The Blood of Dawnwalker: Shadows in the Woods Walkthrough (Rescue Sara)

Shadows in the Woods is the side quest that finally puts Coen face to face with Crake, the leader of the manumits. It starts with a timed rescue in Briar Sloughs and ends with Coen chained to a tree in the rebels’ camp, arguing for his life. The rescue itself can be resolved without drawing a weapon, and the interrogation that follows leans entirely on which of Coen’s past deeds you bring up.

Quick answer: Head south from Stoneward Post past the Small Bridge shrine, then southeast to the collapsed cabin where Brencis’s Soldiers hold Sara. Tell them she’s your sister, then pick “Not sure. Maybe these coins hold an answer?” to bribe them with 100 Denarius. Free Sara, follow her to the camp, and list your past deeds for Crake to finish the quest.

Shadows in the Woods requirements and rewards

This is the fourth beat in Crake’s questline and it won’t appear until you’ve wrapped up The Firebrand. Mert points you toward Sara, the manumits’ contact, with the warning that soldiers may have already picked her up at the rendezvous point.

Detail	Value
Quest type	Side quest
Quest giver	Mert
Requirement	Complete The Firebrand
Starting location	Briar Sloughs / Stoneward Post
Fail state	Missing the timed “Rescue Sara” objective
Reward	1,000 XP
Next quest	Where Loyalty Lies

Crake’s chain runs The Firebrand, then the optional Under Watchful Eyes and Taking Back What’s Mine, then Shadows in the Woods. After this, it continues into Where Loyalty Lies, What Hunts the Night, What Moves the Dead, and Who Pulls the Strings.

The two-day timer on “Rescue Sara”

Once you locate Sara, the Rescue Sara objective becomes time sensitive and you have two in-game days to reach her. In practice that’s 32 time segments, and the quest fails outright the moment they elapse. The journal marks it with a blue clock icon, which is your cue that the clock is now running.

Note: Time in The Blood of Dawnwalker is spent rather than passed, so nothing ticks down while you stand still. The risk is burning segments on unrelated quests, skill purchases, or dialogue choices between finding Sara and freeing her.

How to reach the rendezvous point in Briar Sloughs

From Stoneward Post, follow the road south. Just beyond the Small Bridge shrine you’ll find the bridge itself, and the objective marker sits on its southern side.

Continue southeast into the search zone. Look for the junction where three roads meet — that’s your landmark for the final approach.

Briar Sloughs woodland path with a Pick Up Parasol Mushroom prompt on screen — The route through Briar Sloughs toward the rendezvous point, with a Parasol Mushroom pickup prompt on screen. Image: Rebel Wolves

Head just southeast of that junction to a ruined wooden cabin. Brencis’s Soldiers have Sara tied to a tree beside the collapsed structure. The area sits northeast of Boar’s Back.

Sara in a cutscene warning Coen not to come any closer — Sara warns Coen off as he approaches the guarded cabin. Image: Rebel Wolves

Bribe or fight Brencis’s Soldiers

There are two soldiers, and both outcomes complete the objective. The peaceful route is cheaper on health but costs coin.

Open with the claim that Sara is your sister. The soldiers will push back and accuse her of working with rebels.

Choose “Not sure. Maybe these coins hold an answer?” and pay the 100 Denarius bribe. This is the only gold-related response that avoids combat — every other money option starts the fight.

If you’d rather fight, or you’re short on coin, just kill both soldiers. Two guards at this stage aren’t a serious threat, and the quest proceeds identically afterward.

A defeated red-clad soldier lying face-down on rocky ground near the cabin — A downed soldier after the optional fight outside the ruined cabin. Image: Rebel Wolves

Talk to Sara and tell her you want to join the manumits. She won’t make the call herself, but she agrees to take you to Crake and let him decide.

Following Sara and the camp ambush

Sara leads you through the woods on foot, chatting as she goes. Partway there she stops, gives a signal, tells you it’s safe to approach, and starts running again. There’s nothing to do here but keep up.

The ambush is scripted and unavoidable. Walking into the camp triggers a trap that drives spikes through Coen’s leg, and Dragos and Crake knock him out. You wake up chained to a tree with Crake standing over you.

Dialogue choices that convince Crake

Crake suspects you’re an assassin and already knows something about Coen’s unusual nature, most likely from Vladimir. To talk your way out, you list what you’ve actually done against Brencis’s rule. Your infamy shapes how warmly he takes it.

Line	Why it helps
“I took part in the attack on the mines near Laslea.”	Direct proof you’ve hit Brencis’s operations
“I killed the soldiers in the mill.”	Confirms you’ve spilled Brencis’s blood
“I got Mert out of prison.”	Ties you to a manumit ally Crake knows
“I saved Sara at the rendezvous point.”	The rescue you just completed
“I’ve been disrupting Brencis’s rule for some time now.”	Sums up your record if you’re short on specifics

Dialogue wheel with the Laslea mines attack response highlighted during Crake's interrogation — Selecting “I took part in the attack on the mines near Laslea.” while chained during Crake’s interrogation. Image: Rebel Wolves

Only deeds you’ve genuinely completed will be available, so a fuller playthrough gives you more to work with. Avoid “Forget it. You won’t believe me anyway,” which shuts the conversation down rather than building your case.

What Crake asks for and how the quest ends

Crake isn’t ready to hand you a place in the manumits yet. He wants you to build a reputation first by killing Brencis’s soldiers and destroying blood transports, then meet him in Svartrau at the cathedral plaza to work out the details. In exchange, the manumits will help you get your family back.

Coen asking "So... what now?" while still chained during the conversation with Crake — Coen asks what comes next as Crake lays out his terms. Image: Rebel Wolves

Answer “Very well. I’ll meet you in Svartrau.” to lock in the arrangement. Crake and Dragos then walk off and leave Coen still chained to the tree — you free yourself, and the quest wraps.

You’ll know it worked when the QUEST COMPLETED banner appears alongside 1,000 XP. Coen also hits a level-up around this point if you’ve been clearing side content along the way.

The only way to lose this one is to let the Rescue Sara timer run out after you’ve found her, so treat the trip to the cabin as the priority and save any detours for afterward. With Crake’s terms accepted, Where Loyalty Lies opens up over in Boar’s Back, and the court activities you’d be doing anyway — hitting blood transports and thinning out Brencis’s patrols — double as the reputation he asked for.