The Firebrand Quest Guide in The Blood of Dawnwalker: All Choices

The Firebrand is the first Manumit-chain quest. Every branch: Renna and the soldiers, sneaking or tricking at Stoneward Post, and all Friedo outcomes.

9/10/2026 1.0.3 Dawnwalker Wiki Team Last updated: 9/10/2026 4 min read

FAQ

When does The Firebrand unlock?

During Smoke and Ashes, near the end of the prologue — approach Vlad's hut in the village center. The small bag of flour inside points you to Mert's Mill south of Laslea Glen, but the mill can only be visited after Smoke and Ashes is complete.

Can you save Renna in The Firebrand?

Yes, but it is counterintuitive. Per Polygon, the soldiers will kill Renna if you let them live — saving her means ignoring her plea and killing the men in the shed before you rescue Mert. Spare the soldiers instead and you find her corpse on your return.

Is The Firebrand part of the Manumit questline?

Yes — it is the first quest of the Manumit chain (The Firebrand, Shadows in the Woods, Where Loyalty Lies), the alliance line that the Rise At Dawn, Fall Before Dusk ending is built on, as documented in the endings guide.

The Firebrand is where The Blood of Dawnwalker stops holding your hand. Polygon calls it a quest that “can be completed in about a dozen different ways,” and every branch on this page is sourced from their walkthrough — the mill, the prison camp, and the choices that decide who is still breathing when you leave. It is also, quietly, the opening move of the Manumit chain: The Firebrand → Shadows in the Woods → Where Loyalty Lies is the alliance line behind the Rise At Dawn ending, so who you save here echoes all the way to Griefberg.

How Does The Firebrand Start?

During Smoke and Ashes, near the end of the prologue, approach Vlad’s hut in the village center. The key item inside is the small bag of flour in the corner — it points to Mert’s Mill, south of Laslea Glen. The mill itself can only be visited once Smoke and Ashes is complete, so do not burn time segments chasing it early.

The Mill: Fight the Soldiers or Not?

Your first branch point. The soldiers holding the mill can be avoided entirely or met head-on:

To avoid the fight: arrive at night and stay out of dialogue marked with a sword icon; come back in daytime and agree to fix Renna’s cart. Do not touch the shed.
To fight: pick a sword-marked line at night — or in daytime, refuse the cart repairs. Fixing the cart and then knocking or shouting at the soldiers in the shed also starts it.

Renna’s fate rides on this. Saving her means killing the men in the shed before rescuing Mert, even though she asks you not to — spared soldiers kill her, and you find her corpse on the way back. Either way, Renna (or her absence) points you to Stoneward Post, where Mert is being held.

Stoneward Post: How Do You Rescue Mert?

Fight Everyone

Walk in the front door, day or night. Night is easier — your vampire half is stronger after dark, and the camp’s soldiers are not.

Sneak In (Night Only)

Shadowstep up the large damaged tower in the southwest, defeat Overseer Friedo, take the prison keys behind his desk, unlock the wooden dungeon door, and deal with the dungeon guard. There is a shortcut — drop straight into the dungeon through the room beside the tower and kill only the dungeon guard — but Mert cannot Shadowstep, so Friedo’s tower guard still has to die to clear his exit path.

Trick Your Way In (Daytime)

At the entrance, any line works, but “I want to enlist” followed by “What? A soldier without a weapon?” is the only path that lets you keep your weapon. Ignore the harassed civilian on the way in — fighting him turns the whole camp hostile. Then Overseer Friedo, at the southwest tower, is a four-way choice:

Kill him — the camp turns hostile when you leave.
Bribe him — 300 coins.
Fist-fight Cerbus for his entertainment.
Blackmail — talk to the angry woman outside, confront the merchant near the entrance, threaten to inform the Commander: then either inform him (and ask to see Mert as your reward) or pressure Friedo over his side hustle.

The dungeon guard at the end can be killed, or talked past with “Officer! He’s going to be sick!” — the only survivable option if you are unarmed, and it costs two turns. Talking to Mert alone completes the quest.

The Blood of Dawnwalker — The Firebrand Quest Walkthrough

What Follows: Under Watchful Eyes

The escape route depends on how you got in. Killed everyone? Walk out. Snuck in? Polygon’s route: exit the dungeon, fight the few soldiers you must, double back, turn left, and unlock the door next to the brazier — staying off the camp center. Went diplomatic? Your options are killing the camp on the way out, or returning at night to sneak — Shadowstep in, or pickpocket Friedo’s prison key in daytime after your conversation, while his back is turned.

Does The Firebrand Cost Time?

Barely, by this game’s standards. The only explicit time cost Polygon documents is the sick-officer line at two turns — but the quest’s real cost is what it gates: this is the first Manumit-chain quest, and the chain has to be finished before the castle assault if you want Crake’s army at your back instead of Brencis’s.