MFDAO: The Arl of Redcliffe, Part 2
Narrative Part 7 | MFDAO Index
[This quest line branches, depending on how the player chooses to deal with Connor. Since conferring with the Circle to save both Connor and Isolde is the "ideal" and most involved route, my write-up is organized according to that route.]
Teagan now feels confident that the village is secure enough to risk infiltrating the castle and getting to the bottom of what's going on in his brother's household. He explains that the old windmill has a secret passage that leads to the castle dungeon.
The discussion is interrupted by Isolde, running down from the castle path. She anxiously pleads with Teagan to come with her immediately, alone, and must be pressed to give any information.
In that case, she reports that a "terrible evil" which awakens the dead to hunt the living is terrorizing the castle, and to her knowledge has only spared a few guards, herself, her son Connor, and Eamon - who is alive, but afflicted with a magical slumber. She doesn't know what the evil wants or why it's here, but it allowed her to leave the castle only to seek out Teagan; she fears Connor is going insane from what he's witnessing, and begged for a chance for his uncle to get through to him.
If the Warden suggests a demon could be behind it, Isolde reluctantly confesses that she knows of one more survivor: a mage, indeed, who was thrown in the dungeon for attempting to poison Eamon just after Ostagar, who claims Loghain commanded him to do so.
Teagan agrees to go back with Isolde; they need Eamon more than ever, and must get to the bottom of this regardless of the risks. He gives his Guerrin signet ring to the Warden, instructing them to use it to open the secret passage while he keeps the evil being occupied. If they can open the castle gates, the army can enter and help restore order.
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Entering the castle dungeon through the secret passage, the party finds several undead accosting Jowan, who may be known to the Warden depending on Origin.
Jowan denies unleashing the undead, but readily confesses that this all began with him: he believed Loghain's lie that Eamon was a major threat to Ferelden, and believed that by assassinating Eamon, he would deserve a chance at redemption - because he's a convicted blood mage.
On further questioning, Jowan reveals that Isolde withheld information: Connor is an apostate. Fearing the Circle taking her child - and (unsaid) that bearing a mage would disgrace the family, and when Isolde was already on such thin ice in Ferelden - Isolde kept this from even Eamon, as she felt he would "do the right thing" and submit Connor to the Templars. And it was Isolde who hired Jowan, at Loghain's recommendation - not knowing he was a traitor - hoping Connor could learn just enough magic to hide it.
Jowan doesn't think Connor is capable of all this on his own, but may have accidentally opened the veil and let something terrible through.
Jowan pleads for an opportunity to set things right, no matter what happens to him after. The player has all the options from canon, with the same effects on the options to handle Connor later.
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Fighting their way through the courtyard, the Warden's party opens the gates for the returning Redcliffe soldiers, who are able to clear the rest of the castle of undead themselves so the party can proceed to the main hall.
There, they find a clearly-possessed Connor toying with a puppeted Teagan while Isolde desperately attempts to get through to the real Connor. She breaks through, and Connor is clearly terrified; he didn't mean to make a deal with a demon. But the clarity is short-lived, and he's overtaken again.
Isolde pleads with the Warden to help her son, and places the blame on Jowan - Connor only wanted to save his father from the assassin's poison. And the demon did indeed save Eamon, but holds him hostage in magical slumber, wanting the "anything" that Connor promised it in return: to march armies across the world and conquer it in its own name.
Frustrated, Abomination!Connor sics mind-controlled guards, Teagan included, on the party and flees. After being defeated, Teagan breaks out of the trance. Finally, Isolde takes responsibility for all this; it was she who tried to hide Connor, who trusted Loghain and hired Jowan, who let Connor fall into such distress that he would fall prey to a demon.
The Warden has an opportunity to repeat the rumor that Ser Donall told them: that Isolde sabotaged Redcliffe and held its soldiers back from Ostagar in a scheme to weaken Ferelden for an opportunistic attack by Orlais. She vehemently denies it; long ago, she betrayed Orlais for the Fereldan man she loves, and, she laments, if she has betrayed the people of Redcliffe, she has only done it for her son.
Teagan and - perhaps surprisingly - Alistair speak up for her; Isolde's fidelity to Ferelden and Eamon is well-proven, no matter how countrymen like Loghain's old wounds may sting. This provides a contrast to Loghain, perhaps addressing a question the player may have had (does Loghain have a point? should they be suspicious of the Orlesians?) with a resounding, No. Loghain's feelings may be rooted in something real from his past life, but he doesn't have a point now; he's blinded by paranoia and resentment, and he'll drag the whole country to hell for it.
With that settled, it's clear they have only one foe here: the demon. And their focus is clear; Eamon must be saved.
The options for handling an Abomination are hashed out as in canon:
Connor can be killed outright, killing the demon with him. This suggestion is met with near-universal resistance (except from Morrigan, of course.)
Connor can possibly be saved by sending a mage into the Fade to kill the demon. ➨ This can be done via a ritual, but it's resource-intensive; they would need lyrium, but the only place to get it would be the nearby Circle of Magi, which they already know is behaving oddly. They could try to reach it again, but travel is time-consuming, and there's no telling what is going on there or what the demon will do here in the meantime. ➨ If Jowan was not killed, he interjects that the same ritual can be done with blood instead of lyrium, but it would come at a terrible cost: a life. Isolde readily volunteers to be sacrificed, but most everyone pushes back against resorting to blood magic and/or trusting Jowan.
If the Warden explores the Circle option, more exposition is available: Redcliffe already knew it was troubled, with Jowan and others exposed as blood mages. But there is no chance of finding capable mages with enough lyrium elsewhere, so if they are willing to risk the travel time to save both Connor and Isolde's lives, it may still be worth it.
The player can explore multiple options, with their choice only locked in when they a) travel to the Lake Calenhad docks b) enter Abomination!Connor's combat zone or c) ask Jowan to initiate the blood ritual.
