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Background

You'll receive this quest if you decide to defend Vigil's Keep rather than Amaranthine in the final chapter of the campaign.


Walkthrough

When you arrive at Vigil's Keep, you'll learn that a darkspawn army is fast approaching. Depending on what you did earlier in the campaign, you'll be given different options (in a radial menu) for the keep's defenses. Lord Eddelbrek will supply you with reinforcements (infantry, militia, or knights) no matter what, but you'll only get a bombardment option if you completed the quest Bombs Away! for Dworkin, and you'll only get an archer option if you rescued Jacen during the quest Smuggler's Run.

To start off in the quest, you'll have to defend the front gates (#1) from a variety of darkspawn, including genlocks, hurlocks, childers, and "yellow" heretic disciples. Captain Garavel and your selected reinforcements will help you in these battles, so you shouldn't have too many problems. This wave will end once you've defeated three disciples.

Next up, you'll need to defend the east wall (#2) from childer attacks, including attacks from "yellow" childer hatching alphas. You'll have the same allies available in these battles as you had before, so they should be just as straightforward. This wave will end once you've defeated three "yellow" alphas.

After defeating the childers, Captain Garavel will inform you that you're needed back at the front gates (#1). When you get there, you'll witness Seneschal Varel being dealt a mortal blow by a "yellow" ogre, and you'll then have to defend the gate against that ogre, plus two more "yellow" ogres and other darkspawn. This wave will end once you've killed three "yellow" ogres.

At the end of the wave, Varel will succumb to his wounds, and you'll be given a minute or two to catch your breath and save your game. You'll also be able to do some shopping with a medic, who will offer you Poultices and Injury Kits at exceptionally low prices.

For the final waves of attacks, you'll start out at the front gates, but eventually you'll have to retreat to the inner courtyard (#3). When you get there, you'll find three "yellow" heretic disciples waiting for you, and soon after that a "red" armored ogre alpha will show up and join the fray. While you're fighting these enemies, regular darkspawn soldiers will continuously spawn, but it's best to ignore them and concentrate on the "red" and "yellow" enemies.

When the armored ogre alpha goes down, the Herald will finally take the field. The Herald is a powerful dual-wielding "red" boss, but you'll have it so vastly outnumbered that the battle against it shouldn't be difficult at all. When the Herald dies, you'll find Blessing of the Divine on its corpse. You'll also find a Helm of Dragon's Peak and Barbed Fists on the corpse of the ogre.

At the end of the battle, you'll receive 2500 xp for completing the quest, and you'll learn that the darkspawn left a very clear trail when they retreated from the keep -- meaning that you now know where the Mother is located. This last bit of information will trigger the quest Depths of Depravity.


1 - Front Gates


2 - East Wall


3 - Courtyard