The Sword of the Beresaad

“I call her Asala, the soul, my soul...” ―Sten

The Sword of the Beresaad
Start	Sten
End	Dwyn
Rewards	Asala, 'The soul'; Sten approval - between 18 and 26
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins

The Sword of the Beresaad is a companion side quest given by Sten of the Beresaad, the Qunari party member.

After Sten's approval is at least 75, he will discuss why he was in the cage in Lothering. The Qunari will explain his mission to Ferelden, offer his views on his culture and people, and how he came to be locked up. It turns out his company was wiped out by darkspawn near Lake Calenhad; Sten was left for dead. When he was revived by a farming family, he found himself without his sword, a vital part of his Qunari identity; he will never be able to return home without it. In his panic over the loss, he went into a mindless rage killing his rescuers. Instead of evading capture, Sten turned himself in; surviving as a swordless Qunari warrior would be worse than any consequence he might face as a mass murderer.

Walkthrough

1. Offer to help Sten find his sword.
2. Head to Lake Calenhad Docks, the last place Sten remembers having the sword.

   

   Scavenger location

   

   Scavenger

3. Confront the scavenger, near the exit to the world map of the dock area, who lets you know that he bought acquisition rights to this spot from another looter, a red-haired human, named Faryn who sells in the open market near Orzammar.
   • You might have to enter the Spoiled Princess in order to find the Scavenger
4. Travel to Frostback Mountain Pass to find Faryn and learn that he sold the sword to a dwarven mercenary named Dwyn.
   • If Sten is in the party, there are some interesting conversational options. For example: "I'd give it to him if I were you, Faryn" followed by "Where is it now?" and "If you're lying, you do know we'll be back" nets (+2).
   • If he is not in the party, you have the opportunity to blackmail the looter for 3.
5. Map to Redcliffe Village and enter Dwyn's House, near the General Store.
6. You have five choices:
   • Intimidate the dwarf into giving up (easy with 3 points in Coercion).
   • Pay 6sovereigns for the sword (2 with a successful persuade/intimidate).
   • You can wait until after you've completed the battle of Redcliff when Dwyn's house is empty to retrieve the sword. If you have already spoken to Faryn when you enter the house, the chest in the house will be open and not require a key to open.
   • Kill Dwyn and loot his corpse.
   • With Sten in the party and the right dialogue choice, the mercenary will turn over the sword without fuss.
7. One way or another, you will get a strongbox key that opens the chest in the back of the house. Open it to find Sten's Sword.
   • Note: The sword may also appear on the Other tab in your inventory as a Gift you can give to Sten.
8. Gift the sword to Sten. (The quest item will be removed from your inventory and be replaced by Asala.)
   • To gain the maximum approval, choose terse dialogue options acknowledging his thanks and the importance of him helping to combat the Blight.
   • Alternatively, you can suggest that he can return home and he will leave the party permanently.

Alternatives

• If you killed Dwyn before you receive Sten's quest, the chest will spawn appropriately in his house after you have spoken to Faryn.* But after speaking to Faryn the quest will not update like in the bug situation, however the chest will be available and the the quest can thus be completed.
• Sometimes, after talking to Faryn, your journal will not update until you reach Redcliffe.
• If you get the quest before The Attack at Nightfall begins, the dwarf will hand over the sword directly (without need to visit the strongbox).
• It is possible that Dwyn may have died while helping the Warden in the quest The Attack at Nightfall. In that case, a chest containing Sten's sword will still spawn and can be opened without a key.

Results

• Depending on your dialogue choices, Sten's approval will rise between 13–26 ps3ps3 points or +16 pc.
• You receive the Asala sword.
• Sten's dialogue changes slightly after the climax in Denerim.

Bugs

• It is possible to get the key from Dwyn (through intimidation or Sten's presence) before speaking to Faryn. However, the chest will not spawn appropriately. Head back to Frostback pass to speak to Faryn and follow the walkthrough from step 4.
• It is possible to bring up the sword when talking to Dwyn before you talk to Faryn.
• It is possible that the box will spawn but is not clickable, although you received the key. This seems to happen if you persuaded Faryn to lower his price for the information on the sword. You can resolve this just as the other bug: simply travel back to Faryn and choose another dialogue option as they will still appear.
• It is possible that after talking to Faryn the journal will not update the conversation and you will not be able to talk to Dwyn to receive the sword. If you leave Faryn and return back to him he will "swear" that he told you all he knows but the journal still assumes that you need to talk to him and the quest is not able to finish. Go to the Dwyn's house anyways the quest may continue itself. This also happens if you complete the landsmeet quest before you talk to the scavenger. When you arrive to Redcliffe, both the castle and the village are attacked by the darkspawn and no houses remain to find Dwyn and the sword.
• On PC version it is possible that the conversation with Dwyn gliches and persuasion check determines what end result you get. Thus skipping most of the Dialogue. (tested and tried on PC version always gliching after selecting "Name your price" option followed by "Six? That's Crazy!")

Notes

• It is not possible to do this quest after The Landsmeet
• A dialogue choice when talking to Faryn is "Sten tear his arms off", a reference to the movie 'The Princess Bride', when Inigo says "Fezzik, tear his arms off" when questioning the Captain of the Guard about the gate key.
• Strangely enough, after gifting Asala to Sten, during the dialogue is the only time he ever actually seems to smile.
• Selling it for cash has no game impact; it will not affect Sten's behavior or dialogues nor will it add additional Codex entries.
• In the PC version of the game (at least) it is just a gift called "Sten's Sword", however, if you gift it to Sten, it will become usable (but unique to him).