The group returned to Haven with two new allies. 'Red Jenny' turned out to be a Fereldan elf called Sera, a wickedly talented archer whose spoken words were just as fast and confusing as her written ones, with a shadowy organisation of servants and 'people people' at her disposal, the 'friends of Red Jenny.' She was evidently disappointed that the infamous Herald of Andraste was an elf, but apparently that could be forgiven because the Herald 'glowed,' whatever that meant.
The other new ally was the opposite in nearly every way; Madame Vivienne, the leader of the 'loyalist' mages and a highly connected figure within the Orlesian court. Elegant, well-spoken, and a powerful mage in her own right, Fae almost admired her, until Vivienne made it clear they had starkly different views on the Circle's existence, at which point Fae ducked out of the conversation as quickly as possible.
Back in the meeting room, the Inquisition's small council was doing what it did best; argue. Cullen wanted to approach the templars, insisting that not all the templars would be supporting the Lord-Seeker given his recent erratic behaviour, and that it was still a safer bet than the mages, who for all they knew were also being pulled apart by in-fighting. Meanwhile, Josephine wanted to take advantage of Grand Enchanter Fiona's invitation to Redcliffe. Cassandra was making points on both sides, while Leliana pored over the conflicting templar reports from her scouts, and Fae's eyes darted from one face to the next, clearly annoyed by the proceedings but holding her tongue for the time being. And in the middle of it all stood Ellethir, trying desperately to get a word in edge-wise.
"It could be ten times worse!" Cullen warned.
"Or you could all stop bickering and make a decision," Ellethir huffed in frustration.
"I agree," Cassandra nodded. "As of now, we have a week to decide whether or not to accept Fiona's invitation, and we have until then to find a way to safely approach the templars if that is what we decide."
"The Inquisition needs more agents in more places," Leliana added, looking up from her reports.
"And I will look for other options, in the meantime. For now, I think we are done here; talking in circles like this is getting us nowhere." Josephine concluded.
As the council members filed out one by one, Leliana sought out Ellethir. "There is one other matter…"
Fae continued on, until a young man approached her at the door.
"Excuse me, I've got a message for the Inquisition, but I'm having a hard time getting anyone to talk to me."
Fae smiled. "I'll talk to you. What's the message? I'll pass it on."
The man gave a short bow. "Name's Cremissius Aclassi, I'm with the Bull's Chargers mercenary company. we work mostly out of Orlais and Nevarra. We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries gathering out of the Storm Coast. My company commander Iron Bull offers the information free of charge. If you'd like to see what the Bull's Chargers can do for the Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work."
"Cremissius… Aclassi? You are a Tevinter mercenary as well, then?"
The man barked out a laugh. "I suppose I am, yes. And our commander, Iron Bull, is one of those Qunari folks. We're not like any other mercenary company; you'd be hiring the best. We're loyal, we're tough, and we don't break contracts. Ask around Val Royeaux, we've got references. Our commander leads from the front, he pays well, and he's a lot smarter than the last bastard I worked for."
"Why would he want his company working for the Inquisition?"
"He thinks you're doing good work. Truth be told, this is the first time he's gone out of his way to pick a side."
"I'll let the Herald know. We'll consider your offer."
"I appreciate it. We're the best you'll find. Come to the Storm Coast, and you can see us in action." Cremissius bowed once more and departed.
"Who was that? A new agent?" Ellethir asked, appearing behind Fae.
"Potentially. A Tevinter mercenary in a company led by a Qunari mercenary, offering to demonstrate their capabilities on a different group of Tevinter mercenaries on the Storm Coast. Wonders never cease."
"I admit I know little about the Qunari."
"They can be difficult to understand. Not unlike the Dalish can be difficult to understand, looking from the outside in," Fae conceded. "Although the Dalish don't sew up their mages' mouths and keep them on leashes," she added thoughtfully.
Ellethir's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Creators…"
"I know," Fae grimaced. "So, what was that other matter Leliana wanted to speak to you about?"
"Apparently her scouts have been struggling to locate or contact the Grey Wardens."
Fae frowned. "Any of them? There's no Blight, so they're usually not all together, but even the outpost at Amaranthine and the main fortress at Weisshaupt usually have enough Wardens to keep the places running. They really can't find anyone?"
"They've found one. A Grey Warden named Blackwall was spotted in the hinterlands, we're going to meet him and try to find out why. I don't suppose you've heard from the Hero of Ferelden lately?"
"No, but that's not unusual. We only exchange letters once every few months, maybe a year."
Ellethir nodded, but said nothing, her gaze lingering on a single melting snowflake stuck to the canvas on Leliana's tent.
The continuing silence made Fae uncomfortable. "Copper for your thoughts, Herald?"
"Mm? Sorry, I was thinking…"
"About?"
"Whether we approach the mages or the templars for help with the Breach."
"Who do you think we should approach?"
"Truthfully? The mages," Ellethir admitted. "But I feel like I'm only leaning towards the mages because I'm a mage myself. What do you think? You were surprisingly quiet in the council meeting, I thought you'd feel stronger about it given your opinion of the templars."
Fae smirked. "That's why I was quiet; they all know what my vote would be, regardless of my reasons."
"Well, what are your reasons?"
"I haven't made a secret of my feelings for templars, it's true. And I also believe that the mages may need our help to continue to survive. That being said, if I truly thought the templars were our best chance of sealing the Breach for good, I would say approach them, no matter what I felt."
"Wouldn't it bother you?"
"Of course it would," Fae sighed. "But I've been running and hiding from templars most of my life. I'm tired."
Ellethir mulled over those words for a while. "But you said 'if'- you don't believe they are our best chance."
"No, I don't. From what Solas has said, I think if we had enough magic from enough mages aiding your mark's power, it could be strong enough to seal the Breach. The method Cullen suggested… it doesn't make sense to me. Of course, I know next to nothing about how templar magic works, but it was intended to be directed at mages, not…that," she pointed to the great swirling green mass in the distance. "And even if either method would work, the fact remains that Fiona is already offering the mages' assistance, so much so that she wants to convince us to give them the chance. With the templars, they would need to be convinced. That would mean either convincing Lord-Seeker Lucius, which would take time given his current opinion of us, or convincing enough templars to defy him and side with us, which would also take time. And time is a luxury we don't have, when for all we know, the Breach could lose whatever stability it currently has, and then we're back to batting away demons at every turn."
"Then, we approach the mages?" Ellethir asked hesitantly.
Fae patted her on the shoulder. "We approach whoever you decide we approach, Herald. They'll be helping you, after all. And you still have a week to decide."
"Only a week."
During that week, the Herald added two new agents to the Inquisition's retinue; Warden Blackwall, who was unable to offer any further information as to the unaccounted-for Wardens but offered to join the Inquisition himself, and The Iron Bull, along with his mercenary company, the Bull's Chargers. The Iron Bull was surprisingly forthcoming with his real reason for joining the Inquisition; as a member of the Ben-Hassrath, he would be sending reports back to his superiors in Var Pollen, as the Breach in the sky was of concern to all in Thedas.
While dealing with comparatively minor matters that week, Ellethir mulled over her options, and when it was time to announce her decision at the next small council meeting, she gave the order to prepare for a meeting with Grand Enchanter Fiona in Redcliffe.