Near the end of the prologue, Coen will find himself at odds with his vrakhiri overlords, an unenviable position, instigated in large part by his friend 
Vladimir. While there’s a lot to do in this quest - including learning to cope with your newfound dark powers - much of this is just a tutorial for Coen’s new night-time proclivities. Once you escape the mines, however, there’s a choice you can make that determines Vladimir’s fate, and this page will cover how to rescue Vladimir in 
The Blood of Dawnwalker and its consequences!
Page Breakdown¶
After escaping the mines, refuse an escort offered by Brencis’s soldiers if you want to save Vladimir.
Choice: Follow Brencis’s Soldiers or Not¶
There’s a whole dungeon to explore, 
Kobolds to kill, treasure to get and new powers to get acclimated to, but the real interesting part of the quest Bad Blood begins when you escape the mines. Clawride down the sheer cliff below you and follow the trail south to find two of 
Brencis’s soldiers, who will talk to you when they spot you.
Surprisingly, they don’t attack outright, instead saying they were ordered to “collect” Coen. You’ll get two actionable dialog options here, and if you pick ”Lead the way, then.” you’ll unwittingly abandon Vladimir to his fate. As far as we know you won’t confirm he’s dead, but Coen will talk as if he is, and he won’t show up again. On the other hand, if you want to rescue Vladimir you’ll need to pick the option ”I don’t think so.”, which picks a fight with the guards.
How to Rescue Vladimir¶
After defying (and defeating) the guards, continue south along a trail until the path splits, at which point turn right and continue south around some shacks in various states of disrepair outside the entrance to the mines. Continue south, defeat any guards you see, and pass through a wooden arch, following the trail until you find another fork. Turn uphill to the left here and you’ll find a burning building, which the soldiers are using as kindling.
Turns out they’re not just being random firebugs - Vladimir is trapped inside the burning hut, and you’ll have to defeat the two soldiers to save him. One of them is a Vrakhiri Banneret miniboss, which fights much like normal soldiers, albeit it may pull off longer combos and use unblockable attacks more often. Defeat this elite foe and his lackey and you’ll get a scene.
Talk Vladimir out of the house, after which you’ll head to a nearby bluff and have another conversation, during which Vladimir makes a confession and mentions a miller named 
Mert, who was the middleman for the 
Manumits - the rebels that Vladimir was working for, much to Laslea’s misery. This consumes 1 TIME and points you towards a post-prologue quest 
The Firebrand. For more information about Vladimir’s fate, check out the spoiler box, below:
Vladimir’s Fate¶
If Vladimir survives Brencis’s sack of Laslea, he won’t show up again until later in the game, when you get in contact with the Manumits via the quests Shadows in the Woods and Where Loyalty Lies. Complete those quest to gain access to the Manumit Hideout in Svartrau, and you’ll find Vladimir there. You can chat with him, and unlock the quest Old Friends, New Friends, which is little more than a time-waster, if you don’t value the lore. He’ll also appear in the epilogue, scheming to become Laslea’s next alderman, although his newfound cough suggests his new position of authority may be short-lived.
Naturally if you didn’t save him (or worse, you killed him in a fit of vampiric hunger), he won’t be appearing later in the game.
Nathan has been working at Gamer Guides since 2014 where he started as a contributor. He came on as an editor in 2020 where he continues to put his excellent knowledge of most things RPG to use. More about Nathan Garvin
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