crossbow to aim at an abomination that was heading towards them from across the room.
"Rage Demon!" she heard Merrill yell, and after releasing a bolt, she looked over. She was still covered, so she loaded another bolt, and kept firing until the fight was over.
The group spread out across the room to cover everything as they walked forward. "There are corpses everywhere," Aveline commented. "Some are fresh, and others are just bones."
"They must have been trying on others to perfect the process," Hawke mused. "Who knows how long they have been here?" he asked, looking sideways at Cat.
Cat didn't notice, or hear what was said, as she had seen a large patch of deathroot growing on the right side of the room. She went over, pulling out a dagger, and cutting it out of the ground, placing the root in a bag at her belt. If Anders didn't need it, then she could sell it, she thought. Turning back, she saw the others looking at her. "What?" she asked.
Hawke just shook his head, and the group continued. Further on, the room ended in a small tunnel, opening again into another large room. Finding no traps, the group pushed on, and upon entering the room, Carver spoke. "This isn't a good sign."
They could all see what he meant, as there were skeletons everywhere, strewn throughout the room.
"Seems they got plenty of practice, Hawke," Varric said, and he continued forward, albeit more slowly. He could sense something, but was unsure of what it was.
They stopped and looked around as the skeletons began moving, and then standing, and then pulling the bows off their bodies. Hawke was quick to cast a barrier on himself and Merrill, and they used quick attacks they could fire rapidly to bring the number down.
Aveline made use of her shield, charging for a group and swinging her shield out in an arc to keep them from firing. Carver leaped up, bring his large hammer down on the ground, causing skeletons near him to topple over.
Isabela, Cat and Varric, were the most active, constantly moving to avoid being hit. Once it was over, there were arrows all around Hawke and Merrill on the ground from hitting the barrier, several in Aveline's shield, and everyone was out of breath- but they were all uninjured.
Moving forward, they found themselves again in a small tunnel, leading to a larger room that was filled with light. There were hanging braziers throughout the room, and the group made their way cautiously towards the front. There on their right was what looked like a person, suspended in mid air, covered with milky white wisps of smoke, as if suspended there.
Cat moved forward, but Isabela held her back with a shake of her head. They all looked over as a door on the left opened, and a woman wearing mage robes entered, followed by three other mages that were covered head to toe so that only their eyes were seen.
The woman seemed to enjoy matching, as her shoes, her robes, and even the color on her lips were the exact same shade of lavender, and Cat felt uneasy at the excitement on her face.
"How wonderful that you have come to us willingly! We are always in need of more vessels for our experiments!"
Hawke was not amused, and stepped forward. "Where is Keran?" he asked.
The woman acted as if he hadn't spoken, looking at each of them in turn. "Perhaps the demons will find one of you suitable."
Carver looked uneasy. "She must be an abomination. I… think." She sneered at him as he spoke.
"I am not some helpless waif that ran crying to a demon- I sought them out, and embraced them!"
"Why did you take the recruits?" Hawke demanded, focusing her attention back to him.
"Demons can inhabit much more than mages, or corpses," she answered with a smile. "With assistance, they can control anyone I choose. Any templar… any noble… and any well-meaning meddler."
Hawke merely smirked at her. "We are no easy prey. You do realize we cut a path through your abominations, right?"
"Good, good!" she answered, and Cat and Isabela looked at each other in confusion. "The demons will enjoy your spirit! When a few more templars fall prey, we will have sown chaos in their ranks. How long will the Knight Commander survive as they discover abominations among their own?" she laughed hysterically.
"And…she's officially lost it," Varric said dryly.
"It's good to know you're barking mad," Hawke said calmly. "Makes things easier for me, as I don't like to kill my fellow mages."
She scoffed at his words and spoke again. "With a wave of my hand I can achieve much more than any templar in their lifetime. Yet they command us? Absurd! We should be ruling them! WE will rule all, and if you will not join with us, either the demons will have you, or the compost heap will!" She turned to the mages behind her. "Kill the vessels only if you must!" and they all pulled out their staffs.
She immediately created a barrier, and the other mages called forth shades and abominations.
"Issy!" Cat called. "Distraction Attack!"
"Got it!" she called back and went into stealth.
"What?" Carver yelled, and Cat called back, "nothing! Just attack!"
Cat dodged the shades, leaving them for the others, as she approached Tarohne, who was still inside her barrier. "You almost succeeded," Cat said, as fire hit her armor from one of the mages, but with her drake skin armor, it went unnoticed. "but Idunna is no longer yours. She is free."
Tarohne's face darkened in anger, and she was so focused on Cat, that she failed to notice that the mages behind her fell one after the other. She finally dropped her barrier in order to attack Cat with a spell, and received Isabela's dagger in her back as a result.
Cat moved forward, and smiled at her. "Goodbye, Tarohne," she said, as she stabbed her own dagger in the mage's ribcage. Cat watched as the life left her eyes, but the body didn't fall, and she stepped back in shock. The mage's body changed, until Cat and Isabela were standing with a desire demon in between them.
"Why do you fight us?" the demon asked, and Cat understood how others fell prey to a demon's voice. It wasn't a pleasant sound… no, it seemed more to grip her very soul, and pull her towards its words, and it was focused on Isabela, not her. "Why fight at all, when I can give you all you desire?"
"Oh, really? Because I desire quite a bit," Isabela answered as she stowed her daggers away.
Considering Isabela easy prey, the demon turned back to Cat. "And you? We could be so much more together…" The demon looked at her, head tilting in question as Cat crouched into a fighting stance. "The home you seek… I would take you there," it cooed at Cat, and she could feel it's own excitement.
"I want nothing from you, and you'll not leave this room," Cat growled.
"You deny your desires, but I see them laid bare," it spoke softly as it came closer, and Cat was fighting with all she could to simply not heed its voice. "The elf? The mage? They need not ever leave your side with my help," it whispered, though she felt it as a shout inside her head.
"Wanting my friends with me now, does not mean I want them to be slaves to my every whim," Cat spoke angrily. "Issy! Help me kill this thing!" she called desperately.
"Kitty, can't I get some things first?" Isabela called back, but she rushed forward to help kill the demon. Merrill finished with her own fight, and came over to help finish it off.
"You really should find out what it wants before agreeing with it," she suggested to Isabela. "Otherwise you may end up not liking the bargain."
"Thank you Merrill," Cat groused, and turned to Isabela. "Never again, Issy. Swear to me. No deals with demons."
"But Cat-" Merrill started, and Cat just held up a hand. "Issy…" she said, and Isabela rolled her eyes.
"I'd like to promise Kitty, but since I didn't even remember making a deal, I don't want to make a promise that I could unknowingly break."
"Issy…" Cat glared at her friend.
"All right, I promise. No deals. But if I make one without knowing, you have to swear to forgive me," she added.
Cat shook her head in exasperation. "I suppose that's fair."
"Will you please tell me what that attack yell was?" Carver asked as he pushed forward to them.
"Attack yell?" Cat asked, then realizing what he meant, she laughed and explained. "We've been fighting together for awhile now, so we've come up with names for certain tactics we use. That way we know what our ally is doing, and our enemies don't."
"We use something similar in the guard," Aveline commented. "Very effective," she added, complimenting them.
"Thank you." Cat replied, heading over to where Hawke stood with Varric, looking at the man still suspended in air.
"Shouldn't the spell have broken when they died?" Cat asked.
"One would think," Hawke replied. "But since it didn't there may be more that are unaccounted for. Hopefully they'll slink back to the shadows or wherever they emerged from once they see their leader is dead."
He stepped back, and indicated everyone else should do the same. "I'm going to try to dispell this, so everyone be on guard," he said to them.
Normally Cat was eager to watch magic happening, but this time, as Hawke tried again and again, she found herself irritated that it was taking so long.
"The light!" A voice rang out, and everyone looked around, while Hawke took a moment to stretch and get his breath back.
"I… think it came from him," Merrill said, pointing to the man that was still midair. "I think you're wearing it down, Hawke. Do you want me to help?"
"No thank you Merrill," he replied. "I've got it, now that I know which counterspell to use."
Hawke raised his arms again, and true to his word, the spell was broken in minutes, and the man fell to the ground. Hawke went over to help him up, asking, "Keran?"
"Yes," he answered as he stood. The man, well, boy, really… Cat thought, was wearing only pants, and rubbed his eyes before looking around.
"Thank the Maker," he said. "I thought he had abandoned me."
"But…" Varric said quietly. "Is it only Keran? It could be Keran plus one. And a nasty plus one at that."
Carver spoke as well, looking very uneasy. "I never really understood how people could fear mages so, having grown up in our family with Father, you… Bethany." He hung his head. "But this… Andraste was right to warn against magic."
"Of course!" Hawke said, falsely jovial. "Maniacs with swords and lyrium, with "the Maker" on their side never hurt innocents."
"It seems they may have a reason," Carver shot back, angry at Hawke's tone. "I just never looked at it from their side, and now… I see."
Hawke didn't answer, turning away from Carver and back to Keran. "What DO you remember, Keran?" he asked.
"I was… uh, with a lady," he said, and he blushed slightly, looking at the women in the group. "and things got fuzzy. I remember feeling on fire for days, a demon laughing, a naked woman with razor claws, deep in my chest." His hand rose, and he looked down, surprised that there were no marks on his skin. "I know what it sounds like," he said.
"Merrill?" Hawke asked. "Any insights? Can we tell if he IS possessed?" "
"I don't know…" she answered as she walked forward. She took Keran's hand and pulling out a dagger, punctured the pad of his finger with the tip. She took a drop of his blood on her finger dabbed it, rubbing it in between two fingers. She brought her fingers to her nose, smelling the blood, before tasting it, and Cat flinched.
"I would say he is not," she said, rubbing her hand on her armor. "The blood is clean, with no scent of demons in it." She walked back behind Hawke as she spoke.
"What… uh, what happens now?" Keran asked, looking oddly at Merrill.
"Well, it looks like you can go home, or back to the gallows. Your sister is quite worried about you," Hawke said with a slight smile.
Cat grinned as Isabela rolled her eyes. "Such a goody-goody," Isabela whispered, which had Cat laughing, and trying to hide it, which of course, came out in a snort, causing everyone else to look at her.
"Uh, yeah!" Cat said, uncertain was had been said, and hoping she was agreeing with something that she actually agreed with.
"Right…" Hawke said, and turned back to Keran.
"Please… don't tell the templars," he said as he took his leave.
"We definitely need to tell the templars," Carver said as soon as Keran was out of the room.
"It would completely ruin that boy's life," Hawke debated. "The templars won't care that he resisted, or believe that he isn't possessed."
"But it would garner their favor for us," Carver offered as they began to walk away.
Cat wasn't listening, as she berated Isabela for making her laugh, though they then spent most of the trip back to the gallows impersonating the crazy mage/ abomination, and laughing at each others' take on her.
As they entered the gallows for the second time that day,Hawke strode over to where Keran and his sister were speaking to each other. She saw Hawke approaching, and turned to greet him with a grin. "Thank you serah! You saved my brother!" she said, as she moved in to give Hawke an impromptu hug.
Hawke chuckled, surprised at the sudden hug, and patted her back awkwardly. "It was no trouble miss," he answered, and Keran reached forward to pull his sister back.
Hawke looked back at his crew. "Perhaps I'll let you go first from now on brother, so you can reap the rewards," he teased, and Macha smiled timidly, while Carver looked annoyed at his older brother's antics.
"What is Cat doing?" Hawke asked Isabela, as he noticed that Cat was talking to a red haired templar knight.
"Delivering a letter," she answered. "For Anders' new assistant."
Hawke nodded, as was about to turn back to Keran and Macha, as he noticed another templar going over to intercept Cat as she made her way back. He stopped, and looked closer, seeing that it was the Knight Captain, and decided to wait for them to come to him.
Cat stopped as she heard "Hello again, my lady."
Looking up, she saw Cullen approach her, and she smiled. "Hello Knight Captain."
"Please, call me Cullen," he offered.
"Very well, but if I do, then none of this "Lady" business for me. It's Catarina, though my friends usually call me Cat."
He had her continue walking, putting his arm out in a ladies first gesture, and following along beside her, his hands behind his back.
"It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Lady Catarina," he said with a small nod.
"Ah-ah-ah!" she retorted. "Not a lady," she reminded him with a smile.
He returned her smile ruefully. "I mean no disrespect, but I do not want to seem overly familiar," he said.
"So you came from Ferelden, right?" she asked, changing the subject. They were walking very slowly, and but were approaching Hawke and the others.
"Yes, I was transferred from the circle there. Not many are aware of just how close the circle came to falling to abominations during the blight, and there were many painful memories that I wished to escape from."
"I'm very sorry to have mentioned it then," she replied, placing a hand on his arm, and looking at him, trying to convey her sorrow for what he had been through.
"It is all right," he replied, and Cat pulled back. "There are many good memories as well.
"If not many knew of the circle's problems, then how are you so knowledgeable Cat?" Varric asked innocently, and Cat gave him a dirty look.
Cullen looked down at Varric and back up to Cat. "You… you know of it?" he asked quietly, and she nodded. He stepped closer, not noticing the tension among the rest of the group at his movement. "It was you, wasn't it my lady?" he asked in awe. "I thought perhaps you had been a dream, or even a vision, but some of the other templars had seen and spoken to you…"
He dropped to one knee in front of her, and her eyes went wide, frantically looking at her friends in desperation.
"Anything I can do, my lady, to repay your kindness, I would do- this I swear."
Cat reached down and pulled on his arm, as they were getting stares from every direction. "Please stand up!" she hissed under her breath, and he immediately stood back up. "A bit of kindness needs no payment, only to be passed on to another," she replied, much more comfortable now that he was standing again. "And don't call me lady," she added.
"You are too good to be real, Lady Cat," he said with a small smirk. He grabbed her hand, bringing it o his mouth, and kissing her knuckles. She immediately turned red, embarrassed, because not only did it make her want to swoon, buteveryone was watching. It could only be worse if Fenris or Anders were here.
Hawke chose that moment to step beside her, and blurt out, "Blood mages have infiltrated your ranks and are possessing your recruits with demons!"
Cullen, in shock, dropped Cat's hand and stepped back. "Sweet blood of Andraste..." he murmured.
Macha, looking scared, stepped further away from her brother. "D…demons? Recruits and demons, you said?" she asked fearfully.
Keran dropped his gaze to the ground, his shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry Macha, I didn't want to scare you, but I am fine, I was saved in time." Macha looked relieved, and practically fell into her brother's arms. Keran comforted his sister, and looked at the rest of them in anger. "Those mages see us all as ants to be crushed. They won't stop until they see the Chantry and the templars destroyed forever."
Hawke, never one to let mages be abused, even in speech, defended. "And the fact that mages have been systematically abused by the templars for over a thousand years?" he asked.
"How can you say that?" Cullen asked, truly surprised. "Especially after what you have seen?"
Carver stepped forward, his voice trying to convey his point to his brother. "Yes, how can you say that the to templar right in front of you?"
"Mages are not like you and me," Cullen continued, "they cannot be treated as ordinary people, because they are not people. They are weapons."
Cat glared back at him, Get off your soapbox, Cullen, she thought.
"Mages are people," Hawke tried again, beseeching them all with his words. "They are humans, and elves… just like the rest of us," he said.
Cullen looked at him sadly. "Many go their entire lives believing that. But if even one in ten falls to the lure of blood magic, they could destroy this world." He turned to his recruit, sighing, "Keran, you are stripped of your commission until it is proven you are free of demons."
"But ser!" Keran said, dismay on his features. "I need this position to support my family! And how could I possibly prove…" he and Macha looked at each other, disparaging.
"Keran is NOT possessed." Hawke stated, matter of factly.
"I hesitate to ask how you are so certain," Cullen responded, looking at Hawke in a new light.
Cat took that moment to interrupt. "Is this how the templars treat their own? If a mage had simply wounded him, would you not care for him and his family? You certainly wouldn't give up on him as you are now."
Cullen looked at her, pausing as he thought on her words. "You speak truth, Lady Cat, and it seems your compassion for templars knows no bounds, however, I cannot put all others at risk for one."
"There must be some way of minimizing the risk without throwing him out on the street to starve," she rebutted.
"Perhaps… you are right. It makes more sense to keep him close, that we may watch over him." He turned back to his recruit. "Very well Keran, if you have shown no signs of possession, in ten years time you will be eligible for a full knighthood."
Macha started crying, and Keran tried to soothe her, looking glum. "Thank you serah, all of you. I wish I could reward you as you deserve," he said to Hawke.
"I will handle that," Cullen said, handing over several coins to Hawke. "You have done the Order a great service by ridding us of these blood mages. We will not forget it."
Hawke, still unhappy by how things played out, nodded once and turned to stalk away. Everyone else turned also, and Cat looked disappointed as she too, turned to leave.
"Lady Cat, if I may?" Cullen asked, stopping her.
"Yes, Ser Cullen?" she answered.
"I would like to… uh," his hand crept up to run the back of his neck, "speak to you more, about your time in Ferelden? That is, if you would like to…"
"Uh…" Cat blanked, unsure of how to respond.
"Cat! We're leaving! NOW!" came the yell from Hawke, and Cat gave Cullen an embarrassed smile.
"I have to go, but, perhaps another time?" she asked, and turned before he could answer, hustling over to her friends who were waiting, most of whom were smirking at her. "Goodbye!" she said turning back quickly, and then catching up with Isabela.
"Not one word," Cat told her, as she opened her mouth, and she merely smiled back.