Act of Mercy

Acquisition
Find this quest on Hawke's writing desk in Gamlen's House in Act 1. This quest may not appear if Hawke informs Knight-Commander Meredith about Thrask's daughter.

Walkthrough
Go to the Wounded Coast Approach and talk to Ser Thrask, who informs Hawke about some apostates hiding in the Runaway's Cavern behind him. Ser Thrask will then request help in resolving the situation peacefully, before another group of more violent templars arrive to kill the apostates. if you choose to belligerently ask Thrask about payment before going in.

Upon entering the Runaway's Cavern, Hawke's party will be attacked by several apostate mages and weak undead. Eventually Hawke will run into the mage, Alim, who informs Hawke that the apostate leader Decimus has turned to blood magic. Alim will then leave to join Ser Thrask at the cavern's entrance so he can return to the Circle.

Decimus can be found at the end of the cavern, and he will attack under the belief that Hawke is working for the templars. This battle will include numerous undead, as well as three other apostate mages. After Decimus is defeated, Grace will approach and request that Hawke kill Ser Thrask so the surviving mages can flee to the outskirts of the Free Marches. Hawke can then:


 * Attempt to coerce her and the others into joining the Circle.
 * Tell her that they will convince the templars that the apostate mages are already dead.
 * Kill Ser Thrask as she has requested.

Result
When Hawke returns to the entrance of the cave a second group of templars, lead by Ser Kerras, will have arrived and will be arguing with Ser Thrask. The argument varies slightly depending on the previous choices made, but all arguments seem to indicate that Ser Kerras intends to simply execute the mages rather than return them to the circle.


 * If the decision to return the mages to the Circle was made, Hawke will be given the opportunity to:
 * Return the mages to the Circle. Ser Thrask will promise to return them unharmed and Ser Kerras intimates that Ser Thrask will not survive long enough to do so.
 * Free the mages instead, resulting in a fight with the templar reinforcements.


 * If the decision was made to lie to the templars, then the party has the following options:
 * 1)"I killed the mages." All subsequent conversation options lead to combat with the templars.
 * 2)"I'm a friend of Thrask's." Leads immediately to combat.
 * 3)"I'm a friend of the mages." Leads immediately to combat.
 * 4) If Varric is in the party, he can be asked to make up as story. Varric will tell the templars that Hawke is a foreign templar that Knight-Commander Meredith specially requested to help investigate the situation. Alternatively if Hawke is a mage he'll tell them your Enchanter Hawke from Ferelden who came to root out rebel mages. He then says that some of the mages are dead and others escaped to the coast.  The templars will leave and the mages can escape without any form of combat.

Ser Thrask will always assist Hawke in the combat with the templars. If the templars are slain, they can be looted for the Edge of Song and Glory and the Dragon Hunter's Hauberk. If Varric takes care of the situation, he will automatically succeed at fooling the templars. In all situations, Grace will give the Chanters' Staff as a reward.

If the templars are slain for any reason, then the quest Midnight Meeting will be unlocked during Act 2. During this follow-up quest, a group of templars will confront Hawke, intent on discovering the true fate of the group you slaughtered.