The Bittersweet Toast Walkthrough in The Blood of Dawnwalker (Full Quest)

The Bittersweet Toast is a missable quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker that branches out of The Gilded Gauntlet. It sends Coen and Iulian Codrin into the Briar Sloughs to find a poisoner named Vera, only to discover she has been killed by a creature in the swamp. To finish the quest, you retrace her final movements, complete her unfinished ritual, survive an ambush and a boss fight, and force Iulian to drink the brew.

Quick answer: Follow Iulian to Vera’s Hut, find her body in the swamp, retrieve the Ritual Instructions scroll, finish the brew with salamander skin, light all five pillars with Astral Communion during the day, defeat the wights and the Fallen Witch, then return to Iulian and make him drink the brew to complete the quest.

How to start The Bittersweet Toast

This quest only appears if you take the optional objective during The Gilded Gauntlet before you duel Ambrus. Speak with Iulian Codrin at his Hunting Lodge in the Maragir Wealds. He explains that Ambrus feeds directly from personal blood donors before every duel, and proposes poisoning that donor so the boyar unknowingly drinks tainted blood.

When you ask how this is possible, Iulian names a skilled poisoner, Vera, who lives nearby. Choosing to hear his plan starts The Bittersweet Toast. If you refuse, the quest stays open and you can return to accept later.

Note: Accepting Iulian’s plan causes Vera’s death in the story. Once The Bittersweet Toast is active, you have a limited number of days to accept the duel before Iulian dies, so do not leave it half-finished.

Follow Iulian to Vera’s Hut

Follow Iulian Codrin down the forest path. A pack of three wolves attacks along the way. Defeat them with your sword and keep moving.

Continue past a shrine where you find a man’s mutilated body covered in slime. Inspect it, then keep following Iulian until you reach Vera’s Hut.

On-screen F prompt to talk with Iulian outside Vera's Hut in The Bittersweet Toast — The F prompt appears to speak with Iulian at Vera’s Hut. Image: Rebel Wolves

A cutscene plays as Iulian knocks with no answer and forces the door open. Vera is not home, so he asks you to search for clues while he checks outside.

Search the hut and find out where Vera is

Inside the hut, inspect the witchcraft table to find a list of ritual ingredients and the details of the ritual Vera was preparing, plus a salamander trap she used to gather skins. The last item you inspect advances the objective. You can also open a chest in the bedroom to read letters between Iulian and Vera and loot supplies.

Items you can pick up here and nearby include Aconite, the Recipe for Animal Blood Infusion, a Drumstick, Cowhide Loafers, a Vial of Aether, Denarius, the Slasher’s Pendant, and the Forbidden Sigils Manual.

Talk to Iulian outside afterward. He explains that a vrakhiri cannot normally be poisoned, but Vera found a way to strengthen the poison with a hex. Since her other ritual needs salamander skin, she has been out setting traps.

Compass objective marker 18 meters away as Coen moves through the forest at night — Follow the compass marker toward Vera’s traps after speaking with Iulian. Image: Rebel Wolves

Track Vera’s traps and follow her footprints

Head west to the edge of the water to find salamander traps in various states. Inspect them as you go. Continue along the path until you reach a trap leaning against a tree stump.

At the stump, enter investigation mode and look at both the trap and the mud, where Coen spots Vera’s tracks. These footprints show up as yellow in Focus Mode.

Head southeast and follow the trail past the body of a bear torn in half and covered in the same slime. Keep going until you find Vera’s body leaning against the ritual altar she was preparing for Iulian.

Inspect Vera’s body and recover the Ritual Instructions

Inspect Vera’s body to trigger a cutscene. Iulian breaks down and admits he was to be Ambrus’s donor, and that he wanted to die as the weapon used against the boyar. Investigate the knife and her slime-covered body to link her death to the creature that killed the man and the bear.

Inspect the ground, the bloodstains, and her torn bag. Her blood trail leads back into the swamp, showing she was attacked elsewhere and her ritual notes fell out as she ran.

Follow the blood trail deeper into the swamp until you reach a clearing scattered with notebook pages and spilled belongings. Take the Ritual Instructions scroll from the center of the pile to advance the quest.

Tip: Look up from where you found the scroll for three more pages in the distance. The third page reveals the creature’s gland is what Vera needed to let Iulian survive the poison, unlocking the optional path to save him.

Optional: Kill the Pale Ravager for its gland

If you want to honor Vera’s last wish and give Iulian a chance to survive, head northeast and follow the slime trail to a narrow gap in the rock. Squeeze through into the cavern, where the Pale Ravager appears to defend its lair.

The creature burrows underground and pops up for regular strikes, an unblockable spit attack, and an unblockable ground slam. Dodge the spit left or right, and dodge back and away to avoid the slam. Perfect-block its slower bite to open it up for damage. Once it dies, loot the Tatzelwurm Gland, which spends one time segment.

Give Iulian the scroll and finish the brew

Return to the altar and hand Iulian the Ritual Instructions. He explains that the brew must be prepared right before the ritual, and the ritual requires Coen to cast Astral Communion, which only works in daytime.

Quest Updated notice for The Bittersweet Toast while traveling to return the scroll to Iulian — The quest updates as you head back to give Iulian the ritual scroll. Image: Rebel Wolves

Make sure it is daytime before continuing. Rather than waiting until dawn and wasting time, unlock skills or clear other nearby objectives, then come back when it is light.

Interact with the cauldron at the altar to finish the brew. It is already half-prepared and only needs the final ingredient, salamander skin. Speak with Iulian afterward to trigger a short cutscene.

Light the five pillars and survive the ambush

Use Astral Communion to light the first three pillars scattered around the area. After the third pillar, a group of hostile spirits, or wights, spawns.

Quest Updated panel for The Bittersweet Toast during the wight ambush at the ritual site — The ambush triggers after the third pillar is lit. Image: Rebel Wolves

These spirits are weak and attack mainly with swords. Dodge their swings and pick them off one at a time.

Light the fourth and fifth pillars to complete the set. A second wave of spirits appears alongside the Fallen Witch boss.

Defeat the Fallen Witch

The Fallen Witch is not a tough fight, but clear her summoned minions and avoid taking hits. Take your time and dodge her swings rather than trading blows. Once she and her minions are down, the ritual can continue.

Complete the ritual and make Iulian drink the brew

Return to Iulian to finish the ritual. In the final cutscene he drinks the brew, screams in pain, and begs you to stop or kill him, but Coen forces him to drink the rest.

F Loot prompt on screen as Coen loots a fallen enemy during the final ritual stage — Loot fallen enemies before returning to Iulian for the final cutscene. Image: Rebel Wolves

You know it worked when the quest closes out and the reward lands. Completion grants experience, and forcing the brew is the exact action that ends The Bittersweet Toast. The optional Pale Ravager kill adds extra experience on top.

The quest fails if you kill Codrin or leave in the middle of the ritual, so do not walk away once the pillars are lit. With Iulian cured, head back to The Gilded Gauntlet, where completing this side quest adds new dialogue options at the duel and lets you poison Ambrus through Iulian’s blood.