- See Heart of the Forest (staff) for the staff.
Heart of the Forest is a subquest of A Master's Work. In the Wending Wood you can find Heartwood from The Old One, a wild sylvan. Bring the Heartwood to Wade with four other items and he will craft either a shield or a bow.
Walkthrough
After collecting the Heartwood from the Old One in the Wending Wood, return to Vigil's Keep and speak with Wade. He can craft an item from the Heartwood but needs some extra materials. You need to bring him:
 Heartwood
|
Taken from a boss, The Old One |
 Oil
|
Found in the Crown and Lion Inn, as soon as you enter it is in the room on your right. |
 Catgut
|
Found on a dead mabari dog in the Blackmarsh. |
 Flawless Ruby
|
Bought from Master Henley or found on the corpse of the Golem master in Kal'Hirol. |
 Grandmaster Lightning Rune
|
Must be crafted (from 2 x Master Lightning Rune, 1 x Blank runestone, 4 x Etching Agent - see Runecrafting) or carried over from an imported character. |
Once all the materials are gathered, return to Wade where he will give you a choice for either a longbow or kite shield, both of which are tier 9.
Rewards
Either:
Heartwood Shield or 
Heartwood Bow
Notes
- If only one shield is required, Partha is better than obtaining the Heartwood Shield and also gets a set bonus with Kallak.
- For Arcane Warriors using weapon-and-shield, the Landsmeet Shield may be more suitable than obtaining the Heartwood Shield. Although its stats are slightly inferior to the Heartwood Shield, the Landsmeet Shield grants 50 extra mana plus 30% protection against electricity. Electricity damage drains mana.
- It can also be noted that Far Song is sometimes considered better than the Heartwood Bow. Misery and Bregan's Bow (Awakening DLC) are also worthy considerations.
Bugs
- If you obtain the Heartwood and return to Master Wade before completing one of the main plot quest lines, Wade will have a quest "arrow" over his head but will not discuss the heartwood. This is because the entire "A Master's Work" quest will only become available after completing any one of the main plot quests.