Elves in Dragon Age have been cruelly treated by humans (a dynamic which doesn’t get much attention in Dragon Age: The Veilguard), but before being scattered and oppressed by various human nations, the elves were subjugated by their own gods. Despite the misremembered myths of their fallen gods, the elves haven’t flocked to the liberated Evanuris, and for good reason - after suffering setbacks at the hands of The Veilguard, the Evanuris have returned to their old habits, preying on their descendants for a quick power boost. This page will provide a walkthrough for the main quest Unwanted Guests in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Page Breakdown¶

Starting Unwanted Guests¶

Complete the main quest Fire and Ice and at the end you’ll overhear the Evanuris talking about one of their schemes unfolding in Arlathan. This gives you a lead you can’t ignore, starting the quest Unwanted Guests when you reappear back at The Lighthouse. To get the ball rolling, travel to Arlathan Forest and talk to Irelin and Strife at the Veil Jumper’s camp and they’ll confirm Venatori activity in the area.

Find the Venatori¶

To start things out, fast travel to the Ruins Reach beacon and from there head northeast to the Shadowy Grove, where you’ll find some Venatori. This is a small squad consisting of a centurion, a mage and some soldiers - nothing you haven’t defeated numerous times by now. Dispatch them, then find some letters on a crate between two tents in the center of the search area to find a lead to a more dire Venatori presence in Arlathan Forest.

Find the Dalish Camp¶

Now fast travel to the Mystical Tower beacon along the northwestern edge of Arlathan Forest… or rather, the northwestern edge of what you currently have access to. Here you’ll find a Veil Jumper named Galadar, who will tell you the obvious - Venatori are about. We say it’s obvious because you can overhear some Venatori fussing over a barrier. Head into a tunnel to the southwest and defeat a small squad of Venatori to spot a barrier that the Venatori were too dense to penetrate. You, however, are smarter, but to humor you we’ll still include the solution.

Solve the First Barrier Puzzle¶

You’ve got a barrier blocking a doorway and no power crystals - the usual suspects - lying around. There are, however, three pairs of runes above the doorway the barrier has sealed, and these vertically-oriented, squiggly pairs of runes are the solution to getting the barrier down. Along the side of the room you’ll find copies of these runes along the wall - interact with copies on the wall that match the runes above the barrier (the order doesn’t matter) and when all three correct runes (out of a possible six) the barrier will fall. The locations of the correct runes are as follows:

• Southwest
• Northeast
• Northwest

You won’t get any visual cues that you’re making progress, but your companions should cheer you on as you make progress. Once the barrier is down, exit to the west, then south.

Rescue the Dalish¶

Just beyond the barrier you’ll find a sacked Dalish camp, still swarming with Venatori, this time led by a pair of Orbiting Venatori Mages, along with the standard mix of Centurions and Soldiers. Defeat the cultists and watch out for the arcane orbs the mage can conjure, then loot a chest along the northeastern corner of the Ransacked Camp.

Venture south from the camp to find some broken bridges crossing the river. Looks like you’ll need to find another way across. Follow the coastline northwest towards a waterfall where you’ll find a power crystal powering a barrier. You can snatch the crystal and take it back to one of the collapsed bridges, socket it in a receptacle and cross… but first, explore the cave beyond the barrier once it falls to find another large chest waiting for you.

Cross the bridge and head through an arch in some ruins just beyond the river to find another chest hiding from you, then work you way southeast, southwest through a Venatori barrier, and finally northwest to reach the main host of Venatori still in the area.

The initial forces don’t appear that numerous - a mage, a centurion and some soldiers, but more lurk in the ruins upstairs to the southeast, and they will join the fray sooner rather than later. When all is told you’ll end up fighting nearly a dozen Venatori, including executioners and several mages, the latter of which are content to sit atop the stairs and pelt you with ranged attacks from afar. We’re keen on rushing the stairs and trying to kill some of the mages as quickly as possible to make the fight less annoying.

Vanquish this absolute mob of Venatori, then search about for treasure - there’s quite a lot of it about, so don’t be in any rush to hunt for any surviving Dalsh just yet. First head to the eastern set of stairs and look northeast to notice a cracked wall. Look atop the wall to find some explosive barrels, detonate them with a ranged attack to destroy the wall, then search inside to find a chest and The Days of Death memento (+50 Caretaker Power). Next head upstairs and search under a shelter to find another chest.

The Dalish you need to rescue awaits to the southwest, but keep ignoring them and turn your attention to the east, where a Venatori barrier blocks the way. Destroy the crystal to lower the barrier, head downstairs, and go through some doors to the southeast, where you’ll find a side chamber. Go downstairs and turn right (southwest) to find some drakestone blocking your path - melt them, then loot the chest beyond. Now that you’ve plundered this treasure, backtrack to the Venatori barrier (use “Stone Song” to move a stone block so you can climb back up, then head southwest to find another rune puzzle!

Solve the Second Barrier Puzzle¶

This puzzle plays out much like the last one - there are three rune pairs above the barrier, which correspond to runs spread across the walls of the chamber. Interact with the runes on the walls matching those above the door in any order and the barrier will vanish when all the runes above the barrier have been elected. This time, however, there’s an additional complication - there’s a space between some of the runes above the barrier! Sure enough, look at the floor near the barrier and you’ll find a fallen pair of runes - this puzzle has four pairs of runes you need to activate! Their locations are as follows:

• Southwest
• East
• West
• South

Search for Clues¶

Bring the barrier down and talk to the Dalish Villager beyond, then backtrack to the northeast, where you’ll need to search for clues as to where the Venatori took the rest of the Dalish. Examine some bodies in the rune room and in the room beyond - the body of a Venatori mage yields some kind of glass, which is odd. A note near the chest under the shelter you looted earlier doesn’t yield any useful information, but search a box atop some (unlootable) chests to the north and you’ll piece together the clues you’ve gathered.

Talk to Strife and Irelin, who conveniently show up nearby to complete the quest, earning 5,000 EXP and a whopping +600 Veil Jumper’s Strength. This ends Unwanted Guests and starts Grim Bonds, a transitional quest that just requires you to return to The Lighthouse for more chatter with Irelin and Strife before the next major main quest [Blood of Arlathan] begins.