The Last Straw

The Last Straw
Location	Writing Desk
Start	The Gallows
Appearances	Dragon Age II

The Last Straw is the final main plot quest in Dragon Age II's Act 3.

The tension between Knight-Commander Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino has reached boiling point and Meredith wishes to lock up all the mages and search the tower from top to bottom, accusing Orsino of harboring blood mages. The Champion must intervene and choose a side.

Acquisition

The Champion receives a letter The Last Straw from First Enchanter Orsino at his Writing Desk in the Hawke Estate:

Champion,

You have proven yourself a friend to Kirkwall's mages and it seems I must call upon you once again. Meredith has gone too far, and I will not let her madness remain unchecked. I ask that you come to the Gallows at once. Perhaps we can stop this before there is bloodshed.

Orsino.

Note that once you have accepted this quest at the Writing Desk it becomes impossible to return to the Gallows to (for example) complete quest Herbalist's Tasks 3.

Note also that once you start this quest (e.g. by accepting the quest and visiting the Gallows), you will be unable to complete any other quest or task for the rest of the game, so it is recommended to complete all quests and stock up on gear/potions/runes before starting this quest.

Note: Alternatively, if you have clearly sided with the Templars up to this point, the letter will come from Meredith instead. The letter will still come from Orsino if you choose not to side with either sides during their earlier confrontation.

Walkthrough

Note: Traveling to the Gallows after accepting this quest is a Point of No Return. Make sure you've completed any side or companion quests, done any shopping at unique merchants, etc. first.

Destruction of the Kirkwall Chantry

Upon arriving at the Gallows you are taken straight to a cutscene where Anders destroys the Chantry, causing Meredith to decide to invoke The Right of Annulment to kill all mages in the Circle (although they were not involved with the apostate mage Anders' actions). You must choose to side with either Meredith and the Templars or Orsino and the mages. Whichever choice you make will cause dissent in your party:

• if you agree to side with the Templars then Merrill, Isabela and Bethany will disapprove
• if you agree to side with the Mages then Aveline, Carver and Fenris will disapprove.

Any dissenters that are not fully loyal to you will then leave your party if you press ahead with that choice. Even if dissenters are fully loyal, you must complete their quests to prevent them from leaving. For example, Fenris will leave if you side with the Mages even though he's fully loyal but you have not completed all his quests. (Note that Anders will ALWAYS leave your party if you side with the Templars, no matter his loyalty.))

Once you choose a side, a fight ensues with either the mages that are present or the Templars that are present. Once the battle is over, Meredith (or Orsino, depending on who you sided with) will leave Anders for you to deal with. At this point, you have the option of taking Anders with you, letting him go, or killing him. You cannot take Anders with you if you chose to side with the templars. Note that if you take Anders with you and Sebastian is with you, Sebastian will immediately leave the party regardless of what his friendship/rivalry standing is and will not be available for the remainder of the game.

Once that's done, make your way through Lowtown to the Docks, fighting groups of mages or Templars on the way. Additionally, you'll face several groups of demons.

Note: If you took Bethany or Carver into the Deep Roads with you and they became a Grey Warden, you will run into the respective sibling on your way to the Gallows, and they will join you.

Once you get to the docks, you'll face a Blood Mage and a large group of demons, including a Pride Demon. One of the hardest fights is against a Blood Mage, Pride Demon and nearly ten Shades. The Shades themselves are merely distractions that serve to annoy you. The main threat is actually the Blood Mage, who should be killed right away to avoid being hit with their draining spells. Need be sure to avoid the Pride Demon's swirling vortex spell, as it can trap you, deal heavy damage, and leave you open to be ganged up on by the Shades. Have your tank lure the brunt of the Shades while your ranged attackers deal with the demon.

When you finish, look for an Enigma of Kirkwall note to the right. After that, head down to the ships and you'll be on your way to the Gallows. When you get there, the mages will be fighting off the Templars from the steps. Orsino then calls for a truce, and Orsino and Meredith approach to discuss the situation. You will have an opportunity here to persuade any allies that did not side with you at the beginning of the quest to join your side. Meredith will then tell Orsino to prepare for battle, and the mages will retreat into the Gallows.

This will be your opportunity to speak to all of your companions about the final battle. (If you are involved in a romance, following through with the romance options will complete the romance and earn the romance achievement.) This is also your chance to prepare for battle. Once you are done, speak with Meredith or Orsino to begin the battle.

If you sided with the Templars, you will have to fight your way into the Gallows, facing mages as well as demons. Once you get inside you'll find Orsino, who uses blood magic to transform himself and you will have to fight him. Meredith and some Templars will help you. Once the battle is done, Meredith tells you to meet her outside.

Note: If you are a warrior or a rogue and Bethany was part of the Circle and did not join your side, she will be with Orsino in the room. Once he uses the blood magic, she will help you fight Orsino. Once the battle is over, you have the option of letting her join you or killing her. If you sided with the mages, Bethany automatically joins your side after the battle with Orsino.

Orsino turning to blood magic

If you sided with the mages, you will face several waves of Templars in the inner chamber with help from the allies not in your active party. Orsino will turn to blood magic, and you will have to fight him. When the battle is done, you will have to fight your way out of the Gallows. On the way, you will face several groups of demons. Going west from the central courtyard will cause you to face abominations and two pride demons that you would not otherwise have to fight.

In the chamber before returning to the outside of the Gallows, you will come across Sandal. This is your last chance to buy wares and enchant weapons and armor before the final battle, so prepare well.

Meredith accusing her templars

File:Meredith Power.jpg

Meredith invoking the power of her sword

When you get outside, Meredith will be waiting with the rest of the Templars. Meredith orders your execution at this point, but Cullen will object, saying that they were only supposed to arrest the champion. Meredith pulls out her sword, which is made from the Lyrium Idol that Bartrand had taken and then sold. She begins casting suspicions on all of the Templars around her, then turns her weapon to Hawke and orders his/her execution. Cullen rises to your defense, as does Carver if you are a mage and he joined the Templars. You will then have to fight Meredith. During the battle, Cullen will be fighting with you. Your allies that are not in the active party will gradually join you. If you completed A Murder of Crows and spared Zevran, he will also come to your aid, so will Nathaniel Howe if you completed Finding Nathaniel. Partway through the battle, Meredith will leap off of the battlefield and start bringing statues to life. You will have to fight them off, and then she will come back down. As the battle continues, she will start bringing the statues to life while still on the battlefield and you will have to fight both at the same time. As her health diminishes, she will call on a new type of statue. Once her health gets low enough, she will start using a technique that disables all on the battlefield, including enemies. During these times, she will be talking, not attacking. She might also grab the companion you are in a completed relationship with and ask how does it feel to see her hold what is dearest to you. This happens several more times until Meredith falls. }}

Result

Congratulations! You've just completed Dragon Age 2! Sit back and enjoy the rest of the game!

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

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Meredith turned into Lyrium

The Champion's opposition to Meredith, together with her injustices toward the mages, are spread by the survivors to all parts of Thedas. This sparks a rebellion at all the Circles (the Champion's name becomes a rallying cry for the mages, if he/she supported the mages in the final battle), which is successful, and the Chantry eventually loses control of all the Circles. The Templars also leave the Chantry to fight the mages in their own way.

If Hawke and his/her companions supported the mages they leave Kirkwall before more Templars arrive to restore order, but if they supported the Templars Hawke will become the new viscount but later leaves. Eventually, Varric says, all the companions left Hawke's side due to various circumstances (except the Champion's romanced companion, if any). Eventually, the Seekers look for the Champion, hoping that he/she can serve to bring peace to Thedas. The ultimate fate of the Champion remains unknown, but Varric tells the Seeker that he doubts he/she is dead.

Rewards

• Staff of Violation
• Orsino's Signet Ring
• Robes of the Empowered Circle

Bugs

• In the conversation between Meredith and Orsino on the steps of the Gallows, Orsino's robes and Meredith's armor may not fully render. This may persist through the final fight, along with a lack of textures on large parts of the environment.
• After defeating Orsino, the cutscene for killing Orsino may loop indefinitely. Simply skip through it to continue the quest as normal.
• If an additional romance was initiated but not pursued, Varric might say both names simultaneously as he narrates the epilogue.
• If you started a romance with Anders, yet killed him after the Chantry explosion, Varric will still tell in the epilogue that Anders never left your side.
• During the Orsino battle, there is a chance that a templar will get stuck behind the wall of fire, causing tactical glitches and preventing the fight from ending. However, if you have summoned your Mabari beforehand, you can get lucky, and have it get stuck there as well, in which case it will probably end up killing the templar. Area of Effect spells might also kill the templar.
• If Orsino is killed too early on in the battle, there is a chance that the killing cut scene will not initiate, the barrier will not disperse, thus leaving the player stuck in that area. The only way to remedy this is by loading a previous save - luckily there is an autosave just before the Orsino battle begins.
• If you are fast enough and press the action button to talk to Orsino after halting the Templars breach of the compound, you can initiate the conversation where he asks whether you're ready to fight. This could give you the opportunity to reform your party before the fight with Orsino. That being said the cutscene of you making your pre-battle speech will show with cut-ins from Orsino turning into a Harvester. This could be humorous as the Harvester will be standing in the background while you make your pre-battle speech.