It occurred to us later that first day that the traitors in the Guard would have been fully able to tell the Qunari that I was leaving the city, and that I was doing so in the company of a small party. That the city's well respected Guard-Captain would be with me, along with the city's wealthiest Deshyr.

We'd already been planning on being paranoid, but that certainly ramped it up as we rode east. Our conversations became short, no one letting themselves get too distracted. There was no more reading of the book on the move either, and we began camping without a fire.

For the first three days it seemed like it was all a bit too much. We didn't pass anyone else on the road, which wasn't unusual. Sure, it was a nice road with plenty of inns, and saw a good amount of traffic, but most of that traffic wouldn't come until the harvest season. Right now few of the rural types were leaving the sheltered valleys that they farmed, and most of those who had were probably behind us at the Chateau.

The only thing we did see were the first merchant galleons of the season sailing west along the coast.

It wouldn't be until that fourth day, when we neared the Blue River and its bridge, that we ran into the kind of trouble we'd been expecting.

"Another one on the left!" Varric shouted, Bianca clanking and whirring as he sent bolts flying up into the rocks. A return arrow skipped off the barrier I'd cast around him, his aim adjusting to reply in kind. "Two more, they're charging!"

I stopped myself from poking my head out, keeping my back to the boulder that Brennan and I were using for cover. "Thrask!"

Taking shelter behind their own set of rocks, Thrask nodded, his helmet concealing his features. A fully armored Trevelyan was right at this side, the girl following behind when he surged upward, shield and sword in hand.

The pair of them vanished out of my sight, forcing me to listen until I heard the sound of metal clashing.

Brennan didn't need me to tell her that was our signal. She whirled around her side of the rock as I surged around the other, both of us charging uphill to find a ragged line of either mercenaries or Qunari waiting for us. My heartbeat surged, the world slowing as the adreneline hit, making me feel like I had an eternity to take them in.

Two Kossith, three Elves, and a pair of Humans were still upright. Two more figures were laying immobile, Varric's bolts protruding from their bodies. One of the Kossith and an Elf still had bows, were still trying to bring down Varric, while the two Humans were trying to hold off our Templars.

The other pair of enemies were charging in, clearly meaning to flank our friends, but a bellow from the Kossith leader had them change course when they saw us coming.

"Bren, drop!" I shouted, my free hand coming up to point as the two men came forward together, the bigger man sheltering the smaller. "Fuego!"

My friend hit the deck just before the napalm screaming out from my hand to envelope the pair. The Elf went up like a howling torch at once, his screams making my ears ring. His partner's Vitaar must have had an anti-magic coating because it seemed to shelter him for a few steps, his massive shoulders lowering like a man pushing through a strong wind.

Then the heat broke through his protection, melting away the paint, and the jelly-like flames washed over him.

I was cutting power to the spell when Brennan bounced back to her feet, shield up and protecting her head as she charged the archers. Kicking off with my back foot, I followed behind as best I could. Seeing an arrow ricochet off of her shoulder pauldron had me gamble; hissing the words to my barrier spell. Yanking it off of Varric and wrapping Brennan in a shield of blue instead.

It worked out; thank God.

Both of the enemy archers tried to slam arrows into the thinner protection around her legs, the magical protection keeping them off until she reached melee range. An almost negligent flick of her sword cut open the Kossith's belly, leaving him snarling when she rushed pase, chasing down the scrambling Elf.

I was on the big guy before he could recover, my sword slamming his bow out of his fumbling hands, thrusting for his heart. He twisted at the last second, leaving me to open up one of his lungs instead, a pained wheeze the only noise he could make.

He tried to deck me with a massive fist, but between his wounds slowing him and my already petite height, it was easy to duck the blow, yanking my sword out of chest. He staggered past, fell to knee, and turned just in time for my sword to enter his throat. A single twist and cut opened the entire front of it, blood spurting out as he toppled for good.

A glance to my left showed Brennan beheading the last archer, and a turn to the right let me see Thrask and Trevelyan holding one of the two men at sword point. Everyone else was apparently dead, or getting there.

"...fuck." I exhaled the word, coming down from that high you only got in life or death situations. What was left was a numbed exhaustion, and a tired realization that there was still a lot of work to do.

"Varric!" I raised my voice, calling to him. "Check the bodies for any information if you can! Bren? Make sure our mounts are all in one piece. Maybe take the little one with you, Thrask and I will handle our survivor."

We all began to bustle around, getting started on the grim business that followed the already grim business of battle. While the others checked on our mounts and started rifling through the pockets of dead men, Thrask hauled his prisoner over near a rock, my legs carrying me over to join him.

The man was clean shaven, his skin a deep tan. Tevinter maybe, or Rivain. One of his legs was bleeding, someone had taken out his knee from the looks of it. He wouldn't be running off on his own. His clothing was the kind of thing I'd expect a woodsman or a hunter to wear, and that was where I began the questioning.

"You actually a Qunari drone, or are you a local hire?" I asked.

"Ebost Asala, Bas!" He spat.

Well that certainly answered the question. "Uh huh. I'm guessing the Ben-Hassarath aren't worried about making a martyr of me anymore?"

He sneered, his English-slash-Trade accented but understandable even through his pain. "I will tell you nothing, bas'saarabas."

I regarded him for a long moment, then said. "Schwert."

The telekinetic spell slammed his head against the rock, an audible crack echoing down the hill side. Eyes rolled back at once, his body slumping down, leaving a trail of blood from where his skull had broken on the stone.

"I believe you." I told the twitching body. "God-damned fanatic."

Thrask let out a tired exhalation, stretching out with his sword just in case the man's heart was still beating. "I would have thought the Qunari would be more competent in their choices of kill teams."

"Me too." I said, frowning at the corpse.

Our first warning had been the archers trying to hit us at better than a hundred yards. At that range they hadn't even managed to hit our horses, giving us the time we needed to ride behind a small ridge, getting them tied up so that we could advance without risking them.

Maybe if I hadn't been a mage, able to keep a barrier protecting Varric, they'd have had a better chance. Been able to wound one or two of us, make us close ranks, go on the defensive.

"...I don't think they thought we'd attack." I said, shaking my head. "None of these guys was actually in armor. I think were trying to scare us into backing away or rushing ahead."

Thrask hummed, pulling out a cloth to wipe off his blade with. A glance behind us had his shoulders relaxing, and I followed his gaze to see Brennan and Evelyn leading our horses in our direction.

"I half feared someone would have attacked them." He admitted, offering me the cloth when he finished. I took it, and started cleaning my own sword as best I could. "But I think your idea may be the right one. Few on horseback would think to dismount entirely to advance into hills like this. True Knights would have simply ridden ahead to bypass them, or else retreated to try and draw them back."

Meaning the fact that only Thrask could fight competently from the back of a horse could have worked in our favor. That, plus my desire to know just who was attacking us, had led us to dismount and fight instead of just racing past them.

Lucky. Maybe.

Turning around the other way, I stared at the bridge, just a few hundred yards off and a bit below our current height. The river itself was wild and raging with the snow melting from the mountains, and it would probably stay dangerous for a while yet. On the far side was one of the small forests that dotted the coastline, the road meandering through it.

If I remembered right, there'd be another fifteen miles or so before the next intersection, leading to a farming valley split between a few noble families. There'd be an Inn there, the last major one on this side of Kirkwall before we reached the city proper.

"Make us rush ahead and into those trees." I muttered. "There could be another kill-team waiting for us there. Traps to slow us down, or to wound the horses."

He nodded slightly, not protesting when I simply tossed the bloody cloth aside. "I fear it likely, my lady. We may need to cut north instead. If we follow the river bank, there should be another bridge perhaps twenty miles inland, near the base of the mountains proper."

I chewed on the thought. "Does that connect the valley road that would take us to the North Gate?"

"Yes. A direct shot, though it winds a bit through the mountains. We'll be delayed in returning by at least a day, likely two."

"That include our cross-country time to even make that road?" I asked.

"No." He admitted. "Worse, my lady, is that road also goes west, towards the valleys and chateaus. They're rarely used, even by the locals. If the Qunari have more agents in place, they may be waiting there as well."

A hand rose to rub at my chin. "Maybe, but... I don't have a good feeling about this bridge, or that forest. I don't like the delay, but we got lucky for once with this ambush. I'd rather not try our luck a second time."

He nodded, the two of us retreating to where the others had piled the bodies.

"No time for that." I said when Varric waved for us to help get them prepared for burning. "We're changing course."

Varric huffed. "Changing course? You forget you're not at sea with Rivaini?"

A bit of heat rose in my cheeks. "Shut it, you know what I mean. Thrask thinks this was supposed to spook us into another ambush either ahead or behind us, and I agree with him. So we're going to cut north through the wilds to get to the mountain road."

Brennan let out a slow whistle. "You sure? My Guard don't patrol that road. Could be more Qunari, or Carta, or even Tal-Vashoth up there."

"I know." I said, and I did. "But I'm certain these guys didn't expect us to rush them like we did, and neither did whoever positioned them here. They'd have been better armed and armored."

"Point." She admitted, glancing at the bodies. "Not much gear, and not much skill. Young scouts meant to report back, or try and intimidate us into rushing past before an arrow could lame a horse."

Thrask and I both nodded, though it was he who spoke. "That is exactly what we believe. If we cut north we can avoid whatever ambush may lay ahead, and the mountain road is narrow enough that a similar attack will be impossible to conceal."

"Plus," I added, "We'll get back to the city right near the Viscount's Keep, and be able to report in before anyone could try to stop us."

Varric frowned, even if he accepted his pony's reigns from Evelyn and got to work pulling himself into the saddle. "That'll take us what, three or four more days?"

"About." Thrask agreed, mounting his own horse, the rest of us following their lead. "We have enough rations, that will not be a problem."

"Yeah." Varric allowed, "But if they've got horses too they could ride east, then cut north to ambush us before we make the gate. There's only one way from that road to Kirkwall once we're on it, unless you want to go north of the mountains again."

I got myself settled on my shaggy pony, considering his words before saying. "Yeah, but we're trading a potential ambush close to the city against a guaranteed ambush while we're still a few days out."

A low grunt. "Not sure it's a guarantee, but it's your call Buzz."

Clicking my tongue, I tugged at the reigns, getting the pony moving. "You know I hate being the leader."

"Then stop acting the part." He replied with a certain grim cheer. "North?"

"North." I confirmed, a light kick getting the speed up a little. "Evelyn? You've said your horse has the best balance. I want you out in front, find us the best path along the river."

"Of course, my lady." She called back, already moving to take the lead as we approached the rode. "I'll keep watch for any signs of others as well!"

I nodded. "Good girl. Bren, be a second set of eyes for her. I'll take rear guard for now."

We got ourselves sorted into a straight line, the two other women out in front, followed by Varrric and then Thrask. I settled in at the back, spending more of time watching the road behind than I was trying to look past my friends ahead.

It didn't take us very long to approach the bridge, and for Evelyn to find a spot to swerve off of the road

Setting off at a quick trot, the Templar squire led us into a mix of rocks and leaning trees, doing her best to keep us on firm ground well away from the water.

I kept my head around, trusting the pony to follow the others, instead keeping a watch behind. It was a good thing I did; we'd hardly departed the road when I saw motion on the far side of the river.

"Archers!" I shouted the warning, "Let's go!"

Horses were brought up to the fastest trot that Evelyn seemed ready to allow, the three Humans among us all raising their shields to protect themselves as the Kossith on the far side began loosing arrows. Considering the fact that the river was between us, a hundred yards wide at least, and the fact that both we and they were a bit off, the range was just as long as it had been earlier.

The difference was that the five men weren't using the kind of bows that any of us could have. Their weapons were damned near as tall as they were, firing arrows that were too damned heavy for comfort.

And they weren't trying to loose as quickly as they could either. They were taking their sweet time.

Yanking at my dwindling pool of magic, I wrapped a barrier around myself, then around Varric, the pair of us still ducking when projectiles slammed into the dirt around us. The first arrow to hit struck Thrask's shield, shattering on impact with the metal. The blow still made him swear loudly, and Evelyn called for her horse to speed up.

We'd just begun to pick up the pace when Varric's pony took a bolt to the hip, neighing in pain, nearly bucking him off. He managed to stay on somehow, but the little horse stumbled, falling to its knees.

"Shit! Varric!" I shouted.

He was already rolling out of the saddle, using the unfortunate animal for cover. Hands were ripping his travelling bags off as well, yanking them over his shoulders, a quick grab retrieving Bianca as well.

I lost my ability help him a moment later; an arrow hit my barrier, ricocheted down, and slammed into my own pony's neck. Up close his bleating sound of pain was just as awful as Varric's had been, and he tipped over at once, thrashing.

A desperate kick shoved me off of him a heartbeat before he could crush my leg, leaving me to roll into the dirt.

"Motherfucker!" Swearing up a storm, I scrambled back, mimicking Varric in grabbing at my supplies. A rapid glance to my left showed the others hesitating, slowing down, and I raised my voice furiously. "No! Go! Get into the trees!"

Evelyn seemed ready to charge back regardless, but Thrask and Brennan blocked her with their own mounts, forcing her to keep charging ahead.

My poor pony kept thrashing and kicking when another arrow struck him in the belly. Swallowing, I yanked a dagger off my belt, leaning over his neck to cut it open while I covered his nearest eye with the other.

It was somehow so much worse than knifing a person, even knowing that the little guy had been dead the moment the first arrow had hit him.

"I'm sorry." I heard myself whispering as he went still, my dagger returning to my belt. A sharp pull got my bag free, pulling it over my shoulders. Then I was up and sprinting, taking care to bob and weave a bit to throw off their aim.

Sure enough the Qunari had a harder time hitting me while I was on foot, and the only arrow that struck merely bounced off of my magical protection. Ahead of me Varric was running as well, arms and legs pumping as we raced for the copse of trees ahead.

A few more arrows each tested my barriers, a final impact shattering the one over Varric just as he arrived, but we survived the run to where the others were taking shelter.

"What's..." I gasped between pants for breath. "...what are they... doing?"

Brennan stood up in the saddle, evidently looking between tree branches. "Big guys are falling back into the woods... all except one, he's keeping watch I think. Wait... fuck. Someone on a horse."

"Just the one?" Thrask demanded, shield still strapped to one arm.

"Yes. "Brennan said confidently. "They just hit the bridge at a full gallop though, heading west. Someone must have been behind us as well."

"...fuck." I shook my head, glancing over everyone. "No more time to stay here. I'll double up with Evelyn. Varric? You're with Brennan. We ride as late as we dare."

No on argued, and I didn't needle Varric about his reluctance to turn north. This wasn't the time for that.

Evelyn shifted back in her saddle, letting me sit in front of her, the horse stamping a hoof at the extra weight. Brennan's was just as unhappy, but they obeyed when told to get moving again.

The original ambush ocurring around noon left us with plenty of daylight to move north, and we used up every minute of it picking our way through the trees and rocks. A few game trails let us pick up the pace now and then, but our progress remained far slower than any of us hoped it would be.

We didn't make the mountain road by sunset. We all dismounted then, even if we kept tugging the horses along with me in the lead. Perhaps an hour after moonrise we came across a small stream that fed the river, and I finally called a halt.

The horses immediately began guzzling down water, drawing a conversation between us about ditching the heavy armor that most of us were still wearing. In the end the desire to stay protected won out, but Varric and I would remove ours for now. Thrask's horse would carry it to distribute the weight a little more evenly, and hopefully save some of the other two's strength.

A single torch was the only light that Brennan would allow for tending to the horses, and then getting ourselves settled.

My sleeping roll had been on my pony, though Varric's had at least been in his bag.

"Lost half my notes from the trip." He sighed, getting settled. "Was really liking how that chapter was going to shape up."

I patted his shoulder, kicking dirt over the torch to put it out. Then I walked past where he was trying to fall asleep, and where Thrask was already laid out to approach Brennan.

"You sure you're good for first watch?" I asked quietly.

She nodded, "I'm good. Get some rest, Maeve. I'll wake you for second shift."

Nodding tiredly, I moved over to where her bag was laid out. I'd get to use hers until it was my watch, and then I'd double-up with Evelyn after that. The girl was already snoring quietly in hers, apparently wiped out from a day of excitement and violence.

As eager as I was to join her in rest, my mind wouldn't be getting that luxury tonight.

I'd hardly laid down before I was letting my magic wash up and over me in the gentle waves that let me be a mildly competant Dreamer, instead of the totally useless one that I'd been when I'd first arrived on Thedas.

To my surprise Longing wasn't present already, though neither were most of my usual hangers-on. No Guilt or Grief. There wasn't even one of the Nightmare's lackeys. For a brief moment I saw a slimmer of silver outside the bounds of the Catcher, but it flew off in a blur of light before I could get a better look at it.

"...hn." I shook my head, wondering what that was about before dismissing it. Probably just Curiosity again.

It was hardly the first spirit to come and check my protection without staying, and I doubted it would be the last. So long as they didn't try to break through, and so long as they weren't in the shape of an enormous wolf, I didn't really care.

Especially when I had other matters to focus on. "Longing!"

The spirit sent a thrum back through our tether; a polite request to wait a moment.

Rolling my eyes, I paced around a bit, using the time to make sure that my web was still operating as it was supposed to. By and large it seemed to be. There wasn't any uneven power draws anymore, and I thought that the magical noise had lessened a little. Of course that might change with the next upgrade plan; I wanted to see if I could expand the distance it could cover.

A single, flickering bit of green mist joined me as I continued my slow inspection. One of my friends was dreaming tonight. Not as strongly as Merrill or Anders could, but the Dream-Catcher was apparently living up to its name by letting me notice at all.

I took care not to approach, lest I accidentally intrude.

Finishing my work, and still not seeing Longing, I settled in for a bit of magical practice instead. As fun and useful as my silencing spell was, that had actually been an accidental by-product of my main focus on creating noise.

Making loud and obnoxious sounds was fairly easy, and I thought I'd found a way to pair it with a flash of light to make the magical equivelant of a flash-bang. The problem was that I hadn't yet figured out how to make it happen somewhere that wasn't right on front of me.

So I had a spell capable of blinding and deafening everyone around me... so long as I didn't mind being at ground zero right along with them.

Fixing that was currently my main focus. If could project noise from another location I'd have a useful, and non-lethal, spell to use to disrupt or stun people. It would also be the first step in my thoughts about being able to project my voice to other locations; if I could combine that with the silencing spell, I could make people think I was somewhere else entirely while I knifed them in the back, or ran the hell away.

I was carefully playing with the spell threads for my flash-bang when Longing sent another thrum to tell me she was on her way.

Carefully letting the magic dissipate, I'd learned that lesson the hard way when I'd deafened Merrill and I for most of an hour, I stayed sitting as the pink mist began to filter down through the Catcher's web.

Longing was frowning when she took shape, the expression making the renewed scarring around a rheumy right eye twist. "What happened?"

"Qunari ambush on the road." I supplied. "You can have the memory."

Her mismatched eyes blinked. "...in exchange for?"

"Advice on the situation." I said.

A tiny huff. "I would give you that regardless, Maeve."

"And I'd rather you just see everything." I replied, shaking my head. "Take the whole of the last week while you're at it. I've got a vague plan, but I'll need you to be a messenger. Consider this payment for that service."

She frowned some more, but it wasn't in her nature to turn down a deal that gave her more than she lost. A nod sealed it, and she quickly approached, dropping to a knee in front of me. Her tongue snaked into my mouth a moment later, our lips moving as she rifled through my memories.

Arousal throbbed somewhere low in my belly when she broke away, leaving me to inhale sharply. Making it difficult to keep my eyes on hers, instead of letting them drop.

"...I see." She murmured, settling back to sit cross legged just as I was. For once she didn't comment on my lust, probably because my memories were making the very real danger to my mortal body clear.

"Yes. They were definitely warned of your departure, and sought to eliminate several key assets to the city. Your turn away was good, but the dwarf is right. They will certainly move to block you from the north side as well."

I nodded in agreement. "Which is why you're going to take a message to Merrill. Have her turn out the Watch to meet us and escort us in."

Her lips twitched, her voice approving. "You're finally using your assets appropriately I see. A shame you did not think to bring a larger escort with."

"In my defense, I'd nearly thrown up my heart just beforehand. Three different times." I muttered, knowing I really should have known better than to rely on just Thrask and Evelyn as an escort. Especially with Brennan along with.

Stupid. Maybe some idiotic part of my hind-brain had forgotten that she was the Guard-Captain, not Aveline, and that the Qunari would definitely want her dead to weaken the city.

"With the Watch out there, we should be safe on the final stretch." I went on. "We just have to get that far."

She nodded, humming. "Agreed. I would recommend riding your beasts of burden to their ends, but I can already feel your emotions spiking."

"I don't like animals in pain." I muttered. "I don't even like hunting. And yes, I know most of my favorite foods are meat, and that I'm a hypocrite. You don't need to say it."

Thankfully Longing didn't, merely going on. "Then sadly there is little further advice that I might give. Your plan with Merrill is a good one, though it will raise questions among your Templars as to just how you contacted her."

Yeah. Yeah it would.

"No choice." A shake of my head. "We're probably going to be pursued as it is, and by the time we get near Kirkwall we're going to be exhausted and stressed out even if there isn't another fight between here and there. Good odds they'd manage another ambush that we wouldn't be ready for."

Longing shrugged. "If you're certain, I shall do as you desire."

"Thanks." I paused, then said more quietly. "I need you for something else as well. Another thing involving Merrill."

"Ah." The spirit nodded. "I anticipated this. You desire that I tell Merrill of your origins in your stead?"

I sighed. "You're literally the only one who can, Longing. I don't know what's going on with me, neither do you, but I can't leave Merrill in the dark like this. She deserves to know."

"As I noted. More than once."

"Because 'I told you so' is what I fucking need to hear right now." I glared at her as I said it. "Will you do it or not?"

A clawed hand waved, "Yes, yes, but you will need to be there as well. I have a theory regarding the block on your soul that prevents you from revealing that."

I arched an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Considering that you told me safely, and spoke with Gregory Smith on the matter," She said, "it is possible that the block only prevents you from telling those from Thedas itself. Or that it prevents you from speaking the words only to those who do not already know."

Hmm.

Mulling over that, I could see either one being the case. Longing, as a creature of the Fade, might not apply, and Greg certainly wasn't local. That would explain why I could tell them both just fine. And Bethany already knowing would explain why I could talk with her on similar matters without my brain trying to escape my skull.

Damn. I really should have tried to tell Sunshine directly while we'd been at the Chateau, before I'd gone and blown whatever tentative relationship we had into tiny pieces.

"So you think if you tell Merrill I'm from Earth, that might be enough to let me tell her the rest?" I guessed.

"I believe it is worth the attempt." She replied. "At a minimum, it may cause a less severe reaction. In that case I might be able to isolate the part of your spirit that is enacting the block, and determine just what it is."

I nodded slowly. "And that might also give you a new theory as to my mystery power-up."

"Perhaps." Longing agreed. "When shall we test this?"

That was a good question. I considered it for a few moments before saying, "If it works, it could change everything between us. If it doesn't, I'm going to be a wreck. Again. We'll wait until the Qunari situation is done with, when she and I can make everyone else leave Varric's place for the night for privacy."

The spirit nodded. "Very well. Shall I mention that to her as part of your message?"

Teeth worked at my lip.

"...yes." I said finally, though reluctantly. "I need to stop keeping secrets from her. Tell her that we're going to try relaying my information through you, and that I was able to tell you without having a seizure. Tell her we'll do it after the Qunari are dealt with, and... and tell her I'm sorry for leaving her behind. That I fucked that up royally."

"On that I am sure she will agree with you." Longing pushed herself back to her feet. "Was there anything else tonight? Perhaps another deal regarding my plans?"

I waved her off. "Not yet. I'm still thinking on that. Go see if Merrill's asleep, or if the Veil's thin enough for her to hear you. Then come back and help me with this damned spell."

My personal devil gave me a little bow, then faded into mist that soared away...

...committing me to truly telling Merrill once and for all.

Assuming we made it back to the city alive, of course.