This entry is part of the special CHRONICLES blogpost series here on elocutio.nu retelling the story of the Dragon Age 2 videogame. Go here for an introduction to the story and a full overview of all the available chapters ~
[please note] This post contains spoilers !
Becoming An Adventurer
It’s been a full year after Ciara and her sister were recruited to work off their debt to Athenril. Now that they have paid off their debt they are looking for new work. Ciara heard about an expedition to The Deeproads organized by the dwarf Bartrand. Unfortunately the dwarf does not want to hire the two sisters. Just when they seem to run out of options an encounter with another dwarf will change their lives.
Instead of becoming a simple hireling Varric suggests Ciara becomes an investor. If she’s able to invest 50 sovereigns she will become a partner in the expedition and if they’re lucky… they will all be rich. Time for Ciara and Bethany to look for small jobs to get all that money together. First stop are The Barracks where Aveline is stationed as a City Guard. When they pass by The Chantry a mysterious man called Sebastian is posting a ‘hunt & kill’ job at the Chantry Board.
The Grand Cleric is not happy Sebastian is posting his call for aid on the board. It should not be used for assignments concerning vengeance. But, Sebastian tells her his family was brutally murdered and those responsible should be punished. As Sebastian storms off, Ciara decides to take a look at the posting and accepts the job. She will keep a look out for these so called Flint Company Mercenaries.
Word seems to travel fast in Kirkwall. As Ciara enters The Barracks to find Aveline, the guard tells Ciara she should be careful trusting Bartrand. Life has been slow as a guard, but Aveline still keeps an eye out for her friends. She has heard some rumours of an upcoming raid on a caravan at the Wounded Coast and she asks if Ciara is willing to help out. Ciara is always willing to help her friend and earning some extra coin in the process won’t hurt either. But first she needs to talk to Varric and find out more about the expedition.
Varric tells Ciara they also need a map with possible entry points to The Deeproads. Investing money and supplying the maps will give Bartrand enough reasons to accept Ciara as their business partner. Varric has heard rumours of a Grey Warden who travelled to Kirkwall together with some other Ferelden refugees. This Grey Warden should have some knowledge of The Deeproads. They might be able to track the warden down by asking Lirene who runs a shop to support Fereldan refugees.
Lirene is somewhat hesitant to tell Ciara where she can find the former Grey Warden. The apostate Anders has been helping Fereldan refugees and she does not want him to get hurt. When Ciara promises she will not hand over Anders to the Templars, Lirene points them to Darktown where they should look for the lit lantern.
Anders doesn’t want to think about The Deeproads after he left the Grey Wardens, but he tells Ciara he could give her maps of The Deeproads if she is willing to help him out! Anders wants to free one of his friends from The Circle and asks Ciara if she could aid with his escape. Ciara’s father was an apostate and she has always protected her sister Bethany. Ciara is not able to say “no”.
Anders send a letter to Karl to meet in The Chantry, but as they enter it seems Karl did not come alone. Karl has been made tranquil and has led Anders to a trap of the Templars. Enraged by this injustice Anders suddenly bursts out in strange blue flames, his voice changes and it looks as if he is possessed…
Anders attacks the Templars and he shouts that they will never take another mage as they took Karl. After a short battle the Templars are defeated. But Karl has been made tranquil, he has been cut off from The Fade and this process can’t be reversed. In a moment of clarity after Anders’ strange outburst Karl asks him to end his life. For a mage being tranquil is a fate worse than death.
Anders decides to help Karl end his life. Karl rather dies as a mage than being a Templar puppet. It is not what Anders wished for, but nothing more can be done. A clearly shaken up Anders tells Ciara they should leave before more Templars arrive on the scene.
Back at Anders’ clinic in Darktown he tells Ciara about the outburst in The Chantry. He tells her he joined together with a spirit called Justice, but his hatred for Templars has poisened the pure spirit and sometimes Justice is more a spirit of Vengeance. He is glad Ciara is not taken aback by this story and that she accepts him as he is. He gives her the maps of The Deeproads and tells her he will accompany her during the expedition if she needs his help.
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