"Stupid knife-ear, she couldn't just die like she was supposed to." Cossette de Farbes sniffed, wafting herself with her handkerchief in an attempt to cool herself as the carriage jostled across the Orlesian heartlands.

"The oxman and the other knife-ear have to go, simple as that." Mathilde de Arbonne grabbed at the seat as the wheels bumped over a large rut. "Merde! When we're back at court from this exile, we will destroy that blighted rabbit after we've disposed of her companions."

Cossette glared at the bars on the windows of the carriage. "I'm sure the Grand Duke would never have done this to us. He would have known what we were trying to do for him, to free him from her clutches. But what can we expect from the rabbit-lover, Celene? To make that… knife-eared wench Marquise of the Dales!"

"Calm yourself, Cossette. It's all part of The Game, and we will triumph in the end." Mathilde rolled her eyes behind her mask. Cossette might have played her hand well enough to be part of Lady Mantillion's family by marriage, but she had about as much of a head for The Game as a goose had for jousting otherwise. Maker knew why Cossette thought she would be able to pull off the assassination of the Inquisitor without Mathilde's help. The idiot actually thought that she could simply poison the rabbit's wine and carry merrily on. Without the oxman brute, Mathilde was certain the knife-ear who had given the Inquisitor the wine would have been accused of poisoning her, and Lady Mantillion would have been gifting the two of them with something to show her recognition of their skill.

Instead, she was trapped in a damned carriage in quiet exile to the far end of nowhere for a year as punishment for their attempt. Mathilde banged on the roof of the carriage, and it slowed to a halt. A guardsman stepped up to the door, and she declared, "Lady Cossette and I are parched from the heat. We demand wine immediately."

He nodded, and called back in the line "You, rabbit! Wine for the Comtesse and Lady!"

The elf nodded and scurried into the chuckwagon. Brushing her brown hair out of her eyes, she pulled the small bottle of sleeping draught from her vest. A tiny burst of magic sparked forth when she cracked the seal. He would know that the prey would be waiting for him.

She poured an equal measure into both wine goblets, using the whole bottle, then re-corked it and hid it back in her clothes. Wine streamed into the glass, mixing with and hiding the draught, and the elf hurried to the carriage. "Comtesse, Lady, your wine."

They snatched the goblets from her, not even bothering to look at her. Just as well. The elf went back to her place among the elven servants, and slowly worked her way to the back of the group, ducking into the foliage at the side of the road as the convoy rounded a bend. One more or one less elf was never noticed in Orlais.

The draught was quick. Cossette and Mathilde were asleep so fast they were still talking as they slipped into the dream he had carefully crafted. They didn't notice that the carriage no longer jostled, nor did they notice the sounds of the soldiers guarding them fade to nothing. It was a wonder they noticed the carriage halt, so busy were they lamenting their exile.

"What is going on?" Cossette banged the ceiling of the carriage in impatience. "Driver? Why have we stopped again? We will never get this nonsense over with at this rate!"

Mathilde rattled the door with a decidedly unladylike kick, and gaped as it swung open. She peered out, head swinging to and fro as she took in the vast, empty fields surrounding them. No horses, no soldiers, no servants. Not even any birds or other vile sounds of nature mocking their exile from Halamshiral, just a great, dark city outlined in the distance. "What in the Maker's name?"

Cossette shoved past her, stepping out into the road. Her voice pitched painfully high, "Where is everyone? And the wagons?"

Mathilde stepped out like the carriage had stopped in a pigsty instead of a road, lifting her skirts and trying to float above the beaten dirt. A figure was walking towards them through the fields. She shaded her eyes, and called, "You there! I am Comtesse Mathilde de Arbonne! I demand to know where the soldiers and servants accompanying us have gone, immediately!"

The figure moved closer, solidifying into a man wearing odd bronze and silver armor with a wolf pelt over one shoulder, and a hood hiding the upper half of his face. Cossette flicked her handkerchief at him, "Who are you? Why are we all alone here?"

He smiled. It was unnerving, too wide, baring his teeth at them. "I will phrase this simply enough for you to grasp my meaning. I believe the Empress was far too kind to you. Exile for a year is nothing compared to what killing the Inquisitor would have done."

"Pfaugh, one more dead rabbit is nothing," Cossette sniffed, flicking her handkerchief at him again. "Everyone knows that thing in her hand is a mage's trick, and she's being propped up as a figurehead while the Right and Left Hand do all the real work. Why they couldn't find a proper human of good breeding to use is anyone's guess."

"You truly have no idea what you would have done to the world had you succeeded. For that, for attempting to murder our only hope, and my vhenan," his head came up, eyes sparking in the depths of the hood, "Your lives are forfeit."

"Who are you to think you have the right to make that kind of decision? This is going too far, knife-ear. Yes, I recognize your voice. The Inquisitor's 'manservant'." Mathilde sneered, raking her eyes over him, "You may think you have some power, since she's letting the help rut her, but you are nothing! The Empress will hear of this!"

The man chuckled, a soft, dangerous noise. "It is quite hilarious that you think so. Rest assured, she will not."

Black smoke started coiling around him, and his voice echoed around Cossette and Mathilde like thunder. "Run."

An enormous black wolf with six red eyes snarled at them. Both women screamed and ran as it lunged forward.

Imperial Majesty,

It is my duty to inform you of the deaths of Comtesse Mathilde de Arbonne and Lady Cossette de Farbes. The circumstances are still under investigation, as they are unusual. According to the guards I had posted with the carriage, the Comtesse and Lady both fell asleep after having some wine to cool off in the heat of the day. About ten minutes later, the guards say both ladies screamed as though all the demons of the Void themselves were chasing them. When the carriage doors were unlocked, both women were dead, with terrible, contorted looks on their faces. We had several of the elven servants drink the dregs from their goblets, and all they did was fall asleep for a time. Testing on one of the human guards also made him fall asleep, so while we had suspected human-specific poison at first, it does not appear they were poisoned. We will continue to the chateu to prepare the bodies for their last rites and transport back to their families, but we wish to know what your Imperial Majesty's orders are regarding our futher investigation.

With great respect,

Chevalier Henri de Ontier