Dak had arrived at the Hanged Man, where he found someone attempting to flirt with Isabela, who looked as if she was fighting the urge to cut his balls off.

"Isabela, my dusky goddess. You have buried yourself in the flesh of my heart, like a worm in a red, red apple."

Dak suddenly found himself sick to his stomach at the man's sorry excuse for flirting. Isabela then noticed Dak and looked the happiest he had ever seen her.

"Oh, look, my friend is here. Excuse me," she said, getting up.

"But I haven't gotten to the part where I invite you to feast upon my tender white flesh!"

"That's all right. I think I'll manage."

She then pulled Dak to one side. "Speaking of romance…" She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're interested in Merrill, aren't you?"

Dak sighed; he had received enough of this from Leyla. "I'm that obvious, am I?"

"Well, that's good," she smiled. "She always seemed a little lonely. I get the feeling the girl's messing with something big and dangerous. Look out for her, will you? Make sure she doesn't hurt herself." She then gave a very threatening look that sent chills down his spine. "Oh, and if you do anything nasty to her, I'll cut off your balls."

Dak knew that she wasn't joking and made a mental note to be the perfect gentleman to Merrill.

He decided to drop by Merrill's house before visiting the Hanged Man. When he entered, she waved at him eagerly. "I've got something to show you. Come and see." He followed her into the back room. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

It was, actually, but his attention was on Merrill. "You're much prettier."

Merrill blushed. "Oh, you're too kind! Is… it warming here?" She then shook her head. "Stop babbling, Merrill…" She caressed it gently. "I've spent the last few years restoring this." She turned back towards him. "Two of my clan stumbled across it in a ruin. We never found Tamlen. And Ragnar came back… poisoned by the eluvian. Sick just from being near it."

"What are you trying to do with this mirror?" he asked concerningly.

"At first, I wanted to find out what happened to my friends." Merrill sighed. "I told you we never found Tamlen. I hoped…" She shook her head. "But, it's been too long… Tamlen is probably dead by now if he wasn't already. But still, I know it can help my people. I can at least recover this one small part of our heritage."

"What's an eluvian?"

She told him the tale of Arlathan and mirrors that could communicate across vast distances. He had to admit, it did sound rather fascinating. "The Keeper wanted me to destroy the fragment I kept. She said our ancestors meant it to be forgotten. She's wrong. This mirror could teach us so much about who we once were." She rubbed her arms and got that sad puppy look again.

"Tell me you didn't bring the killer mirror to Huttsgalor just because it's pretty."

"It's not dangerous," Merrill assured. "I promise! I fixed it! Or tried to. With blood magic. The mirror won't hurt anyone." She then rubbed her temple in frustration. "But… it doesn't work. I've tried everything, and I think it's because it needs to be finished with a special tool. An arulin'holm. And my clan has one. It's been in their hands for generations…"

"I hear a 'but' coming."

She fidgeted and then looked up at him. "I can't go back there alone. You have no idea. The Keeper… I can't talk to her. We fight or talk in circles around each other. She has a disappointed frown that turns your bones to jelly. Please help me? You will, won't you?"

He looked into her eyes. "I'll go with you."

"Ma serannas. I'll find some way to repay you, I promise!" She took a bite of the pie, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, this is marvellous."

Varric shuffled the cards. "I'll let you run your fingers through it if you want."

"Your chest hair?" Isabela batted her eyes. "My fingers? Oh, Varric, stop! You're making me quiver."

He dealt. "You know you want to."

"Oh, I do… I can't resist you." She looked at her cards and tossed a couple of coins into the pot. "No woman can."

"I know. It's a terrible burden."

Fenris rolled his eyes at them before tossing his bet into the pot. He then turned his eyes to Leyla. "So, have the templars made any enquiries?"

"There's been a few, but you be surprised how many templars look the other way when coin is dangled in front of them," she said.

Fenris huffed. "The here templars are just like the ones back in the Imperium."

"In fairness to the templars here, many of them are not exactly the brightest," said Varric. "Though I have no doubt if Sunshine had dabbled in blood magic, they would be so quick to take the coin."

"Speaking of blood magic, what of Merrill?" Fenris asked.

"It's not like she's doing demon summing up or blood sacrifices," said Isabela. "Besides, she has Dak keeping her on the straight and narrow."

The next morning, Dak began trekking to the Freefolk camp with Merrill. When they got there, he couldn't help but notice that everyone was staring at Merrill, and they weren't really friendly looks.

The Keeper, on the other hand, looked pleased to see them. "You return to us, da'len. Have you reconsidered this path at last?"

"I…" Merrill glanced at Dak.

"Go on, I'm with you."

Merrill smiled. "Thank you, Dak." She then looked towards the Marethari. "Keeper, I need the arulin'holm, the ancient carving blade that Master Ilen keeps."

"I see." Marethari's voice was flat with disapproval. "You wish to rebuild the eluvian." She shook her head.

"You don't have to approve" Merrill tilted her chin up defiantly. "I'm invoking vir sulevanan. I'll do whatever task you wish."

The Keeper folded her arms. "Well, I'm glad to know I can still disapprove." Her glare included all of them. "It is your right. I will give you a service to perform if you insist."

"It's a lot to ask, but could you two try to be less elfy for the sake of the human present?" Dak asked.

Marethari chuckled slightly. "We are what we are, child. But I'll try to speak more of the common tongue. A varterral has taken the lives of three of our hunters. It lairs in a cavern in the mountainside. Seek it out. Slay it. No one else must fall to its anger." She frowned again. "Do this for us, and I will give you the arulin'holm. May the Dread Wolf never catch your scent."

Naturally, the cave was home to giant spiders. He put up a wall of fire to drive them back as Isabela worked quickly to cut Merrill and Anders free of webbing.

Merrill gasped when she saw the first of the dead hunters. They found the second in a side tunnel and the third in the spider's nest. She collected their amulets and got a comforting hug from Isabela.

Dak then heard footsteps. "If someone there? It's safe; you can come out."

"Hello?" A young elven man peered around a corner. "Praise Andras… I mean, the Creators. I thought I'd never get out of—" He came towards them, then caught sight of Merrill. Fear filled his face. "Merrill?"

"Aneth ara, Pol." She gave him a worried look. "Are you hurt?"

He started backing away. "Stay back. What do you want from me?"

Dak exchanged a confused look with Varric. Merrill took a step forward and held a hand out to Pol. "Pol, what's wrong? I'm here to help."

"Stay back. Don't touch me."

Dak quickly grabbed hold of Merrill and looked at Pol. "Merrill couldn't hurt you if she tried. At worst, she might make frowny faces."

Pol shook his head and continued backing away. "She'll do worse than hurt me. Don't you know what she is?" He turned and ran. "Creators, help me. Someone, please."

Merrill went after him. "Pol, no. We have to catch him. Hurry."

Dak went after her, followed closely by the others. They hadn't gone far when they saw the creature drop down onto the elf. Merrill screamed. "Hold on, Pol. We're coming."

The creature resembled a spider but was way bigger, covered in armour, and had an extremely long neck. Leyla quickly responded by unleashing a burst of flames, which certainly turned its focus upon them. Anders got the barrier up just in time to prevent Isabela from being skewered, but the pirate was thrown backwards into the wall. Dak lost sight of Merrill as the creature kept attacking.

Dak tossed his sword like a javelin right underneath the creature's underbelly. His blade was able to pierce it, and Leyla fired off a massive bolt of electricity straight into the sword and plunged it right through the creature. It twitched for a while before it finally collapsed.

And they were able to find Merrill, who was weeping over Pol's body.

"Po… maybe it's not too late!" she said desperately. She then turned to Anders. "You can help him, can't you, Anders? You can heal anyone!"

Anders gave her an apologetic look. "Merrill… he's gone."

Merrill cried, and Isabela wrapped her arms around Merrill and held the girl while she cried. "Why did you run? You shouldn't have run!"

Dak placed a hand on her shoulder. "There was nothing you could have done."

"He was more afraid of me than the varterral…" she said, wiping her eyes. "Pol was unlike the others. He was city-born. Worldly. He ran away from Aresgan and found us. I thought if anyone would understand, he would. This… something is very wrong, I need to see the Keeper."

As they walked through the caverns, Merrill was still trying to get her head around what had just happened.

"Pol… What was he thinking? He acted like I was a monster…" she said, shaking ahead.

"Don't blame yourself, Kitten," said Isabela gently. "Sometimes men do senseless things."

"The varterral is dead," said Dak to Marethari.

"Ma serannas. I'll breathe easier, knowing that we will lose no more people to it."

"We found these…" said Merrill, handing her the amulets

"I'll return them to their families."

"We lost Pol. In the cave, he… he fled at the sight of me, straight into the varterral."

"Many of the clan fear you'll bring back the corruption—or worse—from the mirror," Marethari explained.

"And where did they get that idea?" said Merrill, narrowing her eyes.

"I am their Keeper, da'len. It was my duty to warn them." She then gave her a deeply concerned look. "It's still not too late for you to return to us. Reconsider—there's no need for you to live alone."

Merrill shook her head. "Must we go over this again? You'll never accept what I'm doing."

"The Eluvian is poison. It killed Tamlen. It stole Ragnar. It led you to blood magic. Will you let it twist you further from who you are?" Marethari was still pleading with Merrill, who had her stubborn face on. Finally, Marethari just shook her head and turned to him. "Dak…" She thrust a carefully wrapped item at him. "Because Merrill won't listen, I give this heirloom of my clan to you for safekeeping. Please… don't let her do this." And with that, she walked away.

Dak was confused. It would have helped if the Keeper actually bothered to tell him why the Eluvian, cleansed of corruption, was dangerous. For a moment, he wondered if the Keeper was hiding something from him. Merrill, at least, looked relieved. "Thank the Creators. I thought…" She smiled. "Maybe she'd go back on her word."

"Is it worth restoring the mirror if it turns your clan against you?" Dak asked her.

"You and Leyla know what it's like to lose everything, Dak." She shook her head. "Not just our land and freedom, but history, stories, language, magic, rituals. Even our gods are gone. It is a sacrifice, but if the mirror restores even one fragment of the past, it's worth it."

Dak sighed. "It's yours."

She hugged him with a delighted squeal. "Thank you. I knew you would understand." She coughed and got hold of herself. "Let's be away from here. The others are giving me the evil eye."

Later in the afternoon, he visited Merrill, who was sitting by the Eluvian. She got her when she heard her footsteps and looked at him with great gratitude.

"Dak… I could never face the Keeper myself," she smiled. "I never imagined a human would help me restore Freefolk history. No one ever understood. Not my Keeper, not my clan… just you."

He gave a coy smile. "I'm sensitive, handsome and supportive. What else could you possibly want?"

Merrill just smiled. "Nothing!" She suddenly went bright pink. "Oh, not that I'm saying that I want you… I'll just stop talking about how. You're the first real friend I've ever had since Ragnar and Tamlen. Ma serannas, lethallian."

Dak met up with Leyla, and they went to see Aveline at the keep. They saw her bearing down upon one of her guardsmen.

"We'll need to give them answers by tomorrow, Captain," he said.

"I'll have them. Dismissed."

"The seneschal was particularly vocal—"

"Dismissed." Dak heard the testy note in her voice. "You'd think the captain of the guard could requisition a templar or two, but no, that would be demeaning. Can't have them working for the people when eternity needs a nanny."

Dak crossed his arms. "You had to know cleaning up this mess would be difficult."

She shook her head at him. "It's not the challenge. It's the unending part. And really, I blame you two. The two of you poured money into a pot that was already full. Everything has shifted." She crossed her arms. "Good job validating the fears of every anti-Midgardian in Huttsgalor."

"We didn't realise we were making it worse by getting ahead," said Leyla.

"I'm just harassing you." She shook her head at them fondly. "Although you two are a bit like the centre of a hurricane. You've changed fortunes for many people. Not always for the better."

"Sounds like you're spreading yourself pretty thin," Dak noted.

"There are a lot of people in my charge. Someone has to look out for them."

"You guard the guardsmen?"

"I don't turn people loose like Jeven. There's additional training, doubled patrols." She sighed. "Costs are up, but I've halved injuries. I'll take it and argue with Seneschal Bran later."

Leyla just gave a small smirk. "Grouse all you want, but the Aveline I know doesn't regret a second as captain."

"They'd have to drag me out of here." She folded her arms. "And I'm sure some are lining up to try. You two among them, I bet. Haven't had much time to follow you two around. Not that I need to. I can trust that you two at least try to do right."

"We try," said Leyla.

"This city doesn't make it easy for us," said Dak.

Aveline gave a small chuckle as she shook her head.

They soon returned to the estate and were surprised to find Merrill waiting for them. Dak noticed that she looked a little flustered, and Leyla smirked.

"I just remember that I need to check up on Anders," she said. She then turned to Merrill. "I trust I can count on you to keep my brother entertained."

Merrill's face became bright pink. "Oh, I'll try not to disappoint him."

"I think you'll be more worried about disappointing you," Leyla winked.

Dak suddenly realised what she was implying, and he wasn't certain whose face was painted him or Merrill's. Then, without saying another word, Leyla left, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence.

Merrill was fidgeting as she looked at Dak. "I'm glad that I caught you here. I thought you went to the Hanged Man. And I almost went there to look for you first, but then I thought you might have gone to see your uncle instead…" She eventually calmed herself. "And I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Dak just smiled. "I don't mind. You're adorable when you're flustered."

Merrill turned slightly pink around her ears. "After you left, I… I couldn't stop thinking about Pol, the mirror, and everything that happened. I wonder if… if I've made a mistake. Leaving the Freefolk."

Dak placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're just feeling homesick. Don't second-guess yourself."

Merrill then looked into his eyes. "I suppose if I had left my people, I never would have met you." She then turned away from him. "If you were Freefolk, my people would have a kingdom by now. And half of Reros would be attacking us. So maybe things worked out for the best."

"Does it bother you that I'm human?" Dak asked.

"No!" she said, shaking ahead furiously. "I'm not saying that I change you for… I'm making things worse, aren't I?"

She then fidgeted with her fingers. "I just… I'm one of the elvhen. I'm supposed to preserve who we are, and if I…" She started to look slightly hot under the collar, and her ears turned bright pink. "There are reasons that it's bad to… is it warming here? Elgar'nan, I'll stop talking now."

"I guess I'll postpone making myself more elfy," Dak chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know, you'd look handsome with pointy ears. Not that you don't now." She then took a deep breath. "The Keeper—my whole clan—will object if we… not that they can possibly hate me any more, I suppose."

Dak lifted her chin so that they stared at each other's eyes. "Their disapproval is a small price to pay for being with you."

Merrill looked away, clearly unsure what to do. He then placed a hand on her cheek, and they looked into each other's eyes once more.

"Merrill… It's all right."

A second later, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her waist as they fought over control.

He then picked up bridal style and headed over towards his room.

Once there, he placed her down, and the two of them began kissing passionately while wrapping their arms around one another. Slowly but surely, they began to disrobe their clothes until they were standing naked in front of one another.

Dak then laid Merrill down on the bed; she looked so beautiful she smiled back at him. She then outstretched her hand towards him, and he took, and she slowly pulled him towards her. Once on the bed, he slowly and carefully inserted his length into her and began to move his hips with one hand around her waist and the other on one of her breasts.

Merrill moaned loudly, and then the two of them kissed; he could feel the vibrations of her moans running through his entire body. Their tongues then began to dance for control inside their mouths. He then felt her hands chase across his back as he slowly increased his speed.

He then rolled over so now that she was on top of him, running on pure instinct and adrenaline, his hands then began to make their way to the small of her back before eventually reaching her ass. He gave them a good squeeze, making him squeal as the two of them kissed.

They then broke apart, and she sat up and began to ride him, tracing her hands across his bare chest. He then reached out for her breasts, giving them a good squeeze, causing her to arc her back. The bun in her head became undone, causing her long, silky black hair to flow down, and somehow, that made her look even more beautiful.

Once again, they flipped so that he was now on top of her, and he began to move even faster. Their moans began to fill the room, and completely oblivious to everything that was going on outside. He placed a hand over the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair while the other would still have a firm grasp on her ass.

She wrapped her legs around him, forcing him to increase his speed; seconds later, he could feel her liquids poring over his length as she shrieked. Part of him was concerned that his mother would hear and find them in his room, but strangely, he didn't seem to care and kept pushing in and out.

Then, with one final push, he unleashed all his work into her. The two of them lay in each other's arms, still completely exhausted and panting heavily.

"What happens now?" Merrill asked uncertainly. "Are we… what did this mean?"

"Now we both decide what happens next," said Dak gently.

She looked into his eyes. "If you hadn't come to Sundermount that day… I can't imagine where I'd be now."

They lay there in silence until she finally said out loud, "I love you." She then turned pink. "I probably shouldn't have said that, should I? I always say the stupidest things…"

Dak looked at her and smiled. "I love you, Merrill. Actually, I was going to suggest you move in with me.

The moment he said that she got up rather gingerly and turned to face him like he was crazy. "Here? In Hightown? The rich, fancy part of the city with no rats in it? And you… with an elf?"

He just shrugged.

Merrill smiled as she shook her head. "Ma vhenan… you really are crazy, aren't you?" He then got up and walked over to her, slightly gingery himself. "If you're not afraid, then… neither am I."

They then kissed as if they were the only two people in the entire world.

"He fell in love with a blood mage?" said Cassandra indignantly. "I'm starting to believe that we were right about the Champions."

"Come Seeker, after everything I have said, do you really think that Merrill is a danger to anyone?" said Varric.

"Her Keeper clearly believed that she was a danger."

"She believed the mirror she was working on was the danger, not her precisely. Dak hated blood magic, but he still fell in love with Merrill; surely, that tells you something. I like to believe that he hoped her love for him would be enough for her to give up on blood magic."

"And did she?"

"I'm afraid that's a story for another time, but the number one moral of this past story is never to give in to fear. If that boy had not allowed his fear to consume him, he would still be alive today, and Merrill may never have left her clan."

"Maybe, or maybe she would have accidentally unleashed something terrible just as her Keeper predicted."

"So that I cannot say, and neither can you, but we're barely halfway through our story, and there is still much to tell."

Cassandra leaned in towards him, resting her hands on the desk. "Then keep talking."