Dragon Age: Origins ~ what's wrong at Redcliffe Castle?

Redcliffe village was as prepared as it could be for the looming battle.

The oil barrels had been set up, ready to fry the undead in bright, orange flames; the knights were blessed by the Maker; the villagers' gear had been repaired; and they had extra hands in the form of that dwarf and elf.

And, of course, Caelyra and her group were ready. It was going to be tough, but Caelyra was determined to find victory this night.

As planned, the horde of undead waltzed straight through the flames and burned to a crisp, outright killing some and injuring others.

It was an easy fight, nothing the knights couldn't handle by themselves.

Suddenly a man came running from the village centre. More of the undead were down there, fighting the villagers! Caelyra didn't know how on earth the undead had gotten down there, considering this was the only path, but she gathered her group and raced down the slope to help the villagers with their fight.

It was much more gruesome and bloody down in the village centre. Hordes upon hordes of the vile creatures descended upon them and Caelyra had half a mind to call for the knights to help, but they needed to stay up there in case more undead came direct from the castle.

It was a long and arduous battle and a few of the militia-men died, but soon the last undead creature was felled... just as the sun rose.

With the dead gone, Teagan and the Chantry Mother called all the villagers to a meet and cheered on their bravery. The dead were at last defeated and now they could at last go to the castle and discover what the hell was happening up there.

Caelyra returned the sword to the girl and her brother. The girl didn't know what to do with it, but Caelyra suggested they sell it. It should be worth a fair amount and they could get back on their feet with their parents gone.

Teagan asked to speak with them up by the windmill. If they wanted to get into the castle, they needed to be prepared for what may possibly be inside.

Before meeting Teagan, Caelyra checked in with the rest of the villagers, re-affirmed her promise to the blacksmith that she would look for his daughter in the castle, and took note of some requests on the Chanter's Board.

Hopefully those requests would pay well... she was all out of gold after buying her armour, though it was serving her well.

As they climbed up the slope to reach the windmills, Wynne took her aside and asked her what it meant to her to be a Grey Warden. Caelyra didn't quite know what to say and just listened to the old woman give her lecture. She seemed worried and it was as though she needed to pour out all wisdom she could offer before her old bones withered away.

Caelyra was polite about it all though, of course.

Once Wynne had finished her spiel, Caelyra spoke to Morrigan too. She asked her about her life in the wilds and whether or not she felt lonely there, such a life was unfathomable to Caelyra, of course. Then, because she couldn't help herself, she flirted with Alistair and was asked, in return, if she had... "ever licked a lamppost in winter." Of course she hadn't!

Ears blushing, she turned back to the task at hand, the very dire task, and approached Teagan. He looked over at the castle and sighed. It was time to sneak into the castle and find out just what was happening in there.

He had a key to a secret passage that would take them directly into the castle. It was going to be the easiest way to get in.

Just as they were preparing to go into the windmill and take the secret passage, there was a commotion behind them. A woman and a guard ran from the castle and panted, breathless before Teagan.

It was Arlessa Isolde... the Arl's wife.

When Caelyra questioned her, Isolde became defensive. How dare she be questioned. And how dare Alistair be there too. Caelyra was reminded of what Alistair had said. The Arlessa had resented him because of the rumours he was her husband's lovechild and had him sent away to the Chantry.

She was crazed, inconsolable, there was an evil in the castle and it had let her out just to bring Teagan back. The evil had the Arl, it had her son. She pleaded with Teagan to come back with her to appease the evil.

Stepping to one side, out of Isolde's earshot, Teagan suggested that he would go with her and that Caelyra and her companions take the secret passageway. He would meet her inside and requested that she open the gates to allow Ser Perth and his few knights entrance back to the castle; they would assist her with what evil remained to be slain.

It sounded like an awful plan, but there was little choice. Caelyra nodded, and watched as Teagan and Isolde returned to the castle.

Crawling through the secret passage, they at last emerged in the dungeons of the castle. There was a man locked up, and several undead trying to claw at him through the bars.

Caelyra and her group quickly dispatched of the undead, then investigated the man in the cell.

His name was Jowan, and he was a blood mage. Caelyra bristled at the thought. First the blood magic at the mage tower and now blood magic here? It was awful.

Wynne recognised Jowan from her time in the tower and believed him to be a good person who had made bad choices. Trusting Wynne's judgement, Caelyra questioned Jowan instead of killing him on the spot.

Apparently, after he escaped the mage tower, he had been captured by Loghain's men and, to earn his freedom, was tasked with going to Redcliffe and finding a way to poison the Arl. Since the Arlessa was seeking a tutor for her son, Connor, Jowan was the perfect choice. Connor was becoming a young mage and Isolde was desperate for him to learn how to conceal his gifts so he wouldn't be sent away.

Jowan was adamant that he was only there to poison the Arl, not to create this chaos of undeath and evil. That was not his doing. He seemed earnest. Caelyra believed him. It was despicable that he had even poisoned the Arl, but he wanted to fix his mistakes and help with what was happening here.

Caelyra allowed him to exit his cage, under promise that he would help.

More undead came at them and they fought there way through the basement and up into the kitchens and servant's quarters. Hiding in a closed off room, they came across a trembling young woman, terrified at what was going on in the castle. She was the blacksmith's daughter and Caelyra hurriedly sent her on her way back to the village, taking the secret entrance.

At least Caelyra had fulfilled one promise. The blacksmith would be happy.

Racing out of the kitchens and into the courtyard, Caelyra opened the gates so Ser Perth and his men could come through. Together they dispatched of the demons and undead lurking around the outside of the castle, and then, walked in through the front doors to meet up with Teagan again.

Hopefully they would get some answers, at last.

 

Until next time! ⚔️🐲

 

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