The Shield of the Knight Herself

For other uses, see Shield of the Knight Herself.

The Shield of the Knight Herself
Act	2
Start	Ser Varnell's Refuge
End	Aveline (Viscount's Keep)
Rewards	Shield of the Knight Herself
Appearances	Dragon Age II

The Shield of the Knight Herself is an Act 2 companion quest for Aveline in Dragon Age II.

Acquisition

The quest is acquired by looting the gift item Shield of the Knight Herself in Ser Varnell's Refuge during the main quest Offered and Lost.

Walkthrough

Speak with Aveline at her office in the Viscount's Keep. Note that if Calling on the Captain, Doubts that Linger, The Captain's Condolences, any stage of The Long Road, or Questioning Beliefs (Aveline Act 2) are active, those conversations will take place first, in that order.

Hawke will present the shield to Aveline, who in turn gets upset and throws the shield to the ground, with an insincere "Thank you."

Hawke then can ask what the meaning of her reaction is in either the diplomatic, humorous, or aggressive choices. The following dialogue changes depending on the status of Ser Wesley's Shield:

• If Aveline has the shield equipped, she will state, "I have a shield. It belonged to Wesley. It has served me well." complain that it has served her well and doesn't want to give it up.
• If you have it in the Inventory, she will complain that "I have a shield. It belonged to Wesley. You seem to recognize its worth as you pass it around."
  • With either of these, she follows up with, "Are you suggesting that I give it up entirely? Pawn it away and be done with it?"
• If it has been sold, destroyed, or stashed in the Personal Storage chest, she will complain that "I had a shield. It belonged to Wesley. It was difficult to let it go, but I did so. Utility over sentiment, right? We sold it, didn't we?"

Hawke still won't understand the reason for Aveline's anger. The Diplomatic and Direct dialogues will reference her lingering feelings about Wesley and, if The Long Road has been completed, whether or not she should tell Donnic. Aveline mentions that it's not about Wesley, that Hawke has her doing things she doesn't necessarily agree with. "I'm not sure where I'm going as it is. Replacing what I was with this... I mean, who is Ser Aveline to me?" you can respond with one of four dialogue choices, at which point the quest concludes.

Result

Quest concludes depending on Hawke's final dialogue choice, with either friendship or rivalry gained for Aveline and a new shield:

• "I don't care, just use it." Aveline: rivalry (+15), Hawke retakes the shield
• "I'll take it back then." Aveline: friendship (+15), Hawke retakes the shield
• "Don't make it such a big deal." Aveline: rivalry (+15), Aveline keeps the shield
• "It's just a gift for a friend." Aveline: friendship (+15), Aveline keeps the shield

Reward

If Aveline keeps the shield, she automatically equips Shield of the Knight Herself (Aveline)

If Aveline returns the shield, Shield of the Knight Herself (unrestricted) is added to the inventory. Note that it can be equipped to her later, only with different stats.

In addition, 250 XP for choosing "Don't make it such a big deal" or "It's just a gift for a friend".

Notes

• The unrestricted version of the shield has slightly different stats: instead of +88 attack and 190 armor, it has +2 strength and 174 armor.