* The massacre and "treachery" of the Cousland family is still mentioned in-game, but there is also talk that Arl Howe is sending more soldiers from Highever to fight the Bannorn and that there's been no news out of Castle Cousland.
* During a random world encounter, the Warden's party would save a former Cousland servant1 from Howe soldiers. The grateful servant (who recognises a Human Noble Warden) explains that he escaped the initial slaughter at Castle Cousland, and was pressed back into service afterwards, but managed to escape when "the demons started showing up." They thought someone ought to know what had happened - someone who cared, at least. Howe works for Loghain, and whatever hurts one hurts the other. The player can either accept or refuse the quest. If it is refused, the servant will leave and not return.
* The party goes to Castle Cousland and finds it still wrecked and overrun by demons, drawn there by the mass death which weakened the Veil. They defeat a group of demons alongside a small band of surviving Howe soldiers. They recognise you as the Grey Warden Howe told them about (and as a Cousland if Human Noble), but will take any help they can get, mentioning that they haven't heard from their commander, Arl Howe's son, Thomas, since the trouble started. The player can then either:
a. Refuse to work with them, upon which they will leave.
b. Offer an alliance to find Thomas and defeat the demons.
c. Attack and kill them.
* The party fight their way against demons and corpses (and an abomination if playing a non-Human Noble Warden) through the castle, until they find Thomas in the master bedroom, under the thrall of a Desire Demon, drunkenly ranting about his father giving him "Cousland's sh*thole" to rule, and that he deserves more2. The demon, growing weary of Thomas, offers to possess him and leave in exchange for a reward. The player can either:
a. Accept the demon's offer. If the Howe soldiers are still alive, the player will have to fight and kill them, after which they can either let the demon go or kill it.
b. Agree, fight the Howe soldiers if they are still alive, and either let the demon go or try and kill it anyway.
c. Refuse and attack. If you kill Thomas before the Desire Demon, he dies. If you kill the Desire Demon before Thomas, he snaps out of his stupor and stops fighting. The player can then either talk to him or immediately execute him, which causes the Howe soldiers to attack.
* If the player chooses to talk, Thomas will recognise them, as either a Grey Warden or a Cousland, and attack. If the soldiers are alive, they are ordered to attack, but they refuse, having grown tired of Thomas's poor leadership and performance. If the player is not a Human Noble, or if a Human Noble player did not retrieve them during the beginning, Thomas will be armed with the Cousland Family Shield and Longsword. Otherwise, he will fight with a standard longsword and Howe buckler.
* If the Howe soldiers are still alive:
a. If the player is not a Human Noble, they will leave unless attacked.
b. If the player is a Human Noble, they will attack ("orders are orders", they say) unless persuaded, whereupon they will leave instead.
* Ultimately, the player will be unable to fix the Veil - if the player is a mage, a dialogue option will come up saying you aren't skilled enough to do so. If Morrigan and/or Wynne are in the party, they will mention that they do not have the necessary skills3. Regardless, with the bulk of the demons dead and people more likely to avoid the castle now, the threat is contained.
* If the player refused to ally with the surviving Howe soldiers, they will find them standing over the servant's body and have to fight and kill them. Otherwise, the servant will thank you and offer a small reward before leaving. The player can then either:
a. Accept the reward and let them go.
b. Refuse the reward and let them go.
c. Try to extort them for more.
d. Kill them.
* There would be an epilogue slide regarding the fate of Highever. After the war, Fergus would reclaim Castle Cousland, and with the help of either the Mages or the Templars, depending on who the player sided with, the Veil was closed and the hard task of rebuilding would begin.
a. If the quest was not completed, many men would be lost in the process. Word of the Warden's refusal to help reached the people, who subsequently grew cold towards the Grey Wardens.
b. If the quest was completed with the demon and Thomas slain, the retaking is far easier, and the people of Highever are grateful towards the Grey Wardens for their help. If the Howe soldiers helped and are still alive, some join mercenary bands while others surrender themselves to Fergus's judgement.
c. If the quest was completed with the demon set free, rumours of Thomas Howe's fate spring up until a decayed body with his likeness is found.
1: I would have used Ser Gilmore, but his last appearance in the Human Noble origin is holding the front gate with a few wounded soldiers against the bulk of Howe's army. And if he didn't die there, a cutscene in Fort Drakon shows a dead body with an eerie resemblance to him.
2:In-game, Thomas is said to be killed fighting the darkspawn.
3: At least, I believe this to be the case, otherwise in Soldier's Peak, there would be no need to work with either Avernus or Sophia Dryden.
