Kal Hirol: Knotwood Hills

Follow this walkthrough for Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening to navigate Kal Hirol in Knotwood Hills, defeat Darkspawn, and find hidden loot like Ancient Boots and a Whetstone.

Alright, let's get through Kal Hirol in Knotwood Hills. You'll start by moving forward to the View of Kal Hirol and heading down the ramp. After listening to Jukka's speech, just keep moving down the path. You'll run into some Darkspawn, so take care of them. Once you've cleared them out, make your way to the western corner and grab whatever's in the crate. Then, it's time to cross the bridge to the north. Be ready, because you'll encounter some Deep Stalkers there.

Once you've dealt with the Deep Stalkers, check the vase and the ancient dwarven crate nearby. You might find some Ancient Boots in there! After that, push on to the top. More Darkspawn will attack, so defeat them. Keep an eye out to the right of the opening you find; there's a crate with a Whetstone inside.

Enter the northern area and prepare for a new type of Darkspawn: the Childer Grub. Take them down, loot their corpses and any nearby vases. Now, if you happened to bring Sigrun along, she might have mentioned a secret entrance. Look on the west side for a Hidden Switch located in a statue's mouth. Activating this will open the door. Either way you get there, your next stop is the Main Hall.