Acquiring the Wardstone - main quest BG: Siege of Dragonspear Guide
Last update: 02 June 2016
After arriving to the Troll Claw Woods, you will find yourself in a new Flaming Fist encampment (M9,1). A conversation with Bence Duncan and Captain Corwin will start automatically. You'll learn about the activities of Caelar Argent Crusade, which took the Boareskyr bridge, and encircled the Bridgefort. Go north and stay on the main road, if you want to avoid frequent monster fights (you should only have to defeat a group of hobgoblins). After closing in on the northern exit (M9,6), the party will meet Jaheira and Voghiln. They can join the party (it is not needed for the described task), or talk about the ways of getting to the fort. You will learn about the existence of the temple of Bhaal, and that the magic Wardstone can become useful in order to reach the besieged fort. You can now move to the edge of the map and choose Forest of Wyrms (M10 map), because the stone is in that location.
After reaching the Forest of Wyrms you have to move through the forest. The current target is the entry to the cave in the north-eastern corner of the map (M10,3). The party will probably meet few groups of monsters. You have to watch out for wyverns, as they are durable and deal serious damage. Additionally, those monsters can poison your party members, so have an antidote ready. After entering the cave, you will find yourself near the den of Morentherene (M10,4). The dragon should be asleep, and the quest doesn't require you to fight it. The best solution is to sneak past the dragon, and move as fast as you can for the passage leading to Bugbear Caverns (M10,5)
After entering the caverns, start with eliminating the first group of monsters (Bugbears). Once you emerge victorious, go south, but be careful - from that moment, you will encounter traps. Further along the way, you will face the monsters' leader - Snorgash. No matter what dialogue options you choose, a fight will ensue. Luckily, Snorgash is not a tough enemy. Finish your walk to the new passage (M10,7) where you will meet a single cultist. You can attack him or let him go. Choose the passage leading to the ruined temple of Bhaal.
The first room of the temple is a prison (M10,8), where you can talk with Keherrem and Madele, and unlock the side-quests connected to those characters(The Missing Patrol and The Eyeless Priestess - their descriptions are in the chapter on optional tasks from M10 location). Notice the closed doors in the central part of the prison (M10,12). They cannot be opened by a thief, so you have to go to the south-west. You can take a peek in the small rooms along the way (watch out for the strong invisible monsters in one of them !), but it is not required for the said quest.
Our destination is a room with a huge mural on the wall (M10,11), in which a dragonlike creature, Ziatar, resides. After a short talk, a fight with Ziatar and her helpers will commence. In particular, watch out for the strong fiery attacks of Ziatar. It could pay off to immunize your party before the fight commences. After killing Ziatar, search the remains. You will find two keys - Jail Key, which can be used to free the people from the prison (aforementioned side-quests), and the Ritual Room Key. Use it open the aforementioned eastern door (M10, 12).
Note - if you want, you can kill the cultists from the neighboring rooms before the encounter. They won't come to help her after the fight begins.
In the ritual chamber (M10,13), you will be forced to do a tough fight with the monster Neothelid. The biggest challenge connected to this fight is that the monster, aside from the melee attacks, can use magic. One of its deadliest attacks is the spell of domination, which can cause the party members to be charmed, and in effect, turn against their team members. Try to dispel such effects as fast as you can, especially if an important character was charmed. Once you deal with the enemy, go through the south-eastern corridor.
The Wardstone can be acquired in two ways. If you are in a hurry, open the first encountered door, which lead to the Priestess Akanna chamber (M10,14). When you attempt to talk to her, you will notice that she had lost her mind. Akanna will attack the party, and in effect, you will be forced to murder her . Once you've done that, search her remains, and take the Wardstone (above screenshot)
If you want to avoid killing Akana, you need to continue exploring the temple. Go to the south-west and keep to the main corridor. The target of the journey is the reliquary (M10, 18). You will find Darskhelin, who controls the minds of the other people in the temple. You will be forced to kill him. The bad news is that he has a guard. Try to make few elements of his guard leave the room (especially Jhan, who is a magic wielder) and attack them when they are away from Darkshelin. When it comes to the main monster, try to immunize, or at least regularly heal the team from the spells connected with mind-control and telekinesis.
Once you kill Darkshelin, go to the Akanna's chamber. Now you are able to talk to her. During the conversation, inform her of your actions. You will be asked to leave, but you'll receive 200 gold and Wardstone as reward for killing the monster mind-controlling the temple inhabitants.
No matter your actions, leave the temple. After reaching the surface, open the world map. Go to Boareskyr Bridge (M11). After reaching the destination, ignore the crusader camp (M11,2), because even if you are allowed to enter it, you won't enter the fort from his side. Instead, go north. The target of the journey is the teleportation circle (M11,4), seen on the above screenshot. Near the circle, there is a numerous group of goblins. Defeat the monsters and place the whole party near the circle. Because you have the Wardstone, after clicking on the circle you will be automatically teleported to the inside of the fort (M11,5). Here, listen to Khalid talking about the situation in Bridgefort. The further walkthrough is on the page with the description of the main quest Crossing the Boareskyr Bridge.