Catch up on the previousĀ Bad Gamer installments if you missed them!
Winter Palace
Time for the ball! I was hoping for a dress, but I suppose this uniform of red will do. Bit strange to have all the Inquisition wear the same as we stand out like sore thumbs, but what the hell do I know? Duke Gaspard greets us at the gate.
He marvels at my accomplishments and wonders what I could achieve with the full support of the ārightfulā Emperor of Orlais. Somehow, I donāt think heās referring to Empress Celene. Gaspard reminds me that heāll not forget his friends. If I help him, heāll help me. Then he offers me his arm, excited at the prospect of shocking so manyāa hated usurper and the Herald herself walking into the ball together? Scandalous. Boring, I think. Iām here to stop an assassin, not add to the rumour mill. Gaspard believes that the Elven delegates are harboring the Tevinter assassin. I think itās more likely to be his own people, but whatever. Iāll look into both factions either way. Gaspard asks me to look into the assassin as discreetly as possible, but I donāt really care for the āgameā of nobility, so Iām planning on ignoring that particular bit of advice. He steps away and will meet me just inside.
As I walk through the grounds, a woman tries to get my attention by calling me ārabbitā. She can fuck right off, no matter what she wants. Rabbit, indeed.
Josie heads me off at the gate and reminds me to watch my every move and word. Everyone will be scrutinizing, judging. Let them. Fuck everyone. I just want to get this over with so I can go get drunk in the back somewhere; propriety and the game be damned.
The Vestibule of the Winter Palace is immensely beautiful. Itās a bit sickening, especially coming off seeing the poor and hungry refugees of the ongoing war, but I donāt have long to think about it before Gaspard offers to guide me into the ballroom.
Actually, I donāt really have a choice, but I at least refuse to take his arm. I grimace and follow his lead. I am announced to the entire court and have to suffer the open stares of guests as I make my way to the other side of the grand hall to meet Empress Celene. Gaspard and Celene clearly have some unresolved issues for he snaps at her and stalks off, leaving me alone.
Celene introduces me to Duchess Florianne, who is responsible for the entire ball but is somehow surprised to find the Inquisition in attendance. Very odd. Florianne snarks a bit, then leaves. Celene is very pleased, if a bit too gentle, and I canāt really help it when I blurt out that an assassin is here. Oops. Celene brushes this aside; assassination threats are nothing to wave away, though, so I urge her to call off the ball. Just cancel it now. Celene tells me I need to drink some wine and recover from whatever has made me take leave of my senses. All around me are people staring and whispering. Gossiping. Let them.
Leliana drags me into the corner. She believes dealing with this situation would be far easier if we could strike from Celeneās side. She tells me Celene is fascinated by the occult and even has an advisorāan apostate Leliana has dealt with in the past. Why is this only coming up now? Lelianaās pissed Iāve questioned her. She grits her teeth, tells me to investigate the guest wing and stalks off back to the ballroom proper.
After a little walking around, I find Bull. Heās got the right idea. All he wants is to kill something, maybe wear one of the nobleās skulls as his fancy mask. Iād join him if I could, truly. I wander around, picking up tidbits of drama and gossip as I go, when something catches my eye. Itās a wax cylinder with a message inside. The first part details the comings and goings of the servants, but the rest is a message to Briala to get someone into the servantās quarters. Something has āgone wrongā there. Good god, maybe Gaspard was actually right. Either way, itās just another thing for me to investigate.
Three of Celeneās handmaidens startle me. They have a message for me from the Empress. If can get rid of Gaspard in some way, sheāll pledge her full support for the Inquisition. Somehow I donāt think this is Celeneās message. Perhaps Briala bribed them?
I climb up a wall to the blocked off upper floor and find a letter from Celene to a Lady M, the enchanter Leliana was worried about. Celene was concerned for her safety and requested the enchanter be at her side. I manage to get into one of the nearby rooms only to find a bloodbath, but Iāve no idea whose side might have done it. As I return to the ballroom to tell Leliana of my findings (and by the way, why am I doing all the work while the others get to enjoy the ball?) someone stops me in my tracks. Sheās so beautiful, I canāt help but smirk. She wonders what on earth might have brought the Inquisition to this ball, but something tells me thatās just bait to see what I know, or what Iām willing to reveal. Why canāt people just get to the point instead of dancing around the truth? I get the strange sense that this woman, whoever she is, knows all. She introduces herself.
Her name is Morrigan, and she is the apostate who serves Celene, the one Leliana spoke of. Sheās noticed how busy Iāve been (at least someone has), and wonders if weāre searching for the same prey. I try to step extra carefully. Who knows if Morrigan is the assassin herself? Morrigan reveals she has already killed a Tevinter agent recentlyāan intruder on these very grounds who had a key on his person. While Morrigan canāt leave Celeneās side for long, I can, and I can search for the door this key opens.
Iām pretty sure this key will open the door to the servantās quarters so I gather everyone and head there. Lo and behold, the door creaks open. The servants are dead. Dorianās been a sulky bugger, so Iāve invited Vivienne along in his stead this time. She wisely, if rather depressingly, tells us that the servants are always the first to go on account of preventing them from raising the alarm.
We move into the gardens, past bodies and bodies of the fallen dead. One body is not that of a servant though, but of an emissary of the Council of Heralds. The crest on the dagger sticking out of his back? Gaspardās. Would he be so bold? So careless? We donāt have time to consider before Venatori agents chase a screaming woman into the gardens and kill her. The leader leaps to the second level and disappears. We systematically head through the apartments in the gardens and kill any Venatori in our way. One tries to run off but meets with a blade to the face.
An Elf emerges from around the corner. She sneers and sarcastically tells me sheās happy to see me not slumming it in the kitchens with the rest of my people. What. A. Bitch. Briala admits that she is impressed with our work, though. She comes down to avenge or save her people, and Iāve already done the work for her. She asks if the Emissaryās death was my work. Of course not. I donāt know who this person thinks I am, really. Briala concludes it must be Gaspardās work: that he must be planning a strike tonight. Iām really not sure to be honestāneither of them appear to be planning much of anything.
Briala admits she misunderestimated meāshe wonders what I might do with an army of Elven spies. I wonder what she wants from me, except for Gaspardās head. She actually wants our support at the peace talksāsheās convinced Iāll be part of them before the night is up. Probably, if things go the way they usually do.
I return to the ball. Florianne meets me at the ballroom door. Why am I not surprised she wants to have a little chat now? She asks me to dance as there will be less of a chance of eavesdropping guests. If I must, I must. Besides, Josie is going to choke on her wine when she sees me! Florianne talks in circles as we dance, but she finally gets to the pointāsheād like me to meet the Captain of Gaspardās mercenaries. He knows all of Gaspardās plans. She begs me to stop Gaspard.
Sure enough, Josie is the first to meet me after I leave Florianne on the dance floor. Sheās impressed by my moves. Maybe Iāll become The Dancing Inquisitor? Tap everyone to pieces, or something.
Leliana and Cullen join us. Theyāve heard all manner of things and want to know whatās going on. Maybe if you lot had been helping me, you might know whatās happening. Urgh. Lazy, bloody people. Leliana suggests we let Celene die. That Corypheus wants chaos. Even if we save her, she might still bring unrest to the area. Iām a little shocked to tell the truth, but then Leliana has never been one to mince her words. They look to me. According to Cullen, one has to emerge victorious. Are they expecting me to choose? Good god, they canāt be serious. I get the impression that none of them want to be held responsible for a single thing that goes on.
Why would we want Gaspard or Briala on the throne? At least Celene knows how to ruleāthe other two are jumped up little twerps. Leliana and the others set me a challenge: to both save Celene and her Empire. She has to win over Briala and Gaspard both. Why is it my challenge? Why do I have to bloody do everything? I tell Cullen to get his soldiers into position and stomp off, muttering under my breath.
Royal Wing
I head off to the Royal Wing to investigate Gaspard and Briala as much as I can. Hopefully I can find something to blackmail both of them. Leliana has warned us that we are in extreme danger coming back here, but itās only served to excite Bull. And when arenāt we in danger these days? Clearly there is something dangerous back here, though, as a scream rips through the hallway. We burst into a room to find the Venatori leader from earlier stood over a cowering Elf. The leader flees through the window. Good riddance.
The Elf is thankfulāwe saved her life! Apparently Briala had said to the Elf that no one was meant to be in these rooms, so clearly Briala is up to something. I try to wheedle the information out of her. It doesnāt take much. Apparently, Briala used to sleep with Celene in the past and acted as her pet, while Celene purged their alienage. No one, it seems, is a good match for this throne. I offer protection to the Elf in exchange for her sworn testimony. She accepts and runs off to Cullen for safety on my orders.
Blackwall heard a familiar noiseāthe sound of a rift. Here? We run toward it, ending up in a garden surrounded by soldiers and, sure enough, thereās a bloody rift. But thatās not the most important part of the whole scenario: Duchess bloody Florianne is behind all of this.
Iām an idiot, and so is everyone else, including the very poor Spymaster Leliana. Perhaps if she hadnāt been commenting on shoe buckles all night, I wouldnāt be stuck in the middle of a trap right now. Florianne is so pleased I finally walked into her trapāCorypheus wants the Empress dead and Florianne doesnāt want to disappoint him. What does everyone see in that mangled arsehole? Celene leaves to assassinate the Empress herself.
I have to get back to the ballroom before itās too lateāthough if I have to kill them all and run Orlais myself weād be in much better shape. No more intrigue, no more plots! We kill the demons, close the rift and rescue Gaspardās Captain who has been tied up out here. He blames Gaspard for being tied up out here. It was Florianne who told him to come out here, but he knows for certain that this would have come from Gaspard. Urgh! Enough, already. I can see Bullās fingers twitching toward his axe, and I donāt fucking blame him one bit. The Captain keeps talking: Gaspard wanted to move on the palace tonight, but didnāt have enough men so he hired the mercenaries and the Captain. All he wants to do is get out of hereāso he vows heāll tell everyone of Gaspardās plans if I so wish, and off he goes.
When I arrive back in the ballroom, Cullen asks what I want them to do. I say take Florianne down now. Sheās pissed me off, and I want to smack her across the face in front of everyone. Seems Iāll get my chance. In the middle of Celeneās speech, I confront Florianne. She tries to grab Celene, but we whisk her out of the way. Gaspard watches on in horror, apparently not part of this plot at all, as Florianne kills my men and flees. At least Celene is alive; I didnāt fail my end of the bargain, even if the rest of my team are completely incompetent. I chase Florianne out the window into the grounds where she and her men attack us. I kill Florianne and make my way back to the palace to try and sort this mess out.
Celene demands I tell her whatās been going on. Despite the fact that Briala knew about Florianneās involvement and did nothing, she was actively gathering evidence against Gaspard to help as she believed he was the ringleader.
Gaspard was only ever out for himself even if, as he claims, he knew nothing of Florianneās plans. I support Briala in front of the Empress. I could always do with more Elven spies, especially as Lelianaās own agents seem not up to the task. Gaspard is sentenced to death, and Briala is pardoned but exiled.
Celene announces to the entire court that they stand with the Inquisition, which is great and all, but my feet are about to fall off and all I want to do is eat and collapse into bed. I slip into the back finally. Morrigan joins me on a balcony. Despite escaping, it seems there are always people to entertain. She wonders if Iāve grown tired of the compliments and toasts from the nobility. Obviously I have. I mean, theyāre nice and all, but enough enough enough! Morrigan announces that sheās been instated as Liaison to the Inquisition on Celeneās orders. Thatās nice. I guess I donāt get a say in the matter then? Morrigan tells me I need all the help I can get, then tells me sheāll meet me back at Skyhold. I get the sense Iām in for even more trouble than I thought.
Josie watches Morrigan go, then steps out herself. Canāt get a moment of peace around here it seems. She tells me I look troubled. How do I tell her I just want to be left alone for once? Josie wonders if Iād like dance with her. If it gets the memory of dancing with the adder-like Florianne out of my head, then gladly. It really doesnāt matter how much we spin around though, I still canāt help but wonder what Iāll have to deal with next.
Emma Fissenden is a writer of all trades. When sheās not pushing through her next rewrite, sheās playing too many games and working as the Editor in ChiefĀ @noblegasqrtly. You can find her on TwitterĀ @efissenden, or check out her other series for TMS,Ā Game Changer.
āPlease make note of The Mary Sueās general comment policy.ā
Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?