Shaded Woods

Prepare an extra set of armour for Rosabeth of Melfia. Have a Fragrant Branch of Yore in your inventory. You need one Fragrant Branch to unpetrify Rosabeth, who blocks your path to the Shaded Woods.

29. Shaded Woods, Dark Souls II: SotFS

Before you unpetrify Rosabeth, open the two doors and clear the enemies within. Look for a bunch of barrels. Some of these barrels contain gun powder and are distinguished by their darker shade as compared to the lighter shade of other barrels. Use a bow and Fire Arrows to shoot the gun powder barrels. The explosion causes all remaining enemies in the upper level to come to you. It's easier to clear those enemies while Rosabeth is still petrified, otherwise she might die from the enemies or your attacks. Unpetrify Rosabeth, exhaust her dialogue, and give her the extra armour set. Exhaust her dialogue again. The next time you see her, she would be at Majula.

On your way to Rosabeth, you will meet Benhart of Jugo. Talk to Benhart and exhaust his dialogue. After you have unpetrified Rosabeth and pulled the nearby lever, exhaust Benhart's dialogue again to initiate his quest line.

The first part of the Shaded Woods is the misty woods, located next to the Ruined Fork Road bonfire. Here you will meet Head of Vengarl, a merchant for Gold Pine Resin among other weapons. Exhaust his dialogue to receive his helm. His decapitated body can be found near the cliff directly above the location where you meet Head of Vengarl. Make your way to the Shaded Woods and find Vengarl's body. Defeat his body, exhaust his dialogue again, and he would be available to be summoned later in the game.

The misty woods contain a number of enemies that appear as ghost-like apparitions and are difficult to see because of the mist. In the Crown of the Ivory King DLC, you will find an item that allows you to see these apparitions, but for now you must deal with them as they are. A number of tree trunks look like faces. Hit those trees and the nearby ghost-like enemies would approach the trees, making it slightly easier for you to find such enemies.

In the Shaded Woods proper, you will need many Fragrant Branches of Yore to unpetrify all enemies. For now, you only need to unpetrify the Lion Clan Warrior near the Shaded Ruins bonfire. Defeat this enemy to obtain the Fang Key, an item required for rescuing Weaponsmith Ornifex who is trapped inside an underground room.

Manscorpion Tark is found standing on a sand pit. You can't talk to him unless you equip the Ring of Whispers, which can be purchased from Sweet Shalquoir for 5,800 souls. Equip the ring, exhaust Tark's dialogue, and you can summon him to help you fight the area boss. Once Najka is defeated, exhaust Tark's dialogue again to receive a Fragrant Branch of Yore. After you have defeated The Duke's Dear Freja, exhaust Tark's dialogue the third time to receive more items.

You should have already met Creighton at the Undead Lockaway bonfire. He is now atop a tower near the entrance to the boss arena. Exhaust his dialogue again to advance his quest line.

Notable loots:

• Estus Flask Shard. Found inside a wooden chest near the Old Akelarre bonfire.
• Chloranthy Ring+1. Inside a wooden chest at the misty woods. Equip the ring to boost your stamina recovery.
• Warlock Mask. Dropped by a petrified Lion Clan Warrior, located near a gold-maned Lion Warrior. Equipping the Warlock Mask has two passive effects. First, your Intelligence is raised by two points. Second, each defeated enemy yields an extra 2.5% souls. The soul bonus stacks with Jester's Gloves and the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring+1 to give you 32.5% more souls from each defeated enemy. You still benefit from the effects of the Warlock Mask even if you don't have the stats to wear it.
• Sublime Bone Dust. Found near the Shaded Ruins bonfire, inside an iron chest protected by a Royal Guard.

Scorpioness Najka

30. Scorpioness Najka, Dark Souls II: SotFS

Najka is weak against thrust damage and fire. Buff the Rapier with Charcoal Pine Resin. Tark can be summoned to help you during the fight. You can also summon Bradley of the Old Guard, provided you have defeated all apparition-like enemies at Shaded Woods, not including the same enemies at the misty woods.