The Blood of Dawnwalker Bad Blood — Quest Walkthrough — Wiki & Guide

Bad Blood is the prologue's final quest and its best: a descent into the mines after Coen's father that doubles as a graduation course in being a vampire — Shadowstep, Planeshift, Voracious Bite, all of it — before the game marches you in front of Brencis for a duel you are meant to lose. Everything you need for the night is below.

How it starts

Sacred Covenant ends and Bad Blood begins automatically. After the cutscene you and Vladimir are in the mines. Before going anywhere: open your inventory and re-equip your gear — the game strips you for the cutscene and hands nothing back.

Searching for Pieter

• Keep Focus mode running as you descend; the tunnels are full of clues about what happened while you were away.
• At the first split, the eastern passage holds a man who only looks like your father. The real path runs south, deeper.
• Another cutscene follows — your hunger is starting to speak. Keep going, and loot the silver from the opening on your right; it will matter later.
• On the main path you'll find the injured Kostel. Helping him triggers the scene where Coen's hunger takes over: even if you fight the prompt, Coen gives in. Don't sweat the choice — the game is telling you something, not testing you.

Becoming the Dawnwalker — traversal school

The back half of the mine is a stealth course in your new body:

• Crawl through the wall gap, then use Focus to spot a lootable skeleton — a Soggy Letter mentioning the knockers among its finds.
• At the impossible gap, use Shadowstep to cross. Shadowstep again to reach the higher level, then keep chaining it around the room as you climb.
• Low on health? A tooltip introduces Voracious Bite — used outside combat on the rats in this tunnel, it converts animals into a health bar.
• The next room attacks with kobolds. They hit soft; use the fight to practice Voracious Bite during combat.
• At the blank wall, Shadowstep triggers Planeshift, letting Coen walk on walls — an essential traversal trick from here on. You'll Planeshift along the ceiling to cross the next gap, and then it's out through the crack in the rock.

Out of the mine

Look over the cliff and follow the prompt to Clawride down — the fast, safe way off high ledges. Two of Brencis's soldiers patrol the trail ahead. You can go straight to your family, but the better route is to follow Vladimir's trail first; it costs extra time and it's worth it.

The Vrakhiri Banneret

At the burning house, two guards block the door. One is trivial. The other is a Vrakhiri Banneret with a serious health bar. Three tips that make the fight manageable:

• Unequip your sword. Claws are far stronger at night, and if you picked up bracers during the mine, your claw attack hits like a truck.
• Crouch-sneak into a Voracious Bite on one guard to open the fight at full health — hold the attack button once it lands.
• Bite whenever your health dips — kobold rules still apply, the Banneret just hits back harder.

Vladimir, and the point of no return

After the fight you try to talk Vladimir out of the burning house. Health matters here: below half health, your choices stop mattering — the scene fails by default. Above half, be fast: when Vladimir hesitates, press the top option the moment it appears. Talk him out, and he leads you up to the cliff overlooking the town, and admits he knew the trap was coming. Your answers here don't change much — Coen's eyes are already on Brencis.

The duel you're supposed to lose

Walk into the village and the game takes over: Brencis, the fire, your father trying to save villagers. Then the duel. You can win it — if your combat is genuinely sharp — but on a first run you are all but guaranteed to fall. The script catches Coen at death's door and turns the tables. That's the story working as intended.

Bad Blood ends there, and the prologue with it. Next: Smoke and Ashes, where the game finally hands you the open world — and starts the thirty days.

Keep reading:

• Smoke and Ashes
• From Above
• All 7 Endings Explained