Parson's Battered Notebook Location
Parson's Battered Notebook is an unmarked side quest in Dragon Age: Inquisition in the form of a treasure hunt.
Acquisition
Obtained by finding the Codex entry: Parson's Battered Notebook in Peacewood next to a corpse on a hill, where the river meets Veridium Mine at the southeast end of the river.
Note: This is an unmarked quest meaning it never appears in the Journal.
Walkthrough
The codex itself outlines the steps required in order to complete the treasure hunt. The walkthrough outlines each step for each clue.
Note: If you are not interested in following every clue, simply complete the final three steps (starting with lighting the torches). Finding a clue will update the codex temporarily however once the treasure hunt is complete, the codex will disappear. It can be picked up afterwards, however.
- The first clue is the first line of the codex which points to #12 in the subsequent list: "Beyond Andraste's Mercy, a hundred steps to revelation."
- Andraste's Mercy is a landmark in the Emerald Graves northwest of the codex, marked with an "X". The next clue is found by searching northwest of the "X", between the outer wall of Villa Maurel and a large tree (look north from the easternmost point of the wall as indicated on the map).
This will give you the second clue which points to #3 on the list: "Arching above outstretched wings. Even stone can rise."
- Follow the road from Andraste's Mercy northwest towards The Lion's Pavilion. You will come to a gap in the rocks next to a statue of an owl. This is northwest of the Silver Falls landmark on the map.
Climb up the rocks to reveal a search that will give you the next clue, pointing to #9 on the list: "Dragonslayers, four at the northwest, two from the northeast, three from the southeast."
- This is a reference to the statue inside the Lion's Pavilion, therefore keep on the road until you reach the pavilion.
At this point, the clue can be misleading. Where it says "northwest", it isn't referring to the compass direction on the map. Instead, face the statue inside the pavilion and use the back wall as "north".
Then, light the torches in accordance with the codex—northwest torch four times, northeast torch twice and southeast torch three times. If done correctly all four torches and the central brazier will light up revealing the next clue which is #20 on the list: "At the first breath of sighs."
- Head directly north from the Pavilion to an area called Rush of Sighs and the river. Follow this river until you reach a waterfall.
If you are following only the final three steps, note that there are two approachable waterfalls on the river in the Graves. The one in question is not Silver Falls (marked by a Silver Falls landmark nearby) but the waterfall north of Gracevine Camp or in the same direction from the quest marker for A Lover's Promise if it has been obtained/not completely. The two rifts for Rifts at the Reach are also on either side of the location on the map.
A search here will reveal that the last clue is #14: "An upward pointing finger, there your heart lies."
- Head northeast from the waterfall to Southfinger Tower and search on the southwest side. You don't need to (and cannot) access the tower itself; the search area is on the ground below. Be wary of the giants in the area as they can be pulled into the fight that's about to happen. Once you loot the Misshapen Child's Doll two lesser shades and one elite despair demon called "Treasure" (maximum level 19).
Rewards
- Killing Treasure yields normal XP and a chance to drop anywhere from Tier 1 to Tier 3 Frost Essence.
Notes
- Unlike most codices, picking up the notebook does not grant any XP.
- The Misshapen Child's Doll is not a loot item and never appears in the inventory.
