Luckily your dog made it through though, a pretty crucial fact as he helps you escape from your captivity. A local farmer locked your unconscious body up in a cage, but the mysterious fog in the marsh dealt with him and your dog got the key from his corpse. Use it to escape from the cage and proceed through the misty marsh.
Head directly into the watery swamp, then towards the deserted settlement along the suggested route. Soon you'll be led into the submerged courtyard of The Drowned Farm and meet a Banshee for the first time.
Banshees are a lot weaker than they look. They send little underlings using spirits to pester you and prevent you from putting your whole attention on them, but once you knock these weak pests out of the way and the Banshee cowers, with its hands over its face, unleash either repeated and quick ranged attacks or targeted spells. You can use quick sword attacks, especially as the Banshee won't attack while cowering, and disappears before its next spell, but well aimed ranged attacks are probably more effective. It also uses the Vortex Will attack, but it shouldn't bother you too much. No more than two rounds of cretins and cowering should be required to put it out of its misery.
Head out of this area onto dry land and continue up the hill as suggested by the golden trail and cross the wooden bridge in pursuit of the Hollow Men which you may catch one or two glimpses of on the way. Deal with them as before, as well as any Balverines which happen to have joined the party. Bear in mind that Banshees, Hollow Men, Hobbes, Balverines and Bandits should all attack each other as much as you, so feel free to sit back on occasion and just finish them off when weaker.
You'll then have to cross a stone bridge and fight off more Hollow Men, with more spawning alongside you as you move through the marshes. After fighting your way through a less-decrepit but still abandoned settlement you should meet the Elder Hollow Man, similar to his friends but capable of a surround Will attack of his own. Despite this, he still shouldn't prove too troublesome if Inferno attacks are used for the majority.
Upon entry to another suspicious-looking swamp you will need to fight off another Banshee and then in the next suspicious-looking swamp almost straight afterwards, a Troll. This one is stronger than any before, with particularly hardy-warts this time. Use ranged attacks rather than Will as it is resistant to most. The bridge nearby makes it so the troll cannot get you with any of its attacks. You can often still get shots on its back from here, though you may need to move (use Time Control to buy yourself some extra speed) to finish it off. Watch out for Hollow Men during this period too. Inferno spells from your bridge should stop them from pestering you too much.
Phew. You'd think that was just about all the developers could throw at you in one area. And you'd be right. Continue along the short remainder of the route, fighting off the last few Hollow Men and enter the relative haven of Bloodstone to end the Stranded quest and resume the Hero of Skill one.
