All right. Being fully honest? Being a pirate was really only fun the first time around.

Don't get me wrong, there really isn't much else like the rush of leaping from one heaving ship to another in the middle of the ocean. The satisfaction of running down your prey, of out-thinking them, out-smarting them. Nothing more beautiful than the stars on a clear night, far from land.

There was a freedom on the sea. Isabella was right about that. A beauty to it. I'd spent countless nights just staring up at the stars, far from land, wondering if that bright sky was what people on Earth had once been able to see every evening. Sure, I could do that on land too, but it was just... different out on the ocean. More impactful, somehow. I'd loved it.

But at the same time... well, pirates were reviled for a reason. Sure, we'd mostly gone against targets I could hardly describe as innocent. Focused on attacking Qunari and Tevinter ships. Even then, though... we'd killed a lot of those ship's crews. Sailors. Oarsmen. Passengers. We'd raided that town in Orlais trying to capture Greg, had taken a few Orlesian galleons loaded down with silver, silk, and spices.

We'd killed a lot of people. And even among those who'd been on ships whose Captains I could be sure were evil... how many of the crew had truly deserved what we'd done to them?

"What lies and threats brought him from home." I whispered, holding a hand behind me, motioning for the men on the oars to pick up the pace. "Whether or not he would have rather stayed there. Whether he really was evil at heart."

Varric glanced at me, stopping his careful inspection of Bianca. "...who was that?"

"Tolkien." I closed my eyes, shaking my head once before opening them to focus. Our target was right ahead of us, and I had to be ready in case a watchman was on deck. Merrill's silencing spell was keeping the splashing of the oars quiet, but we hadn't found a way to make ourselves invisible. Not yet, at least. That was on my research list whenever I got time, though I didn't know if it was possible or not. "One of the greatest authors. I had all of his books."

"Better than me?" He asked.

I smiled a little. "Hate to bruise your ego, but yes."

He grumbled a little, purely for form's sake. He was just as focused as I was on the galleon wallowing at anchor. Another motion had the various Elves manning the oars ease up, Merrill expertly controlling the rudder to swing us around.

Another whisper brought the words of my silencing spell into the air, the magic swirling around us, freeing up Merrill to use her other spells without the distraction. Plus covering up for the fact that, while earnest, the Night's Watch with us were hardly as stealthy as proper pirates.

Gesturing for them to stay in place, I inspected the wooden sides of the ship. It was cleaner than I'd expected, clearly well cared for. A shame for what was about to happen to it.

Carefully rising to my feet, I tested my balance in the little boat before carefully finding a handhold on the galleon's side. The curving of the hull made the climb easier once I got up a little bit, carefully choosing each spot for my feet and hands on the way. While I could have gone faster, the water was cold enough to be lethal. Best not to take the risk.

It was why, of the several dozen volunteers that Elowen had provided, I'd only taken those who'd proven they could climb anything I'd challenged them to.

I reached the top, flexing my fingers once, before pulling myself up just enough to look over the railing.

A single man was on the deck, sitting down next to a little table with a lantern. His back was to me, his attention apparently on whatever he was reading.

Poor bastard.

Flexing my arms pulled me up and over the side, my magic covering the sound of my landing, of my sword leaving its sheathe. The merchant sailor didn't react until my blade entered his back and emerged just below his sternum, a gloved hand snapping over his mouth to stop his startled cry.

I held onto him until his weak flailing turned to nothing, and the stench of death filled my nose.

After a brief moment to make sure the corpse wasn't going to tip over, I moved back to the railing to find Merrill already coming on deck. We exchanged a quick nod, and she waved for everyone to follow us up.

Then it was my turn to stay in place, keeping the silencing spell in the right spot while Merrill darted toward the stern to make sure no one was lurking on the aft-castle. It didn't take her long to return, waving her staff to indicate it was clear, leaving the pair of us to wait as armed and armored Elves began to join us.

None fell into the water, thank God, even if Varric was clearly a bit rattled by the entire affair.

A final glance confirmed that Merrill had tied the boat in place, making sure our exit wasn't going to drift away. With everyone onboard it was time to start the rest of the night's grisly work.

"Fast and quiet." I reminded them all. "Take only what loot fits in your pockets, and for God's sake, don't let them sound a bell or scream."

Ten men and women had been looking rather excited, but the dark orders sobered them all up quickly.

"Varric's in charge." I waved my bloody weapon towards the nearest hatchway. "Go."

Swords and daggers were drawn, all of them following the Dwarf, listening to him whisper the exact same things I'd just said. While they descended, Merrill and I headed aft, to the officer's quarters.

The door creaked when I pushed it open. A hallway that would have been pitch black to non-Elven eyes awaited us, along with five doors. Two to either side, and one at the far end. Merrill motioned to the right, and I nodded, leaving her to take those while I carefully opened the first one on the left.

A balding, skinny man was fast asleep in a hammock. He stayed that way until I drove the tip of my sword up and under his sternum, finding his heart. His eyes snapped open, then rolled back as he let out a final gasp.

Letting out a tight breath of my own, I retreated to run into Merrill holding a bloody knife in one hand. Her free hand rose for the barest moment, cupping my cheek, her expression sorrowful.

Then we parted to do it again, killing the next two men.

And then it was the boss's time.

A push sent the Captain's door to opening, revealing a fairly standard quarters for a ship's commander in chief. There was a broad table in the center, small desks crammed to either side, and then a pair of small beds squeezed into the back.

Two men were asleep there. I recognized one as the weak-chinned man I'd dueled on the steps of the Viscount's Keep at the Grand Tourney's opening ball. Well, no, that wasn't right. I hadn't really dueled him. He'd made a single reckless attack, I'd disarmed him in one move, and he'd been suitably humiliated in front of the entire city.

I didn't recognize the other one, but from his similar chin and white hair, a father or uncle seemed likely.

For a few seconds I considered waking them up. At least telling them why they were dying. Thought about asking why they'd thought that sending assassins after me would actually work. Why they'd thought that, even if it had, Meredith or Varric or Elowen wouldn't have tracked them down and killed their entire family in revenge.

I considered it... but I cut the old man's throat without waking him.

There was no point to it. Nothing they could tell me that I couldn't guess. Their 'honor' couldn't bear the insult I'd given them two years ago. I, an Elf, had no right to humiliate a Human like that. I had no right to exist at all.

You know. The usual.

I turned to see Merrill drive the spear-point of her weapon into the other man's throat, pinning him down when he woke enough to flail for the few moments it took him to bleed out. Then she pulled it back, sighing.

"I don't remember it being this unpleasant." She admitted.

"It always was." I replied quietly, "We were usually angrier though. Anger helps you pretend they're monsters. Not people."

"...that sounds right." Merrill walked over to the table, picking up a cloth that had been left there, began using it to wipe down her weapons. "Do you think this will stop them?"

I shrugged, walking over to a discarded shirt, using that to clean my sword. "Supposed to be three main family members in the city, so I think we missed the brother that pulled him away. He's probably at their estate in Hightown with the rest of their family members."

Attacking them there had been the initial plan, until I'd learned that the family had young children. Five, in fact. All girls, the oldest not more than thirteen.

I was pretty sure I'd become an evil bitch in my time in Thedas. A villain rather than a hero... but I still had a few rules left. A few scraps of the woman I'd been on Earth.

I wasn't going to knife a little girl just to make sure there were no witnesses.

Knifing adults was hard enough these days.

Of course the surviving brother wasn't the only issue. I didn't mention that both of the Polignac family's brothers wives might also decide they wanted revenge. That they might want to make it clear to me that murdering their husbands in their sleep was equally unacceptable.

That was part of the problem with the whole revenge gig. If you weren't an icy, heartless bastard, willing to massacre entire family trees... there would always be someone who would be hurt by what you did. Someone who might have the wealth, power, or connections to keep the cycle going.

Somewhere, on the other side of the Veil, I was sure a Spirit of Vengeance was purring with pleasure at the feast it was going to enjoy from all of this.

"...let's see what we can find in the desks." I said, tossing the bloody cloth aside. "Maybe they'll be in league with slavers and we'll both feel better about this. Hell, maybe then we can have Dumar exile the lot of them to Orlais and at least make it harder for them to send anyone else after us."

Merrill nodded. "That would be nice. Well, not really, but you know what I mean."

I did. Making an effort of will to drop the silencing spell, I doubted we needed it anymore, I opened a porthole to let a more moonlight in. There wasn't much of it, the moon was past half gone, but it was enough for our super-eyes to work with. With everything else done, we both started yanking open drawers, pulling journals, maps, letters, and what looked like routine paperwork.

Glancing over a few didn't reveal much. The Polignac family were textile merchants who owned a pair of ships to transport their goods from Kirkwall to Val Royeaux. They were known for being rather daring, in that they continued to ship clothing even in winter. It gave them a bit of street cred among the other nobles, letting them look good.

Among the sailors in Lowtown, they had a darker reputation as cheap assholes who docked pay for things like storms causing delays or damage to their ships. That would have made me feel better if I hadn't just ordered any crew alive killed.

Had to be done if we were going to cover this up though. If we were going to have any chance of making this look like a tragic accident.

"Lot of this is in Orlesian." I muttered, "I'll need you or Varric to see what any of it says. Did you find anything?"

"Maybe... there's a letter here, not sealed yet. It's in Trade." Her feet brought her over so I could read it, both of us leaning a little to get as much light onto the paper as we could.

Elven night-vision was damned good, but it wasn't perfect, and the writing was rather small.

I squinted a little, muttering as I read. "...the thugs you were so confident in failed, and one of them was even captured by the Guard. I didn't seen anyone swinging from the noose so I'm assuming they gave up whatever that rabbit loving bitch wanted to know."

"Rude." Merrill huffed. "Smart, I guess. But really rude."

I kept reading. "We've doubled the guard on the estate, and relocated in secret to the Windswept. If that knife-eared whore," I paused to let Merrill growl again, "sticks to her usual thuggish patterns, she'll attack the Estate. We have our man in the Guard ready nearby to sound the alarm, and we'll finally get to see her choke out her last breaths."

I had to pause there, shaking my head. "Using their own family as bait. That's making me feel a little better."

"Mmm." My lethallan hummed in agreement. "Anything else?"

My eyes flicked over the last paragraph, shaking my head. "No. A promise that his brother's kids are safe, being kept in the basement at night, that everything will be settled by the time he gets back from Orlais."

"So he is coming back then." She said.

"Yeah. And I'm guessing he'll know who was responsible for this."

Merrill bit her lip, but the sound of approaching footsteps drew our attention around before she could say anything. We split apart, bringing our weapons up, then lowered them when Varric carefully called out.

"Buzz? Dasiy?"

"We clear?" I asked, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Yeah. Only nine aboard, all handled." He poked his head in, blinking a few times before squinting. "I can't see shit in here. You two all right?"

Holding a hand out, I focused on it, trying a new spell. Light began to gather there, illuminating the room... then it promptly began to flicker a bit thanks to my rough control. Ugh. Well, it worked well enough to let him see, earning me a quick thanks. He glanced past us, noted the blood soaked beds, and nodded. "That's it done with then. Not much to steal down below, pretty much no cargo aboard. Find anything?"

"Papers." I replied, walking back to the desk to start organizing all of the ones we'd found. "Bring your bag over. At a minimum they were hoping to lure us into a trap at the estate, why these two pretended to be servants and snuck out here."

"...isn't their family-"

"-still there?" I finished for him. "Yeah, they are. Brother is in Orlais though, so this probably won't be over. Just delayed."

Muttering something about that just being typical, he came over, pulling the empty bag off of his back and offering it to me. Between the three of us we got every scrap of paper in the cabin scooped up and secured, making sure to tie off the bag so that no water would get in when we left.

With that done with, there really wasn't much else to do apart from get ready for the final act.

The volunteers from the Nights' Watch were already back on deck, ready to get back down to the boat under Merrill's supervision. Leaving her to take command of that, I slipped down the main hatch, finding the main deck filled with the glow of a dozen or so lanterns. At the bow I could see several barrels of tar that had been tipped over, spilling the disgusting stuff all over the deck.

Even better, they'd listened to my other orders, opening every porthole and hatch above. Good. There'd be plenty of oxygen to fuel this then.

Heading as far forwards as I could without getting my boots coated in the sticky black crap, I picked up the first lantern, opened it, then tossed it onto the nearest cot. I watched long enough to make sure that the candle was still burning, then turned to repeat the process on the next one.

Then again. And again. And again.

Some of them ended up on empty hammocks, some were tossed on top of still bodies, some onto piles of discarded clothes.

The last one was hanging from a hook near the short stairwell heading up. I tested its weight in my hand, listened to make sure I didn't hear anyone above me, then whispered, "Schwert."

Blue streams of magic took the thing from my hands, hurling it in a line drive that ended at the combustible material at the far end. It lit up fairly quickly, adding to the smoke already beginning to curl up from the smaller fires around the enclosed space.

Not wasting another moment, I raced up onto the deck and over to the railing. A quick scramble down the side let me drop into the boat, Merrill already urging the others to push us away from the doomed ship.

They obeyed, oars flailing for just a few moments before we got far enough away for them to be used appropriately. Then they were rowing in sharp sequence, Merrill's green magic swirling out to silence the sound of splashing.

I saw the first bits of flame through the portholes while we were still within a hundred yards or so, but it took a lot longer for the ship to really go up. By the time watchmen on other ships began ringing their bells we were most of the way across the harbor, getting a Templar ship I knew to be empty between us and the merchants' half of the harbor.

It was still possible someone had seen us, seen our boat at least, but there would be no way they'd have been able to identify who was actually in the little craft.

Our oarsmen rowed in pretty good sync until we came up against the old fishermen's dock near the Qunari Compound. I leaned out to grab the nearest railing, tying the boat off right where we'd stolen it from a few hours ago, then scampered up onto the pier. Everyone quickly followed, forming up into two lines as we reached the shore proper, playing the part of an over-strength patrol hard at work.

"Right back to the Alienage." I said, "Everyone remember the cover story?"

Heads bobbed, a young man who might have been eighteen at the oldest speaking quietly, "Yes, lady. We were hunting a rumored maleficar for the Knight-Commander, but they weren't in their hiding place in Darktown."

"Good. Come on, sooner we get back, the sooner you can all enjoy the big dinner I had Caelia prep for you." I said.

Quick grins came with more nods, their moods cheered by the promise of a reward for the night's work.

With that we set off through the winding city streets, staying a couple of blocks away from the Qunari's little fortress at all times. Not because I was really worried about them, I didn't think they'd be so bold as to come after us. It was more the desire to avoid being spotted by the mix of Templars and Guards tasked with keeping an eye on them.

We managed that well enough I thought. Following side-streets, and cutting through a couple of alleys, eventually reaching one of the broader roads that would take us in a straight shot to the Alienage.

I'd just begun to relax when the sound of clattering armor began to echo in the night. It was quickly followed by the orange-red glow of torches somewhere ahead.

"Lethallan?" Merrill asked.

"Stick to the plan." I replied, our little column slowing up as the first figures came around a corner just ahead.

Templars, maybe a dozen of them, moving in a double-line just as we were. Several hadn't even had time to grab their helmets, all of them looking exhausted but alert as they moved at a quick-march... and at least two were Elves. Huh. They'd be the first members of that Order I'd seen with pointed ears.

The Night Watch members didn't need me to give the command; they stepped aside at once, clearing the road for the heavily armored men and women rushing our way.

Our polite deference got us quick nods from most of them as they rushed past, but one split off, hands on their hips, heavy pants for breath coming through the faceless helm.

"Lady Maeve." A familiar, masculine voice emerged, making me blink once, then frown.

"Cullen?" I asked, "Where's your fancy helmet?"

A tired chuckle came with his hands coming up, pulling the helm off to reveal his handsome features. His smile was rueful, "At the Gallows. It's easier to do a surprise inspection of the Chantry's night guards in a standard helm."

"Ah." I nodded. "Night inspections usually have to be done on the run? Or with your troops running off ahead of you?"

That smile became a little strained. "Not usually, no, but we saw flames in the harbor. Looks like a merchant ship. Standing orders are for immediate Templar inspection just in case mages were trying to escape by sea. I'm sure the Knight-Lieutenant can handle that without me."

"Would they try to escape by boat, though?" Merrill asked, all innocence. "Can most mages even swim? They don't really seem like they could. Those robes look really heavy."

"Well, no." Cullen admitted. "Most can't swim, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Speaking of, what is a party of the Watch doing out tonight? With the Lady and Deshyr accompanying them?"

Varric gave him his most charming smile. "One of the tavern workers heard a rumor about a blood mage in Darktown. Maeve thought that might be a nice little gift for Meredith to make her understanding when she turns down the offer of a landed title."

Blonde eyebrows rose. "I hadn't heard those rumors. Credible?"

"Apparently not." Varric sighed, doing a good job of looking despondent. "We didn't find anything and decided to call it a night."

"I see." He started to nod, only for more bells to begin sounding near the docks as more people woke up to the fact that a ship was on fire in the harbor. There'd be plenty of people rushing out now, making sure that their own vessels were far enough away not to go up as well.

Considering that the Galleon had been well away from the shore, I doubted it, but no one would know that until they came to check.

Cullen glanced that way, began to say something, frowned, then flicked his eyes to me. "...the Guard-Captain gave a briefing to the Knight-Commander and I this morning, about those assassins who came after the pair of you."

I tilted my head. "I kind of expected her to. What's your point?"

"The Polignac family. Merchants, with a ship." He said.

"Supposedly two ships, according to Brennan." I replied.

"...am I going to find out that one of those ships is on fire?" He asked quietly, turning his gaze to the members of the Watch, clearly looking for an obvious tells.

While many of them were young, the Watch had one great advantage there; each and every one of them had been taught to conceal what they were thinking from Humans almost since they were born. None of them, even the young teen, did more than blink politely, all of them remaining perfectly at ease.

"I have no idea." I said with a placid smile. "We were hunting a maleficar."

The Knight-Captain returned his attention to me, searching my face. Then he let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Maker's breath, Lady. You've been back for a week. Couldn't you have waited a little longer before you disturbed everything?"

"One, I didn't disturb anything tonight." I lied, "Two, seriously? You act like I go wandering around, picking fights for fun, instead of constantly having to react to people starting shit just because I've got obnoxious ears."

He winced, actually bringing his hands up in a surrendering motion. "I'm sorry, lady. I did not mean to imply. I know that you do not act without reason. Forgive my exhausted words."

I huffed, crossing my arms, but nodded. "Yeah, I do. You mind if we head home for the night?"

"Of course not. And..." There was another sigh, his head shaking. "...I'm sure I know what I'll find in the harbor, but I will dutifully inform the Knight-Commander that you were searching for a maleficar who you sadly couldn't find."

"...thanks."

A final smile, "And I will not mention the Dalish mage, so long as she keeps a low profile."

"Oh, I'm very good at that." Merrill beamed at him. "I'm quite short. Well, not as short as Maeve, but I'm still rather low to the ground."

Cullen gave her a final, baffled look, nodded to us, then moved off to pursue his little troop. Within a few moments he was up to a jog again, helm back over his head.

I watched him go, shaking my head once. "Senior Templars siding with me instead of with the local nobility. This city's changed since I was gone."

Varric elbowed me gently, "Nah, they'd have done that before too. You just didn't notice how much they liked you until you left. Come on, let's get back. I've got a few bottles of brandy that this lot deserves for keeping their cool."

"They did good." I agreed, pretending not to notice the preening. "So did you, Merrill. Been a while since you played the innocent Dalish like that."

She gave me a slow blink, "But I am an innocent Dalish, lethallan."

I snorted, making to poke her nose. Her expression broke into a giggle, darting back just enough to dodge, and earned us a few muffled laughs from the peanut gallery.

"Come on. " I said, waving for everyone to get moving again. "I'm starving, cold, and I don't want to run into any more Templars. Let's go home."

We set off once more, not to run into anyone else until we arrived in a warm Chantry, where we found warm bread, cooked chickens, and more waiting for us.