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Background
At some point during Act I (perhaps after completing the quest
Birthright), Magister Vanard will show up in
Hightown near the steps to the Chantry (during the day). When you talk to him there, he'll give you this quest.
Walkthrough
Vanard will tell you that a man escaped from custody, and that he fled to the Abandoned Ruins outside the city. Unfortunately, those ruins are home to some nasty creatures, which have "already torn through a full company of men," and so he'll ask you to try your luck bringing the fugitive back alive. If you agree to help, then the Abandoned Ruins will show up on your world map.
When you arrive at the Abandoned Ruins, you'll find some guards milling around outside (#1). They'll be perfectly content to let you enter the ruins and capture the fugitive for them. However, after talking to the guards, an irate elf named Elren will storm up to you, and he'll tell you that the fugitive kidnaps and kills elven children, including his daughter, and he'll demand that you execute him. After these conversations, the entrance into the Ruined Passage (Exit A) will appear.
Inside the Ruined Passage, you'll have to battle groups of raiders (#2), giant spiders (#3), and undead creatures (#5), but eventually you'll come to Lia (#6), Elren's daughter, who isn't actually dead. Lia will tell you that the fugitive, Kelder, is plagued by demons, and that he can't help himself when he hurts children. No matter what you say to Lia, she'll flee back to her father (#1).
Just past Lia you'll get ambushed by one last group of undead creatures, but then you'll come to Kelder (#7). Kelder will reveal that he's the magistrate's son, and you'll probably also get the sense that he's just mentally unbalanced rather than being controlled by demons. At the end of the conversation, you'll get at most three options:
- If you have Fenris with you, then he'll volunteer to kill Kelder. If you choose this option then you'll gain friendship points with Isabela, Merrill, and Varric.
- You can kill Kelder yourself. For choosing this option you'll gain friendship points with Aveline, Bethany, Isabela, Merrill, and Varric.
- You can take Kelder into custody. Kelder will flee into the central room (#5), where you'll have to defeat more undead creatures, including a revenant, but then he'll agree to accompany you to the guards outside (#1). For choosing this option, you'll gain rivalry points with Aveline, Bethany, Carver, Isabella, and Merrill.
When you leave the Ruined Passage, you'll receive your reward:
- If you or Fenris killed Kelder, then Elren will give you 1 sovereign and 400 xp. Magistrate Vanard, however, won't be happy with you, and he'll promise revenge (but you won't see him again).
- If you let Kelder live, then when you return to Vanard in
Hightown, you'll get three ways to respond to him:
- You can extort him. He'll then give you 2 sovereigns and 400 xp, and you'll gain rivalry points with Aveline.
- You can tell him that his secret won't last. He'll then give you 3 sovereigns and 400 xp, and you'll gain rivalry points with Aveline.
- You can tell him to keep his money. You won't receive any sort of reward for doing this, but you'll gain friendship points with Aveline.
1 - Guards / Elren
2 - Raider Battle
You'll encounter a group of hostile raiders here. After defeating them, if you can pick open the "standard" locked chest on the northern side of the room, then inside you'll find the longbow
Mont de Glace Strand.
3 - Spider Battle
You'll get ambushed by a group of giant spiders in this room. The venomous spider will drop a
Spider's Silk Gland when it dies. You'll need to the silk gland for the quest
Herbalist's Tasks.
4 - Chest
Inside this chest, you'll find a
Pewter Pendant of Wolves Howling at the Moon.
5 - Undead Battle
In this room, you'll face off against corpses, skeletons, spiders, and an arcane horror.
6 - Lia
7 - Kelder
T - Trap
Exits:
- Entrance into the Ruined Passage.
- World exit.
