Main Dialogue

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Bellara Lutare

Rook travels into Arlathan Forest in search of Bellara.

Veil Jumper Rook: Never been to this part of Arlathan before. This fog’s… strange.
Non-Veil-Jumper Rook: Is it me, or is there something strange about this fog?
Neve: I’ve never seen fog like this. Something’s not right.
Harding: It all feels a little off. Like everything shifted a little bit.

They approach a suit of golden armor standing to the side of the path, and it comes to life.

Harding: Is that suit of armor… moving?
Neve: So that suit of armor is moving.

They fight the sentinel. As it falls, another leaps out of the woods at them, but is stopped midair and its magic is absorbed into an artifact worn by an elf.

Bellara: Hah! Gotcha.

She climbs down to where Rook is.

Bellara: Oh, people! Where’d you come from?

Rook: Bellara? Bellara Lutare? Strife and Irelin sent us to find you.

Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Wait. Didn’t you used to be a Veil Jumper? You left with Varric. What was your name…? Rook: Rook. At least, that’s the nickname Varric gave me.
Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: Who are you? Exactly? Rook: Call me Rook.

They turn to their companion. ㅤㅤ ㅤ

Harding: Lace Harding.
Neve: Neve Gallus.
Bellara: Wait—I know that name! But…

Bellara: Protocol is to wait a full week before they send anyone out to look for me. I’ve only been gone three days.

Rook: Well, the situation’s changed—for the worse, unfortunately.

Elf Rook: Rook: Our gods, Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain? They’ve escaped from Fen’Harel’s prison. And by all accounts, they want to destroy the world.
Non-elf Rook: Rook: The elven gods Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain have escaped Fen’Harel’s prison. And it seems like they want to destroy the world.

Bellara: Oh. Yes. That is very much for the worse. Okay. Right. I need a second.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Understandable. Rook: it’s a lot to take in.
Sarcastic: Won’t help. Rook: I’ve had a couple of days, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
Stoic: You don’t have it. Rook: Like I said. End of the world. You can mull it over later.

Bellara: It does sort of explain a few things though.

Harding: Like what?
Neve: Like what, exactly?

Bellara: The surge of raw magic in the area. These artifacts started waking up a while ago, but in fits and starts. One here, a couple there… Then a couple of days ago, the sky split open. And now? Raw magic, thick as fog. Only a god—or gods—could’ve done that. There’s something kind of exciting about it. And dangerous. Really dangerous. Dangerous enough that I was going to head back to the Veil Jumper camp, but…

Rook: But what?

Their attention shifts to the shimmery barrier around them.

Bellara: See that shimmer? That’s a Veil bubble. It’s separating us from the rest of the real world. So to speak. You can only pass through it one way. Once you’re in, you can’t get out.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Can you bring it down? [1]
Sarcastic: Sounds bad. [2]
Stoic: We’ll force out way out. [3]

1 - Affable: Can you bring it down? Rook: Strife and Irelin said you’re their best Veil Jumper. Hope that means you’ve got an idea. Bellara: Maybe…

2 - Sarcastic: Sounds bad. Rook: I think I’d prefer to stay in one piece, yeah. Bellara: Right! Me, too. But I think I can find a way out.

3 - Stoic: We’ll force out way out. Rook: We don’t have time for this. Let’s just force our way out. Bellara: Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I don’t know what contacting that much raw magic would do to you. But. There’s another way.

Bellara: A bubble like that? There has to be something at the center that’s generating it. Something powerful. If we can find it and remove it—safely, I mean—the bubble itself should collapse.

Harding: And then we’re back in reality? Bellara: I really, really hope so.
Neve: And then we’re back in reality? Bellara: I sure hope so.

Rook: Well then—let’s get going.

Journey to the Center of the Forest

They continue into the forest.

Bellara: I’ve been trying to get to the artifact at the center of the bubble, but these magical constructs keep getting in the way.

Harding: We’ve handled our share of demons. A few dozen more shouldn’t be a problem.
Neve: A few dozen demons shouldn’t be a problem.

Bellara: Spirits, not demons. They’re animating those suits of armor. The armor’s attuned to the artifact. To protect it from threats.

Harding: Threats like us, I’m guessing.
Neve: Ah. And I’m guessing it sees us as threats.

Rook comes across a camp.

Harding: Someone made camp all the way out here?
Neve: Odd to find a camp this far out.
Veil Jumper Rook: Rook: There are Veil Jumper camps all over Arlathan. It’s a big forest. And you never know where the magic’ll start going wild.
Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: We’ve got camps all over Arlathan. The Veil Jumpers do, I mean. Never really know when or where the magic’s going to start going wild.

Rook passes by a short waterfall near the edge of the barrier.

Bellara: That’s the edge of the bubble! Can’t pass through it. We need to shut down the artifact first.

As the reach the end of the river, a huge amount of water is swirling into the air.

Rook: Is that water just swirling into the air?

Veil Jumper Rook: Rook: I’ve never seen that kind of magical anomaly here before. Bellara: We call it the “whirlpool.” They’re not usually this big, though.
Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Bellara: We call that kind the “whirlpool.” The anomaly, I mean. Never seen one this size, though.

They continue to climb, but demons appear as they try to cross a bridge.

Bellara: Demons! And right where we need to go.

Rook: Let’s deal with them real quick.

They defeat the demons and continue into an elven temple.

Harding: So, what is this artifact we’re looking for, exactly?
Neve: Any ideas on what the artifact we’re looking for might be?

Bellara: I have a couple of theories, but nothing definite. We might find some clues in the ruins, though.

They find a chest near some wolf statues and Fade butterflies.

Veil Jumper Rook: Rook: Nice to find ruins that haven’t been picked clean. Bellara: Most people are too afraid to go this deep into Arlathan. Except us Veil Jumpers. Rook: With how wild the magic’s been here, I don’t blame them.
Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Rook: I don’t usually see elven ruins that haven’t been picked over. Bellara: Not many people come this far into Arlathan. Just Veil Jumpers, mostly. Rook: And people trying to save the world, apparently.

They continue.

Harding: What was this place?
Neve: Do you know what this place was?

Bellara: Could’ve been a temple. Could’ve been where they stored food. But judging by the sentinels? It’s probably something important.

Bellara: It almost feels like an armory. Or something like that.

Neve: Why would there be an armory this far out?
Harding: What’s an armory doing this far out?

Bellara: Warlords. Ancient elves had a lot of them.

Rook opens the doors to a huge temple in the distance.

Harding: Wow. I’ve never seen anything like this. Neve: Well, isn’t this a sight?

Bellara: Wait… is this…? No… it can’t be. Not here.

Rook: Can’t be what?

Bellara: We have to get over there! The artifact we’re looking for must be inside.

They come across a ledge that seems impassable.

Harding: Are we just supposed to jump across?
Neve: No way across. Think we can make the jump?

Bellara: oh! No, we can make a bridge. There should be a power crystal somewhere nearby.

Rook finds the crystal.

Rook: Got it.

Bellara: Bring it over here and slot it in.

Rook places it, and a bridge forms.

Bellara: And there we go! Easy.

Harding: Huh! That’s a great trick!
Neve: Well, isn’t that something?

They come across a some thing of floating artifact.

Bellara: A resonance amplifier. It’s drawing magic from the ring temple to this area. I need to shut it down before we can go up the path. But doing that will attract anything nasty that’s hanging around.

Rook: We’re ready.

Bellara deactivates it, and demons appear. Rook defeats them.

Bellara: That’s the last of the magical energy. Path should be clear ahead.

They continue on.

Party dependent dialogue:

Harding in party [1]
Neve in party [2]

1 - Harding in party Bellara: So that ritual. The big one, where the sky was ripping apart… You say that was Fen’Harel? I mean… the real Fen’Harel? Rook: That’s what I’ve been told. Though right now he goes by Solas. Bellara: And, sorry. The things that got out, the big, scary ones. That was Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan? Harding: Are you okay? You sound a little… flustered. Bellara: Oh, you know. Just finding out that three of my gods are out there. Trying to end the world. Why wouldn’t I be okay? [3]

2 - Neve in party Bellara: So you’re really Neve Gallus? The detective from Minrathous? Neve: Last time I checked… Bellara: I’ve read about you. You’ve gone after some powerful mages before… but Fen’Harel, the real Fen’Harel? Neve: And now, Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, apparently… Bellara: My actual gods are out there trying to end the world and Neve Gallus is on the case. I just… I can’t believe it! [3]

3 - Scene continues.

*They make their way uphill, and find some corpses near a cliff.

Harding: I wonder how they died.
Neve: Someone met a bad end here.

Bellara: Even mages have trouble with the artifacts here. They expect them to work like, you know, normal magic. But they’re different. The magic’s… more alive. Somehow.

The party fights a construct as they go.

Bellara: Damn. Another sentinel construct. We’ll have to take it down.

They defeat the sentinel.

Bellara: Okay. Easy enough. But watch out: Whenever you see one, there’s more nearby.

They enter the Cliff Wolf Temple.

Bellara: Seeing these kinds of ruins never gets old.

Harding: Can anything here tell us what that artifact is? Neve: Anything here that can help you piece together what exactly that artifact is?

Bellara: I have a theory… but we’re miles away from where that artifact should be.

They enter a room full of sentinels that slowly come to life.

Bellara: These constructs! It means I was right!

Rook: Right about what?

Bellara: About where we are! It’s an armory! And I think I know what the artifact is!

They defeat the sentinels and leave the temple.

Harding: So what kind of artifact shows up in an armory? A weapon?
Neve: So if this is an armory, what sort of artifact are we finding? A weapon?

Bellara: An archive spirit.

Rook: A what?

Elf Rook: Bellara: A creature of the Fade, bound to a crystal. Our ancestors used them to store knowledge—and to help them dream.
Non-elf Rook
Bellara: A creature of the Fade, bound to a crystal. Ancient elves used them to store knowledge—and to help them dream.

Nadas Dirthalen

The party turns a corner to find darkspawn tearing a halla apart. They turn as the party arrives, and attack.

Bellara: Mythal’enaste. Darkspawn!

They defeat the darkspawn.

Bellara: Darkspawn. Here. I never would have believed it. Until today.

They continue into the forest and come across another artifact.

Rook: Another one of those resonance amplifiers.

Bellara: Get ready. Once I shut it down, the path ahead will remain blocked until the magic dissipates.

Rook: We’ve got your back.

Darkspawn attack while Bellara is working on the amplifier, and Rook defeats them.

Bellara: I’ve never seen darkspawn this deep into Arlathan Forest before. As far as I know, it’s never happened.

Harding: If the gods are blighted like Solas claims, maybe they’re communicating with the darkspawn somehow? Directing them?
Neve: Could the elven gods be commanding the darkspawn? Solas did say they were blighted.

Bellara: You saw those darkspawn, though. Something was different about them.

Rook: And we’ll stop them. Once we get out of this bubble.

Bellara: Right. Let’s get to that central temple.

They enter a courtyard that looks like a dead end.

Bellara: The wall looks weak here. I bet we could break it somehow.

Rook approaches the ballista,

Bellara: I wonder if that ballista could smash through this wall?

Rook breaks the wall with the ballista, and darkspawn begin to pour through.

Bellara: More darkspawn, right where you broke that wall!

Rook: And… another resonance amplifier.

Bellara: Should be the last one! I hope.

Harding: Me too.
Neve: Fingers crossed.

Bellara: The last barrier’s down. We’re close, I can feel it.

They approach a building that looks overrun with blight.

Bellara: Have you noticed something about the blight? Where it is, I mean? It’s almost like it’s feeding off the elven magic.

The party continues, climbing the ruins.

Bellara: If that building’s what I think it is. Then the alignment means… We’re here. This is it. This is where it was kept.

Rook: Where what was kept?

Bellara: The archive spirit. Or as the ancient elves called it, the “Nadas Dirthalen.” It means “the Inevitability of Knowledge.”

Harding: What does that mean?
Neve: Why is it called that?

Bellara: I… don’t know, actually. The notes were never very clear on that. But I plan to find out.

They approach another courtyard looking area. A sentinel waits in the middle.

Rook: More constructs ahead.

Bellara: The inner sanctum. We’re getting closer.

Once the sentinel is destroyed, they begin to look for a way forward.

Bellara: Looks like this door is going to need a second power crystal.

Rook: Then let’s go find one.

Bellara: There has to be another one of those power crystals around here somewhere!

Bellara: Another ballista! I bet we could use it to break through that wall.

They activate the door and continue into the sanctum. l Bellara: We did it. All that’s left is the Nadas Dirthalen. I have so many questions for it.

Harding: How do you ask it questions?
Neve: You’re going to ask it questions?

It’s an archive spirit. You’ll see.

They enter a room with a pedestal in the middle. Bellara walks up to it.

Bellara: Okay! Here it is. The Nadas Dirthalen.

Rook: So we take it and we’re good, right? We can head back?

Bellara: Oh! I wish. No, it’s a lot trickier than that.

Harding: Right. Because darkspawn, demons, and animated suits of armor aren’t tricky enough.
Neve: As if darkspawn, demons, and animated suits of armor aren’t tricky enough.

Dialogue options:

Affable: What’s tricky about it? [1]
Sarcastic: Of course it is. [2] +Neve Approves
Stoic: We’ve seen worse. [3]

1 - Affable: What’s tricky about it? Rook: What do you mean by “tricky”, exactly? [4]

2 - Sarcastic: Of course it is. Rook: Nothing’s ever easy, is it? So, what makes this tricky? [4]

3 - Stoic: We’ve seen worse. Rook: I’m sure we can handle it. Bellara: It isn’t that simple. [4]

4 - Scene continues.

Bellara: If I remove the artifact the way I’d usually do it, it’ll explode. And take out half of Arlathan with it. Good news is, I think I can shunt the energy somewhere else.

Bellara: Okay, here we go…

Bellara starts to activate it. The blight in the room begins to pulse.

Bellara: The way the magic is pulsing… I’ve never seen this before. It’s almost like it’s… breathing.

There are heavy footsteps, and a giant darkspawn bursts through the wall.

Bellara: Ogre! That’s an ogre!

The party defeats the ogre.

Bellara: Well. Wasn’t expecting to fight an ogre today. Then again, I also didn’t expect to learn that my gods are rampaging around and trying to end the world. Just one of those days.

She goes back to the pedestal.

Bellara: Okay. Let’s see.

She goes back to using her magic on it.

Bellara: Okay, okay. (Gasps) There we go.

There is a small zap.

Bellara: Oooh…

It shakes.

Bellara: No, no, no, that’s good! I think.

A crystal rises out of the stand.

Bellara: (Gasps)

Rook: What does that crystal do?

Bellara: Keeps the artifact powered. Focuses the ambient magical energy. That’s why these things still work—thousands of years later. Oh, no you don’t! (Grunts)

It starts to go back into the pedestal, but Bellara pulls it out, and the crystal is flung across the room.

Bellara: Oop!

There is a burst of magic. A spirit projection rises from the crystal.

Archive Spirit: Sulahn’nehn. Vir sulevanan, enasal dirthara.

Bellara: Well, then.

Archive Spirit: I am the Nadas Dirthalen.

Bellara: Right. Um, I have questions.

Archive Spirit: I am the Nadas Dirthalen. What do you—

The spirit vanishes.

Dialogue options:

Affable: So that’s the Archive spirit? [5]
Sarcastic: Where’s it go? [6]
Stoic: So much for that. [7]

5 - Affable: So that’s the Archive spirit? Rook: So that’s the “Nadas Dirthalen?” It was. Or is, I mean. Bellara: Crystal’s broken, though. Needs fixing. [5]

6 - Sarcastic: Where’s it go? Rook: Where’d the spirit go? The “Nadas Dirthalen,” I mean. Bellara: It went back into the crystal. But the crystal’s broken. Until I fix it. [5]

7 - Stoic: So much for that. Rook: Guess it’s broken like the rest of the artifacts. Bellara: It isn’t just any artifact! That’s the Nadas Dirthalen—an archive spirit. And it does work. Or will, at least. Its crystal is broken. I guess maybe the blight threw its resonance off somehow. But I should be able to fix it. [5]

8 - Scene continues.

Bellara: It’s… kinda my thing. Fixing magical stuff.

She picks up the crystal.

Bellara: Strife and Irelin will want to know about this. And the blight… and the darkspawn. Let me know when you’re ready to head to the Veil Jumper camp.

Rook looks around a bit, before talking to Bellar.

Bellara: Ready to go?

9 - Dialogue options:

Not yet. [10]
Let’s go. [11]

10 - Not yet. Rook: Let’s look around a little more. Rook looks around a bit more. [Back to 9]

11 - Let’s go. Rook: Right. Let’s get moving. Bellara: Come on. I’ll show you the way to the Veil Jumper camp.

Veil Jumper Camp

There is a bunch of bustle around the Veil Jumper Camp, with many injured members sitting around or being carries on stretchers.

Irelin: Eleven wounded. Sixteen on bedrest.

Strife: We’re running out of Veil Jumpers. Whatever’s going on out there, it’s scary.

The party enters camp.

Irelin: Jahel and Mihlva never reported back from D’Meta’s Crossing.

Strife: There are a hundred people living in that village. Or near enough.

Rook approaches them.

Strife: You’re back. And you’re alive. Good.

Rook: Sounds like things have gotten a lot worse since we left.

Strife: Darkspawn. They’re showing up all over Arlathan, attacking anyone in their path.

Irelin: We’ve evacuated three Dalish settlements already.

Bellara: We ran into darkspawn, too. Near the Nadas Dirthalen.

Irelin: Wait, you found the Nadas Dirthalen? The archive spirit? We could ask it about the gods. Figure out their next move.

Dialogue options:

Affable: Too bad it’s broken. [1]
Stoic: We know enough. [2]
Sad: The Dalish are priority. [3]

1 - Affable: Too bad it’s broken. Rook: If it weren’t broken, maybe. But we’re not getting anything out of it any time soon. Irelin: Meanwhile, Veil Jumpers are disappearing. Something out there took them. Strife: I know. But maybe… if we find them… Rook: …we find the gods. Or at least some sign of where they might be. Harding: But Arlathan Forest is huge! Where do we even begin to look for them? [4]

2 - Stoic: We know enough. Rook: Archive’s broken. Won’t tell us anything. But that doesn’t matter. Any Dalish settlements we can save, we should. Irelin: So far, we’ve been lucky and arrived just in time. But given how fast these darkspawn are moving, it’s only a matter of time ‘til our luck runs out. Rook: Well, it hasn’t run out yet, so let’s stretch it until it breaks. Strife: If we could predict where they’d strike next, we might get ahead of them. But so far, they’ve been unpredictable. Rook: Which leaves us with what? [4]

3 - Sad: The Dalish are priority. Rook: Whatever information that archive spirit has, we aren’t getting it. It’s broken. Luckily, we already know what to do next. Find Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. And stop whatever they’re planning on doing. Strife: Easier said than done. They’re elusive, even for gods. Irelin: There are signs of their presence all over Arlathan, but… no one’s seen them yet. Rook: So, that’s it? Two gods are running around your forest and you can’t find them? Strife: Well, then next time you decide to unleash ancient horrors on us, maybe we’ll— [4]

4 - Scene continues.

Bellara: D’Meta’s Crossing.

Rook: What?

Bellara: Irelin and Strife—when we came in, you said you’d lost contact with D’Meta’s Crossing. We could go check it out. The three of us, I mean.

Choice dependent dialogue:

Took Harding to disrupt the ritual [5]
Took Neve to disrupt the ritual [6]

5 - Took Harding to disrupt the ritual Harding: You mean “four.” You’re not leaving me behind. Neve: You were just wounded. We can— Harding: You’ll have to tie me up to keep me here.

6 - Took Neve to disrupt the ritual Neve: Four. I’m coming with you. Harding: Neve, you were still shaky. And— Neve: I’m coming, Harding.

7 - Scene continues.

Irelin: I don’t know what you’re going to find there, Rook. Likely nothing good. But you’d be saving people. And it might get you on the trail of the gods.

Strife: D’Meta’s Crossing’s on the far side of the lake. There’s a small boat at the docks. It’ll take you there. Try not to die. Or make things worse.

Veil Jumper Rook: Strife: And… Rook? Rook: Yeah? Strife: Watch your back.
Non-Veil Jumper Rook: Strife: Watch your back out there. And good luck.