Watcher's Reach is an elven ruin in the Emerald Graves region of the Dales.[1] By 9:42 Dragon, the ruins have become a base of operations for refugees displaced by the War of Lions, lead by a man calling himself Fairbanks.
Background[]
The Watcher
The entrance to the cavern features a massive statue of a hooded figure, dubbed the Watcher. Past the statue, is a moderately-sized cavern that makes up the Watcher's Reach area, which can be accessed by traversing Watcher's Canyon, a long corridor stretching through the Reach, connecting a path from Andruil's Wall to Villa Maurel. Fairbanks speculates that the hooded statue must depict an important figure in the elven pantheon; however, elven refugees are not able corroborate the statue's origin; it's possible that the statue predates the rise and fall of the Dalish nation.
Fairbanks adds that the cavern is called the "Reach" due to the statue pointing down to the chasm, as if the figure was trying to "reach" for it. There are other elven statues erected around Watcher's Reach, including a Knight's Guardian wolf statue as a tribute to honour the wolves that kept watch over the Emerald Knights, further evidencing that the ruins are of elven origin. The wolf statue seems to be unaffected by time and water flowing over it, which Fairbanks attributes to magic.[2]
Traveling through the Emerald Graves in the Dales, one will see dozens of carven stone wolves. The Dalish call these the Knights’ Guardians. In the days of elven Halamshiral, wolf companions walked alongside Emerald Knights, never leaving the side of their chosen knight. Wolf and elf would fight together, eat together, and when the knights slept, wolves would guard them. The statues were erected in memory of their unbreakable bond.
Involvement[]
Inquisition scouts have been approached by an Orlesian rebel calling himself Fairbanks. He and his followers are requesting protection from a band of rebels known as the Freemen of the Dales. The woodsman came to the Inquisition offering what he calls "information of value" in exchange for aid in fighting the Freemen. He claims that the Freemen supply the rogue templars in the region, and asks the Inquisitor to find evidence, and destroy the Freemen's operations in the process.
Fairbanks informs his people that the Freemen have killed several of their peers, one of whom was a merchant named Gertrude. However, as the Inquisitor investigates, it turns out that Gertrude and her companions survived and are being held captive at the Veridium Mine. Once they are freed they will return to Watcher's Reach.
The Inquisitor can continue tracking down down all the Freemen leaders which ultimately culminates at a showdown in Villa Maurel, where evidence about the Templar-Freemen arrangement is procured. Upon hearing the news of the Freemen being pushed out of the Graves, Fairbanks relocates the refugees to Argon's Lodge, one of the Freemen's former bases of operations.
Characters[]
Merchants[]
- Gertrude (conditional)
Quests[]
A Corrupt General
A Deluded Chevalier- A Fallen Sister
- A Vicious Thug
- Not Everyone's Free
- Victims of War
- Seeing Red
- Noble Deeds, Noble Heart
- Watcher's Reach Refugees
- Fairbanks' Trust
- Fairbanks Patrol Under Attack
- Map of Watcher's Pass
Collections[]
Landmarks[]
Resources[]
Herbs[]
Notable items[]
Veilfire glyphs[]
- Lightning Rune Schematic - found on the path heading south out of Watcher's Reach towards Andruil's Wall. The glyph is located on the right side wall; the veilfire torch is located just inside the Watcher's Reach ruin to the right.
Codex entries[]
Note texts[]
References[]
- ↑ As evidenced by the elven statues at the gate.
- ↑ From Fairbanks' journal; Wolf Falls landmark
- ↑ Taken from Codex entry: Knight's Guardian