Wending Wood

(1) As you enter the Wending Wood, you immediately spot bandits trying to ransack a caravan. They bolt at your appearance, and if you interact with the caravan, you notice that something else must have caused the caravan destruction. No human hand did that. As you approach the broken caravan, the "Trading Troubles" quest pops up. You'll finish it as part of "The Righteous Path" major quest.

(2) It's time to punish the bandit and scavengers that tried to loot the broken caravan. Turn left and you'll see the hoodlums up on the hill. Hit them at range and charge at the bandit leader with your melee fighters. Some of the scavengers will stay back and fire at range, but your range attacks are superior and will take them down shortly.

(3) Outside the bandit camp, take the northern road. Around the corner, a charred sylvan attacks two scavengers. The natural wildlife in the wood hates humans, and the two sides slug it out.

Regardless of which side you aid at first, the other side will turn on you and attack, so burn down the charred sylvan first and then pick off whatever remains of the scavengers.

(4) If you stay to the north and hug the cliff, you come to the bridge that leads into the larger northern section of the wood. If you explore the area around the south road, you'll run into more sylvans and bandits. You can also pick up extra loot from a chest in the southeast corner.

(5) Once you cross the bridge, a bandit runs down the hill in a panicked frenzy. He claims someone is hunting him down, and before he can fully explain himself, an elven mage appears and threatens you all. Her name, as you find out later, is Velanna, and she's terrorizing the humans because she believes they are responsible for an atrocity against her people. She warns you to turn back now or suffer the consequences.

(6) Climb up the hillside path and take out the bandits on the cliff. At the top, you reach the main intersection, which branches off into six main areas: the path leading back to the southern woods (which you just climbed up), a path winding down to the fire puzzle area (green 1, 2, and 3), the area adjacent to the granite quarry, the entrance to the Silverite Mine, a path leading to the western section of the wood, and a road leading south to the abandoned Dalish camp. Battle the charred sylvan and bandits that clog your way.

(7)Proceed to the western section of the wood. Work down to the southwest corner as you fight more charred sylvans. If you keep to the open area in the middle of the western section you'll only have to battle the sylvans before you reach the lean-to camp.

(8)A militia survivor rests here under a lean-to. Somehow he's been affected with a darkspawn disease—he's dying and decomposing before your eyes. He does, however, have enough wits about him to clue you in on the truth behind the caravan attacks. The elf Velanna has been misled. Darkspawn killed the Dalish people and may have kidnapped Velanna's sister, Seranni.

The darkspawn planted evidence to make it look like the humans did the deed. Never having known a darkspawn capable of such wit, the elf mage assumed that humans are to blame. At the end of your conversation, darkspawn surround you. It's an ambush.

Send your toughest party members at the hurlock alpha and hurlock emissary, and follow with a punishing talent/spell on the hurlock emissary, such as Crushing Prison, to keep it from casting AoE. Clear up the remaining genlocks and hurlocks after the two main darkspawn die.

(9)Return up the hill toward the Dalish camp. Velanna intercepts you with two wild sylvans and a group of enraged wolves, refusing to believe your "lies" about the humans. Fight through the wild sylvans and confront Velanna up in the Dalish camp.

Convince her of the truth about the darkspawn and invite her to join your party. She will add her mage abilities to the group and point you in the direction of the Silverite Mine to track down the darkspawn responsible for these crimes.

(10)The Silverite Mine lies just down the hill from the Dalish camp. Except, a large group of darkspawn now guards the entrance. Concentrate your ranged attack on the ogre and let it charge toward you. You may slay the ogre before it reaches you if your damage is high enough; if not, you'll wound it severely and take it down with a melee strokes. Then take on the rest of the darkspawn and pave a path to the Silverite Mine.