Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen – The Castle in the Ice Walkthrough and Gagana Summon

The Castle in the Ice picks up once Sealed History ends, setting itself as your priority quest with the objective “Find a path leading east through the stronghold.” It runs long and asks you to do three awkward things in a row: track down and summon a fiery bird, tear open a frozen barrier, and descend to a fortress buried under the mountain. Here is the full route through the Dark Arisen quest, in the order the game expects you to tackle it.

Quick answer: Burn one dead nokken saurian in each of Gagana’s Grotto’s three braziers to summon the gagana, take its Firebird Tallow, then fire the Mountain Stronghold ballista at the ice wall to open the way to Lorade Castle.

What to bring before you leave the stronghold

The Norgan Snowfield wears you down with cold and blanks out your map navigation for part of the trek, so pack for the conditions before you drop down into it.

The spirit compass from the Seeking the Sage quest. Eir uses it with her gagana feather to point you toward the bird.
Climbing Hooks. One is used on a tether post on the route to the grotto; a spare can be collected from the stronghold elevator’s winch assembly with “Pick Up”.
Bring something to ward off the cold, such as Heatstones or thermal armour. A warning at the elevator landing says the trail enters the snowfield, where it is easy to lose your bearings.

Pick Up prompt for a Climbing Hook on the wooden winch frame inside the Mountain Stronghold winch house — The spare Climbing Hook on the winch frame: “Pick Up”.

Reach the ice wall and meet Eir

In the Mountain Stronghold, pass through the hall behind the large double wooden doors and follow the snow path to the wooden winch house and use the winch to call the lift — you will see “You found an elevator.”

Quest banner The Castle in the Ice: You found an elevator, with the Arisen at the winch post in the timber winch house — Using Examine on the winch post gives “You found an elevator.”

Ghouls attack as the elevator ascends. Defend the landing until “The elevator arrived.” If the lift then will not move, kill every ghoul near the winch house first: while enemies are close the Examine prompt does not show. Then step onto the platform and use Examine on the crank by its rail to ride the lift down. It sets you down east of the stronghold; pull the wall lever to lift the portcullis, then leave for the Norgan Snowfield.

Quest banner The elevator arrived while two ghouls attack the Arisen beside the winch post — “The elevator arrived.” Ghouls climb in while it comes up.

Examine prompt on the wooden crank with a red handle on the lift platform — On the platform itself, the crank with the red handle has its own “Examine” prompt.

Examine prompt on a carved stone lever set in the wall beside a wooden portcullis — The carved stone lever beside the portcullis on the east landing: “Examine”.

A cutscene shows the worn-out knight Eir fighting off monsters by a wooden shack, and the objective becomes “Aid Eir in repelling her assailants.” Clear every enemy, speak with her, then follow her up the snow road, through an arched stone gateway and up ruined stairs. More attackers ambush the party along the way.

Objective Aid Eir in repelling her assailants, shown beside a wooden shack with a lantern glow ahead — At the wooden shack: “Aid Eir in repelling her assailants.”

Your route ends at a vertical wall of dark ice. Eir explains that it takes fat from a gagana, a firebird, to melt it. She has a gagana feather, but you’ll need a spirit compass to find the bird. When she asks whether you’re prepared, select “I am ready.” to start the search. Eir accompanies you.

Eir stands before the wall of dark ice and asks Are you ready now, Arisen? with the choices I am ready and I need more time — At the wall of ice Eir asks “Are you ready now, Arisen?” Pick “I am ready.”

Eir at the wall of ice — The ice wall that stops the party here is melted later with the ballista, not at the wall itself. Shown at 285:03 in Shirrako’s video. Image: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Follow the compass to Gagana’s Grotto

From the wall, descend and follow the ridge until you reach a carved tether post at the cliff edge. Interact with it, select a Climbing Hook from the Items window, then use the rope to descend to the cliff foot.

Trace the cliff base to Icefall Tunnels. In the stone hall past the cave, a large boss wielding a club appears; the pawns identify it as a goreminotaur. A Fighter can climb onto its back and stab while the pawns cast, then attack its legs.

Exit through the eastern tunnel, then follow the cliff ledges to a shattered stone bridge. Your compass indicates the far side, but crossing is impossible, so turn around and use the tunnel on the near side. Two groups of small monsters stand along this route before carved steps ascend to the timber-framed entrance of Gagana’s Grotto. A campfire spot sits a few steps inside.

Summon the gagana at the altar

Enter the ruined courtyard beneath the frozen waterfall and climb onto the circular stone platform. The objective changes to “Find a way to summon a gagana.” Three big, round iron braziers stand on the platform, with rib bones scattered among them. The red image painted on the rock face behind the platform opens as the Gagana’s Grotto Mural and gives the ritual:

The round stone altar platform in Gagana's Grotto with three iron braziers and rib bones, under giant turquoise icicles — The altar platform in Gagana’s Grotto: three iron braziers under the frozen waterfall.

If in this frigid land ye seeke the warmth of flame, feed the altar’s fyr with the bodie of the skaly beeste that shrouds its hyde in snow, and let the smoke rise to the nest. Thus will the Fyr-Makere appeere.

Light each brazier by standing at it and using “Light fire.” As soon as there is flame, scaly snow saurians (nokken) rush the platform. Kill them; they leave Nokken Tail behind.

Light fire prompt on a round iron brazier, with two more braziers and rib bones on the stone platform and a red mural on the rock behind — “Light fire” on one of the three braziers; the red mural is on the rock face behind.

Stand over a dead saurian and hold R2 to Grab and lift it (the button prompts in this guide are the PlayStation ones). While carried, the prompts change to “R2 Release” to drop it and “R1 Throw.” Carry a body onto a brazier and let go — the flames flare up and the body burns.

The Arisen carries a dead scaly saurian over one shoulder below the altar stairs, with Release and Throw in the control hints — Carrying a dead saurian toward the altar: the hints change to “Release” and “Throw”.

Repeat until all three braziers each hold one burning body. If the platform runs short on corpses, head down the broad stairs where more saurians wait; you can even grab a live one, carry it up and finish it beside the altar. With a body burning in each brazier, black smoke climbs to the peaks and the gagana flies down. The objective becomes “Defeat the gagana and obtain some firebird tallow.”

It takes three bodies, one per brazier.

Defeat the gagana and take the Firebird Tallow

The gagana is a massive, feathered firebird whose throat sac glows red. It breathes a long stream of flame, setting the ground ablaze and potentially catching you in the fire. It can also stomp with talons that a pawn warns are poisonous, lash with its tail, thrust its beak, batter you with its wings and make brief hopping flights. Its fiery breath can thaw ice lumps in the cave, exposing treasure.

Gagana fight begins in the grotto — The gagana descends once all three braziers burn, and the fight begins in the grotto. Shown at 302:21 in Shirrako’s video. Image: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Target the flame sac on its throat. Strike as it swells in preparation for a breath attack; a Fighter can reach it from the front with leaping sword strikes. A burst sac sends the gagana tumbling onto its side for roughly twenty seconds, giving you time to attack its head and neck. When it is upright, keep to its rear and use sword and shield against its legs and belly, avoiding the burning ground.

The gagana, a feathered firebird with a glowing throat, breathes a stream of flame toward the camera, its health bar at the top — The gagana breathing fire. The glow in its throat is the flame sac.

Bring ice and leave fire at home. The gagana has 250,000 health and responds to damage like this:

Ice: full damage, and 1.35 times on the head.
Slash, strike, lightning and holy: 0.8, and 1.0 on the head.
Fire: only 0.2 — close to useless.
Blighted, Caught Fire and Tarred have no effect on it.

Felling it pays +155,998 XP and +1,190 Dcp. Use “Examine” on the body to collect your loot, which gives Firebird Tallow; Smoldering Hide, Glacial Ore and Lv 3 spoils can come with it. A gagana can also drop Norgan Ducat, Aged Scrag of Beast, Saurian Tail, Rotten Scrag of Beast and Abandoned Supplies (Rare). Once you have the tallow, the objective updates to “Use the stronghold’s ballista to destroy the wall.”

Firebird Tallow is a valuable item weighing 0.10 kg that cannot be sold. In the game’s words, it is tallow from a gagana’s flame sac that burns so hot it melts even very thick ice.

Fire the ballista at the ice wall

Destroy the wall by shooting across the gorge from the Mountain Stronghold battlements. Firebird Tallow is applied to the ballista, not to the wall. Return to the stronghold, using the wooden cable lift across the chasm if you wish. Continue past the ghouls, come out onto the snow slope, go through the arched gateway and ascend the stairs to the open battlements. A sizeable wooden ballista is mounted on the timber deck.

Examine prompt at the rear of the wooden ballista on its timber deck, with the snowy gorge beyond the battlements — Stand at the rear of the ballista on its deck for the “Examine” prompt.

Use “Examine” on the ballista. The Items window opens with “Select an item to use.” and Firebird Tallow listed; confirm it.

Items window with Select an item to use and Firebird Tallow highlighted with its description — The Items window, “Select an item to use.”: confirm Firebird Tallow.

Use prompt at the rear of the ballista after the tallow has been applied — With the tallow applied the prompt changes to “Use”.

The ballista view appears with a crosshair. Use the “R1 Draw Bowstring” prompt, line up the dark ice wall across the gorge, then fire. On PC the prompts are F for Examine and then F for Use to take the seat, the left mouse button for Draw Bowstring (hold it, then release to loose) and X for Stop.

The view can start out pointing at the sky. Bring the aim down until you are looking along the ballista over the parapet into the gorge. At night the ice wall shows as a small, faint blue glow in the dark; put the crosshair on it. The objects around the stronghold also respond only once nearby enemies are dead, so clear the ghouls on the battlements first if the Examine prompt will not appear.

View along the ballista across the gorge with the reticle on the blue glow of the ice wall, Draw Bowstring and Stop in the control hints — The ballista view across the gorge with the reticle on the blue glow of the ice wall. The hints read “Draw Bowstring” and “Stop”.

Aiming the tallow-loaded ballista — A ballista loaded with a glowing tallow ball is aimed from behind. Shown at 336:30 in Shirrako’s video. Image: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

The burning bolt blows the wall apart. You will see “You destroyed the ice wall,” and the objective becomes “Seek Lorade Castle within the snowfield cavity.”

Quest banner The Castle in the Ice: You destroyed the ice wall, with the Arisen standing at the ballista on the battlements — After the shot: “You destroyed the ice wall.”

Descend through Snowfall Valley Cavity to Lorade Castle

Take the stronghold’s east elevator back down to the Norgan Snowfield and head for the gap where the wall stood. Stone stairs beside a waterfall lead to an icicle-hung cave mouth labelled Snowfall Valley Cavity.

Descend the vertical pit by rope and continue down through the cave’s levels. At an opening above turquoise water, Eir breaks through an archway sealed in ice. Past it lies a huge cavern containing a sunken fortress: Lorade Castle. Follow the ruined walkway; climb a few steps on the right to find a riftstone coated in purple crystal, which you can restore with “Examine.”

Lorade Castle seen from the overlook — The cavern opens onto Lorade Castle, the fortress sunk inside the frozen valley. Shown at 343:20 in Shirrako’s video. Image: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

The map lists “Norgan Portcrystal: Lorade Castle.” You can leave and return by Ferrystone to a ledge only a short walk from the castle. Climb the wide steps to the great double doors, then open them with “Examine.”

The throne room choice and finishing at the Sphinx

Inside the frozen throne room, an armoured corpse sits on the throne and Eir kneels before it. She reveals the body is her master, Ser Rovall, and that she will not let it be destroyed. Two Abandoned Supplies (Rare) arrive as the objective becomes “Decide whether or not to destroy the corpse.”

Approach the throne and Eir moves to stop you, telling you to lower your weapon. Use “Hail (Hold to Talk)” to speak with her; two choices appear:

“Agree not to harm the corpse”
“Do nothing”

Choosing “Agree not to harm the corpse” has Eir thank you and ask you to consult the sage for a way to end the Fallen Dragon without destroying the body. The objective updates to “Ask the sphinx for a means of saving Rovall,” and Eir stays on guard by the throne.

Travel to the Shrine of Wisdom (use the Norgan Portcrystal: Shrine of Wisdom) and Hail the Sphinx. She offers “Ask about the soul,” “Ask about the will” and “That is all.” After the conversation, you will see “Completed: The Castle in the Ice.” There is no reward screen at the end, and the next quest, Soul Searching, is set automatically.