With the help of Henley and some of his men, the mages had tents and a fire going in their own secluded area of the camp. She had persuaded Henley to help by offering to sleep outdoors allowing he and Ilara to have the tent to themselves all night. Naturally, she didn't have to ask twice. The men made short work of getting things set up, spurred on by Henley's desire to see his beau, to which the mages were extremely thankful. She said her goodnights to the mages, promising to stop by in the morning to see how they fared. Things couldn't have gone any better.

"I need to grab some things from the tent, but then I'll be out of your way," she said as she and Henley made for her tent. "I'm not sure why you two don't get your own tent?"

"It wouldn't be proper."

"Wouldn't be proper? Henley, I heard you tell the men during training in excruciating detail about what you two did a few nights ago, and you think sharing a tent with her goes beyond propriety?" He looked at her a bit mortified that she had overheard, but that quickly faded as manly pride set in and he swaggered along at her side. It made her wonder what stories he had told the other Templars back in Ostwick about her.

"By the way, you don't have any lyrium do you? I forgot to pick up my draught from the Chantry today and I'm starting to feel it."

"I don't, but if you really need it I happen to know where the Commander is tonight. I'm sure he'd love seeing me again." He assured her it wasn't urgent enough to disrupt the Commander's evening, even if both of them wished they could watch him attempt to pick up women.

Once at the tent, Evelyn began to collect what she'd need for the outdoors. The night was thankfully clear with fair winds thanks to the break in the weather. Not wasting any time, Henley stripped his armor and climbed into Ilara's blankets kissing her incessantly. When she heard the first moan out of her tentmate, she rushed her packing along accidentally spilling her satchel's contents.

"Shit, I'll get it in the morning. Try not to bust a nug on this mess you two." The two lumps popped their heads up from the blankets to look at her and to make note of the mess.

"You could stay and join us?" Evelyn, in shock, just let her jaw drop as her eyes went from one to the other waiting for someone to tell her it was a joke.

"The fact that you aren't saying anything is scaring me," Evelyn said now focused on Ilara.

"Well --" She cut Ilara off before hearing the rest of what she was about to say.

"Nope! So much no! Have fun… without me!" Darting out of the tent, her mind began conjuring up images that she quickly repressed. She stood outside gagging and shaking her head in protest to the images. Wanting to flee further from the tent and it's noises, she all but tackled Sorin to the ground not looking where she was going. He joked with her that he was hoping to 'run into' her.

"I'm headed to the camp tavern, thought you may want to join? Ah, where are you going with all that?" She dumped all her bedding beside the nearest tree, too eager to get a drink. It had been quite a day. After harassing the Commander endlessly, he actually gave in and she got off without repercussions - not to mention he thought she was beautiful. She wanted to take it as a compliment but instead groaned inwardly, Ugh, he's one of those. She never liked superior officers who played favoritism no matter the reason. Today was the second time he showed such favoritism to her; the first time being the day the mages arrived at the gate. And to top off her ridiculous day, she gets invited to a threesome with two of her best friends. She shuttered again at the thought.

"I'll tell you all about it after I've chugged my first two drinks. You may be even sorry you asked."

A few hours later, she was in a nice haze between buzzed and drunk. It was so nice to just sit and drink with Sorin. She loved Ilara and Henley - though not enough to join them in bed - but she was missing Sorin ever since proving themselves invaluable in defense of Haven. The two had been split up to be the most effective, or so the Commander said. Evelyn did not like being without Sorin in battle. The two had a rhythm and knew how to play off of each other to be a deadly duo. Without him, she felt as if she was constantly forgetting something every time she went out on patrol.

Sorin walked her back to where she had dropped her bedding for the night to collect it to take to his tent. It would be much warmer than sleeping outside, and while small, the two could still fit comfortably inside. As they retrieved her bedding, they heard crying coming from inside her tent. Sharing a look of concern they slowly and quietly approached the tent. She could hear Ilara inside sobbing raggedly.

"Lar, are you ok?" No response. "I'm coming in." She and Sorin pushed their way in to find her crying in her cot, naked with a blanket wrapped around her. One arm was out of the blanket hugging her side and she could see bruises made by hands dotted around her arm and even her neck. She quickly knelt down beside the cot pushing the blonde curls back from her face. "Lar, are you alright?"

"It looks worse than what it is. I'm alright." She was surprisingly calm for what Evelyn was assuming happened to her.

"Who did this? Where's Henley?" Evelyn didn't for a second think that Henley was capable of doing this to her and rather he was running about trying to catch the person who did.

"Byron he," she pointed over to a small dark vial on the floor, its lid missing. Chills crept up Evelyn's arms as she recognized it as the vial Kian gave her back on the night the Circle tower fell. "He drank that and he… he changed."

"Andraste's flaming ashes Lar, this is red lyrium!" She kicked her self for not ridding herself of it sooner, but up until not it had never caused a problem.

"I've never heard of it?" Sorin picked up the vial smelling it. He was about to place his tongue on it before she slapped it out of his hand.

"I have no idea what it is! I was hoping to give it to someone here to look at. Why did you let him drink it?!"

"He said he needed something to keep the edge off and he sensed it. I didn't think… I was… distracted." She began to cry again. Evelyn held her for a few minutes asking her again if she was truly alright. Ilara knew it wasn't Henley's fault and thankfully seemed more worried than traumatized.

"Where the fuck is Henley now?"

"He got angry when I told him something was wrong, when he got too… rough, and then he just left. It sounded like he headed into the woods."

"Sorin, you track him down but don't engage. I need to go get help, I have a feeling he's going to be too much for us to handle on our own. Lar, are you sure you'll be alright?" Ilara had already set to healing herself, and nodded adding she was truly unharmed just shaken up. Sorin was able to pick up Henley's tracks in the snow and set off into the woods after him. Evelyn needed to find help quick and luckily she knew where to look.

The Singing Maiden was bustling with people unwinding from a full day of work, most not even bothering to change out of their armor. Glasses, tankards and armor clanked together to the music of the bard. It was standing room only in the tavern tonight which made looking for him difficult, but she wedged herself through nonetheless attracting a playful slap on the rear end. Pushing through to the bar, she saw the red of his shirt standing out against the drab interior. His sharp eye instantly fell on her.

"Hey there Blaze, care to join me for a round?" Varric was in his usual good spirits, but Evelyn's look of distress must have told him trouble was coming. "Oh, you're going to ruin my night aren't you?" She relayed the situation to as quickly as she could. When they had chatted the other night in this very tavern, he had talked about the red lyrium in Kirkwall. "Well, shit. We're going to need more help."

He hopped off the stool heading for the opposite side of the tavern. It was rather difficult keeping up with him as he wove in and out of the crowd with ease. On the way past the coat rack, he grabbed his leather coat and large ornate crossbow of the like she'd never seen. Spinning again to keep up with the spritely dwarf, she bumped right into a large man. Grabbing the fur of his mantle she gaped at the amber set of eyes before her. He wasn't wearing his armor under his mantle allowing his body heat to pass to her. Like him, she had foregone her fur cowl for an evening out, and her face heated knowing she was boasting a bit of cleavage. His eyes were wide as if she thought she was a ghost or figment of his imagination.

"Curly, we are lucky to have run into you!" She released her grip on him but failed to step back further as she pressed her back end against a drunken patron passed out against the wall behind her.

"Maker's breath!" She winced at his reaction knowing she was the last person in Thedas he wanted to see. When his annoyance had passed, his keen eyes noticed Varric's crossbow and her staff strapped onto their backs. "What's happened? Is it the mages?" She saw anger begin to warm his face.

"No, no! The mages are fine. It's Henley. He, ah… he took," she whispered the rest in his ear not wanting to yell it in the middle of the crowd, "red lyrium." All he could say in response was a string of curses.

"Curly, we're going to need the Seeker for this one."

"Go and get her from the Chantry. I'll meet you at the gate once I get into my armor. Then you can tell me how the fuck that blighted stuff made it into my camp!" She didn't mean to involve him, but she'd be glad for all the help she could get if the stories Varric had told her of Kirkwall red lyrium problems were true. Without delay, Evelyn and Varric trotted over to the Chantry, where the Seeker was chatting to one of the Revered Mothers. She did a double take when she saw them approaching, excusing herself from the conversation to head them off before they came too far inside the Divine's sanctuary.

"What is going on? And why are you here?" She directed her contempt towards Varric.

"Easy Seeker, we have a situation we need your expertise with." She didn't budge until he added, "Curly is going to meet us at the gate. We'll explain there." Not needing to grab anything, the three headed out into the night. The Commander had somehow beaten them to the gate, fully armored and awaiting an explanation. Varric who had been doing all the talking now gave the floor to Evelyn.

"Here's the short of it, I was given a vial of red lyrium back in Ostwick by one of my dying students who likely got it from a rebel blood mage. I kept it with me hoping to find someone to tell me about it, being completely ignorant of it. Up until the other night, I had not heard the full extent of what happened in Kirkwall until Varric told me. I was vacating my tent to give Henley and Ilara some privacy when I spilled my satchel that held the vial. Henley mentioned to me earlier in the night that did not pick up his draught of lyrium from the Chantry today and must have sensed it and drank it." She looked to the Commander and Seeker waiting for a reaction, but could see them processing the tale she hastily spun before them. "Henley got too rough with Ilara and ran off into the woods. Ilara has minor injuries and Sorin leaving us a trail to follow to catch up with him and Henley."

"How much did he take?" She didn't see how the Commander's question was relevant right now.

"Enough to fill a shot glass, does that really matter right now? We need to catch up with them!"

"She's right, time is of the utmost importance now." The Seeker continued, telling her and Varric to follow their lead since they were more of a liability tagging along now than anything.

The group followed the trail Sorin had left for them in the forest. Henley seemed to have made quite the trek through the deep woods spurred on by whatever evil was fueling him. After walking for almost half an hour, they began to hear yelling from nearby. She thanked the Maker again for providing a bright and clear night. The full moon gleamed off yesterday's powder illuminating the landscape. The only hindrance was the thick foliage of the tree line. As they got closer to the yelling, there was no mistaking the deep husky voice of Henley. Evelyn picked up the pace fearing what she knew they'd find in the clearing ahead.

A large scattering of boulders provided the four with excellent cover right on the edge of the clearing. It seemed Sorin thought similarly as he left footprints and drips of blood where he must've been watching Henley before he caught him. It wouldn't be long until Henley sensed her as well. From what she could see Sorin was alive. He was leaning on an arm in the middle of the clearing breathing heavily. The two were having a heated exchange over his lyrium addiction - she couldn't help but think there couldn't have been a worse topic to be arguing about while Henley was hopped up on red lyrium. As the Seeker and Commander made plans, Evelyn shushed them realizing Henley had gone quiet. Looking to the clearing, Henley was as still as a statue. She realized then - he knew she was here.

"I'll distract him." And without giving them the chance to argue, she fade stepped out to meet Henley in the clearing. Upon revealing herself, her greeting was cut short by a right hook to the jaw sprawling her on the cold ground. "I didn't come here to fight you, you ass! Just calm down so we can talk."

"Oh, now you want to talk! Talk about what, hmm? Feelings, because we could never talk about those before!" She stared incredulously up at him rubbing her throbbing jaw. He physically embodied rage; his face showed it; his body was coiled to strike. He had left the tent in such a rush he had only put his pants on making him look absolutely wild with no boots or shirt. His sleek black hair was mussed about and he rubbed his short trimmed beard seemingly at war with himself in his head. His burly chest heaved bringing to life scars that her fingers knew all too well.

"What in the Void are you talking about?" She scurried back to her feet, not wanting to be left vulnerable on the ground. Sorin didn't look to have any serious injuries, but she could guess Henley probably hit him too and Sorin just stayed down. Out of nowhere, Henley took a lunge at her sparking her mana. In the absence of her cowl, there was no hiding it as her chest glowed with the soft flickering light. "Don't Henley…" she knew what was coming and there'd be nothing she could do to stop it. What was taking them so long? She had to keep him distracted. She slowly moved so Henley's back was to the boulders where the others were. "Since you have my attention, what feelings do you want to talk about?"

"Six years Trevelyan, six! That's how long we were fucking and not once did you want to talk about our feelings." She almost felt as if she was talking to a raving drunk.

"Don't be vulgar. And we both agreed feelings were out of the question. There was no future in it for either of us in the Circle." The cold wall of his power hit her just hard enough to stagger her back giving him the opening he needed to charge at her. Before she knew it, she was slammed up against the nearest tree with his thick hand around her throat. Her back scraped against the jagged bark as he lifted her up off the ground. She could see now the red veins snaking their way toward his irises.

"Did you ever bother to ask me if I had feelings?" She hadn't, it was out of the question. This had to be the lyrium talking bringing up some deep repressed feelings or twisting his thoughts about what they really were. There is no way that he actually had harbored feelings for her, right? He threw her to the ground as if she weighed nothing. She skidded on her back to a halt, taking in the starry sky before it was blotted out by Henley's body. He hovered over her pressing close, too close. Their chests touched though he held up the rest of his weight off of her.

"Say my name," his voice lowered to a husky growl, "like you used to when no one could hear us." She turned her head to the side away from him. "Say it!" His breath was hot against her ear and his fingertips pressed painfully into her biceps. She cringed letting out a hot breath of her own out to the side. Just when she started to think Henley was going to do something he would later regret, her eyes saw the glimmer of the Commander's armor through the steam of her breath. He was crouched behind a bush like a lion getting ready to pounce its prey. Sure enough, he did, rolling Henley to the ground. Evelyn, knowing she could be of no help, crawled to Sorin putting her arms around him protectively.

Despite the Commander's obvious weight advantage with his armor, Henley didn't seem hindered by it. They wrestled like two bears with their grunts and growls. They weren't at it for more than a minute before the Seeker appeared, her fingertips glowing with a warm white light as she held them up to Henley. Immediately, Henley seized up falling over onto his side in the snow. Whatever she was doing to him looked painful, as she saw his veins glow with the same light coming from the Seeker's hand. The more he struggled against her power, the brighter her power burned.

"Now, Varric!" The Seeker looked to the dwarf who popped out into the clearing with a rag in hand. As the Seeker held Henley still, Varric pressed the cloth to his face. In a few seconds, Henley's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the ground. Evelyn looked to Varric with askance at what he'd just done.

"It just made him go to sleep, which trust me was better than what the Seeker planned for him." Seeker Cassandra just grunted at his remark. With Sorin shooing her off of him as if she was a mother fussing over her child, she went to Henley instead. He was hot to the touch and sweating like he had a fever.

"Is a fever normal? Well, as normal as taking red lyrium can be?"

"Yes," the Commander voiced the answer and the other two nodded along with him. She scooped up some snow in her hand and put it on his forehead. "That won't do anything, it's not an actual fever, it's just what it does to the body from what I've seen. We should take him to Adan to recover. Unfortunately, magic will not help him either." With a plan in place, the Commander, being the only one able to bear Henley's weight, threw him up over his shoulder to carry back to camp.

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The first few minutes passed by in awkward silence, but Evelyn was well aware of Varric throwing her the occasional glance like he had a question he was holding back. The moon had crested and was descending, telling her they were in the wee hours of the next morning. Maker, what a mess she made and dragged all of them into it. They followed their own tracks back through the forest with the Commander and Seeker leading the way.

"So, let me get this straight Blaze," she knew where this was going and had already started to cringe, "you and he were an item?"

"Varric," the Seeker immediately scolded, "I'm sure none of us were meant to hear their private affairs, so drop it." Evelyn was surprised the Seeker came to her aid so readily, but if she had to guess, Varric probably trumped everyone and anyone on her shit list, even Evelyn.

"No, it's alright. You'll just pester me again anyway, so might as well set the record straight. Yes, we were involved, but not an item. A mage and a Templar can't be an item in the Circle."

"You were with the man for six years and you don't consider that a relationship?" At Varric's question, she saw the Seeker turn her head listening in with one ear, now seemingly interested.

"No."

"Why not?" After coming down from her night of drinking and the pain from her jaw she was starting to get cranky at his line of questioning.

"What was to come of it? He wasn't going to whisk me away from the Circle to live happily ever after. This is not some fairy tale out of a book." Hurt crept into her words, "Mages don't get happy endings."

"So you did have feelings for him as he clearly had - or has?"

"No, I didn't and he didn't. That's why we were together. If what you said about red lyrium messing with your mind is true, everything he said was just the lyrium talking. He'd never have said that otherwise." She was certain of that. They had been friends for much longer than six years and she knew her friend. "I would also like to warn all of you to keep what he said to yourselves unless you'd like to have your pants burnt off in front of a crowd. Let's all remember poor Ilara is still back at camp worried sick about him." A deep chuckle caught everyone's attention. At first, she had thought it had been Henley, but he still swayed unconsciously from the Commander's shoulder, so that meant… Andraste's fiery tits, is he actually laughing at that? He was indeed. It was short-lived, but he had laughed at the mental image of her burning the pants off one of them in front of a crowd. The others all looked from one to the other with smiles, even the Seeker's mouth peaked a bit.

"Now I've done it. It took all day, but I finally broke the Commander." Sorin and Varric chuckled quietly, not yet sure how the Commander was going to react to the attention he garnered from all of them.

"Commander?" The Seeker sounded more concerned than anything, which made Evelyn assume she had never heard the man laugh. He cleared his throat and shook his head in the absence of his hands signaling he was fine before he voiced it.

"I ah - sorry, it just reminded me of - ahem, it has been a long night, and day for that matter." He groaned under Henley's weight as he shifted him to his other shoulder, but didn't hesitate to throw a glance back at Evelyn - the main culprit of the wear on his patience. It was funny how that one laugh made her see his humanity and only increased the guilt of having vexed him for the last 24 hours. She had only seen one side of him, the Commander, not the man. The few times Rylen had joined them for drinks he always spoke of him with affection, but the words were hollow to her as she couldn't believe he was speaking of the same person. It seemed while she no longer had to hide her identity from him and keep him at a distance, she was still doing just that.

The rest of the trek was done in contemplative silence. For Evelyn, the brisk walk went quickly as she was deep in thought. Upon reaching camp, everyone parted ways, but Evelyn accompanied the Commander to Adan's apothecary wanting to see through the trouble she caused. If what she had heard about Adan was true, she'd handle speaking to the grump so all the Commander had to do was dump Henley on the cot.

It went similarly to what she expected; Adan met them with colorful curses, featuring various anatomical parts of the Maker's bride, obviously not pleased to have been woken up. Shielding the Commander from the onslaught of questions, she fielded them all and discreetly pushed him out the door, which wasn't hard considering the poor man was all but dead on his feet. After Adan was done berating her, she finally slunk off to bed knowing Henley was in good hands.

Once inside the tent, she found a lump residing in her cot. Sorin must've headed to their tent first to check on Ilara and ended up falling asleep. He brought in all her bedding from outside and haphazardly strewn them over him. After fixing the blankets on him, she gave her friend a kiss on the forehead then slipped into Ilara's cot hoping if anything her close presence would comfort her. Pleased by the added warmth, Ilara snuggled up close as they had many times when they were younger back in the Circle. For the next few hours, the three friends walked in the Fade together reminiscing of simpler times. They felt no pain, no exhaustion just the love of their friendship, for when all else in the waking life failed them, they had each other to fall back on and could face the new day.

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Henley was on orders for bed rest for two days before Adan would assess him for discharge. When he awoke from Varric's drugging he was disoriented and only vaguely aware of what transpired. His body had been put under such strain between the red lyrium, and Seeker's ability he had described it as drinking fire and laying prone while a stampede of Druffalo trampled him for hours. Evelyn had not yet been to see him, thinking it was best for now that she stay away and let Ilara and he sort things out. Besides, there were more troubling matters arising with the Conclave now ten days away.

They had been briefed that according to Sister Nightingale's reports that the Free Mages have retreated to Redcliffe as rogue Templar activity has picked up in the area. With the mages fleeing to safety, the Templars had been able to gain a strong foothold in the Hinterlands. Even worse, they've focused attacks on anyone headed to Haven in an effort to stop the peace talks. The Commander had been tasked by the Divine to disperse the rogue Templars who were impeding traffic to Haven. With only ten days to go, the majority of attendees were set to arrive in about three to four days. Training was suspended for the time being as everyone had assignments. Camp was buzzing with the new flurry of activity as a confrontation with the Templars was certain.

Part of her felt for their Templars who would be forced to kill their brothers and sister of The Order. She was guilty as any for killing her "own kind," as it was put to her. The schism existing between the Templars was not unlike that of the mages. She felt that unlike the mages however, Templars had a deeper bond with each other that was forged from the way they were trained. Their oath to protect extended to their fellow Templars as they were trained to fight as a unit. Mages - Knight-Enchanters excluded - were taught selfishly to protect themselves first and foremost. The Chantry and Templars couldn't have mages organizing themselves into battle units for the very reason of them rising up. Evelyn wondered if perhaps a bit of that selfishness had instilled itself into her early on, which is why she had little remorse for rebel mages.

She had just been returning from checking on her mage charges as she had herself to doing every morning for the foreseeable future, when Evelyn spotted a large gathering of soldiers at the training ground. They encircled some individuals who were having a very heated debate about something. Sensing Sorin amidst them, she pushed through the soldiers to find where he was spectating from. He stood leaning up against one of the sparring ring's fences seemingly relaxed even as the crowd around him was agitated.

"What's all this about?" At the center of the crowd stood the Commander with his arms crossed scowling along with Rylen at his side. There seemed to be a small group of young Templars, perhaps in their early 20s, slinging insults at the Commander. They weren't wearing their armor, which she took as a formal protest that they were not planning on reporting to their duty. Their ring leader did most of the shouting while the others just went along with the act.

"So, these Templars are refusing to acknowledge the Commander's authority on the basis that Lord Seeker Lucius is alive, but since it was the Lord Seeker who declared the Templars independence from the Chantry, it makes him a rebel, technically. The Commander is arguing that all loyal Templars to the Chantry are now under the command of The Divine in the absence of a Lord Seeker. And since he has been put in charge through the authority of The Divine, he is now their superior officer for the time being."

"Wasn't the Commander the former Knight-Commander of Kirkwall? Why doesn't he just pull rank?"

"He claims he no longer holds that rank since he left The Order." She didn't know that. She thought like the other loyal Templars this was a temporary position for him until things got back to some semblance of normal. She watched on as Rylen stood slightly in front of the Commander acting like Mabari protecting his master, which was truly endearing. He had been putting up a stout defense of his friend and superior, as all good second-in-commands ought to. When Rylen successfully refuted point after point, the boy started to get petty attacking the Commander's lack of station being the son of a miller.

"He must be a little Lord, I'd recognize that brattiness anywhere." Sorin agreed, adding that the boy had dug himself such a hole he might as well keep going until someone took a swing at him. A thought popped into Evelyn's head. She flicked her head for Sorin to follow her through the crowd. She repositioned herself directly off to the side of the boy. Upon pushing through to the front, her presence was immediately noted by the Commander, but he just gave a quick glance with his eyes before returning them forward. Evelyn waited until the boy began another tirade, before snapping her fingers. How fitting that he was just starting to complain about the management of the mages in camp. With him and his friends distracted, they were unaware that she was burning the pants off of them.

Slowly the crowd began to notice as their pant legs were slowly consumed by thin bands of flame. Laughter began to spread, yet no one bothered to tell the trouble-makers - a testament to the loyalty to their Commander, who bit the inside of his lip in an attempt to control his expression. Rylen laughed silently as the boy went on, more than happy to allow him to make an even bigger fool of himself. When they were relieved of their pants, and still unaware, it seemed the boys truly thought the crowd was laughing with them. With bated breath the crowd looked to Rylen who raised a hand for silence ready to break the news to the boys that the crowd was indeed laughing at them.

"Well, if you ask me, next time you want to insult the Commander, and his mages, you may want to remember to wear your smalls." She may have burnt those too for effect, but only the little Lord's. As the boys ran off and the crowd dispersed with raised spirits, so did Evelyn but not without giving a wink to the Commander before turning on her heel. She had a lot to make up for and this was a good start.

Chuckling over to where she was expected to meet the next patrol going out, she carefully slipped her helmet on so as not to mess up her braid. Sorin had always made fun of how careful she was while doing it, teasing her by saying, "such a girl." If not wanting to mess up her hair made her a girl so be it. She had yet to actually need her medium set of onyx armor yet since they had just been encountering rebel mages, but with the rogue Templars moving in, she'd need it now.

As the routine patrol of twelve men, made up of Templars, rank-and-file and one Knight-Enchanter, prepared to roll out, the Commander strode over in full armor. It seemed the Seeker had planned to accompany them, but was called to see to a matter for the Divine. He decided to take her place wanting to get out from behind a desk for an hour or two. She wondered if it had something to do with the incident earlier at the training grounds, hoping to vent his anger on something other than practice dummies. She wouldn't blame him if he did after having to listen to that slander for Maker knows how long.

Several patrols had already been sent out through the morning encountering no trouble, so their patrol was to push the established perimeter around Haven further out establishing a new patrol route. It made no difference to her if he came or not, it was another sword in case things got hairy. In any case, she was more worried about the weather as heavy snow clouds began to move in. The air was crisp and bracing, it was perfect for walking in layers of armor. She took a deep breath in savoring the sensation as the cold air warmed in her lungs. After hearing the Commander call to them to move out, she fell in with the rank-and-file. She enjoyed chatting with them during patrols. They looked at mages with fear mostly due to ignorance and the Chantry, so she took every opportunity to change some minds.

"Knight-Enchanter!" She jogged up next to him disappointed she was robbed of the opportunity this time. Though the two Templars with them weren't sensing anything, he wanted her assessment as well. Happy to agree that she sensed nothing of note, she began to fall back behind him but not before he waved a hand for her to return to his side. "I wanted to thank you for earlier today, I'm not sure yelling back and forth would've diffused the situation quite as well as what you did." She was glad to see he took the little stunt in good humor.

"Surely I don't know what you mean, Commander? I was an innocent spectator." He looked at her with a raised eyebrow meeting her smirk with his. "He was being a prick. And besides, I'm supposed to be the biggest thorn in your side."

"You are certainly that."

"If I could guess, I would say the boy was a younger son of some Lord." He nodded back to her not revealing any more of the boy's identity. "I know the type well, dealt with them my whole life. Sometimes they need someone to humble them. I happen to like millers." The askance in his expression told her he had no idea what that was supposed to mean. "I'm the daughter of a horse breeder, horses eat oats. Did you farm wheat as well as mill it?"

"Yes, and they still do. My older sister and her husband run the farm now in South Reach."

"If I remember correctly, they should be harvesting Buckwheat soon, that's a winter crop." He seemed pleasantly surprised at her knowledge.

"That's right. I'm surprised you know that much for a noble yourself."

"My father takes great pride in our horses. He'd personally see to the feed of our mounts. My mother sometimes remarked at the horses were better fed than we were. I would go with him to the local mill when I could get away from my mother's lessons. I was always fascinated by the machinery. To a young girl, all the turning cogs and belts looked like magic." She laughed in spite of herself thinking that was magic. "Without millers and farmers my family wouldn't have horses. My father knew this and taught us to be respectful of those who worked harder for much less so we could live in comfort."

"He sounds like a good man. You must miss him."

"Yes, I --," she broke off to concentrate scanning the terrain in front of her, "they're over there." She pointed off to a cave to the right of them. He held his fist up to halt the others, then ordered some swordsmen to either side of the cave entrance, the others directly in front of the mouth. Archer fanned out behind the swordsmen with arrows knocked. He and Evelyn stood with the swordsmen directly across from the mouth of the cave. After several moments of silence, Evelyn volunteered to go in first, to which the Commander hesitantly agreed.

The cave was rather unremarkable, but boasted a healthy supply of deep mushrooms Ilara would surely want to know about. It grew darker the further in she went and she lit a flame in her hand to guide her footing. She was a good distance inside when silhouetted figures crowded the cave's mouth. It was the Commander calling her asking if she saw anything. "Nothing," she had replied baffled at where then the Templars were. From where she stood she could see the faintest light at the other end of the tunnel. Then it hit her, they are above us. As quickly as she could in the pitch black, she sprinted for the light.

She could hear the sounds of fighting already as she emerged. An arrow landed next to her foot and looking up she saw Templar archers perched all around the high cliffside. They were obscured by bushes, small trees and vines making it hard for their archers to see their targets. From the corner of her eye, she saw a rogue Templar cut down one of their men and was now headed her way. Fending off the first of his strikes with her staff, an arrow hit her first in the arm and another glanced off her armored back. Grabbing the Templar by his armor and pulling him in close with her other hand in his face she unleashed a torrent of fire until the man went limp. Pushing him aside, she spun her staff in an upward arch sending wave after wave of fire clearing the foliage concealing their attackers and making some flee their positions. As she covered the others, it became harder to see where they were or how the fight was going as burning and smoking debris rained down from the cliffside.

She was surprised at how long it took one of the Templars to finally drain her of some of her mana. The hit came from her side, as did the large hulking mass that followed. She pulled the arrowhead from her arm, biting her lip to stifle her cry of pain. Shaking off the dizziness from the pain, she steeled herself knowing this particular fight was going to be painful. Fade stepping slightly to the side and landing a clean upper-cut with her staff on the Templar's jaw, he groaned in pain, but wasn't phased. She cast her spirit blade, but just as she tried to land a hit the Templar grabbed her forearm. A sharp pain where he held her shot through her arm dispelling her blade. His other hand held his blade which went to thrust, but not before a shield shot forth deflecting it back with force. After being dropped by the brute, she looked up to see the flashing red-maned mantle of the Commander. She knew his form with a sword and shield was as close to perfect as could be from watching him at the training grounds, but watching him against man who stood even taller than he was awe-inspiring. Getting up off her ass after gawking in the middle of a life-or-death fight, she guarded his back as more Templars approached.

Evelyn made short work of them. A quickly cast immolation spell took one, and the other she felled with her staff blade. She turned back to the Commander to see how he was fairing and decided this brute was going to take two to take down. It was a challenge to get past the man's large shield and all she could do was be an annoyance to the Templar who dispelled her magic. Another arrow landed near her and she sent a fireball up at the cliff face spinning blindly. Stone shards exploded down onto the fighters below. Worried how it may have affected their duel, she looked over to the Commander who held his shield up while in a crouch to block the debris. Another spell purge from above hit, sending her right into the arms of the brute. He held her with her back against him and one arm tightly around her torso restricting her movement. One of her arms got caught behind her and was now against the Templar and of no use to her. She was a human shield. She struggled, but nothing came of it and magic was not an option for now her mana was dangerously low.

The brute laughed at her attempt and whirled her around to face the Commander who was at that very moment bringing down his sword thinking the Templar had made a mistake giving him an opening for a decisive strike. The two locked their wide eyes realizing what was happening. The air left her lungs as she waited to feel his blade. The cut was quick and clean. His sword scored a curved line from her mid-thigh up over her hip. She screamed doubling over as much as she could over the arm that restrained her. She heard the Commander renew his assault, calling her name as she swayed in the Templar's arm. Evelyn, though it must've looked as if she was hanging limply, was actually reaching for her trusty dagger in her boot. Unsheathing it, she stabbed the man in the ribs. She pulled the dagger from him in an attempt to maim him elsewhere, but he threw Evelyn in rage, and she rolled several times before coming to a stop by the mouth of the cave. The Commander made good use of the opening however and finished the brute with a slash to the throat and thrust to the chest for good measure.

Evelyn tried to stand by using the rock face, but it proved more difficult in her weakened state. Burning debris still fell around them reducing visibility, but it was clear they were the last two alive. Shadows from within the smoke began to move in on them from all around. A strong arm quickly pulled her to her feet taking her into the cave.

"Can you collapse the entrance?" His breathy voice echoed down the long tunnel. She nodded, pulling the cork off a bottle of lyrium and downing it. He continued to drag her with him through the cave as she cast a large fireball at the top of the cave's mouth. The stone shattered at the force of the blow collapsing. As it grew quiet and only the occasional pebble skittering could be heard, the two took a moment to rest. She lit the fire once more in her hand for some light.

"Are you hurt? I have herbs and potions from Ilara." She was grateful they wouldn't have to rely on her healing skills.

"Am I -- No, just minor injuries that can wait." He crouched down beside her looking at the gash on her leg. Her flame revealed the pain and guilt he felt as his eyes traveled the length of the injury. She rummaged about the potion bag and took out two healing potions, one for each of them, despite his insistence that he was fine. She knew the beating his shield arm must've taken in that last fight would leave him incredibly sore.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not how the whole damsel-in-distress thing is supposed to go." She tried to make light of it, but when it didn't seem to stir a reaction she softened her voice. "Commander, --"

"Just - you can call me Cullen."

"Cullen, it's not as bad as it looks. I'll be fine." It was the truth. Sure it fucking hurt, but it wasn't like he stabbed her in the chest. She pulled some bandages out of the potion bag. It would do until she could get to a healer. Her leather pant leg drooped heavy with blood that was still steadily spilling forth. She considered herself lucky he hadn't completely cut her pants off, as she saw a fine scratch from his sword point across her belt. "If my mother was here, she'd be pissed that you just ruined me for every Orlesian man out there. You know, since they don't like women who are all marked up. Though I am grateful you've saved me from a mundane life of a trophy wife." He stared at her like a sad Mabari. Sighing heavily, seeing none of her assurances were having any effect, she changed the subject. "When I was in here earlier I could see a light at the other end. It shouldn't be far to the other side."

"Good, we should move as soon as you're able. If they set this ambush then they must know where this cave lets out. Hopefully, we can beat them there and get back to camp." She tied off the bandage and with his help stood once more. She had a limp, but she could at least move and they hurried as quickly as her leg would take them through the dark. Only one section of the tunnel caused her trouble when it narrowed and the two had to shimmy sideways through the tight passage. Her leg clumsily kept getting stuck due to her loss of motor function and Cullen ended up having to take her by the shoulders to pull her through.

"I really am sorry," he said as he helped her through, "I tried to stop myself but..." She was holding on to the matted fur of his mantle to steady herself. His eyes were downcast avoiding her gaze.

"Hey," his eyes met her bright brown eyes, "if you didn't come with the patrol today, I'd likely be dead. I didn't for one second think you'd ever purposely hurt me no matter how much I annoy you." It drew the faintest smile, but she wasn't satisfied. "Oh, don't tell me you're going to keep apologizing all the way to camp?"

"Well..." she sighed at his drawn-out response. "I was planning to at least ten more times."

"Do it and a burnt pair of pants will be the least of your worries next time you address the troops." And there it was, that soft and deep rumble from within his chest. It caused no small amount of joy to hear it, though she hadn't have the time yet to process why. Perhaps because it was so rarely heard by anyone, considering the Seeker even seemed surprised to hear it, and she had coaxed it forth twice now. Maybe it was because he reminded her ever so slightly of Henley. That was problematic in so many ways. Or maybe it was that favoritism because he thought she was, by his words, 'beautiful.' For now though, her mind settled on that they were possibly entering that gray area between acquaintances and friends.

As the daylight grew brighter and they emerged from the cave they were relieved to find they had beaten the Templars to the other side. The two were filthy from the dirt, soot, rocks and blood that were flying around during the ambush. The gaps on the front of their helmets where their eyes and other features weren't protected were painted on their skin by grime. She knew a thick strand of her hair was pulled up from her braid somewhere on top of her head by the way his eyes flicked up to it. Giving him a pouty glare, she tucked it back into the braid and waited for his approval. He just shook his head and chuckled. She was getting good at this, at this rate they'd be friends by the time they got back to camp.

When he said he knew where they were and they weren't too far from Haven, she almost leap with joy. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be mobile for on her hurt leg, so the sooner they were back the better. As they picked up the pace, he helped her along to keep up. They had lost their whole patrol and the snow was beginning to fall. They certainly did not want to be stranded out here for the night or worse run into more Templars. Templars. She got that cold feeling in the pit of her stomach when she began to sense them again. They were gaining on them fast. Grabbing him hard to stop, he seemed to catch her meaning without needing words. Listening, they heard the faint crunching of snow beneath steel boots. Cullen guided her off the trail they were following and into the brush. They clung to the shadows of a nearby rockface listening again for the approaching Templars.

"You go, I'll stay and distract them. Buy you time to get a head start back to camp." The overwhelming weight of her words hit them both hard knowing that she'd be lucky to survive the encounter with the Templars. He shook his head in protest.

"I'm not leaving you here alone with them. I can carry you."

"No, I'll slow you down and besides, they can sense me, but not you. One of us needs to make it back to camp." A branch cracked under a heavily armored boot catching their attention. They were close.

"We know you're here little mage, come out, come out wherever you are!" The Templar's voice made her sick invoking a flashback of her alone in a room with three Templars back in the Circle. She fought her body's impulse to shake, not wanting Cullen to sense her fear. His jaw clenched and she felt his grip tightening on her as if he was reading her thoughts.

"If you don't go now we'll both be caught!"

"No!" Even though it was whispered, it carried a desperate force to it. She was the last remaining member of the lost patrol, and while his concern was admirable and understandable it was going to be either her one life or both of theirs.

"Over there!" They had found them. Evelyn grabbed a hold of Cullen with both hands and fade stepped them back over to the road. The incredible drain of moving both of them made her collapse instantly flat onto her stomach. He went to pick her up, but she yelled in protest.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Yes, you are!" With the last of her mana reserve, she altered a mind blast spell to just repel him away from her. The force pushed him quite a distance down the trail toward Haven. "Go!" By the look of pain on his face she knew the Templars were closing on her. Finally, he ran no doubt cursing her the whole way back to Haven. A hard kick to her ribs flipped her onto her back.

"Well, well look what we have here." She stayed silent knowing what she wanted to say would only provoke them. "What's your name doll?" She just glared back in response. There was something odd about them. The three had red eyes and she sensed a strange aura of lyrium around them. It was almost too much for her to handle, like an old noblewoman wearing too much perfume. Red lyrium, she thought as dread brought back the events of the previous night and what it did to Henley. He was her friend and still had no qualms about getting rough with her, making her not want to imagine what these Templars would do her. A woman stepped forward grabbing her by the hair and tilting her face up close to hers.

"Sampson will loosen that tongue of yours!" And with that, the pommel of a sword sent her to the Fade.