Chapter 96

The familiar sounds of the foundry reached Emma's ears as they drew closer to the large building. Revek sniffed around and, upon finding a suitable spot, lifted his leg and marked the area. "The stench of urine is bad enough around here without you adding yours to the mix," she sternly told the mabari. Frostie added in a disapproving bark. Revek whined and ducked its head while peeking at her with big sorrowful brown eyes. "Damn it, Revek, don't do that." She stared at the hound, trying to get the upper hand, but she soon relented. "All right. You're a good doggy." The large mabari barked happily and wagged its stumpy tail before running off with the big white mabari and finding something else to sniff.

"It's good to know that your mabari is as manipulative as mine," Hawke said after watching the exchange.
Emma chuckled. "What's your mabari called?"
"Thunder."
"Oh, that's a great name. Does he have a loud bark?"
Hawke glanced sideways at her. "Er... no. He has a loud fart."
Emma stopped and stared at him, thinking she must have misheard. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"You heard me right the first time. I can't take him on any stealth missions, but he's great for distracting enemies, either with the smell or the noise."
Emma was still laughing when they reached the door to the foundry.

"I can't believe we missed this." Hawke squatted down and brushed away some of the dust that covered the trapdoor, before gripping the iron ring and pulling it open. As everyone descended into the underground hideout, Emma warned them, "We're going to have a lot of demons and undead to deal with, not to mention that Quentin himself is a powerful mage."
"Why am I not surprised? Where there are mages, there are demons," Fenris said bitterly."
Merrill shook her head. "We're not all bad, Fenris."
He glowered at her. "Says the woman who makes deals with demons."
Emma grimaced and wondered whether she should have a chat with Merrill. She patted Fenris on the shoulder. "In this, she's right, but I think you already know that. Give it time." She smiled as she moved past

Aedan, Varric and Isabela were quick to spot and disarm any traps as they moved through the rooms killing anything that stood in their way. Finally, they reached a room where a portrait was propped up on a fireplace. A vase containing fragrant white lilies had been placed next to it in an obvious tribute to the woman in the painting. "Didn't Ghyslain say that Ninette received white lilies before she went missing?" Varric said.
Hawke didn't answer, his eyes were glued to the portrait. "That looks like my mother." He turned to Emma. "Does he know my mother? Or is it the other way around?"
She shook her head. "It's not your mother, it's Quentin's dead wife." He was about to ask another question when shades, corpses and demons sprung up from the ground and attacked. Anders grabbed his staff and shouted, "I'll show you why mages are feared!"
Emma rolled her eyes. "I don't understand why you shout that. I think mages are feared enough already." Varric snorted with laughter, while Fenris growled his agreement, and Merrill giggled. "So dramatic," she whispered to Emma whilst taking down a shade.
Anders looked surprised and ready to retort but then they were all too busy trying to stay alive to make any further comments. When the fight was done, Hawke strode over to Emma. "What is Quentin doing to the women he's taken?"

She debated with herself as to whether or not she should go into detail about the serial killer's experiments, but in the end, she decided he deserved to know the truth. "He's using certain parts of their body to rebuild his wife." She watched him carefully, knowing he'd figure out the rest easily enough. He turned to look at the painting and stared at it for a moment before turning back to Emma. The look of horror in his eyes confirmed that he'd put the pieces of the puzzle together. "He was going to take my mother, wasn't he?" The question was asked in a rough whisper as if saying it loudly would make it all too true.
Emma dipped her head in a quick gesture. "Yes, he would have eventually taken Leandra."
He closed his eyes and his fists clenched at the thought of losing another member of his family. When he'd regained control of his emotions, he looked at Emma. "Thank you for saving my mother's life, but I have to ask - why are you helping me?"
"There are certain things in this world that I know will happen, and I can't do anything to change them, no matter how horrific the outcome. So, when I can do something good with the knowledge I have, then I will. Besides, you're a nice guy and you've already lost too much." She let out a surprised yelp as Hawke pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. "Thank you," he whispered before releasing her.

The next room was empty, but on a bloodstained table lay a body that resembled Frankenstein's monster, except the hands and head were missing. A dirty, grey wedding gown hung nearby, with a torn lace veil to complete the ensemble. Emma shuddered upon recalling the scene where an undead Leandra stumbled forward, dressed in the outfit. There were books piled high, and Varric commented that one of them was signed by 'O', which gave Emma something else to ponder: should she do something about Orsino?
"So, any idea where this Quentin is?" Isabela asked as she finished checking one of the side rooms.
"No. Maybe he's doing some shopping?"
"I don't think I'd like to know what's on his shopping list." Varric half-joked as he looked around the room.

Hawke glanced over to Emma. "What if he's gone after my mother?"
She considered the question; it was true that in the game Leandra's murder wouldn't happen until the second act – but what if she'd changed things by finding Quentin's hideout earlier than expected? Her stomach rolled at the thought that maybe Hawke's gratitude had been premature. "Emma?" She looked up, realising that Hawke was still waiting for an answer. Her mouth felt dry when she spoke. "I don't think..." Aedan placed a hand on her arm, and she looked over to see him put a finger to his lips. She immediately stopped talking, and seconds later the distinct sound of footsteps could be heard. Suddenly a desire demon rose in the centre of the room, closely followed by yet more undead and shades.

"I think he knows we're here," Anders commented as he cast a fireball at one of the corpses. Fenris threw him a scathing look. "Thank you for stating the obvious, mage."
"Where's Quentin?" Emma shouted above the fighting as she scanned the room. She was worried he could be making his escape while they were all busy fighting the demons he'd conjured – and if he had his next victim with him then that wouldn't bode well for her. It seemed Hawke had the same idea as he shouted for Merrill, Varric and Aedan to follow him. Emma and the others made sure to keep the shades and corpses at bay to give Hawke and his team a clear path to the door.

-x-

Hawke followed the sound of running feet, and they finally caught up with Quentin in the main area of the foundry. If they'd been a few minutes late, he would have disappeared into the winding alleys of Kirkwall. In a flash, Hawke had the killer pinned with Fist of the Maker, allowing Aedan to get close enough to use their blades. Varric crippled the mage with a bolt that ripped through the Achilles tendon. It had seemed like a good plan, but when Quentin smiled, Varric knew they were in deep shit. Blood started to swirl around the mage's body, and seconds later, Merrill fell to the floor with a cry of pain.

Hawke roared angrily and cast Petrify before running over to drag Merrill away from the blood mage. It didn't take long for Quentin to free himself from Hawke's spell, and he immediately set up a shield using a constant shimmer of blood – it hung in the air, tainting everything it touched. In order to draw the killer's attention, Varric let loose with a hail of arrows, and for just a moment, the shield dropped. Aedan took the chance to leap forward and sink his blades deep into the mage's stomach. Quentin shouted in pain and knocked the Warden away with a Mind Blast. Before the blood mage could gather himself, however, Hawke slammed him against a wall. There was a sickening crack and the necromancer dropped to the floor, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.

Aedan picked himself up off the floor when Emma and the others came running down the stairs. She immediately headed over to him. "Are you all right?" Her hands roamed over his body, checking for injuries until he clasped her wrists in his hands. "I'm fine, Angel." His fingers gently traced a cut just below her eye. "Better than you, I think." She quickly reached up and released a pulse of healing magic, closing the shallow wound in an instant. They surveyed the scene and found everyone alive - bruised and battered, but alive. Hawke was checking over Merrill, and she smiled at the lingering touches between the two.

Perhaps she would have a chat with Merrill. Maybe she could convince the elf not to bother with the eluvian. It was something to consider, but for now, all she wanted was a drink, some food and a bed for the night.