The Destruction of Lothering

The Destruction of Lothering is the first main quest that Hawke receives in Dragon Age II. It chronicles the Hawke Family's escape from the village of Lothering and their journey to Kirkwall during the Fifth Blight.

Acquisition
All players start the game with this quest.

Walkthrough
Cassandra Pentaghast interrogates Varric Tethras in hopes of finding Hawke for unknown reasons. Varric begins to tell the tale of how Hawke became The Champion of Kirkwall, and why Hawke is relevant to the current state of affairs there.

Varric exaggerates the details of Hawke's escape from Lothering. At this point the player takes control of Hawke. For now the player can only use a default Hawke, and is unable to customize the character. During this phase of gameplay, Hawke is wearing full Champion Armor and is granted extreme regeneration as well as invulnerability. Also, as Hawke successfully performs basic combat maneuvers additional abilities are granted. All of this is due to Varric's exaggerations in this part of the story, which also serves as a tutorial, teaching the player the basics of combat.

After some fighting a brief cinematic will play, depicting Hawke and a sibling decimating Hurlocks. Depending on Hawke's chosen character class, either Bethany or Carver will spot enemy scouts. A battle begins with groups of Hurlocks & possibly some Hurlock Bolters. After this, the game cuts to another short cinematic where either Bethany or Carver will say that they can't keep fighting forever. Hawke will have a choice of three dialogue options; none of them will affect relationships with party members. Hawke will also have the choice to let a sibling deal with more incoming Hurlocks, or slay them his/herself. Either way, there will be a short cinematic depicting the chosen option (both successful). Afterwards combat will resume with more Hurlocks.

Hawke will have to fight an Ogre, but it is impossible to lose due to Hawke's exaggerated invulnerability. Once the fight is over, another cinematic will occur. Afterwards, the player is taken to the customization screen, which allows Hawke's appearance & portrait to be altered, as well as selecting one of three preset Dragon Age: Origins backgrounds or importing a saved game (see Imported saves and pre-built histories). The normal phase of gameplay begins, and Hawke is no longer is endowed with superior regeneration, invulnerability and Champion Armor.

After fighting through a few groups of darkspawn made up of Hurlocks and Hurlock Grunts and conversing with the family, a pair of survivors also fighting to escape cross Hawke's path. Aveline Vallen and her injured husband Ser Wesley Vallen join Hawke's party, Aveline as a companion and Ser Wesley as a follower NPC like Leandra.

Shortly thereafter the group encounters more darkspawn, among them Hurlock Bolters & an Apprentice Emissary. In the gully to the left is a locked chest and the Codex entry: The Korcari Wilds. If Hawke is a rogue, the chest may be unlocked to reveal some loot and provide a small experience boost. As Hawke continues up the ridge, an Ogre appears which serves as the boss for the prologue. NOTE: You should probably strip Carver or Bethany (depending on what class you chose) of their equipped weapon (to sell at a future date). Hawke's class will determine which of the two siblings is lost to the Ogre. If Hawke is either a rogue or a warrior the Ogre kills Carver, while a mage Hawke loses his/her sister Bethany.

Following the battle with the Ogre and waves of darkspawn, the group becomes surrounded. The dragon appears and kills the remaining darkspawn. It lands in front of the group, and shapeshifts into a human, revealed to be Flemeth from Dragon Age: Origins. Hawke will receive the Long Way Home quest during this conversation, no matter what is said.

After the conversation, the group is taken to port, and journeys to Kirkwall be sea. Upon arrival, they find out that the city is filled with Fereldan refugees and that the city guard is not allowing any of them to leave the Gallows Courtyard. They speak with Guardsman Wright, who passes them on to his superior, Captain Ewald. The captain will be in the middle of a conversation with some agitated Ferelden deserters. No matter what is said, the deserters will initiate combat.

Afterwards, Hawke mentions that they have an uncle, Gamlen, who lives in the city. The captain says that he will find Gamlen for them. After three days pass, Gamlen shows up with a plan to get the family into Kirkwall. He has sold Hawke and the surviving sibling into indentured servitude. Hawke can choose between becoming a mercenary or a smuggler. Gamlen will instruct Hawke to talk to either Meeran of the Red Iron Mercenaries or Athenril the smuggler. They will give Hawke a quest to complete as a test, after which Hawke will receive aid to enter the city:

If Hawke chose the Mercenaries, Meeran will ask for a noble named Friedrich be killed.

If Hawke chose the Smugglers, Athenril will ask Hawke to extort gold from a merchant named Cavril.

It is possible to receive the bribe from Cavril and then kill Friedrich for a total of 7. To do this:
 * Accept the smugglers quest from Athenril.
 * Attempt to lockpick the Chest behind Cavril's table.
 * When Cavril confronts Hawke, select "I could be persuaded to go" and "Yes" to get 2 from the chest.
 * Go over to Meeran and accept his quest.
 * Kill Friedrich to get 5 and an item, possibly a class-specific weapon, from his dead body.

It is also possible to receive the bribe from Friedrich and then extort Cavril for a total of 2. It is not possible to kill Friedrich and extort Cavril (to get 5 and complete the quest for Athenril), because as soon as Hawke completes what an employer demands his/her path is chosen and the other choice disappears.

Results
Meeting Ser Wesley:
 * , ; if Hawke is a warrior or rogue and chooses the Aggressive response to Wesley threatening Bethany upon meeting Aveline for the first time.
 * All other responses yield: ,

Ser Wesley's Fate:
 * if Wesley's fate is deferred to her
 * if Wesley is killed by Hawke, or pressures Aveline to act fast

Mercenary / Smuggler Tasks:
 * if Hawke asks for Aveline's help to deal with Cavril
 * if Hawke asks Cavril for a bribe. However, if Hawke has already failed Meeran's task this option will result in Cavril's guards attacking you and no rivalry gain.
 * if Hawke responds aggressively to Friedrich or chooses the "I'm just here to kill you" option

Rewards

 * Approximately 6000 XP:
 * Defeating the groups of darkspawn (note that no XP is received for the Ogre fight):
 * 450 XP
 * 150 XP
 * 300 XP – helping Aveline
 * 450 XP
 * 550 XP – archers appear for the first time
 * 600 XP – with emissary
 * 1500 XP – upon arriving to Kirkwall
 * 1000 XP – killing the refugees who are arguing with Captain Ewald to get into the city
 * 600 XP – fighting Cavril/Friedrich
 * 400 XP – allying with either the Red Iron mercenaries or the smugglers
 * 2 if a bribe from the merchant or the noble is accepted.
 * Entrance into Kirkwall.
 * Codex entry: Kirkwall - The Gallows can be found here, go up the stairs behind Captain Ewald. It is located on the pillar statue past the guard watching over the courtyard.