Orzammar made good on their promise to withdraw from Kirkwall, but instead of imposing sanctions, did indeed declare Kirkwall too hazardous to trade with. The representatives at the Orzammar embassy left, and even the majority of the Merchant’s Guild got out of town.
This was infuriating to Meredith, but there wasn’t much that she could do. The only response would be an Exalted March, which would have to be ratified by the Divine. As Kirkwall was the only city facing these restrictions from Orzammar, Divine Justinia did not see fit to take action.
The Templars were forced to rely on lyrium transports from other Circles, and the rare smuggler that actually wanted to get near Kirkwall. Many lower-ranked Templars suffered frequent withdrawals. The Gallows infirmary soon became filled to capacity with Templars in withdrawals, or who had taken bad lyrium.
Then it was that a certain Sister Nightinggale came to see Abigail.
Abigail got a message to meet someone in Lowtown late at night. Normally she wouldn't have, but the message came through her old smuggler contacts. Athenril had been pretty spooked by the messenger, so it seemed important.
Abigail came to the meeting place and waited. At length, a redheaded woman in street clothes came to meet her.
“You are Abigail Hawke?” the redhead asked.
Abigail narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“You may call me Sister Leliana,” she said. “And I must speak with you.”
“Why?” Abigail asked again, folding her arms and shifting the stave on her back.
Leliana did not so much as blink. Instead, she paced, her hands behind her back.
“You have had conflicts with your local Chantry, yes?” Leliana asked. “You are a free mage as well.”
“What is this about?” Abigail asked, watching Leliana’s every move.
Leliana shook her head. “You must understand that something very concerning is happening in the Chantry,” Leliana said. “There is...a conflict.”
“A conflict of what nature?”
“You have tried several times to contact the Grand cleric and the Lord Seeker because of your belief that the Templars have broken Chantry law.”
“Yes.”
“But when they responded, it was always to tell you to leave Chantry business to the Chantry. When a Templar was caught breaking the law, they removed only him, and imposed no other measures.”
“Yes.”
“And when you contacted the Divine concerning the Wardens, she returned a message telling you to send the Wardens to Val Royeaux,”
“Yes,” Abigail frowned as she watched Leliana. “What is this about? You sound like you already know all of this.”
Leliana stopped pacing and faced Abigail dead-on. “We are aware that the Templars in the Kirkwall Circle have been flouting Chantry law for years,” she hissed. “It is merely the symptom of a larger problem.”
Abigail carefully schooled her expression into one of neutrality. “And what problem is that?”
“When Divine Beatrix died, the Seekers and the Mothers had a difference of opinion upon who should be appointed the next Divine,” Leliana said.
“...and...?” Abigail raised an eyebrow.
“Divine Justinia was appointed. But it by no means made everyone satisfied.” Leliana tilted her head to one side. “The Lord Seeker least of all.”
“But...he's sworn to the Divine, as you are, isn't he? Doesn't he have to follow your rules?”
“In law, yes,” Leliana said. “But in practice...the Seekers are our arm. The Templars are the hand on the end of that arm, and are meant to be controlled by the Seekers directly. If that arm turns on us, we have little recourse by which to defend ourselves.”
“What does that mean?” Abigail asked, brushing hair out of her eyes. “Are the Seekers not listening to the Divine anymore?”
Leliana’s voice was bitter. “Officially, the Seekers are beholden to the Divine, and most within the Chantry do not see a problem. The Seekers are loyal, or so they appear to be.”
“But...?”
“You know the Templars of Kirkwall. And you know they have been breaking laws, and not been held accountable by the Seekers.” Leliana shook her head. “The Divine cannot intervene in Kirkwall without bypassing the Seekers, and alerting the Lord Seeker of our suspicions.”
“And what does that have to do with the Wardens? Why can’t the Divine just go right past the Seekers?”
“Lady Hawke, the message from the Divine, the one that requested the arrest of the Wardens...it was forged.”
The breath left Abigail’s lungs. “Forged by who?”
“The Lord Seeker.”
“If you know that, then--”
“The entire Seeker Order is compromised,” Leliana began to pace again. “Lambert extends his reach, and in doing so, turns the Templars against us. Our sword arm is cut off at the shoulder.”
Abigail stared at her, her gut churning upon hearing this. “How do you know about this?" she asked. "What are you going to do?”
“There is one Seeker still loyal to the Divine, instead of the Lord Seeker,” Leliana explained. “She is our eyes and ears within the Seekers. She and I are doing what we can to amend the damage done by the Lord Seeker, and close the rift before this goes too far.”
“It's already gone a very long way,” Abigail said. “What about the mages who are being hurt in the Gallows?”
Leliana looked at her. “Understand this,” she said. “It had already gone on very far.”
Abigail narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Elthina and Meredith have both requested the Right of Annullment,” Leliana's words were let out in a breath, and Abigail froze.
“What?” Abigail breathed.
“It has not been granted them,” Leliana assured her. "Maker willing, the issue will not be forced.”
Abigail's knees were weak. She couldn't stand. “What—what are you going to do?”
“Convince them they do not need it.”
“How?”
“If it becomes necessary, the Divine can veto such an order if she so chooses,” Leliana said.
“But if the Lord Seeker can just--”
“We know.” Leliana's expression was sour. “And that is why I speak to you now.”
“Why?”
“Because your city has become something of a nexus, and you have become important.”
“So what do I do?”
“Drop the subject,” Leliana instructed. “Wait. Tell your Guard-Captain to stop clashing with the Templars. I need to find out what the Grand Cleric plans to do, and what the Lord Seeker plans to do.”
“Why does he care so much about Kirkwall in the first place?” Abigail asked. “Why is it so important? Why come to me at all?”
“Kirkwall has become...unintentionally, an axis of a large number of events,” Leliana explained. “First the Arishok, then there is Orzammar declaring that they will no longer trade. And there is you—a mage with a noble title. That was one of the marks against Surana,” her gaze was faintly accusing. “Surana did not keep her nobility, and yet you did.”
Abigail said nothing.
“And there is the...infection that Queen Aeducan believes is here. Templars refused lyrium for the first time in a long time. The Lord Seeker believes this place is important in some fashion, and in any case, he will tolerate no mage threatening his power.”
“I’m not threatening anything.”
“Are you not?”
“I...” Abigail looked away. She heaved a sigh. “Isn't there something we can do to help?”
“No,” Leliana said. “There is not. Please—nothing has been done that cannot be undone. Yet. If we are careful, and quiet--”
“What about the Gray Wardens—why do the Seekers want them so badly?”
“That was something the former Lady Seeker wished,” Leliana said. “The Lord Seeker is continuing her work. Free mages, such as Surana or the Dalish mage, frighten them immensely.”
“They escaped in Val Royeaux.” Abigail eyed Leliana. “Was that your doing?”
“If it was, I would not tell you. I can only tell you that we must step very carefully, and we cannot take any action that may set the Seekers against us.”
“And the mages?” Abigail asked. “The business with the Wardens is about mages, and we’re already seeing conflict between our Circle and the Templars. Maker, the only reason I’m still free is because of what happened with the Arishok.”
“You, and your Dalish friend. The mage.”
“And her. What do you know about her?”
“I know that the Lord Seeker would like nothing better than to kill you both,” Leliana said. “But he cannot yet. You protect her, and you are both beloved by the city for disposing of the Arishok. I believe, however, there is another plan that I cannot see.”
“The Grand Cleric,” Abigail said. "She's up to something."
“Quite possibly.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do?” Abigail asked. “My sister is in the Circle—I can’t do anything, or else they’ll hurt her. The Grand Cleric’s told me as such.”
Leliana's face fell. “We can do nothing that would tip our hand,” she said. “I am afraid we must expend all our energies towards holding the Chantry together.”
Abigail shook her head. “Do you know about Corypheus? That darkspawn thing in the mountains?” Abigail asked. “That’s why Queen Aeducan--”
Leliana inclined her head. “Queen Aeducan informed us,” she said. “She and Prince-Consort Arainai felt it was important that everyone know.”
“And that’s the reason Queen Aeducan cut off trade to the Templars. That’s not something that can be undone.”
“Perhaps not. But we still have control over the Chantry. Anything else must come later, else all will fall into chaos.”
“Do you plan to do anything about it at all?” Abigail demanded.
“Yes,” Leliana said.
“Such as...?”
“I cannot tell you all of my plans,” Leliana said, for the first time a ghost of a smile playing around the corners of her lips.
“And you don't think it's already gone too far?' Abigail demanded. “I don't want a war or anything of the sort, Maker knows, but how are you supposed to fix any of this?”
Leliana's face fell. “We will do what we can,” she said.
“And can't we help at all?”
Leliana shook her head. “You do not know what we need, nor can I trust you or your friends to be loyal to the Divine. The best thing you can do is not draw attention to yourself, and maintain as best you can.”
“That's it?” Abigail spread her hands. “That's all you can give me?”
“It is a great deal more than I have given others,” Leliana said. She pulled her hood up over her head. “Please, do nothing rash,” she said. “We cannot risk things growing worse than they already are.”
Abigail spread her hands imploringly. “Things are already growing worse here,” she said. “Can't you do something?”
“We are doing all we can,” Leliana's eyes looked immeasurably sad. “I am sorry.”
She left, vanishing into the darkness. Abigail clenched her fist.
The next day, Abigail relayed Leliana's message to Aveline, as well as the others.
“We just need to hang on until the Divine can pull the Chantry together,” Abigail said.
“Are you sure that more waiting is going to fix this?” Anders snapped.
“No, but neither is doing anything rash,” Abigail said. “At least, that's what she said. If the Seekers end up learning what the Divine is doing, they might turn on each other.”
“You're sure she was an agent of the Divine?” Aveline asked, her lips pursed.
“She went through Athenril,” Abigail said. “No one else would know to do that—and no one else would leave Athenril as unsettled as she was.”
“I don't like the sound of this,” Varric said with a frown.
“It sounds bad, that's for sure,” Isabela agreed. “You ask me, we should all hightail it out of here.”
“We can't leave!” Anders protested. “How can you just leave the city behind?”
“It's not my city,” Isabela said. “And I can tell when things are starting to go bad, Anders. This is one of those times.”
Aveline shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “This...we can't just let this stand,” she said.
“Doesn't the Chantry always answer to a higher authority?” Anders said, rolling his eyes. “Why would they ever listen to us?”
“Even the Chantry isn't above the law,” Aveline said, but looked uncertain.
“She all but said that if we make the wrong move, the Seekers will know and we'll get the Divine killed,” Abigail said. “Things are bad enough that they're scared of their own Templars. We can't do anything too hastily.”
“Oh, so now the Divine's in danger, suddenly they care about Templars overstepping their bounds?” Anders huffed out a bitter laugh. “If a few mages here and there get slaughtered and imprisoned, who cares? But oh, the Divine--”
“You're not listening,” Abigail said. “It's one thing for the Templars to be bastards to mages—but another when the Seekers may be trying to kill the Divine.”
“The treatment of mages is debatable,” Fenris said, ignoring Anders' glare. “But this...” he shook his head. “The Seekers and the Divine should be of one mind—if they attack each other, it could mean chaos for the south, could it not?”
“It absolutely could,” Aveline agreed. “And with Queen Aeducan and the Dalish alliance, things are already tense with the nobility--”
“And there's this Corypheus mess,” Varric pointed out.
“And no Surana to kill him,” Anders said. “Because the Chantry chased her off.” he dug his hands into his hair. “All the problems just feed into one another!” he exclaimed. “The Seekers come to run Surana out of her own Keep, then when we have another darkspawn problem, she can't help!”
“Leliana mentioned that,” Abigail said. “She talked about how they got her removed from being an Arlessa.”
Anders shook his head. “They had it out for her from the start.”
Fenris spoke up. “This Lord Seeker appears to be spoiling for the Divine's position,” he said, scowling. “Or wants to put his own Divine in authority.”
“How do you figure on that?” Isabela asked.
“Why else would the Divine be afraid of him turning on her? Why else would this Sister imply he would be willing to kill her?” Fenris shook his head. “It reminds me of Tevinter,” he said, his lip curled. “In the worst of ways. So we really can do nothing?”
“That's what she said,” Abigail said.
Anders stood up. “We can't—just do nothing,” he said. “There has to be something we can do!”
Abigail grabbed Anders' arm.
“Anders,” Abigail looked him in the eye. “Don't do anything you'll regret.”
Anders' face softened. “You know me, Abigail,” he said, the ghost of a smirk crossing his face. “When do I ever do anything I regret?”
He shook her off, and left.