Chapter 2: Golden Greed

1. Unexpected Gift

The chapter opens right after Traces. Rulupee's pendant begins to shine after the trip into the Abyss, and that light points Kliff at Lioncrest Watchtower, a bandit-held tower in the Hernand region. The quest ends with a golden helm, two new skills and a puzzle inside an Abyss Cresset.

• 1

  Where the Light Leads: clear and climb Lioncrest Watchtower

  Ride to the marker and defeat the bandits holding the watchtower — roughly ten in the courtyard. Drop the archers first; light attacks cost no stamina, while heavy attacks work better against shields. There is a checkpoint right in front of the tower. Going up, vines block the way: burn them with a Fire Arrow (light an arrow at a nearby torch) or cut through with the Blinding Sword, or skip the door with three Force Palms in mid-air, resting on window sills. At the top, a Suspicious Helm lies on the floor near some decorative vases.

• 2

  Memory Fragment: read the helm

  Picking up the helm equips it and grants Visione, the ability to view the memories stored in such objects. You can either wear the helm manually or use the on-screen prompt; the faster route is holding the Options button and picking the bottom icon on the right. Watch the memory to move on.

• 3

  Reunion: follow the cat, learn Nature's Grasp and Focus

  Leave the tower and speak with Rulupee, the child sitting on the wall with a black cat. Follow the cat — holding the interact button auto-follows it across the river and rock ledges — to an Abyss Cresset in Meandering Hills. Stand close in front of the child to learn Nature's Grasp, then learn Focus inside the cresset (use Focus on a rock wall, lift it, then observe the meditating child).

• 4

  Reunion: the cresset puzzle

  Align the blue light by pushing the circular blocks with Force Palm in this order: middle, left, right. Then approach the other child at the cliff to finish. An Abyss Artifact (a skill point) sits on the pillar at the cave entrance and is missable, so take it before you leave.

2. Hernand in Chaos

Back in Hernand Square, a group is talking about the Greymanes. This quest is a chain of eight objectives: a duel, a recruitment pitch from the Marshal of Hernand, a bandit-held mill, and four notice-board requests you can take in any order. The four requests are where the Visione gets its first real use, reading memories at each scene.

• 1

  For Honor: duel Matthias

  In Hernand Square, approach the group discussing the Greymanes — a seated knight with three people around him — and speak with the knight, Matthias, to start a duel. He has two health bars and is the easiest boss in the game: a three-hit light combo followed by a three-hit heavy combo interrupts him, then back off to recover stamina. You can learn Pump Kick during this fight.

• 2

  Awestruck: speak with Barden Middler

  A man has been watching the duel — dressed like a knight but without a helm. He is Barden Middler, Marshal of Hernand, and he tries to recruit you. A cutscene ends the objective.

• 3

  Shadow Cast Over the River: liberate Springtide Mill

  Ride to Springtide Mill and clear the bandits guarding the bridge; an enemy counter on the left of the screen tracks progress, and if it stalls, check the camp off the side of the bridge. One warning: shoot the mounted bandit with arrows rather than hitting the horse, because harming the horse gives you a bounty.

• 4

  Where Misery Gathers: the notice board

  Check the notice board by the mill and collect the four posters: Missing Cows, Horn Thief, Missing Wooly and Strange Noises from the Cave. Each opens one of the four objectives below, and you can do them in any order.

• 5

  Trial After Trial (Missing Cows)

  Talk to Bremer at the Hernand Farmhouse — morning only. Speak with the witnesses; the herbalist asks a copper coin for his information. Follow the herbalist on horseback to a bandit camp, clear it, and use the Lantern near the brown tent to find the memory dust, then view the memory, "The Missing Cow", through the Visione. Report back to Bremer.

• 6

  The Man Trapped in the Mire (Horn Thief)

  Ibano, a rancher at Capra Pasture, says bandits have been cutting the horns off his goats. Head east to the campsite, deal with the thieves (three bandits), use the Lantern on the boxes to read the memory, "Hornless Goat", with the Visione, and pick up the Mysterious Elixir from a rock in the camp. Then return to Ibano for a closing cutscene.

• 7

  Missing Companion (Missing Wooly)

  A crying child, William, at Bloomwood Ranch has lost his sheep, Wooly. Gather what the other children and the men in the woods know, then cross the river to a bandit camp, clear it and take the sheep from the pen. Carry it back to William — with a twist: the sheep you bring back is not actually Wooly.

• 8

  Secrets Hidden in the Dark (Strange Noises from the Cave)

  Find Boris, a self-proclaimed Greymane being hassled by two men at Bloomwood Ranch, and follow him on horseback to a broken cart at Unicorn Cliff. Defeat the bandits by the cave, go to the bottom with the Lantern and read the memory, "Lair of the Animal Thieves", with the Visione. Leave the cave for a cutscene, then speak with the guards on the road to the northeast, who mention Hornsplitter and his crew. That closes the quest and leads into The End of Greed.

3. The End of Greed

The guards pointed at the Goldleaf Merchant Guild. From its market at the edge of town the quest runs through a burning house, a kidnapping in the Hernand Highlands, a deal with the merchant Shakatu, and the chapter's boss, Kailok the Hornsplitter. What the bandits were after was "skystones".

• 1

  The Dark Veil: the Goldleaf Merchant Guild

  Go to the Guild's market and confront the merchants about the recent trouble. This is a short one: find the merchant Shakatu and talk to him.

• 2

  The Flames of Greed: the burning house

  A nun on the road asks you to save a healer from bandits. Ride to the healer's house at Unicorn Cliff (PowerPyx places it south of the Nas River, in Windland Heights) to find it on fire. You have two minutes: pull the burnt logs out of the doorway with Nature's Grasp, go in, pick up the person lying at the back — Marten — and carry him out to the group. This earns coins and an Abyss Artifact.

• 3

  Kidnapped Healer: rescue Hubert

  The bandits took Hubert the Healer to the Hernand Highlands. The route is full of hostile enemies you can mostly ride past; at the camp, defeat the kidnapper, then lock onto Hubert and untie him.

• 4

  Rebellion or Revolution: Shakatu's offer

  Find Shakatu in the Highlands. His men attack first; once they are down he appears and you follow him while he talks. He offers an artifact and help rebuilding the Greymanes in exchange for ending Hornsplitter; the outcome is Shakatu becoming the new Goldleaf leader and Kliff accepting a trade-company deal for information on the Greymanes. None of the sources describes a choice here.

• 5

  Cheers Echoing From the Edge: Kailok the Hornsplitter

  The boss. Game8 sends you back to Unicorn Cliff for it; PowerPyx places the fight in the Hernand Highlands. Kailok is a goblin with a single health bar, agile, mixing melee with long-range wind slashes, and a clear step up from everything before it. Evade the wind slashes and answer the red-glint attacks with Force Palm; perfect-counter with the shield when the boss glows green, dodge when it glows blue (super armor), and block the ranged waves. You can learn Evasive Roll during or after the fight. Bring forty or more meat for healing; the reward, the Sword of the Lord, is a potent early weapon.

4. Chapter 2 Completion

✅ Before Leaving the Hernand Highlands...