Like many Dragon Age fans, I’m doing a replay before the new game comes out later in October. I’m on my third playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and even though I’m finally running the game on a computer that can support mods for nice-looking long hair and prettier clothes, something is missing from the ideal version of my Inquisitor. So I took it upon myself to track down one of the game’s most elusive items: the Ardent Blossom, a flower crown helmet that you only get after completing a series of unintuitive quests.
I only learned that this item existed on this most recent playthrough, and I discovered it by trawling the Dragon Age wiki. I became intent on getting my hands on it, especially since I’ve spent years drawing and commissioning art of my character wearing a similar flower crown, despite being completely unaware I could get one in the game. Since I’d already played through this game twice, I decided to disregard any logical plot progression this time, just to get my hands on the dang flower crown.
And finally, after sinking hours in and trekking across several different areas, my character can now twirl around with her beautiful (and actually pretty powerful) flower crown both in the game and on my phone wallpaper. All it took was… well…
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon
I mainly used the guide on the Dragon Age wiki (and some helpful Reddit threads) to find this helmet. First, I journeyed to an unmarked spot in the Emerald Graves region. Since the quest doesn’t activate until you do a very specific action (more on that in a bit), I estimated where to land based on a map I found on the Dragon Age wiki to find the exact spot. And so I found it, as foretold, beneath an elven mural and behind a thicket of bushes. There lay a tiny, tiny cave (the quest is, fittingly, called “The Tiniest Cave”), which looked more like a wee rock formation.
And then, I jumped on it 50 times.
Now, the directions I was following said “around 50” times and I definitely lost count around 15, so for my journalistic integrity, I’m going to note that it was truly “around 50” times. I spammed the jump button until a voice line was triggered. Finally, the quest popped up on my log.
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon
Then came part two: finding 10 Crystal Grace flowers.
These flowers are pretty rare in-game. I knew, vaguely, which maps they appeared on, but I had to consult the internet to find exactly where they were so I didn’t sink too much time into wandering the Hinterlands. Unfortunately, they were concentrated in a very bear-filled area of the map, which meant that while my character went off picking flowers, her party was out killing bears. We do what we must for the aesthetic.
Once all 10 flowers were in hand, I went back to the cave to deposit them. Then, the cave spat out another cryptic line: “The stairs! The stairs that go down. Way, way down. I’ll be there. You’ll be there.”
The clue is so vague, but according to the wiki, it points to a hidden cave in Emprise Du Lion, a completely separate region. It’s also one of the more confusing maps in the game, since there’s a ton of tunnels and varied topography in the mountainous landscape. Regardless, I made my way to that area, zipping through the main quest lines so I could get to that specific point deep on the map. I might as well thwart the Red Lyrium mining operation while I’m there, but really I was beelining to the bottom part of Suledin Keep.
Note: You do not actually need to beat the enemies in the Keep and claim it to get to this area. I didn’t realize that, so I wasted some time on that side quest.
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon
I’ve played this game twice before, and to be honest, up until my newfound and self-imposed mission, I was getting a bit fatigued with exploring the huge maps I’d seen before and checking off the quests that I’d already done. I still love Dragon Age: Inquisition, so this is no fault of the game, but rather my own craving for something new. The Ardent Blossom gave my trek through Thedas a new perspective. I’m even more excited for The Veilguard now, because my love for this world has been fully rekindled.
That being said, it was still a bitch and a half to find my way to the bottom part of the fortress, because even on my third playthrough, the mountainous areas of the game are still hard to read on the map. And from there, I had to find a specific juncture of fallen wood, jump on a platform, and enter an illusory wall to get into a strange tunnel.
Now, in a creepy dungeon, I could follow the instructions of the mysterious voice. Namely to go “down, way, way down.”
I went down so many flights of eerie, dark stairs that I lost count. Until I finally reached a tiny little room that was basically just a single platform of stone tile in complete and utter darkness…
Image: BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon
And there it was! My coveted flower crown!
But I wasn’t leveled up enough to actually equip it. Thankfully, that problem fixed itself after another main quest and several (probably more relevant to the main story) side quests. And now, finally, my Inquisitor is truly at peak form.
That is, until I can create her in the Veilguard character creator…
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be released Oct. 31 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
