Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dark Arisen: Sage’s Wisdom Walkthrough (All Three Riddles)

After you track down the Sage in the frozen north of Norgan, she turns out to be a Sphinx, and she will not hand over the knowledge you came for until you pass three trials. Each one is a riddle, but you do not answer them with words. You answer them by fetching a specific object and placing it in front of her. That means two tough monster fights and one errand back to a place you have already been.

Quick answer: Complete all three riddles by bringing the Sphinx a Mournful Giant’s tusk (Body), a Frozen Wyrmslife Crystal (Soul), and a Decorative Brooch (Will), then return to Polyeidus.

How the Sage’s Wisdom riddles work

The Sphinx poses three conundrums at once, each meant to teach you what truly makes up a life. You can work on them in any order, and you do not have to finish one before starting another. What you cannot skip is the item delivery. Simply killing the right monster or spotting the right object does not count. The riddle only clears when you physically present the proof to her at the Shrine of Wisdom.

Before you set off, talk to Polyeidus at the Norgandian Settlement. He offers hints toward all three trials and later points you where to go for the last one. Each solved riddle pays out 20,000 gold and 25,000 experience, and a Sphinx treasure chest behind her opens for every answer you deliver.

Both monster fights happen inside permanent blizzards that drain stamina and apply Chilled. Carry at least five Heatstones and plenty of healing before either battle.

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Riddle of the Body: defeat the Mournful Giant

This riddle asks you to greet the dawn where rest comes easiest in Norgan, then seek out a giant that cannot feel its own pain and claim a token of its being.

Head to the Norgandian Inn and speak with Dwayne. Keep talking until he brings up the giant. He recognizes the creature from stories his father told and promises to pass along anything he learns.

Rest at the inn until morning. A mighty roar wakes everyone, which is the “giant’s lament” the riddle described. A short cutscene shows the beast rampaging north of the village.

Follow the quest marker north toward the mountainside. You will pass a dead giant and meet Dorin near the entrance to the Nival Gorge Collapse. He hands over a couple of Vitalic Drench and a Regeneration Elixir before the pursuit continues up the cliffs.

Push up the slope and fight the Mournful Giant. Stick close to the left wall on the way up, since its roar can trigger an avalanche that knocks you down. The giant swings a huge tree branch and has a breath attack that freezes anyone caught in it, so pull trapped pawns clear fast. Grab onto its back to rip out the torn blades lodged there for extra damage and a stagger, and break its tusks to topple it for a window of heavy hits.

With the giant down you receive the Mournful Giant’s tusk. Return to the Sphinx and present it to clear the Riddle of the Body.

Riddle of the Soul: beat the Fimbl at Beorcan Stronghold

For this one the Sphinx wants the frozen lifeblood of a “red dragon that might have been,” found inside a blizzard that never fades. That points you straight to the Beorcan Stronghold, the same frozen keep from earlier in the story. The endless storm there is being caused by a dragon called the Fimbl.

Travel to the Beorcan Stronghold. Do not head through the locked main gate. Instead, stand at the entrance and move left along the outer wall, past the frozen soldiers. Near the wooden logs there is a hidden opening buried under the snow.

Strike the snow or walk across it to reveal the entrance, then descend the ladder. Make your way through the room, go up the next ladder, and continue until you come out on the keep’s opposite side beside a riftstone. Ahead, the Fimbl is waiting at the courtyard’s upper end.

Defeat the Fimbl. It slams the ground to send out icicle waves, flies up to call down lightning and ice shards, and launches a wide icicle attack once its health drops low. Stagger it and strike the heart on its chest when it opens up. A mage casting Fire Boon on your party’s weapons speeds the fight up considerably.

If the fight drags on into its final health bars, the Fimbl unleashes a hailstorm that steadily drains your whole party’s health. Push for the kill quickly, or bring relic gear that resists ice and hailstorm damage.

The dragon drops the Frozen Wyrmslife Crystal and the blizzard inside the stronghold lifts for good. Carry the crystal back to the Sphinx to answer the Riddle of the Soul.

Riddle of the Will: recover the Decorative Brooch

The last trial asks for an article carrying “the will to defy ruin,” and it is far easier than the other two. No new boss is involved. Polyeidus explains that the clue points to the woman you met at the mountain stronghold, which means a return trip to where you first fought the Fallen Dragon.

Travel back to the Mountain Stronghold where the earlier dragon battle took place. Using the Rivercave Campground Portcrystal cuts down the walk considerably.

Pick up the Decorative Brooch lying in the middle of the arena. Grabbing it triggers an ambush and a horde of ghouls storms in.

You do not strictly have to kill everything, but fighting your way to the main entrance and clearing the horde plays a short cutscene of the soldiers acknowledging your effort. Either way, escape the stronghold with the brooch.

Take the Decorative Brooch to the Sphinx and use it to complete the Riddle of the Will.

Finishing the quest and claiming the Sphinx’s rewards

Once all three items are handed over, the Sphinx shares what she knows about slaying the Fallen Dragon, and you are prompted to return to Polyeidus at the Norgandian Settlement. Finishing that conversation ends the quest and immediately begins the next main story quest, Sealed History. That return trip is how you know everything registered.

Each riddle you answer unlocks one of the chests sitting behind the Sphinx. The rewards always come out in the same sequence no matter which order you solve the riddles in, so you lose nothing by doing them out of order.

Chest	Reward
First riddle answered	Norgan Portcrystal x1
Second riddle answered	6,000 Rift Crystals
Third riddle answered	Eternal Wakestone x1

The permanent Portcrystal next to the Shrine of Wisdom makes the back-and-forth painless, so set it as your fast-travel point before you start chasing the Mournful Giant and the Fimbl. With all three tokens delivered, you are clear to carry the Sphinx’s knowledge into the rest of the Forsaken Dominion storyline.