DragonSword Awakening Goblin Cave: Elli’s Sheep and Chapter 1 Route

#Quick answer

The DragonSword Awakening Chapter 1 Goblin cave is not opened from another entrance. Complete the shared Guild route through the delivery and lost-sheep requests, return Elli’s sheep, clear the Goblin camp and then shoot the explosive barrels beside the rock blocking the treasure cave.

Use this order:

1. reach Orbis and enter the early Mercenary Guild progression;
2. accept both available outward-route requests before leaving;
3. continue through the first Familiar introduction;
4. complete the delivery stop;
5. speak with Elli at the farm and recover the nearby lost sheep;
6. return the sheep so the request expands into the Goblin objective;
7. clear the Goblin camp;
8. locate the treasure cave below the farm hill;
9. move away from the barrels and attack them;
10. enter after the explosion removes the rock;
11. finish the cave encounter and return toward Orbis.

This page owns the local Guild, Elli, sheep and blocked-cave sequence. For the complete story order, use the Chapters 1–8 walkthrough.

#Chapter 1 route at a glance

The two most useful checks are the objective expansion after the sheep and the rock-breaking state after the barrels. If either has not happened, the next area may look available while the story state is still incomplete.

#Accept both Guild requests before leaving Orbis

Chapter 1 reaches Orbis after the opening escape with Castella and introduces the early three-character party route. Once the Mercenary Guild progression becomes available, the documented path offers a delivery task and a lost-sheep task that share the same outward direction.

Accepting both before leaving is practical because it reduces backtracking. It is not evidence that the two tasks have one formal quest title or must always be completed in a single trip. The source does not preserve their exact English names, so this guide refers to them by function: the delivery request and Elli’s lost-sheep request.

Before heading out:

• make sure both objectives appear in the active task list;
• finish any required Guild conversation instead of leaving as soon as the first request appears;
• keep the story route selected so optional map markers do not replace the destination;
• avoid assuming that the sheep task begins at the first animal seen outside the city.

The route proceeds through an early Familiar introduction before reaching Elli’s farm. The source shows the first Familiar feature unlocking during this outward sequence, but it does not establish that summoning a Familiar is a mechanical prerequisite for returning the sheep or opening the cave.

#Complete the delivery on the shared outward route

The documented order places the delivery stop before the visit to Elli. Follow the current marker, complete the handoff and then continue toward the farm area.

The recipient’s reliable English name is not preserved in the available material. Do not use an assumed NPC name as a route check. Better signs are:

• the delivery objective changes or disappears;
• the remaining route still points outward;
• the lost-sheep objective remains active;
• the party can continue toward the hill and farm associated with Elli.

If the farm objective does not appear to advance, verify the delivery state and the Guild conversations first. Wandering around the farm before the related request is active can make ordinary animals look like quest targets.

#Find Elli and return the lost sheep

Elli is associated with a farm on the upper route around a prominent hill or large-tree area in the source walkthrough. Speak with Elli before treating nearby sheep as the objective. Her conversation starts or advances the search state.

The source confirms that nearby sheep are recovered and returned, but it does not provide a trustworthy count, a coordinate list or a reproducible individual route for each animal. Use the quest marker and the immediate farm surroundings rather than a claimed “all sheep locations” map.

A safe search method is:

1. finish Elli’s initial conversation;
2. check the nearby slopes and paths within the active objective area;
3. approach sheep that the quest state recognizes;
4. follow the normal return or interaction behavior shown by the objective;
5. bring the recognized sheep back to Elli;
6. speak with Elli again if the objective does not update automatically.

Do not publish or rely on an exact sheep count unless it is confirmed from the current English release build. The important route fact is that returning the sheep changes the request into a Goblin-related objective.

#Confirm that the request expands to the Goblin camp

After the sheep are returned, the task does not end as a simple farm errand. It expands toward a Goblin camp and a treasure cave.

This expansion is the best checkpoint before leaving Elli’s area. If no Goblin objective appears:

• verify that every quest-recognized sheep was returned;
• complete Elli’s follow-up conversation;
• check whether one sheep interaction remains active near the farm;
• confirm that the correct Guild request is selected;
• allow dialogue and objective updates to finish before traveling away.

Do not search for the cave while the task still describes only the sheep. Wait for the Goblin objective to appear before treating the cave as the active destination.

#Clear the Goblin camp

Follow the expanded objective from Elli’s route to the Goblin position. Clear the groups required by the active story state. The source supports a camp-clearance phase before the treasure cave, but it does not establish a fixed enemy count, named Goblin roster or mandatory order for every target.

A group is likely required when it:

• occupies the marked camp area;
• keeps the party in combat near the objective;
• blocks the approach to the cave;
• causes the objective to update when defeated.

After the camp is clear, heal and reset the party before approaching the cave if the fight consumed most of your health. This is practical advice, not a scripted requirement. For early combat setup, use the beginner guide.

#Where the blocked treasure cave is

The documented cave is below Elli’s hill along the Goblin route. Its entrance is covered by a large rock. The obstruction can look like a permanent wall or scenery, which leads players to search the hill for a second entrance.

Do not spend time circling the entire hill. Face the rock at the marked cave location and inspect the area immediately in front of or beside it. Several explosive-looking barrels are placed next to the obstruction in the source image.

Castella’s visible dialogue in that image identifies the objects as explosive barrels and explains that detonating them will shatter the rock. That is stronger evidence than a generic assumption that every cracked wall can be destroyed.

#How to destroy the rock at the cave entrance

Use the barrels as the environmental trigger:

1. finish any Goblin still holding the entrance in combat;
2. identify the barrels positioned beside the blocking rock;
3. create some distance from the blast area;
4. attack the barrels;
5. wait for the explosion and rock-breaking state;
6. approach the opening only after the obstruction is gone.

The source route says to shoot the barrels, but it does not prove that one exact weapon, hero, element or damage type is required. A ranged attack is the clearest and safest interpretation because it preserves distance. Do not turn that practical choice into an unsupported claim that melee attacks can never work.

The exact barrel count is irrelevant and should not be used as a verification rule. Camera angle or destroyed props may change what is visible. The reliable check is whether the explosive objects beside the rock have been detonated and whether the rock obstruction has been removed.

#If the cave still looks sealed

Check the sequence in order:

1. Sheep state: confirm the sheep were returned and the objective expanded.
2. Elli follow-up: finish any conversation required after returning them.
3. Camp state: clear the required Goblin groups.
4. Correct rock: confirm you are at the marked treasure-cave obstruction below the farm route.
5. Barrels visible: inspect directly beside and in front of the rock.
6. Safe attack: target the barrels from outside the blast area.
7. Explosion complete: wait for the debris and objective state to settle before entering.
8. Current objective: make sure an optional map task has not replaced the Chapter 1 request.

If the barrels are missing or the rock does not change after the correct route state, verify the current game version and reload the latest checkpoint only after completing the checks above. A restart is not the normal solution.

#Finish the cave and return toward Orbis

Enter after the rock breaks. Another combat encounter occurs inside the cave. Clear the required enemies and allow the objective to update before leaving.

The Chapter 1 completion signal is not merely standing inside the entrance. Finish the cave encounter and follow the return direction toward Orbis. This closes the focused Guild route and leads into the ancient-device problem in Chapter 2.

Continue with:

• Chapter 2 missing gear and ancient device guide;
• Chapters 1–8 story walkthrough;
• Map quests and puzzle guide for non-story environmental interactions;
• Beginner guide for early progression and party preparation.

#Evidence boundary

The primary walkthrough supports reaching Orbis, accepting the delivery and lost-sheep requests, the first Familiar introduction, completing the delivery before Elli’s farm, returning the sheep, the expansion to a Goblin camp, the blocked treasure cave, the explosive barrels, the rock-breaking result and the cave encounter.

The available screenshot independently supports the large rock, barrel placement and Castella’s instruction, but it does not show a full before-and-after explosion sequence. The sources do not preserve the exact quest titles, delivery recipient, sheep count, sheep coordinates, barrel count, required attack type or a current-build map route. Those details remain deliberately unspecified.

#Sources

• Whisper of the House: DragonSword Awakening Walkthrough — Chapter 1 — Guild, delivery, Elli, sheep, Goblin camp and cave route.
• Complete DragonSword Awakening walkthrough — surrounding chapter sequence.
• First Familiar unlock image — visual evidence that the Familiar feature appears during the early route.
• Goblin treasure cave and explosive barrels image — rock obstruction, barrels and visible instruction.
• DragonSword: Awakening on Steam — official released-game identity and exploration context.