Pieter’s secret spot is the ruined hut that kicks off the Buried Past quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it does not appear on your map until someone tells you where to look. The investigation itself is short, but it only fires correctly if you inspect the right objects outside before you step into the shed.
Quick answer: Speak to the merchant in Maragir and hand over some Slivovitz to reveal the location, travel to the ruined hut between Svartrau City and St. Tyna’s Grove, inspect the tree and the snares outside, then enter the shed to trigger Volk’s ambush.
Unlock the marker: the Maragir merchant and the Slivovitz
The trail starts with a conversation, not exploration. Find the merchant in Maragir and talk to him as Coen. He notices the family resemblance to Pieter, and once you give him some Slivovitz he points you toward a spot your father used to visit often.
That exchange places the quest marker on your map. Buy a spare bottle of Slivovitz while you are with him, because Volk expects one during the first meeting and more on later visits.
Where the ruined hut is on the map
The waypoint sits in the woods between Svartrau City and St. Tyna’s Grove. On the map it reads as the Ruined Hut, west of St. Tyna’s Grove and south of Pilgrim’s Bridge. The approach is a dark, foggy stretch of forest with almost no landmarks, so ride or run straight to the marker rather than trying to navigate by sight.
Note: there is a question mark east of the hut that turns out to be a wolves’ den. Clearing it before you ever mention the snares to Volk saves you a time segment later, since Coen will simply say the problem is already handled.
What to investigate at the hut before entering the shed
The Volk cutscene and the fistfight
Inspecting the shed triggers a cutscene. An old blind man named Volk comes at Coen with an axe, convinced he is dealing with an intruder, and tries to drive him off the property. The confrontation turns into a fistfight.
Once the brawl ends, dialogue options open up. Use them to calm him down and establish who you are, including the line about your father being captured. Confirming that Coen is Pieter’s son is what changes Volk’s attitude, and he invites you inside.
How to confirm the investigation worked
You have found and cleared the secret spot once Volk drops his guard and brings you into the hut. Meeting Volk consumes one time segment, and the quest then shifts from searching for the place to spending time with him.
Hand over Pieter’s package, the Slivovitz, as soon as you are inside. From there, the optional work on the first visit is chopping wood and tracking the wolves bothering him with Focus Mode, each costing an hour.
| Stage | What it costs or requires |
|---|---|
| Merchant in Maragir | One Slivovitz to reveal the location |
| Reaching the ruined hut | Travel between Svartrau City and St. Tyna’s Grove |
| Investigating the hut | Tree, snares, shrine, then the shed |
| Meeting Volk | 1 hour |
| Chop wood (optional) | 1 hour |
| Track the wolves (optional) | 1 hour, or free if you cleared the den first |
Why the optional objectives may not appear
Two things cause the extra objectives to go missing. The first is skipping the exterior inspection and walking straight into the shed. The second is ending conversations early.
- Inspect the surroundings on every visit, not just the first one.
- Exhaust all of Volk’s white dialogue options before you leave, since those are what prompt him to open up and ask for help.
- Keep a bottle of Slivovitz on hand for return trips.
Buried Past runs across roughly four days in total, so treat the hut as a place you will come back to rather than a one-off stop. Doing the small favours now matters later, because the optional tasks you complete decide how Volk treats Coen when the quest finally closes out.
