Dissent

Dissent is a companion quest for Anders in Dragon Age II acquired after finishing Check on Anders and Blackpowder Courtesy.

Walkthrough
Speak with Anders at his clinic. He will tell of Ser Alrik's misuse of the Rite of Tranquility. He asks you to accompany him to a secret entrance to the Gallows Dungeon, a basement of The Gallows in Darktown. He suspects Ser Alrik of plotting something called "The Tranquil Solution"--turning all mages in Thedas into Tranquil. His goal in infiltrating the Gallows is to obtain evidence of this plot and expose it to the Grand Cleric so she can no longer claim neutrality in the matter.

As usual, the amount of friendship or rivalry points you receive depends on each choice of response you make while talking to Anders in his clinic regarding this quest. Since friendship or rivalry points effectively cancel each other out, the total amount at the end is tallied and you are only shown the end result of your choices. Not every choice has an approval effect, so only those that carry a consequence are included. They can be broken down into each specific gain below: (Note: There appears to be a cap of no more than 15 points of friendship or rivalry gain for this conversation. i.e. If your total reaches above 15 in either direction, only 15 is counted. Also only Anders and Sebastian's approval ratings are affected for this exchange, but the below only contains Sebastian's data due to this editor's Anders approval already locked in at full friendship.)

2nd choice: 3rd choice: 4th choice:
 * "They wouldn't do that."
 * "You're crazy."
 * "We must stop them."
 * "Not all templars are that bad."
 * "What are they, bored?"
 * "Do you have a plan?"
 * "Of course, I'll help."
 * "Isn't this dangerous?" (If you ask about "Tranquil Solution" first, this will be unavailable. This can be chosen before deciding to accept or refuse the quest and has no change on Sebastian's approval, but may have an effect on Anders's. Please fill in this and all other choices upon further testing for Anders.)
 * "You're on your own."

Investigating details of the "run-in" opens up the Codex entry: The Mage Underground.

Note that refusing to do the quest means you cannot access the quest at all; unlike some other quests, this one is skippable. As there is an armor upgrade for Anders, a Spindleweed, and a codex entry from the Band of Three found during the quest, it may not be wise to refuse, even when trying to rival Anders.

Upon entering the tunnel, you're attacked by lyrium smugglers; Anders comments that the tunnel was built by the smugglers so that they could service the lyrium addictions of the Templars.

There are two complex chests in the tunnel and you cannot come back after this part of the quest is done, so you may want to bring a rogue who can unlock those chests.

At the end of the tunnel, you come upon a mage girl named Ella in the act of sneaking out of the Circle. She's just been caught by Ser Alrik himself, along with some templars. She says she's just going to visit her mother, but Ser Alrik reveals that he has a very dubious personal motive for making mages Tranquil. As Anders watches the injustice take place, Justice takes control of his body and launches an assault on the templars. A fight ensues. Varric will have a comment here if you choose the Humorous line.

After they're all dead, Justice will threaten Ella as well. Calm him down with the special "star" dialogue option that appears (this will only be available after achieving friendship or rivalry). Any other dialogue choice leads to Ella's death.


 * If Ella escapes unharmed:
 * (Dependant on friendship or rivalry)
 * (Dependant on friendship or rivalry)
 * (Dependant on friendship or rivalry)


 * If Ella dies:

Afterward, you find a note on Ser Alrik showing that he was indeed plotting "The Tranquil Solution" but that both Knight-Commander Meredith and the Divine refused his idea.

Before leaving the area, be sure to pick up an armor upgrade for Anders in one of the chests west of the exit. Also, there is an Enigma of Kirkwall note for the Band of Three quest nearby.

When you return to Darktown, you are immediately approached by Ella if she is still alive.
 * If you choose either non-aggressive answer and tell Ella to go somewhere safe ,.
 * If you choose either non-aggressive answer and tell Ella go back to the Circle,.
 * If you choose the aggressive answer and tell Ella to go back to the Circle,, . Choosing the aggressive answer and telling Ella to go somewhere safe will result in no change for Fenris or Sebastian.

Optionally, at the end of the quest you can confront Grand Cleric Elthina in the Chantry and Cullen in The Gallows by presenting the note to them.

If Hawke did not bring Bethany to the Deep Roads and she went to the Circle at the end of Act 1, telling Ella to return to the Circle will prompt her to say that maybe Bethany was right and the Circle isn't so bad.

Result
Talk to Anders again at his clinic in Darktown to complete the quest. Dialog choices allow Hawke to:


 * Calm Anders and show him the papers found on Ser Otto Alrik's body. Anders is relieved since this means the plan has not been put into action. He wonders if the Grand Cleric might be more reasonable than he thought and plans to try speaking to her (up to depending on dialogue choices).


 * Confront him and tell him to leave; he will no longer be available as a companion. From this decision Sebastian gains but Merrill or Fenris will not be effected. (Note that after the battle with Ser Alrik ends, you will not have access to Anders' inventory, thus any gear he has equipped leaves with him if you choose this dialogue option, unless you quickly click on his approval change upon leave to bring his panel and subsequently press "I" to open his inventory.)


 * Confront him and tell him to stay. Anders will ask if evidence was found about Ser Otto Alrik's plan, Hawke will show him the letter which results in him wondering about speaking to the Grand Cleric Elthina..

Both options may affect other companions' friendship/rivalry status as well.

Note

 * If you are seeking the Supplier achievement, be sure to grab the Deep Mushroom and Spindleweed in the Gallows Dungeon.
 * If you are seeking the Archaeologist achievement, be sure to grab the Enigma of Kirkwall codex entry after the battle with Alrik.
 * If he doesn't already have it, Anders will get his Vengeance ability for free after completion of the quest.
 * If you want to return to loot or open some chests, simply leave Ser Alrik letter in place. This will leave the passage accessible until later, (since the quest will be incomplete).

Trivia
"The Tranquil Solution" is likely a reference to "The Final Solution". This was the most deadly phase of the Holocaust in World War II.