SIDE QUEST · VOLK ROUTE
Buried Past Walkthrough: Volk Route Planner
Buried Past sends Coen back to Volk, his father Pieter's blind former mercenary companion, in a quest that spans several in-game days. The route planner below lays out the visits, the optional chores that decide Volk's fate, and where the knife, the treasure and the best rewards are hiding.
This quest takes about four in-game days: Volk only advances the conversation one day at a time, so plan returns rather than a single run. Total time segments depend on how many optional chores you take on, so budget per action — the four-visit table below gives each step its own cost.
How to start Buried Past
Buried Past is available after the Prologue. A merchant in Maragir who remembers Pieter can point Coen toward Volk's home, but that conversation is optional. The quest itself begins at Volk's ruined hut next to the Ruined Hut shrine, just outside Svartrau City toward St. Tyna's Grove.
Inside the shed, Volk attacks the trespasser. Lose or win the fist fight, then tell him you are Pieter's son — the fight's outcome does not matter. From the first conversation onward, exhaust every white dialogue line before picking the yellow one: that is what unlocks Volk's optional help objectives, and those objectives decide his ending.
The four visits at a glance
| Visit | Main step | Optional work and cost | Miss it and… |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meet Volk, win the scuffle, say you are Pieter's son. | Chop wood (1 segment); drive off the wolves near the hut (1–2 segments, or the snare route avoids the extra cost). | You miss the help objective that leads to Volk's good outcome. |
| 2 | Bring a bottle of slivovitz (buy it from the Maragir merchant or loot it) and give it to Volk. | Gather feverfew by the riverbank (2 segments) and prepare the ointment (+1 segment). A sparring match this visit or the next awards the Artery Strike Manual. | Slivovitz is the reason to come back at all on visit two. |
| 3 | Volk brings up Pieter's buried fortune and asks for help finding it. | Board up the bedroom window (1 segment); find Volk's knife (see below). | Refusing the treasure hunt starts the betrayal branch. |
| 4 | Return after the treasure errand for Volk's final reaction. | None — this visit resolves the outcome. | — |
Save before each day's conversation if you want to test a different chore order: the sparring match lands on visit two or the visit after it.
Volk's knife location
The knife objective appears after you inspect the mess outside the hut's door and ask Volk about it. The knife is on the roof of the hut: climb up at night using Coen's vampire mobility to reach it. Returning it costs no time and counts toward the help set.
Pieter's treasure: the Secret Glade route
Accept Volk's request and he sends Coen to the Secret Glade the family used to visit, west of Parlita near the Giant's Pawns shrine. Travel costs 2 time segments. In the glade, find the shovel left by the old campfire, then dig at the marked spot (1 segment) to open Pieter's chest. Inside is Pieter's Garb, a legendary light chest piece, plus a journal that points to the monastery.
Take the journal to the monastery in Maragir and show it to the monk near the font (1 segment, daytime). The monks reveal Pieter donated his share of the money; the repository there also holds several manuals (Renewed Focus, Herbal Remedies II, Charge, Medicus I and a Minor Balm of Fortitude recipe). Return to Volk and tell him what you found.
Volk's outcomes and rewards
| Route | What happens | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Helped Volk (all optional chores + found the treasure) | Brencis's soldiers ambush the hut, but Volk turns on them, kills the guards and leaves the region. He leaves his sword behind with a letter. | Volk's Sword (epic greatsword) found in the hut; Volk survives. |
| Betrayal — kill Volk (skipped chores or refused the treasure search) | Volk sells Coen out; soldiers attack. After they fall, Volk admits it. Kill him. | Volk's Sword looted from his body + 200 denarii. |
| Betrayal — spare Volk | Spare him and return a day later: Volk's corpse is in the hut, apparently murdered. | No reward. |
Whichever branch you take, the quest also reports 250 XP and 1 Skill Point at completion, and the Artery Strike Manual comes from winning the sparring session on the help route. See the endings guide's Volk section for how this outcome fits the wider route.
- Exhaust white dialogue on every visit.
- Chop wood, deal with the wolves, bring slivovitz, gather feverfew, board the window.
- Find Volk's knife on the roof at night.
- Agree to hunt Pieter's treasure and finish the monastery errand.
This page covers Volk's route and its outcomes only: the manuals it drops are catalogued on the Skill Manual Locations page, and where his fate sits among the seven endings is on the All Endings Guide.
