Buried Past is the side arc in The Blood of Dawnwalker that digs into Coen’s father, Pieter, and the mercenary life he walked away from. It is not a quest you can rush. It stretches across several in-game days, eats Time Segments at almost every turn, and ends with a legendary chestpiece, one of the strongest sword abilities in the game, and a betrayal you can choose not to answer.
Quick answer: Buy a bottle of Slivovitz from the merchant in Maragir for 61 gold, beat Volk at the Ruined Hut outside Svartrau, then return to him on three separate days, win his sparring match, dig up Pieter’s chest at the Secret Glade, confirm the gold story at the Maragir monastery, and report back to close the quest.
Where Buried Past starts and what you need first
The trail begins with a merchant sitting on a cart in the village of Maragir, southeast of Laslea Glen. He recognizes Coen as Pieter’s son, offers him a discount out of respect, and mentions that Pieter used to haul a keg of beer into the woods south of the village, toward Svartrau. That is the whole lead.
You can ask about the beer order Pieter left behind, but it costs 200 gold and the merchant will not part with it for less. The cheap and useful purchase is a bottle of Slivovitz for 61 gold. Buy it before you leave. It matters later.
With the objective “Find Pieter’s secret spot” active, head to the marked location beside the Ruined Hut shrine, just outside Svartrau City. Poking around the yard triggers a confrontation with a blind old man who takes you for a thief. Win the short brawl and he yields.
The waiting rule that stalls Buried Past
Volk tires quickly and tells you to come back the next day. The game means that literally, tied to the Time Progression system. You must return during the same time period you left him in. If your last conversation happened in the afternoon, morning of the following day gives you nothing new. You need the next afternoon.
The shrine next to the hut is the fastest way to burn a day. Every conversation and every chore also costs Time Segments, so the arc is expensive if you are juggling other objectives.
| Action | Time Segment cost |
|---|---|
| Any chat or chore for Volk | 1x |
| Travel to the Secret Glade | 2x |
| Digging up the chest | 1x |
| Speaking with the monk at Maragir | 1x |
| Reporting your findings to Volk | 1x |
Volk’s three visits and the chores between them
Note: skipping the chores does not save you time in the long run. The story beats are gated behind them, and each one still costs a Time Segment when you finally do it.
Winning the spar for the Artery Strike Manual
After the third conversation, Volk wants to see whether Pieter taught you anything and challenges you to a duel as “Volk, The Oath Breaker.” Beat him and he passes on a precision technique in the form of the Artery Strike Manual. It is among the best Swordsmanship abilities in the game, hitting hard with a chance to decapitate.
Once the spar is done, the conversation turns to where Pieter might have buried the mercenary gold. Tell Volk about the glade you and your family used for berry picking as a child, and the Secret Glade gets marked on your map.
Digging up Pieter’s chest at the Secret Glade
The glade sits up in the mountains and the trip costs 2x Time Segments. A Ravenous Bear patrols the area, and you can slip past it rather than fight. At the marked spot, dig with the shovel to pull up the chest.
There is no gold inside. What you get instead is Pieter’s Garb, a legendary light chestpiece that raises maximum human health, human health restoration, weapon critical hit chance, and weapon critical hit damage, making it one of the strongest daytime armor pieces available. Alongside it are Pieter’s Unfinished Letter, addressed “To My Children,” and a Prayer Book from Maragir. The prayer book is the lead that pushes the quest forward.
What the Maragir monastery did with the gold
The objective updates to “Ask about Pieter at the Maragir monastery.” Head back to Maragir, find the monastery nearby, and show Brother Cosma what you recovered from the chest. He confirms that Pieter handed over every coin from his mercenary years to fund the scriptorium, framed as penance for his part in burning Cassel.
Before you leave, sweep the repository. A ladder leads to a second floor, and the shelves hold the Renewed Focus Manual, Herbal Remedies II Manual, Charge Manual, Medicus I Manual, and a Recipe for Minor Balm of Fortitude. None of it is required for the quest, but it is free progression sitting in plain sight.
How Buried Past ends at the Ruined Hut
Return to the hut and tell Volk the truth. He does not take it well. The idea that a fortune he helped earn went into parchment and ink strips away whatever warmth the last few days built up.
What happens next depends on when you come back. Use the shrine to wait until Moonrise and walk in on the ambush yourself. Two soldiers are waiting, and after you cut them down Volk admits he sold you out for coin and dares you to finish him. Refusing the fight and walking away closes the quest.
Leave it a full day instead and the fight is already over when you arrive. Dead guards are scattered around the yard, and you can compel one soldier’s soul to hear how the old mercenary took his arm off. Volk is gone, having left behind a letter explaining that Brencis sent men after him, plus Volk’s Sword, an epic greatsword with maximum human health, Swordmastery ability cooldown, Witchcraft ability cooldown, and bonus damage against supernatural enemies.
Buried Past rewards
| Reward | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Artery Strike Manual | Winning Volk’s sparring match |
| Pieter’s Garb (legendary light chest) | Chest at the Secret Glade |
| Pieter’s Unfinished Letter, Prayer Book from Maragir | Chest at the Secret Glade |
| Repository manuals and one recipe | Maragir monastery, upper and lower floors |
| Volk’s Sword (epic greatsword) | Left at the hut after the ambush |
| 250 XP and 1 Skill Point | Quest completion |
Why Buried Past stops advancing
You know the quest has closed when the completion notice fires and 250 XP plus 1 Skill Point land on your character. If it stalls before that, the cause is almost always one of these:
- You came back to Volk at the wrong time of day. He only has new dialogue during the same period you last spoke to him.
- A chore is still outstanding. The ointment, the boarded window, and the missing knife each gate the conversation that follows them.
- You have not dug at the Secret Glade yet, so the monastery objective never appears.
- You went to the monastery without the prayer book from the chest, leaving the monk with nothing to confirm.
For a quest that opens with a discounted beer, Buried Past asks for a lot of patience and a real chunk of your in-game clock. The payoff is worth budgeting for: a top-tier daytime chestpiece, an ability that can end fights outright, and a fairly bleak answer to what Pieter did with the money he earned killing people.
