Blood of Dawnwalker Shadows in the Woods Walkthrough

Shadows in the Woods is a side quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of the Shadows in the Woods side mission.

Starting Location: Briar Sloughs / Stoneward Post
Quest Giver: Mert
Requirement: Completed “The Firebrand“
Fail State: Fail the time sensitive objective “Rescue Sara”
Reward: 1000XP
Time Required: N/A
Questline (Crake): The Firebrand > Under Watchful Eyes (optional) > Taking Back What’s Mine (optional) > Shadows in the Woods > Where Loyalty Lies > Old Friends, New Friends (optional) > What Hunts the Night > What Moves the Dead > Who Pulls the Strings > Distant Shadows (optional) > A Closer Look (optional, The Manumit) > Rise at Dawn (Ending) > Fall Before Dusk (Ending, The Knyazmaker)
Quest Description: According to Mert, a girl named Sara is the contact for the manumits. However, she may have already been captured by soldiers at the rendezvous point in the nearby woods.

Objectives:

Go to the bridge near Stoneward Post
Reach the rendezvous point
Rescue Sara

Go to the Bridge Near Stoneward Post

Head south along the road from Stoneward Post, and just past the Small Bridge shrine you’ll see a… well, a small bridge. Just on the south side of that bridge is the objective marker.

Reach the Rendezvous Point

From there head southeast towards the search zone. You’ll see a point where three roads meet, and Brencis’s Soldiers have her tied to a tree just southeast of there near a collapsed cabin.

Rescue Sara (Time Sensitive – 2 Days)

Once you locate Sara, you must rescue her before 2 days elapses. If you do not rescue her, the quest will fail exactly 32 time segments later. You can get Sara released without combat by telling the guards that she is your sister, and when they claim she’s working with rebels, choose “Not sure. Maybe these coins hold an answer?”, bribing them with 100 Denarius. Any other gold response will end in combat with the two guards.

Either bribe or defeat the guards and then you can talk to Sara and convince her that you want to join the manumits. She agrees to take you to see Crake, and let him decide.

Follow Sara

Sara leads you through the woods for a while, then stops and gives a signal. She says that it’s safe to approach now, and starts running again. Shorly thereafter a cinematic plays, with Sara directing you into the camp. Walking in, you step on a trap that drives spikes into your leg. Before you can react, you’re knocked out and come to chained to a tree. When you come to, Crake interrogates you while you try to convince him that you’re not an assassin. It seems that he knows about your unusual nature, probably thanks to Vladimir, and isn’t sure whether or not to trust you. To prove you are on their side, you can list off many of your accomplishments in the game and depending on your infamy it will affect Crake’s reaction to you. Eventually he instructs you to meet him in Svartrau where you can discuss how you’ll help them. In turn they will assist you to save your family. The quest ends on a hopeful note, and the beginning of a powerful alliance.