Withering Away is the 2nd main mission in The Blood of Dawnwalker. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of the Withering Away main quest.
- Starting Location: Laslea Glen / Coen’s House
- Requirement: Begins automatically after completing “All Good Things“
- Fail State: Herbs must be prepared correctly to Anca’s instructions, and quest must be completed before the Sacred Covenant.
- Reward: 500XP dealing with Anca, plus 100XP administering the herbs
- Time Required: 1 time segment (+1 time Segment for optional quest Page-Turner)
- Quest Description: My father has a list of chores ready for me, as usual. I better get to it.
WARNING: Failure will cause the death of Esme (your mother)
Objectives:
- Split logs for firewood
- Take your clothes out of the storage chest (optional)
- Add the firewood to the stove
- Pick up your sword
- Obtain medicinal herbs from Anca
- Look for Anca
- Follow Anca
- Bring the herbs back to Pieter and read the recipe from Anca
Split Logs for Firewood
Coen has just woken up from a terrible dream, and already his father is after him to do chores.
Take Your Clothes Out of the Storage Chest (Optional)
Look in the chest near your bed for clothing, then equip them in your inventory menu. Once dressed, head into the small yard and pick up the axe. Follow the prompts on screen to complete your task, then enter the next room.
Add the firewood to the stove
Approach the stove and press 
/ 
when prompted. The family will sit down to breakfast but Coen’s mother (Esme) won’t eat. No matter what Coen and his father (Pieter) do, you’ll have no success. Pieter tells you to go see Anca for stronger herbs to help calm Esme for tonight’s Blood Mass.
Pick Up Your Sword
In the next room you’ll find your sword leaning against the wall. Pick it up, and be sure to equip it from your inventory.
Obtain Medicinal Herbs From Anca
Walk to Anca’s house and knock on the door, but there’s no answer. Looks like Anca is not home.
Look for Anca
In order to find Anca, you will be introduced to Focus Mode, an alternate vision mode that desaturates most of the color out of the background and causes items you can interact with to be highlighted, either in white for normal objects/people, or gold for quest related objects/people. If Coen checks the vegetable patch he will see that only half of it has been watered, and looking in the nearby water barrel finds that it is empty. Coen deduces that Anca must have gone to the river for more water.
Follow the path around the corner of the house, and you’ll see Anca in the distance kneeling by the edge of the river. You have the choice of calling out to her, or continuing to look which will give you an early look at some interesting markings Anca has on her hands and arms.
Follow Anca
Anca heads back into her house, and Coen follows. She describes the remedy and give you the instructions:
“Brew three scoops of this mixture, with water that’s hot, but not quite boiling.”
When asked how much for the herbs, she will let you know that the remedy is made with rarer herbs and will cost extra. Normally they cost 25 denarius, but now she needs 50. If you don’t have 50 denarius, you can ask her to take 25 and she will begrudgingly. Or if you don’t even have 25, you can say “Sorry – can’t afford it” and she will give you the herbs for a promise to return and pay her later.
When you reach an agreement, Anca will give you the sachet of herbs and a sheet of printed instructions in case you forget. At that moment, you will hear thunder outside and see that it’s raining heavily outside. She asks if you’ll stay until the storm passes, saying she’s missed giving Coen lessons in latin. Coen’s response is what triggers spending the time segment(s) for this quest:
- “Gladly – I’ve missed it too” (2 time segments, and immediately begins quest “Page-Turner“)
- “I really have to go” (1 time segment)
Either at the end of “Page-Turner” or by choosing “I really have to go”, Coen will leave and trigger the next objective.
Bring the Herbs Back to Pieter and Read the Recipe from Anca
Head back to Coen’s house, and as you approach you’ll notice your father outside speaking with Vladimir. When he leaves, you will talk to your father and give him the herbs. Pieter tells you to prepare the herbs, and you will have to choose:
- Use hot water
- Add three spoonfuls of herbs
After telling her a story, you’ll get Esme to drink. While she’s resting your father will take you off into the woods to practice your sword, automatically beginning the quest “Like Father, Like Son”.
This finishes Withering Away in The Blood of Dawnwalker.
For all other Quests refer to The Blood of Dawnwalker Walkthrough.
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