Soft billows of smoke rose into the air as they approached Redcliffe once again and the air smelled like rain and Andraste's Grace. Daveth absentmindedly touched his fingers to his lips. He swore he could still feel them tingling from their earlier contact, and silently chided himself for it. It was just a kiss, after all.

A perfectly electrifying kiss.

He felt a shiver run down his spine. He remembered awkward, sloppy kisses with a farmer's daughter, and forbidden kisses with a Denerim priest. He remembered needy kisses that smelled like fresh laundry, and kisses just for the sake of kissing. Sure, he'd been with his share of women, but he wasn't sure that he'd ever felt anything like that before.

A sudden crunch of leaves jolted him out of his head and Jory fell into step beside him. The knight had taken up the habit of rounding out the end of their makeshift caravan, which suited everyone just fine.

Jory nodded at Daveth and surveyed the road. Despite the chill in the air, sweat was beading on the knight's forehead, no doubt from the heavy iron armor he was wearing.

"I remember when this road was bustling with traffic," Daveth said after a pause. "It's hard to believe this is the same place."

The knight grunted in agreement. "I never thought I'd see Redcliffe in such a state." The pair walked on for a moment in silence. "Do you really think the ashes will help Arl Eamon?"

"No." Daveth thought for a moment, scratching his chin. "But I didn't think we'd find them in the first place."

Daveth, Alistair, Natia and Leliana slipped into Redcliffe Castle.

Bann Teagan sat in the main hall, hunched forward with his head resting in his hands. His fingers were balled up into fistfuls of his hair, and Daveth noticed how white the man's knuckles were. It was a wonder he had any hair left at all.

Ser Perth cleared his throat. "The Wardens have returned, ser."

Teagan lifted his head and wearily regarded them. The bags under his eyes indicated he had not slept in quite some time, and his face was drawn with worry. "Alistair," Teagan said after a pause. "Tell me, were you successful? Did you find the Ashes?"

"We did," Alistair nodded. "How is the arl?"

"I wish I could say that his condition improved while you were gone, but I cannot," Teagan replied as he pushed himself out of the chair. "Come. We must tend to him."

They followed Teagan upstairs to the arl's room where a mage in worn and tattered robes was standing over Eamon, hand outstretched over the arl's body and glowing blue with energy.

"That is Fredric," Teagan said quietly. "He is my personal healer in Rainsfere. I sent for him after you left." Teagan strode forward. "Fredric, the Wardens have been successful. We have the Ashes."

The blue glow dissipated as Fredric turned and spoke in a quiet, soothing voice. "Bring them to me. This will require much concentration."

Natia dug into her pack and pulled out the satchel of Ashes. She held it out to the healer, and then stepped back between Daveth and Alistair. Daveth felt her hand on his and a sudden squeeze of pressure as she grabbed hold of it. He closed his own hand around hers and they watched as Fredric dipped his fingers into the satchel and sprinkled them over the arl.

The healer began to chant in a low, rhythmic tone and Daveth felt the energy begin to shift. The hair on his arms stood on end, like a surge of static electricity had swept over him. Arl Eamon began to shimmer with Fredric's healing light and his chest heaved upward. After a moment, Fredric dropped his hand and the glow dissipated.

The room was still and Daveth saw Alistair tense from the corner of his eye. Suddenly there was a sharp intake of a breath and the arl began to cough. His eyes fluttered open and Teagan moved to his brother's side. Alistair let out his own breath and Leliana put her hand on his shoulder.

"Isolde," Eamon said weakly. "Where are you, Isolde?"

Teagan knelt down by Eamon's side.. "I am here, brother."

"Teagan?" Eamon struggled to focus on his brother's face. "Where is Isolde? Where is my son?"

"Connor is alive, Eamon, but Isolde and many others were not so lucky," the bann said quietly. "Much has happened while you were ill."

Eamon pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard. "Tell me everything."

Daveth wandered around the castle, fingers resting lightly on one of his daggers. What if they had missed one of those monsters and it was still lurking in the shadows somewhere? He shivered at the thought and found himself in a hallway lined with stands of armor. He walked slowly, eyeing the figures suspiciously. He then found himself standing in a room lined with walls of books. In the center stood an impressive desk.

"This must be the arl's study," a voice sang from behind. Daveth spun around with his hand on his dagger. Leliana stood giggling in the doorway.

"Maker's blood, Leliana!" Daveth yelped, struggling to put his blade back in its holster. "What are you doing?"

"Snooping," Leliana giggled and leaned against the door frame. "What are you doing?"

"Snooping," Daveth grinned at her as his heart slowed to a normal rhythm. "Old habits die hard, I guess." He moved around to the other side of the desk and began opening drawers. The top drawer was locked, but with the hairpin Natia had given him and a slight flick of the wrist, he had it open in seconds. Inside lay a silver amulet with an impression of Andraste. It was lined with cracks. Daveth held it up by the chain. "Someone got angry with this."

"I know what that is!" Leliana gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. She slipped forward and took the amulet from him. "This belonged to Alistair's mother! He told me it was the only thing he had of hers and he broke it when the arl sent him off to the Chantry."

Daveth scratched his chin and eyed the necklace. "Well, somebody spent a lot of time putting it back together." He heard a door creak open nearby. "We should get out of here."

Leliana closed her hands around the amulet and held it to her breast. "I can't leave this here."

"Give it here," Daveth said. He took the necklace and slipped it into the hidden pocket he had sewn into his pack. "After you, milady." He gave an exaggerated bow and flashed a grin.

"You are too kind." Leliana giggled and stepped into the hallway with Daveth in tow. They made their way back to the main hall and found Alistair speaking with Teagan.

"Eamon would like to speak with you all in the morning," Teagan said to Alistair. "Of course, you and your friends are welcome to stay in the castle."

"Be sure to tell Arl Eamon how grateful we are, Bann Teagan," Alistair replied.

Teagan put a hand on Alistair's shoulder. "Please, Alistair, we've known each other for too long for such formality. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on Eamon."

Alistair walked over to them and blew out a breath. "Well, we've got beds for the night if we want them. The castle is certainly big enough to accommodate everyone."

"I think we'll keep camp set up for the night." Natia's eyes flickered over her companions. "Don't know if Sten would be welcome. They're having a hard enough time with a dwarf."

Alistair's mouth twitched downward. "I can understand that, I suppose."

"Surely some of us could stay in the castle for the night," Leliana chimed in. "That way we won't run the risk of looking ungrateful."

Daveth found himself staring at the spot of the floor where Lady Isolde had bled out. "I'll stay in camp. This place gives me the creeps."

"Fine." Natia furrowed her brow and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Everyone else is still in town. We'll find out who wants to stay here and the rest of us will meet you here in the morning."

Daveth rubbed at his eyes and groaned. He was tired, but he'd found that sleep no longer came easily. He heard things, felt things, but usually he could ignore them if he had something else to focus on – like Jory's snoring. But, Jory and most of the others, had decided to stay at the castle for the night, and the faint crackle of the campfire wasn't enough to quell to the constant hum in the back of his head. The song he couldn't quite make out that he heard so often in his dreams. He stared miserably at the ceiling of his tent for a few minutes before sitting up, defeated, and slipping outside.

Sten was on watch, cutting an imposing figure in the darkness. Daveth cleared his throat as he walked up to the qunari and Sten turned his head toward him.

"I'll take watch," Daveth said in a low voice. "Might as well get some shut-eye while you can."

Sten worked his jaw as he considered the Warden's proposal, before nodding and relaxing his stance. "Very well. It has been quiet."

Daveth watched as the qunari walked heavily to his own tent and disappeared. He stretched his arms over his head and inhaled the brisk night air deeply before beginning his laps around the camp's perimeter. He found the crunch of his boots on the ground a welcome distraction to the humming in his head. He was halfway around the camp when he heard a muffled voice coming from the circle of tents. Natia forced her way through the flaps of one of them, muttering curses. Her hair was down from its usual pony tail and cascaded in soft waves to her shoulders.

Daveth felt the fluttering in his chest and approached her. "Can't sleep?"

Natia looked at him and shrugged. "Don't do much sleeping these days. There's just too much…" She gestured with her hands while she struggled to find the word.

"Noise?" Daveth finished the thought for her. "It's the same for me."

"Yeah," she replied with a frown, her brown eyes focused on nothing in particular.

"Oh, it's not so bad," Daveth flashed her a grin. "I figure it's just a small price to pay for being a big damn hero."

Natia raised an eyebrow and snorted. "You're crazy."

"Now, is that any way to talk to a hero?"

Natia threw her head back and laughed and a loose strand of hair fell onto her face. Daveth brushed it away and tucked it behind her ear. Their eyes locked and Daveth found himself hoping he would never have to look away.

"What are you doing to me?" Daveth murmured, running a calloused thumb over her cheek.

"Shut up," she whispered as she reached up and stretched her arms around his neck, forcing him to bend down. She pressed her mouth to his and the familiar jolt traveled down his body and his skin to prickled with goosebumps.

He deepened the kiss, and ran his fingers through her hair. He brought his knees to the ground and knelt in front of her.

"What are we doing?" She rasped, breath hot against his cheek.

Daveth brushed his lips against her neck and felt her shiver. "Kissing."

Their lips met again and Daveth heard nothing except their breathing. He was acutely aware of her hands on the back of his neck and her forcing him down on the ground. She straddled him and he brought a hand to her thigh, praising the Maker that she wore so little armor. He slid his hand higher up her leg as their tongues danced together.

"I do hope I am not interrupting."

Daveth and Natia pulled away from each other and stared stupidly at Morrigan. The witch looked down at them with her arms crossed across her chest. Her face was twisted into a look of disgust.

"What, Morrigan?" Natia asked, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, 'tis nothing of importance." Morrigan sneered, waving a hand dramatically. "Please, do continue. I am certain you two are paying extra care to our surroundings to make up for your… activity."

Daveth cleared his throat and let his eyes fall to the ground. They were so focused on each other, that neither heard the approaching footsteps.

"What… what are you even doing up?" Natia stammered as she stumbled to her feet.

"I heard you carrying on like animals," Morrigan replied in a slow, deliberate tone. "We are in a vulnerable state tonight. You would do well to take more care." With that, the witch turned and stalked back toward her tent.

Daveth and Natia stayed silent for a few moments, staring foolishly at the ground. Morrigan was right – they hadn't been thinking. Daveth ran his hand over his face and sighed.

"So…" Daveth said finally when he couldn't bear the silence any longer. "She was right, I guess."

"Yeah." Natia looked at him, a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. "I haven't been caught doing anything like that in awhile."

Daveth grinned and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "It was fun while it lasted."

Natia kissed him one last time and smoothed her hair back. "I'm going back to camp, you coming?"

"Yeah," Daveth said as he pushed himself up. "After you, milady."

"It is settled then." Arl Eamon sat in his ornate chair and stroked his beard. "Alistair will be put forth as king at a Landsmeet."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Alistair shook his head. "Doesn't what I want matter?"

The arl stood and walked toward the templar. "You have a duty to Ferelden, Alistair. It is time for you to step up and be the leader your country needs."

Alistair glanced around the room uneasily and, after a moment, nodded in defeat and looked at the wall.

"Before I call the Landsmeet, you will need to find more allies." The arl turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "Alistair told me of the Grey Warden treaties. Use them, and we may be able to stop Loghain and unite Ferelden against the darkspawn."

The four Wardens sat in an empty study in the castle and looked over the treaties.

"Well, we have Redcliffe and the Circle with us now," Alistair began slowly. "So, that leaves the dwarves and the Dalish."

Daveth nodded. "I think we should head up to Orzammar. It's closer, and we don't even know if we'll be able to find the elves." He looked up and saw that Alistair and Jory were nodding in agreement.

"I agree," Jory said. "I say we go to Orzammar."

"Orzammar." Alistair chimed in as he rolled the treaties back up.

Natia's mouth twitched a tiny movement. "I hope you topsiders aren't claustrophobic."

Daveth chuckled and they went to find the rest of the group, and prepare for the trek to the dwarven kingdom.

AN: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much I do. As always, a big thank you to the wonderful sagacious_rage, who helps me fix things when I accidentally the words.