The Trouble with Darkspawn is a side quest in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The Venatori, led by Servis, were excavating when they accidentally broke into darkspawn-infested tunnels. Servis has since fled the vicinity.
Acquisition[]
The quest is acquired by talking to Commander Rylen after claiming Griffon Wing Keep.
Walkthrough[]
The quest will highlight a search area, situated northeast of Griffon Wing Keep, patrolled by Darkspawn troops. Approach the center of this area and a second spot will be highlighted north of the first. In this location, The Inquisitor advance will be stopped by noxious green gas similar to the one encountered in Death Drink Spring (where the War table operation Crossing the Sulphur Pits was unlocked). Claiming the location, will unlock the war table operation Find the Source of Darkspawn.
Completing the war table operation will update the quest goal (Access the Tevinter ruins), and replace the noxious gases with a raised walkway leading north, to the Prison Ruins. The ruins hold the entrance to Coracavus's North Prisoner Entrance.
Inside Coracavus, the quest objective updates to Investigate the area. Optionally, head into the Holding Cells on the left. There, loot the chests and codex entries, and find the veilfire torch. Take the torch to the cell near the base of the stairs (next to a collapsed cage) where a body can be looted and a Spirit Rune Schematic (via a glyph) can be found on the floor.
At the far end of a long hall, the Inquisitor will find a hole in the prison walls, from which Darkspawn must have come through. Energize the hole to seal it, and the quest objective will be updated to Locate those responsible for the excavation.
Once the hole into the Deep Roads is sealed, continue exploring the prison. Beyond the Records Room, the Inquisitor will find a sealed door. The key is found on a corpse nearby, together with a crumpled note signed by Servis. Reading the note will update the quest objective to Track down Servis in The Western Approach.
Beyond the door, a short hall leads to the South Hall, where the Inquisitor will find a Giant. One tactic to defeat the giant is that he will not enter the Front Corridor. Thus, ranged and AoE attackers can run out into the courtyard, fire on the giant and run back into the hall. Repeating this will eventually lead to the giant falling over at which point he can simply be shot to death. The gate beyond him leads to the South Entrance of Coracavus, and the location where Echo Back Canyon Camp can be established in the Western Approach.
Servis is found further south, in Echoback Fort, with some more Venatori troops. When defeated, Servis will lie wounded on his back, and the Inquisitor can choose to let him die or take him to Skyhold alive to judge him via the Sit in Judgment. It is recommended to save before entering the fort as there is a glitch that will prevent you from being able to decide Servis' fate and will allow for the player to obtain the quest reward. In some cases this glitch can be overcome by choosing a different throne, using the Skyhold Customization workbench in the Undercroft, before sitting in judgment.
Sparing his life:
- Blackwall
Slightly Approves - Sera Slightly Disapproves
- Vivienne Slightly Approves
Letting him die:
- Blackwall Disapproves
- Sera Slightly Approves
- Varric Slightly Disapproves
Rewards[]
- 1934 XP
- Influence 400
- Power 3
Codex entries[]
Note texts[]
- Ancient List of Prisoners
- Barely Readable Unsent Letter
- A Blood-Spattered Note
- A Crumpled Note
- Elegantly Written Letter
- Faded Interrogation Notes
- Venatori Plans
Bugs[]
- If Echoback Fort is claimed prior to starting the quest, Servis may not spawn within, preventing the quest from being completed.
- If Servis does not spawn a possible solution would be to save the game prior to entering Echobank Canyon, then head to fort and check to see if Servis spawned within, if not load a prior save from Coracavus.
- After judging Servis, the quest will remain in the journal permanently with the current objective stating "Investigate the area", however the experience will still be granted to the player.
- After defeating Servis the dialog prompt will not appear, and he will remain slumped against the wall, unable to be spoken to.
- Possible solution 1: save and reload next to Servis after he's been defeated and the dialog prompt may potentially appear.
- Possible solution 2: after defeating Servis fast travel to an Inquisition camp, rest, and then return to the fort and attempt to interact with Servis.
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