Seeker Lambert's arrival in Denerim was quiet and unremarkable, as befitted a Seeker. He went through no mediaries and immediately had an audience with Anora and Alistair, who met with him promptly.
“Greetings, Seeker Lambert,” Anora said.
“Your Majesties,” Lambert said. “A pleasure.”
Alistair leaned forward in his chair. “Can we cut the small talk?” he asked. “I want to know what this is about.”
Lambert nodded. “To put it shortly, the Chantry is concerned about the activities of the Wardens in Ferelden.”
“And how's that?”
“You gave a mage a title, for one,” Lambert said. “That flagrantly abuses the laws of the Chantry.”
“Amaranthine is under Warden jurisdiction, and as Surana's a Warden, that means she can be Arlessa and be a mage.”
Lambert's mouth twisted. “And you honestly believe the authority of the Wardens ranks above that of the Chantry?”
“The Chantry and the Wardens have no part of each other,” Alistair insisted. “It's not about who has authority over who. She's a Warden, which means she's not part of the Circle anymore.”
Lambert pinched the bridge of his nose. “The laws are very vague about where Chantry jurisdiction ends and where Warden authority begins,” he said. “I am willing to grant you this. But there are other concerns as well.”
“Such as?” Anora asked.
“Every other Blight took many, many years to end. This one is supposedly over in under a year.” Lambert looked at them. “You find nothing unusual about this?”
“Since when are Blights the business of the Chantry?” Alistair challenged.
“When the Wardens became involved with the Circles and the royal family of Ferelden,” Lambert said, unphased. “This becomes our concern when you ally with the Circle of Magi, and a Circle mage gains a noble title and holdings. The Chantry would be concerned about the Blight in any case, but under the circumstances--”
“The Chantry has no hold over the internal workings of Ferelden,” Anora said. “And regardless of whether Warden-Commander Surana is a mage or not, she is foremost a Warden, and not under Chantry jurisdiction.”
“What prompted this investigation, anyway?” Alistair asked. “I didn't see the Chantry intervening when Loghain was about to start a civil war.”
“That involved no mages. This does.” Lambert leaned forward. “And it concerns everyone when the Wardens start overstepping their bounds.”
Alistair raised his eyebrows. “When have we done that?”
“Placing a Warden on the throne of Ferelden, for one, after failing to protect the previous king.”
Alistair scowled, and Anora placed a hand on his forearm.
“What are you saying, Seeker?” Anora asked.
“Here is what the Chantry sees, Your Majesty,” Lambert said, his face stony. “The first Blight for hundreds of years emerges, and is stopped in under a year by a novice enchanter. Immediately afterwards, a Warden King is placed on the throne of Ferelden, conveniently claiming the title of Maric's heir. Then, Warden-Commander Surana is appointed lands and a title, despite being both a Warden—who are supposed to be apolitical—and a mage. You understand our concerns, don't you? The Divine, Empress Celene, and Lady Seeker Nicolene are all extremely concerned about where this path leads.”
“What path?” Alistair demanded. “I'm not sure if you noticed, but we had to make sure Loghain didn't cause a civil war--”
“Yes,” Anora cut across. “My father was entirely willing to disregard the Blight out of his own paranoia about Orlais. As such, we needed to take drastic action.”
“But the Blight is over, is it not?” Lambert raised an eyebrow. “The Wardens should be retreating from political influence, not becoming more involved—especially Surana.”
“The Blight's over, but that doesn't mean there's no more darkspawn,” Alistair said. “We still need Wardens—maybe moreso than ever.”
Lambert looked at him sharply. “And why is that?”
“We were caught unprepared at the beginning of this Blight,” Alistair said. “We only narrowly avoided all of Ferelden getting overrun. I won't risk that happening again.”
“Really?” Lambert leaned forward in his seat. “So why is it that it took one novice enchanter—again, Warden-Commander Surana had only been an enchanter for a short time before being conscripted—to kill the Archdemon? A feat which, in the past, has taken years and hundreds of Wardens to do?”
Alistair leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “Don't know what to tell you there. She's just that good.”
Lambert pursed his lips. “Is she?”
Both Anora and Alistair peered at him.
“I saw it myself,” Alistair said. “Her killing the Archdemon, I mean.”
“Are you aware of the current unrest in the Circles?” Lambert asked, veering the conversation in another direction entirely.
“A bit, yes,” Alistair said. “They're not exactly happy.”
Lambert nodded. “And do you know that there is magic capable of controlling dragons? Surely you know of the dragon attack on Divine Beatrix that was thwarted some years ago.”
Anora and Alistair exchanged a look.
“Seeker Lambert,” Alistair said with a sigh. “What exactly is it that the Chantry wants here?”
“Hm,” Lambert hummed in thought. “We have yet to come to a conclusion. All we know is that the circumstances of the Blight, compounded with the recent attack on Vigil's Keep has made the Chantry very...concerned.”
“You have expressed this,” Anora said. “As has the Orlesian ambassador.”
Lambert inclined his head. “As well she should. However my concerns—or rather, those of the Chantry—lie more in the people making the decisions than those decisions themselves.” he knit his fingers together. “If nothing else, you should remove Surana from a position of nobility. It sets a poor precedent when a mage is made a noble.”
“And what happens if we don't do that?” Alistair asked. “There'd be no one in charge of the Amaranthine arling then.”
“I am sure you could appoint someone,” Lambert said. “This isn't a threat, your Majesties,” he said, his tone smooth and neutral. “The Chantry does not deal in threats. We inform of consequences. And the consequences of a mage noble will be even more unrest in the Circles, more friction between the mages and Templars, and between the more extreme mages and the established government.”
“She's a Warden,” Alistair repeated. “Technically, she's not even a part of the Circle anymore.”
“No mage has ever held any kind of office in the South outside of the Circles, Warden or no,” Lambert said. Not as far as he knew, of course, but Alistair didn't need to know that. “No mage has ever held noble office. The only country to appoint a mage to that position is Tevinter.” Lambert raised an eyebrow.
“Are you suggesting that because one mage Warden has been made a noble, Ferelden will suddenly turn into Tevinter?” Anora asked.
“I am saying that having a mage as a noble, as well as the close alliance with the Dalish and Orzammar and the recent vanquishing of the Blight are all ingredients for an extremely volatile outcome, and you would do well to mediate that.” Lambert leaned forward. “The Chantry enforces order, Your Majesties. If you cannot or will not enforce order, then we will.”
“Are you seriously saying you want to fight us?” Alistair asked, half-laughing. “Now?”
“It is not a fight if your entire royal family is excommunicated.” Lambert said.
The blood drained out of Anora's face.
“You would excommunicate the Theirin line over one mage?” she demanded. “That could cause another civil war!”
“Are you willing to risk that over one mage?” Lambert retorted. “The solution is simple; take the title of Arlessa from Surana and give it to someone more fitting—not a mage, and not a Warden.”
Alistair and Anora looked at each other.
“We need to speak,” Anora said. “Alone.”
Lambert inclined his head. “As you wish.”
Once they were left alone, Alistair immediately stood up and began to pace.
“I told you,” Anora muttered. “Surana didn't even want the appointment—if you had put someone else in charge of Amaranthine--”
“They would have conflicted with the Wardens at the Keep,” Alistair snapped, and shook his head. “And—well—she saved Ferelden! She deserves something like that.”
“It's not about what anyone deserves,” Anora said. She rubbed her forehead and got to her feet. “We need to tell Fiona,” she said. “If the Chantry is unhappy with Surana I am sure they will be unhappy with Fiona next--”
“Do you think we should tell Queen Aeducan?” Alistair said.
“Why?”
“She's been sheltering mages,” it was true. Apart from Jowan, several other mages in the king's army had slipped the Templars' leash and run to Orzammar. Culwydd had no problem with it, and considered it a good thing, as she felt immigrants encouraged contact with the surface.
“Orzammar supplies the Chantry with lyrium,” Anora reminded him. “They would never do anything that might interfere with the supply lines.”
“What about Keeper Lanaya? Should we let her know? The Dalish have had a lot more trouble with the Chantry than Orzammar--”
Anora nodded. “I can send a missive, quietly, and let them know.” she scowled. “I don't care how many apostates they have in their numbers—they defended Denerim, they should at least know what's happening.”
Alistair nodded and ran a hand over his face. “Lambert'll probably talk to other nobles and just about anyone he can find,” he said. “I'll go warn Fiona and get a letter written to Surana. She should know about this too.”
Fiona was not surprised when Alistair told her about the situation. She sighed. “I was afraid of this.”
“You thought that this could happen?” Alistair asked in surprise.
Fiona nodded. “Any time a mage gains power, it frightens the Chantry. It's even worse because of the disaster at Calenhad, and I'm sure they think the Wardens are pulling a coup.”
“Does the Archdemon mean nothing to them?” Alistair asked, frustrated.
“Most likely it does not,” Fiona said. “They are probably concocting some sort of conspiracy to explain the whole thing—since the Archdemon never attacked Orlais, and no Seeker was here when it attacked Denerim, they technically have no evidence that it even happened.”
“And the body's gone,” Alistair groaned.
“The body is gone.”
They had burnt the body of the Archdemon after it had been killed, as it had been riddled with poisonous Taint, and would have passed the disease on were it not destroyed. They scattered the bones, which were also diseased.
Alistair rubbed his forehead. “Lambert probably won't be happy that you're here instead of at Weisshaupt,” he said.
Fiona closed her eyes. “That's true,” she agreed. “I have no reason to be here—there's no darkspawn incursion. He'll want to know what I'm still doing here. My presence just makes it look even more as if the Wardens are attempting to control the Ferelden government.”
Alistair groaned. “I knew making me King was a bad idea,” he shook his head. “If Anora was in charge--”
“It may have happened anyway,” Fiona said, her expression troubled. “Either way, it doesn't matter now.”
“What are you going to do?”
Fiona paused. “I could go to Vigil's Keep,” she said. “And assist Surana...I feel as if she will need it.”
“But...?”
“But there is likely going to be added scrutiny placed on Vigil's Keep, and even more Wardens being there would...perhaps not be healthy.”
“But there's a darkspawn problem there—and you're Orlesian, it would probably make the Orlesians happy--”
“I am also a mage, which would make them less happy.” she sighed and leaned back in her seat. “I'll have to go back to Weisshaupt,” she decided.
“Are you sure?” Alistair asked. “I could try and get rid of Lambert--”
“More Seekers would come,” Fiona told him, waving a hand. “I am...sorry,” she said quietly. “I do not wish to part ways again. But my being here will attract uncomfortable scrutiny.”
Alistair nodded. “I know,” he admitted. “I know.”
Kitranna and the rest of her people returned to Vigil's keep grumpy and covered in mud. Some people stared at Justice as they walked through the Keep, but one look at Kitranna's face stopped anyone from making any comments.
Varel met Kitranna before she'd so much as had time to remove her armor.
“Warden-Commander,” Varel said quietly. “There's a missive from the king for you.”
“Yeah?” Kitranna took the paper. “What is it?”
“I did not read it.” he looked worried, a frown between his brows. “Did you find Kristoff?”
Kitranna shook her head. “No—just his body,” she nodded towards Justice, who was having a quiet, rumbling conversation with Nathaniel.
Varel stared at Justice for a minute, then shook his head. “Magic,” he muttered.
“Oh, yes indeed.” Kitranna opened the missive and scanned it quickly.
Surana,
The Chantry's on our back about your appointment as Arlessa, and is getting antsy about the Wardens in general. Fiona's gone back to Weisshaupt, and you might want to look out for any Seekers or Templars who might want to come and see what's going on. May have to make someone else Arl of Amaranthine, otherwise the Chantry will take drastic action. We're stalling them as best we can, but I don't think we can do it forever.
Watch your back.
-Alistair Theirin
Kitranna scowled.
“Problem, Commander?” Varel asked.
Kitranna nodded. “Some trouble with the Chantry,” she said. “Probably gonna muck up everything around here for a bit.”
Varel sighed. “That is exactly what we needed...”
“It sure is,” Kitranna growled. She clenched the letter in her hand. “Anything happen while we were gone?”
Varel shook his head. “Nothing of particular note happened here, though two ambassadors from your alliances arrived, and there are two hunters who may have useful information for you. One of the dwarves doing repairs wants to see you as well.”
“Why's that?” Kitranna asked, walking out of the main hall, Varel following close behind her.
“The darkspawn attack left the Keep with a number of vulnerabilities,” Varel explained. “And the dwarf believes we are right over a complex of Deep Roads tunnels.”
“Maker's tits,” Kitranna hissed. “What else?”
“Our walls are badly damaged. The dwarf—Voldrick—believes he can repair them, but the darkspawn problem is the one he's most worried about.”
“I would be too. Seriously? The Keep's built over Deep Roads?”
Varel shrugged. “The Keep is very old, and the Deep Roads run all the way to the Wilds," he said. “The older a building is, the more likely it was used as some kind of stop during the dwarven empire.”
“Makes sense,” Kitranna shook her head. “Alright—tell Voldrick I'll meet him as soon as I can, but right now, I need to get some cursed sleep before anything else happens.” she snapped her fingers. “Oh—you said a pair of hunters had some information for me?”
Varel nodded. “Apparently, they found an open Deep Roads entrance,” he said. “And a cave full of active darkspawn, very close to the surface.”
“Great,” Kitranna hissed. “Where is this entrance?”
“I can mark it on a map for you—it isn't far from here, but nothing is blocking it, and there are farms and a village nearby. It should be dealt with as quickly as possible.”
“And what about the Deep Roads tunnels under the Keep?” Kitranna chewed her lip. “I don't want to be caught unprepared like the last time.”
“We are far more prepared than any villagers,” Varel reminded her.
“Barely.”
“Warden-Commander, this Deep Roads Entrance hadn't been seen before,” he insisted. “There's no mention of even ruins in the same area—it would seem that the darkspawn have been digging, and not just here.”
Kitranna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alright,” she said. “Alright. I'll do what I can.”
Kitranna only had a bare six hours of sleep before she awoke, being needed again. She met with Voldrick the dwarf and gave him leave both to repair the walls and do something about the tunnels underneath Vigil's Keep.
Justice was settling in alright, apart from frightening the daylights out of passerby, but Nathaniel and Anders were on edge. Kitranna couldn't do much about that until they were out in the field again, which would have to wait for at least a day while Kitranna got everything in order.
Kitranna also met with a representative from the Circle who had arrived while Kitranna was in the Blackmarsh, a woman named Cera.
“Enchanter Cera,” Kitranna said with a relieved smile. “Nice to see you.”
Cera smiled back. “The Circle sent me as an ambassador,” she said. “We want to keep our relations with the Wardens healthy, even though the Archdemon is dead.”
“Thanks for that,” Kitranna inclined her head. “How is the Circle right now?”
“Calenhad is still rebuilding,” Cera said with a grimace. “And we are making some progress, but...”
“What is it?”
“There has been some...rumbling...from the Chantry.”
Kitranna closed her eyes. “I know,” she said. “The King sent me a missive—the Seekers have an eye on Denerim--”
Cera nodded. “Yes, and the Templars are getting restless,” she said. “Your appointment here did nothing to ease their worry, especially after they lost track of many mages after the battle in Denerim.”
“I'd heard that,” Kitranna said. “Leaving for the Dalish, or Orzammar, right?”
“Yes, exactly,” Cera confirmed. “And when you recruited Anders into the Wardens--”
“I was well within my rights to do that, which they should damn well be aware of,” Kitranna snapped.
“I know, Warden-Commander, but Anders is a spirit healer, and one with a history of defiance to the Circle,” Cera said. “There's some feeling that you, and the Wardens, are encouraging the Libertarians.”
“I hadn't heard that,” Kitranna said, leaning forward, her brows knit.
Cera shrugged. “Most of the Ferelden Templars are as grateful as anyone else that you slayed the Archdemon,” she said. “But with foreign mages and Templars coming in to assist, and the fact that you have a noble appointment...the Templars are simply becoming restless.”
“Well, they can rest easy,” Kitranna said bitterly. “The King's debating making someone else Arl of Amaranthine, because the Seekers have their knickers in a twist over a mage being a noble.”
"Hopefully that will help,” Cera said, looking uncertain. “I cannot be sure.”
Kitranna narrowed her eyes. “Why not? That's the issue, isn't it?”
“You know better than to think that will be the end of it,” Cera said with a sigh. “The Libertarians are sure to cause a ruckus, or the Templars will think so, and you are the linchpin for quite a great deal of that.”
Kitranna closed her eyes. “Yeah,” she said. “I suppose.” she shook her head. “I've hardly had any contact with the Circle since the Archdemon died—are you sure they're idolizing me so much?”
“The Circles were already restless before the Blight, and it just made everything worse,” Cera said. “Enchanter Wynne's leaving and Uldred's death didn't help anything.”
“I'd thing that Uldred dying would have fixed things—he was an agitator, right?”
“Agitator, and now martyr,” Cera explained with a twist to her lips. “All it took was a few months and some of the younger mages began idolizing him as some sort of fallen hero—the mage who died rather than be taken in by Templars.”
“That's not what happened at all,” Kitranna snapped.
“I'm aware of that,” Cera said. “But they aren't, especially the foreigners. And Gregoire was undermined by the entire affair--” she shook her head. “Truthfully, I am not sure what will quiet the situation.”
“Any immediate fears?” Kitranna said, a frown between her eyebrows. “Would it help if I did something?”
“No,” Cera said. “No, I don't think so—especially since you're needed to deal with the rest of the darkspawn. The only thing that could possibly help would be if you returned to the Circle, left the Wardens, and--”
“And that won't happen,” Kitranna said.
“I did not think so.”
Kitranna sighed. “Well—thank you for letting me know. You might want to tell Varel, and see if you can send a missive to King Alistair—he'll want to know too.”
Cera inclined her head. “A pleasure to be of service, Enchanter.”
“I'm no Enchanter, Cera.”
“You were of the Circle before the Wardens, were you not?” Cera said. “Your loyalty is to your people first.”
“I'm not loyal to anyone,” Kitranna said. “And I'm no Circle mage.”
“If you insist.”
Kitranna left Cera then, to continue doing what she needed to do.
The other ambassador was a Dalish elf who had came to the Keep, a middle aged woman with long white hair and pale blue vallaslin. She was almost turned away from the gate for approaching while bearing a mages' staff openly, but she managed to talk her way through and meet with Kitranna the day before Kitranna left for the Deep Roads entrance.
“I'm Ambassador Andoriel Eilhana Panalenvinte, of Clan Panalenvinte, here on behalf of Clan Leanvunlas' alliance with the Wardens,” said the woman, inclining her head.
“Nice to meet you,” Kitranna said. “Good to know the Dalish are still honoring our agreement.”
“Mm,” Andoriel nodded. “It had been quite a number of years since so many Clans have been in such close contact for so long a time—perhaps not since the times of the Dales. We found we liked it.”
“Is there anything that you're worried about in particular?” Kitranna asked. “What are you here for?”
Andoriel sighed. “Clan Limdurlahn has said that several of their people, one of whom a mage and a potential for First, left the Clan after a violent conflict with the local humans. All of these members were quite young, very angry, and besides the potential First there was another mage. As far as they knew, they were headed towards this territory.”
Kitranna let out a long breath. “That...could be bad.”
“It certainly could be.” Andoriel leaned forward. “Keeper Ilshae kept Clan Limdurlahn out of the Blight. She allied with Leanvunlas in name, and sent a great deal of supplies, but Ilshae is no fighter, and she could never dream of attacking her own people. This group, and the First, are very worrying. According to Ilshae, they were already annoyed to be kept out of the fighting during the Blight, and the conflict with the humans just made everything worse.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Likely you will not be able to find them unless they wish you to,” Andoriel said. “So I would just tell you to keep an eye out. Mayhaps listen for any unusual magics being done or attacks being performed—Ilshae has no desire for her people to come to harm at the hands of Templars or angry villagers.”
“And if I do find them, what should I do?” Kitranna asked. “You know if they attack me, I have to fight back.”
“Of course,” Andoriel acknowledged. “Ilshae would simply like to know, and if you could convince Velanna and Seranni and the others to return, that would be lovely.”
“Alright,” Kitranna said. “I'll keep an ear out. Anything else? How's the alliance with Queen Aeducan doing?”
“It seems to be going quite well,” Andoriel said, leaning back in her seat. “I'm surprised you don't have an Orzammar ambassador here already.”
“One's probably going to show up,” Kitranna said, waving her hand. “What about the Denerim Alienage? Have you kept contact with them?”
“I haven't,” Andoriel said. “Nor my Clan, but Ambassador Oshathyla and Clan Leanvunlas have, I believe.”
“You should talk with them,” Kitranna said. “No reason not to, right? And talking with other governments can only help things, can't it?”
“Can an Alienage really be considered a sovereign group?” Andoriel asked, skepticism clear in her voice. “We have been keeping in touch with King Alistair and Queen Anora as well.”
“I s'pose that's a start,” Kitranna said slowly. “I mean—I guess you don't have to if you don't want to, but it doesn't seem like a bad idea.”
“I suppose not,” Andoriel said with a sigh. “And maybe if we spoke with them more frequently, more of them would come to us. More Dalish can only be a good thing.”
“Exactly. Have any of your Clans had problems with darkspawn?”
Andoriel shook her head. “Only stragglers. The largest problem is up here, in Amaranthine, and we've been mostly avoiding the area.”
“Well, that's something,” Kitranna ran a hand over her head. “What about Templars? Any issues with them? The Circle's been a bit restless, so I hear.”
“Some Templars have gone after escaped mages we took in,” Andoriel sniffed. “But there haven't been any accidents so far. We've been able to avoid them. I worry that the problem will grow worse.”
“Why's that?”
“They are becoming more persistent, and some of the mages are so—damaged—they are in turn, damaging the Fade around them. Clan Jathazan has already had problems with demons—entirely by accident, but even so...”
Kitranna pinched the bridge of her nose. “What are you thinking of doing?”
“Keeper Lanaya and some of the other Clans want to contact Clans from abroad,” Andoriel said. “Orlais and the Free Marches and Antiva—if we strengthen our ties with them, we'll have more support.”
“You should do that, then.”
“The only problem is that the more we do, the more attention we attract,” Andoriel said with a sigh. “Already, we have more Templars on our tail. I have a pretty good feeling that most of the Orlesian Clans won't look twice at an alliance with us, just because they have so many problems with Templars already. That's probably where those ideas about us throwing mages out comes from.”
Kitranna peered at Andoriel. “How's that?”
“I don't know anything specific,” Andoriel assured her. “But I have heard rumors of one or two Clans that got hounded so badly by Templars they either left their mages to them, or were forced to hand them over. Not sure how valid that is, though—we don't have the best communication with Orlesian Clans, except at Arlathvhens.”
Kitranna pursed her lips. “Will the alliance with Queen Aeducan give you some protection? I know Templars and other aggressors were brought up during the Blight, when we were trying to establish the alliance to begin with.”
“I think it'll help,” Andoriel said. “And my Clan thinks so also. Others aren't so sure, but so far Queen Aeducan has kept her word.” she frowned. “I just worry that if it puts Orzammar at odds with the Chantry, they might break the alliance just to keep their lyrium trade going. I don't think they'd consider our alliance more important than the lyrium trade.”
“You never know,” Kitranna said. “And last I heard, a lot of the dwarves weren't happy once they learned what the Templars were actually doing with the lyrium.”
Andoriel chuckled. “Yes, that's true enough,” she admitted.
“Is there anything you need me to do at the moment?” Kitranna asked. “I'm kind of limited in my abilities and it's going to get worse—the Chantry's hounding me now, and the King.”
Andoriel's face grew grave. “We were worried about that,” she said.
“You heard?” Kitranna blinked. “But--”
“No, no—we merely anticipated that the Chantry would start interfering,” she said. “They've been quiet so far, but with the Blight over, the quiet was starting to get...suspicious.”
Kitranna scowled. “Well, they're not being very quiet anymore.”
“That could be very bad.”
“It's not looking good, that's for sure.”
“What are you going to do, if they start to become more aggressive towards your Wardens?” Andoriel's expression was serious.
Kitranna ran a hand over her head. “Honestly?” she said. “I don't know yet.”
“You'd best come up with a plan, and soon,” Andoriel advised. “It doesn’t do any good to be unprepared.”
Kitranna nodded. “Don't I know that,” she said.
After meeting with Andoriel, Kitranna gathered up her people so they could prepare to leave for the Deep Roads entrance.
“I saw Enchanter Cera around,” Anders said as Kitranna was packing her things. “What's she doing here?”
Kitranna nodded. “She's come as a Circle representative,” she said. “Just telling me how things were going.”
“And how exactly is everything going?”
Kitranna grimaced. “Not so well.”
Anders frowned. “Problems?”
“The Templars are getting antsy,” Kitranna explained. “None of them are too happy that I'm here, and that mess with the demons in Calenhad still has everyone on edge.”
Anders nodded. “I wasn't there for that—well I was, but, in the dungeons.”
“I know,” Kitranna said. “I remember.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
Kitranna sighed and looked up at the ceiling, hands on her hips. “Don't know yet,” she said. “Cera said the only way to stop the Templars being so jumpy was if I went back to the Circle, and I'm not about to do that.”
“I should say not,” Anders said, and shook his head. “And I thought they had it out for me—usually they leave you alone when the Wardens recruit you, right?”
“If they even let the Wardens take you, yeah,” Kitranna pressed a hand to her face. “I don't even want to be here,” Kitranna growled. “I don't want to be doing these things or talking to these people or--”
“And where else would you be?” Anders asked, arms folded. “Not like a Circle mage has many options, you know.”
“I'm no Circle mage,” Kitranna hissed, clenching her hands into fists and glaring at him. “I'm no caged bird, no prisoner breaking my chains.”
“I didn't say you were, but you do come from the Circle, don't you? No changing that—just getting away from it.”
Kitranna glared at him. “We have to go,” she said. “We're heading to that Deep Roads entrance in a few hours.”
Anders shrugged. “Sure.”