The Firebrand Quest Guide | Blood of Dawnwalker

Spoiler warning: This guide covers major choices and outcomes in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

“The Firebrand” begins near the end of the prologue and can unfold in several ways. Your main objective is to find and rescue Mert the Miller, but an early decision at the mill affects whether Renna survives.

For more gaming coverage, visit the RETROCADE Arcade Blog, or browse the arcade video collection when you need a break from the Vale Sangora.

Starting “The Firebrand”

During the “Smoke and Ashes” quest, go to Vlad’s hut in the centre of the village. Search the hut and collect the small bag of flour from the corner. It points you towards Mert’s Mill, south of Laslea Glen.

You can visit the mill after completing “Smoke and Ashes”. The quest then asks you to decide how to deal with the soldiers there before travelling to Stoneward Post.

Choose whether to fight the soldiers at the mill.
Reach Mert at Stoneward Post by fighting, sneaking or using dialogue to gain access.

Should you fight the soldiers?

Renna, Mert’s wife, asks you not to kill the soldiers. However, leaving them alive leads to a grim outcome: they kill Renna. If your priority is saving Renna as well as Mert, you must disregard her request and eliminate the soldiers hiding in the shed.

How to avoid the fight

Visit the mill at night and select any dialogue option that does not display a sword icon.
Return during the day and agree to repair Renna’s cart.
Do not interact with the shed.

How to start the fight

Arrive at night and choose a dialogue option marked with a sword.
During the day, either refuse to repair Renna’s cart or repair it and then knock or shout at the soldiers inside the shed.

Regardless of your choice, Renna sends you to Stoneward Post to free Mert. If you saved her, the mill is abandoned when you return. If you did not, you find Renna’s body there.

Ways to rescue Mert at Stoneward Post

You can assault the fort, enter through stealth or use several schemes to reach the dungeon. A direct attack works at either time of day: enter through the front gate, defeat the soldiers and continue to the dungeon. The fight is difficult, but vampire abilities make it more manageable at night.

To plan your setup around other arcade and gaming projects, RETROCADE’s Arcade Machine Buying Guide offers practical advice for choosing the right setup.

Stealth route

At night, use Shadowstep to climb the large damaged tower in the south-west. Drop down carefully, defeat Overseer Friedo and take the prison keys from behind his desk. Use the keys on the wooden dungeon door, then defeat the dungeon guard before speaking with Mert.

The starting point of "The Firebrand" quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

You can also drop straight into the dungeon from the room beside the tower. This requires defeating only the dungeon guard to reach Mert, and that guard carries a prison key. Mert cannot use Shadowstep, though, so you still need to defeat the guard in the tower to create a safe route out for him.

Do not begin the rescue at dawn. The rescue can change night into day, leaving you trapped behind additional and stronger soldiers while you are in human form.

Coen finds the prison key while sneaking in during "The Firebrand" quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Dialogue and deception route

Arrive during the day and speak with the entrance guard. Any dialogue path can get you inside, but choose “I want to enlist”, followed by “What? A soldier without a weapon?”, if you want to keep your weapon.

Do not intervene when soldiers harass a civilian. Fighting them turns the whole camp hostile. Instead, go to the old tower in the south-west and speak with Overseer Friedo.

An arrow points to a line that allows Coen to keep his weapon in the "The Firebrand" quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Kill Friedo: Take the key behind his desk and enter the dungeon, but the entire camp attacks when you leave the tower. You must also defeat the dungeon guard.
Pay 300 coins: Friedo allows you to enter the dungeon and speak with Mert.
Fight Cerbus: Agree to help Friedo, defeat Cerbus in a fist fight and return to Friedo. You do not need a weapon.
Expose the merchant’s dealings: Speak with the angry woman outside the tower, then threaten the camp merchant with reporting him to the Commander. You can report the merchant to the Commander and request access to Mert as your reward, or confront Friedo about his side business and demand to see Mert.

If the dungeon guard is still alive, either kill him or select “Officer! He’s going to be sick!” when trying to reach Mert. That line costs two turns. If you entered without a weapon, it is the only safe option unless you can defeat the armoured soldier with your bare fists.

An arrow points to a dialogue line that allows Coen to speak with Mert while the dungeon guard is present during "The Firebrand" quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

Speaking with Mert completes “The Firebrand”. To take him out of Stoneward Post, continue into the follow-up quest, “Under Watchful Eyes”.

“Under Watchful Eyes” rescue walkthrough

The correct escape route depends on how you entered the fort:

Everyone at the camp is dead: Walk out of Stoneward Post.
You used stealth: Leave the dungeon and defeat the small group of soldiers outside. Do not cross the camp. With your back to the dungeon, turn left and unlock the door beside the brazier.
You used diplomacy: Either clear the whole camp or return at night and use the stealth route. You can use Shadowstep, or steal the prison key from Friedo during the day after speaking with Mert, when Friedo has his back turned.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is a time-sensitive narrative RPG in which choices and actions have consequences. After the prologue, you can explore Vale Sangora freely and decide how to approach Brencis’ boyars, although that freedom can make the next steps difficult to prioritise.

For players who enjoy hands-on gaming projects, RETROCADE also offers DIY arcade kits, arcade parts and arcade machines.