Part 47: Jowan's Bogus Journey

PART 47: JOWAN'S BOGUS JOURNEY


My son awaits your decision. Make it quickly.

I will go to the Circle of Magi. That is my decision.

Very well. I will keep Jowan here as a precaution. He says he wants to help, so he will keep an eye on Connor with us.

Go to the tower quickly, then. The longer you are away, the greater the chance of disaster.



[Teagan's comment is a lie. There's absolutely no negative consequences for taking as much time as you like, which is a shame. It would've been fun to get distracted by sidequests and then return to find a blasted crater where Redcliffe used to be.]



[Before we head to the Tower, let's tie up a loose end back in the village.]





We better tell Owen we found his daughter.

I assume he worked that out when she ran home.

I'll clarify. We better tell Owen we found his daughter and would also like to be rewarded for it.

Classy.

We need money for travelling expenses, Alistair. Unless you want to be eating Sten's rock stew for the next two weeks.

Full of all the essential minerals a body needs. And nothing else.





My Valena returned! She told me of your daring rescue. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am.

Take this... a reward for your deed. It's dwarven made, and should serve you well.

Thank you. I was glad to help.

Thank you again! I'm forever in your debt.



[This armor's perfect for Bianca right now. Decent resistances, and as it's only medium armor, it won't slow down Bianca's attack speed.

There are five categories of armor in Dragon Age: Cloth, Light, Medium, Heavy and Massive. Moving up the weight classes increases the level of protection but also increases the stamina cost of combat talents. Heavy and Massive armors also give a stiff penalty to ranged weapon attack speeds, unless you pick up the “Master Archer” top-level perk.]



Peace out, Valena.



DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNN, DUN DUN DUNNNNN...



That was a quick two weeks.



Welcome back, friend. You'll be glad to learn that the Circle is well on its way to recovery.

There's a little boy that needs your help very, very much.

Oh no! Has he stopped believing in Christmas?

…

…

Can the Circle go to Redcliffe to save a possessed child?



The child is possessed? But... killing the demon would mean killing the--

Unless you intend to enter the Fade? Yes... yes, it can be done with a group of mages...

I shall gather what mages I can and we shall leave promptly. A life is at stake.

You're not going to ask me to do some irrelevant bullshit before you'll help?

No? Why would I do that?

Irving, you're alllllllllllright.



NUD NUD NUD NUDDDDD, NUD NUD NUDDDDD...



Wait, this isn't Redcliffe.



[There is a quest you pick up from the Chantry board in Redcliffe that will cause this encounter to randomly trigger when travelling.]



[Approaching the 'Trickster Whim' will cause a bunch of weaker clones to spawn in. One's a mage, hence that big glowy Rune of Repulsion that completely missed all the characters.]



[They can also heal themselves, but this fight is still trivial. Or at least it is with a few DLCs under your belt.]



This thing seems very familiar.

You summoned it in the Circle Tower, remember?





So much death...

A grim reminder of unintended consequences.

Check his pockets.



Sweet!



I mean, um... Let's go. And never speak of this again.

Do you still want the boots?





Well, that was a relaxing month of travel.

It seems nothing has happened in our absence. This demon is unusually lazy.

Lucky for us.





Ah! There you are.

How did you get here ahead of us?

Magic.

Oh. Right.

We have brought lyrium and begun preparations for the ritual. We can start anytime.

So only one person can go through?

Yes. We haven't sufficient lyrium at present to send more than one mage into the Fade.

Are you sure this is the only way?



It only works because the child gave himself to the demon willingly. If the demon takes over the host forcibly we must slay the abomination.

We have only enough lyrium for one attempt. I hope you succeed. Such a young lad deserves better than execution.

Do you have any last minute advice?

It truly depends on the manner of demon. It sounds like a spirit of greed and desire, one of the more powerful in the hierarchy.

It will likely engage you in dialog and tempt you with an offer. Avoid it. Making deals with demons never turns out well.

Let's do this now.



I'm glad we decided to take this route. This is really the best option. Thank you, somethingawful.com.

Very well. Who will go into the Fade?

[We have the option to send either Morrigan or Wynne into the Fade. We could also go ourselves, if we were a mage. Indeed, heading in ourselves is the only way to unlock the Blood Mage combat specialization. But we're not a mage, so who cares?

We also get two other alternatives. We could send Irving himself, who is very powerful but requires a persuasion check to agree. Or we could send...]

Jowan is going.



What? Me? Are you sure?

Loose a blood mage into the Fade to meet a demon? What if he takes control of it?

Then we kill him in the real world. It would solve several problems at once.

T-thanks.

Come on, Irving. This is Jowan's chance to redeem himself.

You trust too much and too quickly, but I shall do as you ask.

I'll... do my best, I promise.




LATER, IN THE FADE...



[Now we're Jowan!]



[Like we learned earlier, Jowan is a blood mage, although he can only use the base level talent of the specialization.

The basic Blood Magic talent leeches health to fuel magic. As HP always outstrips MP, blood mages can throw around a lot more spells. Nevertheless it is a really, really bad idea to use this ability while fighting solo, like Jowan is now.

High level blood magic talents give you access to super damaging spells and a way to turn enemies into allies. It's pretty cool.]



Haunted by ghosts of my ex-boss. It truly is hell.



[The shades of Arl Eamon and Connor wandering around are harmless. They do complain a lot though.]





You there! Have you seen my son? I can... I can hear him, but I cannot find him. This blasted fog has me turning in circles!

Er... Arl Eamon? Do you remember me?

You! Traitor!!

I guess you do.

Stay away from my son! Stay away!! Connor! We must flee! Where... where are you?!



Bye then.



[The Fade is the same as it ever was, although at least there are no random enemies wandering around.]





Who are you? Are you the one that made Father ill? Tell me now!

H-hello Connor. I'm here to help your father--

No! You're here to hurt Father! I know it! I won't let you!

Maybe I wasn't the best choice for this mission.







[It is kind of disturbing seeing a small child turn into a boob demon.]



*poof*





Stop turning into demons, Connor, or... you'll be sent to bed without any supper?

Why do you keep hurting me?! Why are you trying to stop me?

We don't have to fight. I just want to save Connor and Arl Eamon.

I will not speak with you! Trespasser! I will drive you out!!

Multiple exclamation marks? Uh oh.



*poof*

[This battle ended so quickly I didn't get any good screenshots. These demons seem to be weaker in the Fade than outside it.]





How many of you are there?



Father wanders, seeking me, trapped within my web. All is as it should be. Why must you interfere?

Everything ends. They'll never let you get away with this.

Connor invited her to come, and they struck a bargain. She has every right to do as she wishes.

No, it is time for you to go now. Do not persist, or things will go very badly for you.



[You get jumped by two rage demons and a desire demon here, and if you get caught in the rage demon's Fire Blasts your health will evaporate.

Jowan doesn't know the Heal spell, and you can't carry health poultices into the Fade. The only way he can restore his HP is by leeching it off the demons with the Drain Health spell.

The harder fights in this little solo section can be entertainingly tense, as you need to balance debuffs, heals, damage and running away tactical retreats in order to stay on top of the demons.]



*poof*



[This section of the Fade does have a few unique touches. Such as Connor's toys embedded in the walls.]





Very well. No more illusions. Now we meet face-to-face. You see my true form and stand in my domain.

It is here I am most powerful, and yet I have no wish to engage your power. Nor should you be so eager to engage mine.

Perhaps we should converse instead?

[This is the point where a mage warden could negotiate for use of Blood Magic, or some other goodies, in exchange for letting the demon flee.

Jowan ain't having none of that shit though.]

I've been given a chance to do something good for a change. I'm not going throw it away.

Alas, that is sad.

If you wish a battle, you will have it. Let us see if your power matchs your boldness, creature.



[WIZARD BATTLE!]



I thought you said no more illusions!

[Sometimes the demon will teleport away and spawn clones. Can you find the real one?]







[The demon can also stun you for a while with a Glyph of Paralysis. This made me nervous in the battle, considering it happened when Jowan only had half health, but the demon never capitalised on it. Guess it really is lazy.]



Wow. That was... pretty great.

Do I just wake up n--




LATER, IN REALITY...












AND SO...



So it is over.

Connor is his old self. He does not seem to remember anything, which is a blessing.

I suppose we will need to send him to the Circle of Magi's tower for... training, once the war is over. It's so odd to think of the boy as a mage, of all things.

Eamon has much to mourn and rebuild, should he recover. But at least he can be thankful that both his son and wife are safe.



[And that's it. We've saved Redcliffe, although the Arl still needs our help. Dark forces are mobilizing across the kingdom. We still have the elves and dwarves to deal with. And we're probably going to have to head to the capital, Denerim, at some point.

I'm on holiday next week, so the LPs update schedule may be erratic for a little while. *More* erratic at least.

But for now, I have an important decision for you, the reader, to make.]

ROMANCE VOTE!

It can't have escaped your notice that Bianca is travelling with some pretty studly guys. And ladies. But should we take it to the next level? Enter the danger zone? Activate the Flirt option?

Who will be our sweet baboo?

1. Alistair!
Pro: Pure of heart.
Con: Small of brain.

2. Zevran!
Pro: Keeps it casual.
Con: Casual murderer.

3. Leliana!
Pro: RED-HEADED BI-CURIOUS FRENCH NUN.
Con: God tells her to kill people.

4. No-one!
Bianca's a strong independent dwarf who don't need no man/nun.

This decision won't pay off for a while, but it will shape upcoming dialogue choices. Vote now!


NEXT TIME: Talking time.