The Blood of Dawnwalker: Xanthe’s Excavations Malevolent Presence (Full Quest)

Xanthe’s Excavations: Malevolent Presence is one of the Court activities tied to Xanthe, the third vampiric vassal in The Blood of Dawnwalker. It sits in a cave under Tantari Woods, it costs three time segments, and it is the only place in the game that hands you the legendary Mindbrace Amulet. Everything else in the run — the possessed excavators, the spectral boss, the side loot — is optional noise around a single required pickup.

Quick answer: Fight through the cave to the ritual chamber, kill the Frenzied Soul that spawns after the cutscene, then grab the Excavation Log from the stone table in the middle of the room. That pickup is what closes the “Find and collect research notes” objective and pays out the Mindbrace Amulet, 250 XP, and 2 Skill Points.

Where Malevolent Presence starts in Tantari Woods

Court activities unlock after the Prologue, and Xanthe’s are grouped under headings like Ancient Digsites, Blood Guard Recruiters, and Artifact Transports. Malevolent Presence belongs to the digsite group. Like every Court activity, it is not pinned on your map from the start — it shows as an unknown activity until you find it in the world, so climbing the nearby towers first to reveal question mark icons saves a lot of wandering.

Once you have discovered it, open the Journal, track the quest, and the “Find and collect research notes” objective will place a marker on the cave entrance in Tantari Woods. Xanthe’s activities are the highest of the three Court regions in terms of enemy level, so the usual order is Ambrus first, then Bakir, then Xanthe.

Map screen with the Find and collect research notes objective open and a Show in Journal option — The map entry for the activity, with the “Find and collect research notes” objective ready to track. Image: Rebel Wolves

Note: the activity costs three time segments, and you only have 30 in-game days to bring down all three vassals and reach Brencis. Doing roughly three quarters of Xanthe’s activities is enough to max her Anger and open her boss quest, The Cycle of Love.

Clearing the excavation cave

Enter the cave at the marker and deal with the first possessed enemy waiting just inside the mouth. The fight is short, and it sets the pattern for the rest of the dungeon — everything in here is a corrupted excavator rather than a Blood Guard patrol.

Gameplay screen showing a highlighted SHOW prompt for the Counterattack perk upgrade — A perk upgrade prompt for Counterattack appears on screen during the opening fight. Image: Rebel Wolves

Follow the corridors deeper into the ruins, using the distance readout on the objective marker to stay on the main path. A group of possessed excavators blocks the way partway through, and there is a closed wooden door on the route that opens once the area is clear.

Character standing before a closed wooden door in a dark ruin with the objective marker 18 meters ahead — The wooden door on the main route, with the objective sitting 18 meters beyond it. Image: Rebel Wolves

Step into the ritual chamber at the end of the ruins. A cutscene plays and a Frenzied Soul spawns, so make sure your health and consumables are topped up before you cross the threshold — there is no way to back out once the scene triggers.

Kill the Frenzied Soul. Its health bar sits at the top of the screen while it is targeted, and it drops Dust of Anachora, a Vial of Aether, and a Glob of Likho’s Light when it goes down.

Combat view of the player striking a targeted armored enemy with its red health bar shown at the top — Combat in the ruins, with the targeted enemy’s health bar tracked at the top of the screen. Image: Rebel Wolves

The Excavation Log and the chest in the final room

With the boss dead, walk to the stone table in the center of the chamber and pick up the Excavation Log. This is the research note the objective is asking for, and it is the single action that completes the activity. Nothing else in the room is required.

Before you leave, open the chest nearby. It holds a Golden Cross, a Recipe for Minor Aetheric Attunement, and a Strong Ancient Reagent. None of it is needed to finish the activity, but the reagent and recipe feed straight into crafting, so it is worth the extra few seconds.

Loot prompt highlighting a chest in the ritual chamber, ready to be opened — The loot prompt on the chest in the final chamber, holding the Golden Cross and crafting materials. Image: Rebel Wolves

Malevolent Presence rewards and drops

Source	What you get
Completing the activity	Mindbrace Amulet (Legendary), 250 XP, 2 Skill Points
Frenzied Soul	Dust of Anachora, Vial of Aether, Glob of Likho’s Light
Chest in the ritual chamber	Golden Cross, Recipe for Minor Aetheric Attunement, Strong Ancient Reagent
Time cost	3 time segments

The Mindbrace Amulet is the reason completionists put this activity high on the list. It is one of the legendary amulets in the game and it has no alternate source, so skipping this dig site means skipping the Gear of the Gods requirement that depends on a full legendary set.

How to confirm the activity is complete

You will know it registered the moment you take the Excavation Log. The completion banner fires, the reward screen lists 250 XP and 2 Skill Points, and the Mindbrace Amulet lands in your inventory under accessories. The “Throne of Thorns” trophy also unlocks around this point in the run.

The other confirmation is on the Court screen. Open Brencis’s Court and check Xanthe’s Anger meter — a cleared digsite pushes it up, and Malevolent Presence should now be marked as done in her activity list rather than sitting as an unknown entry.

If the objective is still open, it is almost always because you killed the Frenzied Soul and walked out without touching the stone table. Clearing the enemies does not count on its own; the note pickup does. Head back to the ritual chamber and take the log.

Xanthe has two other digsite activities worth pairing with this trip. Unsealed Secrets asks for two notes found with Focus Mode, one among the tents outside and one inside the ruins, and Bloodied Dagger hides a set of legendary boots behind a locked chest that only opens after you find the Ritual Dagger and use Compel Soul on the corpse in front of it. Clearing all three in one outing keeps her Anger climbing without burning much of your remaining time.