Cullen stood next to his window, looking out over the snowy landscape around Skyhold, a cup of water in his hand. He'd just finished a good training session with some of their newer recruits and was now putting off doing more paperwork. He hated the stuff, and annoyingly it seemed rather endless. There was always so much to do, and he was once again starting to feel the effects of lyrium withdrawal. He could tell that his mind was fogging, and the ache in his muscles wasn't just from the workout. He was tired, so very tired, and his thoughts kept turning back to lyrium. It was as though his very blood was begging for the stuff, calling for more. He was so tempted to take some, but he wouldn't. He'd made a deal with Siara, after all. If he went back on it, he'd have worse things to deal with than the shame of once more taking the substance that tied him to his worst mistakes.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. Cullen turned from the window, stepping over to the table and setting his cup on its surface as his door swung open.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Solas said as he stepped in, Cullen immediately noticing the frown on his face, "but I have some important information."

"What is it?" Cullen asked, taking a seat. He hoped that the action didn't come across as showing weakness, but he could feel that his body just wouldn't want to cooperate much longer.

"Fort Greystone is in trouble. I received word from a spirit that there is a small army approaching the walls. Siara is doing what she can to reinforce their defences, but they are outnumbered almost two to one."

Cullen's brow furrowed as he regarded Solas closely.

"Since when?" he asked. "All reports we've been getting from Fort Greystone have only had good things to report."

"The spirit didn't have any more information than that. I'm surprised they managed to get that much information to me," Solas admitted. "I would like to go to Fort Greystone with the men you send."

"Of course," Cullen stood from his desk, moving to the door where a guard stood just outside. "Send word to Ser Veran. Tell her to get her men ready for departure to Fort Greystone as soon as possible," he turned back to Solas. "Did you get any information about what sort of enemy they're facing?"

"A mixture of bandits and Venatori, I believe."

"Send someone to Ser Barris requesting as many templars as he can spare."

The guard saluted before hurrying off to do as ordered. Cullen was already closing the door, looking back at Solas. The elf was watching him closely, looking like he was deep in thought.

"Do you have a way to get word back to them that we're coming?" Cullen asked, immediately assuming that there had to be a reason Fort Greystone didn't send a bird with information on the army before it became a problem, beyond getting the information to him quickly.

"I can try to find them in the Fade," Solas didn't sound convinced, "but there's no guarantee that I'll be able to make contact. I suggest I try to find them while on the way to Fort Greystone. It will save time."

"Good. And keep trying. They need to know we're on our way."

Solas raised his eyebrows slightly.

"We?"

"Yes, we," Cullen scowled. "I'm going, too."

Siara slumped against the wall beside her bed, rubbing her eyes. She was tired, and could feel one hell of a headache forming. They'd been successful in keeping attacks at bay for the moment, but morale was quickly declining. While the enemy had suffered a few losses, so had the Inquisition members within the walls of the fort. It wasn't looking particularly good, and many of the men were looking to Siara for reassurance. She hadn't seen much of Wiggins since she'd taken control of the fort. She doubted he'd left his study much, and would be less surprised if he was huddled up under his desk crying. At least Dorian and Adam were stepping up to help her. Dorian was currently up on the walls with a handful of archers and mages. He and the mages were doing their best to keep magical defences in place, while the archers were keeping the mages protected. Meanwhile, Adam was making sure that the men didn't get too tired, replacing soldiers on the wall at routine intervals. The best thing that they could do at the moment was make sure that everyone kept their energy up as much as possible. Everyone needed rest, food, and water.

But Siara knew the situation. Resources would begin to run low soon, and rationing would only put it off for so long. The advancing army was always getting closer, and she wouldn't be surprised if they got some reinforcements soon. Why they were so hung up on capturing this fort was anyone's guess. Siara tucked the question in the back of her mind, making sure that she would ask Leliana to look into the attacks on this fort when she had a moment. For now, though, Siara needed rest. She had been looking over the barricades, checking for any weaknesses and trying to figure out how to strengthen things as much as she could. Cullen was going to get an earful when she saw him next.

"Sufficiently boring, my arse," she muttered to herself, leaning her head back against the cold stone wall as a sigh escaped her.

"Ser," a soldier greeted, Siara forcing herself to sit upright and look at her, "Dorian Pavus sent me. He told me to inform you that Solas had gotten in touch with him."

"What? When? What did he say?" Siara was already getting to her feet, her aching body trying to rebel against the movement.

"One of the mages coming off break told Dorian about a dream she'd had," the soldier replied, "I don't know much more about that."

"What was the message?" Siara repeated, doing her best to keep the rising frustration from her voice.

"Reinforcements are on their way. They should be here in the next few days, we just have to hold out until then."

"Thank the fucking Maker. Has Dorian informed anyone else?"

"He told me to pass the information on to you, first."

"Start getting the news that reinforcements are on their way to the rest of the fort. Quietly. We don't want to alert our friends outside the walls," Siara ordered. "Make sure Wiggins is also informed. It'd be nice if he could start helping us."

"No one has seen him since the army arrived."

"Seriously?" The soldier shook her head, and Siara pulled a face, holding her hands out in front of her. "May I ask why?"

"We have had other things to think about, ser. It slipped our minds."

"Despite how things may appear, he is still your commanding officer. Send someone to check on him immediately."

"All due respect, ser," the woman frowned, "but he hasn't been acting like a commander since the bandits first showed up. Since this army has properly begun their attack, you have been acting as more of a commanding officer than Captain Wiggins."

Siara regarded the soldier before her with an unimpressed frown, thinking rude thoughts, mostly aimed towards Cullen for sending her on this assignment. He couldn't reach Fort Greystone fast enough.

"If you see me as your commanding officer, then you will do as I say," she forced out, fighting with herself to keep her voice calm and steady. "Go check on Captain Wiggins, and start spreading the word quietly that reinforcements are on their way and expected to arrive within the next few days."

"Ser," the woman confirmed, giving Siara a salute with a fist over her chest before marching out of the room.