Staring at the reports in front of her, Warden Commander Alisse took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to try and release some of her frustration. The Wardens and Chevaliers were disciplined, but frustration and boredom were setting in. She had them training throughout the day and they were kept amused at night with music and storytelling, but all were eager to help prevent the Blight and the lack of current purpose was quickly being seen as an insult. Yet the border remained closed to them and despite her daily chat to Captain Parun, who she found to be a pleasant man simply following orders, the Queen it seemed was disinclined to yield to reason. In many ways she understood the Queens response; no country wanted a foreign army within its borders and certainly not when there was such history between them, but the Blight was bigger than the past and she wondered how far this would have to go before the Queen would acknowledge she needed them.

Drumming her fingers on the table she acknowledged she would have to occupy the Chevaliers at least with something other than training and allowing them to let off some steam in Jader seemed the wisest course. She resolved to speak to Commander Johan who would know his Chevaliers needs more than she. In truth she could do with a diversion herself; worry gnawed at her gut and her stomach ached. The idea that junior Wardens were leading the fight against the Blight horrified her. The sooner Riordan took command the happier she would be. Of course if the Queen ever found out the three Wardens had infiltrated Ferelden she imagined it would not bode well for the Order, but what could they do; it was unconscionable for Rathnal to have to shoulder the burden of command. She glanced up at the rustle of fabric, nodding to Blackwall as he entered the tent looking as frustrated as she felt. "Any change?"

"No and nor is there likely to be with the number of Chevaliers with us. Ferelden is skittish enough with Wardens never mind the army of Orlais. We will never get passed the border if we continue to insist they must accompany us!"

"True enough." Alisse muttered with a sigh. "But what can we do, the Empress …"

"Aren't we supposed to be politically neutral?"

"Blackwall do not pretend to be naive, besides we are in her country, shall we get ourselves thrown out of Orlais as well?"

"The Empress would never go so far!"

"No? I believe she would if it suited her purpose." She glanced to the map of Ferelden. "Any word?"

"None. They will make contact when they can."

"I just wish I knew if they had reached their destination safely. It would have been a dangerous journey."

"Has their absence been noted?"

"Indeed, Her Radiance wishes Daniel and Stephan to attend court; she wishes to speak to them personally."

Blackwall raised an eyebrow. "She would have no reason to speak to them, so it is clearly her not so subtle way of telling us she knows they are gone."

"I suspect so. I have reported that they are busy with Warden business and she will have to be content with that."

"So who are her spies I wonder?"

"I have Warden Jarel finding the answer to just that, discreetly of course. He suspects the elven servants of the Chevaliers; he believes them to be agents of Briala."

"Of course." Blackwall murmured, the young elf had navigated the Game well until he had inadvertently misstepped in one of Briala's schemes; the Wardens the only way he avoided the noose. Glancing to the map his gaze was drawn to the storm coast. Be safe brothers.

xXx

Looking critically at the border wall, Commander Johan narrowed his eyes. It was an imposing structure and he suspected dwarven made; wondering how many trebuchets and how much time it would take to destroy it. Not that they would of course; no once the Darkspawn had destroyed enough of Ferelden and its people, the border would be opened and they would be begged for their help, which of course they would graciously give and the Darkspawn menace would be put down. As always those in command had different ideas about how they wanted things done at this point; Gaspard wanted the military force to assert itself once the Blight was over, while the Empress wanted them seen as a support. Either way they would not be leaving. Having fought in the occupation the Commander still felt the bitterness of defeat and he for one was looking forward to returning things to how they should be, with Ferelden under Orlesian rule. He smiled slightly seeing the guards in the wall change shift, a nuisance only and they would be quickly brought to heel under the new regime.

xXx

Slowly regaining consciousness Riordan became aware of the coldness of his body, of water lapping against his legs and a throbbing pain at his forehead. He raised a hand shaking with cold to his head, seeing blood on his fingers. Turning he cried out in pain as his leg seemed to burst into flame, feeling sick as he saw blood and bone at his lower left leg and at the thigh. Gritting his teeth he dragged himself further up the shore from the water towards a huge piece of driftwood that would give him a little shelter from the torrential rain. He was sure he passed out at least twice, regaining consciousness to find his face on the sand. Taking deep breaths he tried to master the pain, but they were bad breaks and he needed help. His gaze moved over the shoreline looking for Daniel and Stephan, but the two younger Wardens were nowhere in sight. Growling in frustration he shook his head; it had been going so well. He had procured the boat from a friend and Daniel had been surprisingly knowledgeable about a smuggler's route that had taken them safely to the Storm Coast. It had not been the sea that had been their enemy, but a large ship, Tevinter origin if he was to guess. He felt cold that had nothing to do with the weather; slavers, here to pick the bones of Ferelden, no doubt grabbing whoever they could before the Darkspawn swept over the land. He wondered how they had known; shuddering in horror, sometimes there were worse things than the monsters from the dark. Biting his lip to stifle his cry he managed to sit up, bracing his back against the driftwood. He frowned trying to remember what had happened, there had been an explosion and it had torn their small boat in half. There had been flame and the smell of burning flesh before the rocks had destroyed what the explosion had not. He wondered if his fellow Wardens had even survived; freezing as he heard the crunch of boots on the gravelly beach, looking up and seeing a man smirking at him.

"Well, well, you did survive." He signalled to his men. "Get this one back to the ship and fix his leg, can't have him dying on us, or going lame, that would lower the price."

Riordan grabbed his sword; saw the club too late and slumped unconscious to the ground.

xXx

Stephan slowly tested the manacles at his wrists and ankles that were keeping him pinned to the floor by a short length of chain. He could barely move and his body hurt, but at least his captors had cleaned and dressed his burns covering the damaged skin with a soothing salve. He glanced to the cage they had dumped Riordan in, the Senior Warden still unconscious. He had yet to see Daniel and he feared what that meant. Glancing over to Riordan he could see they had set his leg, but both breaks were bad and he had clearly lost a lot of blood; even with magic it would take time to heal. He shivered still tasting the magebane on his tongue that was suppressing his magic; feeling as though he was missing a limb, regretting using magic to try and prevent his capture. A surge of relief coursed through him as Riordan finally opened his eyes.

"Stephan?"

"I'm here."

"Daniel?"

"I haven't seen him."

Easing up with a grunt of pain feeling so weak each movement was a struggle, Riordan glanced to his leg before looking around, bringing his hand to his head, wincing in pain. "We won't have an easy time getting out of this." He saw the other prisoners, men, women and children, elves and humans, some tearful, others angry, but all trapped. The Tevinters had years of experience in the shipping of slaves and they knew how to keep their 'cargo' secure.

xXx

Trying to ignore the pain in his head and shoulder where they had dashed against the rocks, Daniel lay flat on the ground and inched closer to the ridge. The Tevinters had re-purposed Daerwin's Mouth the ancient Dwarven port that had been used to trade with Tevinter, which was likely how they knew of it. The bandits and pirates who usually controlled it had clearly been dispatched. He had seen them take Riordan and he was sure Stephan was in there, he had to be, the other alternative was too sickening. He sighed softly, letting the slavers take Riordan had not been easy, but he did not have the skills to tend to his leg and they did, despite the circumstances it had been the only way to save him. He ignored the ache of his body and the lurch of fear wondering how he was supposed to take on a ship of slaver's by himself.

Sucking in a sharp breath as he heard coughing, he saw the slow movements of a group of chained elves led by a smug looking man on a horse; several other men with swords drawn followed behind. The man dismounted taking the lead as he entered the doorway that would lead to the port. Daniel shuddered as he caught snippets of conversation; the ship was going to leave by midday come the morrow which meant he needed to think of something to stop them and quickly. He glanced to the hut in the distance that the Order often used, backing slowly away from the ridge.

xXx

Taking a long drink from his water skin Caladrius left the deck and moved down the ladders to the cells checking on the merchandise. He glanced to the two men who had been opportunistic acquirements and smiled glancing over Stephan. "I imagine you will fetch a fine price once those burns have healed." He chuckled at the fierce glare he received. "Forgive the manacles, but we can't have you using magic." He smiled at his confusion. "Oh forgive my men they prefer the use of magebane until the chains are in place, which have runes within the metal performing the same function and do not leave quite the same awful taste. Now once the ship is sailing I am sure you can persuade the sailors to lengthen the chain a little, after all where could you go." Smirking he looked over the elves checking they were still in good health. "Highever is indeed proving to be very profitable." Heading back up on deck he smiled to the Captain. "The Alienage is empty here and I believe I have removed all of the troublemakers as requested. I am traveling on to Amaranthine to begin our acquisitions there." He smiled slightly. "Our benefactor is indeed anxious to begin transporting the elves from his Arling, he has a distinct distaste for them, good for us of course." He sighed pulling his cloak tighter around him. "Ferelden weather is so depressing, it is lucky I am being well compensated for having to remain here. Your men in Highever will be back by dawn tomorrow, I believe they are making the most of their shore leave. They will bring the remaining acquisitions with them."

"More! It's already crowded in there!"

"I am paying you enough to deal with it." Caladrius snapped. "Make sure the cargo gets to Tevinter healthy, any losses come out of your pay and it would be such a shame if your reputation was tarnished."

Harven gritted his teeth but nodded.

xXx

Hugging tightly to the cliff edge Daniel was thankful that the moon was shrouded by cloud cover. He took a breath. "Marcus, Marcus you get back here immediately before you upset your mother. Get back here right now young man. I don't care if you don't like the cave; you get back in there and stay with your mother and sisters while I find us something to eat." He slipped across to a ledge that afforded cover and waited, seeing torches heading in his direction, several men guarding the entrance to the port having taken the bait. I knew you couldn't resist the opportunity for more slaves you bastards. He held his breath as three of the five men passed him, all grinning seeing their actions as sport. Daniel winced at the startled cries fearing they would have been heard by those still at their posts, but there was no movement; he supposed if they had heard any noise they would assume it was from their victims.

Taking a long breath as it fell silent; Daniel slipped from his hiding place and entered the cave to find two of the men dead from the traps he had set, one gasping for breath unable to speak his eyes pleading for mercy. Unsheathing his sword he made it quick. "More than you deserved." He muttered, taking his cloak and pulling up the hood. Reaching the two men stationed at the entrance he approached without challenge, throwing back the cloak, his blades finding their targets, the men dead at his feet without a sound. Pulling the bodies to the cave he kept the hood up and made his way cautiously through the passage ways to the port itself, relieved and slightly unnerved that it was empty, expecting to be attacked at any second. Reaching the ship he took a steadying breath, he needed to be quick and quiet, slipping onto the ship taking the nearest man on duty by surprise given he was almost asleep and snapping his neck before he uttered a cry. The slavers clearly hadn't expected any problems so far from civilisation and he dealt with the other two sailors on deck in a similar fashion. Heart pounding he carefully opened each cabin, relieved that his counting had been true and the Captain was indeed the only one left.

Their fight was brief and while the Captain did not survive, his blade cut between Daniel's lower ribs causing him pain and restricted movement. Grabbing the large bunch of keys Daniel clutched his side as he made his way below, relief making him dizzy as he saw Stephan.

"Daniel!" Stephan gasped, struggling against the manacles as he realised he was injured.

Stumbling to the cage Daniel panted painfully struggling with the lock.

"What happened?" Stephan demanded.

"Rescue wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped." Daniel gasped, finally hearing the click of the lock and yanking open the door falling to his knees beside Stephan looking for the key to the manacles. "Bloody keys." He snarled finally finding the right one.

As soon as he was free Stephan forced Daniel to sit down while he checked his wound. "It's not too deep, but we need to get it cleaned and you will need stitches, the bastards gave me magebane, it won't be out of my system for hours."

Nodding Daniel gritted his teeth as Stephan temporarily bound the wound. "And your own injuries?"

"They took care of them, I'm healing you don't need to worry about me. I promise." He added seeing the concern remain in Daniel's eyes. "We should get everyone out of here."

"I agree, the rest of the sailors are due back at dawn."

Stephan glanced at the men and women in cages. "I bet a lot of them wouldn't mind some payback."

Daniel sighed. "Let's just get off this damn ship first and then we can figure out what to do next."

xXx

Gathered in a large room branching off from the port itself, the group of forty men, women and children huddled together startled by the turn events and uncertain what would happen next.

Wincing at Daniel's groan, Stephan finished the last stitch, applying a salve and then binding the wound.

"I've become too reliant on your magic." Daniel muttered. "There was a time I would have laughed off a few bloody stitches."

"You're still tough." Stephan murmured.

Catching the smile Daniel shook his head but smiled. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome." He glanced up as they were approached by an elderly elven man, who was being aided by a young woman.

"I am Haren Vormoth and I thank you for your timely rescue."

Getting to his feet with Stephan's help Daniel shook his hand. "Slavery is abhorrent, but I overheard that more people from Highever will be brought to the ship come the morning with the ship due to leave by midday. I suggest we alter their plans, but we will need help. First of all I need to know how the slavers are operating in Highever at all."

Haren Vormoth explained the events in Highever as he knew them from the attack on the Teyrn and his family, to the men and women who had gone to help the Cousland's who were killed or imprisoned, Arl Howe's soldiers taking over Highever and imprisoning anyone attempting to flee and then the arrival of the slavers.

"Are those here the only ones who have been taken?" Daniel asked fearing the answer.

Vormoth shook his head leaning heavily on the young woman, an agonised expression crossing her face. "No, they split up the Night Elves first, I think they were afraid to have too many on one ship together in case they caused trouble, so we still have several with us. They split families, elven and human of those they considered troublemakers. I'm not sure how many ships have already gone to Tevinter, but the way they packed us in I would say at least one, probably two have already left." He sighed deeply. "They are lost to us." He glanced to the young woman who sniffed painfully. "Hush now Alea, we can only pray for those taken from us, we must carry on."

"Yes grandfather." Alea whispered, discreetly wiping her cheeks. Taking a calming breath she met Daniel's compassionate gaze. "We will help in whatever way we can, once the other sailors return and find out what happened they may kill those they are bringing. We have lost enough, come speak to the others, I am sure many will step forward to help."

Glancing to Stephan, Daniel realised he was the one everyone seemed to be looking to, so he cleared his throat to address the citizens of Highever. "We have our freedom, but more of your kin are being brought to the ship with the dawn. We want to make sure they do not have the same fate we would have had, but we need your help to stop the slavers. I killed the Captain, three men on board and five on land. That leaves potentially ten to twenty men coming back and once they find out what has happened as Alea pointed out they may kill those they have kidnapped."

Philip shifted slightly; he had been outspoken about the attack on Highever confronting Howe's men who patrolled the streets on more than one occasion. One night the guards had come into his smithy and torn it apart taking himself, his wife and fourteen year old son to the cells. He had been horrified to find many people he thought had fled Highever there, more horrified to find out they had been 'acquired' by slavers. They had separated him from his wife and son, threatening their lives so he would not cause trouble, now they were relatively safe he was eager to end the men who had threatened his family. "I'm ready to take them down, but not everyone here is able to fight and they have weapons, skills and numbers. What are you proposing Wardens?"

Stephan shifted slightly. "Some of you may already have realised I'm a mage. I propose I cast what is called a mass sleep spell on the sailors when they return. The problem is the magebane they forced me to take has left my magic weak so the possibility is the spell might not work on all of them and it won't last long."

"But long enough for us to crack some skulls." Bren stated with a grin, the huge man slapping a club of sorts on his hand.

"Are you going to kill them?" Arley asked gazing up at his father.

Philip shifted slightly glancing to Elsbeth who had an unusually hard look in her eye.

"Yes sweetheart." She answered for him. "With luck all of them. There are few people more evil than slavers and they deserve no mercy." She met Philip's gaze seeing his surprise, hoping he realised he had her full support whatever action needed to be taken.

"Then I want to help." Arley demanded.

"You will." Philip stated. "By looking after your mother and the children."

Arley looked as though he was about to protest when he noticed Myla, her huge blue eyes fixed on him. "I can do that." He said seeing the relief in her eyes. They had been friends all of their lives, but lately his feelings had shifted and he knew hers had too. They had shared a kiss in his father's smithy the day before their lives had changed and he had been dragged to those cells and he hoped there would be more.

Daniel smiled slightly. "All of you able and willing to fight please identify yourselves and then we will be able to figure out our next move." He glanced to Riordan who was unconscious, a fever had taken hold and he was in a bad way, whatever they were going to do they needed to do it quickly.

xXx

Yawning loudly Merid shoved the elven man to his left, smirking as he tripped and landed on the sodden sand taking down several other slaves with him.

"Hey quit fooling around!" Beldrin yelled to be heard over the howling wind, his head still pounding from the amount of ale he had consumed the night before. He signalled to Tolmand and Genya who hauled the slaves to their feet. He cast his gaze along the line, a third of them elderly and so it had taken longer to reach the ship, but they would have their uses in the Emperium. His eyes lingered on Tanya the serving girl he had enjoyed the night before. Her face was bruised where he had hit her to quieten her protests. She would learn her place and the journey was long enough that he would be able to teach her personally. He smirked as she shrank from his gaze tears slipping down her cheeks. As the ship came into sight he saw five guards at the jetty, seeing several others on the ship. He had decided that he hated Ferelden and was eager to be gone from it and no matter how many perks he received being the Captain's brother, he was not coming back. "Come on, hurry up!" He yelled, wincing as his head throbbed mercilessly. "I'm sick of this bloody rain." And a brandy will help clear my head. So preoccupied with his own misery as were most of the twenty men with him, he didn't notice the nearest guard at the jetty signal. He frowned as the five men at the head of the group fell to the ground along with the slaves between them. "Hey what the …" He stared wide eyed at the arrow that tore through his chest pinning him to a large piece of driftwood. His last sight before the end was Tanya's boot slamming into his face.

The beach descended into chaos, there had only been three bows on board the ship, but Night Elves Ardis, Melik and Sorith made good use of them taking out six of the men before anyone knew what was happening, by which time Daniel, Philip, Bren and Terrance had left the jetty joining the other volunteers who leapt up from behind rocks and driftwood where they had been concealed, falling on the slavers in fury.

It was a brief but brutal fight, the Tevinters taken completely by surprise and still debilitated by the effects of the previous evening's excesses. They barely had a chance to raise their swords before they were cut down. Against those chained and beaten they had been brutal, but in the face of those motivated by the harm and deaths of family and friends they didn't stand a chance. Stephan manifested several glyphs to paralyse supporting those fighting in close quarters. A single plea for mercy was met with a blade, the slaver falling to the sand wide eyed as he clutched his throat, blood spilling between his fingers.

Eris and Felin two of the Night Elves moved to protect those in chains, along with Jaril and Girren brothers of Tanya.

As the last slaver fell Stephan collapsed to his knees his mana spent feeling sick and shaky, glancing up as Daniel reached him, slumping against him as he passed out.

Daniel signalled to Philip who took over, splitting the small group into those working to unlock the chains and those building a pyre to burn the bodies, removing weapons and armour first. When it was done they headed back to large room in the port where everyone was waiting, seeing families reunited and tears shed for those lost. He glanced to Stephan who was ghastly pale laying him down on a bed roll, though thankfully rest was all he needed; standing as Philip approached clasping his outstretched hand.

"Thank you Warden, we got all the bastards and no casualties to our side."

"Glad to hear it." He saw Philip glance to Stephan. "He'll be fine."

"I never had much time for mages before, brought up to fear them you understand, but well Warden Stephan is alright in my book."

Daniel grinned. "He'll be glad to hear it. So what now? Will you return to Highever?"

"Not publically, not with Howe's soldiers still in control, they would kill us for sure. Thing is before I was imprisoned I heard that not all of the Cousland's were killed that night and I reckon if even one of them survived they will be looking to take back Highever."

"You look like you have something in mind."

"Well I reckon we have the upper hand of a kind with the soldiers thinking we are on our way to Tevinter. I'm a smith and we have builders and hunters amongst us. We are going to make a base here. I'm going to make weapons and armour and we will train. We might not be much, but I reckon with a bit of time we can bloody Howe's men and help retake Highever. Thing is we reckon you won't be moving on any time soon what with the Warden's broken leg, so I figured you might help us train. I mean the Night Elves and those of us with some skills will help train, but you will have other skills. I saw you fight out there, the men could learn a lot from you."

"And the women." Tanya stated moving over to them, her brothers standing protectively beside her. "If you are going to work towards getting rid of Howe's soldiers we want in."

Philip hesitated but seeing the fierce gleam in her eye and that of her brothers nodded. "We will need as many people as we can."

Daniel worried at his lip, he was a Warden in a Blight and by rights he couldn't linger, but Riordan wasn't going to be moving any time soon and they could at least make sure these people stood a fighting chance. "Just until Riordan is fit enough to travel."

Philip gripped his arm and shook fiercely. "Right then, we have work to do."

xXx

As Stephan slept Daniel helped Philip and a team he had assembled raid the ship for anything they could use. They took food and water supplies, casks of ale and mead, candles, lanterns and oil. Each cabin was stripped of blankets, clothes and any coin. The galley was stripped of all cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery, even stripping the ship of chairs and tables.

Daniel was relieved to find a chest containing both vials of lyrium and lyrium dust, his own supply lost to the sea. He made a draught taking it immediately, the headache that had been beginning, washed away in the euphoric buzz. In joining the Wardens he had hoped to gain his freedom from the hold lyrium had on him, but Duncan had needed his Templar skills and so he had continued to take it. Not even Stephan was aware of how much he feared and craved the substance.

xXx

Over the next few days the freed citizens separated into groups. Philip began to build a forge in the cave suited to the purpose near the port, all of the captured swords and armour stored there; some would be kept, others repurposed depending on the damage. He had several of the men checking the area for deposits of metal, knowing iron and serpentine would be plentiful.

Several scouting parties had gone out to find a suitable place to have their base. No-one wanted to use the port itself and while there were some huts, none could provide the space needed, so they had decided on a piece of land, beginning the work of clearing the trees which would create a barrier around the buildings that would be inside. In the meantime the huts and makeshift tents were used in rotation to create places to sleep and rest.

While they had salvaged a great deal of food and water from the ship those who could hunt were sent out daily. There were plenty of rams and large sea birds if they came close to the shore. Racks were set up for the fish they caught and some were smoked. Seaweed was also in abundance which proved to be delicious when crispy and seasoned to accompany the fish. They steered clear of the bears unless any came too close and then it was a case of survival. They even found a cave with a large waterfall providing fresh water and wild roots and berries were also surprisingly plentiful given the time of year.

Alea who had been the Alienages healer went out daily to collect herbs when she wasn't tending to Riordan and those who were weakened from their confinement in prison. To her relief Elfroot grew in abundance, mostly on the upper slopes and though rarer there was also Prophets Laurel. Spindle Weed and Blood Lotus were abundant on the shoreline and occasionally she came across Black Lotus, giving it to Daniel and Stephan to increase the effectiveness of their lyrium potions.

xXx

The sound of an explosion brought Daniel and Stephan from the hut the Wardens used and what was temporarily being used for an infirmary, staring in shock towards the port and the ship that was in flames. Everything that could be salvaged had been, but they had spoken of possibly using it to get to Highevers docks.

"I guess they decided against keeping the ship then." Stephan murmured seeing Philip, Bren and a few others leave the entrance to the port.

"Guess so." Daniel stated hoping the smoke would go unnoticed. They watched the ship burn, the remains eventually washing up on the beach, just another ship lost to the Storm Coast.

xXx

Warden Commander Zorial sat at her desk staring at the letter from Ferelden's new Warden Commander; brought by an exhausted messenger who had clearly travelled without much rest. Rathnal's plea for help made her shift uncomfortably, but she had her orders and Antiva would not be called to action unless the Blight was no longer contained in Ferelden. She knew enough to know that the First Warden was following his own agenda and it had nothing to do with being neutral, in fact she suspected it had a great deal to do with Orlais, yet as each day passed she felt less certain about the course she had accepted upon being promoted to Commander. Everything had seemed so certain when the emissary's had arrived; their purpose true when they met to speak each day. She glanced to the amulet an apparent gift from the First Warden for her promotion that she was supposed to wear at all times, but the thing made her uncomfortable. In fact the more time that passed since the Weisshaupt Wardens had left to return to the Anderfels, the more uncomfortable she had become with the orders given to her and the more she suspected she herself had been a victim of blood magic. She stood and paced the room, what bothered her the most was Serris; a Warden she had deeply respected and yet she had treated as the enemy and had hunted. Now as she gazed down over the courtyard she was glad Serris had evaded them. She knew in her heart she would have tried to go back to Ferelden and she hoped she had made it.

Glancing up at the knock she looked over Torwin her Constable and gestured him to sit. He was an accomplished mage and they had been friends for many years. She sat back down and laid out the amulet between them. "I think this is meant to compel me." She raised an eyebrow at his distinct lack of surprise. "I need to know the truth, is this amulet dangerous and did those bastards compel me while they were here?" She watched the soft golden glow manifest at his fingertips, watching the energy reach out to the amulet, pushing her chair back and standing in alarm as the amulet seemed to writhe, a red energy pulsing out of it trying to combat the gold.

Torwin frowned before wrapping the amulet in energy, weaving a tight matrix that became solid when the spell was complete. "I would have destroyed it but they would know. Be very careful Zorial, this is powerful magic and I believe they did compel you."

"Very well; will the amulets magic be contained in that?"

"Yes."

Moving to a cupboard Zorial pulled out a small chest, unlocked it, placed it within and locked it again returning it to the cupboard, fastening the keys of the chest and cupboard to the chain at her neck. "I want everyone tested including myself and any compulsion removed; this must be done discreetly and swiftly. Once we have our house in order then we can plan."

"Plan what?"

"How to help Ferelden without bringing us to the attention of the First Warden and how to gain Serris's forgiveness."

Torwin smiled. "Now that's the Zorial I know."

xXx

Slipping through the trees being careful to remain unseen Serris made her way towards the mines. She had moved through small villages only long enough to replenish her supplies and find out any news she could. Much of it was possibly exaggerated and hopefully wrong, but what seemed to be certain was the battle at Ostagar had been lost and the King and most of the Wardens if not all, were dead. She couldn't bring herself to think about that. She had also heard bizarre rumours that the Cousland's were traitors, but there were just as many people who said it was foolish nonsense and the Cousland's would never betray Ferelden. So she had pushed on to Soldiers Peak hoping there she would find answers and a course of action.

She stared at the entrance to the mines, she had never made the journey alone, but she remembered Duncan's instructions well and lighting the orb of her staff to illuminate her way she stepped inside. The coolness of the tunnels was somehow soothing, but the silence apart from her own footsteps made her uneasy and she quickened her steps not wanting to get lost in thought and lose her way. Finally she reached the stone steps cut into the mountain upon which the fortress stood. Snow still covered the ground and she pulled her cloak tightly around her to ease her shivering, nodding to several of the Drydan's who had looked up at her arrival, nodding and returning to their business. Crossing the courtyard she hurried up the steps to the main doors eager to rest in a bed for the night. Entering the main hall she was grateful to see a fire in the hearth, Avernus sitting close to it a plate of food and book beside him.

"You're back."

"Well observed." Serris stated removing her cloak and rubbing her hands in front of the fire.

"How much do you know?"

Serris sank onto a seat. "That the army was slaughtered for the most part, or so rumour would have me believe." She hesitated at his look. "It is true then."

"Indeed, few Wardens survived and those that did are the newest recruits. Rathnal is now Warden Commander and Ayanna his Constable."

Serris felt the colour drain from her face; for that to be true it meant Yantra, Duncan and Percy were dead along with every Senior Warden. "No." She whispered.

Avernus poured a brandy and handed it over. "Drink this."

Taking a sip Serris forced back the grief, there would be time to mourn, but she would be of no use to anyone if she gave into it now. "Where is Commander Rathnal?"

"He left maybe two or three weeks ago, time doesn't mean much to me. He and the others were heading to the Circle to enforce the treaty there, then on to Rainesfere to meet up with some nobles. I believe he then intended to go on to Orzammar. "

Serris gripped her staff. "Then with luck Orzammar is where I will manage to meet up with them."

"Do you intend to try and take command?"

"Of course not, but I will offer whatever support and knowledge I have. I will need a map with a route to Orzammar." She turned at the sound of a throat being cleared.

"Begging your pardon." Levi stated clutching anxiously at his hands. "I wouldn't normally interrupt, but I was told you were here and well I'm heading to Orzammar, for trading you see. I'd be happy to escort you, me and the boys that is."

Serris gave a grateful smile. "Are you really going to Orzammar?"

Levi's lips twitched slightly. "We are now."

xXx

Author Note: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.