In my last Dragon Age post, we met Ellu'kha the uncharacteristically friendly Dalish elf. Despite growing up in the wilds away from human society, she seems to know all about humanity and is willing to lead the most religious of them into a holy crusade as she seeks to repair the hole in the sky.
After exploring the Hinterlands outside of Redcliffe and partaking in battle against mages and templars alike as she sought to help peasants in need, she assisted Varric by destroying growths of red lyrium and helped Solas by activating an ancient elven artifact. She flirted with Solas, too. His head was shiny and she liked that in a fellow elf.
Now she and her acquaintances make their way towards Val Royeaux, to plead with the Chantry to see the bigger picture: she and her acquaintances were no heretics; they were trying to fix the world and the Chantry should help them, not vilify them.
Val Royeaux was a grand place filled with posh humans with strange accents and even stranger face coverings. It was hard to believe that fragile people like this had caused such trouble across Thedas in previous years.
When they arrived, a religious woman was defaming our Herald's good name and threatened to turn the templars upon them... that was until one of the templars punched her in her shouty mouth and quietened her, allowing their leader, the Lord Seeker, to have words with the Herald. Cassandra was perplexed, this did not seem the same man she had once known. The templars waltzed off into the sunset, ignoring the Inquisition, and the punched woman lay helpless upon the concrete, also ignoring the Inquisition.
After this waste of time, our Herald turned to leave only to be accosted by several events all at once.
An arrow flew in front of her with a note from Red Jenny upon it. A mage barged over and asked her to come to tea with his mistress. Then another, more poised mage, the elven leader of the Mage Rebellion, came over and told the group to come visit her in Redcliffe.
Overwhelmed by the sudden attention, our Herald went shopping instead. There was a man selling a box for $10,000! And, it was a mystery box! Intrigued, our Herald decided she would save up all possible coinage and find out what was in that box.
Not having the means to buy the box just yet, our Herald instead followed the instructions on the mysterious arrow and trampled across the plans of some un-named nobleman who thought himself high and mighty enough to take on the Inquisition.
He was soon dispatched, an elf ran over cackling about stealing the pants off his bodyguards, then together they attacked the pants-less bodyguards.
The elf was one of many Red Jennies across the land and wanted to help the Inquisition. Not to look a gift-elf in the mouth, our elfy Herald accepted her offer and Sera the Red Jenny trundled off to Haven to get settled in.
With that matter settled, our Herald just had enough time to make it to the mage's parlour for tea and scones.
Only, there was no tea nor were there scones.
The foyer was filled with ridiculous mask-wearing entertainment-seekers desperate to hear all about the Inquisition. Our Herald regaled them with some nonsense, amused that they were eating up every one of her claims, and then was accosted by a crazed man. Before she could react, the mage froze him solid then shattered him. This was Vivienne the mage mistress who had lied to her about tea and scones. She wanted to join the Inquisition with hopes the mage circles would be reconstructed and order brought back to the world.
Our Herald wanted some type of order brought back to the world, but had no interest in religious constructs like mage circles. She invited Vivienne to the cause anyway, despite feeling as though conflict would be of great concern between them.
With her unplanned recruitment drive over and done with, our Herald and her companions arrived back at Haven... only to find yet another who sought to join the Inquisition. A young man she was certain was actually a woman in disguise clomped over and tried to convince her to go to the Storm Coast and watch a bunch of mercenaries. They would fight for her. For the Inquisition. She just needed to watch what they were capable of and then negotiate with their leader.
Mercenaries. It sounded pretty desperate to be hiring mercenaries, but no matter, she would get there in time and watch them like the good little spokesperson she was supposed to be, but at the moment she had other things to do.
After speaking with all of her companions, old and new alike, she sent forth some missions from the war table and prepared her people to return to the massive Hinterlands.
Although she was on her way to Redcliffe to speak to the mages, at the behest of the rebel leader, she discovered a random Grey Warden fighting alongside a bunch of peasants and couldn't help but wander over.
Shrugging her shoulders at the strangeness of it all, she and her companions joined in and next thing she knew she had yet another Inquisition recruit waltzing out of the Hinterlands and into Haven. Blackwall the Grey Warden.
She hadn't planned on so many people joining her all at once, but she'd take it. Cassandra and Varric were at each other's throats all the time, it would be nice to travel with a couple of different people. Solas could stay though. She needed him in her party, by her side, all the time.
The Herald and her party somehow made it to the gates of Redcliffe without being accosted by more people throwing themselves at her and her cause. She was grateful that they wanted to help, but did they really have to come one after the other? It was a bit overwhelming. Or maybe that's because she wasn't used to humans. Either way.
Approaching the gates of Redcliffe, they were beset upon by a mass of spirits. There was a rift! The Herald hastily proved herself worthy of her title and dismantled the rift, and the soldiers, grateful for her assistance, opened the gates.
At last. Maybe now they could find help in closing the breach in the sky. That elven mage, leader of the rebellion would be glad to see them, to offer her assistance, surely. Why else would she have approached them back in Val Royeaux?
Stepping into Redcliffe Village, the Herald and her companions prepared to meet the mages. At last, they were getting things done.
Until next time!
All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, 
Posted from Kaelci Games with Exxp : https://kaelci.games/2022/06/10/lets-play-dragon-age-inquisition-part-two/