Dragon Age Origins: A Day for celebration Dragon Age: Origins Guide

Last update: 07 June 2024

 

A Day for celebration

Received from: Shianni [Denerim - Elven alienage - Home]

Description: You'll start this story after you've woken up (M8, 1). Shianni will inform you that it's your wedding day and that your fiancée Nesiara (if you're playing as a male) or your fiance Nelaros (if you're playing as a female) has arrived at the alienage. Shianni will also tell you that your friend Soris is waiting for you outside. End the conversation and check a nearby footlocker to collect a few useful things. You can also talk to your father Cyrion and tell him that you're happy or unhappy about the marriage. I would recommend to choose the topic about the dead mother, because Cyrion will give you Adaia's boots.

Exit the hut (M8, 2) to find yourself standing in [Denerim - Elven alienage] (M8, 3). You can spend some time looking around or you can meet Soris right away (M8, 4). Your friend will ask you to follow him and to greet the arriving guests together. Head on to the central area of the alienage (M8, 5) where you'll witness a very unpleasant scene involving Vaughan. It doesn't matter how you'll respond to his initial statement, because Vaughan is going to be knocked out by Shianni. You'll meet your future wife or your future husband right after this incident. Soris will then notice that an another human has arrived at the alienage.

The man Soris noticed a while ago is going to be a Grey Warden called Duncan (M8, 6). Thankfully even if you're hostile towards him you won't provoke him and you won't receive any other repercussions. Valendrian will soon join the conversation and explain the situation. You must now attend your wedding ceremony. Head over to the designated area located near elven houses (M8, 7). Starting from here you'll be completing different quests depending on the gender of your main character.

Walkthrough for a male character:

In this case Vaughan will interrupt the ceremony and take all the young elven women with him, including Shianna, Valora and Nesiara. After you've regained consciousness return to the main square and find Valendrian (M8, 6). Listen to what other elves have to say about the crisis. One of the slaves in arl's mansion will say that he can smuggle you and Soris inside. Once you're ready to move on with this assignment talk to your new friend near the northern exit (M8, 8) from the alienage.

You'll be automatically transported to [Denerim - Arl of Denerim's Estate - Exterior] (M9, 1). Make sure that you're using the sword handed over to you by Duncan. The entrance for the slaves is located on the eastern wall of the mansion. You can choose the long northern path or take a shortcut through the southern parts (M9, 2). A lot of hostile guards and mabari will stand in your way. Try eliminating smaller groups each time and keep using the healing potions to stay alive.

Click on the door (M9, 3) to find yourself in [Denerim - Arl of Denerim's Estate - Interior] (M10, 1). Notice a sleeping guard in the first room (M10, 2). You'll have to wake him up and interrogate him. Once you have the info you needed you can either kill him or knock him unconscious (he won't wake up later on). A cook will stop you in the next room (M10, 3), but thankfully his elven assistant Adwen will neutralize this problem. There are some guards in the next room (M10, 4) and if you're playing as a rogue you'll have a chance to get rid of them without engaging them in combat. Go to the pantry and collect rat poison from one of the closets (M10, 11). After that return to the kitchen and break into a new cabinet (M10, 12) to collect brandy. Return to the guards (M10, 4) and offer them poisoned brandy by choosing a correct response from the list.

If you're playing as a warrior you won't be allowed to steal the brandy and therefore using poison won't be possible. As a result you can proceed to the dining room (M10, 4) without any additional delays. There are three guards here and they'll stop you as soon as you've entered the room. I would recommend killing the first one by choosing the correct answer during the conversation. Once this is done deal with the remaining two guards.

Be careful, because a new guard will attack you while trying to leave this room. I would recommend to explore one of the larger eastern rooms along the way (M10, 5), because it's going to be an armory. Defeat a new guard and take your time to collect new equipment. Continue heading north until you come across a guard captain (M10, 6). One of the women is going to be murdered here (you can't stop it from happening). You can avenge her death right away. Attack standard knights first and then deal with the captain.

Keep moving north and then choose the corridor leading to the western areas of the estate (M10, 7). There are a lot of rooms along the way. Exploring them is not mandatory, however I would recommend looking around. You can find a lot of items in plain sight or in crates, however most of the rooms will be guarded by 2-3 humans. Don't forget to use your lockpicking skills if you're playing as a rogue. One of the more powerful bodyguards will attack you near the last room (M10, 8). Make sure to check his body after the battle, because he was carrying a good shield. You should also look around to find medical supplies. The last part of this quest is identical for both genders, so you should check the Finale section.

Walkthrough for a female character:

In this case Vaughan will interrupt the ceremony and take you along with the rest of the elven women to his estate. Wait for the game to transport you to [Denerim - Arl of Denerim's Estate - Interior] (M10, 10). Talk to Shianni here and wait for arl's guards to show up. They'll kill one of the women (you couldn't prevent that from happening).

Listen to a short conversation between the main character and two guards. Thankfully you won't have to fight them alone, because Soris will show up. Wait for him to deliver a sword borrowed from Duncan, STOP the fight and equip this item in your inventory. You can now attack both guards and it shouldn't take too long for you to kill them. You may begin exploring the estate in the search for other women.

A cook will stop you in the next room (M10, 3), but thankfully his elven assistant Adwen will neutralize this problem. There are some guards in the next room (M10, 4) and if you're playing as a rogue you'll have a chance to get rid of them without engaging them in combat. Go to the pantry and collect rat poison from one of the closets (M10, 11). After that return to the kitchen and break into a new cabinet (M10, 12) to collect brandy. Return to the guards (M10, 4) and offer them poisoned brandy by choosing a correct response from the list.

If you're playing as a warrior you won't be allowed to steal the brandy and therefore using poison won't be possible. As a result you can proceed to the dining room (M10, 4) without any additional delays. There are three guards here and they'll stop you as soon as you've entered the room. I would recommend killing the first one by choosing the correct answer during the conversation. Once this is done deal with the remaining two guards.

Be careful, because a new guard will attack you while trying to leave this room. I would recommend to explore one of the larger eastern rooms along the way (M10, 5), because it's going to be an armory. Defeat a new guard and take your time to collect new equipment. Continue heading north until you come across a guard captain (M10, 6). Your fiance Nelaros is going to be murdered here (you can't stop it from happening). You can avenge his death right away. Attack standard knights first and then deal with the captain.

Keep moving north and then choose the corridor leading to the western areas of the estate (M10, 7). There are a lot of rooms along the way. Exploring them is not mandatory, however I would recommend looking around. You can find a lot of items in plain sight or in crates, however most of the rooms will be guarded by 2-3 humans. Don't forget to use your lockpicking skills if you're playing as a rogue. One of the more powerful bodyguards will attack you near the last room (M10, 8). Make sure to check his body after the battle, because he was carrying a good shield. You should also look around to find medical supplies. The last part of this quest is identical for both genders, so you should check the Finale section.

Finale:

Vaughan will be hiding in the last room (M10, 9) and there are two ways to resolve the situation involving him and kidnapped women. If you agree to his proposal you'll receive a lot of coins and you'll return with Soris to the alienage (don't forget to revisit the hiding spot the next chance you get). Otherwise you would have to defeat Vaughan and two lords. I would recommend dealing with the lords before attacking Vaughan. Talk to Shianni once the arl has been killed.

Sooner or later you'll return to [Denerim - Elven alienage] (M8, 8) where you'll have a chance to talk to Valendrian and Duncan. If you decided to take the gold you'll have to come up with some kind of a lie. Otherwise you'll tell them the truth. It won't take long before guards show up and they'll be looking for someone to blame for the break in (and ransom) or for arl's death. The best way to end this quest is to blame everything on yourself, because Duncan will recruit you to join the Grey Wardens before you'll be thrown in jail. If you do something differently Soris will be apprehended. This will also occur if you decide to keep quiet, because Elva would interfere and point the blame on you and Soris. Say goodbye to all the elves and talk to Duncan when you're ready to start your journey.