Dragon Age: Origins #12 - Loose Ends

[andraste]

When Wulfric finally got down the mountain and back to camp, Shale was not happy to hear about what happened to Caridin. (He'd swapped her out for Oghren for all the Deep Roads areas. And only partly for metagaming reasons - when you're playing a rogue and want to keep Zevran in the party then it only makes sense to switch out your warrior instead of your mage if you like staying alive.) He managed to convince her that they were friends - or at least close enough that he really did want to help her. Which meant another walk in the Deep Roads.

Fortunately Cadash Thaig wasn't nearly as full of spiders, brood mothers and crazy women obsessed with Anvils as the rest of the Deep Roads seemed to be, so the darkspawn were comparatively easily dealt with. He knew what Shale was going to find - or at least the gist of it - but he was relieved to discover that she was a volunteer. If a bit weirder out to find out that she was a woman. (She is cuter than before. Somehow.)

After that, it was time for Wulfric to leave the Deep Roads for good. The last time he'd left, he'd nursed fantasies about returning to take revenge on Bhelen, but he realised that now he'd actually accomplished it he realised that there was nothing left for him in Orzammar any longer. He knew his kid was better off without an exiled kinslayer for a father, let alone a Grey Warden. He didn't expect to return until his Calling.

Wulfric had talked to Levi Dryden before, but recovering an old Grey Warden fortress hadn't seemed terribly urgent at the time. Still, the dwarves needed time to march to Redcliffe, and he knew that he might not get a chance to check it out for some time, so he set off for Soldier's Peak with Alistair, Wynne and Zevran in tow (and his faithful hound, of course.)

While he didn't need his dog to tell him that 'Sophia' was bad news - he'd seen enough demons by this point to know the routine - he still appreciated the Mabari's excellent sense. He helped Avernus close the veil and let him continue experimenting, not to mention consuming the experimental blood draught while he was there. (Wulfric has about the same opinion on blood magic as on other magic: it's useful as long as no-one wants him to do anything weird. And potions are something he understands, at least.)

All of that sorted out, he set off for Redcliffe to meet with Arl Eamon and his assembled troops. Time to get his nugs in a row and deal with Loghain ...