Dragon Age: Origins ~ dealing with dwarven politics

Caelyra and her group had entered Orzammar and were seeking aid from the dwarves against the incursion of darkspawn and the upcoming Blight, it was getting nearer every day and the darkspawn presence was getting worse every day.

Orzammar had no King but two dwarves were fighting over the throne — Bhelen and Harrowmont — Caelyra decided to appeal to them for aid.

Apparently both men had advisers working for them up in the Diamond Quarter, the district where all the nobles congregated, and they would have to speak to them to gain access to the men they actually wanted to speak with.

On the way to the Diamond Quarter, Caelyra and her companions wandered the Commons and interacted with a few of the dwarves.

There was a woman who had lost her son in the Deep Roads and prayed every day for either his safe return or news of his death. A man who wrangled nugs and needed more nugs to wrangle. And strangely, there was a dwarf dressed in Chantry garb who sought permission to build a Chantry in Orzammar.

Though faithful, Caelyra didn't think it right to interfere with dwarven religion or practices and declined helping him with his quest.

Just outside the Diamond Quarter stood a young dwarf who was very excitable. Her name was Dagna and when she found out there were mages in Caelyra's party, she became even more excitable; impossibly excitable.

Would it be possible for Caelyra to deliver a message to the Circle of Magi? She just wanted to study with them. She didn't know magic — no dwarves knew magic — but if she could go there and study, it would be her dream come true. Besides, she could trade knowledge with the mages! They could learn about how the dwarves worked lyrium, and it would be beneficial for everyone.

She was sweet; Caelyra would definitely deliver her message to the First Enchanter if she saw him again.

Just as they were about to enter the Diamond Quarter, a merchant cllaed them over to browse his wares. Caelyra shrugged and had a look... then her eyes widened. He was selling a very, very nice ring that she would LIKE to wear.

Hurriedly forking over the 87 gold it would cost, she popped it onto her finger and admired it. It was perfect.

He also sold a golden mirror that seemed much like the one Morrigan had described to her when telling stories of her childhood. Caelyra bought it and gave it to Morrigan.

Morrigan was quite surprised and didn't know how to react. Surely Caelyra wanted something in return? No, she did not. At last, Morrigan simply thanked Caelyra for the thoughtful gift then stared at the mirror for a very long time, lost in her own thoughts.

Up in the Diamond Quarter, Caelyra spoke with the man serving Bhelen. Apparently Bhelen would speak to no outsiders unless they proved themselves ally.

To prove themselves an ally, could they please take these documents to the two noble houses involved. Harrowmont had bought their votes but had promised them the same land... surely they would remove their votes once they had found out.

It seemed a simple task to speak with Bhelen. They could hand over some documents. Sure.

As they left Bhelen's man, a man from Harrowmont accosted them.

Surely they, Grey Wardens of such stature, would be willing to help assist Harrowmont's rise to the throne? Bhelen's men were threatening Harrowmont's Proving-grounds fighters and it would be much appreciated if the Wardens could fight in their stead.

Handing over documents seemed a lot less like picking sides than literally fighting under one's name. Caelyra declined the offer and looked for the nobles involved in the documents.

The first noble they spoke with was most displeased with what the documents had to say, only she could do nothing to action it. Her father was in the Deep Roads on an expedition and only he had the power to revoke the vote. She gave them a seal that would allow them into the Deep Roads to speak with her father instead.

As they were heading back to the Commons to get to the mines and the deep roads, there was more dwarven arguing.

A drunk dwarf was yelling about going to the deep roads to find Branka. The other dwarf rolled his eyes and told the drunk to get lost. Apparently the drunk's name was Oghren and he wanted to go to the deep roads to find the Paragon Branka, only she had gone into the deep roads years ago, with their entire house, and had left the drunk behind. It was unlikely she even lived and it was clear she hadn't wanted him with her anyway.

With the argument at the back of her mind, Caelyra continued onward to the entrance of the deep roads. Several dwarfs stood out front, ready to defeat any darkspawn that wandered through and to keep others out.

Thanks to the seal from the noble, they were allowed entry to the deep roads. Which seemed a bit ridiculous, considering she was a Grey Warden and should be allowed passage into the darkspawn-ridden deep roads whenever she wanted.

With that sorted, they went straight to the old Aeducan Thaig to find the noble's father involved in the documentation and at last gain their audience with Bhelen.

There were a few pockets of darkspawn in the tunnels and also some little lizard-like creatures — deepstalkers. Caelyra and her companions fought through them all until the reached the dwarven ruins.

Corpses of several dwarves lay on the ground, and further into the ruins was the distinct sound of fighting. They rushed forward and found a handful dwarves fighting deepstalkers.

Leaping into battle alongside the dwarves, the waves of deepstalkers were soon defeated and Caelyra could at last speak with the noble she sought.

He was grateful for her assistance in battle then asked what they were doing down there — it was not often one saw humans down in the deep roads.

Caelyra explained that she was a Grey Warden and then handed him the documentation.

He was doubly grateful once he read the contents. Caelyra had saved his house from financial disaster and he would be revoking his vote for Harrowmont the instant they got back to Orzammar.

With that little objective over and done with, they returned to the city and spoke to Bhelen's man again. He was pleased to hear that the nobles had been warned and allowed them access to speak with Bhelen.

Bhelen thanked Caelyra for her service and allegiance but she quickly shut him down. She was not allied with either Bhelen or Harrowmont and wanted nothing to do with their dwarven squabble. All she wanted were dwarves up on the surface to aid their fight against the blight and the darkspawn.

Bhelen agreed that it was the most important matter, and once he was king he would see to it personally that the dwarven armies would assist the fight. However, he was not king, and no-one would be until this dwarven political mess was sorted.

If Caelyra wanted dwarves to fight on the surface against the blight, she would need to pick a side. It wasn't something she really wanted to do but she had no choice. Orzammar needed a king on the throne if they were going to get dwarven support for the blight.

She would help Bhelen.

He was having trouble with the criminal carta down in Dust Town, the lowest caste area of the city. He could not have criminals trying to take advantage of the political situation in the city and needed them dealt with.

So be it. Caelyra and her group prepared to visit Dust Town and deal with the criminal carta.

As they approached the entrance to the lower castes, they were set upon by a bunch of dwarves yelling about how Bhelen had corrupted the Grey Wardens. That the Wardens must die!

They were Harrowmont's most ardent supporters — fanatics — and they fought to the death. It was disappointing, but she had to make a choice and that choice was Bhelen.

Once they were in the slums, they happened across a beggar who had once been a part of the carta. Jarvia, the leader of the cartel, was increasingly paranoid and the only way to gain access to the base was via a secret door that could only be opened with a special key — a finger bone carved by Jarvia herself.

Caelyra thanked the woman and gave her some coin, then continued exploring the slums. One of those doors had to be here somewhere.

After investigating a small, empty shack, the group was suddenly jumped upon by a dozen carta members. They knew of Caelyra — Jarvia knew — and wanted them dead.

This group of dwarves proved easy to defeat. They didn't even kill them. They brought down the head of the group and then they surrendered. They even offered Caelyra the fingerbone key and told her where one of the secret doors was located.

Allowing the defeated dwarves their freedom, Caelyra took the fingerbone key and found the secret door the dwarves had spoken of. But for a small hole in the bottom centre of a wall, no one would even know a door was there.

Caelyra inserted the key into the hole and a click rang out, the wall moved aside, and behind it lay a dark passageway. Stepping inside, the wall-door closed behind them and they hurried further down the tunnel.

It was time to take down the carta.

 

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.}