Ritual of Cleansing Walkthrough in Grim Dawn’s Fangs of Asterkarn

Ritual of Cleansing is the quest that sets up the final stretch of the Fangs of Asterkarn story, and it is really three quests bundled under one heading. Three Kurn in Kurnhold each need a specific item to power the ritual, and you fetch all three before the High Chieftain sends you toward the ending. Two of the errands are quick. The third depends entirely on enemy spawns, so it can drag on longer than the other two combined.

Quick answer: Pick up Ritual of Cleansing in the High Chieftain’s hut, then help the three NPCs just south of it. Bring the Ahsen Heart of the Void to Witra, the Embers of the First Flame to Talgir, and two Essence of Ugdenbog plus one Essence of Bargoll to Koryn. Return to the hut to turn everything in and start Ascend the Roof of the World.

Where to start Ritual of Cleansing and what you need

Finish Source of Corruption first. Once that quest closes, the High Chieftain hands you Ritual of Cleansing inside her hut in Kurnhold. She asks you to help three people gather the ingredients for the ritual: Koryn Earthurn, Talgir the Druid, and Witra of the Storm Spears.

All three stand just south of the hut. Talk to them and accept their requests, either one at a time or all at once. The order does not matter, so you can tackle whichever is most convenient.

The catch is that these errands send you back into older expansion zones, which is why Fangs of Asterkarn requires the other DLC. You will visit the Dread Wastes, the Remnants of Korvan City in the Forgotten Gods content, and Ugdenbog. Make sure those areas are unlocked on your fast travel map before you begin.

NPC	Quest	Item needed
Witra of the Storm Spears	Beating Heart of the Void	Ahsen Heart of the Void x1
Talgir the Druid	Cleansing Fire of a Forgotten God	Embers of the First Flame x1
Koryn Earthurn	Secrets of Ugdenbog	Essence of Ugdenbog x2, Essence of Bargoll x1

Cleansing Fire of a Forgotten God (Talgir the Druid)

Start with this one, because it is the fastest of the three. You can be in and out in a couple of minutes. It does require access to the Remnants of Korvan City in Act 7.

Open your fast travel map and look at the Remnants of Korvan City area. Use the Rift positioned right above the word “Of” in that label.

When you spawn in, follow the path south and east, then turn north again. You are heading toward the circular section of the map nearby.

Map location of the Embers of the First Flame in the Remnants of Korvan City — Head straight to the circular area to grab the Embers. (Image via Crate Entertainment)

Look for the part of the circle that juts inward toward the middle, marked with a star. Pick up the Embers of the First Flame there, then bring them back to Talgir the Druid in Kurnhold to close out this part.

Beating Heart of the Void (Witra of the Storm Spears)

This errand takes you into the Dread Wastes and ends with a tough boss fight, so bring a well-geared character. You need to recover the Ahsen Heart of the Void from the World’s Tear and deliver it to Witra.

Travel to the second Rift in the Dread Wastes, just outside Tamarog, the Black Citadel. Inside the building are three Blood Basins you need to interact with.

Offer Blood of Ch’thon to each Basin. That material drops from the local mobs, so clearing enemies in the Black Citadel and Dread Wastes leaves you well stocked. The first Basin sits right to the east as you enter the building.

A Blood Basin inside the building outside Tamarog, the Black Citadel — Interact with all three Blood Basins to open the way forward. (Image via Crate Entertainment)

Find the second Basin to the northwest, then keep moving southwest into the building and across the wooden bridge. A short push further southwest brings you to the third Basin. From there it is a quick walk south to enter the World’s Tear.

The World’s Tear is a long dungeon packed with Hero enemies and dense mob groups. Push north and northeast as much as the layout allows. At level 100 the regular enemies here sit around 101 to 102, so they are manageable but not trivial.

The door to the final area is far to the northwest, where Naddo the Anointed waits as a level 106 boss. Watch for a huge ground AOE that spreads out like spiderwebs and a rapid cone of red blood-energy bullets. Stay out of that cone, since it tears through health fast, and mind the leap stab. Killing Naddo earns the Blood of the Anointed achievement.

Grab the Ahsen Heart of the Void, head north to the rift, and return to Kurnhold to hand it to Witra.

Secrets of Ugdenbog (Koryn Earthurn)

This is the frustrating one, and only because it hinges on spawns. Koryn needs two Essence of Ugdenbog and one Essence of Bargoll, all gathered in Ugdenbog. Take the rift near the Ancient Grove to get there.

The Essence of Bargoll comes from Bargoll, the Mouldering Mound. The Essence of Ugdenbog drops from enemies called Root of Bargoll, which is where the spawn luck comes in. If you are fortunate, the golems you need appear near Bargoll itself, but that is not the norm.

Location of Bargoll, the Mouldering Mound in Ugdenbog — Bargoll, the Mouldering Mound, provides the Essence of Bargoll. (Image via Crate Entertainment)

Expect to circle the zone for a while hunting the Root of Bargoll. In one run, the first appeared near the Ancient Ruins Entrance, north of the Ugdenbog Entrance, and the second turned up south of the Rift Entrance. Your spawns will differ, so keep sweeping the map until both Essence of Ugdenbog drop. Once you have all three ingredients, deliver them to Koryn the Earthurn in Kurnhold.

Finishing the ritual and what unlocks next

With all three deliveries made, return to the High Chieftain’s hut in Kurnhold and turn in Ritual of Cleansing. You will know it is done when the quest clears and rewards you with XP and reputation. Completing it immediately begins Ascend the Roof of the World, which pushes you toward the end of the Fangs of Asterkarn story.