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“Great,” says Tarquin. “Thanks for the help.” Then he picks the magister up by his armpits and drags him back to the mouth of the catacombs, where he dumps him a short distance inside. “Seal it up, Ashur, go on.”

Ashur says, “Should we leave him there?”

“Yes,” Tarquin says firmly.

Ashur looks to Maevaris, who sighs. “Fine,” she says. “I suppose it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Only after she concedes does Ashur call down a tremendous fall of rock over the entrance, likely blocking off the Glandivalis Square entrance to the catacombs for the foreseeable future—not that it’s much of a loss.

If the mage is lucky, he’ll find another exit before the darkspawn find him. If not, well, perhaps the darkspawn are still a kinder option than dying of thirst or starvation or madness in the endless tunnels under Minrathous.

Frankly, you don’t much care. You’ve got other priorities—like getting to the Grand Proving Arena to rescue Neve.

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