Soldier's Peak (quest)

Soldier's Peak is the central quest in Warden's Keep.

Walkthrough

Note: Once the quest is complete and the veil is sealed, you will not be able to re-enter the keep. Therefore, if you wish to access the loot available in locked chests, bring a lock-picker in the party.

Courtyard and First Floor

As the party enters the Courtyard, they should make an immediate left turn to reach and inspect a statue, unlocking the Ancient History quest and Codex Entry: The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 1. Afterward, return to the Courtyard proper and prepare for battle: 3 waves of undead will attack.

Climb the stairs and enter the First Floor of the Keep. An animation will play out presenting more details about the fall of the keep when the king and the Wardens squared off, as attested by the Statement of Defiance on the wall. Behind the door lies the Break Room, where the party will meet an Arcane Horror and 2 Lesser Rage Demons. A note on a table unlocks the Codex Entry: A Letter From Bann Mathuin Wulff.

To the West lies the Barracks, where Commander Athlar awaits with 3 Warden Skeletons. There is a note that gives Codex Entry: A Plea from Commander Athlar. The doorway to the North is blocked, but the passage to the East leads to the Mess Hall, and then to the Archives (beyond the barricade). The Archives are guarded by Corpses (at low level) and an Archivist and two rage demons (the archivist is a lieutenant rage demon and these only appear during higher levels.) . The large Archivist's Book on the floor is associated with the conflict that led to the fall of the keep, and will trigger a cut-scene into the past of the keep. A smaller book will unlock the Codex Entry: The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 2 which is associated with Ancient History quest.

Second Floor

The first room on the Second Floor is divided in two by the remnants of a barricade. As the party approaches it, a cut-scene reveals that the Wardens (specifically a Mage named Avernus) summoned demons to help them in the defense of the keep, but were betrayed. As the cut-scene ends, a Rage Abominations will appear and attack the party. In addition to this demon, the party will have to deal with some of his aides during the fight. First, as the fight begins, there will be 4 undead wardens (one in each of the purple glyphs on the floor) whose job is primarily that of healing the demon, although they may only appear twice, And the boss is technically a Rage Abomination. Secondly, as the demon's health approaches zero, two Greater Rage Demons will spawn and attack, and the boss Demon will refill his health. Recommended strategies include focusing on the undead wardens to avoid their healing effect, or cast Curse of Mortality on the demon to prevent him from receiving the healing. At the end of the battle, the Warden will have a brief dialogue with Levi, who is shocked to discover that Wardens would summon demons for help.

Note: The boss demon loot includes Winter's Breath.

The next door leads to a room marked on the map as the Shrine, and a simpler fight against some undead (a Shambling Corpse and a couple of Shambling Skeletons). A bottle of Rasberry Jam on a table will unlock the Codex Entry: The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 3 and advance the Ancient History quest. The party is now faced with an exit door leading to The Bridge but sealed by a magic barrier. On the other side, a door leads to the Commander' Quarters where the party can meet Sophia Dryden.

A bug can occur that will prevent the Shrine door from unlocking if you or any of your companions level up as a result of winning the fight against the abomination. Be wary of your xp bars before you initiate combat!

Sophia vs Avernus

As the Warden explores the rest of the Keep, she will meet Sophia Dryden and the Mage Avernus. Sophia is found in the Commander's Quarters on the Second Floor, she is Levi's great-great-grandmother but has been possessed by a demon (Levi himself will point out that what the group is facing is not his relative anymore). She has been locked up in the keep since the time of the Wardens-Ferelden conflict and wishes only to be let out, free to roam the rest of the world. She will offer the Warden the promise of sealing the rift into the Fade in exchange. To free Sophia, the Warden will have to kill Avernus. Avernus is found in 'Avernus's Tower, past the Bridge from the Second Floor. He will ask the Warden to kill Sophia.

A short overview of the Warden's options:

See Party Reactions below for some companions' reactions to the Warden's choice..

Accept Sophia's Deal: accepting Sophia's request will add the Infernal Dealings quest to the Warden's journal.
- The Warden may also Ask for Additional Reward: during the conversation with Sophia, the Warden can Persuade her to sweeten the deal; Sophia will offer to reveal the location of a secret stash of gold once the rift to the Fade is sealed (the treasure turns out to be 8 );
Pretend to accept Sophia's offer: even if the Warden accepts Sophia's offer in words, he/she can chose not to kill Avernus once he is found;
- Avernus will lead you back to the main body of the Keep where a Confrontation with Sophia will take place. Alternatively, if the Warden has sufficent coercive skills, you may persuade Sophia to seal the veil before even heading into Avernus' tower. If this path is chosen, Sophia will still attack the Warden upon re-entering the area if the Warden has not killed Avernus. However, she will be in the veil area, and have no minions to support her.
Kill Sophia Immediately: as the Warden meets the demon, her offer can be refused and she can be attacked right away.
- Sophia will be aided by 4 undead wardens during the fight;
- Once the Warden meets Avernus, she can ask him for answers, and Persuade him that his experiments are wrong. Avernus will ask for the Warden's help in sealing the veil before accepting her judgment for his actions
Side with Avernus: once the Warden meets Avernus, he will ask for the party's help in mending the rift to the Fade, and in dealing with the demon possessing Sophia.

Note: Sophia will drop all 3 pieces of the Warden Commander Armor Set (Armor, Gloves and Boots) if she is fought and defeated (whether during the first encounter or later on). This set can only be picked up by defeating Sophia.

Meeting Sophia Dryden

Possesed Sophia D — Meeting Possessed Sophia

Enter the Commander's Quarters on the Second Floor of the Keep to meet Sophia. The dialogue will present the Warden with the option of attacking her right away or accept her offer. The Codex Entry: Sophia Dryden will be updated at the end of the conversation. A book on the table unlocks Codex Entry: Sophia Dryden's Journal.

Alternatively, the Warden can choose to aid the demon by defeating her enemies in the Keep's Tower, and primarily killing the Mage Avernus. The Warden may Persuade the demon to reveal some of Sophia's secrets, among which the location of a stash of 8 (the demon will reveal this only after Avernus's death).

The Bridge

Once the party has talked with Sophia, the magic barrier sealing the door to the Bridge is removed. The door leads to a brief passage between the keep and a tower. A few undead wardens will attack as soon as the party reaches the bridge. They don't represent a big challenge, but be careful of the various traps laid out on this passage.

Avernus's Tower

Past the bridge, the party will enter Avernus's Tower, where a group of 4 Warden Corpses guards a Study. In this room, a large book of Ability Notes holds some of Avernus's notes on his last experiments (and a short cut-scene). Next, a book on the table unlocks the Codex Entry: Avernus's Notes, and an Alchemical Concoction holds the culmination of Avernus's horrific research. If the Warden does not examine the book and notes in the room before inspecting the concoction, there will be no hint as to the concoction's nature.

Note: Drinking the concoction will unlock the Diabolist achievement and the Power of Blood abilities. The concoction will not be available once the Soldier's Peak quest is completed so it should be drunk during this phase of the quest (although a possible workaround exists, see Power of Blood).

The doors from The Study both lead to The Sanctum, where the party can meet Avernus.

Meeting Avernus

In The Sanctum the Warden will meet Avernus. As mentioned above, the Warden can side with Sophia and kill the old Mage, or side with him. Either character will help in sealing the rift to the Fade. During the initial dialogue with Avernus, the Warden can ask a number of questions (and even let Levi ask about his grand-grandmother). If the Warden does not wish to attack Avernus, he can Persuade him that his research was dangerous and morally questionable. Avernus will willingly submit to the Warden's judgement but will ask that the party first help him in sealing the rift to the Fade and handling Sophia's demon. If the Warden agrees, Avernus will lead the group back to the Great Hall. Before leaving The Sanctum, the Warden may inspect a Corpse hanging from the Northern wall to unlock Codex Entry: The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 4 and advancing the Ancient History quest

Note: Avernus starts moving towards the exit of the Tower but will not reach it. However, once the party exits onto the Bridge, Avernus will appear in front of them.. and stall once again. No matter, when the party enters the keep on the other side of the Bridge, Avernus will be with them.

Confrontation

One of the options available to the Warden is that of leaving Sophia alive in her quarters, and following Avernus from his Tower back to the Great Hall. Under those conditions, as the party re-enters the keep main body, Sophia will confront the group. At this point the Warden must make a decision as to which side to aid.

Note: Whomever the Warden supports will be invincible during the ensuing fight, taking no damage.

Bug! This bug seems fixed in the latest update: If you side with Avernus and kill Sophia without killing her lackeys, you will jump straight into the Main Hall and seal the veil. If you then kill Avernus through combat (which leads to the auto-scripted talk with Levi), you will be stuck in combat since the Warden Skeletons have seen you, the door is stuck (they can't open because they are mobs, and you will not be able to open because you are in combat) and you will be stuck in combat mode (can't save or open doors). Make sure the mobs are dead before you kill Sophia.

Note: Although the bug described above seems fixed, once the fight is over, Avernus will quickly get you to the Great Hall and initiate the ritual to seal the veil. While this happens, the corpse of Sophia Dryden (and her loot) is out of reach, beyond a locked door. You can loot her corpse while the rest of the party is finishing off her aides.

Sealing the Veil

Whichever side the Warden allied with, Avernus or Sophia, will attempt to seal the veil in the Great Hall. The ritual takes time, with the caster standing in each of the summoning circles. The Warden and her companions will have to protect him or her from the demons that will spawn and attack in the meanwhile (one wave of demons for each summoning circle).

Note: There is a small pause between each wave and the next, during which the Warden may heal and save.

Details on the waves:

The first wave is composed of 3 Rage Demons that spawn around the gate to the fade in the South-West corner;
The second wave is composed of 4 Greater Shades that spawn spread around the South and West walls;
The third wave is composed of 2 Ash Wraiths and 2 Lesser Rage Demons that spawn along the two walls;
The fourth wave includes only one boss-grade Desire Demon

After Sealing the Veil

If the Warden sided with Avernus, he will now submit to her judgement. The Warden can chose to execute him, kick him out of the keep (and the order), or let him continue his research in ethical manner. Alternatively, the Warden can chose not to judge Avernus and he may or may not willingly give up his research.

If the Warden sided with the possessed Sophie Dryden, she can ask for her reward now. The demon will reveal the location of Sophia's secret stash (in her quarters) and/or more of the keep's history, as appropriate (based on dialogue choices). The Warden can now let the demon free to leave the keep, or fight her.

Note: Remember that when you leave the fortress you cannot re-enter. Asturian's Chest and Alchemical Concoction should be obtained before you leave.

Returning to the Keep

Once the party leaves the keep, Levi and his cousin Mikhael Dryden will open shop at the keep. return to the area to access their merchandise. In addition, a Party Storage Chest will be available.

Note: Mikhael is notable because the Warden can sell some piece of armors to him and he will upgrade them to a higher level, based on the Warden's current level. The upgrade armor is then available for buy-back. This works with the chest as well (Xbox360, confirmed). Store the items you need to upgrade, leave and come back. The items should be upgraded.

Party Reaction

If you have Morrigan in your party and persuade Avernus to submit to the Warden's judgement, then decide that death is the only solution, Morrigan disapproves (-5).

If you have Wynne in your party and persuade Avernus to submit to the Warden's judgement, then decide that you will not be his judge, she will object that what he has done is completely immoral and there must be consequences. If you choose to support him, you will lose 3 approval from her. At this point, the worse case scenario for Avernus is to cast him out of the Wardens, and you will not lose any points with her. A similar discussion occurs if you choose that his punishment is to live with what he has done, also losing 3 approval if you support him. Wynne will not disapprove if you allow Avernus to continue his experiments ethically, which can be done before or after closing the Veil.

If Zevran is in your group and you ask Sophia Dryden about her deal, you will gain (+4) approval from him. You don't need to agree to the deal she describes to get the approval - Zevran is impressed that you're ruthless enough to even consider bargaining with demons.

Note however that if the scene draws no comment from either Morrigan or Zevran, there will be no change in approval. This can happen if another party member such as Alistair or Sten reacts first.