Where side quests start and how they finish
Use the starting Lanterns below to find each quest, then complete its final note, conversation or return visit to clear the log. Revisit poison routes after obtaining Shield Transmutation in the University, and finish the prison quests before leaving.
Spoiler warning: the walkthrough below reveals quest outcomes and late-game locations.
Side quest starts, routes and rewards
| Quest and starting Lantern | Actions, rewards and return timing |
|---|---|
| Guard Eternal — The Battlefield > Onslaught Arch. | Read the Eternal Guard’s Order and Fencer’s Journal. Return later to the blocked passage; the journal beyond it completes the quest. No reward. |
| An Unheard Farewell — Valley of Ashes > Guidepost; speak to the carriage officer after the Grenadier. | Accept his request. At The Climb, leave the moving lift at the central platform, burn the gold vines and defeat the miniboss. Collect the commanding-officers letter, then return for Sleight of Hand. |
| The Emissary — Valley of Ashes > The Other Side; collect the Emissary’s Seal in the carriage. | Collect Emissary’s Letter after Slaughtermill. Return with Shield, inspect the camp note and body, then examine the red cloth by the blocked gate. Reward: Sands of Time; camp chest: Perfect Copy. |
| The Scarecrow — Fallen Village > Fields; interact with the body on the scarecrow post. | Collect Lover’s Pendant beneath the tree and Letter with a Drawing upstairs in the nearby house. Return both, then inspect the pillows in the barn attic for Bountiful Harvest. |
| Lullaby — Fallen Village > Marketplace; approach the empty crib in the house toward the water. | Take Weathered Key behind the house. Unlock the riverside house beyond the Volunteer, collect the Toy from its bed and return it to the crib. Reward: Tomorrow’s Promise. |
| Homesick — Caverns > Last Sunlight; read Longing Wife Letter beside the Concerned Mother memory. | Follow the cave’s floor tunnel to the Grenadier, then cross the water to collect Death Notice from the boat. Return to the original letter location for Bottomless Well. |
| The Lost Boy — Vale of Wrath > Wolfsbane Field; read Mirek’s Note on the house bench. | Find Cellar Key beyond the cave miniboss and material chest. Return to the house, unlock the cellar and read its table note. Loot Wound that Heals from the chest. |
| The Deserter — Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge; collect Wanted Notice in the shack. | Use the grapple route beyond the artist’s basement to defeat the Guardsman for Beekeeper’s Hut Key. Read the diary; search square hives beside the hut, along the corpse road and behind the town house. Reward: Bountiful Harvest. |
| In the Name of Art — Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge; move the upstairs painting. | Shoot the house’s window weak point to enter. Collect Basement Key beside the hilltop gravestone, then read Painter’s Final Letter at the basement’s end. Reward: Butcher’s Carnage. |
| The King of Smugglers — Vale of Wrath > Ship Graveyard; return with Shield. | Read Toothless Jack’s Journal beneath the pier and Cargo Manifest on the crates. At Harbour, collect Crusty Benek’s Torn Letter in the hold and defeat the miniboss for Harbour Residence Key. Read his upstairs journal; loot Masterwork Firearm Parts and Butcher’s Carnage. |
| Till Death — Cursed Hollow > Eerie View; inspect the wreath after defeating the Bride. | After collecting the Claymore, take Red Ribbon from the grave behind the church. Place it on the wreath for Tomorrow’s Promise, then rest and revisit the wreath to finish. |
| Sleeping Beauty — Cursed Hollow > Village Church; crouch beneath the fence right of the large tree. | Read Headman’s Daughter’s Prayer at the island shrine. Defeat the building miniboss for Headman’s Key, unlock the house and inspect the upstairs note and spinning wheel. Reward: Distilled Transmutation Material. |
| The Curious Case of Seamus Diggory — Cursed Hollow > Silent Cannons; speak through the house window beyond the wallrun route. | Collect blood from the pig or wine from the barrel in the shack with hanging animals. Return to Seamus’s window for a Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade. |
| The Shrike’s Anthem — The Outskirts > Island of Whispers; read the note beside the wooden shrine. | Visit the burrows behind boxes left of the shrine, beneath the barn’s wall opening, in the waterside attic and across the shortcut barn’s beams. Reward: Tiny Whisker Gift. |
| Laudanum — The Outskirts > Island of Whispers; interact with the brown door before the shortcut weak point. | Speak to the children before collecting Laudanum from the house beyond Market Square’s poison route. Deliver it for a Mythic Catalyst Clot, rest, then return for the final house interaction. |
| Monster Hunt — City of Orphans > Tribunal Square; take Drawing of a Lancer from the tree. | Collect all 17 drawings across Tribunal Square, Shamble Street and Sewers. The Unknown Figure drawing is outside beside the water, around the right corner. Reward: Quintessential Transmutation Material. |
| Bedtime Stories — City of Orphans > Tribunal Square; offer help at the burrow upstairs after the burning tunnel. | Enter the basement through the upstairs trapdoor and collect the storybook from its shelf. Return it to the children for Tiny Whisker Gifts. |
| Misericorde — City of Orphans > Shamble Street; speak to the man strapped to wood near the shortcut stairs. | Climb the nearby building and follow its outside walkway to shoot the attic weak point. Return to the man to finish and receive Remnant’s Return. |
| Mummy and Daddy — City of Orphans > Sewers; speak at the burrow opposite the Lantern. | Burn the vines beside the key chest and speak at the next burrow. Activate the music box through the opening behind boxes, place Cheese in the cell and return. Reward: Tiny Whisker Gift. |
| Afraid of the Dark — City of Orphans > Sewers; speak to the Mice about the darkness. | Collect Sewer Lockpick near the Lantern, open the sewer doors and light the extinguished torches. The opening conversation grants Mice friendship. |
| Two Towers — Fortress > Main Gate; read Curfew Notice. | From Traverse, climb the ruined towers using formations and grapples. Ignite both beacons with Fire to open the gate; the chest beyond contains Quintessential Transmutation Material. |
| The Choir — prison escape; read Prison Warden’s Journal – Part One in the horn room. | Inspect the upstairs corridor door. Collect the next journal near Armoury Key and Key to the Chapel opposite. Take the chapel’s prisoner list, then post it beside the city Lantern. Reward: Remnant’s Return. |
| The Forgotten Fortune — Napoleon’s Prison > Prison; read the prisoner’s treasure note. | Burn the hanging body with Fire to reveal Silver Lockpick. Unlock the nearby cell for an Eternal Catalyst Clot. Complete this before leaving the prison. |
| The Oathbound — starts when you defeat an emblem-carrying Eternal Guardsman. | Follow the Guardsman route below, then return to Fortress > Courtyard with Mysterious Stone Slab. Read the hidden-room note; loot Empty Ferrofluid Flask and Quintessential Blade Material. |
When to return with new abilities
Shield Transmutation from the University opens the poison routes for The Emissary, The King of Smugglers and Adrien Cassell’s Oathbound encounter. Etienne Vauclair’s route requires grappling and Nephtoglobin platforms; Jean-Pierre Polnaire’s crane route uses Stasis.
Follow The Oathbound’s Guardsman route
- Defeat Valen Duroc beyond the shootable wall growth at the left fork uphill past Onslaught Arch’s camp to collect his emblem.
- Defeat Lucien Lafontaine on the left path below the plague vines near Demolished Path to collect his emblem.
- Defeat Jean Pierre Polnaire in the cave beyond Old Mine’s crane-box route to collect his emblem.
- Defeat Etienne Vauclair beyond the formations route left after Marketplace’s carriage to collect his emblem.
- Defeat Severin Susse beside the building beyond the hay on Deep Water’s right island to collect his emblem.
- Defeat Adrien Cassell beyond Shamble Street’s poison passage and house weak point to collect his emblem.
- Inspect Bastien Beaufort’s body after the fight in Courtyard’s left-hand room beyond the flag hallway to collect his emblem.
- Open the Oathbound-symbol wall opposite Bastien’s room with Mysterious Stone Slab to reach the final chamber.
- Read the note on the chamber’s table to complete The Oathbound.
Choices that change rewards or completion
In An Unheard Farewell, either answer gives Sleight of Hand. Tell the truth, rest and revisit the carriage for an Epic Catalyst Clot; lie, rest and revisit the scouts’ cave for Remnant’s Return.
Sleeping Beauty gives Distilled Transmutation Material on either path: letting her sleep pays 2,000 Catalysts, while waking her requires a fight and pays 3,000. Give Seamus wine for 3,000 Catalysts instead of blood’s 1,000; either gives the flask upgrade.
Read the Bedtime Stories book aloud for two Tiny Whisker Gifts instead of one. In Misericorde, ending the soldier’s suffering adds 3,000 Catalysts to Remnant’s Return.
Laudanum locks your decision when you answer the children. Helping them leads to Poisoned Laudanum; after delivery and a rest, read the upstairs child’s diary for Potent Concoction. With ordinary Laudanum, inspect the woman’s body to finish.
Keep the parents alive in Mummy and Daddy: shooting them immediately fails the quest. Use the music box and Cheese route instead.
Clear a quest that still appears active
For The King of Smugglers, check beneath the Cargo Manifest platform, behind the lower ladder, for Toothless Jack’s Journal. For Misericorde or In the Name of Art after a quest fix, revisit the quest location: fixes do not automatically start or resolve the journal entry.