The Blood of Dawnwalker Day 1 Walkthrough: Smoke and Ashes

What should you do first in Smoke and Ashes?

Follow Anca back to Laslea after waking in her hut at the end of Bad Blood. Your immediate goal is to find out what happened to Coen’s family. Search the house, learn Compel Soul, use a catalyst to question the dead soldier, then leave through the village gate. The bear and buried treasure are an optional detour.

This route continues from our prologue guide. Use the quest name in your journal to find your place: Day 1 is the reading order for this series. Before setting off, check your equipment and healing supplies so that you can concentrate on the investigation once you reach the village.

How do you search Coen’s family home?

Stay with Anca until she stops near a dead soldier, then continue to Coen’s home. Use Focus Mode and inspect the evidence throughout the house and courtyard. Work through these locations:

• Kitchen: inspect Lunka’s doll and the table.
• Window: examine the piece of cloth caught on the frame.
• Room opposite the kitchen: inspect the blood on the floor.
• Courtyard: examine the footprints.
• Coen’s bedroom: inspect the bed.

Check your journal after the search. If the objective still asks you to investigate, revisit the bedroom and courtyard and look for an interaction you missed. Walk close enough to each clue to inspect it; merely passing through a room will not complete that interaction.

Once the search is finished, return to Anca. Keep following this investigation if your aim is to complete Smoke and Ashes quickly. You can decide whether to explore for treasure later, before committing to the village exit.

Which object lets you question the dead soldier?

Use the Compel Soul ability Anca introduces on the dead soldier. When the first attempt fails to provide the information you need, search the nearby ruined buildings for Brencis’s Banner. Pick it up, return to the corpse, and select the banner as the catalyst in the conversation.

The important step is using the object after collecting it. If you already have the banner but the objective remains active, return to the soldier and check the available catalyst interaction. Repeating the initial spell without supplying the object will not perform that step.

The conversation gives Coen a lead about his family and the approaching coronation. Continue speaking with Anca and follow the objective toward the village gate. The listed completion rewards are 150 XP, Burning Blood, and Astral Communion. Check your abilities after the quest ends; whether that XP also produces a level-up depends on your existing progress.

Is the bear and buried treasure route compulsory?

No. Choose this detour if you want to explore for equipment before leaving. At the bandit camp, collect the treasure map and take the shovel from the east side of the camp’s house. Read the map, then follow the treasure lead toward the cave guarded by a bear.

Save before approaching the bear. Fight patiently and leave yourself room to retreat. Move sideways against its charge and backward when it rises for the ground slam. Wait until you have a clear opening before attacking again, and keep enough stamina to respond to the next attack.

After the fight, inspect the nearby body for a Minor Revitalising Tonic recipe. Dig up the cache inside the cave for the recorded treasure: 100 Denarii, a Minor Fortitude Paste recipe, a Polished Long Cleaver, and a Golden Cross. Compare the cleaver with your current weapon before equipping it.

These are the optional treasure-route items, separate from the main quest rewards. When you are ready to resume the story, return to Anca and head for the blocked village gate.

How much time does leaving Laslea consume?

Read the hourglass cost on the gate interaction before confirming. Clearing the rubble advances the route into night, so finish your intended daylight preparations first.

Published routes record different costs: PowerPyx lists seven segments, while IGN lists four after its detours. The reason for that difference is not established by those sources. Use the number displayed in your save when planning this action.

Exploration and combat do not continuously run down the campaign clock. Time advances through specified activities and quest actions with indicated costs. You can therefore inspect the area and review your equipment without treating every real-world minute as lost campaign time.

How should you understand the skill trees?

Open the character menu and read the requirements for the abilities you want to develop. Swordmastery provides human-form combat abilities; Witchcraft and Vampirism give you different tools to consider as Coen’s form changes. Check each skill’s conditions when deciding where to spend points.

For manuals you find during exploration, read the item and review the relevant upgrade requirements. Distinguish the manual that introduces an ability from materials or manuals needed to improve it further.

Drinking blood contributes to Corruption and vampire progression. Individual abilities still have their own activation requirements: Voracious Bite, for example, uses an Activation Charge in combat. Check the ability description before building a combat plan around it.

Where should you go after the gate opens?

Anca directs you toward St. Tyna’s. You can also follow the rebel investigation covered in our Day 2 Mert rescue guide. Choose your next objective using the journal and your available abilities. The walkthrough index keeps these routes in reading order.

If a quest interaction behaves unexpectedly, check our hotfix coverage for published fixes relevant to your version.

Sources and verification

Source-based route review: September 10, 2026. This guide draws on published gameplay accounts; independent save testing of the gate-cost difference remains pending.

• PowerPyx: objectives, catalyst, rewards, gate cost.
• Camzillasmom: house clues.
• IGN: optional treasure route and bear tactics.
• Bandai Namco: official time-system explanation.
• PC Gamer’s Swordmastery guide and gameplay tips: manuals and vampire progression.