Dak and Leyla decided to take a brisk wall around Sundermount. Merrill was willing to join them, and Dak convinced Fenris to accompany them. On the way, they ran into Sebastian, who was more than happy to accompany them and began entering a conversation with Merrill regarding some apparent holes in the Chant of Light.

They were halfway up the coast when an arrow struck the ground. Their eyes went up to the bluffs, and they saw men standing in Ensal-style armour.

"Hunters," Fenris growled.

"Stop right there," one of them called out. "You are in possession of stolen property. Back away from the slave now, and you'll be spared."

Dak narrowed his eyes. "Fenris is a free man!"

"I won't repeat myself. Back away from the slave now."

"I am not your slave," Fenris shouted as his markings began to glow.

The men then began firing arrows down at them. Leyla quickly drew her staff and fired a few fireballs straight towards, exploding the edge of the bluff the men were standing on and eliminating their height advantage. Merrill followed it up with a blast of her own. Sebastian whirled, directing his arrows at the men attempting to come up on them from behind. Dak then charged in with Fenris with his sword at the read. The two of them began chopping down the attackers, and Fenris, in particular, seemed rather ruthless in his disparagement.

Fenris found a survivor among the wreckage they'd splattered everywhere. "Where is he?"

"Please don't kill me."

Fenris smashed the man's face into the ground. "Tell me."

"I don't know. I don't know, I swear. Hadriana brought us. She's at the holding caves north of the city. I can show you the way."

"No need. I know which ones you speak of."

"Then let me go, I beg you!" he begged. "I swear I won't—"

"You chose the wrong master." Fenris then snapped the man's neck. He stood up and faced Hawke. "Hadriana. I was a fool to think I was free. They'll never let me be."

"They need to be stopped before this goes any further," said Dak.

Fenris nodded. "The holding caves held slaves in the old times, but apparently, they are no longer abandoned. We must go quickly before Hadriana has a chance to prepare… or flee."

"We should send word to Aveline; I'm sure she'd like to know that there are some slaves squatting nearby," said Leyla.

They managed to send word to Aveline, who was more than willing to offer some assistance. She soon arrived with some guards and, surprisingly, Varric.

"My guardsmen will station themselves at the entrance," she said. "If any of these flavours managed to escape, they'll catch them."

"We must be careful," Fenris said. "There were many such holdings once, especially in the mountains, where individual slavers kept private pens. They were designed to protect against raids by fellow slavers. No doubt it's why Hadriana chose this place."

"Hadriana won't escape us," said Dak said.

"Let's hope this isn't a waste of time." Fenris led them inside.

They proceeded deeper into the cave and found what appeared to be some sort of ancient ritual site. However, the most disturbing thing was the large number of slaves that littered the ground, now dead.

Fenris spat. "See for yourself. The legacy of the magisters."

"They sacrificed all of them?" said Merrill in horror.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Fenris spat. "You're only a step away from it yourself."

"That's not true."

"Believe what you like. In my experience, mages always find a way to justify their need for power."

"Not all mages," said Leyla, folding her arms.

Fenris remained silent and walked past her.

Leyla, Varric, Merrill and Sebastian remained at the party's rear while Dak, Aveline and Fenris took the lead. An arrogant slaver mage tried to use a fire trap as a defence against the warriors. However, Varric was skilled in disarming tracks, and Leyla was happy to blast the slaver with lightning.

A young woman's voice cried out for help. A few moments later, the bits and pieces of her attackers were strewn about the room. Fenris walked up to the slave. "Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?"

Tears stained the girl's face. "They've been killing everyone. They cut Papa, bled him…"

"Why?" Fenris shook his head. "Why would they do this?"

"No wonder the Maker left his children," said Sebastian.

"The magister…" The girl gestured. "She said she needed power, that someone was coming to kill her. We tried to be good. We did everything we were told. She loved Papa's soup. I don't understand."

Leyla's voice was gentle. "Is the magister still here?"

"I…" The girl nodded. "Think so. The magister said they were to prepare for battle. I think she's very frightened."

"She has every reason to be," said Fenris.

"Please, don't hurt her. She'll be so angry if you hurt her." The girl was close to panic.

"This has been terrible for you," said Dak.

The tears welled up again. "Everything was fine until today."

"It wasn't." Fenris shook his head. "You just didn't know any better."

"Are you my master now?" The girl asked Fenris.

"No," said Fenris in surprise, taking a step backwards.

"But… I can cook. I can clean. What else will I do?"

"If you go to Huttsgalor, I can help you," Dak offered.

The girl's eyes lit up. "Yes? Oh, praise the Maker. Thank you." She dashed off.

Fenris rounded on Dak, his expression furious. "I didn't realise you were in the market for a slave."

Dak turned to him with an expression just as angry. "I gave her a job, Fenris."

"Ah. Then…" Fenris shook his head. "That's good. My apologies." He turned away awkwardly. "Let's find Hadriana and be done with this place."

Hadriana seemed to have used the blood she'd drained to summon quite a host of demons. Varric and Sebastian took up back-to-back positions, targeting demons to keep the warriors from getting surrounded. Dak led the charge, slicing through one of the Demons with his sword. Leyla kept Hadriana at bay with her magic, proving that one didn't have to be a magister to be a powerful mage.

Hadriana did her best to hold her ground, but in the end, Leyla proved far more skilled. Leyla managed to fire a bolt of lightning directly at her, knocking her to the ground.

Upon seeing her fall, Fenris strode up to the fallen woman. "Stop," she called out. "You do not want me dead."

"There is only one person I want dead more." Fenris raised his blade.

"I have information, elf, and I will trade it in return for my life."

Fenris smirked. "The location of Danarius? What good will that do me? I'd rather he lose his pet pupil."

"You have a sister. She is alive." The effect of the magister's words on Fenris seemed to approach devastation. She apparently realised the same thing, as she sat up and her expression started to become more confident. "You wish to reclaim your life? Let me go, and I will tell you where she is."

Dak moved to Fenris's side. "This is your call."

Fenris nodded at him and then bent down toward the magister. She gave him a hopeful look. "So I have your word? I tell you, and you let me go?"

"Yes." Fenris's eyes narrowed. "You have my word."

"Her name is Varania. She is in Qarinus serving a magister by the name of Ahirman."

"A servant. Not a slave."

"She's not a slave."

"I believe you." Fenris's markings began to glow. He shoved his hand into Hadriana's chest, and there was a rather sickening squishing noise. The magister fell lifelessly to the floor. Fenris stood. "We are done here."

Dak watched Fenris start to walk away. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Fenris rounded on him. "No, I don't want to talk about it." The elf gestured. "This could be a trap. Danarius could have sent Hadriana here to tell me about this 'sister.' Even if he didn't, trying to find her would still be suicide. Danarius has to know about her and has to know that Hadriana knows." He gestured at the corpse. "But all that matters is I finally got to crush this bitch's heart. May she rot and all other mages with her."

"This doesn't mean we shouldn't look for your sister," said Leyla, reaching out to put a hand on Fenris's shoulder.

Fenris shoved her away. "What else should it mean? Even if I found my sister, who knows what the magisters have done to her. What has magic touched that it doesn't spoil?" The elf went silent. He stared at Leyla for a moment as if he was just starting to remember who he was talking to. "I…" He looked down at his hands. "Need to go." He all but fled. Sebastian started to walk after him, but Aveline caught the man's arm.

Dak looked at Leyla and put a hand on her shoulder. "We should go."

"Right," Leyla nodded.

Dak and Leyla returned to the mansion, where they found their mother waiting, with the slave girl standing next to her. She raised an eyebrow at them and told them they had much explaining to do.

The girl, however, smiled brightly at them. "Greetings, Master and Mistress. Your home was difficult to find. I've never been out on my own before. But… I found it. Many people know of you." She glanced at their mother. "I hope I've made myself useful. I've already begun cleaning, and I can cook… not as good as Papa, but a little. Is there…" She looked around the house. "Anything else you'd like me to do?"

"What sort of skills do you have?" Dak asked.

"Not many, I fear. The magister bade me to clean and sometimes fetch… but Papa told me to keep out of her sight as much as I could." Her face was scared. "But I can learn. I'll serve you well. Please don't hurt me."

It was clear that having her venture out in the city on her own would be unwise. The problem was being a slave was all this girl ever knew, and that had to change.

"If you're staying here, Orana, it will be as our servant," said Dak.

She blinked. "You mean…" She looked around uncertainly. "I won't be a slave anymore?"

"You'll be paid like anyone else," said Leyla gently.

"I… a slave is all I've ever been, like Papa and Grandpapa before me. I'll try to be a good servant. Thank you, Master. Thank you, Mistress. You're too good to me."

Dak gestured to Bodhan. "Why don't you set Orana up in a room? Maybe the one by the garden?"

Bodhan nodded and gestured for the girl to follow him. The twins then turned to face their mother.

Their mother's side. "An elven slave? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Servant. Not slave," said Dak. "Her father was murdered, quite possibly in front of her very eyes, just this morning." He shook his head. "Because a blood mage realised we were coming to kill her and wanted every scrap of power she could call up." He narrowed his eyes. "It didn't help her."

"And that makes you feel responsible?" Their mother shook her head and then sighed. "Maker, she's all but still a child." She nodded. "She showed up with nothing. We'll need to get her a change of clothes and a few other things, at least. I suppose having a maid isn't a hardship."

"It is a big place, and we can't put all the burden on Bodhan," said Leyla.

Lelya entered the Chantry the next day and found Sebastian. She had a bow in his hand, a bow that she had taken from one of the Flint Company mercenaries he had killed three years ago. Finding the bow took a long time, but now she presented it to Sebastian.

"I think this is yours," she said.

Sebastian stared at the bow. "My grandfather's bow? But… where you get it?"

"One of the Flint Company mercenaries had it."

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "It's… hard to mourn the loss of a thing while my family lies dead. But I did think on it."

"What's the story behind that bow?" Leyla asked.

"As the youngest son, it was my place to lead Starkhaven's militia. But I never had a talent for swordplay. Too much getting hit." He looked at the bow as his hand raised the wood. "My grandfather said the bow is the wise man's weapon. You can defend your city without opening the gates. Grandfather said the day I would pull the string on this bow, it would be mine."

Lelya frowned. "Then why didn't you have it with you?"

"I was thirteen when my grandfather made me that promise. I would rise at dawn to practice my shots until I could hit the eye slit of a helmet from the top of the ramparts." He then closed his eyes. "But… my parents pledged me to the Chantry before I could show him."

"Were you and your grandfather close?" Lelya asked. She had never met her grandparents, but Sebastian's grandfather sounded as wise as her father.

"He was a man of the world—prince of Starkhaven—but he had the most unshakeable faith in the Maker. When my parents threatened to pledge me to the Chantry, he told me he'd gladly trade his title for a life of contemplation. 'The Maker ordained a priest for each of us,' I remember him saying, 'We have only to serve'."

Leyla nodded. "I'm sorry I never got the chance to meet them. To… save them."

Sebastian placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know. You're a true friend, Lelya. You brought me this to remember and honour them. But if I could bring back our lowest servant by snapping it in half, I do it without regrets."

Before she left the Chantry, she talked with Elthina, who said her grandparents would be very proud of him. She remembered fondly how she dedicated her mother to the Chantry, mentioned that she was a beautiful baby, and put a fist in her eye. However, she noted that she would remain neutral with the Qunari. Leyla thought this was not a wise idea.

Dak was going to check up on Leyla and found Fenris had arrived.

Fenris sighed and stood. "I've been thinking about what happened with Hadriana." He hesitated. "I took out my anger on your sister, undeservedly so. I was… not myself. I'm sorry."

Dak folded his arms. "You should be saying that to Leyla, not me."

Fenris nodded. "You're right; it is clear to me that your sister is nothing like the magisters in the Imperium. But you must understand that when I was still a slave, Hadriana was a torment. She would ridicule me, deny my meals, hound my sleep. Because of her status, I was powerless to respond, and she knew it. The thought of her slipping out of my grasp now…" He looked down at his hands. "I couldn't let her go. I wanted to, but I couldn't."

"That's more important than your promise?" Dak frowned.

"It's not easy to discover your principles are less noble than you believed. This hate…" Fenris gestured. "I thought I'd gotten away from it. But it dogs me no matter where I go. To feel it again, to know it was they who planted it inside me…" He hung his head. "It was too much to bear. But I didn't come here to burden you further."

"Just try not to take your frustrations out on those who are trying to help," said Dak. "We are friends after all, aren't we?"

Fenris looked back at him. "I'm not certain I know what that is."

Dak sighed as he left; it was very clear that Fenris was one troubled soul.

"Master?" A trembling voice said. He saw Orana standing at the doorway.

He sighed. "It's all right, Orana." He glanced at her. She was wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday. "Why don't you get yourself some breakfast and then accompany me to the market?"

"Yes, Master."

"And don't call me master."

"Yes, Master."

Orana was nervous in the market. She was shocked at the very notion of picking something out for herself. Eventually, she found it easier to choose a couple of options. Then, rather than leaving it entirely to her, he let her pick between those.

When he caught her eyeing a lute, he bought it for her. She carried it back to the estate as if it was a precious child and, within a few minutes of their return, was playing a melody for their mother. Next thing he knew, his mother was instructing him to find the girl a proper music instructor. He smiled as she fussed about patrons and debuts. She tutted over the clothing selections and began teaching Orana how to sew things to fit her properly.

Merrill was playing cards with Isabela. "Why do you always win at cards?" Merrill said, her voice dejected.

Isabela laughed. "Because I cheat, Kitten." She glanced down at her winnings. "This trinket… it's elven, isn't it? From your clan." Isabela sighed. "Don't bet anything you're not prepared to lose. Here… have it back."

Merrill brightened as she tucked the trinket away, then brightened again when Dak joined them. Isabela gestured to the barkeep. "A jigger of your finest whiskey for my friends over here." She grinned. "The Hanged Man's finest isn't much, but it'll get you just as drunk as anything you'll find in Hightown."

"And you'll wake up and find someone's stolen your trousers." He took the cards away from Isabela before she could finish stacking the deck and reshuffled.

"That's when you know it's a party. I thought I'd have to watch myself around you, but as it turns out, you're all right?"

He put a hand over his heart and pretended to be insulted. "What do you mean I'm all right?"

"You don't judge people. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty. You know, little things like that. If I had someone like you onboard my ship when the…" She coughed and took a drink. "Storm hit, maybe we wouldn't have been shipwrecked."

He glared at his hand before folding. "Maybe you would have been shipwrecked sooner. I'm a terrible sailor."

"Are you?" She threw in her bet. "I suppose I'll have to keelhaul you till you shape up."

"A magister within the Free Marches and performing blood sacrifices?" said Cassandra, shaking her head.

"Huttsgalor did have its fair share of troubles, but one was unexpected," said Varric.

"So the Champions took in an elven slave?"

"And free her," Varric pointed out. "She still works the estate even today, even got married. Just shows how kindhearted both Dak and Leyla are; not many people would take in the blissfully ignorant elven girl and treat her with respect."

"True, the Champions do seem kindhearted," Cassandra agreed. "But people change."

"Not them," said Varric.

"Then prove it to me."