The Heart Wants What It Wants is Ocha’s questline in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it starts inside a tavern in Svartrau City. Ocha is an Uriash from Clan Bakr, the largest Uriash clan in Vale Sangora, and the whole task revolves around helping her deal with a man named Andrei. Your main decisions come down to how you enter Andrei’s hideout, which keepsake you bring back, and how you talk to Ocha at the very end.
Quick answer: Talk to Ocha in the Svartrau City tavern, win the fistfight, then climb Andrei’s balcony at night using vrakhiri power and take the ring. Give Ocha the ring to finish the quest, and shape her ending by weighting your riverside dialogue toward home, city, or exploring.
Start the quest in the Svartrau City tavern
The quest begins when you meet Ocha the Uriash inside the tavern in Svartrau City. Head to the Altenmarkt Shrine first, then move toward the tavern marked with a cup icon on the map.
- Acquire Andrei’s memento
- Find a way into Andrei’s hideout
- Ask around to learn more about Andrei
Get into Andrei’s hideout (safest route)
There are three ways inside, and they carry very different risks. The cleanest option is climbing at night, which skips most of the conversations and keeps Nora out of danger.
| Entry method | Cost / condition | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Climb the balcony at night with vrakhiri power | Wait until nighttime | Lowest, Nora stays safe |
| Speak to the beggar in front of the butcher | Pay 50 Denarii | Moderate |
| Speak to Katja nearby | Pay 400 Denarii | Higher, extra conversation |
Going through the butcher’s door causes Nora to be taken hostage, which can lead to her death. If you simply climb the balcony at night, you never have to save her at all. For the Katja route, raise the subject of Nora, ask about Andrei, then offer her 400 Denarii to help with her problem.
If you take the front door: safe dialogue choices
To use the front entrance through the butcher, you must be carrying a piece of silver, then pick I have some silver to sell. Inside, comply with what Andrei asks so the meeting does not turn into a fight. These responses keep things calm.
- Here it is. (to the butcher)
- Alright, here. (to the butcher)
- [stay silent] (when a man’s hand is being cut off)
- Sorry. Do what you will. (after telling Andrei to leave the man alone)
- Here’s what I’ve got. (when selling silver to Andrei)
- Who wouldn’t be? What we’re doing here is illegal. (when Andrei says you look nervous)
- I don’t trust you, is all. (when Andrei says you look nervous)
- No wonder people don’t want to work with you. (when Andrei threatens you with his cleaver)
- You know how to handle it, that’s for sure. (when Andrei threatens you with his cleaver)
Two more options are borderline and can push toward a fight, so avoid them if you want to stay clear of combat.
- I’ll show it to Andrei. (to the butcher)
- Leave that man alone. (when the man’s hand is being cut off)
The following choices guarantee a fight with Andrei.
- Just move. (to the butcher)
- I said let him go. (after telling Andrei to leave the man alone)
- I’m here to talk about Ocha. (every choice after this leads to a fight)
- You don’t impress me. (when Andrei says you look nervous)
- Your threats bore me. (when Andrei threatens you with his cleaver)
Take the ring for Andrei’s memento
The correct memento is the ring. If you go through the front door, you get a short window to choose among three items, so act fast.
| Item | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Ring | Correct memento, needed to advance and complete the hex |
| Cleaver | Little significance to Andrei |
| Pendant | Belongs to Katja, not the right choice |
If you climb the balcony at night instead, make sure you hand Ocha Andrei’s Ring. The pendant can be returned to Katja through a specific chain of steps, but doing so makes the hex fail and produces no story effect. Returning it means speaking to Katja and hearing out her problem, paying 400 Denarii, going through the butcher door and killing Andrei, then talking to Katja at the same time to give the pendant back.
Note: If you grab the wrong memento, Nora can die if you stay hidden instead of shouting “Step away from her!”
Distract the guard
At one point you need to pull a guard’s attention away. There are two ways to do it.
- Speak to Katja and pay her 50 Denarii.
- Free the pigs beside him by interacting with the fence.
Ocha’s three endings and how to choose them
Ocha can end her story in one of three ways, and two of them depend on how Andrei dies.
| Ending | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Return to her village | Available in any run |
| Stay in the city | Only if Andrei died by the hex |
| Explore the world | Only if you kill Andrei |
Her final decision is decided by a point system during the closing scene by the river. The more you steer the talk toward one theme, the more likely she picks that path. Each of the three dialogue rounds adds a point to home, city, or exploring.
| Round | Line | Point |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Do you miss home? | Home +1 |
| 1 | Do you like the city? | City +1 |
| 1 | Why do you want to travel? | Explore +1 |
| 2 | New things can be exciting, sure. | City or Explore +1 |
| 2 | Meh. Nothing better than homemade food! | Home +1 |
| 3 | Our neighbours helped a bit. | City or Explore +1 |
| 3 | Other villagers just cared about themselves. | Home +1 |
Ocha commits to whichever category has the most points. For example, two Home points and one City point sends her back to her village. Pick your lines with the ending you want in mind, and remember the city and exploring endings only unlock if Andrei is dealt with the matching way.
Once you hand over Andrei’s Ring and finish the riverside conversation, the quest closes on Ocha’s chosen path, confirming The Heart Wants What It Wants is complete.
