Gallows Courtyard – Dragon Age 2 Quest

Here, you’ll find the guide for the second prologue mission of Dragon Age 2, which takes place at the very start of the game.

Map Legend

1 – Starting Point


2 – Guardsman Wright


3 – Captain Ewald


4 – Pedestal

On the pedestal here you’ll find the “places” codex entry for Kirkwall – The Gallows.


5 – Athenril


6 – Merchant Cavril


7 – Meeran


8 – Friedrich


9 – Gamlen

Overview

When you arrive in Kirkwall (#1), you’ll learn that the guards aren’t allowing any refugees into the city (#2), and so you’ll need to figure out a way to get past them. To that end, you’ll need to talk to Captain Ewald (#3) and tell him about your uncle Gamlen, who owns an estate in the city. Ewald won’t be impressed — “The only Gamlen I know is a weasel who couldn’t rub two coppers together” — but before he can refuse you, some deserters will attack him and his men, and your assistance will change his mind.

Three days later, Gamlen will come out to greet you, and you’ll learn that Ewald’s impression was the correct one. Gamlen will reveal that he had to sell the family’s estate, and that the family name doesn’t carry as much weight as it used to. However, he will have a plan. He’ll tell you that he’s found two people who will pay for your entrance into the city — provided that you agree to work for them for a year. You’ll have two options for this: a smuggler named Athenril (#5) and a mercenary named Meeran (#7).

Neither Athenril nor Meeran is “good” or “evil” (despite what they might say), and you’ll only have to complete one task for them. Those tasks are described below. The person you select will also give you some optional quests in Act I, and if you betray one of them, then you’ll have to survive an ambush from them in Act I (Athenril will attack you in Hightown, and Meeran will attack you in Lowtown).

Note: The most lucrative way to get into the city is to accept both Athenril’s and Meeran’s task, then accept Cavril’s bribe (for 2 sovereigns), and then kill Friedrich (for 5 sovereigns).

Athenril’s Task

Athenril is a smuggler. She’ll tell you that Merchant Cavril (#6) reneged on a deal with her, and she’ll ask you to go to him and get her money back. Cavril, of course, won’t want to comply, and you’ll have a few ways to deal with him:

• You can let Aveline handle the matter. This will earn you +10 friendship with her.
  
  
• You can select the lower left dialogue option (it will be different for different characters), which will cause Cavril to leave.
  
  
• You can fight Cavril’s guards. The city guards will help you in the battle, so you shouldn’t have much trouble.
  
  
• You can encourage Cavril to bribe you. This option will lead to a fight (if you previously accepted Friedrich’s bribe) or fail Athenril’s task (otherwise). Either way, you’ll gain +5 rivalry with Aveline.

Regardless, you’ll end up with the key to Cavril’s chest, inside of which you’ll find 2 sovereigns. If you took Cavril’s bribe and failed Athenril’s task, then you’ll get to keep the money, but you’ll have to complete Meeran’s task instead. Otherwise, Meeran (#7) and Friedrich (#8) will disappear, and you’ll only be able to complete Athenril’s task.

Assuming you didn’t fail the task, then when you return to Athenril after picking up her money, she’ll take her 2 sovereigns, and you’ll earn 400 xp. You’ll also unlock the Nefarious achievement. This will complete the quest “The Destruction of Lothering.”

Meeran’s Task

Meeran is the leader of the Red Iron mercenary company. He’ll tell you that a noble named Friedrich (#8) gave him some bad information, which almost got some of his men killed, and then he’ll ask you to kill him.

When you talk to Friedrich, if you haven’t yet dealt with Merchant Cavril (#6), then he’ll try to bribe you to let him go. Otherwise, he and his men will attack you. If you accept the bribe, then you’ll fail Meeran’s task (meaning you’ll have to complete Athenril’s task instead), but you’ll gain 2 sovereigns, and you’ll only have to fight Friedrich’s guards. If you complete the task as intended, and fight Friedrich and his men, then you’ll find 5 sovereigns on Friedrich’s corpse. Either way, if you find the battle against Friedrich and/or his men to be too tough, then you can retreat to Captain Ewald (#3), which will cause the city guards to assist you.

Assuming you didn’t take Friedrich’s bribe, then when you return to Meeran, you’ll earn 400 xp, and you’ll unlock the Mercenary achievement. This will complete the quest “The Destruction of Lothering.”

After Completing the Task…

After completing Athenril’s or Meeran’s task, you’ll need to talk to your uncle Gamlen (#9). He’ll facilitate the bribe to get you into the city, and then a year will go by and you’ll find yourself in Hightown. “Let’s go. This is only the beginning.”