The Blood of Dawnwalker: Rise at Dawn Full Quest Walkthrough

Rise at Dawn is the quest that turns Crake’s rebellion into an actual army. It closes out the Manumit questline in The Blood of Dawnwalker by storming Eastridge Outpost, and the moment you accept it, the game stops being a sandbox and starts being an ending.

Quick answer: Talk to Marat in Svartrau City and confirm the point-of-no-return prompt, follow him through Tantari Woods, tie your rope and rappel into Eastridge Outpost, defeat the vanguard and The Unblinking Blasphemy, then climb the tower and turn the wooden turnstile to open the outer gate for Catalin. Report back to Marat to start the final battle.

Rise at Dawn requirements and the point of no return

The quest unlocks once you finish Who Pulls the Strings, the previous step in Crake’s chain. Marat then needs time to prepare, so the journal will park you on “Come back in a few days” and later “Come back by morning” before the real objective appears.

Once the objective reads “Return to Marat once you’re ready to move,” speaking to him triggers a warning screen: You’re nearing the point of no return in your story. Confirming it abandons every quest and activity currently in progress and sets the final quest in motion. There is no free roam after the ending.

Note: Anything you have already started gets wiped, not paused. Half-finished side content such as Where Old Devils Lie or Bakir’s Transports: Ill-Gotten Gains fails outright the moment the assault begins. Untouched quests are simply gone with the rest of the world once you finish the story.

Make a manual save before you confirm. The game supports 54 manual slots, and that single save is what lets you reload later and see the other endings without a second playthrough.

Rise at Dawn objectives in order

Objective	What it means
Come back in a few days	Marat needs time before the Manumits can move on Grefberg.
Come back by morning	Catalin’s troops are in position; the rebellion moves at dawn.
Return to Marat once you’re ready to move	Talking to him triggers the point-of-no-return prompt.
Follow Marat	The march through Tantari Woods to the cliff above the outpost.
Tie your rope	Rig the rope for the descent onto the garrison.
Defeat the vanguard	Clear the first wave of defenders that spots you.
Breach the second gate	Push inward through the next set of garrison troops.
Open the outer gate	Climb the tower and turn the turnstile to let Catalin in.
Talk to the quartermaster	Optional restock before the strike on Grefberg.
Go to Marat once you’re ready for the final battle	Ends Rise at Dawn and rolls into Fall Before Dusk.

Rise at Dawn walkthrough: Svartrau City to Eastridge Outpost

Open the map of Svartrau City and follow the quest marker to the building where Crake is waiting. He lays out the plan before you commit: the Manumits hit Eastridge Outpost from the cliff side while Catalin’s troops press from the opposite side.

Confirm the warning prompt and sit through the rally at the hideout. Crake gives a speech to his men, and the dialogue options you pick here are morale choices rather than branch points, so answer however suits your Coen.

Follow Marat once the group reaches the cliff overlooking the outpost. The route runs through Tantari Woods and costs a day of the coronation countdown, and Marat will tell everyone to keep quiet as patrols move below.

Quest objective changes to Follow Marat as the rebels enter Tantari Woods — The objective flips to “Follow Marat” as the group crosses into Tantari Woods and the day rolls over. Image: Rebel Wolves

Tie your rope at the cliff edge. Crake signals Catalin’s forces with a torch, and the whole group rappels down the rock face into the garrison below.

Defeat the vanguard. This is a straightforward daylight fight with sword and shield against Brencis’s soldiers, so treat it as a human-form encounter rather than trying to lean on claws.

Push toward the outer gate on Crake’s order and breach the second gate. Reinforcements arrive in waves that mix regular soldiers, war hounds, and at least one heavily armoured knight, and the gate ahead is closed with the garrison defending it.

Journal prompt highlighted while the Breach the second gate objective is tracked — The journal update as the fight moves inward and the objective becomes “Breach the second gate.” Image: Rebel Wolves

Survive The Unblinking Blasphemy. A giant flying insect boss drops into the courtyard partway through the gate fight, and it arrives while the surviving garrison soldiers are still swinging at you. The rebels fight alongside you here, so let them soak hits from the remaining troops while you commit to the boss.

The Unblinking Blasphemy boss health bar on screen during the Eastridge courtyard fight — The Unblinking Blasphemy’s health bar appears while soldiers are still active in the courtyard. Image: Rebel Wolves

Head for the tower once Crake tells you to open the gate. There is a guard waiting inside, and bodies scattered through the courtyard are worth looting on the way for materials like Aconite, a Broken Sword, and Superior Ingredient.

Interact with the wooden turnstile at the top. That single interaction satisfies the “Open the outer gate – 1 / 1” objective and cues the cutscene of Catalin and his armoured troops charging through.

Coen standing in front of the wall-mounted turnstile crank inside the tower — The wall-mounted crank inside the tower is the interaction that opens the outer gate. Image: Rebel Wolves

After Eastridge falls: Catalin’s judgment and the final battle prep

Catalin’s armoured troops mop up the remaining defenders without much help from you. He then confronts the men who surrendered, executes one as a warning, and presses the other two into his army. Coen can object, but Catalin dismisses him and the outcome does not change.

The objective becomes “Go to Marat once you’re ready for the final battle,” with an optional prompt to talk to the quartermaster first. Take it. This is the last chance to restock and repair before Grefberg, and once you tell Marat you are ready, there is no coming back to camp.

Quest HUD showing the optional objective to talk to the quartermaster in the captured camp — The optional quartermaster objective appears in the captured outpost before the march on Grefberg. Image: Rebel Wolves

Climb the stairs to meet Marat and Catalin on the wall when you are done. Crake explains the infiltration plan, which is to slip through a secret tunnel and reach Brencis while Catalin’s troops hold his attention with a false siege. Confirm, and the group heads for the cave.

How to confirm Rise at Dawn is complete

The quest is finished when the journal swaps Rise at Dawn for Fall Before Dusk and gives you the objective “Inspect the tunnels” at the cave entrance. Catalin asserts command, severed limbs on the ground signal that something is already living in the passages, and the tunnel search begins.

Rise at Dawn resolves one of two ways depending on whether you go through with the assault.

Outcome	Result
Take the outpost	Eastridge falls, Catalin’s troops breach the walls, and the story moves to Grefberg via Fall Before Dusk.
Back out	Coen turns his back on Crake and the rebellion, and this route to the ending closes.

Rise at Dawn and Fall Before Dusk together are Crake’s path to the finale, so the assault is the commitment step rather than an optional detour. If you want Eastridge taken and every other thread still on the table, the only reliable move is that manual save made before you confirmed the warning screen.