Dragon Age II Part Nine: Grief

We managed to get Aveline and Donnic alone together in her office. They talked for a long time, and then… Aveline giggled. Then, there were other noises.

When Donnic left her office, Aveline spoke with Hawke. Aveline seemed so happy, and as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

This quest was very cute.

It’s one of my fav quests in the game, easily.

Viscount Dumar wanted to run ahead of a new problem before the Arishok learned of it. A band of Qunari had a pleasant, civil conversation with Dumar before they suddenly disappeared. Dumar wanted them found.

Seneschal Bran, the Dumar’s assistant, pointed us towards a guardsman that must have looked the other way when the Qunari vanished. Bran said that he had no idea where you would find a swordsman so eager to sell his honor…

“The Hanged Man”, suggested Anders.

“Hanged Man,” stated Fenris.

“No doubt,” added Merril.

Unlocked Spelunker. Ooh! 23/50

Unlocked That Thing Has Legs. 24/50

Aveline wanted a good nickname too, but Varric hadn’t thought of one yet.

Zealots that wanted to incite a race war against the Qunari can go fuck themselves. The Qunari were tortured and killed. We called the Viscount down to the refuge, and he was very distressed by the scene. Hawke suggested that they burn the bodies to hide the evidence of the torture.

“All That Remains”: A worried Gamlen asked Hawke for help finding Leandra after she missed her weekly meeting with her brother. Bodahn suggested looking around in Lowtown at night for Leandra. They found a blood trail and followed it to a place called the Dark Foundry.

The blood trail led to a trapdoor where they found the lair of Quentin, the same serial killer that killed Ninette.

He was sacrificing women in an attempt to reconstruct someone that he knew long ago, probably someone smart enough to reject him. Who knows what happened to her.

Quentin looked very ill, like an addict. He summoned many demons and Shades, but Hawke killed them all and then saw to her mother.

“I knew you would come,” said Leandra weakly.

Anders said that he couldn’t do anything for her, and that the dark magic was the only thing that kept her alive.

Hawke tried to be strong for her. She was so dignified. She said that she would be with Bethany, Carver, and Father now. She also said that she was proud of Hawke.

Gemlon was crestfallen and struck by disbelief. Anders tried to offer some comfort by telling Hawke that eventually, the grief would wash away, leaving her to cherish the time that they did have together.

Anders was ripped away from his parents and sent to a Circle early on. That must be why he cares.

This was the next real blow from the game after Carver’s death, but honestly, I think that Carver’s death hit me a little harder.

More joy comes from “Following the Qun”, where Dumar asked Hawke to request the release of his son, Seamus, from the Qunari. Seamus went with them willingly.

The Arishok claimed that Dumar and Seamus went to the Chantry to negotiate. But when we got there, Seamus was dead.

It was all a plot of “Mother” Petrice, who was also responsible for the Saarebas debacle. She also had us kill the zealots, obscuring her true intentions of turning everyone else against the Qunari out of fear for the Qun.

But a Qunari put two arrows into her back.

Dumar arrived right away, and grieved for the life of his son. I fear he has lost faith in the worth of the city that he was supposed to govern.

After leaving the Chantry, Isabela promptly told Hawke that she needed to speak with her at the estate. Siiigh.

She found out where the relic, a book, was. At first, Aveline was set to help Hawke with easing Qunari tensions, allowing her to soften her position as well. She agreed to help Isabela first.

Aveline + Isabela = funny.

I wonder if that Qunari could have arrived earlier to save Seamus.

Why can’t being nice to the Qunari just work? Why does no one try being nice?

Oh, dear. The book was written by the founder of the Qun.

What the fuck? I just killed Sten? Sten? That Sten?

I freaked out in this part. I even reloaded at least once to make sure that I didn’t make some kind of terrible mistake.

Is the Tome of Koslun worth all this? Didn’t they make copies?

Oh, so Sten is a title. OK then.

Isabela got the Tome back and left a letter.

“Dear Hawke,

I have the relic, and I am gone. I’ve lost too much over this blighted thing to let it go again. I know it would be noble to return the relic to the Qunari, but that would require a better soul than I possess.

For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I lied to you again.

Isabela”

“Once a thief, always a thief,” derided Fenris.

Without the Tome, the stranded Qunari can’t leave. Now, we have to confront Aveline and the Qunari with a disappointing result.

It’s just like Sten to troll me like that.

Qunari have titles that they grow into, not names, because the Qunari sees itself as one entity. That’s kinda sad…

The Arishok refused to hand over the elves that submitted to the Qun, seeking shelter and making them “viddithari” (non-Qunari who follow the Qun). The Arishok asked Hawke what she would do in his place, and she said that she would not hand the viddithari over.

Thus, a revolution began. The Arishok sought to root out the chaos and corruption eating away at Kirkwall like a cancer.

Unlocked A Worthy Rival. 25/50