Merrill

"It’s a Keeper’s job to remember, even the dangerous things."

Merrill is an elven mage and a temporary companion to the Dalish elf Warden during the Dalish Elf Origin and a companion and romance option for a male or female Hawke in Dragon Age II.

Pre-Game
Merrill was born to the Alerion clan, which wandered the hills of Nevarra. She was the third child of the clan with the ancient gift (magic) born to her- when the next Arlathvenn (gathering of clans) occurred, she was given to the Sabrae clan to be the First to Keeper Marethari.

Dragon Age: Origins
Merrill is the First, or apprentice, of the clan's Keeper, Marethari. She is interested in recovering the elves' lost lore and possesses some knowledge of the elves' old magic. You first meet her during the Dalish Elf origin story.

Dragon Age II
The Keepers of the Dalish are the masters of ancient lore and guardians of old secrets. Merrill can recite all of known elven history and navigate the Fade, but has very little experience with the world or even her own people. Now in a foreign land, surrounded by dangers and hostile races on all sides, Merrill must restore the glory and heritage of her people, whatever the cost.

Following the events of the Dalish elf origin, Merrill kept a fragment of the Eluvian to cleanse it of its taint.

Romance
A Romance with Merrill, contrary to prior knowledge, can in fact be attained by playing either a male or female Hawke (although she may receive slightly different Romance Armor depending on Hawke's gender). It will require 50% friendship/rivalry by act 2. Also, like every other romance, flirting is important. Flirt at least once before or during the Questioning Beliefs mid-point relationship conversation in Act 2, which takes place once Mirror Image is done. You may not get the flirt option if you do not have enough friendship/rivalry. After the Questioning Beliefs has finished, Merrill will visit the Hawke Estate in the evening if her friendship/rivalry level remains at least 50% or more, Flirt with her to initiate the romance and invite her to move in with the PC. Then max out her friendship/rivalry to 100% and do her companion quest and give her both gifts (Halla Carving and Sylvanwood Ring) to complete the romance.

If there is a successful romance, she may end up being kidnapped by Grace in Act 3. Provided she survives everything, she does give Hawke a kiss during the final battle.

In the epilogue Varric will state that due to circumstances after the fight between the Templars and Mages they all had to leave the Champion's side, "Except Merrill of course."

Note: There are bugs regarding Merrill's romance, see the Bugs Section.

The following quests have flirtation dialog options with Merrill Act 1: Welcome Home

Act 2: Mirror Image, Back From Sundermount, Questioning Beliefs

Friendship
You can typically gain Friendship Points with Merrill by: 1.) Siding with the Mages or the Elves in quests. 2.) Choosing options that favor blood magic. 3.) By being agreeable to her in conversation. Listed below are some specific ways to earn Merrill's friendship.

Rivalry
Rivalry with Merrill can generally be earned by siding with the templars or the Circle or by being contrary in conversation or siding against blood magic. Listed below are some specific ways to earn a rivalry with Merrill.

Armor
In Dragon Age II, you cannot change what armor your companions wear but you can upgrade it. Merrill's armor may be upgraded by using the gift mechanics in Dragon Age II. You will find companion armor upgrades that can be purchased at shops in the tab designated by the Gem Icon. Her armor has four slots available for upgrades. These upgrades may be purchased or found at various locations in the game. Upgrading a companion's armor once unlocks the "A Friend In Need" achievement and fully upgrading a companion's armor unlocks the "I Got Your Back" achievement.

Merrill's armor upgrades can be found at the following locations:
 * Act 2: Robes By Jean Luc Hightown: Samite Lining. (Gives Merrill an extra rune slot.)
 * Act 2: Ilen's Crafts Sundermount: Carved Ironwood Buttons. (+40 health)
 * Act 2: Top of Sundermount's Graveyard Path Sundermount: Silver-Threaded Dalish Embroidery. (+20 health regeneration rate)
 * Act 3: Found during her quest A New Path: Halla Horn Buckles. (Gives Merrill an extra rune slot)

An alternate armor is automatically equipped after romancing Merrill with either full friendship or rivalry, possibly referencing the fact that with Hawke's assistance she is now able to afford new armor and clothing. It is a set of silver/white chain-mail with plate shoulder and elbow pads and leather robes with a light blue sash around her waist. This armor is called Raiments of the Dalish Pariah, which replaces her previous armor set, 'Vestments of the First'. Interestingly, if she is wearing Raiments of the Dalish Pariah and is kidnapped in Act 3, she will be seen wearing 'Vestments of the First' when you go to save her.

Initial statistics (Origins)
Class: Mage

Specialization: N/A

Starting spells/skills: Herbalism, Combat Tactics

Mage: Arcane Bolt

Primal: Flame Blast, Flaming Weapons

Entropy: Weakness

Talent Trees

 * Elemental
 * Primal
 * Spirit
 * Arcane
 * Entropy
 * Dalish Pariah (specialization)

Quotes

 * (Approaching the Qunari Compound) "They're so big and grim! What do you suppose would happen if I tickled one of them?"
 * (After falling in battle) "I've got so many bruises now; they have names and families."
 * "It’s a Keeper’s job to remember, even the dangerous things."
 * (Passing by The Blooming Rose) "Why do they call this a brothel? Does it have something to do with broth?"
 * "If you were Dalish, our people would have a kingdom by now. ... And half of Thedas would be attacking us. So maybe things worked out for the best." (To Hawke, when she visits the estate)
 * "By the Dread Wolf! Why is my house always a mess when people are here? It's clean sometimes, I swear."
 * "Uhhh, no! Definitely not! Ever!" (when asked to pick locks w/o any rogue in party, or rogue has insufficient Cunning)
 * "What? I hope you're joking." (when asked to pick locks w/o any rogue in party, or rogue has insufficient Cunning)
 * "On the best day of my life I could manage that." (when asked to pick locks w/o any rogue in party, or rogue has insufficient Cunning)
 * "I only have a little left!" (when mana is low)
 * "You think I'm tiring? I'm tiring." (when mana is low)
 * (Inside The Hanged Man) "Isabela said the next time we came here, she would teach me to do something called... "body shots"?"
 * (Passing through the Lowtown Bazaar) "The merchants here keep trying to sell me shoes. I don't know why."
 * "If you hadn't come to Sundermount that day... I can't imagine where I'd be now."
 * "When I thought they were going to lock me up, the one thing I knew I couldn't live without... was you." (To Hawke during Best Served Cold, if she was kidnapped by Grace AND in a romance with Hawke)
 * "More demons. Feynriel's dreams draw them like pastries draw Varric." (During the quest Night Terrors)


 * Hawke: Handprints? Has someone been swinging on the chandelier? Merrill... (Only if romancing Merrill, otherwise refers to Sandal)
 * Hawke: I think Merrill named this falcon sculpture Finnegan. No, wait... that's wrong. Finnegan's on the north face. This one's Messerre Pointy-Face.
 * Hawke: The only thing Merrill's moved in. Maybe she doesn't feel this is her home yet. (If in a romance with Merrill)
 * Hawke: Orana's a patient music teacher, but Merrill should really just stick to magic. (If in a romance with Merrill AND Orana serves at the Hawke Estate)
 * Hawke: "I came in and watered your plants! Lots of love, Merrill." That girl's way too nice. (Only if romancing Merrill)
 * Hawke: "I came in and watered your plants! Your friend, Merrill." Well, that was nice of her. (Only if not romancing Merrill)

(While Hawke is exploring/looking at things in his/her mansion.)

Dialogue

 *  (Hawke): (to Aveline) "You never mentioned how your three week honeymoon in Orlais went."
 *  (Aveline): "I know"
 *  (Merrill): "Then how did it go? Oh.. 'giggles' "


 * (Guard): Shit! A fire could destroy the loot. We have to check!
 * (Merrill): But there's not really a fire, is there?
 * (Hawke): No, Merrill. It's a trick.
 * (Merrill): Oh! That's very clever, then!
 * (the guards attacked the party)


 * (Merrill): "Pol... what was he thinking. He acted like I was a monster."
 * (Fenris): "You are a monster."
 * (Isabela): "You're not helping."
 * (Fenris): "Good."


 * (Merrill): "Does all this feel like a dream to you, too?"
 * (Hawke): "In a moment, I'll look down and discover I'm not wearing any pants."
 * (Merrill): *giggles* "The Champion of Kirkwall, going into battle naked. Why don't I ever have that dream?"

Trivia

 * Mary Kirby wrote Merrill for Dragon Age II.
 * According to David Gaider, Eve Myles was last on the list of "actors I specifically asked for and got on the first try".
 * Merrill means shining sea in Irish Gaelic.
 * Merrill's talent, Stone's Throw may be related to Velanna's ability to disappear and reappear by being shrouded in roots.
 * If you're romancing Merrill, when you examine the handprints near the chandelier, instead of Sandal, Merrill will be said to have been swinging on it.
 * If you ask Merrill to move in to Hawke's estate, a flower is the only thing she will bring with her. You can find it in Hawke's bedroom, on the desk.
 * If you give Merrill the Halla Statuette bought from Master Ilen's store in Act 2, it will be on display on the table beside the door to her home in Act 3 and the rest of Act 2.

Bugs

 * In all the versions of Dragon Age II, at the beginning of Act 2, a bug can occur in which Merrill's companion quest "Mourning" appears in the journal as complete. This appears to be triggered by taking your sibling into the deep roads and having them contract the taint. However, this only affects the "Mourning" dialogue. All other quests in Act 2 appear to function as normal, and it has been confirmed that this does not affect the romance. Hawke merely needs 50% friendship/rivalry in Act 2, and to flirt whenever possible.


 * In Dragon Age II after her personal quest The New Path, it may happen for the sad ending that she is stuck to your party, being locked forever. This can be fixed by either taking another quest where a party member is locked in, such as Sebastian's "Faith", or by returning home to the Hawke estate. Both methods will remove all current party members, restoring Merrill's unlocked status.


 * During Act 3, if Merrill's relationship is maxed in either direction, the conversation involving Merrill's reaction to the end of A New Path will occur, even before you start the quest, where she is upset by the death of her clan's Keeper. This can be fixed through save editing. This has also been fixed in Patch v1.02.


 * There have been some reports of an inability to gain friendship/rivalry points with Merrill. The cause is currently unknown. (It may have to do with flirting with Merrill when you first visit her home. Just try to be friendly or mean to her, depending on what you wish.)


 * There is a more trivial bug: during Act 3, Merrill will use her Cave dialogue in her own house when a conversation is not available. It is amusing hearing her mention she doesn't like it in her own home.


 * After consoling Merrill about the death of the clan, the Eluvian disappears from her home in Lowtown.


 * There have been some cases where, during the sex scene between her and Hawke, some graphical issues occur. Such reports claim that the two characters abruptly show up standing idly at the entrance to the Hawke estate, both in their intimate attire. The dialogue wheel, however, is still present and choosing any option will promptly fix the bug, placing the characters in their proper place and the scene will proceed normally.


 * Also if Hawke has sex with Isabela BUT doesn't choose to romance her, then starts romancing Merrill, everything will still function properly and you will still get the final kissing scene and achievement. However, in the epilogue cutscene, Varric will say "… all except Isabela" (or both names simultaneously) which indicates a bug, as it should be only Merrill, unless Hawke had accepted Isabela's offer of joining her on her ship, in which case Varric saying "… all except Isabela" is correct. This has also been fixed in Patch v1.02.


 * In Act 3, when initiating A New Path, it seems that if you are on a path of rivalry with Merrill, she will mention you keeping the arulin'holm from her, even if you gave it to her.