Snow fell gently around them as Jacquelyn regarded the fallen down buildings that the locals were attempting to reside in. She hadn't realised exactly what had been happening in the area. She'd thought that things had been more under control than this, but clearly not. Cassandra stopped next to her, a small frown on her face.

"Are we not helping to rebuild?" she asked.

"Once the main threat has been dealt with, we will send more men to assist with either relocation or rebuilding, depending on what the engineers think," Cassandra explained before pointing at a man approaching them. "I believe that is our contact."

Jacquelyn turned to look where she was pointing, taking in the man walking deliberately towards her. For a moment she just watched him, taking him in. He wore blue armour with an Orlesian lion on the breastplate, his blond hair brushed back. When he got closer she noted his blue eyes, almost the colour of the ice on the nearby lake. They were quite striking, really. So different to Cullen's kind brown ones.

"You must be Inquisitor Trevelyan," Michel greeted.

"I am," Jacquelyn replied, inclining her head to him. "Are you Michel de Chevin?"

"At your service," Michel inclined his head.

"You are Empress Celene's champion, are you not?" Cassandra asked, standing beside Jacquelyn.

"I was. Not anymore."

"I have heard of her champion," Jacquelyn frowned slightly, "I am afraid I did not make the connection that you are him."

"Champion. Protector. Perhaps once, even a friend," there was a touch of regret in his voice, and Jacquelyn regarded him closely. "But I am now… disgraced. The empress wants nothing to do with me and I cannot blame her.

"Whatever happened?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"That is a long story, for another time. Just know that despite all, I have a strong arm, a stout heart, and I still serve Orlais."

"You wrote to request my assistance in dealing with a demon," Jacquelyn switched topics, understanding that the man before her didn't want to continue the line of conversation she had started, bringing them to their purpose in the Emprise.

"Yes. A demon that calls itself Imshael. It has settled in Suledin Keep, in the hills," Michel informed her, watching her closely. "Imshael is free because I made a mistake. I will see him destroyed. There are still red templars guarding the keep. All I need is one chance to destroy the demon."

"If I am to assist with defeating it, I will need to know more about it."

"It is a desire demon, more cunning than anything I have encountered. And I have played the Game. Imshael has roamed the land for some time. If anything, he will have grown in power. Why he is here in Emprise du Lion, however, is anyone's guess. Perhaps he has gained the cooperation of the red templars, or vice versa."

Jacquelyn paused for a moment, thinking, looking to Cassandra for any input she might have before doing her best to put a smile on her face as she turned back to Michel.

"Perhaps we should find somewhere more quiet and comfortable to discuss the situation," she said. "I will need as much information on the keep and red templar numbers as you can give me if I am to assist you effectively."

Michel inclined his head and motioned to the semi destroyed town.

"I have lodgings in one of the buildings," he explained. "The family I am staying with will be out for now, we can talk there."

"Lead the way."

Jacquelyn stared up at the ceiling of her tent, thinking about the information Michel had given them. He had never said where he'd met Imshael, or how the demon was freed from the Fade. Perhaps the demon was already in their world when Michel met him, so perhaps the Orlesian chevalier didn't know. In all honesty, it hardly mattered. What mattered was that the demon was now residing in Suledin Keep, and it had the company of many red templars.

"Did our men know about the red templars at the Keep?" Jacquelyn had asked Cassandra as they'd made their way to another Inquisition campsite, one closer to the Keep.

"I believe so," the Seeker had replied.

"Then why have we not done anything about them yet?"

"Perhaps we have been busy dealing with other camps and red lyrium deposits. The Inquisition doesn't have as many men in the area as is needed. We should have come to oversee the area for ourselves a long time ago."

Jacquelyn frowned as she remembered the words. Cassandra had sounded a bit irritated, perhaps bordering on snarky, when she'd said them. Jacquelyn was trying her best, and she wasn't entirely in charge of where the men went. Cullen knew more about their troops and where they were to be stationed than she did, though Jacquelyn didn't want to blame him. But maybe Cassandra was right. Maybe they should have travelled to the Emprise much sooner than they had. Not that there was anything to do about it now. They were there, in the cold and the snow, and they were making their way to Suledin Keep to battle yet another demon. A demon of desire. Jacquelyn had heard about them, had heard about their mind games.

She sighed, rolling over and facing the wall of the tent, still frowning. No matter how she tried, sleep was eluding her. She knew she needed rest if they were to fight their way through a hoard of red templars, and from the reports Michel had given them, perhaps even giants, but try as she might she just couldn't keep her eyes shut for more than a few minutes. Her mind was swirling with too many thoughts. Thoughts about demons, about Skyhold, Cullen, the situation with Siara, about why Cassandra was acting so coldly towards her. She didn't like to admit it, but she was missing the way it used to be with Cassandra. At least Vivienne wasn't seeming out of sorts with her, but Jacquelyn always struggled to trust mages.

There wasn't anything to be done about any of it now, however, and all she could do was throw back her blankets, splashing some water on her face to try to shock herself awake. Her body ached slightly from the cold and exhaustion, but she did her best to ignore that as she set about getting her armour on. Even in camp, she would wear her armour if she wasn't trying to rest. There was no telling when they could be attacked by red templars or over-confident bandits, and she wasn't going to be caught by surprise without armour or her sword and shield. Doing her best not to disturb Vivienne, soundly asleep on a stretched under a pile of blankets next to her, Jacquelyn did up her belt, checked her sword was sitting comfortably at her hip, picking up her shield before exiting the tent. Only once she was outside with more room to move did she strap it to her back, looking around at the few Inquisition members that milled around in the flickering torchlight, watching for danger. Jacquelyn silently made her way over to the requisition officer's table, and set to work looking over the various sheets of parchment.