The Bone Pit (quest)

The Bone Pit
Location	The Bone Pit
Start	Gamlen's House
End	Hubert (Hightown market)
Previous	Birthright
Next	Get Back to Work
Appearances	Dragon Age II

The Bone Pit is a secondary quest in Dragon Age II.

Acquisition

This quest appears on the Writing Desk at Gamlen's House during Act 1, after Hawke has completed the Birthright quest.

Walkthrough

Hawke is asked to speak with a merchant named Hubert in the Hightown market. Hubert has a mine outside the city called The Bone Pit. He had sent a crew of workers to the mine, and is concerned that he has not heard from them. He asks Hawke to travel there and check on them.

After arriving at The Bone Pit, Hawke can loot a nearby corpse for Remains of the Outlaw "Bearded Beast", which can be given to Arintal at the Docks for a reward. As Hawke reaches the next clearing the party will be attacked by looters. Afterwards, towards the southeast, Hawke can find an Elfroot. The codex entry The Enigma of Kirkwall is also nearby (required for the Archaeologist achievement).

Head north from where the encounter with the looters occurred and enter the Bone Pit Mines.

Upon entering the mines, Hawke will immediately be attacked by a group of Dragonlings, and a Dragon. To the north of the mine entrance is some Refined Lyrium. Get it, then head up the stairs to the south. When Hawke reaches the top of the stairs, the party will be attacked by another dragon and a group of dragonlings. Head up the stairs to the east. After reaching the top of the stairs and turning southward, Hawke will encounter more dragonlings. If Hawke proceeds slowly, the party can fight them a few at a time. Once through the door, go up the stairs and to the right. After fighting more dragonlings, loot the Deep Mushroom nearby. Continue up the stairs and through the tunnel to the south. Towards the end of the tunnel Hawke will encounter Jansen, a survivor of the dragon attack who warns of a "huge dragon" nearby.

Encounter with the Mature Dragon

Proceed south to enter The Bone Pit Ledge. As Hawke walks out on to the ledge, the party will be immediately be attacked by a Mature Dragon. This is a tough fight. Bring a Sword & Shield tank or at least two healers. The mature dragon drops the Dragon's Fang for the quest Herbalist's Tasks, along with some unique loot (see rewards).

Afterwards, return to Hubert in Hightown to inform him of the fate of his workers.

Results

Hubert will offer Hawke a share in the mine (the response does not affect the 3 reward s/he receives):

If Hawke accepts the offer, Hubert will assign the quest Get Back to Work. Accepting Hubert's offer also unlocks other quests related to The Bone Pit in future acts.

If Hawke requests to "be paid up front" it results in Varric: friendship (+5) and Aveline: rivalry (+5).

If Hawke does it "for the workers" it results in Aveline: friendship (+5).

Anders, Carver, Fenris, Isabela, and Merrill have no friendship/rivalry changes.

If Hawke rejects the offer ("No thanks"), Hubert will respond as if the "paid up front" dialogue was chosen. Hawke receives the Get Back to Work quest and gold, however, companions will react as if the "for the workers" dialogue was chosen with Aveline: friendship (+5) and no change for the others (PC with Patch 1.02, Xbox 360 with Title Update 1.02, and PS3).

Note that regardless of which dialogue options are chosen, Hawke will always end up getting a share in the mine.

Rewards

Unique loot found in the mines and/or on the ledge:

Gallows Slave Finger-Cuffs (x2)

Helm of Victory (x2)

Unique loot from the mature dragon:

Belt of the Chastened

Dragon's Fang

The March of Thunder

Swarm

3 from Hubert upon informing him of the events at the mine.

Notes

If seeking the Supplier achievement, be sure to grab the Elfroot in the eastern area of the Bone Pit before entering the mine. Within the mine, pick up Lyrium in the first room and Deep Mushroom up the first set of stairs after killing the third group of dragonlings.

Bugs

Sometimes when entering the final cavern, the game will hang on the loading screen and attempting to load the autosave will get a message that the save is corrupt. Loading a prior save seems to work.