Eivor followed Goll as they withstood any incoming Frankishsoldiers. Eivor and Goll treaded lightly when they saw bodies of their own in their path.
Goll:Warriors, halt! There is a deep wrongness here. These dead. They are all Norse.
Sigfred:Where are those Frankish dogs? This silence gnaws my guts. Shields up and close ranks.
The Vikings surrounded by a ring of fire
Eivor, Goll, Sigfred, and Toka were surrounded by Frankish soldiers as they neared the palace. The Vikings were soon surrounded by fire as Count Odo looked upon them from the palace's walls. Eivor and her allies attacked the ambushers.
Sigfred:Forward! Spare no one, attack!
Eivor:They're too many. Sigfred, we must retreat.
Sigfred:Fall back, warriors! Fall back!
Eivor and her allies are fighting while succumbing to some losses. Goll appeared to fend off her attackers.
Goll:Come fight me, cowards!
Sigfred briefly mourning Goll's death
Odo held up a crossbow and shot Goll dead. Sigfred came and kneeled to see his fallen thegn while Eivor came nearby Sigfred.
Eivor:They're cutting us down!
Sigfred stood up.
Sigfred:Fall back! Fall back!
Eivor, Sigfred, and Toka, with their warriors, ran back from the ambush, leaving their fallen behind. Eivor and Sigfred regrouped away from the palace.
Sigfred:Damn the gods! I walked right into Odo's trap like a yearling elk.
Eivor:Do not lose heart, Sigfred. Battle is a fickle goddess.
Eivor, Sigfred and Toka regrouping
Toka ran into the conversation hastily.
Toka:Uncle, it is worse. The scouts report that warrior priest, uh—
Toka:Yes, he rallies a large force of Franks in the east, in that church.
Sigfred:Damn the gods. They will crush us out in the open. What do we do?
Toka:Our catapults could hit that church, but they have no way to aim.
Eivor:We should light signal fires on the towers. That will give the catapults something to target.
Sigfred:Yes, do it. I will get the wounded out and alert the catapults before rejoining you.
Eivor:Good. And I will take down this warrior-priest Gozlin before he rallies the Franks.
Sigfred left as Eivor escorted Toka to the towers.
Toka:Eivor, keep up! We must light those towers.
Toka and Eivor took to the rooftops as they ran to the towers. They encountered guards atop on the roofs.
Toka:Watch out!
Toka and Eivor also had to dodge friendly fire from the catapults.
Toka:Damn their aim! Where are they shooting?
Toka and Eivor noticed the first tower as Toka saw incoming Frankish soldiers.
Toka:Eivor! Climb up and light the towers. I will take out the guards below.
Eivor climbed to the top of the tower and lit its beacon.
Eivor:That's one tower. Now for number two.
Eivor climbing up the burning tower
Eivor headed to the next tower. Eivor climbed to the top of the second tower and lit its beacon. The catapults aimed and hit the gates open.
Eivor:The gates are down. Charge!
Norse warriors barged in as Gozlin retreated to the church with guards surrounding him. Eivor entered into the area of Saint-Étienne. Eivor probed the area around the church and found a note from a soldier.
Captain, Alert!
My Captain,
We have captured an ally of the Norse and are interrogating him in the nearby church belltower.
This traitor broke into the locked church by some unknown means.
Luckily, we caught the thief before he could sneak in.
- Serjeant Umbert
Eivor traveled left to the southeast church to save the pantomime from his capture.
Pantomime:You there, help! Yes, you, the hulking barbarian! Please, help me!
Eivor speaking to the pantomime, who granted her a key to the church
Eivor saved the pantomime.
Eivor:I remember you, the silent jester from the tavern.
Pantomime:You have earned my eternal gratitude. I assume you seek the war-priest Gozlin? Please, take the church key. It's brought me only trouble.
Eivor:Thanks. It seems you found your tongue, after all.
Eivor left the pantomime and headed to the second floor of the church. Using the key, Eivor opened the locked door. Within the second floor, Eivor came across a father and his son talking.
French Man:Hush, my son, you didn't see anything. You're scared, that's all.
French Child 1:No, Papa, I did! The big cross moved, it wobbled.
French Man:Perhaps it was a sign just for you. Now pray silently like Mémé taught.
Eivor observing the meeting between Gozlin and the citizens
Eivor moved to the gallery overlooking the nave of the church, where Gozlin attempted to calm civilians within.
Gozlin:Fear not, brethren! We are safe behind these stone walls, safe in God's house.
French Soldier 1:Safe? The Northmen have broken through the city gates!
Gozlin:And ran right into our trap. Even now, our warriors gather for my devastating counter-attack. We will crush them between the towers and the walls. We will slay them all and burn their villages! Now pray with me, good people. Pray to God and all the saints to deliver us from this plague of heathens.
French Soldier 1:Pray for what? A quick death? You have failed us, bishop!
Gozlin:We shall pray that King Charles and his army arrives to smite our godless foes. Have faith.
French Woman 1:You pray for a rescue from Charles the Fat? Truly, we are doomed!
French Soldier 1:The Mad King drinks wine while Paris burns!
Gozlin:O ye of little faith! I command you to pray with me! Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name...
Eivor found a note to Bishop Gozlin.
Crucial Repairs
Bishop Gozlin,
I implore you to spend some coin and repair the church's walls. The fittings on the giant cross are near rusted through and could give way at any moment, wounding your parishioners.
Faith alone cannot sustain masonry!
Sincerely,
Brother Armand
Eivor:If that cross falls on someone, it could be deadly.
Eivor went to the back of the giant cross and noticed some oil jars. Igniting them, Eivor blasted the wall supporting the cross. Below, Gozlin heard a noise as he saw the giant cross wiggle. He looked up in shock as the giant cross came crashing down from above, crushing him. As he bled out on the floor, Eivor walked into the nave of the church.
Gozlin crushed by the giant cross
Gozlin:My God... is that a darkness... or a light... argh...
Gozlin succumbed to his wounds.
Eivor:Join your Nailed God in death, as you served him in life.
Eivor headed right towards the main church. She heard a man and child's prayers from within as she looekd for the main door key.
French Man:Hail, thou art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
French Child 1:Dear God, also please let Socks-Paw be safe.
Eivor looked around more and heard guards talking in a small bastion on the walls.
French Soldier 2:We should be inside, praying with Lord Gozlin.
French Soldier 3:Captain says we stay here and watch for our flag-bearers. If they fall, we fall back to the church through the front door. The men are jumpy. If the flag-bearers fall, they will desert.
Using this information, Eivor stalked around the church grounds and took out the flag-bearers. The hulking captain emerged and ordered a retreat while confronting Eivor himself.
French Soldier 4:Enough. Fall back, men, fall back!
Eivor killed the captain and took his key to the church's main door. She headed to the church and unlocked the door. Without further hesitation, she walked in and saw Gozlin surrounded by parishioners. Gozlin immediately noticed Eivor's presence.
Gozlin:You! You foul beast. You Northmen slaughtered my brother.
Gozlin frowned as he dismissed the civilians around him.
Gozlin:Now I shall wreak a terrible vengeance upon you.
Eivor:He stood in my way. Now you, too, stand in my way.
Gozlin:O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, how long shall the wicked triumph?
Gozlin unsheathed his longsword and challenged Eivor. Eivor and Gozlin fought.
Gozlin:Die, heathen!
Eivor managed to weaken Gozlin half-way through their fight.
Gozlin:God give me strength!
Eivor wounded him further.
Gozlin:No! This cannot be. God, heal me!
Eivor defeated Gozlin in battle as the priest laid on the floor, bleeding.
Gozlin defeated by Eivor in a duel
Gozlin:Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit...
Gozlin passed away.
Eivor:To Hel's icy embrace I send thee, down in Niflheim where the dragon dwells.
Eivor made way to the entrance, where Sigfred and Toka entered to meet with her. Sigfred, with his axe, stared at the citizens within the church.
French Child 2:Mama, I'm scared.
Sigfred:Clear the hall!
French Woman 2:Hush child, hush.
Toka:Come, Eivor. The fighting still rages through the streets. We need your strength.
Eivor nodded and left with Toka while Sigfred remained in the church. Moments passed as Toka and Eivor awaited outside. A bloodied Sigfred walked outside with his axe dangled at his side, having slaughtered every man, woman and child in the church. Toka gasped in shock.
Sigfred leaving after killing everyone inside
Sigfred:Blood red wine for your drinking horn, my brother.
Sigfred left the church behind, covered in the blood of his victims.
Eivor:How does this end, Toka? Killing everyone?
Toka:It is as I feared, the bloodlust is upon him. He will slaughter the whole city.
Sigfred rallied his warriors.
Eivor:If I can reach Count Odo, I can make him surrender, to stop this madness.
Toka:Sigfred's warriors have surrounded the gates to Odo's palace. With Gozlin dead, the streets are ours. We are moving the catapults to batter the palace gates down.
Eivor:There must be another way over, under, or around those walls.
Toka:Nolwenn once spoke of a tunnel in the southwest.
Eivor:One way or another, I'll get in.
Eivor left the church grounds as Paris was engulfed in flames.
After Eivor defeated Gozlin, Sigfred, consumed by bloodlust, slaughtered every civilian in the church before advancing to slaughter the rest of the city. Eivor decided to meet with Count Odo to force a surrender and stop the madness.
Unlike the DLC's previous "black box" missions wherein multiple paths and outcomes exist within a relatively small space and can be equally explored up until a decisive point, the assassination of Gozlin is structured for the two paths to be more mutually-exclusive; dialogue for the child and their parent praying does not play if Eivor infiltrates the bell tower, and using the first floor key will immediately begin the duel with Gozlin. After he is dead, the church is loaded into a completely separate "burning" state for The Count of Paris wherein neither door is accessible, even if both keys were obtained. This leaves the unused key permanently stuck in the Quest items section of the Inventory. It is technically possible to expend both keys by opening the balcony and then the first floor, but this route locks out the Assassination Event.
