Act three opens with First Enchanter Orsinio trying to stir up anti-Templar sentiment in Hightown, and Meredith confronting him. Among the assembled crowd is Hawke, and Meredith draws him into the debate as soon as she notices him. Chickene remains diplomatic at first, saying that people should demand that Meredith should step down if that's what they truly want, but Orsinio shouldn't assume that's the will of the people right now. This doesn't help ease the tension, so Chickene calls them both idiots and says he's not supporting either of them. It's not until Grand Cleric Elthina shows up and tells everyone to calm down that Orsinio and Meredith go their separate ways.
Chickene's influence as Champion is outclassed by an old woman's skill with guilt trips.
One thing's for certain: dealing with that situation is going to be a damned headache. So, Chickene decides to check in with some people who still kind of like him instead. We find Aveline in Fenris' manor, telling him that she has learned of an elf woman traveling alone on a ship to Kirkwall, arriving today. Fenris is upset by this for some reason, so Aveline tells us to reason with him because she's sick of trying. Chickene calms him down and Fenris says he followed up on Hadriana's claim that he has a sister. It turned out to be true and she's agreed to meet him, but he's still paranoid about it being a trap. Chickene blunty tells him to stop worrying and meet her. Either he gets to catch up with his sister in peace, or Danarius shows up and we get to kill him. It's a win-win situation.
Fenris has selected the Hanged Man as a safe place for a meeting because apparently, he wasn't paying attention when we got into a fight there in act two. As soon as he sees his sister, he remembers her name is Varania and can recall a memory of her from his youth. She tells him his name used to be Leto, but she doesn't seem happy to see him. Fenris realizes his instincts were correct, and Danarius appears at the top of a nearby staircase to reclaim his property. He calls Chickene Fenris' new master and asks him to hand the elf over, but Hawke tells him he's not a slave anymore. So, Danarius directs a substantial number of his slaver followers to attack us.
Look, I told you, Fenris. This guy's beard is inferior to Chickene's. He's as good as dead.
The cannon fodder Danarius has to offer is no challenge to us at this point. Even when he summons demons, the fight isn't a challenge and it doesn't even wear the party down thanks to Chickene's healing aura. Eventually, Danarius is out of minions and has to join the fight himself. He has some powerful spells, but he can't cast them very quickly and he has an elf bearing down on him who's wanted to kill him for years. He doesn't beat the odds. Fenris turns his rage to Varania next, but Chickene asks him if this is really what he wants. Varric chimes in, saying that he knows from experience that killing a sibling is never easy. So, Fenris relents and says magic has tainted everything in life, even his long-lost sister. As a mage, Chickene takes exception to that, and the two exchange some heated words before Fenris storms off.
"Also, and keep this on the down-low, we've officially hit our quota for fratricide in this game."
Chickene and Fenris have a more civil discussion later at the elf's mansion, but they still don't call each other friends. Not surprising, considering his hatred of mages... so Chickene decides that he might have more luck with someone who shares his talents. He suddenly remembers this guy named Anders who has a clinic in Darktown, and supposes we should at least check to see whether or not he's died from a staph infection yet. Upon arriving in Darktown, we see that he's still among the living but seems to be somewhat remorseful about that. He asks us if we remember our disapproval of his decision to be possessed by a spirit of vengeance, and that sort of rings a bell, but what's important is that he says we were right all along.
Anders doesn't believe he can control Vengeance anymore, and has found a Tevinter potion recipe that should end the possession without killing him. Unfortunately, the ingredients are rare, but Chickene is supportive of Anders' efforts to be free from the spirit. All we need to help him with is a special ore called drakestone and a substance called sela petrae, which forms among sewer waste. Suddenly feeling suspicious, Chickene demands to know what Anders isn't telling us. The former Grey Warden deflects the question by rambling about weird dreams and we begin to realize why we didn't invite this guy to our party more often.
The reagents themselves aren't hard to find, but we run into trouble because the sewer tunnels where the sela petrae can be found are overrun with lyrium smugglers. Also, the caverns where the drakestone can be found are full of giant spiders. This wouldn't be an issue if Anders just needed one sample, but the guy seems to insist on finding as many deposits as he can. Chickene begins to feel justified in his suspicions, which are confirmed when we get back to Darktown and Anders asks us for one more favor. He wants us to sneak him into the Chantry where he can be alone for a while. Chickene confronts him, and Anders admits this was never about getting rid of Vengeance. We tell him he's on his own, and Anders officially becomes our rival.
"That's the last straw, Hawke. You're not welcome in my filthy, disease-ridden hideout any longer."
So... that didn't work out as well as expected. Chickene proceeds to check in with Merrill, Aveline and Varric but none of them have any errands for us to run at the moment, and that leaves us stumped about what to do next. Sure, we got a letter from Knight-Commander Meredith in which she demanded that we come to her office, but we're going to delay that as much as possible. Sorting through our other letters, we learn that we apparently invested in a mine back in act one, which doesn't sound familiar but the owner, Hubert, wants to talk to us in Hightown anyway. Whoever he is, he has to be better than Meredith, so off we go.
A short time later, we find the guy in question, who refers to us as his business partner but this still isn't ringing any bells. What he tells us though, that a bunch of miners from Fereldan have been massacred by some unknown aggressor, sounds like something we'd be interested in looking into. So we head to this mine called the Bone Pit (which is a name that I wouldn't call foreboding but rather a giant sign saying, "DANGER! RUN AWAY NOW!") and investigate. It's clear that something pretty violent happened here, and there appears to be a great deal of fire involved as well. We're hoping it's just a band of Tal-Vashoth pyromaniacs. As we head into a valley near the mines, however, we realize it's something much, much worse.
What, did you think there wasn't going to be a dragon in a game called Dragon Age II?
Chickene tries waving and yelling, "Hi, Flemeth!" but this one's the genuine article. Our best guess is that this high dragon is an investor in the mine too and has decided to get rid of its competition. Regardless of its motives, this is a tough fight. The fire breath can take off half of the hit points of anything in its path, it has a grapple attack that deals continuous damage and leaves its target defenseless and lastly, the high dragon will fly away and summon lesser dragons if it needs to take a breather. Chickene remains true to his name, healing his party members from a respectful distance away and letting Aveline, Fenris and Varric do most of the damage. Our healing skills prove to be better than the dragon's damage skills and the great beast is finally defeated. Hawke does, of course, take the opportunity to engage in some heroic magic posing as the dragon is in its death throes.
Never mind the fact that healing spells are all I can cast well. I totally killed this dragon with magic, guys.
While the mine is a total loss, Chickene's still not sure he was ever a partner in the first place and what's more important is the fact that dragons are fond of treasure. In this case, the dragon was hoarding the iconic outfit Hawke wears in Varric's initial, exaggerated story. So, we head back to Hightown with no good news for Hubert, but we certainly look cool when we tell him we killed the dragon for the good of the city. Hubert calls us a big-headed dog lord and saunters off. Whatever, man. You're just jealous of my style.
Despite all this, there are no new companion quests available so Chickene won't be able to duck Meredith for much longer. Therefore, in the next update, we'll see our apostate walk into Templar headquarters and hold on to the misguided hope that they're not going to smite us on sight!
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