Buried Past is the side quest that finally explains where Coen’s father Pieter got his money, and what he did with it. It runs across roughly four in-game days, buries most of its rewards behind optional busywork for a blind old mercenary named Volk, and quietly branches at the end depending on how much of that busywork you bothered with.
Quick answer: Complete every one of Volk’s optional chores across his first three visits and agree to search for Pieter’s treasure. Do that and Volk refuses to set you up, leaving two dead soldiers, a letter, and Volk’s Sword at his hut instead of an ambush.
Buried Past quest details and rewards
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting location | Ruined Hut shrine, outside Svartrau City |
| Quest giver | Volk (pointed to you by the merchant at Maragir Crossroads) |
| How to start | Inspect the ruined hut and its yard |
| Missable | Yes |
| Time cost | 4–11 Time Segments, depending on how many chores you do |
| Rewards | 250 XP, 1 SP, Artery Strike Manual, Pieter’s Garb, Volk’s Sword |
| Extra loot | 200 Denarii, but only if you kill Volk yourself |
Pieter’s Garb is a legendary light chestpiece that raises maximum human health, human health restoration, weapon critical hit chance, and weapon critical hit damage, which makes it one of the strongest daytime armor pieces you can pick up this early. Volk’s Sword is an epic greatsword that boosts maximum human health, cuts Swordmastery and Witchcraft ability cooldowns, and hits harder against supernatural enemies.
Starting Buried Past at the Ruined Hut
One habit matters more than anything else here. On every visit, poke around the hut and exhaust all of the white dialogue options before you leave. Those are what unlock Volk’s optional objectives, and skipping them quietly locks you out of the good ending.
Volk’s chores by day, and what each one costs
Volk sends you away to rest after each conversation, and he only has new material a full day later at the same point in the day. If you finish talking in the afternoon, coming back the following morning does nothing. You need to return in the afternoon again.
| Day | Task | Time Segments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Give Volk Pieter’s package (the Slivovitz) | 0 |
| 1 | Talk with Volk | 1 |
| 1 | Chop firewood | 1 |
| 1 | Deal with the wolves bothering him | 1 |
| 2 | Bring another bottle of Slivovitz | 0 |
| 2 | Talk with Volk | 1 |
| 2 | Gather feverfew by the riverbank | 2 |
| 2 | Prepare the ointment | 1 |
| 3 | Talk with Volk | 1 |
| 3 | Board up the bedroom window | 1 |
| 3 | Search for Volk’s knife | 0 |
You need a fresh bottle of Slivovitz for the second visit, so buy one from the same merchant or loot it beforehand. Before you knock on day three, inspect the puke outside the door to open up more dialogue.
Volk’s knife location
The knife is lodged in the thatched roof of Volk’s own hut, which is why it is easy to miss. You can only reach it by planeshifting, so this task has to be done at night. Climb up as a vampire, grab the knife, and hand it back to him.
Clear the wolf den early to save a Time Segment
The wolves normally cost you a segment to track with Focus Mode. To avoid that, do not raise the snares with Volk on your first visit. When you are finished talking, head east of the hut toward the question mark on your map, clear the wolf den there, and then bring up the snares on your next visit. Coen reports that it is already handled, and the objective closes for free.
Spar with Volk for the Artery Strike Manual
After the third conversation, Volk drags you outside for a sword spar against “Volk, The Oath Breaker.” He fights blind and he is a genuine boss encounter, not a scripted loss. Win it and he hands over the Artery Strike Manual, a Swordsmanship ability that deals heavy damage with a chance to decapitate.
Once the spar is over, Volk brings up the gold he and Pieter took as mercenaries and suggests your father buried it somewhere. Take the “Fine, let’s search for it” line. Refusing with “No way, I’m not searching for your blood money” is the choice that pushes him toward selling you out later, even if you did every chore.
Pieter’s treasure location at Giant’s Pawns
The secret glade sits west of Parlita, close to the Giant’s Pawns shrine. Travel there and follow the marker along the trail heading southwest. The journey itself eats 2 Time Segments, with another spent on the dig.
Use Focus Mode in the glade to spot the patch of disturbed dirt, then dig it out with a shovel. The chest holds Pieter’s Garb, the Prayer Book from Maragir, and Pieter’s Unfinished Letter, addressed “TO MY CHILDREN.” There is no gold in it at all.
The letter is Pieter confessing to the massacre at Cassel in 1328, where he and other soldiers burned a city and killed everyone inside it, children included. The prayer book is what sends the quest marker to Maragir.
Ask about Pieter at the monastery in Maragir
Return to Maragir and speak with the monk at the monastery, showing him the prayer book. He confirms that Pieter came looking for forgiveness for Cassel and gave away his entire share of the gold to fund the scriptorium. That conversation costs 1 Time Segment.
Before you leave, sweep the repository, including the second floor up the ladder. You can collect the Renewed Focus Manual, Herbal Remedies II Manual, Charge Manual, Medicus I Manual, and the Recipe for Minor Balm of Fortitude.
Then head back and tell Volk what you found, which is another segment. He does not take the news well.
How Buried Past ends: Volk’s Sword or the ambush
Wait a full day, then return to the hut one last time. What is waiting for you depends entirely on the two things Volk has been quietly tracking.
| What you did | What happens |
|---|---|
| All chores done and you found the treasure | Two dead soldiers outside. Volk’s letter says Brencis wanted him to trap you and he refused. He has left for a new journey, and Volk’s Sword is inside the house. |
| Chores skipped, treasure found | Volk tips off Brencis’s men. Soldiers ambush you at the hut, and you decide Volk’s fate after the fight. |
| Chores done, treasure search refused | Volk calls the guards anyway. Same ambush, same choice afterward. |
On the peaceful ending, you can compel the soul of one of the dead soldiers to hear how the old mercenary took his arm off.
Kill or spare Volk
If the ambush happens, killing Volk yourself is the only way to walk away with both Volk’s Sword and 200 Denarii from his body. It is also exactly what he wants, since he is done with life as a blind, helpless man.
Sparing him leaves him screaming in the doorway, broke and alone. Come back two days later and you will find his corpse inside the hut with nothing to loot.
Why Buried Past stalls or gives you the bad ending
The quest reads as broken far more often than it actually is. There are only a few real causes.
- You came back on the wrong part of the day. Volk resets at the same time slot he last spoke to you, not simply the next morning.
- You left white dialogue options unread, so the optional objectives never appeared on the tracker.
- You went looking for the knife during the day. It sits on the roof and needs planeshifting, which means night.
- You had no Slivovitz on the second visit and could not hand one over.
- You turned down the treasure hunt after the spar, which flips the ending regardless of the chores.
You will know the good path is holding when every optional objective under each daily visit is checked off before you leave, and confirmation lands on the final day. Dead soldiers and a letter instead of drawn swords means Volk stayed loyal, and the quest closes out with 250 XP, 1 SP, and his greatsword left behind on purpose.
