The woman hesitated.
"And a young man who came out of nowhere. Nobody knew him. He just appeared carrying Dr. Buchanan and then waited for her to wake up."
Andraste kept her expression professionally calm.
"This young man, describe him."
"Maybe in his late teens. Dark hair. He was..."
The assistant searched for words.
"His eyes were strange. I couldn't really look directly at them. They kept changing color."
Every instinct Andraste possessed went absolutely still.
"Did he give a name?"
"No. He didn't really talk to anyone. Just waited."
Andraste turned away, looking at the collapsed cave entrance one more time. The burnt stone. The residual energy that made her origin pulse erratically even now.
She walked back to the convoy with measured steps. Her second-in-command fell into stride beside her.
"Highseer? What did you find?"
"Something that needs to be reported to the Council immediately," Andraste said.
"We're going to Kharsen. Maximum speed."
