The Game

The Game
Location	Denerim
Start	Denerim Market
End	Blighted Cliffs
Appearances	Leliana's Song

This is the main quest in the Leliana's Song DLC for Dragon Age: Origins. It starts out with the following journal entry:

Complete your contracts in the market

You have brought the Orlesian game of intrigue to Denerim after months of preparation. Several contracts have been set up for this night, including revenge, larceny, and simple chaos. Marjolaine is sure that you will meet and exceed her expectations. That's why you're her favorite.

Unfortunately for Leliana, she will end up the target of that very same intrigue as she learns one final lesson in The Game from her mentor and lover Marjolaine. This quest follows Leliana's development through the trauma, loss, and soul-searching that she faces as a result of betrayal to the triumphant conclusion of her story in this DLC.

Walkthrough

Denerim Market

Main article: Stealing in the Market

Main article: Defeat Bann Perrin's Guards

Main article: Kill the Loose Tongue

The Market is about completing three main quests in order to progress on. Marjolaine has tasked Leliana, Tug, and Sketch with completing three tasks in the market before they can proceed. They must take out Jovi Merice, who accused a number of nobility, insult Bann Perrin by knocking him out and killing his elite guard, and finally creating havoc with the merchants in the market by either rearranging, or stealing back items. You also have the freedom to pursue a side-quest, Find the Mages' Cache, while in the market. All three main quests must be completed in order to proceed.

You can complete the quests in any order, but be warned that attacking Bann Perrin, be seen stealing from the chests, finding the cache, or killing Jovi Merice will turn all the guards hostile. There is a collection plate next to the chantry with some silver and bronze in it and it's worth collecting before proceeding (it will trigger some unique dialogue from Sketch and Bonny Lem). There are also crates scattered around the marketplace that contain loot. There is one near one in the northwest corner of the marketplace, one near the knocked out guard captain, a third near Bann Perrin, and finally a fourth near the gate to the Elven Alienage. Be sure to grab them all as you won't be able to return to this place once you leave.

The best way to deal with the guards is in small groups rather than trying to take them all at once. A suggestion is to say away from the gate that leads to the Elven Alienage, because once you complete two of the required quests, you will be attacked by the Night Captain, who is a Boss, and three Elite City Guards. Two of the guards are melee while the other wields a bow. The best tactic is to lure the Captain away from her guards (she can spot and head for you before her companions do), deal with her separately, and the dispatch the rest of the guards. Once they are dealt with, continue on your assignments. (Note: on the PS3 the Night Captain may not appear as described above but may only appear after the party has killed every roaming guard in the market, so it's possible to complete the Denerim Market missions and move on to the estate without encountering her.)

Once you have completed all three required quests, and you are ready to leave head to where you killed Jovi Merice and signal to Marjolaine. During the conversation, you have the option to no go immediately and talk to Bonny Lem to trade what you have collected for new items or for more money. Just select the right dialogue options.

Noble's Estate

When you first arrive at the arl's estate you are treated to a small cut-scene where Marjolaine explains what will happen. She wants Leliana to plant some "embarrassing" documents under the guise of burglary. Marjolaine will tell Leliana to plant the documents where they won't be obvious, like the Master bedroom. Once the cut-scene and dialogue end, you regain control.

Head down the path, and keep your guard up. When you reach three statues on your right, select the second one for a Codex entry and then round the corner. Once you do so, you will encounter an Elite Soldier, who is a lieutenant, and a Mabari. Take them down any way you can and then collect the body, after all, you don't want a trail of blood leading right to you. Keep heading down the path until you are near the garden and get ready for another fight. You will face two more Elite Soldiers, one of which always uses a ranged weapon, be it a bow or crossbow. Deal with the melee enemy first as he is the larger threat, then focus on the other. Grab the bodies and bury them in the garden to keep from being discovered. With that done and Sketch appeased, head into the area were the guards were, turn left into an alcove, and you will be able to get into the estate via a window.

Once you are inside, more chaos is called for to draw focus away from the party's true goal, which makes Tug quite happy, but Sketch not so much. Now you have to fight your way to the Master bedroom, plant the papers, and elude capture, seems easy enough. The room to your right is the torture room. Explore or bypass, there's nothing to loot but going in will start a brief conversation between Leliana and Tug. Either way, head up the ramp to the main floor and open the door. Leliana introduces the party and is attacked by a Soldier, an Off-Duty Soldier, and an Elite Soldier, non lieutenant this time. Focus on the Elite and Soldier first, being the largest threats, then the Off-Duty Soldier, a much easier foe without his armor. Since there is nothing in the room to loot, move on.

Head through the next room and you will emerge into a corridor with a locked metal door directly across from you. Picking it and the iron chest inside is no trouble and you are rewarded with a Ruby, two Sapphires, three Topaz, another Masterwork Leather Piece, and some Currency. Head back out into the corridor and turn left. While passing a door on the right you will hear an argument between a Master and servant, which doesn't go well for the latter. In the room ahead, you will encounter a Soldier, a Crossbowman, and a Sergeant, who is a lieutenant. Deal with the three as you will and then search the corpses for loot, which includes a Set of Keys, making your job easier.

When you go through the door you'll see Marjolaine wooing the Guard Commander and leading him away from the Master bedroom. From here you have two options:

1. Go straight to the Master bedroom bypassing the two rooms on either side(Avoiding a fight but losing the XP, loot,and Codex entry as well).Skip #2.
2. Clear the rooms. The right one is occupied by two Soldiers, kill them and loot the two footlockers. The left one is a library and contains a Soldier and two Mage Mercenaries. The Mages are the biggest threat to your party, so focus on them first. Once they are all down, loot the bodies, and inspect the War Journal in the corner for a Codex entry.

If you go past the bedroom, where Marjolaine went with the Guard Commander, the doors in the entry room will be locked and Leliana and Tug will talk about Marjolaine's whereabouts. Head back into the master bedroom. Once inside, BEFORE you plant the papers, there is a Personal Journal for another Codex entry, and an ornate chest that has more loot, including another Masterwork Leather Piece. See Notes for information on unlocking this chest. Plant the documents and a cut-scene will follow.

Once Leliana drops the documents she decides to take a closer look and discovers they are Orleasian seals. Marjolaine will show up and you can question her about the documents, or about where she went. Either way Leliana will not like the fact that the papers contain seals of the Orleasian military. Once the conversation ends, you are transported to the hideout.

Hideout

Once inside the hideout you can do a few things, talk to Bonny Lem for some trading. Talk to Sketch and Tug, which can give you some background on the characters. Scanning Sketch's Books, or Tug's Satchel will give you Codex Entries on both of them. Talking to them will give you some background on the mission, and the fact that the two of them knew little of it, so did Bonny. When you are ready go talk to Marjolaine.

Leliana is furious that points that because the seals of the Orleasian military, it is treason and they will both be executed if caught. You can steer the conversation anyway you like but Marjolaine will agree to undo their actions to appease Leliana. When the conversation ends, select Marjolaine's Satchel for a Codex entry on her, and then either go talk to her immediately in the entrance hall, or take your time. Once you start talking to Marjolaine, you will get one opportunity to stay, so leave when you are ready.

Noble's Estate Revisited

This time around the party will enter the arl's bedroom without being challenged and Leliana will pick up the papers, but as she does so, the alarm goes off. Marjolaine will run off to draw away what guards she can, so you have to deal with the rest. You will be able to access the two rooms off the initial hallway with the arl's bedroom, however you won't be able to go into the areas that you were in last time. So you have to head the other way.

When you pass through the previously inaccessible door, you will be attacked by some more Off-Duty Soldiers from the two rooms on either side of the hallway. Because of the confined space, using Cone of Cold is extremely effective here, as is any other area of effect spell. Once the Guards are defeated, there is a footlocker in both rooms. Loot them both. Keep heading down the hallway, and the area past the second set of doors will be explorable. The left one contains a lot of dead Nugs, while the right door, which is locked, contains an ornate chest with money, loot, an Emerald, and a Sapphire.

Opening the door at the end of the passage leads to a massive fight with three Crossbowmen, a Soldier, and a Mage Mercenary. Since the Crossbowmen like to keep their distance they will sometimes retreat into the corridor from where you came, or towards the mess hall. Be warned that if you get too close to the mess hall you will attract the attention of the guards in there, two additional Soldiers and another Crossbowman.

Once all the immediate enemies are down, head into the room off the hall, it is recommended that you save before opening the door as the room contains the Weapon Master, a Lieutenant, and three Mabari hounds. When they all fall--again using bombs or area of affect spells is recommended--loot the weapon stand in the room and the armor stand for another Masterwork Leather Piece. When you enter the mess hall, if you didn't attract the guards' attention earlier, then you have two Soldiers and a Crossbowman to deal with. Once they are down head to the room on the left from where you entered. It's a storeroom, and inside is a crate with some items. Once you have them, head out and through the other door into the kitchen. Again the side room contains some loot, a pile of sacks worth grabbing. Once you are done, head through the other door and out of the estate.

Once you are ooutside the estate, Tug will mention that there should be more guards, but Leliana insists that they find Marjolaine. Head around the corner to see her. When you get closer, a cutscene starts where Marjolaine tries to calm Leliana. After a quick dialogue option, Marjolaine stabs Leliana in the stomach. Then the Guard Commander that Marjolaine was seen with the other night comes out and comments about Leliana being an Orlesian spy and her being worth a pretty penny, but after he's had some fun first.

Dungeons

Leliana, Bloody & Battered

The cutscene shows Leliana on the dungeon floor, bleeding and crying, but then someone talks to her through the vents, telling her about Marjolaine and how she can read people and goes for certain traits that Leliana has. The mysterious stranger throws down a parcel then goes away. The rucksack contains the key to the door and a Dragonbone Pelerine Slip-Knife. Equip the knife and head to the door.

Head to your left as the doors on the right will be closed off, and in the floor on the left will have Sketch and Silas Corthwaite inside, along with two Dungeon Guards. Defeat the two guards, Sketch and Silas will join the fight so it makes things a little easier. Once you've dealt with them, throw the crank to raise the Portcullis blocking your way, and access the footlocker for all of your confiscated loot. Make sure to equip both Sketch and Silas with appropriate weapons and armor. When you are done, head back out into the hallway and over to the next door. Recommend that you save before entering.

When you open the door, you will be faced with quite a few opponents, three more Dungeon Guards, a Mabari, and a lieutenant level Mage. Try to draw a few back into the corridor as they can quickly overwhelm your party. Once the guards are down, head into the room, and a short cutscene will play. Tug is lying on one of the torture devices, dead. Leliana is furious and Sketch is in shock. The weapon rack in the room holds Tug's Edge (gift), which you can give to Silas or Sketch to complete the quest Honoring Tug (giving it to Silas makes more sense as he is a warrior-style character, not a mage; the axe is likely more powerful than any weapon you gave Silas earlier from the footlocker).

Head back out into the corridor and the room on your left will contain four more guards. Defeat them and then proceed to loot the room's armor stand, the footlocker, which yields yet another Masterwork Leather Piece, and the other footlocker which has more loot. When you have finished, head out and towards the final door, again saving is recommended. Inside are two Mabari, a Guard, and two more Crossbowmen. Focus on the hounds first then take out the remaining enemies. Leliana will comment to the prisoners there to follow her, and before leaving turn the crank and loot the footlocker.

Leave and head around the corner, the door ahead will contain a pile of sacks, so head in and grab it. Then proceed to the end of the hallway, and save before opening the door. Inside are two more Guards, two Mabari, and a lieutenant level Mage. Focus on the hounds again first, then the guards, and finally the Mage. While the mage can cast spells, his health is limited and the guards and dogs are a more immediate threat. When they've all fallen, head to the door that they were guarding, and a short cutscene will play showing Leliana walking up the ramp and into a light, then someone telling her that she is safe now.

Chantry

The scene switches to the chantry where Revered Mother Dorothea, or Dorothea found Leliana and with some assistance from the other sisters that the chantry, nursed her back to health. You can get some background information on her, and why she rescued Leliana, apparently to undo mistakes she has made in the past. Marjolaine stole the charts that the Revered Mother was using, and that the Orleasian Military had given her, to minister in the field to troops. Dorothea give Leliana some advice and then tells her that she knows where Marjolaine is, then she leaves.

Once you regain control, loot the desk drawer at your right for the last Masterwork Leather Piece and you'll get the Battledress of the Provocateur if you collected the other pieces as well. Head out of the room and you can talk to Sketch. If you do you can get some information about what happened to Tug and what happened in the Dungeons. If you talk to Silas, then you can get some information about him and why he was in the dungeon, apparently poaching has a high penalty. Silas was also apparently a former soldier, well that explains why he's so good with a blade. Once you are done with Sketch and Silas, you can talk to Bonny as he is nearby as well, and was shocked as what Marjolaine did, and after she showed her colors, he switches sides as well. You can trade to him for any supplies he has, recommended. This is the last opportunity you will have to buy or sell items; all other items received in the remainder of the quest will be for immediate use only as they will not carry over beyond the prequel (save the Battledress), and likewise any coin received will likewise be useless after this point. When you are ready to talk to the Revered Mother, near the doors.

If you talk to her, you can get information about Commander Harwen Raleigh, why the Revered Mother rescued Leliana, what happened to the other prisoners, what could happen if her actions are exposed, and the real nature between Ferelden and Orlais. When you are ready, say so, and Dorothea will give you information about where Marjolaine is.

Windswept Shore

When you arrive, Marjolaine and Raleigh are on a bridge and taunt Leliana from it. When you regain control, you have to battle your way to them. Your first fight is with a group of two Soldiers and three Crossbowmen. The enemies can be dealt with in any order you choose, however taking out the Soldiers and the Crossbowmen at the same time is recommended. Once they are down, you travel into the canyons.

Canyon Path

When you enter, just keep following the path and you will run into a number of Sand Stalkers, and a Sand Stalker Spitter. These are just like the regular Deep Stalkers from Origins, so they aren't much of a threat. Take them out, and keep moving. Eventually you will see Raleigh on a plateau ahead of you and then you will be attacked by two Trained Brontos, they are of lieutenant grade so watch yourself. Once the Brontos are dealt with head up to where Raleigh was and follow the path, but be ready for a tough fight.

When you come to a clearing, Raleigh will retreat again, leaving a Mage, lieutenant kind, and five Guards behind, all of them wielding longbows or melee weapons. A good strategy here is to backpedal and draw some of the guards away, especially from that mage, who is fond of using spells like Fireball and Lightning. Defeat the guards in turn, then focus on the Mage. Once they are all down, head down the path they were guarding. Because there are no crates or anything to loot, except the Mage's corpse, head on to the cliffs.

Blighted Cliffs

Immediately when you emerge, you will be under attack by three Guards on the wooden bridge you saw earlier, all are armed with longbows so get up close to them. Once they are dealt with save your game and then proceed. In the next area you will be attacked by a Dragon, lieutenant grade, that will take flight to save itself if need be. Then once you have dealt with the Dragon you will be attacked by Raleigh himself and a Mage. If you can, take out the Mage first, then focus on Raleigh because the Mage is fond of using support spells and bolstering his friend. Using spells against Raleigh when he isn't being protected is a very good idea. When you have dealt with Raleigh, you don't need to kill the Mage but it is a good idea, a short cutscene will play giving you the choice about Raleigh. You can either expose him, have Silas deal with him, or take it personally. Anyway, Raleigh is dealt with.

Leliana then goes to see Marjolaine where her first comment is about how much more fun it is when it is personal. Then she asks what the Revered Mother offered to Leliana to get her papers back. Marjolaine explains her motivations, and that Leliana would turn on her eventually, so she did it first.

Then you are treated to the ending cutscene where Leliana returns the papers and joins the chantry. One thing she mentions is that the power of choice is powerful, and things will change when they need to.

Result

Game Completion. Any unresolved side-plots are left unfinished.

Rewards

Turning Point:
Heard Leliana's version of her betrayal.