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The Cobbled Swan Case is a main quest inDragon Age: The Veilguard. You will need to reach Dock Town to speak with Threads, who want your help in freeing their leader, Makal Damas, who has been abducted by the Venatori. You will need to push through the Venatori forces, free Thread prisoners, and eventually reach Damas.
There are also some hidden Treasure Chests scattered throughout the marketplace. This guide goes over everything there to know about learning the fate of Threads’ leader, Makal Damas, at the end of The Cobbled Swan Case quest. Let’s dive in.
Meet Neve At The Threads' Hideout
Once you reach Dock Town, follow the objective marker tomeet Neve right outside the Threads’ hideout— onthe Side Alley Bridge. Speak with Elek Tavor and Cida Ciconia tolearn about the abduction of Makal Damas, the leader of the Threads. And to the surprise of no one, the Venatori are behind all this. We also learn thatDamas is being held hostage in the Thread Market, which is our next stop. Before heading out,grab the Codex Entryfrom the adjacent room.
Neve is mandatoryfor this quest, so you will only be able to choose one more companion of your liking.
When you are ready, head outside, and follow the objective marker to see the route to theThread Market sealed by the Venatori. To progress forward, you will need todeal with a few Venatori Cultists. At this point, they should not pose much of a threat. Remember touse Charged Attacks to get rid of the shields. Once everything is taken care of, make your way to the Thread Market.
Shortly after reaching the market, you will see theVenatori using the Blood Magic to control the Threads. In order to break their control, you will need todefeat the Venatori Magesin the area. There are alsoa few Treasure Chestshere, but we will get to them later.
Head all the way to the end todeal with the Venatori and destroy the red crystalsto remove the red barrier where you will find a door leading to Makal Damas. Instead of going there, explore the area for a few rewards.
First Chest
The first Treasure Chest isinside the area next to the green symbolin the main street.Pull the leverto head inside, anduse Neve’s Frost Binding abilityto open the door inside.Head up the ladder to reach another leverthat controls two gates simultaneously. This is a small puzzle that you will need to solve.
You will notice that when you pull the lever, one gate closes and the other one opens. To reach the Treasure Chest, however, you need to open them both. Open the first gate,use Neve’s Frost Binding on the second gate, andpull the lever so that both gates are closed. Now,jump down to remove the Frost Binding, and interact with the lever to open both the gates.
Before jumping forward,turn around, andlook through the destroyed wall to use Neve’s Unbind Wardsto remove the blue barrier. Once done, get to the area from the main street tocollect theDream-Inspired Statue Memento.
Jump ahead tocollect Shadow’s Graspbelt. Use theLyrium Dagger on the nearby Gaatlok Barrelto detonate it, and destroy the nearby wall. Drop into the new section toget Spellbound Longsword from the Treasure Chestand theThread Payment Records Memento.
Second Chest
The second Treasure Chest is on theopposite side of this area—next to the blue symbol. To access it,head up the nearby ladderanduse Neve’s Frost Binding ability through the holein the wall. Once done, activate the lever to find theSkirmisher’s Roundin the chest inside.
Third Chest
Thefinal chest is on the left side, rightbefore reaching Damas. Unlike the other two, this one does not require any puzzle-solving.
How To Defeat Makal Damas
Enter the door tomeet Damas under Aelia’s influence. After a brief cutscene, you will need todefeat the Possessed Damas. He isvulnerable to Frostandresistant to Fire. Since we have Neve in our party, using herIcebreakeras well asBlizzardshould deal a lot of damage.
Damas is pretty agile, and canmove around the arena fairlyquickly. Despite all that, it is a fairly simple fight, which should give you little to no trouble, especially if you are good at exploiting his weaknesses. Once defeated, you will get another cutscene where you will need tomake a choice:
No. We’ll find a better way.
Neve Disapproves.
Regardless of what you decide to do, you willhead back to the Lighthousefor a conversation with Neve. Once over, you will get 2,500 XP,Old News Clippingfor Neve, 400 Gold, +100Shadow Dragons Strength, andan increased bondwith Neve, Davrin, and your quest companion.
