To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief
Act	2
Location	Lowtown
Start	Hawke Estate
End	Lowtown
Previous	Following the Qun
Next	Demands of The Qun
Appearances	Dragon Age II

To Catch a Thief is an optional Act 2 main quest in Dragon Age II. It is only available if Isabela was recruited during Act 1.

Acquisition

This becomes available at the conclusion of Following the Qun. Return to the Hawke Estate in Hightown to find Isabela and Aveline arguing, both in need of help. Hawke must choose who to help first.

Note: If Hawke does not choose to help Isabela first, she will leave the party permanently.

Walkthrough

Isabela reveals that she found the relic that she had lost. Her pursuer, Castillon, will spare her life if the relic is returned.

Head to Lowtown at night with Isabela in the party to find Wall-Eyed Sam. Things begin to heat up with a fight against a Sten and a couple of Qunari. A cutscene reveals that the relic Isabela had stolen was a tome written by Ashkaari Koslun, the founder of the Qun and, according to Fenris, the "most revered being in their history." Because of Isabela's theft, the Arishok has been unable to simply leave Kirkwall until he has reclaimed what was lost under his command. At the end of this conversation, Hawke chooses between reclaiming the tome for Isabela, which grants:

• Isabela: friendship (+15),
• Varric: friendship (+10),
• Merrill: friendship (+10),
• Aveline: friendship (+5)
• Sebastian: rivalry (+5),

Or reclaiming it to return to the Qunari, which grants:

• Isabela: rivalry (+15),
• Merrill: rivalry (+10),
• Aveline: rivalry (+5),
• Sebastian: friendship (+5).

Note: if you go to the door before triggering the fight, you will skip to the cutscene, and be put in the next section without doing the fight at all.

Enter the Dark Foundry for a fight with Tevinter Mages and some Qunari led by a Sten. These mages are immune to spirit damage, so use frost and nature, which in turn will deal double damage to the Qunari. Isabela runs away at the start of the battle to chase Wall-Eyed Sam, leaving Hawke and two other party members to plow through the enemies. You can either keep distance until the Qunari or the Tevinter Mages have killed each other or make haste to kill all of them yourself (500 exp). In the room to the north-west, you'll find Lambswool Insoles in a crate - an armor upgrade for Isabela.

Note: The saw blade shut off switches are Master level, meaning they require 40 cunning to detect (or the equivalent using bonus to disarm traps items). No XP is received for pulling the levers. There are two in total, one through each door on the long single room to the north east of the area. They are not important, you can avoid them easily.

After leaving the building, Hawke will find Isabela's Letter on Wall-Eyed Sam's body and the quest ends.

Result

Isabela's letter contains an apology and says that she is leaving, either because you promised her the relic (if you did) or because it would require a "better soul" than hers to return the relic to the Qunari (if you demanded she return it).

If Hawke has romanced Isabela at some point in the past or she has a Friendship/Rivalry score of fifty or greater, she will return with the relic during the quest Demands of The Qun.

Rewards

• 1000 XP (quest completion)
• Several generic Qunari-related weapons, accessories, or armor
• Non-generic rewards:

Gauntlets of the Ashaad

Lambswool Insoles (Isabela's armor upgrade)

Trivia

• While Isabela is describing the relic she mentions one of the options as "Cousland", which is the family name of the human noble Grey Warden in Dragon Age: Origins.

Bugs

• There is a chance that Hawke won't have to battle the Sten and his Qunari at all. Just move straight towards the foundry entrance and click on it. Hawke will be brought to a cutscene without having to fight.
• If Isabela has the Thumbs Up friendship benefit, Hawke will retain the attack-speed bonus even after Isabela leaves the party.