The Blood of Dawnwalker: Should You Beat Vasil in Someone Needs a Lesson?

Vasil is the village kid in The Blood of Dawnwalker who trails Coen around Laslea Glen shouting insults about his sick mother. Confronting him kicks off Someone Needs a Lesson, a short prologue side quest that ends with Vasil’s father, Atanas, pressing a wooden switch into your hand and telling you to use it. The quest gives you several exits, and almost none of them change where you end up.

Quick answer: Beating Vasil is optional and does not alter the quest’s outcome or its payout. Choosing “Ahh… All right” and then “[give Vasil a beating]” triggers three prompted strikes; refusing simply lets Atanas do it himself. The only way to actually stop the punishment is to fight Atanas instead.

Note: This quest contains a depicted scene of physical abuse against a minor character. It can be avoided, but it is one of the possible outcomes.

How to start Someone Needs a Lesson

Vasil first appears near the soldiers around the village centre. Leave the family house, skip past your siblings and their Live Bait quest, and instead of continuing straight toward the Laslea Centre Shrine, take the left-hand path. Vasil will be there hurling insults, and approaching him makes him bolt, which starts the quest.

Run him down and hold the interaction button once you are close. Coen tackles the chase to a stop with a punch, and Vasil hits the dirt.

Interaction prompt marked F appears as Coen reaches for Vasil in the woods — Hold the interaction prompt while close to Vasil to end the chase. Image: Rebel Wolves

From there you can ask “Just what is your problem?” or jump straight to “Oh, I’ll show you,” which starts a fistfight. Staying calm just means Vasil keeps taunting you, and each taunt reopens the same fork. Fighting him or not has no lasting effect beyond the scrap itself.

Every dialogue choice and what it does

Atanas turns up mid-argument and asks what the noise is about. Your explanation does not matter — all three replies feed into the same conversation, and he invites Coen along to “teach” his son.

Prompt	Options	Result
Explaining the fight to Atanas	“We had a little disagreement, yes.” / “He’s been bothering me all day.” / “Oh, it’s nothing.”	Identical. Atanas asks Coen to come with him.
Going with Atanas	“Oh? Alright.” / “I’ve got no time for this.”	Agreeing leads to the tree. Repeated refusals anger Atanas and he attacks you.
At the tree, switch in hand	“I’m not beating him.” / “Ahh… All right.” / “Let him go, Atanas.”	Agreeing opens the second prompt. Refusing hands the job back to Atanas.
Second confirmation	“[give Vasil a beating]” / “I can’t.” / “This is wrong. Leave him be.”	The bracketed option starts the punishment scene. The others back out.
Afterward, at the cabin	“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.” / “Hope you learned something.” / “Never mind.”	Flavour only. Vasil is sullen regardless.

Three dialogue options on screen, including Ahh... All right, while Atanas holds the switch — The three replies offered when Atanas hands Coen the switch. Image: Rebel Wolves

Turning down the switch reads as the merciful pick, but it does not save Vasil. Atanas carries out the beating himself. Confronting the father directly and fighting him is the only branch that actually stops it.

What happens if you beat Vasil

Pick “Ahh… All right” when Atanas offers the switch. He explains his parenting philosophy while Vasil pleads with him, and the scene continues to the second prompt.

Atanas berates Vasil in a cutscene with the subtitle You shut your mouth, Vasil. Take it like a man. — Atanas cuts off his son’s pleading before the punishment begins. Image: Rebel Wolves

Select “[give Vasil a beating].” Vasil pulls off his shirt, and his back is already covered in old white scars — the clearest sign in the whole quest that Atanas has been doing this for a long time.

Follow the on-screen prompt three times to land the strikes. On PC that is the W key, tapped once per hit. The scene then cuts to a short time skip over the mountains and the village.

Finishing the quest and confirming it worked

After the time skip, Vasil is sitting alone outside a nearby log cabin. Walk up and speak to him to close out the quest.

Coen approaches Vasil, who is sitting alone outside a wooden log cabin — Vasil waits outside the log cabin once the time skip ends. Image: Rebel Wolves

Choosing “Hope you learned something” gets a flat, bitter reply — Vasil tells Coen to leave him alone. An apology or the neutral “Never mind” reaches the same place. Either way, the exchange makes plain that Atanas has been abusing his son for a long while, which reframes the unprovoked hostility Vasil aimed at Coen in the first place.

Close-up cutscene of Coen saying I hope you learned something today — The “Hope you learned something” line lands badly with Vasil. Image: Rebel Wolves

You know it registered when Coen walks off and the QUEST ENDED banner for Someone Needs a Lesson appears, followed by the payout. The end screen tallies 3 XP alongside 250 coin, and the Glossary updates at the same time. Your active objectives — Complete your chores, Withering Away, and the herb collection from Anca — carry on untouched.

Worth remembering that the prologue runs on the same time system as the rest of the game, with each day split into eight segments. Someone Needs a Lesson is a brief detour, but it is one of several stories competing for the day you have before the bloodletting ceremony, and the medicine run to Anca is the one with an actual deadline attached.