Loghain leaned back against the wall, mostly watching two of Sigrun's wardens sparring, but keeping half an eye on Alistair as well. The boy was looking noticeably better than when he'd first arrived at the Keep; no long pale and trembling and sickly-looking. He was moving better as well, though he had, in Loghain's expert opinion, rather a long way to go yet before he could be considered to be back in proper fighting condition.

He was pleased to note that Alistair was also doing his exercises for longer than the minimum time he'd been instructed to; his hour had been over for some time now, but the boy was still standing by one of the practise dummies, methodically bashing and slashing at it with his practise weapons, after having spent a goodly time earlier in simpler exercises.

Finally Loghain straightened up, and walked to that side of the yard. "Stop," he said.

Alistair did so, turning and looking questioningly at him, the boy's chest heaving for breath from his exertion.

"Rest a moment; I think it's time for me to test you again," Loghain said, then went over to the storage shed and selected a shield and practise sword for himself, taking enough time about it that Alistair had caught his breath again by the time he returned. They moved out into the yard, and went on guard, circling a little before engaging.

Loghain let the boy take a few blows at him this time, judging his progress. He'd been good, once – but he'd been too long out of practise, and it showed, even with the exercises he'd been doing. "You're holding your shield too low," Loghain pointed out, as he jabbed toward Alistair's exposed shoulder, slowly enough that the boy was able to interpose his shield in time to block it. "And you're too slow with your sword."

Alistair scowled, and stepped up his attack; but clearly he was letting his anger rule him, as his defence suffered as a result. Loghain frowned, hit the boy's sword out of line, and gave a quick series of bashes with his shield that sent Alistair staggering backwards and then over onto his back on the ground. Loghain shook his head. "Keep up your exercises," he said. "You've a long way to go yet. Enough for today though; go have your breakfast."

Alistair said nothing, simply climbed back to his feet and limped off to put away his practise gear, Loghain following along behind as he stripped the shield off his own arm. He handed sword and shield to Alistair to put away, then went back over to where Gwill and Tisha had just finished their match. "You're getting better," he said approvingly to the elf. She sniffed and turned away, walking off to put her practise blades away.

Gwill grinned. "Still doesn't think much of you."

"Who? Alistair, or Tisha?"

"Both of them, I'm thinking," Gwill said, and shook his head. "You seem to surround yourself with people who don't much care for you."

Loghain snorted. "I don't need them to like me. They just have to follow my orders."

Gwill shrugged. "Best if you can count on them to follow orders without wanting to stick a knife in your back at the same time," he pointed out, then walked off to put away his own practise weapons.

Loghain smiled crookedly. Gwill had a point. Still, there was little he could do about the hostile attitudes of some of his wardens; not in the short term, anyway. He'd just have to hope that in the long term he could sway them to a more amenable viewpoint. Though that would be hard with Alistair, and likely near-impossible with Tisha. If only he had more people who were Grey Wardens by choice, not necessity; but the majority of his wardens were people who'd had no choice but attempt the joining, or die to the taint. And most of the few exceptions – Edrick, for example – had been conscripted.

Really, the only volunteers he had right now were Sigrun, Oghren, Gwill, and Kedar. Well, and Velanna, he supposed, though he'd never particularly trusted her reasons for volunteering, and wouldn't be surprised to wake up some day to find she'd vanished off in search of her sister. How she could believe that the woman was still alive, after seeing what condition she was in the last time they'd caught sight of her... he shook his head, then discarded the chain of thought.

He also wasn't entirely sure if Kedar had volunteered, or been volunteered. He was simply the mage that had been supplied by the Fereldan Circle when Loghain had demanded a replacement for the missing Anders. A demand he'd made it clear he expected to be filled, when templars had so clearly been involved in the mage's disappearance and presumed death. The Rivain mage was at least well-skilled, had survived his joining, followed orders promptly, and worked well with others. He could do far worse.

Thought of the mage seemed to conjure him; he had no sooner entered the keep when he encountered the man. Kedar smiled broadly, showing off the sapphire-set gold tooth that matched the line of studs along the edge of his right ear. "Ser Loghain," he said, giving Loghain a polite bow of the head, though only a shallow one; the closest the ex-noble could bring himself to treating his commander casually. "A moment, if you please."

"Yes, Kedar?"

"Jowan asked if I could check on the recovery of your squire while he was away, this Alistair. Could you introduce me to him so that I may do so?"

"Of course. He's at breakfast right now, but he'll be returning to his rooms shortly. Have you breakfasted yet? You could join me if you wish, and I'll introduce you when he arrives."

Kedar's smile widened. "Would this breakfast be at the chess table in your quarters?"

Loghain smiled slightly. "If you wish. Though I dislike losing battles so early in the day."

"Then I accept. I will give you an advantage if you like."

Loghain snorted. "You'll beat me anyway. And real enemies rarely give their opponents any advantage. I'll either learn to beat you without one, or I won't."

Kedar grinned, and the two men headed upstairs to Loghain's quarters, only pausing long enough for Loghain to send a servant off to fetch breakfast up to them.

Alistair was still feeling grumpy over the outcome of his latest spar with Loghain when he returned to their rooms after breakfast. When he walked into the sitting room and found Loghain there at the chess table, playing against a dark-skinned man he recognized as the mage member of Sigrun's team, he found himself wishing once again that he was housed somewhere else in the building, and didn't have to pass through Loghain's rooms to reach his own. He lengthened his stride, wanting only to get out of Loghain's presence as quickly as possible.

"Alistair," Loghain called, turning in his seat and resting one arm on the back of it. "A moment, please."

He stopped, hands clenching as he bit back a sigh. "Yes, ser?" he asked as neutrally as he could, then reluctantly walked a few steps closer to the seated pair, eyeing the mage curiously. The mage was clearly from Rivain, with the tattoos and piercings that were usually marks of high rank there. He had a line of sapphire-set studs in the edge of his right ear, the stones arranged in order by hue, from a clear pale blue at the top down to a dark, nearly opaque stone. He also had a thick gold hoop threaded through each lobe, and a small gold ring set in his left nostril.

"Kedar, allow me to introduce you to my squire, Alistair Theirin," Loghain said, his voice and manner suddenly very formal. "Alistair, this is Kedar Salazier, Enchanter of the Ferelden Circle of Mages. Jowan has asked him to keep an eye on your health during your recovery, while he's away. Kedar needs to examine you."

"Oh. When?" Alistair asked warily.

"Now would be good, I suspect," Loghain said, and gave Kedar an enquiring look.

The mage nodded. "Now would be acceptable," he agreed, then smiled widely at Loghain, revealing a gold canine tooth. "Though I am sure you suggest it only to prevent me from trouncing you at chess a second time."

"Once in a morning is enough," Loghain agreed. "And I have business to tend to. Good day, Kedar. Alistair, I'll see you at lunch," he said, then rose, nodded politely to Kedar, and left.

Alistair felt annoyed that his own opinion in the matter had not been asked for, but he was hardly in any position to object. "All right," he said, turning back to the mage. "What do you need?"

"We should move somewhere more private first of all," Kedar said. "You will need to partially disrobe before I can properly examine you."

"My rooms, then," Alistair said, and this time didn't bother keeping back his unhappy sigh. Kedar made no comment, simply rose to his feet and followed Alistair to his room. "Just how undressed do you mean by partially, anyway?"

Kedar chuckled, moving to the side to lean one hip on Alistair's desk, his arms folded across his chest. "Just your shirt. You may keep your modesty."

"Oh, good," Alistair said dryly, and stripped off his padded gambeson, then hung it neatly over the back of his chair. "Now what?"

"Just stand there and breath normally," Kedar said, straightening up again, then stepped closer to Alistair, studying him carefully as he paced a slow circle around him. "Your colour is good, at least," he said at the end of the circuit. "You do not have the yellow tone that could indicate that you've managed to harm yourself through overmuch drinking, and the pallor you had when I first saw you seems to have gone. Does this hurt?" he asked, and jabbed his thumb hard against Alistair's right side. "Any tenderness?"

Alistair flinched away. "Ow! No, not really. Did you have to do that so hard?"

Kedar looked amused. "I must touch you for a little while," he warned, before moving around back of Alistair, and setting one hand against the small of his back, and the other where he'd poked him. Alistair felt the tingle of active magic, and automatically tensed as old habits kicked in. Kedar snorted, but otherwise ignored his reaction. He moved around him, touching and palpating him in several places – all well above the waist, Alistair was relieved to note – and then leaned down and pressed one ear to Alistair's chest, listening for a little while before straightening, a satisfied look on his face.

"You are in reasonably good condition, it would seem. Do you suffer from any headaches, nausea, dizziness, tiredness...?"

"I was having headaches and nausea at first, but Jowan gave me some potions for them, and once those ran out I wasn't having problems any more."

Kedar nodded, looking satisfied. "Any trouble sleeping? Tremors?" And then, as Alistair flushed with annoyance at the questioning, he grinned, gold tooth showing again. "Irritability?"

Alistair snorted. "Some. But I'd say that was to be expected, the way I was kidnapped and dragged back here. I certainly didn't want to come here!"

Kedar shrugged. "Perhaps. But it is one of a number of possible symptoms when one is withdrawing from an excess of drinking. And the other things I asked about?"

Alistair shrugged. "I have trouble getting to sleep most nights, but that's been true for years. No tremors. Not now, anyway... I was having those at first too," he added, flushing again, with shame this time.

Kedar nodded again. "If the tremors return, or you find yourself feeling irrationally angry, come see me. And I will mix a tea for you to take in the evenings that will help you to sleep. Good rest is important while you are recovering, as is eating properly. Do you have any problem with loss of appetite?"

"No. If anything I'm hungrier than I've felt in a while. Can I put my clothes back on now?"

"Yes, go ahead," Kedar said.

Alistair picked up the heavy shirt and shook it out, then paused after putting his arms into the sleeves, and looked questioningly at Kedar. "How come you're a member of the Ferelden Circle, and not the Rivain one? I thought the Rivaini kept their mages to themselves?"

Kedar made a face, and waited until Alistair had pulled his gambeson on over his head before speaking. "A case of bad luck. You know that mages manifest their powers at different ages?"

Alistair nodded. "I was trained as a templar before being conscripted into the Grey Wardens, so yes, I'm aware. Let me guess - you were already an adult when your powers showed up?"

"Yes. Which would have been no trouble if I'd been home in Rivain when it occurred, but unfortunately for me I was on a visit to Orlais at the time."

Alistair winced. "Ouch."

"Ouch, indeed. There was of course no question of the Orlesians allowing me to return home; they are aware that we are far less strict with magic users in Rivain than they are, as few of us follow this Andraste of yours, or the Maker, and we pay no more heed than we must to your chantry's teachings and laws. The Orlesian chantry is increasingly unhappy about this. So I was incarcerated in the Montsimmard circle for several years, where they tried to convert me into a good little Andrastrian; they failed, of course. I might be there yet, but after the Ferelden Circle was largely wiped out during the Blight Year there was a redistribution of mages from more crowded Circles to here, and I managed to arrange to have my name included on the list."

"You bribed someone?" Alistair asked, startled.

Kedar grinned. "Of course. What used having a well-connected and wealthy family and not making use of such resources? So I ended up here, and then some months ago when Arl Loghain sent to the tower seeking a new mage, I decided I liked the sound of becoming a Grey Warden. It would remove me from the chantry's control, and who know, perhaps some day I can manage to be transferred to the Grey Wardens of Rivain, and finally return home again."

"It didn't bother you that you might die in the Joining?" Alistair asked, surprised.

Kedar smiled crookedly. "You forget, I am thinking, that that particular detail is usually not shared with recruits until after they have joined. Had I known... I would likely have tried anyway. Better a fast death in the Joining than remaining a prisoner of your chantry for the rest of my life. Anyway, I shall be about my business; I will send you a packet of the tea before this evening. One small spoonful of the mixture brewed strongly, shortly before you are due to go to bed."

Alistair nodded. "Thank you," he remembered to say, as he saw the mage out of his rooms.

As soon as the door was closed behind Kedar he headed to his bedroom, already taking the gambeson back off again. He was still in need of a bath and a change of clothes before he settled in to his studies for the morning. And then more time to be spent in Loghain's company. The thought of which made him wish very much that he had a drink. Or two. Or three.