The great Majhika screw-up.

Majhika and her merry band of social misfits infiltrate Castle Redcliffe proper and carve their way through rabid corpses and mabari alike. It comes as a relief that after several wipes and mysterious returns to earlier points in their incursion, they find the smith's daughter very early on. The poor girl is at wit's end, but gets a brainfart as she realises that she knows the castle and can find the way out undetected. Somehow, Majhika fails to comment on that plothole.

After several close-call battles, fractured skulls and broken limbs, the travelers make it to Arl Aemon's court, where they find out that the demon who possesses Connor has all the people present firmly under its control. Teagan is forced to be a jester while the rest is unable to act, relegated to merely witnessing it all horrified. There's obviously no telling what the demon will do next!

The demon is however intrigued by the four travelers that demand to know what's going on. It compares Majhika to Ysold and concludes that Majhika is obviously prettier, smarter and more likable than Ysold is and then wonders why Ysold hasn't in a fit of jealousy ordered Majhika's execution. Taken in by Majhika, the demon explains that it was Connor who sought help from the denizens of the fade to save his father from the poison administered by Jowan. The demon struck a bargain with the kid, it would be allowed to enter the waking world by occupying the kid's body and in return, Arl Aemon would be saved. Not fully understanding the rammifications of striking a bargain with a demon, Connor accepted with the catastrophe as a result.

But maybe due to Connor's young age or by the purity of his intent, the demon is unable to fully possess the boy. At crucial points, Connor is able to break the demon's hold and to cry out for help. The demon realises that its hold over Connor is faltering because it is doing so much more than the boy asked for, orders those under it's hold to attack the travelers and escapes in the confusion and chaos that follows. The mind-controlled people give the travelers a hard fight, but they're eventually overcome. Ysold is mortified by all the death and destruction, but Teagan, who after a sound trashing regained his faculties, has a plan.

Teagan has Jowan brought up from the dungeon, believing that Connor can be helped with Bloodmagic. Jowan, who's on record of saying that he knows merely enough Bloodmagic to be called a Bloodmage and that he isn't very good at it to begin with, explains that he suddenly knows of a Bloodmagic ritual that only he can perform. It would include a human sacrifice to which Ysold immedeately volunteers to be the sacrifice. Majhika opposes. Even if Grey Wardens employ all means to win a battle, even Bloodmagic if it comes to that, she believes that there's yet another option. Jowan reluctantly agrees with Majhika, there's enough lyrium and mages in the Ferelden Circle to end Connor's possession through conventional means. Majhika decides that her next stop thus is the Ferelden Circle. Head-enchanter Irvine owes her still, afterall. Whatever could go wrong with that plan?

Before the travelers leave however, Majhika decides to explore Castle Redcliffe a bit. She finds a medallion that belongs to Alistair and decides to take it with. She has been a bitch to the man and halfly regrets it as not all the snarks at his address were deserved. The medallion would be a good olive-branch, Majhika reckons. So absorbed do the travelers become with poking their noses into everything while collecting loot that they unawares wander into Arl Aemon's bedroom. The demon, now feeling hopelessly cornered, believes it has no choice but to fully manifest itself and to attack the travelers. The battle is again hard-fought, but the travelers have learned much from fighting demons and possessed people already and they overcome the demon. Majhika is still convinced that the situation can be salvaged...

.., but Ysold has reached ultima ratio. The beat-down delivered by the travelers has left the demon dormant, but Connor is in excruciating pains, his body maimed and broken by the trashing that the demon received. Ysold wields a blade of mercy on her son, unwilling to see Connor suffer one moment longer. And so, the great Majhika screw-up meets a horrific conclusion.

Majhika has a lot to think about as she attends the service for the fallen during the demonic hold on Redcliffe. Yet, even though the events leading up to this moment are her fault to bear, she sees a positive side still. Arl Aemon can still be saved with the Ashes of Andraste and Teagan explains that the key to finding the ashes lies with a traveling scholar called Brother Genitivi, who recides in Denerim if he isn't off exploring and documenting somehwere. So the next stop it seems will be Denerim instead of the Ferelden Circle. As soon as she's able, Majhika leaves Redcliffe behind, hoping that she can save Arl Aemon before someone realises that Connor's death is her doing, even if Ysold was the one who put her own son down. It's probably better not to stick around for too long.

In camp, Alistair confronts Majhika, who came to present Alistair his medallion as an olive-branch. Alistair rightfully blames Majhika for Connor's death, but the way he does it grieves Majhika deeply. She fast-talks her way out of it, leaving Alistair bamboozled, but extending an olive-branch is ship that has left the harbor for Majhika. Alistair has made an enemy and Majhika silently vows to see Alistair broken and destroyed before this is over.

In order to do something uplifting, Majhika turns to Bodahn who's eternally chipper demeanor is sure to bring a smile on her face. As they talk, Bodahn opens up and explains that he pilfers abandoned homes to replenish his stock. It is why he's so bend on spending the nights at the traveler's camp, as they are the only people in Ferelden generating enough coin to buy his wares. Majhika wonders about the ethics of it, but Bodahn explains that what he buys from Majhika also wasn't exactly nailed to the floor. Appreciating the fact that she has met her equal in mental gymnastics, Majhika and Bodahn enter a mutually beneficial friendship. They're surely going places, Bodahn predicts gleefully. Right now, going places means traveling to Denerim. Brother Genitivi awaits.