Epilogue

Nevarra City

Varric Tethras disliked Nevarra City from the first moment he laid his eyes upon the vast, sprawling city. It was too quiet, peaceful... too scholarly for his liking, he much preferred pits of depravity where everything constantly reminded him to keep his guard up and expect treachery from any corner. Nevarra City was dangerous, it could lull one into complacency... and Varric Tethras knew exactly what might happen if he let his guard down for even a brief moment.

And cities like this one had the irritating tendency to spring surprises upon him completely out of the blue. He did not know what he would find upon his arrival, nor did he have any specific plan on getting Bethany out of the Circle, or for stopping Cullen... he had intended to observe the situation and go from there. But he certainly did not expect to find the Nevarra City Circle swarming with dozens of armed guards, crowded with all kinds of official figures, panicking about the inhabitants of the massive ancient fortress seemingly abandoning it a few days ago, only to disappear without a trace.

Indeed, there were no signs of struggle inside the fortress, much to Varric's relief. The mages and the templars had simply... left, peculiar as it was. And Bethany had most likely gone with them, leaving him with another wild chase on his hands, this time without even being able to guess the direction he was supposed to search for the girl. But Varric knew better than to simply pick a direction and rush there blindly... no, some research needed to be done, and he prided himself in his own inquisitive mind, perfect for such investigation and seeking out threads to follow.

Someone in a city this large had to have seen Bethany, or the mages and templars leaving the Circle fortress, Varric was sure of it. Slowly and methodically he began to make his inquiries, starting with the households that were the closest to the Circle, whose dwellers would have had perfect opportunities to observe someone arriving to the fortress or leaving it. After a few hours of fruitless questioning, he finally came across an old crone who insisted that she had indeed seen the girl matching his description, but refused to tell him anything else until he had helped rescue her cat stuck in a tall willow tree outside her house.

Dwarves were not particularly renown for their skill in climbing trees and Varric soon discovered the reason for it. Approximately an hour later he returned to the old woman, carrying the struggling demon-spawn feline, bloodied and battered both from the tree branches and the cat's claws, wishing he wasn't so nice and had simply retrieved the blasted creature by putting Bianca's bolt through its fluffy ass.

Fortunately, the suffering proved well worth it. The old biddy told him of having seen Bethany arriving more than two weeks ago, brought in by someone the old woman recognized only too well, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, her family very influential in these parts. She could not tell Varric whether Bethany had left with Seeker Cassandra, but at least she could point him towards the Pentaghast Estate, where Varric could investigate this lead further.

The approach of simply requesting an audience with the owner of the estate proved to be unfruitful, as Varric ended up being chased away by a guard with four large and angry mabari dogs. He spent the next three days watching the people going to and coming out of the estate, trying to identify someone among the staff that he could persuade into gossiping about the lords of the estate. He found his victim in a young kitchen servant, the girl all too eager to take him up on his offer for dinner, after he had softened her up with a little bit of flattery.

The girl apparently had something akin to fetish for dwarves, as she not only told Varric everything he wanted to know and more, she also became very friendly over the course of the dinner. She was comely enough, so Varric did not particularly mind her attentions, simply ordering more and more wine for her, until the drink did its job and the girl passed out with a content, drunken grin plastered on her face. Under other circumstances, Varric knew he might have considered bringing the girl upstairs to his room and teaching her a few things that she probably did not know about dwarves, but his focus was entirely elsewhere this evening, largely because of the information revealed to him by his now passed out companion.

Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast had returned home to the estate exactly one week ago, bringing Bethany with her. They had procured horses and readied themselves for lengthy travel, leaving with the first rays of sunlight on the following day. And Bethany had apparently followed this Seeker Cassandra freely, by choice, if he could believe his source then the younger Hawke was not the Chantry agent's prisoner. Finally, he had learned of their destination, groaning inwardly as he received the news. The capital of Orlais, Val Royeaux.

Orlais... I hate Orlais. I must be mad to even consider following them. Why am I doing this, again? He asked himself, rubbing his chin tiredly. Because I promised to look out for them both. Because they are both foolishly reckless and always getting tangled into something way over their pretty heads. He sighed deeply, shaking his head and quietly cursing at himself. And... I guess because during those seven years, they both became almost like family... and because I care about my Hawke Sisters...

The Abyssal Reach, Orlais

"I feel completely lost... which I guess Hawke would say is perfectly normal for me... but this time I feel more lost than any of the other times," the raven haired elven mage rambled, standing next to her companion, a very attractive but cold and abrasive looking human apostate, sitting on a rock at the mouth of a dark cave from which they had just emerged. "Morrigan, do you have any idea where we have ended up?" she turned to her new friend.

Morrigan looked up at the elf, herself feeling tired and irritated, still weakened by the near fatal injury Xebenkeck inflicted upon her. "I'm more interested in just have you managed to lead us out of that place beyond the eluvian..." she gave a curious stare to Merrill.

"Oh... I'm sorry, but I don't really know," the elf shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "I think that once I made my decision not to stab you and use your blood to enter that wondrous city... somehow, some entity in there... guided us out of there, as if it felt that it had no use for us anymore... as if it did not want us there any longer."

"Curious," Morrigan remarked, appearing uncertain whether to believe Merrill's explanation. "I suppose I should thank you for not killing me, then."

"I'm sure you would have done the same in my position!" Merrill exclaimed cheerfully.

Morrigan's expression remained unreadable. "You probably do not want to know the answer to that, Merrill," she said simply.

"Oh... anyway, now we know the location of the third eluvian, isn't that wonderful?" the elf asked excitedly, determined to maintain her bubbly cheerfulness, causing Morrigan to smile in spite of herself.

"Yes, except that we do not know the glyph to activate it," the human mage remarked, deflating Merrill, though only momentarily.

"I'm sure we'll discover it eventually," she said with deep conviction. "By the way, how are you feeling, Morrigan? That's probably going to leave a nasty scar, I'm sorry to say," Merrill added, pointing at the thick layer of bandages on the human's chest.

"That is the least of my concerns at this point," Morrigan smirked. "Those healing potions helped, it was certainly lucky that they were not smashed when I fell. And it was fortunate that you managed to find them. So, I will live, but right now I remain irritatingly weak... walking large distances is probably beyond me."

"We could just remain here until you recover?" Merrill suggested timidly.

"We could... but there are a few problems with that plan, my sweet elf," the human apostate replied, grumbling as she squinted into the distance. "First of all, we have no food supplies whatsoever. Secondly... I believe those mountains are the Gamordan Peaks... which means that this chasm below," she pointed at the deep crevice in the earth, appearing bottomless and stretching beyond what their eyes could see in both directions, "...is the Abyssal Reach. Yes, it is as bad as the name suggests... it is literally crawling with darkspawn. So, no, we cannot remain here for long."

"That's not so good," Merrill nodded, looking a little downcast now. "And the nearest settlement?"

"Probably more than hundred miles away," Morrigan remarked sourly. "So, yes... I would agree that things do not look very good right now."

"Oh well," Merrill brightened up again, in a way that Morrigan found both endearing and irritating at once. "We can't remain here, so... I guess you should rest up some more... and then we should take our chances and start walking. Maybe along the road we'll meet someone friendly who will help us!"

Morrigan wanted to snap back that they are more likely to encounter someone who will try to kill and eat them, but then suddenly remembered of something. "Wait... you just reminded me of an important detail, well done!" she exclaimed, getting up, ignoring the pain in her chest. "I remember hearing of an old Grey Warden fortress on the edge of the Abyssal Reach. If we could reach it, we might find safety there!"

"Great!" Merrill exclaimed cheerfully, helping Morrigan steady herself. "You know, I always wanted to visit Orlais! It seemed so impressive from the tales of the Chantry Mothers in Kirkwall!"

Morrigan's only answer to that was an exasperated groan, as the pair slowly began to walk away from the dark cave, holding yet another of the mysterious eluvians.

City of Val Royeaux, Orlais

Standing on the glorious marble steps leading up to the Grand Cathedral of Val Royeaux, Bethany Hawke looked critically over her new uniform. Knowing that she was unused to wearing heavy armor like Cassandra did, the Seekers had sought out magically enchanted protective armor of the lightest leathers they could find. Bethany was aware that accepting a mage amongst the Seekers was something highly extraordinary and had happened only few times during the history of the ancient order, so she had known that she would not be able to keep wearing robes and announce herself as a mage. These soft leathers suited her well, however, they did not restrict her spellcasting, as well as did a nice job of bringing out her trim figure and long, slim legs.

"This is very pretty, and comfortable too," she sighed in content, Cassandra standing nearby and watching her with an amused smile on her lips. Bethany pointed at the Seeker symbol emblazoned in bright white upon the leathers, the ever-watchful eye amidst the shining, radiating sun representing the Chantry itself. "This is a bit of a giveaway if they expect me to do more of this undercover work, though," she added with a chuckle.

"Oh, I sincerely doubt the Divine expects you to wear it for every occasion," Cassandra replied. "I'm just glad she approved of my actions by involving you in this plot and saw the wisdom of what accepting you into our order could bring to the Seekers."

"Yes, she was... different from what I had imagined and from what I was told," Bethany nodded, remembering their audience with the Divine Justinia V. "A formidable and wise woman, or at least that's the impression I got."

"You are not wrong about that," Cassandra agreed.

"I wonder what sort of assignment she has in mind for me," Bethany mused thoughtfully. "Will we be working together? I would like that, I think... but it probably would be hard if I'm expected to infiltrate some rogue mage cabals or something like that."

"I enjoyed working with you, Bethany, and for the first few years you will usually be working with someone closely supervising you. Most likely it will be me, but you must be prepared to take action on your own," the older Seeker instructed her. "As for your next assignment, sometimes it takes a while for something to come up. Until we are summoned, we should rest and keep ourselves fit and ready. Perhaps traverse the land on our own, watching carefully for signs of trouble."

"Hmm, perhaps I will be asked to gain the trust of some beautiful but evil witchy blood mage, relying on my quick wit, natural charms and powers of persuasion to make her fall in love with me and thus redeeming her," Bethany grinned broadly, arching out her chest in a seductive manner. A templar walking close by apparently had chosen that particular moment to look upon her, unable to tear his eyes away, first stepping into an empty bucket in his path and then promptly walking into the wall and crashing heavily to the floor, dazed. "Oh... oops," Bethany blushed wildly, shrinking back a little. "Didn't mean to do that!"

"Yes, you... do not seem to be aware of just how effective your physical attractiveness can be," Cassandra remarked, an odd, faraway look on her face. "It is a powerful weapon... but for your own sake, I wish you would never have to utilize it. With enough practice, I think you would be able to turn the heads of the most devout Andrastians, sworn to resist charms such as yours."

"Ah... surely you must be exaggerating, Cassandra," Bethany smiled, still blushing deep red. "I'm not really that good at it... especially amongst all those Orlesians who have been brought up knowing the rules of the Game by heart. I'm actually quite innocent and cloistered in many ways."

"Yes, you have managed to retain some of your innocence. That is what makes your charms particularly effective and disarming."

"Hmm... the way you speak, Cassandra..." Bethany looked at the other Seeker, thoughtfully biting her lower lip. "Dare I guess that my... charms have had effect on you as well?"

Now it was the older Seeker's turn to blush slightly. "Perhaps, but that is not a road we will pursue. And no, I advise you not to view it as a challenge, Bethany. It will only lead to disaster," she spoke gravely.

"Very well, I will respect your wishes, of course," Bethany smiled, deep inside feeling a smug bit of satisfaction from having coaxed the confession that Cassandra found her attractive. "Tell me... have you ever used your own good looks in your line of work?"

Cassandra looked a little uncomfortable before replying. "Only once," she confessed after a long, ponderous pause. "I am... not proud of that episode, so I hope that you do not have to go down that path. I exposed a traitor amongst our own order, but to do so, I had to... become intimate with my target. His crimes were great and in the end he faced the hangman's noose, but with his last words he cursed me. It is a... cruel way to expose someone, and I feel that I... lost a little of myself on that day. That is why I say that I hope you are never put in a similar position."

"Yes... I'm not sure I could do something like that," Bethany nodded morosely. "But well, never say never, I guess. If it was something incredibly important, if the fate of Thedas depended on it... well, I guess I might do it." She then let out a sharp laugh, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood. "But surely I am getting way ahead of myself..."

"Yes, we can return to this discussion if you ever become renowned as Bethany Hawke, the best pillow spy amongst the Seekers of Truth," Cassandra deadpanned.

"Ha! What do they say... I lay back and think of Maker?" Bethany chortled, then impulsively grabbing Cassandra's hand. "But look at me talking nonsense, we better get going! You promised me a tour of Val Royeaux, remember?"

City of Amaranthine, Ferelden

Riona and Nathaniel spent the night in Amaranthine at his sister Delilah's house, before Nathaniel set out first thing in the morning, even skipping breakfast, wishing to secure passage across the Waking Sea for them without delay. They were in luck, a small trading vessel called 'The Sea Cucumber' that regularly sailed between Amaranthine, Cumberland and Kirkwall was due to depart in three days. Riona and Nate spent this time at Delilah's place, keeping company to their hostess and her young son, Delilah grateful for their presence while her husband Albert was traveling with a merchant caravan all the way to Gwaren.

Even if some time had passed, Riona was still slightly stunned that Nathaniel had agreed to accompany her on this journey, even more, he had absolutely insisted upon it. When she continued to express her disbelief, he simply took her in his arms, smiled and asked her, what would she do if something horrible had happened to Delilah and Nathaniel was about to launch a daring rescue of his sister.

"Of course I would follow you, without a shadow of doubt," Riona had answered, then wondering why she had thought that Nathaniel would feel differently if their roles had been reversed. I guess it's really about time I start truly believing that he means it when he says that for me he would do just about anything, Riona thought to herself, as on one foggy morning they brought their belongings to 'The Sea Cucumber', docked at the harbor. It's just... I don't know, I shouldn't have any trust issues, really, it makes no sense... but still, being on the receiving end of unconditional, uncompromising love... I know Varric loved me in his own... rugged way, he disliked all those loud proclamations of his feelings, coaxing emotions out of him was such hard work at times... Nathaniel is just so very different.

On some level, she was glad that the ship was taking them straight to Cumberland, where they could procure horses and travel deeper inland, avoiding Kirkwall. While she missed Aveline horribly, the travel by road from Cumberland would take less time, and time was of essence. Also, she didn't want to get hit in the face, which knowing Aveline and her temper, would probably happen. Not that it would be completely undeserved, mind you.

Now, as they began to bring their supplies aboard of 'The Sea Cucumber', Riona could not help but to remember her last sea voyage, prisoner of Queen Maythre's pet general, fighting for her life for most of the journey. And the previous sea travel before that was even less enjoyable, on a ship packed with fugitives, fleeing Ferelden from the Blight, over three dozen people packed like sardines, suffering for two weeks of the journey in horrible conditions.

Riona had expected that a ship about to depart on a lengthy sail would see a bit more hustle and bustle, more sailors milling about and getting the vessel ready for departure, but there was only the elderly captain on the upper deck, greeting them with a grimace on his face that seemed to tailor the unpleasantly chilly and foggy morning. "I'm terribly sorry Nathaniel... I can only offer my deepest apologies to you and Lady Amell," he spoke in a quiet, rasping voice.

"Apologies, what for?" Nathaniel asked. "Have you encountered delays? When do you expect to depart?"

"I'm sorry, I wish there had been a way to tell you before..." the captain shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "We're departing as soon as they remove you from the ship."

"As soon as they... what?" Nathaniel blinked. "Who are they?"

"That would be us," came a cold female voice from behind them, both Nathaniel and Riona swirling around to face a tall woman dressed in full armor, staring at them with a sardonic smirk on her pale lips. "I thought you told me you hated sea voyages," she added, turning to Riona.

"Cauthrien," Riona exclaimed, quickly surveying the forces the general had brought with her. There were at least eight of the Royal Guard, which meant that open hostilities would likely end with her and Nathaniel both getting skewered with swords. "What do you want? This trip certainly won't be made more pleasant by having your charming company."

"The feeling is mutual, Lady Amell," Cauthrien added mockingly. "Did you really think a change of address would help you remain undetected? I wonder what would your father think about you casting his name aside so easily."

Riona felt a surge of anger flashing in her temples from the well aimed baiting, just barely managing to silence her rage. "You still haven't answered my question. What do you want? I don't think you came all this way just to try and provoke us."

"True enough," Cauthrien shrugged casually. "I came to bring you back to Denerim. Queen's orders. And while I'm supposed to bring you back alive, if you think to talk back to me, you will be arriving in the capital missing your wicked little tongue."

"What does the Queen want with me... again?" Riona asked, utterly puzzled.

"Ferelden readies itself for war with Orlais, I suppose there is no harm in letting you know that," Cauthrien replied. "The Queen thinks you would be an asset in leading the mages that have flocked to Ferelden."

"Why would I want to fight the wars of your Queen?" Riona crossed her arms on her chest defiantly. "I have no desire to aid in her quest for glory. What's my motivation?"

"You have met the Queen... surely you know that she is very persuasive and excellent at providing motivation," Cauthrien smirked.

"We will not do as you demand, you cannot detain us!" Nathaniel protested, finally finding his voice. "It is imperative that we get to Nevarra, Riona's sister is in danger!"

"Hmm, it appears you have found yourself a protector in the Howe youngling?" Cauthrien chuckled, then her face becoming cruel as she stared at Nathaniel. "The Queen does not care about him, however, he is unimportant in the grand scheme of things." A brief nod to her guards followed. "Kill him."

"No!" Riona yelled, moving in the path of the two guards advancing towards Nathaniel, readying her staff. "I don't care if I end up dead defending Nathaniel, but I will not stand by idly and watch how you execute him!"

"Ah..." Cauthrien remarked, clicking her tongue smugly. "It appears we have found our motivation. Very well," she turned towards the guards. "Don't kill him, seize them both and keep them unharmed." A brief struggle followed, but both Riona and Nathaniel knew that they were helplessly overpowered, soon ending up held by the guards, arms twisted and bent behind their backs.

"You will regret this," Nathaniel spoke warningly, facing Cauthrien with a burning stare. "I suggest you release us im-" Then his head suddenly drooped and body became limp in the arms of the guards holding him, following the heavy punch in the face by Cauthrien's gauntleted fist.

"I'm going to kill you for that, I swear!" Hawke hissed, shaking with fury, as Cauthrien turned towards her, looking as if she enjoyed watching Riona struggling helplessly in the arms of her captors.

"I sincerely doubt that you will, dear Hawke," the general said, throwing another look at Nathaniel's unconscious form. "No, you will do everything as the Queen tells you, because if you do not, your lover will pay for your disobedience by spending hours on the torture rack in Fort Drakon. That is why you will follow me to Orlais and help us win this coming war."

"You'll trip up sooner or later, Cauthrien... you and your Queen," Riona snarled, even as she knew she was defeated... at least for the time being. "And when you do, I will be there, ready to exact my vengeance."

"We shall see, Hawke," Cauthrien replied, her face stone cold as she grasped Riona's chin in her gauntleted hand and began to squeeze painfully, forcing Hawke to cry out when she felt her bones were about to get crushed by Cauthrien's hand. "But for now, you better get ready for a trip to the picturesque Orlais..." the general added, releasing Riona's cheek from the painful hold. "And don't look so glum, Hawke... I just spared you one of your hated sea voyages..."

THE END

A/N: Well, I'm actually quite pleased how I managed to get all the storylines converging towards Orlais, in preparations for Dragon Age 3. And so, that's that for my DA stories for now: I will see you again after the release of DA3! Meanwhile, if you liked this story and also play the Mass Effect games, please do look up my stories set up in that verse. If not, I thank you for your attention anyway! :)

(Crap, and I forgot Riona's mabari again for this last part. Can't we just assume it died? Yep, let's do that, Spot caught rabies and had to be put down in Vigil's Keep. There, problems solved.)