The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Fight Cerbus in The Firebrand

Cerbus is a soldier stationed at Stoneward Post, and beating him in a bare-knuckle fight is one of three ways to get Overseer Friedo to open the door to Mert’s cell during The Firebrand in The Blood of Dawnwalker. The objective is optional, it never appears on its own, and it only shows up in your journal after you ask Friedo for an alternative to money.

Quick answer: Speak to Friedo in the tower and pick “Is there another way I could persuade you?”, walk out to the training yard past the gates, talk to Cerbus and choose “I’m here to pay a debt”, win the fistfight, then return to Friedo and pass on his regards.

How to unlock the Fight Cerbus objective from Friedo

Cerbus will not fight you unprompted. Overseer Friedo sits in the tower at the back of the fort and wants something in exchange for letting you question Mert, and the brawl is his personal request.

Get inside Stoneward Post through the front gate. The guard accepts any of the three replies you can give him, but you have to hand over your weapons before he waves you through.

Work your way through the inner walls to the tower and start the conversation with Friedo. He will ask for payment before he grants you access to the cells.

Instead of paying, choose “Is there another way I could persuade you?”. Friedo points at his black eye and names Cerbus as the man who gave it to him. The journal updates with the optional objective “Fight Cerbus”.

Where to find Cerbus at Stoneward Post

Cerbus is not far. He drills recruits in a training area a short walk from the overseer’s building, behind two sets of wooden gates.

Leave the overseer’s hut and follow the path to the right. The quest tracker updates as you move, and the optional prompt to talk with the angry woman is still available on the way.

The Firebrand quest updates as Coen walks toward the settlement gate at Stoneward Post — The Firebrand objectives update as you approach the gate, with the angry woman still listed as optional. Image: Rebel Wolves

Pass through the first wooden gate and keep going straight rather than doubling back into the yards. Checking the map here confirms you are heading toward the rear of the camp.

Quest tracker showing Rescue your family as the player runs toward a wooden gate in the camp — The route to the training area runs straight through the camp’s wooden gates. Image: Rebel Wolves

Go through the second gate. Cerbus is standing in the open training ground, and you can interact with him directly.

Dialogue options that start the fistfight

Cerbus opens by dismissing you, telling Coen he is not there to train peasants. Three replies are available, and only one of them leads to a fight.

Dialogue option	Result
I’m here to pay a debt.	Leads into the fight. Cerbus refuses at first, Coen calls it “a different kind of debt”, and Cerbus agrees to settle it with fists.
I hear you and the overseer have got a disagreement.	Continues the conversation without committing to the brawl.
I’ll leave you be.	Ends the conversation and leaves the objective open.

Coen talking to Cerbus in the Stoneward Post training area before the brawl — The conversation with Cerbus in the training area, where the debt line triggers the duel. Image: Rebel Wolves

How to beat Cerbus in the fistfight

This is a straight brawl with no blades involved. Cerbus fights unarmed and so does Coen, which lines up with the weapon confiscation at the gate, so there is nothing to equip and no gear check to worry about. A boss health bar appears at the top of the screen labelled Cerbus, the Scornful.

Coen throwing punches at Cerbus with the boss health bar visible at the top of the screen — The duel is fought with fists only, and Cerbus gets his own boss health bar. Image: Rebel Wolves

There is no trick to it. Trade blows and empty the bar. Cerbus talks through the fight and threatens to put Coen down like a dog, but he has no special phase or gimmick to work around.

Melee exchange with the armored Cerbus, the Scornful, health bar draining at the top — Draining the health bar is the only requirement, and no phase change interrupts the brawl. Image: Rebel Wolves

Once the bar is gone, a short scene plays. Cerbus ends up on the ground, calls for the fight to stop, and Coen tells him that Friedo asked him to pass on his regards. That scene is your confirmation that the objective is done.

Return to Friedo to reach Mert’s cell

Winning the brawl does not open the cells by itself. Walk back to the tower and speak to Friedo again. With his revenge delivered, he unlocks the door and the Speak to the Overseer objective is spent, moving The Firebrand on to your conversation with Mert.

Note: if you never asked Friedo for another way to persuade him, Cerbus stays a training-yard NPC and nothing you say to him progresses the quest. Beating him also has no effect if you already paid the bribe or already pressured Friedo with the theft ring, since the door is open at that point.

The two alternatives to fighting Cerbus

All three routes end the same way, with Friedo unlocking the cells. Pick whichever fits your Denarii total and your appetite for a scrap.

Route	What it requires
Beat Cerbus	Ask Friedo for another way, win the fistfight, then report back. Costs no money.
Bribe Friedo	Hand over Denarii and he opens the door immediately. The fastest option if you can afford it.
Use the theft ring	Speak to the angry woman outside the tower, confront Trader Yenno about prisoners’ missing belongings, and threaten to tell the commander. Yenno names Cerbus and Friedo. Go back and tell Friedo you know about the deal.

Whichever route you pick, do not linger. Once the Go to Stoneward Post objective appears, you have four days before Mert is hanged, so the detour into the training yard is only worth taking if you still have time on the clock.