LELIANA’S PAST

Walkthrough

Talk to Leliana after Lothering. You should be able to ask why she joined the Chantry. If you choose the correct options you should get a Codex update. This can only be done if her approval rating is above 25. Once her approval is around 30+, make sure to ask her about "minstrels and spies in Orlais". She will tell you about bards.

  • The next time you return to Party Camp, Leliana will tell you about Marjolaine.

  • This conversation should prompt a random encounter that starts her quest after you leave camp and travel on the World map with her in your party. You will be confronted by assassins hired by Marjolaine. Only the leader must be killed to end the combat.

Go to Denerim and enter the residence pointed to by the assassin's contact (Denerim Marketplace Map, L MJ); the door is marked as Assassin's Contact for Leliana when selected).

Kill two Qunari guards before entering the foyer.

  • Confront Marjolaine.

If you back up Leliana's demand that Marjolaine stays out of her life, she will walk away, but vows that it's not over between them.

  • However, if you suggest to Leliana that she cannot allow Marjolaine's actions to go unpunished, you will enter into a fight with Marjolaine. Two guards and two travelling mages will join in the fight.

  • After dealing with Marjolaine, there's a chest in the bedroom that contains a longbow named Marjolaine's Recurve which is restricted to Leliana, as well as an assorted selection of other valuable Orlesian gear, such as pieces from the Chevalier armor set and grandmaster versions of various runes. Make sure to take all the loot out of the chest, as the building will become inaccessible once you have left.

Hardening Leliana

Leliana starts out the game as a repentant ex-bard, duplicitous and deadly combination of assassin, entertainer, and courtier. Nevertheless, she greatly enjoyed the intrigue of her previous life as a bard, more so than her new life as a chantry lay-sister. This leaves her feeling internally conflicted. At the end of this quest, the words of her former mentor Marjolaine spark an internal crisis. The player can help Leliana sort through her feelings once back in camp.

Effects

Depending on the conversational options chosen, one of two results will occur:

  • Leliana's faith in the Maker and her new, more virtuous path will be reaffirmed and strengthened. The result is that she remains unhardened.

  • Leliana will decide that her new self was just an attempt to run away from her previous life after her mentor's betrayal, and that the real Leliana is a worldly bard who loves all of the danger, intrigue, and at times even the killing that goes along with that lifestyle. This results in her being hardened.

Whether Leliana's personality is hardened can affect the game in a number of ways.

Hardening Dialogue Walkthrough

The hardening dialogue begins when talking to her in camp after the quest is completed. She will respond with: "Oh, hello... is there something you wanted to talk about?"

There are many ways to get to the list of conversational choices that can result in her hardening. The key is the point in the conversation when she eventually confesses: "What we're doing... what we've done--hunted men down, killed them--part of me loves it. It invigorates me and this scares me. I... I feel myself slipping."

A choice of four responses follows, two of which will harden her. The ones that will harden her are:

  • "You're not slipping. This is who you are."

  • "Don't punish yourself for doing something you enjoy."

As long as either of these two lines are selected, Leliana will be hardened. Selecting either of the other two choices will result in her remaining unhardened. The rest of the conversation has no effect on her hardening.

Note that hardening must be done before any proposal to Queen Anora, otherwise it may be impossible to harden Leliana afterwards, even if her approval is at 100.

If Marjolaine Dies

Marjolaine mistakenly believed that Leliana's reason for emerging from the cloister was to exact revenge on her. She made the first move, sending men to kill Leliana. Marjolaine could not be allowed to hound Leliana, so you killed her.

If You Let Marjolaine Go

Marjolaine mistakenly believed that Leliana's reason for emerging from the cloister was to exact revenge on her and made the first move, sending men to kill Leliana. Leliana told Marjolaine to leave and to never come back, but Marjolaine does not seem to be finished.

Results

  • If you kill Marjolaine you can join Leliana during the epilogue, telling her that you want to go with her, adventuring together or travel to Orlais.

  • If you let Marjolaine live, Leliana will go to Orlais herself to deal with her. Leliana will not let you come along.

Rewards

  • 250 XP for resolving the quest

  • Additional XP awarded for killing the guards, travelers, and Marjolaine