Disclaimer: Spoilers lie ahead.
Oh, come on! I've mentioned before I love Dragon Age and that its my current generation game. You should have seen this coming a mile away or something. Anyway, to start off with, I am going to say that Witch Hunt is not long, like the other DLCs. I believe my clocked time is close to two hours. I'd have to load up my file and check, which I don't feel like doing.
The character I used is Thea, my two-handed female human warrior, the same I used in Golems of Amgarrak. I will eventually do this DLC (and the others) with other classes and other disciplines in those classes but for now, Thea it is.
First thing is first! Am I disappointed? Sort of. Its better than Golems of Amgarrak by far, because it has story backing it, but its still nothing spectacular. However, even with its shortness and the fact I am slightly disappointed with it, it is nice to see a loose end get tied up, sort of. I'll explain later. Also, your companions in this DLC pack are actually competent unlike the ones in Golems of Amgarrak. I never got frustrated with them.
I am disappointed in the price though. Most of the DLCs have been $4.99. Now, I have a Standard Definition television still, so, seeing some prices on the PSN store is a bit tricky. But I believe this one was $5.99. That's a little too much for what little it gives.
So, the story opens with Morrigan narrating, stating what she said to the Warden before she left "Do not follow me" and that some doors should be left unopened. After the small narration from her, we open with a Mabari sniffing the ground outside a familiar hut. Its Flemeth's Hut! Thea will approach and you guessed it, its your faithful hound from Origins. I do wonder how come he didn't go with you on other quests, such as in Awakening and Golems of Amgarrak. I think it was explained in Awakening why he wasn't around but I can't remember right now.
Anyway, this is already off to a good start. I got my dog back! So, the reason why we are at Flemeth's Hut is because the Warden stationed scouts in the woods to monitor the hut, in case Morrigan went back to it and sure enough, a report came back of a suspicious looking woman entering the hut.
Its not Morrigan, but you knew that. Its a young Dalish Elf by the name of Ariane. She is also looking for Morrigan, who stole a precious book from her clan. Of course, with a common goal, Ariane joins. She's a warrior as well, who is disciplined in the two-handed variety. Honestly, I thought she was a Rogue at first with that discipline, until I looked at her character page. So, three party member slots already taken up. All three of them are Warrior Class. Yes, Dog counts as a Warrior.
So, the book Morrigan stole was an ancient book that has been passed down in the clan for generations, of course, with much of the Dalish history lost, even the Dalish themselves can't understand a lot of their old tongue. So, after Ariane mentions a word that she doesn't even know the meaning of (Eluvian) she brings up going to the Circle of Magi and reading from their library. Of course, with her in tow of the Warden she could get in.
So, we're going to get to see Greagoir and possibly Irving too, right? Wrong. Greagoir is apparently in Denerim taking care of some Templar business and in his place is a man by the name of Hadley, who immediately disapproves of your present company. What an ass. As for Irving, he just isn't mentioned, and being restricted to the first floor means you can't waltz up to his office and see if he's there. Hah.
Alright, before I continue I must mention that the party banter has returned, as in when you're running around your team mates will converse with themselves, currently you only have Ariane and Dog but it still gives a laugh. For example, one between Ariane and the future party member involves him telling her about a Mage by the name of Anders and one of his escape attempts from the Circle.
Also, in the circle there is a familiar little dwarf that will sell you things and enchant things for you. Dog remembers him "Hello, Doggy!" he exclaimed to the dog. I believe that's the only thing I've heard him say other than "Enchantment!" Good on you Sandal, you're learning to talk! Oh and for any wondering, no Bodahn is not dead. You finally get to ask about him, Hadley will say that he's trading in Redcliffe. So, why is Sandal still at the Circle and not with his father? His enchanting abilities has of course risen the curiosity of the Circle and the Tranquil Mages are "studying him" as Hadley said, learning from him so they may be as good of an enchanter as he is one day. I doubt it, Sandal is made of win.
I also need to point out a little something. Bioware totally slams Harry Potter, you can overhear two Apprentice Mages talking. I do not remember it word for word so I will summarize it. The two spot your hound and begin talking about the Circle should allow pets, the other mentions an incident with a Dragonling and how they are still picking pieces of another Mage off the ceiling of the third floor. Of course, he didn't mean dragons, he meant common pets. "Dogs, cats, rats... Owls." he says when the other quickly says "What kind of Mage has an owl for a pet?" Ah, I love it. Take that Harry Potter.
Anyway back to the explanation. Sorry for going offtrack. So, after you study the library for the meaning of Eluvian a Mage by the name of Finn, who comes off as stuck up, but turns out to be more of a comedy character than anything, tells them what Eluvian is -- it means looking glass, or mirror. He found it out after extensive research he says. Remember the corrupted mirror that Duncan destroyed in the Dalish Elf Origin? Bingo.
So, with Finn's knowledge, he joins the party for an expedition in the Circle's lower levels, as there is some information down there in the form of a statue. Yep, the statue you run into in the Mage Origin. Lots of references to Origins and Awakening in this DLC.
Hadley will mention there is something wrong in the basement and the Warden offers to help with it, however, he is unsure but of course lets them down. The Sentinels in the basement have become corrupted through Tears in the Veil, so, you have to seal them up. You also cannot get anything logical out of the statue as it keeps screaming about a darkness with the tears in the veil (six in all) in the basement so clear them out then talk to the statue.
It'll tell you were to go next and the things you need. First you need the Eluvian itself, however, a shard will do. You also need the Lights of Arlathan. The Eluvian Shard can be found in a Dalish Ruin, surprisingly enough its the exact same ruin involved in the Dalish Origin story, broken mirror and all. There's no boss in the ruin so I wont explain in detail here, get the shard and get out.
The Lights of Arlathan are within Cadash Thaig. Why a Dwarven area? Well, when the Dalish were on the run from the Tevinter Empire, the Dwarves apparently let them take refuge there. Anyway, the Lights are hidden within the area, there are four in all and they don't appear visibly at first. It involves a spell that is borderline blood magic as well. The lights will appear only to the blood of the Dalish, or something.
So, we take some of Ariane's blood. There are vortexes around the area that will show you where residual energy is being drawn, which in turn leads you to the Lights. Also, of course, there are enemies, Darkspawn and Deep Stalkers to be exact, that litter the area. Aw, why no Harvester? It showed dozens of them leaving the other place in the Deep Roads. Haha.
After you pick up every light you have to fight an enemy. They aren't too tough, though. You can also pick up notes about Cadash Thaig that will give the history of the place and give details of the Elves and their refuge here. It also counts for an Achievement/Trophy if you find the entire history for all you Achievement Hunters out there. Hah.
So, after you get all four of the lights, its time for the Scrying Ritual which will tell you where there is a nearby Eluvian, activated I believe, but I can't quite recall if its only activated ones or not. Anyway, Finn will be temporarily removed from the party as he does the ritual, protect him from Shades that pop up and that's it. The nearest Eluvian is in Dragonbone Wastes, the final area that was in Awakening, where you fought and brought an end to The Mother.
As you would guess it, there are dragon enemies in the area but there are also some cultists, I believe the same cultists from Haven. Which makes me think of a certain theory about Morrigan being even more true, but I will save that for another time.
Anyway, there is one boss in this DLC and its not Morrigan, like you would think. Its a Varterral(apparently called Striders for Dragon Age 2. Maybe just a similiar looking monster?), an ancient creature made by the Dalish to protect them and their stuff. How Morrigan brought one to life, I do not know, as even the Dalish in "today's" Ferelden say they are nothing but legends.
Honestly, this boss is easy, even on hard I had no trouble with it, other than Finn falling, but that's Mages for you. Damn glass cannons. When it loses a certain amount of health it will flee the field and small dragons will take its place, get rid of them, it comes back, lower its health some more, and it'll repeat. It only did this to me twice though before it died, so, I'm inclined to believe it is HP based.
Weird looking thing. Better than the Harvester, though.
So, after that, head into the lair where you fought The Mother and confront Morrigan. Apparently the Eluvians are also portals to a "world beyond this and beyond the Fade" as Morrigan put it, and yes, she has activated it. However, she claims she waited so she could see the Warden (keep in mind my character is a female, thus no chance of romance with her) again.
Now we encounter a bug here - since I loaded my Thea from my Awakening file, the game is treating it as if I refused the ritual, which I did not, because I was marrying Thea to Allistair in that file and needed him to be alive for such a thing. So, she is pretty vague in her answers with me. I'll need to try with it from my Origin file to see if its any different but I believe it all leads to the same conclusion.
Anyway, during the banter, because I don't want to spoil -everything- Morrigan will state that its not her that the Warden should be worried about and hunting down, its Flemeth. Now, I killed Flemeth in my Origin file, and despite the previous bug, it remembered me doing that. So, obviously I picked the "Flemeth is dead." remark, to which Morrigan exclaims that Flemeth has escaped death before and that this time isn't any different. She also tells us that Flemeth is not just an old woman nor an abomination. She says that she is not even human.
Huh... I must admit this did intrigue me and honestly I do not believe that this is the "final" DLC for Dragon Age as they claim simply for that bit of dialogue about Flemeth. The reason I say this is because in the upcoming Dragon Age 2, you do not play the same character, instead someone who fled Lothering during the Darkspawn attack. So, Flemeth of course would more logically have a DLC revolving around her with the character from Origins or that's what I believe anyway.
Anyway, you're given choices at the end of the conversation when Morrigan asks you if you will let her go. Two allows Morrigan to slip into the portal, one being friendly of course "Just say goodbye this time." and one being not so friendly "Go, then." I went with the first one, where Morrigan apologizes for everything. I just wanted to see what Morrigan would say, so, after that I reloaded my file and picked the final option "Never! (attack)" which I was hoping for, because I hate Morrigan.
I must say that it did disappoint me here. Thea lunged forward and stabbed her through the stomach. Shock evident on the Witch's face, even a bit of sadness can be seen in her eyes. Maybe she really did see the Warden as her friend? However, her death is not 100% rock solid. She grips at the wound on her stomach, stumbles back, and falls through the portal clutching her stomach, leaving her death unknown.
That honestly annoyed me but I'll roll with it. And, that's it. No matter what choice, after she steps (or falls) through the portal, the Warden and her group collect the Eluvian book she left behind as well as another (Morrigan pointed this out to the Warden, that she left her some presents) that looks strangely like Flemeth's Grimoire.
A score to give this.... I will admit that the majority of it is fighting and that there is not a lot of character development between your two new party members, but there is some, if only through the banter they have as you run around. Its more development and more story driven then both Golems of Amgarrak and Leliana's Song and it sort of ties up a loose end. I'll give it a 6 out of 10.
So, there you have it. Jeez, I did not mean to make it this long but I tend to ramble. Sorry about that. Izzy out for now.
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