You: "How would you know what we're searching for?" Elmwind: "A marked elf in flight, She knows she is sought, and you Are seeking. Simple." (if: $party is "cassandra")[Solas: "It seems we're on the right track."](if: $party is "blackwall")[Varric: "Gives new meaning to the expression 'seeing the forest for the trees.'"](if: $party is "ironbull")[Cole: "Running. Scared, scattered, the air is green here, she chokes on it. Green shadows to hide in."] You (baffled): "Why do you talk that way? It almost sounds like you have to count your syllables before you speak." Elmwind (blustering, with hesitations between lines) "None of your business! Can't a sylvan say his piece, In the style of his --" (oops.) You: "What are you talking about?" (if: $party is "cassandra")[Cassandra: "I think he's speaking in verse. There's a type of poetry in Nevarra, with five syllables on the first line, seven on the second---" Sera (indignant): "It don't even rhyme!"](if: $party is "blackwall")[Dorian: "Maker preserve us - our foliaged friend is trying to speak in verse!" Blackwall (suspicious): "So if he attacks us, he'll only do so five syllables at a time?" Dorian (blithely): "Or seven. Depends on the line."](if: $party is "ironbull")[The Iron Bull: "Hey, I know what he's doing. Let me try!" (halting) "Uh, tell us where the elf, Is hiding or we will smash, You into firewood. Did I do it right?" Vivienne (approving): "Well done, darling - but you had six syllables on the first line, when it should only be five." The Iron Bull: "The 'uh' doesn't count!"] You: "What would you need us to do?" Elmwind (with longing): "I admire a tree, An aspen, fair and lovely, Beyond the river. We've never spoken, But I've watched her from afar. It's time I told her. But a recent storm, Snapped my limb, so I must rest, And drink from my roots. You could approach her, And express my devotion, To her in my stead. Bring me her answer, And I will give you the elf, Who flees from your sight." --- [["Seems simple enough."]] [["I'm guessing carving your initials won't be necessary."]] [["Fine, but you better hold to your end of the bargain."]]For the purposes of companion dialogue, please pick a party: [[Cassandra, Sera, and Solas]] [[Blackwall, Varric, and Dorian]] [[The Iron Bull, Cole, and Vivienne]] Back to [[Outline]] Your party encounters a strange, gnarled elm. It shifts, groans, and unfolds itself to reveal a wild sylvan. Sylvan (grandly): "Do not be afeared, I am Elmwind, a Sylvan. I approach in peace." He makes no move to attack, so you and your companions cautiously sheath your weapons. Elmwind: "I have a favour, That, if granted, will win you My aid in your quest." --- [["What do you know about our quest?"]] [["Why do you talk that way?"]] [["What sort of favour?"]] (set: $party to "cassandra")Your party encounters a strange, gnarled elm. It shifts, groans, and unfolds itself to reveal a wild sylvan. Sylvan (grandly): "Do not be afeared, I am Elmwind, a Sylvan. I approach in peace." He makes no move to attack, so you and your companions cautiously sheath your weapons. Elmwind: "I have a favour, That, if granted, will win you My aid in your quest." --- [["What do you know about our quest?"]] [["Why do you talk that way?"]] [["What sort of favour?"]] (set: $party to "blackwall")Your party encounters a strange, gnarled elm. It shifts, groans, and unfolds itself to reveal a wild sylvan. Sylvan (grandly): "Do not be afeared, I am Elmwind, a Sylvan. I approach in peace." He makes no move to attack, so you and your companions cautiously sheath your weapons. Elmwind: "I have a favour, That, if granted, will win you My aid in your quest." --- [["What do you know about our quest?"]] [["Why do you talk that way?"]] [["What sort of favour?"]] (set: $party to "ironbull")You: "Seems simple enough. I'll do it gladly." Elmwind: "I will wait for you. My leaves quiver at the thought, Of my love's response." --- [[Approach the aspen.]]You: "I'm guessing carving your initials inside a little heart won't be necessary." Elmwind (horrified): "I want no such thing! You would despoil her fair bark, With a stranger's blade?" You (backtracking): "Uh, never mind! Forget I said anything." --- [[Approach the aspen.]] You: "Fine, but you better hold to your end of the bargain." Elmwind (gravely): "The word of a tree, Draws strength from the sun and earth, These are eternal." --- [[Approach the aspen.]] You and your party approach the aspen. It looks an awful lot like a regular tree. You: "We come on behalf of Elmwind, the sylvan from across the river." The aspen doesn't respond. You (nervous): "Um, Elmwind's taken quite a shine to you..." No response. You (oh no): "Did you do something different with your foliage today?" (if: $party is "cassandra")[Cassandra (realizing): "I don't think we're going to get very far."](if: $party is "blackwall")[Varric (uneasy): "Maybe she's just the quiet type?"](if: $party is "ironbull")[The Iron Bull: "This is taking 'playing hard to get' to a whole new level."] --- Yup. You've just spent five minutes talking to an actual tree. [[Return to Elmwind.]]You cross the river, but before you reach Elmwind, you take your companions aside. You: "None of this went exactly as planned. How should we proceed?" (if: $party is "cassandra")[Sera: "He's got to hear it from someone. Better to get smacked by the truth now, then squashed by it later when it hurts more." Cassandra: "Most sylvans are demons, and highly unstable. Who's to say he won't shoot the messenger?" Solas: "Spirits are as vulnerable as we are to humiliation and despair. Let him down, but gently."](if: $party is "blackwall")[Blackwall: "I don't see how it matters. Tell him the truth and be done with it." Dorian: "Look, the only reason he didn't already know is because he didn't want to know - so he'll only listen to us if he likes what he's hearing." Varric: "None of you have ever read a romance. Feed him a story - add enough truth so he's not left hanging, but don't beat him over the head with it."](if: $party is "ironbull")[The Iron Bull (frustrated): "Sorry Boss, but this shit is weird! Let's not make it any weirder." Vivienne: "Darling, he's a demon trapped in a tree. We owe him nothing. Sing him a pretty song and leave him to his own devices." Cole: "A wooden heart, round like a seed, breaking, stretching, crawling up towards light and air. He stands alone, until he sees another, and then he feels alone. Just because it has no blood, doesn't mean it can't be broken."] Together, you and your party approach Elmwind. Elmwind (eager): "Back from your travels! Are my efforts rewarded? Is my love returned?" --- [["The aspen is just that. An aspen."]] *(Lie.)* [["She's excited to meet you."]] *(Lie.)* [["I'm sorry, Elmwind, but she just doesn't feel that way."]] You: "We went and looked, but the aspen is just a tree. It's not possessed." Elmwind: "I don't understand. You say her heart is empty? Her form but a shell?" You: "She - it - was never a sylvan. It's a tree, that's all. A thing." Elmwind rears up in rage. Elmwind: "False! False! Lying wretch! Her beauty is beyond lies! I'll tear the truth out!" Elmwind ATTACKS and our heroes are forced to engage, defeat, and kill him. Among his things, you find a hastily-scrawled map with elvish writing on a piece of linen - directions to Themrel's hideout. ENDYou (false cheer): "She's excited to meet you! She, er, watched you too, but was too shy to come forward." Elmwind (joyous): "What wondrous news! The winter of loneliness Breaks! Now it is spring!" You (quickly): "Slow down, there! She knows you're injured. She wants to make sure you're, ah, fully rested and healthy before you go to join her. She told us she'd rather wait and preserve your health than put you at risk." Elmwind (overwhelmed): "Kindness is a brook, And hers is overflowing. I shall be patient. You fulfilled our deal. Here is a sign of my thanks, Take it and know joy. Your elf can be found, Up high in the canopy, East of the forked tree." With knowledge of where Themrel's hiding, you and your party depart. ENDYou: "I'm sorry, Elmwind, but she just doesn't feel that way. She wasn't interested." Elmwind: "My heart aches for her, But her leaves never rustled. The seasons flow on." You: "If it's any consolation, you live in a forest. Thousands of trees - one of them has to be for you." Elmwind (morose): "Your words are well-meant, And you fulfilled our bargain. I'll give you my part. Your elf can be found, Up high in the canopy, East of the forked tree." With knowledge of where Themrel's hiding, you and your party depart. END "Tree Hugger," by Elizabeth Vail This outline uses ideas and properties from the Dragon Age franchise. Leliana reports that one of her closest spies – a Dalish elf named Themrel – has turned traitor. Themrel was supposed to deliver a coded message packet to some agents in the Ferelden court, but she never arrived, and now her partner’s turned up dead. The packet contains the names of ten of Leliana’s most powerfully-placed agents, and if the packet isn’t intercepted, their covers will be exposed. Leliana is baffled by Themrel’s betrayal and wants to know why. Was she converted, bribed, or coerced? And by whom? Various reports indicate that Themrel is hiding in the Brecilian Forest, which means recovering her will be no small thing, for the Forest protects its own. You and your companions travel to the Brecilian Forest to capture Themrel, but it’s rather like trying to find a needle in a haystack when that needle has had several years’ experience impersonating hay. Once in the Forest, your party disturbs a wild sylvan, but instead of attacking you, he introduces himself as Elmwind and asks for a favour. The tree-spirit has fallen in love with a beautiful aspen a little ways down the river. Her glorious leaves, her splendid trunk! However, a recent storm snapped one of his limbs and he’s stuck rooted to his spot in order to recuperate. If our heroes plead his case with the aspen, and return with her answer, Elmwind will help locate Themrel’s hiding place. Our heroes visit the aspen, only to discover it’s – just a tree. It’s not possessed by a spirit and likely never was. So how to deal with the lovelorn sylvan? You have three options: 1. You can tell Elmwind the truth. 2. You can lie, and tell Elmwind that the aspen returns his feelings and eagerly awaits his recovery. 3. You can lie, and tell Elmwind the aspen rejects his feelings. If you go with Option 1, Elmwind doesn't believe you and flies into a rage, forcing you to fight and kill him. However, he drops an item from Themrel that allows your party to trace her location. If you go with Option 2, he reacts with joy and happily gives you Themrel’s location. Elmwind is much saddened by Option 3, but as part of your agreement he imparts Themrel’s location. Your party quickly locates the traitor in a cunningly hidden tree house high in the canopy of the Brecilian Forest. Themrel’s caught by surprise, but claims she had no choice but to betray Leliana. She didn’t kill her partner and there’s more going on than you think. She still possesses the list of names, and hasn’t delivered it yet. A fight ensues and your party recovers the packet, but Themrel’s thrown off the tree house platform. If you chose Option 1 earlier on and killed the sylvan, Themrel falls to her death, and her secrets die with her. You successfully intercepted the packet, but Themrel’s defection will remain a mystery. If you chose Options 2 or 3, Themrel falls out of the tree but is caught by Elmwind. It turns out the impatient tree-spirit cut his convalescence short, found out the hard truth, and has been trailing our heroes ever since. If you chose to tell Elmwind his feelings were returned, he repays your betrayal by fighting you off long enough for Themrel to escape. You successfully intercepted the packet, but now Themrel’s in the wind. If you chose Option 3, and told Elmwind his feelings were rejected, the sylvan holds on to Themrel and allows your party to capture her alive. While sad and embarrassed, Elmwind appreciates you tried to let him down gently. You successfully intercepted the packet, and now Themrel can be brought back to Leliana and interrogated. Go to [[Introduction]] for the dialogue.