One of the most difficult choices in the game.
Near the end of story events in Shatterscarp in Avowed, you're forced to make an unimaginably difficult decision. With Inquisitor Lodwyn and Archmage Ryngrim both looking to you for answers, the fate of countless lives are left in your hands.
On one side of the coin, you have Inquisitor Lodwyn asking you to destroy the nearby ruins that are housing dozens of dreamthralls. However, on the other side, Ryngrim says she can stop the spread of Dreamscourge in Avowed if you sever the nearby Adra source.
This decision does have an impact on the rest of the game, so let's go through both choices and see which one makes the most sense for you in the long run.
Choosing to sever the Adra in Avowed
While ending the spread of the Dreamscourge plague is, of course, how you might want to go at first thought, you have to also consider the consequences of doing so.
Ryngrim has to pull from every Essence source she can to sever the Adra, which means dozens of people's lives in Shatterscarp will be lost. This is truly an ethical dilemma, as you can save the lives of hundreds by sacrificing the lives of a couple dozen.
If you decide the sacrifice is worth it, then you can tell Ryngrim you want her to sever the Adra. This makes Yatzli extremely happy and causes a colorful cutscene to play that shows the Adra being cut off from the rest of the land.
The consequences of this decision are you're on the bad side of Inquisitor Lodwyn, which plays out further in Avowed, and you'll immediately notice dead bodies randomly scattered across Shatterscarp. These are the bodies of the people killed in the severing process.
If you return to Thirdborn to tell Temerti what you've done, she won't even be able to look at you and tells you to leave at once. You will see Temerti later on in Avowed, though, and this decision doesn't affect your long-lasting relationship with her.
Also, in exchange for severing the Adra, you earn the unique Godlike ability called "Severed Branch." This is an active ability that grants you extra movement speed for 20 seconds.
Finally, the decision to sever the Adra has consequences the affect your overall ending in Avowed. However, the effects are fairly small and we don't want to give too much away, as it spoils the end plot of the game. Just know that what you decide plus what you decide later on will affect how your ending plays out in a small way.
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Choosing to destroy the Ruins in Avowed
If you feel that even sacrificing one actual life is too much of a risk, then you want to side with Inquisitor Lodywn's decision to destroy the Naku Kabel Ruins and all the dreamthralls inside. This decision rewards you with the Scion of the Immortal unique Godlike active ability, which increases damage and restores HP over time.
This decision puts you in the good graces of Lodwyn, but Lodwyn and Yatzli don't care at all for your choice. You'll once again immediately see the effects of your decision, as returning to Thirdborn shows people getting infected by the Dreamscourge all over the place. Even Temerti is showing signs of being infected.
However, the end result of this in the final events of Avowed is that Shatterscarp does eventually get past the Dreamscourge in most scenarios. There is one ending where Shatterscarp and Thirdborn are left to the mercy of the dreamthralls and many people decide to leave the region.
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