Dragon Age: Inquisition — Story Playthrough — Part Nineteen

Iron Bull had reaffirmed his loyalty to the Qun, Leliana had softened her dark ways, and Dagna had figured out a way to destroy Samson's armour. Now all they had to do was find Samson...

...and where better to find him than in the forests where an ancient elven temple lay undisturbed for eons?

Morrigan had earlier declared that Corypheus' forces were combing the forests in search of this temple where an Eluvian lay, so that Corypheus could access the space "in between" which would allow him access to the physical Fade. Now that the Inquisition armies were rested after their last battle, Iselia felt comfortable sending them out into the wilds.

Before Iselia could give the order though, Josephine pulled her aside and asked her out to lunch in Val Royeaux. When they arrived, Josephine informed her that the assassins who were threatening her life had discarded the contract and her family was now able to form trading relations in Orlais once more.

Iselia was glad to hear that, but didn't quite understand why she had to be told away from Skyhold when they were planning a battle. She was happy for her friend though.

With that out of the way, they hurried back to Skyhold. Grabbing Morrigan, they headed for the war table and made plans on how to best get to this ancient temple.

Everyone was going to have to work together and communicate well so their forces could be directed through the treacherous wilds and towards the ancient temple, but they could do it. Iselia had faith in her colleagues and their command.

And they did.

Soon the Inquisition forces were marching through the wilds and had at last met Corypheus' forces. The enemy was practically at the temple gates; they needed to catch up and overtake them, quickly.

The army fought while Iselia and her small group headed for the temple and fought themselves to make it easier on the army. With any luck there would be minimal casualties in this battle. Since they were headed for an elven temple, Iselia thought it best that Solas accompany them as her second-mage rather than Dorian. Perhaps Solas' knowledge would be worth something here.

As they fought their way to the temple, they found themselves in battle against elves as well as the red templars.

Perhaps this ancient elven temple wasn't truly abandoned, after all...

They continued onwards, fighting against red templars and strange elves alike, until at last a group of their own forces sent word that a scout had seen Corypheus. He was here. In the wilds. They had already known that his forces were, but the creature itself? That was worrying.

They reached the ancient temple and indeed found Corypheus there, alongside Samson, a bunch of red templars and a couple of Wardens still under his control.

Morrigan, Iselia and her people hid in the trees above and watched the scene unfold before them. Corypheus wanted this temple, now, he needed the Well of Sorrows. Iselia cast Morrigan a long glance. Was that the Eluvian or something else? Morrigan just shrugged, confused herself.

Corypheus walked up to the temple and was disintegrated by several powerful beams of elven magic, but that just allowed his men to continue towards the temple while he rebirthed himself in the body of the Grey Warden at his side. Varric gasped. No wonder he had survived Hawke!

Before Corypheus could fully be rebirthed, Iselia and her people raced across the bridge and into the temple... and closed the doors before Corypheus could reach them. The doors sealed with a golden magic. They were safe for now... but Samson and the red templars were already in here too.

They had to stop them.

They raced further into the temple. Annoyed at their progress, Samson demanded some of his templars stay behind to deal with Iselia whilst he jumped down a hole in the floor to get to his destination.

They fought the templars and when all lay dead Iselia went to follow Samson down the hole... but Morrigan stopped her. This was an ancient elven temple, dedicated to Mythal. Perhaps if they followed the rituals of the past, the way would be open to them and they would reach their goal faster than Samson.

Solas agreed. He didn't like agreeing with the witch, but this temple deserved their respect.

Although Cassandra didn't like this new plan, Iselia felt inclined to agree with both Solas and Morrigan and proceeded to complete the rituals. There were three of them.

When all were complete, a great door opened and they hurried inside and hoped that this delay had been worth it.

Inside they were met by the elves. They were tasked with the protection of this sacred temple, of the Well within, sleeping over the centuries until some trespasser dared set foot within the walls, awakening them.

Iselia convinced the elves that she only sought her enemies that were in these walls already. She had no interest in ransacking the temple for her own glory. The elves believed her and swore to fight by her side, and then they would allow her safe passage from the temple once the enemy was defeated. She would not be allowed to return.

Iselia agreed, then the leader of the elves ran off, declaring that his elves would help her but he must protect the Well of Sorrows, even if it meant destroying it himself. Morrigan was horrified. She transformed into a bird and flew after him, desperate to reach the Well before he could destroy it.

Another elf motioned for them to follow and guided Iselia and the remainder of her group through secret walls and passageways that led deeper into the temple. The sounds of fighting rang out as the red templars fought the elves around them, unaware that they were passing through the temple with ease.

The elven guide showed them to the entrance of the Well of Sorrows and left them to their own devices. Samson was already there.

Iselia raced towards him and stopped him before he could do anything. He yelled at her for killing his men, his brothers, and then declared himself twice blessed of Corypheus. First he served as his General, next he would serve as his Vessel, and there was nothing Iselia could do to stop him.

He stepped forward, glowing bright with his lyrium infused armour, and prepared to attack.

Iselia quickly withdrew the rune that Dagna had created. It flashed bright and Samson screamed. The glow around him exploded outward and disappeared. His armour was no longer strong and they could take him with ease.

Despite his armour rendered useless, he was still a difficult man to fight. He had, after all, once been a templar and he still possessed magic-nulling abilities that slowed Iselia down.

It didn't slow her for long though. Soon she and her companions defeated him. They hadn't killed him though. Iselia demanded he be strung up and brought back to Skyhold to face judgement and justice.

For now though, they would see what was so special about this Well.

At the Well itself, the elf was preparing to destroy it but then Morrigan flew in upon her raven feathers, transformed back into herself, and stopped him. He wanted it destroyed; she wanted it saved!

He declared her greedy, only wanting its power for herself. But he sensed a light within Iselia and grudgingly decided to allow them to drink from the Well. It was their choice, and they would pay the price whenever it was asked. What was the price? To be beholden to Mythal's whim.

Morrigan laughed. Mythal was long dead, being bound to a dead God hardly seemed a terrible price. The elf only shrugged, and walked away.

They conversed amongst themselves. Solas would prefer Iselia drink from the Well rather than this greedy witch, but Cassandra thought it unwise, being that she was their leader, their Inquisitor. Iselia agreed. Morrigan could drink from the Well. Morrigan could pay the price.

She drank just in time for Corypheus had finally breached the temple walls and appeared before them. With an enraged screech, he flew towards them and tried to stop them from fleeing.

There was an eluvian at the back of the Well, just as Morrigan had thought. With her newfound power from the Well, she unlocked it and they raced inside before Corypheus could reach it. Iselia just managed to get in as Corypheus lobbed power at the mirror and shattered it into a thousand pieces.

Another eluvian lay broken. But they had made it to the realm in-between. They quickly found Morrigan's eluvian in the realm and emerged back into Skyhold.

Within time, the Inquisition advisors return to Skyhold as their armies slowly trekked back to base.

They all hurried back to the war room to discuss what had happened and what the future would hold.

Morrigan, infused by the Well of Sorrows, could hear voices from the past educating her, but also screaming at her. They were afraid of Corypheus and what he could do. But their knowledge was helpful and welcome. Corypheus' power lay within the dragon he kept as faux archdemon. Half of his power, his essence, was within the dragon and that's how he was able to move from tainted body to body. If they destroyed the dragon, they would surely then be able to kill Corypheus for good.

Morrigan had an inkling as to how to destroy the dragon, but she'd need Iselia's help. If she could come and speak with her in private, that would be great.

Wanting a small breather before anything else to do with Morrigan or any strange magic, Iselia focused on delivering judgement upon Samson.

Many people wanted his head. But none more than Cullen... Samson stated that he had failed in his duty and that Corypheus would likely just kill him if he ever set eyes upon him again. He didn't care what the Inquisition did to him. And so Iselia declared that he would be kept for questioning under Cullen's directive and empower the Inquisition with his knowledge of the enemy.

With Samson dealt with and the threat of Corypheus on the horizon, for surely he could not ignore the fact they had just stolen the Well of Sorrows from underneath him, Iselia checked in with all of her friends...

They all seemed to notice how final it seemed at the moment. Everyone spoke as though this were the end. But they had faith in Iselia. They trusted that she would pull them through this and end Corypheus with Morrigan's help.

Leliana contemplated becoming Divine. Cassandra was already in talks to become the next Divine, but surely they could not overlook her for the position too. She would make the world a wonderful place where everyone was accepted, where the Chantry was a house of compassion rather than judgement, where everyone, elf, mage or even qunari would be welcome. Iselia liked her outlook and told her that she would support her if she tried to become Divine.

After she spoke to all of her people, Iselia found Cullen in the small religious room that had been hastily constructed by the gardens. He was praying to the Maker for the trials that were to come, for the hope that all whom he cared about would remain safe.

He was worried about Iselia and feared to lose her. After all, it would be him sending her off to fight this great evil as he commanded the armies. She told him not to worry. After all, he had given her his lucky coin... she had his love and his luck on her side.

That didn't bring him much comfort, neither did it bring much to herself, but it was a nice thought.

They stood in embrace for several long minutes until he returned to his duties... and Iselia at last decided to speak with Morrigan.

 

Until next time! 🐲⚔️

 

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_{All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, @kaelci and are from the game: Dragon Age: Inquisition.}