The journey of Warden Commander Drako Amell, The Hero of Ferelden: (DA:O, DA:A, and Witch hunt)
While having breakfast with Mother, Bodahn brought in a letter delivered by what he called a runner in a hood. It was from Anders. It said he needed to meet urgently. Probably just more of his internal drama. Every perceived slight, whether it is one or not, becomes an affront to all mages in his mind. He has become more unstable lately. If I don't go see what he wants, he'll come to the house. Mother gets nervous around him. Can't say I blame her. His... intensity can be a bit much. I'll go see what he wants, but after my weekly meeting with Hubert about the Bone Pit. I should also stop by the Keep and check in with Aveline. See if there is anything she needs. I'm sure whatever Anders is on about will put me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Best to get my other meetings done before hand...
...The meeting with Hubert went well. No problems with the mine or workers. The ore is piling up and the coin is flowing. Aveline mentioned some trouble with some raiders out on the coast. I'll look into that this afternoon depending on what the latest crisis Anders believes he's going through turns out to actually be. Along my way to the clinic, I bumped into Varric and Fenris in the tunnels. It seems there are several members of the Carta in Dark Town causing trouble. They were shaking down people for what little of value they had... they "were". We cleared them out rather easily. The two of them got a few minor wounds so they came with me to the clinic. Fenris doesn't like the place, but Anders isn't the only healer there. I tell them about the letter as we go. Varric said, "Oh yes, I'm sure the Divine herself has come to Kirkwall to scold Blondie personally."...
...While they are getting their injuries attended to, I go to talk with Anders. He goes into a rant about something called the "Tranquil Solution". Some plot by the Templars to make every mage Tranquil. I know Meredith has been cracking down, but even she wouldn't do that. There was clearly no talking him out of this latest bout of insanity, but he said he could prove it if I would go with him. I agreed...reluctantly and we set off for a series of tunnels nearby. Old smuggler tunnels that were still crawling with lyrium smugglers. Trafficking their lyrium to the gallows to sell to mages and Templars alike. Nice that they are equal opportunity criminals. We eventually come across some Templars hunting a young mage girl. They were being particularly asinine. While it annoyed me, it threw Anders into a rage. And what happened next is what usually happens when Anders gets angry. Justice burst forth and attacked with little regard for who exactly was in his line of fire. He almost killed the girl he was trying to save. Had I not stopped him, he would have... Anders came to and then ran off realizing what he had almost done...
...We lead the mage out of the tunnels and I gave her a few silver for traveling money and sent her on her way. Fenris wanted to send her back to the Circle, but with the death of those Templars, Meredith would have her killed. If there was a demon within her, it would have come out when the Templars caught her. She was just a scared kid who missed her family. Anders was my immediate concern. When we reach the clinic, he is hunkered over an old chest going through it frantically trying desperately not to think about what happened in the tunnels. This is one outburst he doesn't get to ignore. He nearly murdered a girl barely out of childhood. After a tense exchange I show him some papers I pull off one of Templars about his "Tranquil Solution". It said that this plan was the sole mad dream of a now dead zealot refused by both Meredith and the Divine herself. Had I let him go alone, he would have killed everyone down there and when he regained control of himself would have seen what he had done and run off as he did and never found out about this. He said he was going to leave Kirkwall, but I wasn't going to let him out of my sight. There's no telling what horrors he would unleash out in the world without someone watching him. Maker help me, I convinced him to stay. I knew this was going to put me in a bad mood...
...As I am leaving Dark Town, I remember Aveline telling me about raiders on the coast. I need to throw some fireballs at something after that mess. Varric and Fenris have had about enough for one day though and go about their day. I head to the Keep and get Aveline. Isabella is there having some private words with a shady character by the stairwell. Probably something about her missing relic... or an unpaid "bill" for someone who spent time with one of her girls. She's taken to looking after some of the prostitutes in Low Town making sure that their "clients" pay what is owed and don't get too rough. She can tell I am about to go look for some trouble and decides to come along. As we head for the coast, we come across Merrill. She's picking some herbs for some of her potions she sells in the alienage. She asks what we're up to and tags along as well. With raiders about, it's best not to be alone out here...
...Alittle ways down the coast we come across some guardsmen taking cover from arrows and lightning bolts. I take it that we had found our raiders. With the Guards backing us up, we launch a full assault on the raiders. I have Isabella tend to the traps in the area while the rest of us fight. When it's over, the whole area smells of burnt corpses and I must admit... I do feel a bit better. We also come across some dead Qunari on the beach. The work of an abomination and a number of Demons. Can't help but wonder if this creature use to be one of the mages Anders helped escape the Gallows. How many of them fell prey to demons? How many of the WERE demons?... And then there is the Qunari. Between deaths like this and converts to the Tal Vasoth, the Arishok must have lost at least half his men by now. He's already on edge, how much more can he take of this before he finally reaches he breaking point? Qun or no Qun, everyone has a limit.
We patrol the rest of the beach and clear out what remains of the bandits scattered around and head back for the city. I'm sure there are more hiding in some of the caves in the area, but today's events should keep them in their holes for a while. We split up after we enter the city gates. I go to the Docks to inform the Qunari of their missing patrol then hit the Low Town market to sell off some of the things we found on the raiders and along the coast line. They pay better than the High Town merchants for goods and don't ask questions about where they came from. (The prices aren't really better, I just think they would be better prices considering the quality of goods the Low Town merchants would be use to verse what the High Town merchants could get hold of) then I drop by the Hanged Man for a while to spend some "alone time" with Issy before heading home. Been a long day...