The Blood of Dawnwalker: Withering Away Walkthrough (Save Esme)

Withering Away is the second main quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it hides a consequence that pays off much later. The way you prepare Esme’s medicine here decides whether Coen’s mother lives through the Blood Mass. Get the recipe wrong and she dies during the Sacred Covenant quest.

Quick answer: To keep Esme alive, prepare the herbal brew with hot water (not boiling, not cold) and three spoonfuls of herbs. Complete the whole quest before you reach the Sacred Covenant.

When Withering Away starts and what’s at stake

The quest begins automatically at Coen’s house in Laslea Glen once you finish the prologue mission, All Good Things. Coen wakes from a nightmare and his father, Pieter, already has a list of chores waiting.

The core mission takes one time segment. Staying with Anca for the optional Latin lesson adds a second segment and opens the side quest Page-Turner. Completing the whole thing rewards 500 XP for dealing with Anca plus 100 XP for administering the herbs.

Note: The failure state is Esme’s death. If you use the wrong water temperature or dosage, or you don’t finish the quest before the Sacred Covenant, she does not survive.

Chores at Coen’s house

Open the chest beside your bed and take out your clothes. Equip the Comfortable Tunic, Trousers with Wrappings, and Grey Loafers from the inventory menu. This step is optional but quick.

On-screen prompt to pick up clothes from the storage chest by pressing Square — The prompt to collect Coen’s clothes from the storage chest next to the bed. Image: Rebel Wolves

Head into the small yard, pick up the axe, and split three logs on the chopping block. Follow the on-screen prompts to chop the wood.

Carry the firewood back inside and approach the stove. Press the prompt to add it, then the family sits down for breakfast.

Quest tracker showing Withering Away and the objective to add firewood to the stove — The tracker updates to “Add the firewood to the stove” as Coen loads the stove. Image: Rebel Wolves

During breakfast, Esme refuses to eat. Nothing you or Pieter try will work. Pieter then tells Coen to visit Anca for stronger herbs before tonight’s Blood Mass, and to take his sword.

Pieter telling Coen to visit Anca for stronger herbs because the current ones stopped working — Pieter sends Coen to Anca because Esme’s current herbs no longer help. Image: Rebel Wolves

Go into the next room and pick up the Training Sword leaning against the wall. Equip it from the inventory. A nearby container also holds a Canteen of Water, a Spool of Thread, and a Denarius worth grabbing.

Find Anca by the river

Walk to Anca’s hut and knock on the door. No one answers. This is where the game introduces Focus Mode, a vision mode that dims the background and highlights interactive objects in white and quest-related ones in gold.

Check the vegetable patch to see that only half of it is watered, then look in the water barrel to find it empty. Those clues point to the river. Follow the path around the corner of the house and downhill until you spot Anca kneeling at the water’s edge.

Tip: Instead of calling out to her right away, keep watching. You get an early look at the unusual markings on Anca’s hands and arms.

Coen speaking with Anca about his mother's worsening condition — Coen explains Esme’s decline and Anca agrees to prepare stronger herbs. Image: Rebel Wolves

Pay Anca and get the herbs

Follow Anca back into her hut. She hands over a sachet of the rarer herbs, a printed recipe sheet, and the instructions you must remember for the brew.

Brew three scoops of this mixture, with water that’s hot, but not quite boiling.

The herbs cost extra because they are rarer than usual. Your payment options do not affect Esme’s fate.

Payment choice	Outcome
Pay 50 denarius	Anca’s full asking price, paid in full.
Offer 25 denarius	She accepts begrudgingly if you can’t afford 50.
“Sorry – can’t afford it”	She gives the herbs on a promise to pay later.

The storm choice and the optional Latin lesson

A storm breaks after the deal. Anca offers to wait it out together and pick up Coen’s old Latin lessons. Your reply decides how much time the quest costs.

Dialogue choice	Effect
“Gladly – I’ve missed it too”	Uses 2 time segments and starts the optional Page-Turner quest.
“I really have to go”	Uses 1 time segment and sends Coen straight home.

If you stay for Page-Turner, the Latin reading answers do not change the outcome, but the correct contextual picks are worth knowing. For the Petronius text choose Fear and Lightning. For Catullus (Carmina 7), choose Kisses and Grains of Sand.

During Page-Turner, a tree crashes onto Anca’s herb shed. Enter the building and collect all 11 herb bundles before you check on her. Three are easy to miss behind the door, and advancing the scene early can lock you out of anything left inside.

Cutscene of Anca reacting after a fallen tree crushes her herb shed — A tree collapses onto Anca’s shed during the storm, ruining part of her stock. Image: Rebel Wolves

Anca is injured outside. Help her into the house, wash the cut on her back with a wet cloth first, then apply the balm from the blue jar.

Prepare the brew correctly (the part that saves Esme)

Head back to Coen’s house. Pieter is outside talking with Vladimir, so wait for that to finish before you hand him the herbs. Pieter then tells Coen to prepare the medicine at the stove, and this is the decision that matters.

Brew choice	Correct selection
Water temperature	Hot water (not boiling, not cold)
Herb quantity	Three spoonfuls of herbs

Pieter and Coen then give the brew to Esme, and Coen sings a lullaby to calm her while she drinks. Once she has taken the medicine, Pieter invites Coen into the woods for sword practice, which automatically begins the next quest, Like Father, Like Son. That transition confirms Withering Away is complete.

Why Esme still dies later

The medicine choice does not resolve during this quest. Esme’s fate is decided at the Sacred Covenant, when she drinks the brew you prepared. Using hot water with three spoonfuls of herbs is what keeps her alive through that scene.

If Esme dies later, the cause traces back to two things only. Either the water temperature or dosage was wrong, or the quest was not completed before you reached the Sacred Covenant. Follow Anca’s recipe exactly and finish Withering Away first, and Coen’s mother survives.