Aladuchar - the mad priests haven

We arrived at the remote village of Haven to a less than friendly welcome. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a guard who made it very clear that we weren't welcome. Not only did this not deter me, the fact that such a small and remote village had a guard posted was clear evidence that something was going on with this place.

My suspicions were soon borne out when we met their head priest, a man by the name of Eirik. We came across him in the village Chantry and he immediately attacked us as soon as we told him that we were looking for Brother Genitivi. It was fortunate that we were on our guard otherwise his attack would have caught us by surprise.


Eirik calls his guards - for all the good it did him

After sending Eirik on a one way journey to meet his "Maker", we found Brother Genitivi in one of the back rooms of the Chantry. It is incredible that he is still alive. Even more incredible is the tale he spun of how the villagers were an ancient cult who revered Andraste. It appears that the only reason the cultists kept him alive was because they wanted to know how he managed to find them and who else knew about the details of his search.

In any event, it appears that the Urn of Sacred Ashes is not only real, but located in a temple of the top of a mountain just a short walk from the village.


Brother Genitivi tells us the incredible tale of Andraste's Ashes

With Brother Genitivi's assistance, we were able to enter the ruined temple which is supposed to hold the Urn containing the ashes of the prophet Andraste. We haven't found it yet and are still searching the temple but considering the amount of armed resistance that we have encountered already, it is clear that there is something here that these fools believe to be worth dying for.


Armed cultists assault us at every turn inside the temple

The greatest shock so far though is that these cultists seem to be breeding dragons! We came across some feeding pens earlier and found a herd of slaughtered cattle. The reason for all the dead bovines was soon apparent when we were set upon by drakes and dragonlings. We were able to hold them off by moving to higher defensible ground and forcing the animals into attacking us one at a time. Bloody things singed my beard though.


Holding our ground at the top of the stairs

Shortly after we were ambushed by those drakes, we came across Kolgrim. Kolgrim is the head of the cultists and, get this, actually claimed that Andraste had returned. Even now, just the thought of it is enough to make me chortle.

Unfortunately, I couldn't contain my laughter at the time either which didn't particularly please Kolgrim. Falsely believing that I was mocking him (just to be clear, I wasn't mocking him although I would have if I had been able to stop laughing) he and his band attacked us. Despite his silly delusion, the man was a strong and capable fighter and pushed us hard.

Kolgrim is offended by my laughter

In the end though, as with all others, he fell before my blade. And with that, I should get moving again. The others look as if they have sufficiently rested from our encounter with Kolgrim and I don't want to hang around too long.

Aladuchar - the search for Genitivi

The good news is that Morrigan managed to do it. The wonderful bitch woke up after several hours and reported that she had defeated the demon which had possessed Connor. This was soon borne out when we tromped upstairs and found the boy in a supreme state of confusion. Its probably a good thing that he remembers nothing of the ordeal that he went through.

All in all, a good day's work by Morrigan. It also shows that perhaps the Chantry is right in their dealings with the Circle of Magi. Having spent my life in Orzammar, I admit that I know little about mages other than the rumors. But having seen first hand how much damage even a little boy could wreak, I have to concede that some of those rumors may indeed be true.

Alas, it appears that the poison fueling Arl Eamon's sickness was not caused by the demon. Although Connor has fully recovered, Arl Eamon remains in a poor state. Jowan was helpful in providing us with the actual poison that he had been administering to the Arl. However, he didn't actually know what the poison was as he had been given it by an aide to Loghain. Considering that even Morrigans considerable skill with herbs was not able to help us in this instance, I have a suspicion that the poison involves magic of some kind.

Which left me in a dire predicament. The rumors regarding the health of my father have continued and I desperately want to return to Orzammar to ascertain the truth of these rumors myself. However, the Arl is close to death and if a cure is not found soon, he will be dead before the first of the winter storms arrive.


Rumors of King Endrins poor health continue

But how to cure the Arl? Bann Teagan remains convinced that the Urn of Sacred Ashes, said to contain the sacred ashes of the prophet Andraste, is the only way to save Eamon. It is said that even a pinch of the ashes can cure any sickness. Yeah.

I should have ignored these fools, who were so blinded by their belief in the "Maker" that they had already wasted so much of their time on such a fools errand. However, Alistair pleaded for us to at least talk to Brother Genitivi who was Fereldens foremost scholar on the Urn.

Even so, I would have ignored them if it hadn't been for Brother Genitivi residing in Denerim. Ser Gorim, my former man, had told me that he planned to travel to Denerim upon his own exile. The hope of meeting my loyal man, and having him fight by my side again, was enough to sway my decision. And so it was that we travelled to Denerim.


We find Gorim in the market district

We found him all right but he won't be able to join us in our fight against the Blight. Poor Gorim. On his way to Denerim, he had been attacked by bandits and, although he was able to fight them off, his leg was crippled in the process. He was a mighty warrior in his own right but now, he has been reduced to selling Dwarven wares in the marketplace. Still, can I say my own fate - to fight the darkspawn until the taint within me grows beyond my control - is any better?


Weylon answers our questions

What grates the most though is that even after all this, it looks like I still won't be able to return to Orzammar yet. We weren't able to find Brother Genitivi in Denerim. Instead, we found his assistant Weylon who readily answered our questions about where Brother Genitivi had traveled to in his search for the Urn.

Luckily for me, he made a slip of the tongue and when I pressured him on it, he attacked us! We dispatched the fool easily enough and found the body of the real Weylon in the back room. Even now, I can scarce believe it but it turns out that the real Weylon had been killed and an impostor put in his place to mislead people in their search for the Urn and the missing Brother Genitivi.

We found some indications that Brother Genitivi had actually gone to a small town called Haven, a remote village which wasn't even on any of our maps. Considering the lengths which these people had gone to keep others away from this town, I cannot help but wonder if there could be some truth in the rumor that the Urn of Sacred Ashes is real.

If this is indeed the only hope of saving Arl Eamon then I guess I have no choice but to investigate the village of Haven. I know not whether King Endrin is really sick. However, one thing is clear - without our aid, Arl Eamon will surely die.

Aladuchar - Connor's abomination

All my life, I have battled against the darkspawn. I have led countless men, many of whom have died, in Orzammars neverending struggle in the Deep Roads. I am a stranger neither to death nor to Command. And yet, I have never felt as restless as I do now.

Morrigan has gone into the Fade to battle the demon. Despite my doubts, she was willing to enter the Fade alone and face considerable danger all because I asked it of her.

Perhaps I have misjudged her.


Jowan sends Morrigan into the Fade using the blood of the Arlessa

We have holed up in the main hall of Redcliffe Castle while we await the outcome of Morrigan's journey into the unknown. She currently lies comatose and only the occasional twitch of her body belies the peaceful facade to show the very real danger that she is in.

And while she faces mortal danger in my name, all I can do is sit here and watch her still body. No, not still. Her chest moves with every breath she takes and I pray to the Stone for this to continue for if it stops, then she will have failed and will have died alone in the Fade.

I curse myself for the moment of weakness that allowed the Arlessa's plea to sway me. I should never have agreed to send Morrigan into the Fade alone. Despite my exile from Orzammar, I am still the son of House Aeduchan. I should be on the front lines and not sitting like an old man while others fight in my name.

But it is too late now. Morrigan has already entered the Fade and all I can do is sit and curse impotently. I have no idea how long this will take. Jowan has told us that time moves differently while in the Fade and it is impossible to tell when she will return.

Assuming she returns at all.


I can only imagine the horrors that Morrigan may be facing in the Fade

Aladuchar - Assault on Redcliffe Castle

Bah - so much for Bann Teagan's promise of "aid" in our assault on Redcliffe Castle.

When we went to see Bann Teagan, it turned out his promise of aid was merely a back entrance into the castle itself. Despite the high likelihood of encountering more of those undead horrors which attacked the village last night, Bann Teagan's only solution was for us to sneak into the castle via the back entrance. No soldiers. No army. Just us.

It was lucky for him that Arlessa Isolde came out of the castle when she did. While we were "discussing" the Bann's distressing lack of support, the Arlessa came down from the castle. She tried to charm me with her beautiful puppy dog eyes but I saw through her right away. Unfortunately, the Bann doesn't appear to be as smart. She spun a highly suspicious story about how the Bann needed to travel to the castle alone otherwise even more horrors would be let loose. Despite such an obvious trap, the Bann agreed.

Anyway, as I said, it was lucky for him she came out when she did otherwise I would have given him more than an earful for his "support".


The Arlessa spins a sad, but suspicious, tale with her puppy dog eyes

In any event, my band of warriors entered the castle via the secret entrance in the mill while the Bann accompanied the Arlessa back to the castle. I actually suspect this secret entrance is more of a secret escape route from the castle - why else would the entrance be in the village? I have to wonder what kind of coward this Arl Eamon is to have an escape tunnel built into his castle. For myself, you can be certain of one thing - I have no scars on my back.

Although Bann Teagan was of little use, Ser Perth once again proved his worth. After sneaking through the dungeon, we managed to get to the main gate and open it. Ser Perth had gathered some of his knights and together, we stormed the main hall.


Ser Perth and his knights join us after we open the main gate

Actually, the word "stormed" isn't quite accurate in this case. The scene which greeted us as we entered the main hall of the castle certainly wasn't what we expected. Instead of the expected scenes of carnage and death, we found the Bann acting like a clown while being encouraged by a young boy who turned out to be Connor, Arl Eamon's son.


Connor enjoys his court of clowns

It appears that Connor has been possessed by a demon and is now an abomination although, for now at any rate, he still looks just like any other boy. The abomination ran off like a coward while the castles guards, clearly under the demons enthrall, attacked us.

It wasn't much of a fight. Without the demons direct influence, Bann Teagan and some of the guards were able to break clear of the demons spell. With both their assistance and the aid of Ser Perth, we were able to easily overcome the remaining guards. The only question is what to do with Connor now that he has been possessed by a demon.

Personally, I would have just stormed the upper levels and killed the boy. I have no taste for all this sneaking around. However, the Arlessa is desperate for a way to save her boy. Much as I dislike this fool of a woman, hers is a sad tale and I cannot help but feel a certain level of pity for the woman. So despite my preferences, I now find myself considering the words of Jowan.

Oh, I almost forgot. The tunnel from the village led into the castle's dungeons where we met a blood mage by the name of Jowan. According to the Arlessa, it was Jowan who had poisoned the Arl and set off the series of events which have led to the current situation. I admit that I was skeptical at first (I find it hard to believe anything that Orlesian noble woman says), but Jowan freely admitted to his crimes when we met him in the dungeon.

For a blood mage, Jowan was certainly nothing like I expected. He was surprisingly rational and remorseful over his actions. I suppose I should have left him to rot in the dungeon for his crimes but instead, I listened to my companions. They felt it would have been cruel to let him die like a caged animal with so many undead wandering the halls. I can see their point but still - a blood mage? Hmm.

In any event, our decision to free him proved beneficial.


Jowan pleads for a chance at redemption

When the Arlessa pleaded for a way to save her son, Jowan was the only person who had an alternative. With his blood magic, he is able to send a mage into the Fade to directly battle the demon possessing Connor. If we can defeat the demon in the Fade, then not only would Connor survive the experience, but he would return to normal as well.

But the cost will be high. Jowan will need to sacrifice someone in order to power the spell (the Arlessa immediately offered her life - say what you like about her, the woman dearly loves her son). The larger problem is that only a mage can enter the Fade and retain any semblance of sanity or control. Jowan himself cannot enter the Fade as he is casting the spell so the only option left to us is Morrigan.


Jowan offers the use of his blood magic to save Connor

With no guarantee of success, I am left pondering whether we should just storm the upper levels and kill the boy or whether it is worth taking the risk of sending Morrigan into the Fade alone. I admit it would be a shame to waste those puppy dog eyes of the Arlessa.

I also have to wonder if Morrigan would even be willing to risk herself to save the boy?