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"Boss. You got a minute?"

Bridget looked up—and up—into the Iron Bull's single eye. "What's going on, Bull?"

He hesitated. "Uh … yeah. Let's take a walk."

She raised her eyebrows. The Iron Bull was never at a loss for words. "All right." They went out into the courtyard and climbed to the battlements. It wasn't lost on Bridget that the Iron Bull was moving particularly slowly out of respect for her 'delicate condition'. She smiled, finding it surprising gallantry from the Qunari. "You want to tell me now what's going on?"

"I got a letter from my contacts in the Ben-Hassrath. Already cleared it with Red."

Leliana. Bridget was immediately concerned. The Ben-Hassrath and her spymaster and the Iron Bull's discomfort. Whatever was coming up, she wasn't going to like it.

He cleared his throat, looking around them. "Damn, would I like to hit something right now."

"Did something go wrong? Are you in any kind of trouble?"

"What? No. Not that I know of, anyway. Could be I did something I didn't know about and I'll wake up dead tomorrow. Always a possibility." He grinned, although she couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"So what did the letter say?"

"The Ben-Hassrath have been reading my reports. They don't like Corypheus or his Venatori."

"Well, that's a point in their favor."

"Right? Also, they really don't like red lyrium. So … they're ready to work with us. With you, boss. The Inquisition and the Qunari, joining forces."

Bridget stopped short and stared at him. "Say that again."

"The Inquisition and the Qunari, joining forces."

"That would be an unprecedented offer," she said slowly, considering as she spoke what she thought about this and deciding she didn't buy it. "If it was legitimate. Which I doubt."

She had wondered if the Iron Bull would be offended by her distrust of his people, but he actually seemed impressed by her caution, if anything. He was nodding. "Now, ordinarily, that would be the way to go. But they've identified themselves. They're not running a game on you."

Bridget wished she was as sure of that.

"They've found a massive red lyrium shipping operation on the Storm Coast," the Iron Bull continued. "They want us to hit it together; talked about bringing in a dreadnought."

"A dreadnought?"

"Qunari ship. Deadly. Oh, the fights we've had. Standing in knee-deep water foaming red with blood, ships on fire …" The Iron Bull smiled. Then he sobered, looking down at her seriously. "They're worried about tipping off the smugglers, so no army. My Chargers, you, maybe some backup."

"They want us to hit the Venatori, but without our army? Bull … are you sure about this?"

"Sure as I can be."

"What would this alliance actually get us? Is it worth the risk?"

He shrugged. "That's up to you. But they wouldn't use the word 'alliance' if they didn't mean it. So … naval power. More Ben-Hassrath reports. Qunari soldiers pointed at the Venatori. Damn Vints. They don't care who they hurt, or what kind of destruction they leave behind."

That sounded bad, indeed. But Qunari soldiers in the south of Thedas? Bridget could only imagine how that would go over. It would be a diplomatic nightmare. She didn't say so to Bull, who was savvy enough to have realized that already.

"It could do a lot of good," Bull finished, but he was frowning.

"You don't seem entirely happy about this."

"Uh … yeah. I mean, no. No, I'm good. It's just …"

"Just what?"

"I'm used to them being … over there." He gestured in the general direction of Seheron.

"Well, so are we all. After all, the popular conception is that the Qunari want to extend their reach to the whole world, once they get a foothold."

"Yeah. Just … didn't think I'd see it. It's ... been a while." He shook his head, turning to look out over the courtyard. "Look, the Qun answers a lot of questions for a lot of people. It can be a good life. But it's a big change. And a lot of folks here wouldn't do well under that kind of life." He frowned at something on the ground, making Bridget wonder if there was someone in specific he was thinking of who would do particularly badly under the Qun, then shook his head again. "Ah, who knows. It's not like we're converting. This is just joining forces against Corypheus. On that front, I think we're good."

Bridget thought it over quickly. "Let me consult with my advisors, but if they're on board, I think … I think the Inquisition could use some help from the Qunari." That would buy her time to look into this sudden offer a bit more thoroughly. She could practically hear Josephine's voice in her head exhorting her to never turn down the offer of an alliance without investigating it.

"All right. We can set up the meeting whenever you're ready." The Iron Bull moved off, still not looking overly thrilled.

"Inquisitor!" the cheerful voice, such a contrast to the Iron Bull's, made Bridget look around and then down for the owner of it.

"Dagna! What's going on?"

"I finished it!" She handed Bridget a red disc.

"This … rune?"

"That's not just any rune! I made it with red lyrium and what's left of poor Maddox's tools."

"Oh! What does it do?"

Dagna started pointing at specific designs. "It acts on the median fissures of the lyrium to—" She noticed Bridget's eyes glazing over and smiled sheepishly. "I mean, it'll destroy Samson's armor. He'll be powerless."

"Powerless? Really?"

"Uh-huh!"

"So we can cut Corypheus off from his most powerful officer. Does Cullen know?"

"I was just going to look for him when I found you."

Bridget carefully handed her back the rune. "Take this to him, tell him to step up his search for Samson's army. With this … I think maybe we have a chance. And Dagna?"

Dagna was already halfway down the battlement. "Yes, Inquisitor?"

"Thank you."

The dwarf's beaming smile was answer enough.