DA: Awakening Quests in the Black Swamp. And at this time

They tell about events that occur after the original story. When the Archdemon was killed, Pestilence never disappeared. Moreover, all the creatures of darkness were divided into clans warring among themselves, thereby creating a new threat.

Start

You are the commander of the Gray Wardens, you return to the Vigil Tower with the warrior Mhairi. The Vigil Tower was recently the residence of Earl Howe. You should not expect a warm welcome, since your fortress is attacked by the adventures of darkness.

Move overcoming all enemies deep into the Vigilance Tower. On the way, clear the location from monsters. In the interior of the fortress, you meet a renegade mage named Andres. Soon he becomes your confidant. Continue into the tower. Along the way, destroy the Genlocks along with the emissaries.

Eventually, you will need to activate the lever and open the gate. Now watch the scene - a gnome who kills a group of genlocks with an explosion. Go down below and go to the opened gate. Clear the hall here and go to the doorway on the right side. Any road will lead you straight to Ogren (the gnome from the original game).

Having walked a little further, you will come across another acquaintance of Mhairi - Commander Rowland. He will have time to say that the creatures of darkness have attacked and that a talking magician is at their head. Once you get out, you will see the following picture: a talking creature of darkness. The battle will be very serious, but you will be able to cope with the enemies. This will be followed by a video with a meeting with King Alistair and the initiation of young recruits into the Gray Wardens.

In the throne part of the hall, you have the opportunity to enchant objects using runes from Ambassador Sera. You can buy everything you need from Yuriy. When you go outside, you are immediately told about a certain “capable” thief, and in addition to this, you are also given a couple of letters. You can also pick up a lot of secondary tasks in the fortress, which will be very interesting to complete. In addition, they will bring you experience and money, which, by the way, you will really need.

Let's go to Amaranthine

So, after you’ve picked up a lot of minor quests, let’s move on to look for a logical explanation of why the creatures of darkness suddenly started talking.

Immediately upon entering this city, talk to Colbert. A little further into the trap, one smuggler invites you to cooperate, or rather, talk with the innkeeper and continue to carry out your activities. The entrance to this smuggler's lair will be located at the site of the same conversation, in the house.

Also, near the entrance to the city, talk with Constable Aidan and receive the “Law and Order” task. In general, you already know the smugglers’ lair, or rather its location, so all you have to do is run after one of the smugglers, destroying the bad guys along the way.

In the northern part of this city, your ally Andres will meet a familiar girl named Namaia. After a short conversation, you will have the task “Free Anders”. The essence of the task is that you need to find a vessel with Anders' blood. Thus, the templars will never be able to figure out his location. In the eastern part of this city, not far from the temple, you need to talk with your old friend Wynn and receive a new task, for which you will have to find Ines in the Vending Forest. There will be a preacher board nearby, and there will be a couple of tasks there.

Kristoff is not at the hotel, so go and talk to the owner of this establishment, and then move to inspect his premises. The evidence found will tell you that you need to go explore an area called the Black Swamps.

Forest Vending

There are many interesting things in this forest. Examine the samples of sylvin wood (one of the tasks that is on the preacher's board). You can also complete the “Botanist Inez” task here, given by Wynn. Also, in addition to all this, a plot task is also performed here. We will not delve too deeply into the plot mission, everything is simple here, let’s just say one thing - the Dalish elf Velanna is behind the attacks on the caravans, in addition to this, she is also a magician. You can recruit her to your team. But first, for it you will need to bring the seeds of the northern thornfork (located a little east of the passage to the silverite mine).

In the eastern part of the forest you can talk to two stone statues. The essence of the task is that the brothers are cursed by the master, one of them wants to take revenge, and the other wants to find humility. What to do, to use persuasion or force, is up to you to decide.

So, in the end you will find yourself in a silverite underground mine, captivated by the adventures of darkness. Velanna's sister will give you a key with which you can get out. The first garlocks you meet will have to be crushed with your fists, after which you search their bodies and arm yourself. A little to the south there is a huge hall. There is a statue in the center of the hall, and in the middle of it there is a huge number of opponents. You can make your task easier with the help of a ballista.

As soon as the tunnel begins, kill the enemy who has all the clothes of one of the heroes. In one part of these tunnels you can meet a prisoner named Kenan. He will ask you to find his wedding ring, which was stolen by a big man with a huge mace, and then take this ring to his wife as a message about his death. Moving further, do not forget to search all the corpses, as they will contain the things of your heroes. As you exit the tunnels, you will come across a chest containing the rest of your heroes’ belongings. Afterwards, buy provisions from Amaas.

Now you have to fight two dragons. After a short cutscene has passed, you learn from Velanna that she wants to join your ranks. Finally move to your fortress for a well-deserved rest. When you arrive at the place, do minor things and hand in the task.

Thicket Hills

The next thing to do is start completing the quest “Last of the Legion”. Colbert and Micah told you about the chasms that formed in the Thicket Hills. From there is the rod of the spawn of darkness. Move to this place. Once you cross the bridge, go down below and carefully rummage around in the box here, after which you will find a letter that will activate the task “Long Past”. The following picture will follow: a bunch of enemies are dragging one of the Legion of the Dead. Sigrun will tell you that in Kal Hirol, the creatures of darkness are raising an army. Clear your path by slashing the creatures of darkness. At the very beginning of the central hall, a huge number of traps await you.

As you pass through the next large rooms, you will observe several paintings from the past, this will happen right up to the doors of the shopping district. Somewhere in the southeastern part there is a riddle. To solve it, you will have to make sure that the same symbols appear on the slab and on the obelisk. As a reward, you receive what was inside the sarcophagus. Now move to the southernmost part of this location. Straight to the Lower Reaches of Cal Herol. Soon you will need to turn to the left and walk along a long corridor.

Now watch the video with a huge golem. You will also have to defeat the lost golem, so the battle will not be easy. When you finish the battle, then move into the corridor, which is located on the right side from where you came here. Destroy the two supports here that hold the chains, and then drop the deadly load on the queens. That's all.

Black swamps

So, we arrive at the Black Swamps in search of Kristoff. The place is certainly not the most pleasant. There will be a sign at the entrance warning about ghosts. Soon you will be attacked by wolves. Well, despite the dangers, we will have to move deeper. In the place where the dragon's head is lying, you can take the quest "The Missing Dragon Bones". The doors that lead to the estate (right side) will be sealed, and nearby you will find a letter for the task "Burden of Guilt".

Soon you find another shadow veil and receive the corresponding quest. In the northeastern part of this location you can find the body of the deceased Kristoff, and a little later it turns out that this is a trap.

You find yourself in the Shadow. The leader of the creatures of darkness will also be here, but he sent his henchmen to you, and in the meantime he disappeared. We need to find a way out. Here you can activate various pedestals that will block shadow curtains in the real world. Also, you can find various items here that will increase your capabilities by 1 unit.

There is a grave near the estate, there will be a girl near it - talk to her. You will immediately receive the appropriate task. After you kill all the restless carrion, go down to the crypt. Let's say right away - the girl is the most ordinary demon. As you exit the other side of this crypt, you will find yourself in the estate. It turns out that all the people were imprisoned in the Shadow because of the Baroness. So watch what happens here. The first one decides to join the Baroness, and you, in turn, help the Spirit of Justice, who portrays the templar. This is where the battle begins. When this battle is over, you will find yourself in the real world, but the problem still remains unresolved. Now you have more serious problems: the Baroness is now among you and has great power, and in addition to all this, shadow portals are opening from which hordes of demons are climbing. The Spirit of Justice takes Kristoff's body and intends to fight on your side. Select squad members and go into battle!

Once you open the gate, you will have to fight the Baroness again, or rather, what she has turned into. After victory, you will be able to replenish your ranks with the Spirit of Justice. This is where it all ends. Now go back to the Vigil Tower and talk to Seneschal Varel.

City under siege

Bad news. The nearby town of Amaranthine is besieged by creatures of darkness. And so, you are assured that if you go there, then you will make a huge mistake. Choose your companions. We recommend that you take: Sigrun, Nathaniel and Velanna.

When you arrive at your destination, you will see hordes of creatures of darkness. Due to an unexpected warning about the Mother's evil plan and her unexpected attack on the Tower of Vigil, you are forced to leave Amaranthine to its fate. It would not be a pity for you and your companions, but you will have to leave the city...

Since the Tower of Vigil is the main boundary, it cannot be allowed to fall. So, at the place of arrival, quickly talk to the military leader and get ready for battle. It all starts with protecting the central gate (don't forget to take advantage of the new tactics slots). After defending the gate, you will have to move to defend the eastern part of the wall. Next, return to the main gate again to repel the attacks of the Genlocks and ogres.

Soon you have to retreat back and fight with heretics and ogres who are nailed into the armor. Afterwards, you have to kill the Herald. But that's not all, the battle continues. The spawn of darkness are still alive and the Mother is constantly breeding new ones.

Dragonbone Wasteland

It's time to deal with the Mother in her lair. It’s impossible to get lost here, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Move along the path and along the way clear the locations from new creatures of darkness. Soon you will meet the High Dragon, and then the dragon cliff. Next you will meet Velanna’s sister, who will clearly be talking some kind of nonsense. Go down the stairs and clear your way again. Go further, go down the stairs again and talk with the Architect, who suddenly appeared.

You have a common goal and have decided to make peace on common grounds. Go to Mother's Nest to end it all. Nothing complicated should arise for you. Chop her tentacles and kill her children that appear. After destroying her minions, take on her too. As soon as her health drops, the end credits will start.

This is the end of this epic game. Watch the video and the consequences of all your previous decisions.

Main plot
Shadows of the Black Swamps
Seneschal Varel will tell you that during the attacks of the darkspawn, all the gray guards were killed. However, one member of the order was in Amaranthine at that moment. The lucky guy's name is Kristoff. But there was no news from him for several days. You have to go to Amaranthine and talk to the innkeeper at the King and the Lion inn. He will give you the key to Kristoff's room. You can also ask the maid about the gray guard, but this will not help you much, unless you find out that Kristoff is married. In the room of your fellow member of the order, search everything, take away his personal belongings and look at the Erling map hanging on the wall. All evidence points to Kristoff going to the black swamps. To find out what happened to him, you will have to go there.
The Black Swamps are the darkest place in the game. There is darkness everywhere, evil pestilence wolves and werewolves. Follow the path to the abandoned village. Along the way, werewolves will attack you twice: the first time - in the middle of the path, the second time - at the northern exit from the village. Look around carefully, search the corpse of the creature of darkness, read all the notes, search all the chests and boxes in the fenced area. You will see that the north gate is the only exit available at the moment. That's where we go. We reach a fork and turn left. Closer to the northwest you will find Kristoff's abandoned camp, where werewolves will attack you for the third time (you can get a good ring for a fighter from them). Then go northeast. There you will again encounter children. Fight them off and go straight. In the clearing you will find Kristoff's corpse. Before you touch him, search everything around him. As soon as you start searching the corpse, another talking creature of darkness named the First will come out of hiding. He will give us “hello” from the Mother and cast a spell that will take us into the shadows. Only bad luck, along with us the First suffered both himself and his minions (the Mother betrayed him, because she knew that the power of the spell would send not only the gray guards, but also her eldest son into the shadows). Realizing that he has been betrayed, the First will swear to get out of the shadows at any cost and take revenge on the Mother, after which he will run away, setting the remaining larval children on us. We kill the creatures of darkness and begin to slowly make our way to the village pier in the southeast. All sorts of spirits and demons will attack you. Dealing with them will not be difficult. From corpses you can take intangible potions of healing, restoration of mana and stamina (when you get out of the shadows, all this trash will disappear from your inventory). Also along the way you will come across altars with essences of characteristics (strength, agility, physique, etc.). Get to the entrance to the crypt, take the side quest "Damsel in Distress". Fight off the attack of skeletons and go down to the crypt. Here you will be periodically attacked by undead. Make your way to the northern exit (you can complete the quest along the way "Damsel in Distress" ). Exit to the surface into the interior of the village. Talk to the village guard, he will tell you that all the villagers have been prisoners of the shadow for a long time. This happened through the fault of the Baroness (we’ll find out exactly how a little later). The point is that one spirit wants to help the peasants free themselves from captivity. Move on. You will see a crowd of peasants led by the spirit of Justice in front of the locked gates. After a short dialogue, he will ask you to help him defeat the Baroness. Ask him to wait a little and go around all the remaining altars with essences in the area. Now you can either return to Justice, thereby siding with the peasants, or talk to the soldier in the courtyard if you want to side with the Baroness. Your party members will each have their own reaction to both options. There will always be those who disagree (with maximum persuasion, they can be convinced of the correctness of their actions without the risk of losing their reputation). Personally, I supported Justice. The crowd will break down the gate, followed by a short dialogue with the Baroness, and then wall to wall. The First will fight for the Baroness. As soon as we mortally wound him, the insidious sorceress uses his remaining vital forces to move everyone (including herself) from the shadows to the real world. We will wake up in the same clearing where we found Kristoff's corpse. As soon as we come to our senses, Kristoff's body will come to life. The spirit of justice also turned out to be transferred to our world and is now imprisoned in the body of the deceased gray guard. He will tell us that the Baroness was also transported to the real world and that she must be stopped. We will do so, but first we will search the corpse of the First and take away the armor and set of the Guardian, as well as a good two-handed sword and gold. We return to the destroyed village, closing shadow portals along the way (there are 4 of them in total and they are all located in the northern part of the swamps). Be careful, each portal is guarded by the risen from the dead. As soon as you destroy the last portal, go to the fenced area. Another dialogue with the Baroness will follow, after which she will turn into a powerful demon who can cast a cone of cold, a crushing dungeon and suck the life force from the enemy who fell into his clutches. The demon can also open shadow portals, from which all sorts of small evil spirits will crawl out. Destroy portals as quickly as possible. During the battle with the demon, there will be a moment when for some reason he decides to break through the gate to the town hall. Do not interfere with him in this, because this moment affects the epilogue. Freeze the creature more often and apply effects that increase the chance of inflicting critical damage on you and your party members. After the demon dies, talk to Justice. If you supported his side in the shadows, then he will happily join you to take revenge on the creatures of darkness for the death of Kristoff. If you supported the Baroness in the shadows, then the spirit will not join you. Search the demon's corpse and take the key to the pier gate (there you can complete several secondary tasks of the black swamps at once). This is the task "Shadows of the Black Swamps" will be completed.

Secondary quests
Traces of love
There will be a shack near the place where the wolves attack you for the second time. Go into it and search the skeleton. Take scraps of the letter and an empty bottle of poison from him. Died from poison, he wanted to use riddles to bring his girlfriend Bonnie to some very important goal, but she didn’t like this game and decided to break up with him, which is why the poor fellow decided to take his own life. Our task is to find all the clues and solve this little mystery. Hints are found:
-to the left of the main village gate in bags;
-to the south of Kristoff's old camp near a tree with a torch;
-at the dragon skull in the west;
-on the shore of the lake to the right of the place where Kristoff died;
-near the summoning circle under the highest stone;
-on the pond in the middle between Kristoff's death spot and the summoning circle.
At the last point you will find a letter with a marriage proposal (Bonnie was a fool) and a ring +2 to all characteristics.

Burden of Guilt
In the north of the abandoned village you will find an old letter from which you will learn that a certain Karsten sold girls to the Baroness for her atrocities. As a result, his conscience tormented him and he killed himself. But his treasures remained untouched and lie somewhere in a hiding place in the swamps. Go to the northernmost gap in the curtain, the cache is there. Once you clear it, the quest will close.

Holes in the veil
While wandering through the black swamps, you will come across several tears in the veil. Your task is to find a way to close them. This can be done in the shade. In the north there will be three places with devices for tearing the veil, guarded by desire demons. Destroy them and chests will appear in their place in the real world, each of which will contain an item from the Guardian set (helmet, gloves and boots, and the armor will be removed from the corpse of the First during the main quest "Shadows of the Black Swamps").

Riddle of the stones
In the swamps you will find a summoning altar surrounded by six strange stones. Read the diary lying at the altar and take this quest. In the shadows, find the same place and press the stones in the desired order, and then activate the summoning altar. After this, a whole bunch of demons will attack you, which you will of course kill. In the real world, a chest with a gladiator's belt will appear at the site of the summoning altar. See the picture for the sequence of pressing the stones.

The green circle marks the lowest stone, the yellow circle the summoning altar.

Damsel in distress
In the shadows in front of the crypt entrance, a girl will speak to you. She will tell you that she came to visit her grandfather's grave, then she will suddenly get scared and run into the crypt, and you will have to fight with the undead. Go down to the crypt and find the girl in the eastern room. During the second conversation with her, it will become clear that the girl’s soul has been taken over by the demon of hunger. There are two options for completing this quest:
-scare the demon (with maximum persuasion it’s a piece of cake);
-kill the demon.
There will be no reward for this quest other than experience. But if you do kill the demon, the girl's soul will be freed.

The Black Swamps are a gloomy, lifeless place. Those traveling along a lonely path among the trees are overcome by a pressing feeling of horror. The swamp is motionless, and even birds and animals feel the corruption permeating the air and do not dare to approach. The Black Swamp wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a village full of inhabitants. Boats and ships arrived at the small port every day. But one day it all disappeared. Those who ventured into the swamp to find out the fate of the villagers found burnt ruins and no signs of life. Over the years, strange creatures and a mysterious light began to appear in the swamp, which fueled the belief that ghosts had settled in the Black Swamps, and everyone who valued their lives should stay away from it.

STORY QUEST - SHADOWS OF BLACK SWAMPS

You will receive a mark on your map after you examine the map on the wall in Kristoff's room (at the Crown and Lion Hotel in Amaranthine. It is gloomy, damp and sad here. Soon after entering the location you will meet a couple of packs of wolves who like to surround your squad and rush from behind.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Following the path you will come to a destroyed village, at the gate of which lies the corpse of the Spawn of Darkness. This will be followed by a werewolf attack, and the second one will take place at the northern gate of the village. The road to the piers and the noble house is still closed, so this is the only way out of the village for now. Then you should move to the fork, and from it - to the left. Almost in the upper left corner of the map you will come across an abandoned camp. Obviously, it belonged to Kristoff, but now only shadow werewolves are found here. From the corpse of one of them you can take a good ring for a warrior.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

In the northeastern part of the map, you will be ambushed by the Children, and then you will come across the corpse of Kristoff, after which the First, a rather talkative Spawn of Darkness, will appear in front of you. After a short dialogue, he will move both your squad and his squad to the Shadow.

When the first surprise passes, the First will show dissatisfaction with a certain Mother and will run away to find a way out on his own, leaving a detachment of the Spawn of Darkness to cover his escape.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

What are you saying?

After dealing with them, you should make your way to the docks in the southeast of the map through all sorts of demons. All the loot that drops from them is intangible healing poultices and lyrium potions. After returning to reality they will disappear. But in the shadows you will constantly come across essences of Strength, Cunning, Constitution, etc., as well as deposits of lyrium, which will restore the mana supply of your magicians. After going around the docks, you will find yourself in a crypt. After you talk to the spirit of the girl, several skeletons will attack you. Then your path lies through the crypt - there is no other way to get to the rest of the map.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

The crypt itself is inhabited by skeletons (strange, right?), who love to attack in waves, and the exit from it is located to the south. At the village gate you will be met by a guard who will convince you that something is wrong here too. An armed and angry crowd will gather at the gates of the estate, led by the spirit mentioned by the guard. He will say his name - Justice, after which he will offer to help him deal with the oppressor baroness. You will be able to choose which side to stand on - the arrogant sorceress, or the innocent peasants dragged into the Shadow by her.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

You should not rush into the castle courtyard (you will not return back), but go around the surrounding area and activate the essences scattered around - this will come in handy. Returning to the gate, talk to Justice (if you decided to support him), or with the guard in the courtyard (if you decided to side with her). The opinions of your comrades regarding this decision will vary, but if you have high Sympathy, you can easily convince them of the correctness of your decision.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Come out, you vile coward...

Next, a battle awaits you, and you will have to fight with the First and either the peasants (on the side of the Baroness) or the Shadows (on the side of the Spirit). After defeating the First, the Baroness will not hesitate to sacrifice him and throw everyone back into Reality. Here the spirit of Justice, which suddenly transferred with you and inhabited the body of Kristoff, will be asked to join your group.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

A week after death, the skin looks absolutely terrible...

Justice is a shield protector, like Alistair.

Among other things, you can remove armor from the First’s body, which will be perfect for a new ally. You may want to replace the rest of his equipment: for example, give him the Kallak sword and Parth's shield, found on Dylan's bones in Kal Hirol, which both provide a bonus to stamina.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Move towards the castle. You will have new opponents - demons emerging from the portals opened by the Baroness into the Shadow. There are four of them in total, and each is guarded by the Risen from the Dead, and the Summoning Circle has as many as a couple of these creatures. Portals should be destroyed - they are susceptible to both magical and conventional attacks.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

The demon is able to cast Freezing and Crushing Prison on you, portals to the Shadow from where reinforcements will come out, and just hit you hard. You need to immediately destroy these portals and have spells and abilities ready to dispel magic. It is important to allow the demon to break through the gate to the estate's courtyard - this will affect the epilogue. When you deal with the demon, the story quest will be completed.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

After the battle, you will be able to talk with Justice and finally decide whether to take him as an ally or not, and the spirit may not join you if you previously supported the baroness.

Among other things, a key is removed from the demon's corpse, which opens the gate to the piers, where you can complete several extra-plot quests, and a magnificent ring for the magician.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

NON-PLOT QUESTS

Traces of love

Not far from the place where you meet the second pack of wolves, you will find a destroyed house, and in it - a skeleton, a bottle of poison and an angry letter from a certain Bonnie.

To the left of the village gate, in the chicken coop, you will find a new clue where you should go - look for a tree with illumination. It is located south of Kristoff's old camp, lit by a torch. A note hidden in its roots mentions a dead dragon. His skull is located in the central-western part of the map, but you can get there only after completing the story quest.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Opposite the skull, use Tab to find a new clue leading to the shore "opposite the Baroness's nest" - this is not far from the place where Kristoff's body lay. There you will find the next clue leading to the Summoning Circle. Under the tallest stone there will be a final clue that will direct you to a certain pond. This pond is located halfway between the Summoning Circle and the place where Kristoff died. There you will find a marriage proposal for Bonnie and a ring +2 to all stats. The quest is completed.

Lost Dragon Bones

You need to collect five dragon bones scattered throughout the Swamps and place them near the dragon’s skull. This can only be done after you return from the Shadow. The bones are located:

On the shore of the lake, near the southern Rift in the Veil, slightly to the east;

Somewhere in the middle between the southern rift in the Veil and the Summoning Circle;

In the ruins of a house southeast of Kristoff's body

At the dragon skull in the center of the western part of the location.

After collecting the bones, place them near the dragon's skull. This will open a passage to the north and bring to life a winged lizard with an unusual color and abilities. One of them is complete immunity to electrical damage.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

After you remove a quarter of the dragon's health, it will fly to the center of the area and turn into a stationary ball. Small balls will appear around it and begin to move towards the big one. By merging with it, they will restore the dragon’s health (its amount depends on the difficulty level), but until the last ball merges with it, or is destroyed, the dragon will not leave the ball form. To easily destroy the Spectral Dragon, freeze one of the balls with Paralysis or a Force Field, and calmly deal with the large ball - it will not attack back, although it will only receive non-critical damage.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

If the last small ball is destroyed or merges with the larger one, the Spectral Dragon will return to its normal form. Be careful - like all dragons, the Spectral loves to chew your party members. If this happens, it is useless to treat the unfortunate person - it is much easier to roll him into a force field and, while the dragon scratches his teeth, calmly beat him. He will return to ball form twice more, after removing the next quarter of his health. By destroying it, you will complete the quest. The reward is worth getting rid of him.

Burden of Guilt

In the northern part of the village ruins - just east of where you found the second "traces of love" clue - you will find an Old Letter. It describes the disgusting way in which one merchant made his living, and what habits the baroness has.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

The treasure cache is located in the center of the northern part of the map, almost on the border - not far from the gap in the Veil. Cleaning it up will complete the quest.

Holes in the Veil

While traveling through the Black Swamps, you encountered rips in the veil. Just in case, your companions will comment on this. You can close them from the Shadow - in the north of the map there are 3 altars guarded by demons of Desire.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Deal with them and activate the altars. This will close the holes, and in reality, in the places where they stood, chests with a set of Guardian armor will appear (the breastplate is removed from the first one after returning from the Shadow).

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Riddle of the stones

In the north-west of the Black Swamps there is a Summoning Circle made of six stone blocks of different heights. If you click them in the Shadow in the correct order, a line of fire will run from the stones to the center, and as a result, a hexagon will form around the center. You need to press like this:

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

After activation, several demons will attack you. Having dealt with them, activate the pedestal that appears in the center. In reality, a chest with an excellent Gladiator's Belt will appear in this place.

Damsel in distress

Near the crypt in the eastern part of the Black Swamps (in the Shadow), you will come across a girl who understands where she actually ended up.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

After a short conversation with her, the undead will attack you, and the girl will run into the crypt. After dealing with the skeletons, follow her - the girl will be waiting for you in the eastern room. . During the second conversation, you will realize that she is actually the demon of Hunger. She can be intimidated and there won't be a fight. Otherwise, you will have to fight with an orange boss and several thinner demons, and as a result, the spirit of the real girl will be freed from captivity.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

There are no special rewards for this, but there is an Essence of Magic in this room, and behind the lid of one of the coffins is an Essence of Physique.

The Lost Sword of Ser Alvard

The quest is given by Kendrick from the Trade Guild in Amaranthine. The sword itself is hidden in one of the boxes at the pier behind the baroness's house (available after killing her). You can keep the sword - the quest will still be considered completed after finding it.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

Master's Work

In the northwestern part of the village on the street you will find the corpse of a mabari. You can remove the veins from it for Wade’s quest “Heart of the Forest.”

At the site where you kill the Spectral Dragon, in a pile of stones you will find an ancient dragon bone for Wade's quest "Bone on the job."

Gifts for companions

Kristoff's medallion lies in his camp - for Justice.

Toy horse - in the north-eastern house in the village, in the same place as the village archives - for Ogren.

An ornate silver bowl for Velanna is hidden in one of the crates in the Wharf.

The waypost immediately after entering the location will start a conversation with Nathaniel

The boat hanging in the air, which you will see immediately after entering the Shadow, will trigger a dialogue with Ogren. To prevent him from reducing your influence, first agree that you have fallen into the Shadow, and then ask him to control himself.

Walkthrough of the addon "Awakening" - Black Swamps

As always - sincerely yours ^_^

Story quests

After receiving a new marker on your map after examining the map in Kristoff's room at the Amaranthine Inn, head to the Black Swamps. The swamps, as you might expect, are a rather dull, dark and ominous place. Just a couple of steps after arriving, you will be greeted by a pack of swamp wolves led by an elite alpha leader. A little further from the battle site there is a “talking” tree - if Nathaniel is in your group, he will tell you what he knows from the history of this area.

Another group of wolves - this time with two elite leaders - awaits you a little further. Several of them ambush you behind your back, so keep an eye on your mages.

An ambush of werewolves, including several elite ones, will also be waiting for you at the northern exit of the ruins. As usual, some of the werewolves will appear behind you.

The gate leading to the docks cannot be opened at the moment, so follow the only path available to you - in a northerly direction. Once out, follow the fork and keep left. You'll find an old camp - apparently Kristoff's - but it clearly hasn't been visited in quite some time. There, several elite Shadow Werewolves will attack you - from the corpse of one of them you can remove a good ring for a warrior. Go to the northeastern part of the map. When you are ambushed by Children (this may or may not be your first meeting with these cute creatures, depending on where you have been before) - this means that you are on the right path and almost at your goal.

Walk a little further and you will find Kristoff, and after that the First, one of the intelligent Creatures of Darkness, will speak to you. It doesn’t matter what or how you answer him - as a result, he will perform a magical ritual that will send you and him and his entire squad straight into the Shadow.

Having woken up, the First will express anger at a certain “Mother”, because of which he ended up in the Shadow with you, and will leave to look for a way out on his own, leaving you to deal with the rest of his squad - several Children and Genlocks. The Shadow, as you might expect, is full of demons of all shapes and sizes. You need to make your way to the docks - they are located in the southeastern part of the map. Go around the docks and you will come out to the door to the crypt. After talking with the spirit of the girl, who will invite you to hide in the crypt, you will be ambushed by skeletons.

Regardless of whether you want to hide from the enemy or not, you will still have to go through the crypt to gain access to the rest of the map.

Be careful in the crypt - the skeletons on the floor usually come to life when you get too close to them, and additional reinforcements crawl out of the coffins that are scattered around here to join them (editor's note: some people have to be woken up personally). The door to the surface is at the southernmost point of the crypt.

After talking to the guard at the gate, go to the castle gate. An angry crowd, led by the very spirit the guard told you about, is trying to storm them. The spirit will introduce itself to you as Justice and ask if you will join him against the Baroness.

In general, it doesn’t matter which side you take, but in any case, do not rush to go to the castle courtyard - you will not be able to return back. First, go around the area and activate the essences scattered around. Once you're sure you haven't missed anything, head back to the gate. Talk to Justice (if you decided to support the villagers) or with the guard in the courtyard (if you decided to support the Baroness).

Join the group that is closer to your beliefs and enter the fray. The Baroness and Justice are currently busy with each other - so you will have to fight the First and either the Shadows (if you sided with the peasants) or the peasants (if you supported the Baroness). At the end of the battle, you will suddenly find yourself back in the real world.

Once back in the Swamps, inspect Justice's equipment - you may need to replace it. From the corpse of the First lying nearby, for example, in addition to other little things, you can remove beautiful armor that will perfectly suit your new ally. Justice is a warrior with a shield and sword, almost a complete analogue of Alistair.

Head to the castle. You will notice that new opponents have appeared around - they appear from several Shadow portals opened by the Baroness. Each portal is guarded by an elite revenant. Destroy them. The portal can be attacked with weapons or magic just like any other enemy. There are four of them in total.

In the castle courtyard, you will have to deal with the baroness personally - or rather, with the demon that has settled in her soul. He looks like a particularly nasty ogre - but in addition to his enormous strength, he is also capable of casting spells - and seems to particularly prefer freezing and crushing dungeons. Keep spells and abilities that dispel magic at the ready. During the battle, the demon will open Shadow portals - destroy them immediately, or endless reinforcements will flow from them to the Baroness. The death of the demon will complete this quest.

After the battle, talk to Justice and decide whether you need him as an ally or not. (He may decide not to join you if you previously supported the baroness against the peasants.) Don't forget to examine the demon's corpse. Among other things, it contains a key that opens the gate to the docks, where you need to look for several extra-plot quests.

Non-plot quests

In a ruined house a few steps from where you met the second group of wolves, you will find an empty bottle of poison on a skeleton and an angry letter from a certain girl named Bonnie.

Continue on until you reach the ruins of a village. Turn left immediately after the gate. At the chicken coop you will find a "hidden key" with a hint where you should go next, namely to look for the next key by a tree with some kind of lighting. Exit the north gate and follow the path. At the fork, turn left. Just south of Kristoff's old camp, near a tree with a torch, you'll find another "hidden key" that mentions a dead dragon. You've probably already noticed the dragon bones scattered everywhere, and since the key talks about eyes, then, apparently, you need a skull. The Skull is located in the central-western part of the map, but you can only get there after you return from the Shadow by following the story quest "Shadows of the Black Swamps".

Opposite the skull in the next clue you will read about a place by the water “opposite the Baroness’s nest.” Go to where you found Kristoff's body. Near the shore of the lake you will find another clue - about “high stones”.

Go to the place marked on the map as the Summoning Circle. At the highest stone you will find the last key that will direct you to a certain pond. This refers to a small pond approximately halfway between the Summoning Circle and the place where you found Kristoff's body. Near its shore you will find a bottle, and in it - a letter with a marriage proposal and a ring that was intended for Bonnie (+2 to all characteristics). This will complete this quest.

In the northern part of the village ruins - just east of where you found the "hidden key" - you will find an Old Letter. It describes how a certain merchant earned his living in a not very honest way in the past. The chest with his reward is located in the north-central part of the map, almost on its border, next to one of the gaps in the Veil. Looting its contents will complete this quest.

While in the Black Swamps, you have already noticed that in some places the Veil has become noticeably thinner. Your companions probably commented on this phenomenon as you passed by. You can improve the situation when you fall into the Shadow. In the northern part of the Undead Black Swamp there are three points, each of which is guarded by several demons of desire. Deal with the demons and activate the devices they were guarding. This will patch up the holes in the Veil and allow you, among other things, to go into previously inaccessible areas of the swamps. In the chests that will appear in these places in reality in the Black Swamps after your manipulations in the Shadow, you will find parts of the excellent Sentinel set.

This quest does not appear in the journal and is similar to the quest "Tears in the Veil". You need to solve a small puzzle in the Shadow to get the prize in the Black Swamps.

In the northwestern part of the Undead Black Swamp, you will find six stone blocks set in a circle. When you press them in the correct order, a line of fire will run from them to the center. Activate them so that the result is a burning hexagon around the center. (Hint - after the first correct activation, activate the stone exactly opposite. After finding the third stone, activate the stone opposite again.)

As a result you will get this:
(click on the image to open the picture in full size)

After you outline the entire hexagon, several demons will attack you one by one. Deal with them and activate the pedestal that appears in the center of the circle.

In the chest that will appear at this place in reality, you will find an excellent Gladiator's Belt.

Near the crypt in the eastern part of the Undead Black Swamps, you will meet a girl who, unlike the other inhabitants of the area, seems to be well aware that she is in the Shadow, and not in reality. After a short conversation, the undead will attack you and they will flee into the crypt. Deal with the opponents and follow her. You will find the girl in the easternmost room. Further conversation will reveal that she is in fact the Demon of Hunger. If you decide to fight her, then be prepared to fight the orange boss and several of his assistants. If you successfully use the Intimidate option, she will change her mind about attacking you.

The quest will be completed in any case, but if you defeat the Demon of Hunger, this will free the ghost of a real girl from his captivity. True, this will give you little except moral satisfaction and some additional experience from killed opponents. You decide.

In the room with the girl you will find an essence of magic, and behind the lid of one of the coffins in the same room - an essence of physique.

Collect five dragon bones scattered throughout the Swamp. You will be able to collect them all only after you return from the Shadow, since some territories of the Black Swamps will be inaccessible to you before that.

The bones are located:

On the lakeshore almost directly east of the southernmost "Rip in the Veil" marker on the map;

Almost exactly in the middle between the markers on the map “Rip in the Veil” (the southernmost) and the Summoning Circle;

In the small ruins just southeast of Kristoff's body;

Docks (only available after defeating the Baroness);

At the dragon skull in the central-western part of the map (available only after returning from the Shadow).

Once you have collected all five, collect (activate) them from the dragon skull where you found one of the bones. The passage to the north will then open. Get ready to fight the dragon. He attacks with electricity, so drink the appropriate potions.

After you remove about 25% of the dragon's health, it will turn into a stationary ball. Small balls located around the large ball will begin to move towards it. Each time a small ball merges with a large one, the dragon will heal a certain amount of health (more the higher your difficulty level).

After all the balls merge into one, the dragon will return to its previous form. He will turn into a ball several more times after losing another 25% of his health.

Keep in mind that you can still damage the dragon - even in ball form, although in this form it is immune to critical hits. If you have a mage in your group with at least two spells like Force Field, Paralysis, or the Paralysis rune, then the battle can become very easy. Cast Paralysis or Force Field on one of the small balls, preventing it from merging with the dragon, but not damaging it. Let the rest of your comrades deal with the other balls, and then take care of the dragon. In ball form, he can't answer you - so just hammer on him until you take out all his health. And don’t forget to recast the holding spell on the small ball - if it merges with the dragon, it will immediately regain its previous appearance.

In the pile of stones after defeating the spectral dragon, you will find an ancient dragon bone, which Wade needs for the quest “Bone on the Job.”