SIDE QUEST · MERT & THE MANUMITS
The Firebrand Walkthrough
Inspect the flour sack in Vlad’s hut, reach Mert at Stoneward Post before the four-day deadline, then decide whether to begin the prison break immediately.
Once the Stoneward Post objective appears, Mert is executed exactly 64 time segments later — four full in-game days. Speaking to him before that point completes The Firebrand and keeps him alive for Under Watchful Eyes.
How to start The Firebrand
Complete Smoke and Ashes, then approach Vladimir’s hut in Briar Sloughs near Mert’s Mill. Inside the hut, activate Focus Mode and inspect the flour sack in the back room. Examine the mark on the sack and the silver arrowheads hidden inside it; this is the clue that sends Coen to the mill.
The quest can be approached by day or night. The mill conversation costs 1 time segment. The later conversation with Overseer Friedo costs 1 segment, and speaking with Mert costs 2 more.
| Step | Time cost | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Mill conversation | 1 segment | Renna explains that Mert was taken to Stoneward Post. |
| Overseer Friedo conversation | 1 segment | Opens the bribe, blackmail or Cerbus entry route. |
| Speaking with Mert | 2 segments | Completes The Firebrand and gives the rebel rendezvous lead. |
| “Officer! He’s going to be sick!” | 2 segments | Lures the cell guard away instead of starting a fight. |
| Execution deadline | 64 segments (four in-game days) | Mert dies if you have not spoken to him by then. |
Mert’s Mill: quiet route or fight
At night, the soldiers outside challenge Coen. Give a name and avoid the sword-marked response if you want to leave without starting a fight; the journal then tells you to return during the day.
During the day, Renna pretends that Coen came to fix a broken cart. Play along so she can explain that Mert was taken to Stoneward Post. If you want Renna to survive, clear the soldiers hiding in the mill shed before leaving. Walking away from the danger preserves the quiet route at the post, but it does not protect her from the men already at the mill.
Enter Stoneward Post and reach Mert
Travel west to Stoneward Post. A direct assault works, and is easier at night when Coen has vampire abilities, but the daytime route can reach Mert without turning the whole fort hostile.
| Route | What to do | Cost or risk |
|---|---|---|
| Bribe | Pay Friedo for access to the cells. | Fast, but spends Denarii. |
| Blackmail | Talk to the angry woman, confront merchant Yenno, then use the corruption information on Friedo. | No bribe; requires extra conversations. |
| Cerbus | Accept Friedo’s demand, defeat Cerbus, then return. | Combat, but keeps the formal entry route. |
| Assault | Kill the guards and take the prison keys. | Most combat and infamy. |
If you surrendered your weapons, avoid picking a fight in the cell before preparing. The guard can be lured away by choosing “Officer! He’s going to be sick!”, but that dialogue costs 2 time segments. Otherwise, a fight alerts the fort.
Save Mert or continue without him
Speaking to Mert before the four-day deadline gives the information about the rebel rendezvous. Choose that you will return for him if you want to finish The Firebrand now and keep him safely in the cell, or commit to freeing him immediately to begin Under Watchful Eyes.
If the deadline passes, Mert’s body is behind the overseer’s tower. Search the nearby tent for his wedding ring, use it as the catalyst for Compel Soul, and question the corpse to recover the rendezvous lead. That route completes the investigation, but it permanently loses Mert’s rescue follow-up.
The Firebrand outcomes
- Mert survives: speak to him before 64 segments pass. You can leave him safely jailed or start his escape immediately.
- Mert dies: question his corpse with the wedding ring to continue toward Shadows in the Woods.
- Renna survives: deal with the soldiers at the mill rather than leaving them in place.
- Under Watchful Eyes unlocks: tell Mert you will get him out now.
| Path | How you get the rendezvous lead | What you keep |
|---|---|---|
| Mert alive | Speak to him in the cell before the 64-segment deadline. | The rescue follow-up on Under Watchful Eyes. |
| Mert dead | Search the tent behind the overseer’s tower for his wedding ring, then question the corpse with Compel Soul. | The lead toward Shadows in the Woods, but the rescue route is gone for good. |
This page covers the mill and the post up to the handoff only: the cell break itself belongs to the Under Watchful Eyes page, and the wider order of quests is on the All Quests Walkthrough.