"Lavellan, you could've warned us we had to chase out a freaking giant!" Hawke squealed his complaints as he, Fenris, and Anri sprinted as fast as they could from the scaly, hairy, and half-naked giant crashing after them across the dense Wycome forest outskirts.

  "What, you can't take down a single, runtish giant? My dual blades downed at least three bigger ones when I was in the Emerald Graves." Anri boasted to goad Hawke's competitive spirit. He wore his dark blue rogue hunter armor with his crossbow arm concealed beneath his long overcoat. The coat's tail flapped at his back upon his run.

  Similarly to Anri, Hawke was dressed for battle in his crimson and grey rogue leather armor, and Fenris wore his dark silverite warrior armor that suppressed sensitivity to his inbuilt lyrium markings. The only man he allowed to touch his fair elven skin was Hawke, who was always gentle with loving strokes when he caressed him.

  "Ha! More like you and your party. If you're that good, Your Worship, hurry up and take this one out before it stomps on our heads to make us paste!" Hawke wryly cried out.

  "I only have one arm. What kind of man leaves this kind of job to the physically challenged?" Anri laughed as he sprinted ahead of them to feel a fresh, cool breeze on his face.

  "Excuses. Fine, princess, let me show you how real men conquer giants. Let's do this, Fenris!"

  "Wait, you're leaving it to me?!" Fenris scowled through his sprints, knowing full well most of the damage would be by his doing.

  "Did I say I was leaving this to you, Honey?" Hawke joked as he came up next to his elven warrior, who grumbled complaints. But they stopped and faced the oncoming giant, which was as tall as a single-story house, and each step made them wobble unbalanced.

  Fenris's eyes glowed a bright blue as he tapped into his inbuilt lyrium strength. With a firm grip on his greatsword, Lethendralis, he gathered his leg strength to leap high into the air and strike a mighty blow at the giant's head, causing it to slam to the ground on its back. Its ground-splintering thud had Anri stumble about. He leapt and rolled onto the giant's belly, avoiding its large hand swipes, and sunk his blade in deep across its navel; instinctively sat upright and swiftly fired a shot from his arm crossbow. An icebolt landed straight between the giant's bloodshot eyes.

  The men skillfully dodged spurts of the giant's blood.

  Hawke followed through with his dual blades, performing Lacerate Strikes to create vulnerable tears in the folds, which Fenris exploited to land killing blows.

  The giant let out sounds of anguish before it became still. Dead.

  "One giant eliminated. That should make your Keeper happy." Hawke dusted off his hands as he stood back from the corpse. Another day's work done.

  "Yeah." Anri hopped off the giant and examined its body for the entry source of its Red Lyrium infection.

  Although Corypheus was defeated, his Red Templars were still out there and scattered about the South. Along with active veins and pockets of the nasty, red crystals. Under Anri's instructions, his clan and the Wycome City Guards had done their best to carefully eliminate those they found. One of his clan's scouts had previously noticed the giant's aggressive behavior near a city outpost and saw evidence of the nasty red crystals on its skin. Upon further investigation, it was learned that this poor giant's cave had been infested with the red crystal stuff for days, ingesting the blighted lyrium to the point it was beyond saving. Anri felt it was too dangerous for others to handle, so he decided to destroy the deposits and giant himself with Hawke and Fenris in his party.

  No doubt, this was one of the remaining veins the Venatori had imported when they tried to sabotage the city a few years back. Fortunately, at that time, Anri's agents had been able to root out the Red Lyrium conspiracy involving the city's duke, who was aptly eliminated. Now the city thrived under a coordinated effort between Clan Lavellan and Wycome City's Council. Anri's Keeper was one of the councilors who recently came into a trade agreement with Kirkwall's Viscount, giving Clan Lavellan political authority on Wycome's behalf.

  Because of Anri's influence (especially within the Orlesian Imperial Court and Ferelden's Monarchy) and Keeper Istimaethoriel's shrewd and common-sense rule that allowed business to flourish, the council was more than happen to have Clan Lavellan veto affairs under their name.

  When Anri felt sure the giant was no longer contagious, he deposited lyrium samples carefully into a small vial for future analysis.

  Fenris and Hawke set the body to ash. The three men calmly made their way along a dirt track that led back to the sea city. Fortunately, their short journey was uneventful.

  It was well into the evening when they casually strolled through the city's modest Market Gates. A mellow sun gradually set along the sea horizon. The squawking sounds of seagulls and the smells of brine and fresh fish stirred a cozy feeling within Anri.

  He smiled as they walked past children playing games among humble merchant stalls being closed up for the night. Eleven human and dwarven children saw no differences in each other as they played.

  "This is the future." Hawke sighed as he also watched the children run about before they were curtly reminded by an adult it was time to go inside.

  "It's people like us who pay the price to ensure the simple things in life continue." Anri soberly said, more to himself as he calmly made his way up a hill for the council building, which was a simple and stark squarish building of obsidian and black amber traces of ancient Tevinter Imperium architecture. The stone was softened by hanging banners of green and blue displaying the Dalish and Wycome City's dyed heraldry on either side of the large oakwood entrance doors.

  They entered the building where the large, squarish foyer was occupied mostly by city soldiers in the dark blue and iron Wycome colors. All greeted them with revered bows as Anri led the way up the wide flight of stairs to the upper landing and open hallways with rooms of importance. He calmly entered a room at a far end, where he saw his Keeper and a few other city council members seated at a large, round, polished wood table. A pleasant view of the sea was visible from the large window at the back wall.

  Most of the council was made up of merchants who had a stake in the city's prosperity. The added exception was a City Elf who had ties to Varric's spy network and Keeper Istimaethoriel. As soon as they saw Anri, all of them rose to pay honored respects.

  "Councilors, please consider me as another comte. I'm no longer the Inquisitor." Anri cordially said, with an elegant gesture for them to take their seats.

  This show of modesty made Deshanna's mouth twitch with a proud smile. His kin had achieved an impossible feat no man could ever achieve, but despite it all he remained grounded.

  However, Anri's voice held an authority that instantly commanded everyone's undivided attention. No matter what position he currently held, it was clear he would always be viewed with a leader's esteem.

  "The Red Lyrium deposit in the forest outskirts is destroyed. We eliminated the infected giant. The trade route towards Ansburg should be safer for travelers."

  "That's a relief. Thank you, Your Worship; with the dangerous deposits out of the way, we can reassure our merchants." One of the seated human councilors thanked Anri. "It was good that you gave your time on this matter."

  "It was no problem; I was keen to do some leisurely hunting anyway."

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The councilors nodded, not seeing this fact as anything untoward, for lots of nobles took to hunting for pastime sport.

  "Please, if you have time, Keeper, I would like to discuss some things with you," Anri added.

  Deshanna gracefully rose from the council table to draw a close on their meeting. Hawke saw the man's similar grace and composure to Anri's and figured Anri's ability to lead was because of the solid life lessons his Keeper had taught him.

  "Da'len, once again, you risk your life for others," Deshanna said when the others had left. He sighed with a hint of sadness.

  Anri met his keeper's small green eyes with wisdom lines to the corners and a heaviness undereye: no doubt the worries of keeping people safe contributed to the dark bags and the grey strands among his short brown braided hair.

  Deshanna was respected by others as a wise, distinguished, tall, and lean elf who wore the traditional Keeper robes of red, white, and grey. He rarely carried his simple ironbark staff, so most people felt comfortable with him.

  "If it's to keep you all safe, I'll do so without hesitation, Keeper." Anri's instant answer made Fenris's lips twitch with an endearing smile.

  Hearing Anri's selfless words made him respect his elven brethren even more, and he already deeply respected the man way before he had met him in person. All Hawke talked about when he had returned from Weisshaupt's disaster was 'Inquisitor this' and 'Herald that,' but it was only when he had met Anri at Kirkwall that he realized why. The man was a living legend.

  Dehanna sighed and decided to change the subject. "So what would you like to discuss with me?"

  "Saving the world again."

  "Again?" Hawke frowned. Anri had paid him and Fenris to be his escort to Wycome, saying it was for protecting 'this disabled comte', and suggesting there might be some fun sport along the way. But he suspected there was more to this request.

  Anri nodded and faced Hawke and Fenris. "You probably wonder why I paid for your escort. Naturally, it wasn't only to keep up appearances and deal with local issues." He then went to ensure the doors were free from eavesdroppers and shut out the window's view before formally requesting their aid for the Shadow Sect.

  "I need to use Wycome for business I can't have my name associated with. My control has to be through the Council unawares."

  "Why?" Deshanna felt nervous by Anri's steadfast and worrisome request.

  "Fen'Harel is alive and wants to tear down this world to bring back the old. But he moves through shadow, so I need to do so as well."

  Deshanna paused and rubbed his long, stubbly chin with a frown. "I heard rumors about the Dread Wolf rising, but I dared to believe it."

  "Keeper, it is true for the Dread Wolf was my best friend, but I only knew him as Solas until it was too late." Anri heaved a sad and weary sigh; he turned to stare at the closed window with his conflicted thoughts churning his emotions.

  Deshanna nodded with understanding. "So it is he who is gathering the other Dalish clans, I imagine."

  "Other?" Fenris's voice sounded more coarse, which betrayed his surprise and concern.

  "Yes, our hunters heard whispers and rumors of other elves leaving their posts to heed a righteous calling. Traveling traders gossiped of seeing other Dalish clans heading for the Tirashan."

  "That's a long way from the Free Marches," Hawke whispered.

  "Tirashan?" Anri frowned.

  Deshanna nodded. "Da'len what do you know of this?"

  Anri shook his head. "It's likely Solas, but I can't say for sure. What about our clan?"

  "I told them to pay no heed. We have our commitments here in Wycome, and some of our people have relationships with some of the humans. It'll be unfair for them to leave their new lives behind."

  "You allow intermixing?" Hawke blurted with pleasant surprise.

  "We aren't biased, if that surprises you. Clan Lavellan has always accepted that we are part of the same world, so it holds no estrangement with other races. Although it doesn't stop some of our hunters to think otherwise, fortunately Anri and hunters like his brother adhere to our values."

  Hawke nodded, explaining why Anri never saw himself as anything exceptional just by being Dalish.

  "Both of you are also proof that men and women are all the same regardless of small differences." Deshanna politely acknowledged Hawke and Fenris's relationship, which he was earlier aware of.

  "That doesn't stop us from being a proud people; it just means our clan doesn't have to act like arrogant jack asses because we happen to follow an outdated elven philosophy." Anri injected that had Deshanna shaking his head at the crude explanation.

  "Anyway, Da'len returning to what you were saying before."

  "Well, there's more. Whether you believe it or not, as Keeper, it is only right that you should hear what I discovered at the so-called Temple of Mythal and other places. But it's up to your discretion if you feel they need to be recorded."

  The three men listened quietly as Anri recounted his discoveries from the Arbor Wilds, Emerald Graves and other elven locations that had once been left to time.

  "Da'len, this is... if the clan found out the vallaslin marked us as slaves to this Evanuris..."

  "Don't tell them. For all we know, these might be fanciful tales from demons. Do we honestly want to believe our clan patron, Sylaise, was some mage demon?"

  "You obviously have your doubts Da'len."

  Anri heaved another weary-filled sigh. "I do, but I also see the words marking them as true, so it's difficult to say."

  "I suppose. This information isn't something that can be passed on without repercussions, Da'len. If your brother found out what you knew, it would bode ill."

  Fenris nodded, agreeing with Anri's advice. "He is right Keeper. Best to keep it quiet for now. To upset your people's status quo might destabilize all your hard work."

  Anri nodded. "And besides, we kept the vallaslin to remind ourselves that we are a proud and free people. That part hasn't changed, I think it's the reason why the Dalish came into being."

  Deshanna nodded. "Fair enough. The clan won't know of this for now. What else is there to talk about?"

  "Back to the topic at hand." Anri broke down his reasons for having his clan keep a tight hold on Wycome.

  Through his clan and the council, he would make the city his underground smuggling port and safe haven for his agents that would travel along the Free Marches border to Antiva, Nevarra and Imperium.

  "Agents?" Hawke gasped.

  "What, you really thought I retired as a Comte?" Anri eased into one of the councilor's seats and crossed his legs into a lordly position.

  "Well, no, but... wait, who are your agents?" Hawke frowned and gulped at Anri's cocky stare that gave him an answer.

  "Us?"

  "Is that a problem?" Anri glanced at the warrior and rogue who stood before him slack-jawed. The men shared pensive glances with each other.

  "Why?" Fenris asked.

  "I'm assuming you're enlisting the clan as well." Deshanna suddenly felt tired but also admired Anri's ability to see resources he needed for a fight. "Very well, your brother would hardly say no, and a lot of the clan has already formed partnerships with former Inquisition agents anyway."

  Anri respectfully bowed with his thanks. "If you need financial compensation, I have the means. So gold will take care of itself, don't worry."

  Hawke chuckled, finding the image of the Inquisitor skimming the Inquisition books for years a laugh. Yet, if the man had been planning his sect and hoarding resources for a long time, then situations were a lot worse than what could be seen on the surface.

  "I guess you can count me in. It's not like I had anything better to do anyway." He aloofly agreed.

  "If you're truly trying to save the world again, then I'm in too. As long as I get to end some slavers' business along the way," Fenris soberly answered.

  "Oh, don't worry, I have a long list of magister slavers that needs a glowing fist between the eyes." Anri reassured him with a cocky grin.

  "Then we have an agreement."

  Anri spent time going over details and receiving their devotions with their own values. Naturally, he wasn't going to have his Keeper swear to Andraste and the Maker. Deshanna agreed to keep the knowledge of the Shadow Sect from other clan members and the city council, considering it would only invite unwanted questions and attention otherwise. He would coordinate what Anri needed as forms of council activities, thus keeping the knowledge of the sect stricken from records.

  The sky was showing signs of morning when Anri finally headed to his villa at the far end of the city's docks. It was a simple, summerstone brick building with modest comforts and its own pier to stow a large boat.

  He entered his lavish bedroom with a four-poster bed of the typical Free Marches style and eased out of his armor to slip into a silk short shirt, a dark samite waistcoat and pants tucked into ankle boots. For some reason, he had trouble sleeping on beds. Fortunately, the villa had a pair of armchairs before a roaring hearth. So he chose to drift off to sleep in one of the arm chairs, allowing his mind to slink into dreams.

  A bucket of water jolted him out of his sleep. He gasped and cursed at finding himself soaking.

  "For someone who supposedly destroyed a god-monster, you couldn't avoid a bucket of water from falling on your head."

  Anri yelped when he felt a dagger press close to his Adam's apple.