A Fresh Start is the third subquest in the Homestead questline during Chapter 3 of Crimson Desert, set in the Howling Hill region. After Marquis Serkis grants you a location for your camp and Marshal Middler lays the groundwork, you arrive to finish the job yourself. The quest is straightforward — four manual labor objectives, no combat — but a couple of the tasks have small mechanics that can trip you up if you don't know what tool to grab.
Quick answer: Pick up and carry three sacks, hammer four tent stakes with a mallet (three hits each), break three rocks with a pickaxe, then push the wagon into the tent, and use Nature's Grasp to lift the banner into its stand. Complete all four in any order to finish the quest and earn 5 Iron Ore.
How A Fresh Start begins
At the end of the previous quest, First Step to Rebuilding, a Hernandian soldier escorts you on horseback to the camp site. Once you dismount and speak with Marshal Middler, A Fresh Start officially triggers. Four objective markers appear on your map, each tied to a different chore. The game nudges you toward a suggested order, but you can tackle them in whatever sequence you like — none depend on the others.
Move the sacks
Step 1: Head to the marker in the middle of the camp area. You'll find three sacks lying on the ground near a pile of supplies.
Step 2: Interact with a sack to pick it up, then walk to the highlighted drop-off spot a short distance behind you, where other sacks are already stacked. Set it down and repeat for the remaining two.
Drive in the stakes
Step 1: Go to the northernmost marker. You'll see a white canopy structure with a small table beside it. On the table sits a mallet — pick it up.
Step 2: Equip the mallet from your item wheel (hold the item-wheel button, then select it). Each of the tent's four corners has a stake poking out of the ground.
Step 3: Aim downward at a stake and strike it. Each stake requires three hits to be driven fully into the ground. Move around the canopy and repeat for all four corners.
Push the wagon
Step 1: Travel to the second northernmost marker. A hay-covered wagon sits outside a tent, but three rocks block its path underneath the tent structure.
Step 2: Look for a crate near the rocks with a pickaxe leaning against it. Pick up the pickaxe, equip it from the item wheel, then target and destroy all three rocks.
Step 3: With the path cleared, walk behind the wagon and push it forward using your normal movement controls. There's no special interact prompt — just walk into the back of the wagon, and it will slide into position under the tent.
Raise the banner
Step 1: Head to the southernmost marker. A fallen banner lies flat on the ground.
Step 2: Use the Nature's Grasp skill to lift the banner. On PC, the input is Ctrl plus the appropriate skill activation keys; on controller, it's Triangle + the designated button, then tap the confirm input.
Step 3: While holding the banner, walk to the nearby stand. Aim at the stand (Ctrl on PC to target) and place the banner into it. The banner locks upright, and the objective is complete.
Quest reward and what happens next
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Quest number | 32nd main mission |
| Chapter | 3 — Howling Hill |
| Sub-chapter | Homestead |
| Prerequisite | First Step to Rebuilding |
| Reward | 5× Iron Ore |
Once all four tasks are done, a short scene plays and the camp officially becomes the Greymane hub. This is where you'll return between missions for crafting, storage, and NPC interactions throughout the rest of the Howling Hill chapter. The Iron Ore reward feeds directly into early crafting recipes, so hold onto it unless you already have a surplus.