Starkhaven

A collection of summaries for the short stories found in Tevinter Nights and a selections of details seemingly most poignant to Dragon Age: The Veilguard

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“Herold Had the Plan” (Cormier)

In “Herold Had the Plan”, we follow the dwarven Lord of Fortune, Bharv, as he and his crew flee their latest caper in Starkhaven. Everything had gone swimmingly, Bharv and his fellow Lord of Fortune, the elf Elim, successfully stealing the amulet held they were after under the noses of both guards and knights as they’d used the cover of the Grand Tourney to hopefully go unnoticed. It wasn’t until they were on their way out that everything went bad. Bharv’s delving partner of a few years, Herold, was killed; Bharv injured; the remains of the group separated. We pick up the story where Bharv is trying to lose the Starkhaven guards and Tourney knights. Falling by the Minanter River near the rendezvous point, Elim finds him. Taking a minute to assess what went wrong, Bharv talking about Bharv and ensuring they at least still had their prize—an amulet Herold and Bharv had been chasing since it was found by Qunari invaders in a maze of catacombs in Tevinter—neither able to come up with an answer, they start moving, hoping the last of their party, Panzstott, will join them.

As Elim changes her disguise and hides her scent, she takes out the amulet. It is “blackish red” and Bharv not knowing what it does, Elim gives it to him to hold. They hear the hired muscle from Tantervale, Panzstott, ahead of them, the two wondering if he noticed anything that led to things going awry. Elim had last seen him running past a memorial for the winner of the last Grand Tourney, Jacques Gallais, who died—or was murdered. From behind, they hear their pursuers gaining. Bharv suggests losing them in the river, Elim warns against it as the Minanter River is known to be dangerous. Ignoring the warning, the two enter knowing they don’t have much of a choice. As they move through the water, Bharv is attacked by a creature he calls a “raytooth”. Some strange combination of manta ray, leech and snake. He is saved by Panzstott’s sword, which Elim and Bharv realize is a new weapon for him. Still being pursued, Bharv pushes Elim and Panzstott over a waterfall before being tossed over another one.

Some distance between them now, they slow their pace. Elim questions Panzstott as to what happened at the Tourney. His answers are evasive and it’s obvious he’s lying. The only clue as to what may have actually happened comes when he says what his plans are for his share of the reward. A “Lady Lucie” promised to help Panzstott find his sister. This is news to Bharv who says Panzstott never mentioned this before. Not wanting to push the man too far, Elim drops it to discuss with Bharv where they’re going. Bharv admits it was only Herold who knew the buyer and the meeting place. Panzstott states that Herold mentioned a “squire” as the purchaser and Bharv recollects him mentioning something about a “squire” as well. Elim sends Panzstott ahead to scout as she and Bharv discuss what they’re going to do about the brutish man as he’s clearly lying. Uncertain, they move forward.

Elim uses the downtime to entertain Panzstott, luring him in to talking more about his sister. He confesses she left for the Anderfels to become a Grey Warden and that Lady Lucie’s husband is a Grey Warden and she can find anyone. As he’s talking about this with Elim, Bharv checks his pockets yet again to make certain that the amulet is still in his pocket. As he does, he realizes that his previous injuries are all either completely healed or mostly healed, concluding that the amulet has healing powers. It causes him to think of Herold, reminiscing of their latest adventures, particularly those in Tevinter and the effects the war was having upon the innocent people there. Herold was particularly affected by the makeshift hospitals and the wounded within them. He’s pulled out of his reverie as Elim senses danger before a man calls out telling them they’re only after “the sword”. Elim guessing they mean the sword Panzstott recently came in possession of, she demands to see it. Panzstott refuses, saying it was Lady Lucie’s price for her help. When Elim demands he give up the sword, he runs. Panzstott kills a few of the knights after them, one dying that Bharv questions to find out what is so important about the sword. The knight says the word, “Celebrate” before he dies. Elim realizes Panzstott stole the Celebrant, a “legendary blade, awarded to the winner of the Grand Tourney held every thousand days”. Elim and Bharv both know that without the sword, they won’t make it out of this alive, so they track Panzstott.

Catching up to him in a clearing, they come face to face with his Lady Lucie, who is the wife of the previous Tourney winner, Jacques Gallais. Before Panzstott can kill Elim and Bharv at her request, they’re all surrounded by Starkhaven guards and knights. Elim causes a distraction, but chaos breaks loose. Panzstott stabs Elim with the sword as she kills him with a pin from her hair. Bharv is delivered a mortal wound as well. Both bleeding out, Bharv overhears the guards say to leave them and arrest Lady Lucie. Bharv passes out. Coming to once night has fallen, he realizes he still has the amulet which healed him, but is unable to resurrect the dead Elim.

Bharv, now understanding that Herold had never planned to give the amulet to the highest bidder, deduces where he had planned to meet the “squire”. An elf named Vaea to whom Herold wanted to give the amulet as an act of charity for the people suffering in Tevinter. They raise a glass in honor of Herold. Bharv had planned to return to his farm in Rivain and possibly retire as his four daughters, who agreed on everything, told him he should do before his days as a Lord of Fortune got him killed.

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Interesting Tidbits:

The story centers around an amulet found by Qunari invaders in catacombs beneath Tevinter revealed during the fighting

The amulet has healing powers, though it cannot resurrect the dead, and is described as dark red and large

War seems to be happening in Tevinter, the Qunari Antaam invading

Lords of Fortune seem to be Thedas’s equivalent to a Skyrim-like Thieves Guild

Bharv mentions that Herold would tell a story about defeating some sea beast, but would refer to “The Admiral” as the hero instead of himself; could possibly be a reference to Isabela

The Prince of Starkhaven is mentioned as well as the Vael family emblem

The “Squire” is Vaea, a character from the Dragon Age comics (Below: Vaea on cover of Knight Errant #2)

Interesting/Favorite Quotes:

“‘Few years. Lately, I helped Herold chase Tevinter relics that were uncovered and sent rolling in the wake of this Antaam chaos in the north. Plenty to chase. D*** horns kicked up all sorts of ancient, dangerous things up there. Some were just waiting in rich men’s vaults, begging us to recover them. Other artifacts were stolen from ruins and have been traded or sold since. You’re holding one of those. Chased this prize through three owners in two weeks. Came out of a maze of catacombs the horns discovered.’” (Page 326)

“Something black and slimy exploded from the water. [Bharv] threw his arms up as wide, leathery flaps hugged him and slapped against his back like his oldest friend. Something hissed and hot flecks spattered his face. The thing was muscular, squeezing him…A wide, round mouth opened in the underside of the creature, like a tin of rotted meat lined with teeth. Raytooth, Bharv thought.” (Page 329)

“Lords of Fortune are crazy.” (Page 332)

“But only folds believed in the strength of borders scrawled on a map.” (Page 334)

“Up ahead, the sun through the trees lit the afternoon sky in purple and orange. Bharv stared until his eyes hurt. Once retired, he would miss many things about the Lord of Fortune life, but sunsets from all over the world topped the list.” (Page 335)

“‘He was talking about the Celebrant…It’s a legendary blade, awarded to the winner of the Grand Tourney held every thousand days. A long tradition, for Free Marchers…The name of each winner is inscribed on the blade.’” (Page 341)

”He examined [his hand] in the failing light. The scratches he’d gotten from the window in Starkhaven were gone. He flicked his hand around at different angles to see if it was a shadow’s trick. Smooth skin no matter which way he turned. Looked ten years younger than his other hand…So, the d*** amulet healed people. Neat trick.” (Pages 336-337)

“‘An amulet we stole,’ Elim said casually. ‘Big as my fist. Red as the morning sun. We pinched it before this man-child grabbed the sword for his Orlesian lady because she cannot simply get over her husband’s death. Priceless, really. Worth far more than your contest trinket. This dwarf has chased it across half the world. His friend died for it. I almost died for it. Cram your puny sword.” (Page 345)

“Vaea nodded. ‘[Herold] contacted me and said a job of his had turned into a charity run. Asked me to bring the amulet back north with me, to Tevinter. The chaos there has left many in desperate need, a lot of families torn up. He said you’d understand.’” (Page 349)

“The elf poked the sack with one finger. ‘Does it work?’ ‘Only on the living.’” (Pages 349-350)

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It’s mostly for me if anything because I’ve really come to adore the character Jamie Fraser and his actor Sam Heughan. Call me cringe, but I am free. 🥺