Part 131: Dead And Loving It

PART 131: DEAD AND LOVING IT


[Our update this week month starts with a trip back to Goop Cave.

Warning: monster tits straight outta the gate on this one.]



Mother...?



It comes with sweet news, I hope? Tell the Mother.

The First, it is dead. The Grey Wardens are gone from the marsh.

Wicked, wicked Wardens! They killed the First--killed him, cut out the Mother's heart... (Sobs)

But... was it not the Mother who wished him dead?

[If you remember, the First was the unwitting trigger for the trap intended to kill our heroes.]



(Sobs) Dead... no... (Laughs)

Peace! I wished him peace! To find the song again... to hear the sweet call...



We are all lost. But the day will come when the silence ends, even for me.




MEANWHILE, AT VIGIL KEEP...



Grumble! Grumble!



I leave you alone for five minutes, and Wardens Inc. is in a shambles.

Thank the Maker you arrived. Things are getting out of hand.

The peasants are revolting, my liege.

Yes, but what are they complaining about?



My son is starving! Open the granaries!

Bloody feed your people!

Grave times, Commander. The common folk are getting desperate. Your insistence on making jokes about their hygiene hasn't helped matters.

[The riot can start for several reasons. Because you chose to guard the farms in Episode 3, the Wardens control the flow of food in the region and are getting blamed for the lack of it. If we had chosen to abandon the farms, people would be rioting about the darkspawn overrunning the countryside. If we had executed more criminals in court back in Episode 11, the peasants would riot over our tyranny.]



Maybe you can say a few words? Calm them down. Make them see reason.

Varel, you don't coddle a revolt. You put it down. Just give me the order.

(Persuade) Now, more than ever, we must stand together...

We will not be--



Let the commander speak.

But we must eat! We--

Quiet!

(Persuade) I will provide for my people. Trust me.

You expect us to believe those empty--

The commander‘s soldiers protect my home. That promise is enough for me.

B-but...

[This can go sour very quickly, especially if you failed to deal with the noble's conspiracy. But we did, and Bianca maxed out her Persuasion stats, so this is pretty easy.]



Awww. I wanted a riot.

Empty promises win again.

Crisis averted, I suppose. But if you give a mob a rooster, they'll take the chicken coop next time.

You're right. Next time, I'll just have the starving peasants decapitated in front of their families.

I don't know how you did that. Men, stand down.

I'll be in the keep.



Did you know that you twitch from time to time?



It's like you're dancing. Oooh, we should set you to music

Has it occurred to you that I may be... self-conscious about this twitching?

Oh, sorry. Are you?

No.




INSIDE THE KEEP...



(Growls) Sod it.

What's the matter?

Nothing. Stubbed my toe. Just one of those days.

Actually, it's been one of those weeks. (Sigh)

I'm under the impression you've had one of those years.

You can say that again.



I've just been thinking about Felsi and the nugget. Didn't do right by them, did I?

If you have to ask...

That's what I like about you. You're honest. Like a sock to the gut.

I think Felsi knew, even if she never acknowledged it to herself. She knew I could never settle down again.

I did once and... well, you know.

If that's what you need to tell yourself, sure. She'll survive.



People survive losing a leg, Warden, doesn't mean they're not damaged. (sigh) She'll be all right in the end though.

But the nugget... ah, that's got me all torn up inside, Commander. Little one won't understand.

There's no reason you can't be a part of your child's life.

Maybe I could visit once in a while, write some letters. That's the least I could do... as a father.

And hey, (chuckles) the little one will grow up thinking Daddy's a great hero.

Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Yeah. (Chuckles) I'll try for being a decent person first. Thanks, commander.



[And so Oghren's journey from shitty dad to marginally less shitty dad is complete.

Hey look, it's Loghain!]



Ah. There you are.

I see you are back amongst the Grey Wardens. Leadership looks good on you, I think.

Thank you. I prefer this life, to be honest. Drifting around Ferelden with Zevran got boring after a while... Apart from the incredible sex.

Then you are lucky. To do a job you enjoy, I mean. Not the sex thing. I don't want to think about that right now.



I came to pay my respects to the new Commander of the Grey before I leave Ferelden. I trust everything is going well?

You mean other than most of the Wardens dying?

Anora told me. Orlesian or not, the Wardens here did not deserve such a fate.

I have been commanded to join the Wardens in Montsimmard. Apparently I am not trusted to remain in Ferelden. I will interfere, I am told.

Perhaps they are right. Still, to send me to Orlais? I thought darkspawn blood would be the last poison I‘d have to swallow.

Someone senior has a sense of humor. I could try to intervene on your behalf.

Unnecessary. My orders come from Weisshaupt itself.



My other reason for coming here was to bring equipment that remained in the cache at Denerim. There is also this.



It belonged to Ferelden's Commander of the Grey before Duncan, and now it is yours. Use it well.

Oh good, more of Sophia's creepy crap. What now for you?

Now it is time for me to go. The Orlesian Wardens await my presence, daggers and all.

It was good to see you again. With you here, I know the Wardens will have matters well in hand.

Good luck in Orlais. Don't start another war.

I promise nothing.



[Welp, that's Loghain sent to his death. Let's now chat to the good corpse fella.]



This world is nothing like I thought it would be.

The demons lust to cross the Veil, but the rest of us scoff. We pity mortals, we do not envy them.

Thanks for that. We appreciate it.

You misunderstand.

We are wrong about this world. There is beauty here... and the mortals, they are worth saving.

You helped me in the Fade, and have proven yourself since. It is not right to judge all mortals the same.

Are you saying we're friends now?



A "friend." That is an interesting concept. I do not know how to respond to that.

Gimme a hug, you ugly bastard.

I wonder... may I make a request?

There is something in this world you call lyrium. Might you find me an object made from it?

There are potions made of lyrium.

I desire only the smallest bit of pure rock. The version of lyrium that mortals dream of in the Fade... it is not the same. Here, it sings.

The sound is something only a spirit could hear, but it summons an ache I didn't know I had.

Would this ring do? I think the stone is lyrium.

[We found the ring in Kal'Hirol, from a random chest. Saving it to give to Justice in this conversation gets us bonus approval points.]



That is it! That is it exactly! Oh, thank you!



Of all the things I have seen in this world, this is the most precious.

I shall keep it at my side as a reminder that even in misfortune, good can be found.



[We can also inspect the chest next to Justice for a bonus conversation.]



This is a chest of belongings once owned by the man whose body I now inhabit.

His essence lingers upon these objects like dust.

You can feel it?

I can even hear it whispering his name into the ether.



In the Fade, nothing outlives the spirit that created it.

Here everything does. This world has fingerprints on top of fingerprints, witness to beings long dead.

Can you tell anything from these 'fingerprints'?

How does one describe a sensation? I have no words for it.

The man who owned these things was a Grey Warden like yourself, yes? We intend to avenge him?

Yes. That's my hope.

Good. These darkspawn are a cancer within the heart of this world.

(Sigh) But there is nothing that can be done just yet, is there?

A world so full of beauty that beauty goes overlooked. I must see it with different eyes.



[Before we go to do more plot stuff, there's a few sidequests to take care of. Oghren, Anders and Justice are along for the ride.]



Serve justice, as I always have.

I know what I’d do if I suddenly became a complete man.

You are alluding to something. I know not what.

You can't be that stupid.

We have work to do.



[Indeed we do.]



Over my dead body they will. To arms, lads.



[Before we can leave, we are rudely interrupted by a cutscene.]





Kristoff! Oh, thank the Maker!

I fear you are mistaken, mortal.



Kristoff? Why are you...? What has happened?

You were Kristoff's wife?

I am his wife!

Your husband is gone, and I inhabit this body now. His death will be avenged, I assure you.

Avenged? You've desecrated his body! How dare you!

It was not intentional. There was--

Get away from me! (Leaves)



This body has memories of this woman. Aura is her name. I did not know she would come.

Poor woman. It must be a shock to learn this. Although, she took it pretty well, all things considered. At least she didn't try to set you on fire.

I must rectify this, somehow. Intentionally or not, I have done this woman a great disservice.

Where would we even look for her?

She just left. She must still be on the road to Vigil. If we hurry, we could catch up with her.

Nah, I don't want to do it right now. I've got stuff to deal with first.



My memories suggest her home is in Amaranthine. It will prey on me if we do not seek her out.

Amaranthine? But you... Kristoff was from Orlais. You were staying in an inn in Amaranthine.

My memories suggest it was complicated.

There must be something that can be done to assuage her pain! Something!

I'll see what I can do.

The darkspawn call our attention, but should we get the chance to seek her out, I would be grateful.



[Before we deal with Justice's thing, let's hunt down some scavengers.]



[That was quick.]



[These guys are very much not a threat. The weather is more of a problem.]



[Defeating them nets us a lot of these Trade Goods, which we can sell for money at any store.]



Mission complete... Wait a minute, I recognise that bridge. This is just Forlorn Cove again!

Hm. Hard to believe the cartographers would just recycle the same map with minimal changes. I haven't heard of something like that happening before.




BACK IN AMARANTHINE CITY...



[Suddenly, an old friend appears.]



I knew you'd make it back here!

Have you sold that thing I gave you? It's not much, but I hope you get a good price for it.

You sure you're not infected with the darkspawn taint?

I... no! I feel fine! You don't think I... maybe I should just go...



Well, that sounded convincing.



[The dialogue said that Aura had a house in Amaranthine, but she's actually staying at the Chantry. Which makes sense, because it doesn't fit with Kristoff's backstory that she'd actually live here. I think this game needed another editing pass.]









Aura. Please, do not be alarmed. I do not wish to frighten you.

You. You are the... in my husband's body.



I am a spirit of Justice. I meant your husband no harm. I would ease your distress, had I the power.

I... knew, when he left, that this could happen. He told me. His father died a Grey Warden, too.

Tell me, is there anything I can do for you? Tell me and I will do it.

Avenge him, spirit. I will wait for his ashes a little longer, if it means that whoever did this to him will pay.

The darkspawn. Yes, I understand.







And she is gone. Did I... do the right thing?

I think so, yes.

She loved this man a great deal, and he loved her. I... envy what they had.

I must think on this more. But another time. Thank you for bringing me here.



[And that's it for Justice's companion quest.]


PARTY VOTE!

Next time we'll be going to the magical elf forest for the final (or is it???) story mission of the game. But who's coming with us?

Choose three out of Oghren, Anders, Nathaniel, Sigrun and Justice. Vote now!


NEXT TIME: Trade Troubles