Dragon Age: Origins Walkthrough - Orzammar - Bhelen's First Task

If you want to help Bhelen, you can talk to his agent, Vartag. He's in the Assembly Chamber by the entrance. You can just talk to him and accept his mission. It seems that Harrowmont has a dirty land deal in the works. You need to spread the word to the two bribed representatives before the vote. Now, if you want, you can go ahead and try to notify the Shaperate to learn that they're forgeries. If that matters for your role playing decision, then keep that in mind.

Step out and walk along the Diamond Quarter. Lady Dace is waiting in a little side alley near the exit to the Commons. You can give her the bad news, only to learn that Lord Dace is the only one that can void the deal. He's in the Deep Roads on a mission, so we've got a little bit of exploring to do. On the bright side, we've got early access to the Deep Roads thanks to her pass.

Move out into the commons and go into Tapster's Tavern. Lord Helmi is in the back area. Just talk to him and convince him to switch his support.

We still need Lord Dace's approval though. Move further through the commons and approach the group of guards watching the mine entrance. This is the access point for the Deep Roads. Before we go, you should stop by the nearby merchant and unload as much of your inventory as you can. There's an almost obscene amount of random loot in the deep roads. This is a good way to make some easy money in Dragon Age Origins. When you're ready, you can show the miners your pass to gain entry and then move inside. This is like the Denerim City Map. We only have one place to go though. Head on to Aeducan Thaig and get ready for a battle.

Head on down the road and turn into the tunnel. There's a group of darkspawn here, but it's nothing that you can't handle. There is an emissary though, so you should try to kill it first and then grind through the genlocks. Turn down the road and approach the next area. Stop though. This is a pretty tough fight. There are about six archers, an emissary, three genlocks, and a genlock alpha. It's easy to be overwhelmed. I suggest putting your party on hold near the entrance. They run out and attract the attention of the four darkspawn in front. Draw them back and ambush them. Save and then rush out. You should be able to overcome the rest of the darkspawn, unless you get hit with a few too many spells.

Note that the darkspawn emissary in here absolutely love to cast curse of mortality. This is horrible for a tank, since it prevents healing and does steady spirit damage.

Once they're dead, take a moment to look around. The only danger is a group of four more darkspawn. There's one emissary and three genlocks, so be careful not to trigger it before you're healed up. The area around here has some decent general loot, so check it out. The important thing is to grab the small bloody sack. There's a bag of limbs in it that we'll need for the side quest Asunder. We might as well grab it now.

All roads lead to Rome here, so start moving forward down one of the paths. I suggest the one with the darkspawn on it. Either way, you'll have to face a group of darkspawn, so it's your call. Travel along the road and you might meet a few deep stalkers. These little raptor things are a pushover at a decent level. I actually think that wolves are a bit tougher. Just about everyone in my group could kill one in three or four hits. They are a little dangerous in a group, but it's rare that they'll be able to get enough numbers.

Just a little bit further in is a large chamber with the remains of a city. Lord Dace is here with his war party and they're surrounded by some deep stalkers. Rush in and help them kill off this group. He'll call out that another wave is coming once you kill the last one. Stand your ground and kill off the second wave. Between all of Dace's warriors and your own party, this should really be a piece of cake. Talk to Lord Dace at the end of the battle to pass on the news. You can ask for a favor in return to get a discount in Orzammar. That's about it though.

If you're ready to leave, then agree to follow him out. If you want to stay, then say you're not ready. He'll leave on his own and you can explore the back chambers. There isn't much to say. You'll face a fair amount of deep stalkers as you move through the tunnels. There's a lot of random normal loot that's worth taking. The only really notable thing is that there is another large group of darkspawn in a connected tunnel that also links to the first chamber. Just use the ambush tactic to draw some away and make the fight manageable.

There's also a deep stalker nesting area with one tough leader. This is the only one that was actually able to kill someone. This matriach isn't tough herself, but does seem to know overwhelm. Just bash her a few times or freeze her to get some easy experience. Walk back out to the exit when you're ready to leave.

As a side note, there will probably be Harrowmont fanatics in groups of four throughout the city. They'll attack you on sight, but they aren't too tough. They are really vulnerable to magic and any decent tank should be able to shrug off the damage at this point.

You'll need to report back in to Vartag. He should let you talk to Bhelen at this point. You'll be teleported into the previously locked part of the royal palace. You can also do the quest for the Crows if you have it. If not, then you can come back later.