I guess this is fair, considering the fact that Chickene has shamelessly extorted Templars in the past.
Not having much other choice, Chickene agrees to talk to Meredith's assistant, Elsa, who was once a mage before being made Tranquil by the Templars. She tells us about Emile, a young man of Orlesian descent whose parents live in Hightown... Huon, an elf who had a wife before joining the Circle and she lives in the Kirkwall alienage... and Elvina, a Ferelden woman who escaped the blight with some other refugees who live in Darktown. The Templars already talked to these known acquaintances but were unable to get any useful information about the escaped mages' whereabouts. Apparently, Meredith has heard about our track record of doing the Templars' job better than the knights themselves. Either that or despite his faults, Chickene's personality is still fuzzier than a Templar's, and they'll be more willing to talk to him.
Since Lowtown's the closest location, we start there. We find an elf woman named Nyssa without too much trouble and she admits to being Huon's wife. Chickene reassures her that he's just trying to help, so she tells us that after the Templars spoke to her, Huon showed up and started rambling about true elven power. Chickene immediately berates her for not telling the Templars sooner. Nyssa apologizes and says Huon plans on coming back to see her tonight. We tell her we'll be there, too.
True elven power apparently means having glowy eyes like a cat. We have to admit, it'd be cool.
Sure enough, Huon returns that evening and we see him hold out his arms to embrace Nyssa. She walks toward him, but she doesn't appear to be willing. With a flash of blood magic, Huon kills her and says her blood will give him power to help their people. That's about the time Chickene shows up and tells him to think again. Huon summons shades to defend himself, but neither he nor his minions are particularly powerful yet. We kill the blood mage and take some boots off his body that just so happen to match our already stunning outfit.
We're not off to a great start and Darktown, Kirkwall's most cheerful suburb, is next on our list. The Templars' information leads us to the patch of dirt where Elvina's urchin friends hang out, and we tell them we just want to help. The younger urchin, Cricket, says he knows where she is, much to his older brother Walter's annoyance. They're afraid of making her angry and Chickene says it's his anger they should worry about. Cricket gives us a location and the two run off.
Chickene doesn't remember the mage ladies back in Fereldan looking... so much like a fried chicken leg.
We head into the tunnels under Darktown, but find that the two urchins ran here ahead of us. Apparently, Elvina's really mean when she's angry, and their efforts to calm her down have failed. It doesn't take long to see what they mean by that, as Elvina appears and turns into an abomination when we tell her urchins to keep away from her. The Templars will be happy to know that's another apostate we've killed for them.
So, Hightown is our last stop. The Comtesse de Launcet graciously invites us into her home, happy to entertain the Champion of Kirkwall. We politely ask about her son and she plays dumb. Her husband, however, is concerned for Emile's well-being and tries to convince his wife that they should tell us what they know. Chickene stands up and says he'll give them one chance to be truthful. They tell us they gave their son a generous sum of money after he escaped, which he has been using to get drunk at the Hanged Man. The Comtesse is mostly concerned by how unclean the tavern is, which Varric has a good laugh about. Aveline and Chickene, however, are skeptical about the idea that this kid has successfully hidden from the Templars simply by holing up in Lowtown's most popular dive bar.
"We've told you all we know. Now please leave, messere. Your spiky armor doesn't match the decor of our lovely sitting room."
Upon entering the Hanged Man, we find that this is exactly the case, though. Emile de Launcet is visibly drunk at a table on the main tavern floor, and he doesn't look particularly demonic or blood mage-y. He does, however, have a reason for not wanting to go with Hawke just yet: one of the tavern waitresses has agreed to spend the night with him and he may never get the chance to be with a woman once he goes back to the Circle. He also admits to starting some blood mage rumors about himself to make him seem more like a bad boy. Chickene briefly asks himself out loud if this is really happening, before cheerfully agreeing to Emile's terms and darkly warning him not to try to escape once he's done.
I don't care if it is "No-Shave November". If you can't grow a real mustache, kid, don't try.
A short while later, Chickene is back in Meredith's office, who says she has learned of the deaths of Huon and Elvina, and was surprised to see Emile turn himself in rather happily. She then asks us if we think Emile can be trusted, and we tell her he's an idiot but not a dangerous idiot. Meredith accepts our judgement and dismisses us. Hawke leaves Templar headquarters before she changes her mind and Varric, having seen how well we handled the Knight-Commander's errand, decides we're ready to handle something for him, too.
Meeting us later at the Hanged Man, Varric says that he tried to sell the mansion Bartrand was hiding in a couple of years back, but the buyer he found is unhappy with his purchase. Our dwarf friend either failed to notice or failed to mention that the place is haunted and he's now facing trouble with the Merchant's Guild as a result. So, he wants us to determine the cause of the haunting in end it because, in his words, we're a mage and therefore we're knowledgeable about weird magic stuff. Flimsier logic has been used to qualify Hawke for much more complicated assignments, so we go along with Varric's idea.
Chickene's "Plan A" was to punch the Veil until it untears. And yet, Varric still has confidence in him...?
Evidence of paranormal activity can be seen almost immediately after we enter the mansion. Books are moving, pottery is floating and occasionally, shadowy figures pass through the walls to run between rooms. Varric is having some hallucinations that none of the rest of us are experiencing though, and that's generally a bad sign. Eventually, we come to the main hall of the mansion once again, where a servant has been hiding for some reason and she runs to us for help. Varric, however, demands to know where the idol is because he's now convince that at least part of it is still in the house. She frantically says she doesn't know and we tell Varric to calm down because it's our job to make idle threats in this group. Before either of us can say anything further though, the house shakes again and the servant runs off, only to be killed shortly thereafter by a large, ethereal golem.
Like corporeal golems, this one is incredibly strong, but slow. It tries to make up for this weakness by summoning lesser demons, but they barely faze our party at this point. When the apparition is finally defeated, it leaves behind a shard of Bartrand's idol, which Varric picks up right away. He tells us he can accomplish things with it, but Chickene is annoyed by the Tethras' brothers strange obsession at this point and tells him to get rid of it. Varric resists us initially but once we tell him he's sounding like Bartrand, he hands it over and decides he doesn't want to argue about it. We meet him at the Hanged Man again after leaving the unhaunted mansion behind, and he admits that he wasn't himself. We part on good terms, as usual, and have Sandal turn the evil lyrium thing into a nice coaster for us.
What's that, Sandal? You were thinking of making some kind of weapon rune with it?
NO! I'm the Champion, and I need something awesome to rest my orichalcum stein on!
NO! I'm the Champion, and I need something awesome to rest my orichalcum stein on!
Merrill has some weird magic stuff of her own for us to help with at this point, too. Once again, it's her fancy mirror that a demon has been telling her to repair. She still can't get it to work, so she wants to go back to where she found it on Sundermount to summon it again and ask if it still has the instruction manual. She casually mentions that she'd like us to come along and kill her if it possesses her. Chickene scolds her once again for consorting with demons, but decides that she'll probably go alone if we tell her no, so we're off to Sundermount again.
Upon arriving on the mountain, we're surprised to see that the nomadic elves have still not found themselves a new home yet. We approach Keeper Marethari and Merrill asks why, but the Keeper vaguely tells us that her clan still has business here and will not depart until it is concluded. She then asks us what our business here is, and Chickene bluntly says that Merrill wants to summon a demon again. Marethari is disappointed, but not surprised. She says she has done all she can to try to persuade Merrill that this is a bad idea and knows of only one other course of action that will help.
Once Merrill leads us to the cave near the summit of Sundermount where the demon has been bound, we learn what the Keeper meant by that. The demon's presence can no longer be felt in the cave and Marethari appears to let us know she was responsible for that. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean she banished it because it would be more powerful in the Fade. Instead, she made herself its prison... in other words, she's now a pride abomination. She then asks us to kill her so that the demon can finally be defeated. Merrill is upset, but is soon left with no other choice when the pride demon takes over the Keeper's body.
The usual celebratory high-fives we exchange after killing a demon seem inappropriate now.
While powerful, the abomination is unable to summon any aid to itself, so it is quickly defeated by the concentrated ranged attacks of Varric, Merrill and Chickene. Its form shifts back to that of the Keeper's, and Marethari says the demon is defeated and she can return to her clan now. Chickene rolls his eyes and points out that she just said a minute ago that she had to die. Merrill recognizes the demon's lie too, and stabs the Keeper in the torso. She then falls to her knees and tells herself this must all be a bad dream. Chickene reminds her that this is all her fault for dealing with demons, then tries to console her by saying Marethari's love for her was her salvation. Merrill, feeling increasingly annoyed with Chickene, says she needs to tell the clan.
The Dalish are already waiting outside the cave when we emerge. They know the Keeper went in the cave and demand to know what happened, though one points out that Merrill is covered in blood and it's not that difficult to imagine. Merrill admits the Keeper is dead and Chickene swears to the Dalish that he'll ensure she doesn't harm anyone else. They are skeptical to trust the word of a human, but the self-appointed leader of the mob just wants Merrill gone. We leave the village peacefully, with our companion still distraught over the fact that her clan will never forgive her. You could say she and Chickene are no longer on friendly terms.
Aveline, however, is still one of Chickene's closest friends and when we receive a note from Knight-Captain Cullen with allegations that she's coddling her men, we decide to bring it to her attention. We find her in her office in the barracks, where a Templar is in the middle of suggesting she submit to Meredith's authority. After he leaves, we throw the accusations in her face and she insists that she's not soft on her men. Chickene immediately reneges and says that she doesn't need to prove that to him, but Aveline says the two of them are going to intercept her husband's patrol tonight and we can see for ourselves what kind of assignment he has. That night at the docks, we find Guardsman Donnic in the middle of a brawl with a group of street thugs. After helping him clear them out, Chickene demands that Donnic respond to the allegations and, after a sideways glance at Aveline, he details how her leadership has been nothing but positive.
It's possible he just doesn't want to insult a woman who wears blood instead of fine jewelry as an accessory.
We then head to the Gallows to tell Knight-Captain Cullen the accusations are baseless. He says he's not surprised, but wanted to tell us about them because they'll be used as an excuse to put the guards under the command of the Templars. Chickene demands that Aveline have the right to face her accuser and Cullen says all he knows is that every complaint originated from Lowtown. After checking with her guards there, we find out that the complaints are all coming from one guy, who we're already acquainted with. The former Guard Captain, Jeven, has assembled a group of mercenaries and anti-Fereldan types to stir up sentiment against the guard. He tried to get the guardsmen to turn too, but none of them have. So, Aveline tells us we're going to pay him a visit at his next rally.
Jeven looks as scruffy and as unimpressive as he did several years ago, and he doesn't have any criticism of Aveline apart from the fact that she's a Fereldan bitch with an Orlesian name who stole his job. Chickene decides he's not worth his time and lets Aveline deliver a counter-argument. Jeven won't back down, since he's already hit rock bottom, but Aveline says there's one thing she hasn't taken from him. One melee later, she's taken his life, too. With the attempted coup taken care of, we head back to the barracks but Aveline is still uncertain about whether her men really support her. Donnic appears to reassure her though, saying everyone in the barracks would follow her into the void if she asked.
"Remember when I said you had a chance to be a recurring antagonist? Sorry, man. I guess that was bad advice."
This wraps up almost all of the last-minute business our companions had to deal with, meaning the final conflict between mages and Templars is fast approaching. Things have been quiet for now, but Meredith's iron grip on the city is pushing mages to the breaking point. What will be the "last straw" that our quest journal is promising? Does it have anything to do with that neglected letter from First Enchanter Orsinio, buried under spam messages from fake dwarven investors? More importantly, will Chickene ever find a cool hat to match the rest of his Champion's ensemble? We'll find out soon enough....
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