The Arborheart is dying, and Doireann has enlisted you to… well, to do her job for her. A substance known to the elves as “gwyfencha” can restore the Arborheart’s vitality, and through the magic of bilingual pawns you can discover that what the elves call “gwyfencha” is more commonly known as “scalecinder”, a byproduct of Battahli smithing. Unfortunately, Bakbattahl’s smithy is owned by a dwarf, and elves and dwarves don’t get along, so you’ll have to smooth the cracks of racial animus by providing the dwarf with an elvish dish he can’t resist in order to get what you need. This page will provide a walkthrough for the side quest Out of the Forest, Into the Forge in Dragon’s Dogma 2, including how to get the nutriabh and how to harvest enough scalecinder from Straggler’s Cave.

How to Start Out of the Forest, Into the Forge¶

This quest will begin as soon as the previous quest ends, and like in The Ailing Arborheart, much of the complexity and challenge in this new quest depends on how easy it is for you to travel between Sacred Arbor and Bakbattahl. If you have a Portcrystal in both locations, getting between the two is simply a Ferrystone away, but if not you’ll need to go by foot, which adds a lot of time and hassle to this quest.

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(1 of 3) Tell Doireann about the dwarf’s odd taste in elven cuisine, after which she’ll tell you to find the ingredients.

How to Get Nutriabh¶

Your first destination is to return to Doireann in Sacred Arbor, who will be taken aback at the suggestion that any living creature can find the vile concoction of nutriabh palatable. Dwarves, right? Anyways, she’ll make the dish - not like she has any better ideas - but wants you to go fetch the ingredients, a rotten apple and a rotten fish. Both of these ingredients are fairly common throughout Vermund:

• To get some fish, you don’t even have to leave Sacred Arbor, as the lower reaches of the town have water, and where there’s water, there’s often fish. Just descend to the watery lower part of Sacred Arbor and look for ripples - a fish is just a button prompt away.

• Apples are common throughout Vermund, found on small fruit-bearing bushes (they’re not tall enough to be called trees). Some enemies (like Goblins and Harpies) may also drop them.

In the very likely case you already have some fish (the type doesn’t matter) and apples, just head to the inn and withdraw one of each from your stash. If they’re already rotten, all the better, but if not, just put one fish and one apple in your inventory, find a bench, and pass the time until they rot. Once done, return to Dioreann and she will - with great displeasure and struggle - create some nutriabh. What a trooper. Unfortunately, the spirit of the venture has stirred Doireann’s latent wanderlust and she insists on accompanying you to Bakbattahl, so you’ll need to escort her a good distance across the map to your mutual destination.

A well-placed Portcrystal and a Wakestone will make this much, much less painful.

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(1 of 7) There are six Scalecinder deposits hidden in the Straggler’s Cave.

How to Get Enough Scalecinder in the Time Limit¶

Return to Brokkr’s Forge in Bakbattahl and present the pungent dish to Sara, who in turn will lead you to the cave where they toss their waste - including Scalecinder. Follow her west out of Bakbattahl, then northwest along a road until you reach Stragglers’ Cave, where Sara and Doireann will make a peace offering to the grumpy Brokkr. The surly dwarf will make a great show of his racist hostility before taking the nutriabh out for “disposal” (read: consumption) and it is during this window that Sara will encourage you to enter Stragglers’ Cave and search for Scalecinder. You have until Brokkr gets done consuming his meal to find as much Scalecinder as possible, which is around four minutes. Scalecinder looks like piles of whitish-yellow powder, and their locations are as follows:

• From the entrance head forward (east) until you reach a fork, at which turn north and follow the side passage to the end, smashing obstacles as necessary. You’ll find a pile of Scalecinder at the end of this tunnel.

• Backtrack to the main tunnel and follow it northeast until you reach a second fork to the south. Follow this side passage to the end, past a chest and a horde of rats, to find a second pile of Scalecinder at the end.

• Return to the main tunnel and continue east a very short distance but be sure to smash a collection of crates and a vase, under which is hidden a third pile of Scalecinder.

• Continue to the end of the cave, where you’ll find a platform with a ladder leading up to it. Search near some wooden debris along the southern end of this platform to find a fourth pile of Scalecinder.

• Head to the northern end of the platform and smash some crates and urns to find Scalecinder pile number five.

• Search the western edge of this chamber, where you’ll find some normal crates next to some indestructible ones. Smash the ones you can to uncover the sixth pile of Scalecinder.

The only enemies you’ll encounter are Spiders and Rats, which should be easy enough to exterminate. You do have to smash a good number of crates, however, so a vocation like a Thief will be faster than, say, a Mage. Still, you should have enough time to find all Scalecinder, with plenty to spare. You also don’t need to worry about any of the other loot in this place, as you can always return later.

When your time is up, you’ll be informed, then prompted to hand over the Scalecinder you’ve collected. If you got six Scalecinder, Doireann will be quite pleased and will ask you to visit Sacred Arbor to see The Arborheart once it has recovered. Fortunately, this isn’t necessary, as you’ll get your reward as soon as the conversation ends - a Warbler Capelet and 13,000G.

With that, you’re done with Doireann’s questline. If you return to Sacred Arbor she’ll likely be enamored enough with you to start requesting escorts, for what that’s worth.