Spoiler warning: This guide covers the full “A Monk and a Saint” quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker, including its different day and night routes.
The quest asks you to identify St. Mihai’s symbol, locate his grave and enter the saint’s crypt. Your path changes depending on the time of day: at night, you investigate the cathedral and descend through the well; during the day, you investigate the missing caretaker.
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How to unlock A Monk and a Saint
“A Monk and a Saint” begins automatically after you complete “Between the Words”. That quest follows “Echoes of Silenced Bells”, which becomes available after completing the prologue.
There is another route into the quest. Enter the courtyard of Svartrau Cathedral, approach the well north of the main building and you will automatically unlock “Night Terrors”. Completing that quest also provides access to “A Monk and a Saint”.
If you use the “Night Terrors” shortcut, you can ignore the “Find Albertus” objective and continue with the night-time section below. Otherwise, the complete quest follows these stages:
- Find Albertus in the Middens.
- At night: Examine the cathedral frescoes and enter the courtyard well.
- During the day: Speak with the Deacon and craftsman, then investigate the caretaker’s disappearance.
- Enter St. Mihai’s crypt and defeat the enemy inside.
Finding Albertus in the Middens
Skip this section if you have not completed “Between the Words”. Albertus is in the Middens, the slum west of Svartrau City. His general position appears on the map, but you must use focus mode to identify his home.
Look for the small corner building in the western part of the Middens. Its walls are covered with Albertus’ scribbles.
Pick up the charcoal, then select these dialogue responses in order:
- Write: “Abelard the Sorrowful.”
- Write: “Svartrau plaza.”
- Write: “…his penance, the place of his redemption.”
- Write: “…never once set foot inside it.”
- Write: “St. Mihai, a great warrior, arrived at Vale Sangora…”
Albertus will point you towards St. Mihai’s legendary sword in Svartrau Cathedral. From here, your objectives depend on whether you continue during daylight or after dark.
Night route: the cathedral, well and grave
If you have not completed “Between the Words”, unlock “Night Terrors” first. At night, use Shadowstep to climb the southwest tower of Svartrau Cathedral. Xanthe, a member of Brencis’ court, may be conducting a ritual inside. Stay on the upper balcony and scaffolding and she will not interfere.
Entering the cathedral opens an investigation screen. Examine the church plans, a fresco and Xanthe’s ritual. To complete the fresco objective, cross the scaffolding and inspect all three frescoes. The relevant image of St. Mihai is the furthest fresco on the left; the interaction prompts appear on the nearby scaffolding rather than directly on the artwork.
Leave the cathedral and travel to the northern courtyard. Deal with the guards, then approach the well to begin “Night Terrors”. Enter the well and examine the corpse, which takes one turn.
Defeat the monsters in the next chamber and push the large boulder aside to escape. You must now identify St. Mihai’s symbol on one of the graves. Coen recognises the symbol if you examined the correct fresco. Otherwise, return to the cathedral and inspect it first.
While facing the cathedral, St. Mihai’s grave is the second grave from the right.
Opening the crypt at night
Prepare for a difficult battle before entering the crypt. Interact with the cracked wall to begin the encounter with Mihai. Defeat him to finish “A Monk and a Saint” and receive the Broken Sword of St. Mihai.
The sword can be used immediately in its damaged form. To restore it fully, begin and complete the newly unlocked quest, “Forge it Anew”.
Day route: finding the caretaker
After visiting Albertus, enter Svartrau Cathedral through the front entrance during the day. On your first visit, you will meet Father Florin, but completing his “In the Name of the Father” quest is not required.
Speak with the Deacon and the craftsman. The Deacon asks you to investigate the missing caretaker and also starts the side quest “A Dubious Gift”. The craftsman asks you to recover a glass shard from the caretaker’s shed.
Exit through the cathedral’s northern door, turn left into the courtyard and enter the almshouse through the door behind the well. Pay the resident in the room to the left of the staircase 100 denarii to learn about the abandoned wing.
Go upstairs and enter the smaller room to find the wing’s entrance. Use focus mode on the scratches on the floor, then move the bookcase aside. This action takes one turn.
Search the area, investigate every clue and defeat the monster on the lowest floor. Loot its body to obtain the caretaker’s key, then compel the corpse to discover what happened to the caretaker.
Use the key to enter the caretaker’s shed and collect the glass shards. Take them to the craftsman so he can repair the window. Speak with the Deacon afterwards to receive the library key.
Enter the library, go upstairs and use focus mode to locate the correct bookcase. Read the book on the nearest book stand.
The library book reveals information about St. Mihai’s grave, while the restored window displays his symbol. Return to the courtyard and open the second grave from the right while facing the cathedral.
Optional shortcut after speaking with the Deacon
You can wait until night and use Shadowstep to break into the library. This lets you bypass the caretaker investigation. Once inside, follow the night route from the cathedral fresco investigation onwards.
Completing A Monk and a Saint
When you are ready, interact with the cracked wall inside St. Mihai’s crypt. Defeat Mihai to complete the quest and claim the Broken Sword of St. Mihai. Consider waiting until night if you want to benefit from your vampire powers.
The broken weapon is usable, but its restoration requires the follow-up quest “Forge it Anew”.
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