Varric was unavailable. Not because he didn't want to talk to us, he did, but because the Merchant's Guild was in an uproar. They'd called a meeting of the Deshyrs to discuss the chaos, and had more or less abducted him right from the cot he'd been recovering in.

He'd managed to step outside just long enough to confirm he was fine before two other Deshyrs immediately hauled him back inside, clearly not about to let him escape.

With Elowen's guardsmen still escorting us, we made our back into Lowtown from there. Thankfully the city mobs seemed to be done for the afternoon. Everyone was occupied digging through rubble looking for whatever could be recovered, or else desperately searching for missing loved ones.

I had no idea how many civilians had died last night. I didn't really want to know. A lot seemed to be a safe guess.

We got our usual slate of glares on our way past the groups. Even some of the Guard got in on it, and I saw at least one argument break out when another Guard didn't like what one of them said. More proof, as if I'd needed it, that the battle had only worsened the divisions within the city, instead of bringing everyone together against an outsider.

Probably because so many people thought of us as outsiders. Ugh.

We arrived at the Alienage to find the guards outside back down to their usual numbers of Templars. The militia and Watch themselves had stationed just a few people on the walls. Most waved when we arrived, a gesture I tiredly returned before we headed down the stairs. At the base of them we found that Nethon and Thrask were already present, talking with an unhappy looking Elowen.

"Maeve." My old friend nodded on seeing us, "Are we really sending the Watch to protect the Grand Chantry?"

"Unfortunately." I replied. "I wasn't exactly for it, but Cullen thinks it might help our appearance in Hightown and get the Grand Cleric's approval."

Her lips twisted. "I doubt it."

"Me too." A sigh broke my words apart. "Let's limit the numbers. Fifty at most. Keep everyone else home."

The number was clearly higher than what she'd have liked, but I think she read my expression. Knew we didn't really have a choice, and fifty was as few as could get away with considering how important Elthina had become in the last twenty-four hours. She, not Cullen, and certainly not Saemus Dumar, was now the ruler of Kirkwall.

As much as no Elf in the city liked it, we had to suck up to her as best we could.

"All right." Elowen exhaled. "Ser Nethon? With me. We will decide on who will be going to that assignment. Ser Thrask? Will you be remaining here?"

"For now." He confirmed. "I was promoted, so I am likely to be transferred. I will, however, ensure that Ser Emeric is promoted as well to take command of the Alienage's Templar detachment."

Elowen nodded once. "Good. Maeve? What are your plans?"

I glanced around, then nodded to where I saw Cullen's officer core all standing near a table under the Vhenadal. The burnt tree serving as the city's new center of defense for what had become a campaign rather than a single battle. "I need to talk to them about the siege. Then I'm going to eat before going down there to inspect things myself. I am going to try and convince everyone to keep using the Alienage as our main command post though."

"Good. The more people coming through, the more they'll be forced to respect us." She said firmly. "And the more Templars nearby the less likely anyone is to cause trouble."

We were all in agreement on that, and our little group broke up from there. I dragged my feet a bit all the same, asking about everyone else. Anders was apparently awake and checking on the worst of the wounded in the Chantry, and Fenris was finally getting some sleep in the same guest room we'd been in.

Shina and Zatris were both fully recovered, and wasted little time in trying to get Nethon to finally sleep. He hedged until I smacked him over the head, telling him to go rest, and to let them handle getting the Watch reorganized.

After that was handled, I forced myself to head over to the collection of Templars, Merrill and Evelyn still in tow.

There were ten of them; two Captains and eight Lieutenants from the markings on their armor, and the youngest of them had to be a decade older than me. All of them saluted on my approach, Cullen must have sent word about my promotion, though a few were slower about it. Their expressions rigid enough to make me think they weren't happy about my new place in the order. Not that I could blame them; my battlefield record as a commander was an abysmal oh-for-two.

"All right." I said, feeling the need to make things clear right off the bat. "I'm not happy about being promoted, and I'm not going to lord it over any of you. If you think I'm giving stupid orders, then I want you to tell me, to my face, that I'm an idiot. I won't get upset, I'll damn well thank you for it."

Confused blinks ran around the loose circle of Knights. One of them, I recognized the scarred woman as the leader of Elthina's old bodyguard, smothered a smile.

"Understood?" I asked. Their rumble of assent said that they did, and I moved on. "Good. How many men did Cullen take with back to the Gallows?"

"Fifty." The same grizzled Lieutenant said at once, her voice a bit raspy from last night's events. "We have just under three hundred remaining in Lowtown, watching the heretics. Another forty Guards remain on assignment in the area as well."

I nodded, "Organization? Where is everyone?"

She promptly pulled out a rolled up map, laying it out on the table they were all standing around. I stepped up along with everyone else, my friends pressing in on either side to make sure none of the Templars got too close to me. A good precaution as I hadn't drained my mana this morning. I wasn't about to do that again, not anytime soon at least.

"We're too thin to guard the entire Compound," She admitted, "So we divided the men into a pair of one hundred man units. One here, and one occupying Gull Street, ready to collapse in if the Qunari open their gates. Everyone else is in smaller sentry groups scattered around the area. If the enemy attempts to depart by bringing their own walls down, their only duty is to warn the main groups and whatever reserves we find to station nearby."

"Good." I said once more. "Patrols between all of the positions?"

One of the men, with a very impressive handle-bar mustache, stretched an arm out. An armored finger began gesturing at the map as he spoke, "We've focused them on the north and west side, and we're encouraging those few people who live east of here to evacuate."

"Aren't many." Another man rumbled, "Thank the Maker. That area's mostly the old shipyards. We can give it up if we have to, even if the Guild will howl."

"I could care less about the Guild's bottom line." I said, shaking my head. "Our only focus is keeping the Qunari contained until we get more soldiers in here, or at least minimizing the damage that they can do if they do break out again. Has anyone gotten up onto nearby buildings? Seen what's in the Compound?"

The same man spoke again. "Yes, Dame. They report rows of cots filled with wounded, much the same as here. Can't see if they're real or straw and pillows though."

A hand rubbed at my chin. "I want to say that they're real, but we have to assume that they aren't. That the Qunari might decide that they want to knock off Elthina, finish decapitating the government."

Someone else, another woman, asked, "It is confirmed then? The Viscount is dead?"

"Yeah." I grimaced. "Seamus is Viscount now."

Their combined response was a series of scoffs, mutters, and disapproving shaking of heads.

"I completely agree." I told them, "But Elthina wouldn't hear a word of it when I tried to suggest we put anyone else in power, so we're stuck with the little bastard. That being said, Cullen and I will keep him away from any important decisions as best we can."

Another wave of noise was more approving, and I went on. "The first of those decisions will be what we're going to do if the Qunari do try break out again before their ships arrive."

Miss Grizzled glanced at me, "What will that plan be, Commander?"

I reached down, tapping Main Street. "We follow the original plan that Meredith approved of before the situation went to hell. We group up here, and we make a fighting withdrawal back to Hightown. Grab every Guardsman we can on the way, and tell the Alienage to seal itself shut when we move past it. Then we hold out until we know just what we're dealing with. At which point..."

My hand slid across the paper, as if I was brushing dust off of it. "...we hit them from every side that we can."

She nodded slowly, several others doing the same, but Mustache protested. "We would abandon those souls in Lowtown?"

"We don't have the manpower to do anything else." I countered. "This was the plan even before we lost better than two hundred people, and have at least that many wounded without enough mages to treat them. Besides, I don't think it's all that likely that the Qunari will try another breakout anytime soon. Our bigger concern is going to be what happens when their ships arrive."

Mustache grunted, accepting the point. "In which case what shall our plan be?"

I nearly said that I didn't know, then remembered a line from some war movie that said you were never supposed to say that if you were in command. So I hesitated for a moment before saying, "At the moment, my plan will be to raise the Gallows chains to make them land outside the city. While they're occupied with that, we bring everyone down to destroy the Compound before they can try to breach the city's walls, but I'll need to confirm with Cullen."

There. Got my opinion out there, but with a nice caveat at the end.

"City will riot, my lady." Grizzled said, sounding as sure as I felt about that. "Soon as the Guard gets pulled back again."

"Yeah, it will." I agreed. "But I'd rather deal with that than with these Qunari linking up with hundreds more of them." I replied.

He let out a deep grunt. "Point, lady."

I nodded, "Right. One more thing. The Qunari have at least one very experienced Tallis, that translates as assassin, here in the city. Probably two or three, given what happened to Dumar and the attempt on the Grand Cleric's life. I want everyone on alert for infiltrators. Posing as messengers, as our own wounded, or even just helpful locals."

One of the Lieutenants who hadn't spoken yet did so. "We've given warnings for that kind of thing already, my lady. Did you have details you could give us?"

"The Tallis I fought is a red headed Elven woman," A vague motion to my left, "about Merrill's height. She'll have a nasty wound on one ear from where Squire Lanamaya nearly took the rest of her head off. She's very fond of daggers, smoke, and hit and run attacks. I doubt she'll stick around for a straight fight."

Serious nods made me feel good that they were taking this seriously. I took a breath, then went on. "I also want every entrance into Darktown in the Docks to be sealed off as soon as possible. Last report at the Qunari's Compound still isolated down there, but I don't think that will last."

Miss Grizzled pursed her lips. "It'll be difficult, but I think we can manage to seal most of them, Commander. How many of their agents do you think survived? I know they engaged the Night Watch most heavily."

I blew out a breath, trying to think, only for Merrill to surprise me by piping up. "Tallis only had two dozen or so with her from the Chateau. I don't think she'll have many left."

The old Templar glanced at her, then back to me, visibly fighting about asking the question.

"Yes, she's both a Dalish and a mage." I said, voice flat. "No. I am not going to hear a Goddamned word about it. She's with me, and that's all anyone needs to know. Understood?"

Uncomfortable shifting followed, but most of them nodded obediently.

"She's also right," I went on. "Whoever is leading the Antaam definitely prioritized keeping his soldiers alive and together more than he cared about the converts or spies he had available. We killed an awful lot of them last night, so the survivors will have less support for whatever plans they have. Keep an eye out, and have everyone be cautious when working with people they don't know."

A pause, then I amended, "That doesn't mean I want to hear about friendlies knifing one another. Caution is good, rampant paranoia isn't."

The same lieutenant who'd asked for details spoke again, "Understood, Commander. We'll make sure the Order is prepared."

"Good." I said, pushing myself away from the table, stretching my arms a little. "Then let's call this meeting over and done with. Keep doing what you already did when it comes to organizing. I'm going to get some food, then I'll head down to walk the lines, be seen, that kind of thing. I'll remain at the forward post down there until Cullen returns from the Gallows. You all can organize yourselves better than I could, so figure out who's staying here and who will meet me down there. I'm sure he and I will figure out the rest of the details once he's back."

The fact that I was already delegating, and deferring to Cullen, seemed to reassure them rather than concern them. I got a faster round of salutes on my conclusion, a gesture I returned before falling back with my companions.

Not about to eat in public, I made a beeline for the Chantry, and found one of the Templar Squires standing guard at the door. Not Lanamaya, one of the young men. A boy whose face lit up on seeing us approach.

"Dame Maeve, Lady Merrill!" He saluted at once, already pulling the door open, "Be welcome in the Maker's hall!"

I gave him a tired nod, Merrill patting him on the shoulder as she went past.

Inside I found that the pews had been all shoved to the sides, stacked haphazardly on top of one another to make room for cots and sleeping rolls. Wounded men and women filled most of them, but thankfully nearly all seemed to be asleep rather than dead. Or screaming.

The old kitchen was now Anders' surgery, cloth drapes stet up for privacy. I saw his shadow moving around, felt and heard his magic working on someone. Not about to interrupt, I focused on approaching the trap door near the pulpit. It was already open, and I wasted little time in climbing down the rope ladder beneath.

Our old panic room was lit up with lanterns, revealing several worn bookshelves, containers of food, a wine rack, stands for weapons, a few empty beds, and a single large table. At the table we found two senior members of the Watch just finishing their own lunch, the two men looking almost embarrassed to be caught eating together.

"Sit down." I said irritably when they made to stand up or salute. "I'm sick of people saluting me."

One of them made a startled noise, but they settled back down to their meal of bread, cheese, and watered down wine. The three of us sat down with them, quickly filling our own plates with bits of food. Evelyn poured us all drinks, making sure that mine was even more watered down than theirs.

We'd just started eating when one of the men couldn't stop himself from asking. "Dame?"

I grunted around the bread in my mouth. "Hm?"

He licked his lips, then asked, "Um. The light. The one the shems say was Meredith's soul. Was... was it just your magic?"

I finished chewing, swallowed, and then told them as much of the truth as I could. "Call it a bit of both, and I'm just as confused as all of you are about it."

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"I mean my light spell's never been very good." I said, pursing my lips. "It's not something I put much effort into. It sputters and flares at the best of times. More than that, you all know how little mana I've actually got, but somehow that spell kept going for hours."

His partner nodded, getting it. "So it was both. You cast the spell, but... something made it better. Made it last longer. Made it not feel like magic."

"Yeah." I pursed my lips, thinking of Martyr. Of it's warning. "I'm... not really comfortable with any of it."

The two men exchanged a quick look, then the first one spoke again. "I've seen your glowing spell, my lady. It's nothing like what you did last night. Meredith was truly with you, as was Andraste."

I was ready to huff when Evelyn put a hand on my wrist, voice earnest. "They're right, my lady. I have seen you work that spell as well, and I saw the light you called when... when she fell. They have as much in common as a dagger does with a great sword. Meredith guided you, sheltered you. Forgave you your magic. I know it."

My head lowered, breathing shallow.

"...no more questions about the light." I said finally, shaking my head. "Just... no more, all right?"

The men nodded quickly, Evelyn gently letting go of me. Apparently thinking that I didn't want to talk at all, they stayed quiet until they finished eating, rising with soft murmurs. I waved for them to go. Evelyn waited for them to depart, then told me, "I'm going to go find Lanamaya, and any other squires who have lost their knights. We'll be your bodyguards until this campaign ends."

Kids. I was going to have a bodyguard of kids.

"No." I said firmly. "Find Lanamaya. The two of you and Fenris will be fine, if he's up for it."

She hesitated, but bowed her head. "Yes, my lady. I'll find her, and we'll wait for you outside."

Then she was gone as well, leaving me alone with Merrill. A Merrill who waited until Evelyn closed the trap door behind her before pushing her plate forward, then reaching out to take hold of me. I slumped into her at once, breathing too shallow and fast.

"Shhhh." She murmured, resting a cheek on my head, "It's all right, ma vhenan. It's all right."

It wasn't. Nothing about this was all right. I was fucking falling apart. I hadn't been good enough last night, over the past few months. I hadn't helped the Watch get ready for what I'd known was likely to come. I hadn't learned how to actually lead people in battle. I hadn't been good enough to save Meredith, even when I'd damned well known she'd become too important to lose.

And I couldn't even tell Merrill half of what was going on with me.

"It happened again." I rasped into her neck, "It happened again Merrill. My mana... it's so deep now. I fed that spell for so long, cast other spells before Cullen showed up."

"I know." A hand began stroking my hair and neck, "I felt it, ma vhenan. I saw you just... just stand up, like you hadn't been struggling to even keep your sword up. Did... was it Longing, that stopped the Templars from knowing?"

I swallowed, a tiny shake. "No. Another spirit did. Martyr. It said that they needed it. Needed the faith for what's coming next."

Her chest swelled with a deep breath, the warmth of it tickling my scalp. "Elgar'non..."

"I don't know what is going on with me." I rasped. "I can't tell you what brought me here. I don't know I get power like that. I don't know why Elder spirits are fascinated with me."

Merrill held me closer, our armor making unpleasant noises between us. "We'll figure it out, Maeve. I promise. I'll be right next to you the entire time. I swear it."

I hated the metal we wore. It stopped me from me from feeling her warmth, at least until I managed to get my face into the crook of her neck. Desperately breathing in her sent, feeling her stroking my head, trying to sooth me. Letting me break in her arms since I couldn't do it anywhere else. Letting me stain her neck with silent tears as I tried to get myself under control. Tried to remind myself that I couldn't stay down here forever. That I couldn't let myself fall apart completely. A small break. That was all I could have.

A little mental breakdown, instead of a total one.

It still took me a little while to get myself back under control. To find that rigid part of my soul that let me pretend like I knew what I was doing. Let me fake being calm and collected, ready to handle the sheer volume of crap that Kirkwall loved to throw at its residents. I slowly pulled back as my breathing steadied out, as my hands steadied. She gave me a few soft kisses, the pair of us sharing a cloth to try and dry our skin. Our attention slowly turning back to the food we had left, the pair of us quietly eating the rest of it. Filling our bellies as best we could before we had to face yet another long day.

My tenuous control lasted until we made to get up. It was only then that I realized that I'd been fooling myself, and that I was anything but ready to go back out there. To face down people who thought I was some kind of leader. Who thought I'd been divinely blessed. Who thought I was... anything other than the lying fraud that I really was.

Merrill noticed my head drop, hands planting on the table. She quickly stepped over, making to hold me again. "Maeve, it's-"

"It's not all right." I whispered, staring down at the wood. "None of this is all right, Merrill."

"...it's not." She agreed quietly, a hand gently reaching up to cup my cheek. "But I'm here, ma vhenan. I always will be. I promise."

I swallowed, the old, painful guilt rolling around in my belly. "Merrill, ma vhenan. You don't even know where I'm from. We're going to have to use Longing to relay that, and I'm not even sure how well that will work."

"Maeve, look at me." Her fingers were too strong as they made me turn, forced me to see her guileless eyes staring into mine. "You are ma vhenan. Nothing will change that."

"But-"

She ducked down, covering my mouth with hers, turning my protests into muffled noise. I couldn't help but lean into her a little, some little part of me relishing the fact that she was taller than I was, even if just by a little. After a few moments she pulled back, leaving me to exhale softly.

"You can't win every argument-"

A second kiss told me that she could, in fact, win every argument that way. She proved it by adding tongue, one hand sliding around to cradle my head. The combination, or maybe just my fragile mental state, was too much for my frayed control. I felt my heart begin to speed up, the air growing warmer as I pressed myself closer to her. Heard her chainmail rattle against my plate, my own hands rising to grab at her neck and head. My tongue fighting with hers, hearing a muffled noise in her throat when I pushed her back. Felt her hit the table, unable to retreat as I kissed her.

We broke for air after a minute, her cheeks flushed, my breathing fast.

"Damned armor!" I swore, leaning in to peck her lips, "It is entirely in the way of-" my teeth got her bottom lip, nipping, making her gasp, "-of what I want to do to you right now!"

"M-maeve, I-"

"You started this." I growled, nuzzling her chin, working my way across her neck.

"I did." Another quiet gasp, hands still holding my head, "Do you feel better?"

"I..." I inhaled against her skin, wanting to do so much more. "Merrill, I... I have to tell you before-"

A quick tug brought my lips against her, leaving me to shiver, then give in to my urges. To start biting, kissing, sucking. To relish in hearing her groaning, to love the way her hands clutched at my head, trailed up to my ears. To feeling what parts of her I could as I marked her with my teeth and lips, knowing I was leaving a bruise, not caring in the slightest.

Some part of me wanted to make damned sure that everyone knew that Merrill was mine. My prey to run down, to capture with hands and lips, mine to drag to bed. No one else was fit to even consider it.

Pink had turned to red when I pulled back, admiring the forming bruise I'd left on the side of her neck.

"Mine." I said, hearing the low growl still present in my voice.

She shivered in my arms, "I already said that, ma vhenan."

"And now everyone will know it." I murmured, planting a final gentle kiss on the mark I'd left. "Are you done distracting me?"

Another shiver. "Do you feel better?"

I wanted so badly to say no. To tell her that I wasn't better. That what I really needed was her goddamned armor off, along with the clothes she had on beneath it. To drag her to one of the cots in the corner, to bury myself under a blanket with her naked body. To tell the entire world to fuck off so that I could love her.

But... I couldn't. Not yet.

"...yes." I allowed, finding that steel in my spine once again. "All I can think about is making love to you, but I'm under control again."

Her blush was already bad, but that made it worse, if that was possible. "Oh. Um... I'm sorry?"

"Don't be. I like it." I took another breath, then let it out. "All right. This time we really have to leave, or armor is going to start hitting the floor. Followed by clothing."

Merrill let out an almost startled giggle, but nodded without trying for yet another kiss. Instead she watched as I forced myself to back off, getting us both cups off filtered water. I needed it far more than she did, the simple act of pouring and drinking helping to calm me down from the rush of lust I was feeling. Her blush slowly faded as we took a final few minutes to relax, putting our mugs aside once we'd finished. A final hug later and we headed back for the ladder, climbing up it one at a time.

Outside Anders proved to be still working, but our escort was waiting at the doors. Lanamaya looked cognizant instead of concussed, and Fenris looked tired but awake. The two were speaking quietly with Evelyn when we approached, three sets of eyes almost immediately going to Merrill's throat.

"Isabella." Fenris predicted, "Is going to be extremely upset that she is not included."

Merrill promptly resumed blushing, while I let out a quiet snort. "Yeah, bet she is. Come on. Let's head down to the Docks and see what's going on."

Honestly the quiet walk through the streets did more than anything else to help recover my center. Walking through the widespread destruction that the Qunari had caused to make their barricades was a hell of a way to sober up, but it certainly did the job. Or maybe it was the kid, he couldn't have been ten years old, who looked like he wanted to throw a brick at me.

A bit of bared steel from Lanamaya had him lower the weapon, his little face scrunched up in anger before he ran off.

I didn't take it as personally as I would have from an adult. The brat had probably lost someone out here last night. A parent, or sibling, or pet, or whatever. Hell, maybe his father had been one of the ones to get speared by the Watch or cut down by the Templars when the stupidity and panic had set in.

We moved on quickly, before anyone could do more than toss the occasional glare our way. As had happened last night, the closer we drew to the Docks the warmer our reception became. Crossing Crow Street, the uneven dividing line between the two 'districts', we ran into the first patrol of the Guard heading the other way.

"All quiet, Dame." One of them as we went past.

"Thanks, keep up the good work." I replied.

Heads bobbed as they went off to maintain martial law, while we kept following the winding street down toward the Qunari Compound and our make-shift siege. Arriving at the 'command center', really just an empty warehouse, let me see that Mustache and half of the Lieutenants had come down to join several other officers who'd been kept in place during the meeting.

I told them the same plans and warnings, and got a wave of nods in response. In slightly better news, one confirmed that several of the city's knights who had missed the action had come down to join the siege. Out of obligation, shame, or just a hope for pay.

"Nineteen of them, half with squires, and they dredged up thirty levies from their estates outside the walls." Mustache, I really needed his damned name, informed me. "We put them to work sealing the Darktown exits. Make them think there's a risk of danger to earn some honor."

I snorted. "Good thinking. Keep them in reserve after that, until you know if they're competent or not."

He gave me a brief smile, "Understood."

We chatted a little more, just confirming that none of our scouts peering down from the roofs had seen anything new in the Compound. The updates done with, I left him in charge while I led my friends on a walk around to check out how things actually looked.

Being honest? It looked pretty rough. Here and there a few barricades had been thrown together out of whatever was nearby, but by and large the lordly knights of the Templar Order seemed to consider that kind of defense beneath their dignity. At least from the arguments I heard between a Guardsman and a Templar on one of the side streets.

I intervened, giving firm orders for barricades to be created everywhere possible to block off the Compound. I also made it clear I'd expected that to have already been done, and wasn't much impressed with their progress so far.

It was an order I passed along everywhere I went, and it was received with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Physical barriers like that are considered foolish." Evelyn confided after I'd had to yell at another of the lower-ranked Templars for trying to refuse. "They're just a big target for Mages to set on fire."

I grunted, "Well we're not fighting mages, and a towering wall of debris is good at slowing down a Qunari charge."

"And," Fenris noted, "For funneling them down predictable streets."

"And that." I agreed. "Both are important considering that are plans are to retreat if they attack again. Barricades will slow them down, buy us time to actually form up properly for round two."

I had slightly better luck with the next group, when I framed it that way. Or maybe it was just because that group was composed of mostly younger Templars who hadn't met me in person, but who had apparently heard about the glowing sword incident. They seemed to take my every word as gospel, leaping to start building defenses almost before I'd finished explaining.

The next group was less impressed, which more or less fit with the up and down nature of my inspection.

Most of the Templars had never actually seen me in person before. There were, after all, a lot of Templars, and only one of me. And even though Meredith had rotated them around the city as best she could, the most common duty had always been in the Gallows. While all of them had clearly heard of me, and seemed to know that Meredith had held me in extremely high regard, seeing me in person was drawing out a range of reactions.

Some, like that younger group, were clearly in awe. Buying the hype and rumor, making me out to be some kind of Elven super-Templar, blessed by Andraste.

Some were far more sullen, not liking that they had to take orders from someone outside of the Order, even if they were quick to assure me they respected me personally.

I got very few racist vibes from any of them, which honestly made me rather pleased inside. Even if the most common reaction I seemed to get was 'That can't be the Lady Maeve! She's so tiny!'. Playing off my height got me a few chuckles, and seemed to help break the ice with those groups warier of my race or my sudden authority.

All in all, while I wasn't overly impressed with their preparations, I was generally content with the situation by the time we finished our walk about. The Templars seemed alert, eager to finish the fight. If anything they were chafing a little at being held back on the defensive, and I got several pleas to convince Cullen to let them attack as soon as possible.

I told them that Cullen and I both wanted that to happen, but that Elthina had put her foot down. It was a real struggle to hide my delight at the cursing about the 'timid old woman', especially when the older veterans got creative in their insults.

Everything seemed to be slowly recovering.

And then Cullen came back with the Templars he'd left behind at the Gallows.

And not a single Mage was with him.