Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts
Location	Winter Palace
Start	Skyhold
End	Winter Palace
Previous	Here Lies the Abyss
Next	What Pride Had Wrought
Appearances	Dragon Age: Inquisition

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is a main quest in Dragon Age: Inquisition in Orlais, involving the assassination plot of Empress Celene I.

Acquisition

This quest is available at the War Table and starting it costs 30 Power.

Walkthrough

The Inquisitor has discovered an assassination plot and is forced into direct involvement. The Inquisition attempted to warn the Empress but the messengers were "diverted" by an unknown party. The Inquisitor received an invitation from the Grand Duke to join a ball at the Winter Palace. After some mingling and a surprise visit by Morrigan the Inquisitor discovers the servants quarters have become a slaughterhouse. The Inquisitor must use their influence, power and judgement to determine the fate of Emperess Celene and the leadership of the Orlesian Empire.

The mission starts with an cinematic greeting from Gaspard de Chalons at the main entrance. To your immediate right you can start the short side quest Montbelliard's Ring. The whole area is basically just to show you the main mechanism before you enter the Winter Palace. If you go up the stairs to your left you will be introduced to the eavesdrop system. There is one Halla hidden behind the collums not far away from where you eavesdrop. You can use this to open the storage room on the ground floor to the right or save it for later. When you are all done you can head indoors. Be warned that you will not be able to enter the area again for the duration of the mission.

Head up the stairs. All the rooms except the ball-hall is temporarily closed. If Cassandra is in your party she will be standing to your left when you come to the top of the stairs. Talk to Gaspard de Chalons again to start an cinematic introduction of you and your team and advisors. Walk slowly so you can hear all the introductions.

Side Quests

• Montbelliard's Ring
• The Great Blackmail Hunt
• Throwing Away Money
• Herd of Stone Halla
• Red Jenny's Stashes

Results

Endings

There are several ways that the quest can end:

1. Celene can rule alone

2. Gaspard can rule alone. To do this you must let the assassins kill Celene I and then confront Briala with the blackmail.

3. Celene and Briala can rule together. Requires the Elven Locket from the Grand Apartments vault and using it for the Behind Every Empress quest.

4. Gaspard can rule with Briala

All three of them can agree to a truce. This one is the most challenging of them all. To accomplish this you need to complete the Herd of Stone Halla quest and have five of them left. When confronting Florianne de Chalons in the last segment of the quest, use the hallas to open the first door to the left when entering the Royal Quarters. Talk to the soldier that is tied to the bed and make him testify against Celene I. You need to do the same to female elf and the male soldier later on also. In the end you can blackmail all three of them to cooperate. (And tell them that they work for you now, making you the de facto ruler of Orlais.

Companion approval changes

Celene alone: - Cole greatly disapproves

Gaspard alone: - Dorian disapproves - Cassandra greatly approves - Sera slightly approves

Celene/Briala: - Dorian greatly approves - Cassandra greatly approves - Cole greatly approves

Gaspard/Briala: - Dorian slightly approves - Cassandra greatly disapproves - Sera disapproves

The 3 together: - Cassandra slightly disapproves - Cole greatly approves - Sera approves

Trivia

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts quest concept

• Most of the quest names in the main plot refer to specific verses of Chant of Light. "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" refers to the Canticle of Silence 3:6.
• To get an approval boost when you dance with Florianne de Chalons, choose the middle dialogue option. Remember that you are playing The Game, so be as cryptic and vague in your responses as possible.
• It is possible to avoid the final battle in its enterity. You need to have 85% approval before confronting Florianne de Chalons. A new option makes it possible to call her out/arrest her in front of the audience, eliminating the final battle. It is also beneficial in that degree that you can recruit Florianne as an agent afterwards. You can also make her a jester in the Inquisition's court.
• There are not enough Hallas to open all the doors at the Winter Palace.
• At one point early in the quest you will hear a bell that rings in for the traditional dance. If you wait until the second time it rings you will get an approval boost because you are "fashionably late". However it will all be deducted by the third time since you then are just "plain late."
• Throwing the coins into the fountain next to the trellis you climb up gives you 1 court approval point for each coin.
• There are three Dwarves in the Vestibule who mention House Helmi is trying to mount an expedition to Amgarrak, but House Dace are blocking any expedition into the thaig.