1. COTEAUX DU ROCHE: INNUENDO

"A fine impression I will make in Coteaux du Roche, Aedan, arriving in a carriage like an old lady," complained Alistair, as I helped him into the carriage. "Why don't you ask Leliana what the aged spinsters are wearing at the court in Val Royeaux and deck me out for the role?"

I gave Alistair a quick kiss before getting on my horse. "Don't tempt her, Alistair. She's been trying to dress me ever since I got to Orlais." I sighed. "You know I would prefer not to have you travel at all with your injuries. Besides we're not there to impress the Orlesian Wardens, just to get your shield."

The previous day, Leliana and I had rescued Alistair from a run-in with some bandits on the road to Val Foret. Because Alistair's shield bore the Grey Warden insignia, they had naturally assumed him to be from the nearby Warden post at Coteaux du Roche, and had sent the shield there with a ransom letter.

Coteaux du Roche was a formidable fortress, perched on a high, rocky hill overlooking the highway between Val Royeaux and Val Foret. It had been the stronghold of the Orlesian Wardens since the Second Blight, with its four square towers and high walls. The Warden flag flew above the battlements, the silver griffon on a dark blue background, flapping in the early summer breeze.

As we rode up to the gate, a bored guard called out "State your business, stranger."

"We wish to see Commander Yves de Chambrais."

He frowned. "Uh…I do not know if that will be possible. I was not told that he was expecting visitors."

I held up my hand, showing my Warden Commander signet ring. "I think he'll see me."

His eyes widened. Piecing together the signet ring and my accent, he raised the portucullis and fell to his knees. "Forgive me, Commander Cousland. It is a great honor to meet you. Please enter. I will send a message to our commander immediately."

Yves met us in the audience chamber. He was a tall slim man with shoulder-length dark hair. To my eyes, he seemed a bit foppish to be a Grey Warden. The cut of his leather coat suggested fashion more than function, his gloves looked too thin to afford much protection and he wore velvet shoes rather than boots. However, he was Orlesian, after all, and I was certain the rapier at his belt was no mere decoration.

"Well, what an unexpected surprise to see my esteemed colleagues from Ferelden. I assume Alistair is on his way to Weishaupt as requested, though I am uncertain why he is coming this way rather than by sea. But I am completely astonished by this visit from the great Commander Cousland; I had this curious idea that he had been specifically requested to remain in Amaranthine. How very piquant to see you! And I have not had the pleasure of meeting your charming companion," he said, bowing gracefully to Leliana.

"Good afternoon, Commander. This is my dear friend, Leliana."

"Ah, of course. Enchante, madame." He kissed herhand. "However, as much as I would like to enjoy the company of such a ravishing lady as yourself, I am afraid I shall have to ask you to stay here while my colleagues accompany me to my private chambers. We shall be discussing business that is private to the Wardens."

"Shall we?" I asked. "I don't believe my business here to be confidential in any way."

"Mine is. I do not intend to pass up an opportunity to discuss matters of great import with my fellow Commander." He turned to one of his men. "Do find a comfortable place for the Lady Leliana to wait and get her a goblet of wine. I would not have it said that we failed to provide for an honored guest." Turning back to us, he said. "Please come with me."

As he closed the door behind us, I helped Alistair into a seat and then sat down myself. I was not looking forward to this.

"So," Yves began, "What is this so not confidential business that brings you all the way from Amaranthine, Commander? It must be a great emergency to cause you to leave your post."

"We are here to get Alistair's shield back, no more," I said. "We were informed that it had been sent here with a ransom note."

"Ah, so it's your shield, then. We had all wondered, as we had no missing wardens here. I did send messenges out to inquire with some of the other posts in Orlais. How very fortunate that you managed to escape the bandits in one piece…more or less," he said to Alistair. "I must ask how a legendary warrior such as yourself fell prey to bandits on the road."

Alistair gritted his teeth. "There was a young woman on the road, who claimed a tree had fallen on her husband and she was too weak to lift it off of him herself. She led me down a path where I triggered a net trap and the other eight bandits ambushed me. I managed to cut myself out of the net with my sword, but by that time, I was already pretty beat up and was only able to kill three of them before succumbing."

"Serves you right," said Yves. "You're a Grey Warden on important business. You should not have delayed yourself for such petty reasons. What's next, looking for stray pets?"

"I will not fault Alistair for his good heart, though it led him into trouble on this occasion," I said evenly, placing a hand on Alistair's forearm. "I can only thank the Maker that Leliana and I were able to rescue him."

"Yet that only deepens the mystery. News of poor Alistair's predicament can hardly have reached Amaranthine so swiftly."

"It did not. However, I had come to Orlais in an effort to catch up to Alistair and accompany him to Weisshaupt."

"Had you indeed? How very fortunate for him. However, as I understand it, only Alistair was invited to Weisshaupt.. I believe you were given specific instructions to remain in Ferelden."

"Ah….there was a slight miscommunication. Alistair did leave instructions for me to stay, but it was not made clear to me that those instructions came from Weisshaupt." Strictly speaking, this was true, though I suspect I would have learned otherwise had I not avoided speaking to Nathaniel during my brief visit to Amaranthine. "I was not in Amaranthine when the messenger arrived, you see. You seem remarkably well informed about the situation. Why is that, Commander?"

"I am well informed because it was largely at my behest that Alistair was summoned. As you will recall from the last time we met, I was…dissatisfied with your explanation of the Archdemon's demise."

"Yes, yes, I have not forgotten, though I fail to see why it matters. Perhaps Riordan's soul had not yet fled and the Archdemon sought it out, perhaps this Archdemon was somehow weaker than his predecessors. Perhaps I was saved by the Maker himself. The Blight is over. A Warden's duty is to stop the Blight, not to die trying." I regretted that last choice of words, recalling that Riordan had been a friend of his.

"But is it over, really?"

"I must have missed the Darkspawn horde on my way up from Val Foret, if it is not." observed Alistair drily.

"There was a major Darkspawn uprising less than a year after the Blight in Ferelden."

"That had nothing to do with the Archdemon, I gave a full report on that, as you know."

"So you did. Yet it remains an…anomaly, as does your survival." His eyes narrowed. "I cannot help thinking that the Blight was not ended but somehow…altered in a way that we cannot recognize it. I have had strange dreams, lately," he remarked.

"Wardens always have strange dreams, Blight or not," I observed, careful not to react to that unexpected comment.

"Do not patronize me Commander," he snapped. "Although I don't doubt that you have slain more Darkspawn than any man alive, I was a Warden when you were still a child. I know what to expect from taint dreams and the ones that I and my men have been having in the past months are unlike anything I have experienced before. He knows what I mean." He pointed at Alistair. "Don't deny it—I saw you start when I mentioned dreams."

Alistair sighed. "I did have an odd dream when I was in Val Foret, it is true."

He turned back to fix his stare on me. "You really don't know what I'm talking about? Well, perhaps you don't…you haven't been here very long, have you? Or perhaps you're just a very good liar. Regardless, I want to know who that girl is who has been haunting our dreams."

"A girl?" I asked with feigned incredulity. "I fail to see how this can have anything to do with me. I've never even been here before. And if you have questions for me, I cannot understand why you asked them to summon Alistair."

"He was the senior warden, after Riordan failed."

"If Riordan failed."

He ignored that. "It should have been Alistair's honor to kill the Archdemon. Why was it not?"

I shrugged. "I was closer. I thought that ending the Blight was a bit more important than worrying who had a few months seniority. Commander, what is it exactly that you accuse me of doing? I really would like to know. Not that you have any authority over me, of course."

He sighed, "No, I don't and I have no clue what you did, though I am certain the mages in Weisshaupt are trying to guess. And even if I did have such authority, I doubt my own men would obey me in this, such is your reputation," he said wearily. "Nor will I besmirch your honor so much as to provoke a duel; I have no wish to challenge your prowess at arms—of that I have little doubt.."

"Very well. If you will not aid me in understanding what is happening to the Wardens in Orlais, take your damned shield and go. Let Weisshaupt sort it out. Perhaps it will even be a benefit to have both of you. It was thought Alistair might be more tractable by himself, but it occurs to me that perhaps even he isn't fully aware of what happened at the Battle of Fort Drakon." He studied us, looking back and forth between us. "Safe travels, Wardens."