Hive and Seek sends Coen underground with Lacra to find Isbrand, the vampire who made Brencis. He is not somewhere you would want to be found: chained in a kobold hive beneath Boar’s Back, kept alive for two years so the nest could feed on flesh that keeps growing back. The quest is linear, but it stacks up a lot of objectives, and one of them is an optional deal with the hive itself.
Quick answer: Talk to Lacra in the hills northwest of Rockfalls, follow her into the cave at Boar’s Back, accept the Hive’s offer to deal with Chonk, kill Chonk the Inatiable and the corrupted kobolds after the ambush, then free Isbrand and speak to Lacra at the abandoned fort.
Hive and Seek quest details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Rockfalls, near Uriash Village |
| Quest giver | Lacra |
| Cave entrance | Boar’s Back |
| Boss | Chonk the Inatiable |
| Questline | A Friend Like This → Song of the Mountain → Hive and Seek → Our Rotten Roots |
| Leads into | Our Rotten Roots |
The journal objectives run in a fixed order, and one of them can be skipped entirely.
| Objective | What it means |
|---|---|
| Talk to Lacra when you’re ready to enter the cave | Ask her whatever you like about Isbrand, then confirm you are ready |
| Find and question Isbrand | Fight through the hive tunnels toward the main chamber |
| (Optional) Follow kobold guidance | Accept the Hive’s deal and let it lead you to Isbrand |
| Defeat the corrupted kobolds | Survive the ambush and kill Chonk |
| Talk to Isbrand | Free him and trigger the closing scene |
Getting down to the cave entrance at Boar’s Back
Inside the hive: kobolds, silver water, and the climb
The tunnels are linear, and the objective updates to “Find and question Isbrand” as soon as you step inside. Lacra clears obstacles ahead of you, and green glowing stones mark the route whenever the layout opens up. If you lose the thread, follow the green light.
Two things will hurt you before the boss does. The first is the kobolds themselves, which attack in groups at chokepoints and behind flimsy wooden barricades. The second is the standing water, which is laced with silver and chips away at Coen’s health the moment he wades in. Lacra warns you about it once. Take the ledges around the pools rather than through them.
Clear the first group, then climb the ledges and squeeze through the narrow passages beyond. Nests scattered along the route are worth looting, and they hold usable supplies rather than filler.
- Superior Consumable Animal Blood Infusion
- Razor Claw Vial
- Chain and Denarius
- Cave herbs, including Parasol Mushroom, Cave Fungus, Aconite, and Green Gilled Mushroom
After another wave near the barricades, Lacra stops to examine a dead kobold and talks through where these creatures came from. This conversation confirms the nest is corrupted and adds a glossary entry, The Wrongs. Past that, you reach a vertical rock wall. Climb it to the upper level of the cave.
Note: There is a large wall further in, ringed with green glowing stones, where the floor drops away. Use Planeshift to cross the gap and continue the platforming section on the other side.
The Hive’s deal and the optional kobold guidance
Once you kill the corrupted kobold at the top of the platforming section, the Hive speaks to you directly. It offers to lead you straight to Isbrand if you agree to deal with Chonk. Taking the deal is optional, but it is the cleaner path and it adds the objective “(Optional) Follow kobold guidance” to your journal.
From there, follow the kobold marking the way. The route runs through jumps over gaps, crawlspaces, and a couple of narrow tunnels where single kobolds will still jump you. A large hive chamber with several enemies sits near the end, followed by a final set of crawl tunnels into the main chamber.
Isbrand is there, chained to the wall, mutilated and bleeding. Lacra explains that the kobolds have been eating his regenerating flesh for two years. He is in no state to answer anything.
How to beat Chonk the Inatiable
The Hive breaks its word the moment you reach Isbrand. Waves of kobolds pour in and Chonk arrives with them, so keep some healing on hand for this stretch rather than burning it in the tunnels. Chonk hits extremely hard, but his moveset is short and readable.
| Attack | Tell | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Acid spit | He spreads his arms wide | Dodge on the wind-up, then circle behind and punish |
| Lunge | He leaps forward with his claws | Sidestep and hit him during the recovery |
| Standard combo | Repeated hand strikes | Read the direction of each swing and perfect block |
Thin out the smaller kobolds when Chonk is recovering so you are not blocking from three sides at once. When he and the remaining nest are dead, the objective flips to “Talk to Isbrand.”
Freeing Isbrand and completing the quest
With Chonk gone, the surviving hive still wants to feed on Isbrand. Tell them to calm down and point out that they will lose their bond if they keep eating him. That is enough to make them back off the vrakhir.
Approach Isbrand, free him from the chains, and the scene cuts to an abandoned fort where he is laid out on a table. Lacra confirms he is a powerful vrakhir and will recover, but she needs a night alone with him to work. She also mentions another vrakhir, Vicho, in Altenmarkt in Svartrau, who may be able to help.
You will know it worked when the journal marks Hive and Seek complete and immediately opens Our Rotten Roots with the objective “Give Lacra a day.”
Our Rotten Roots does not start right away. You need to let a full in-game day pass before Lacra has anything for you, then meet her at the fort at night. If you are already juggling the 30-day clock against Brencis, that waiting period is a good window to spend on court activities or nearby side content rather than standing around.
