TL;DR
- Judge and Executioner is one of Ambrus’s 14 Court Activities, found near St. Tyna’s Grove.
- It costs 3 Time Segments and is available from Level 1 — no prerequisites required.
- You clear the stone outpost, loot the Keeper’s Keys, and free prisoners from a locked cell.
- One prisoner accuses the other — Branko — of being a snitch for Ambrus’s soldiers.
- Evidence in the camp proves the accusation is true — the best choice is to leave Branko locked up.
- After waiting one in-game day, visit the woodcutter’s camp to collect the Beastmaster’s Ring reward.
- Completing this activity raises Ambrus’s anger and pushes you closer to The Gilded Gauntlet duel.
Ambrus’s Dungeons Judge and Executioner quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the more story-rich Court Activities tied to Ambrus. Most of his activities are simple — clear enemies and move on. This one asks you to investigate a camp, read documents, and decide whether a prisoner is guilty before you let him out. The decision matters more than it first appears, and the reward at the end only comes if you handle it correctly. This guide walks you through the full outpost, the evidence, the Branko choice, and everything that follows. This is one of 14 Ambrus Court Activities. If you want to see how it fits into the bigger picture, our full quest list for The Blood of Dawnwalker covers every activity across all three vassals. Once you have worked through enough of Ambrus’s activities, you will trigger The Gilded Gauntlet boss quest — the full guide to its choices and outcomes is worth reading before you get there.
Quest Details – Judge and Executioner
- Quest Type: Ambrus Court Activity (Dungeons category)
- Starting Location: Ruined stone outpost in St. Tyna’s Grove, just south of the Woodland Outpost Shrine
- Requirement: None — available from Level 1
- Fail State: None
- Time Cost: 3 Time Segments
- Reward: Beastmaster’s Ring, Skill Points, XP, plus minor loot including Potent Regenerative Salve and Vitality Balm
- Effect: Raises Ambrus’s anger meter
Where To Find Judge and Executioner
The outpost for this Court Activity is a ruined stone camp located in St. Tyna’s Grove, just south of the Woodland Outpost Shrine. Court Activities do not appear automatically on your map — they only show as “Unknown Activity” until you physically walk into range and discover them. Once discovered, you can track the quest from your journal and the marker stays on your compass.
If you have already climbed the nearby Scouting Tower, you will have more question marks visible on your map in this region, which makes it easier to spot the outpost while exploring. The area is also connected to several other quests — see our guides on the Echoes of Silenced Bells quest and A Bulwark Against Darkness, both of which are in St. Tyna’s Grove.
Step-By-Step Walkthrough – Judge and Executioner
Step 1 – Investigate The Outpost
Approach the ruined stone outpost. Guards in yellow-and-black checkered tabards are posted at the entrance and will engage immediately on sight. There is no stealth requirement here and no time-of-day restriction, so you can tackle this at any hour.
Deal with the sentries at the entrance first, then push inside the walls. A larger group of soldiers is gathered around a campfire in the courtyard — this is the main fight. Clear every enemy inside the outpost walls. Once all guards are down, the journal objective updates from “Investigate the outpost” to “Free the prisoners.”
Step 2 – Find the Keeper’s Keys
Before heading to the cell, loot the bodies around the campfire area. The Keeper’s Keys are on the captain’s corpse near the fire. Pick them up — the cell gate will not open without them. While you are looting, you will also find minor items such as Denarius, a Canteen of Water, and Simple Turnshoes on the other guards.
Step 3 – Read The Evidence Before Opening The Cell
Do not rush straight to the cell. There are two key documents in the camp that give you the full picture on Branko before you make your decision. It is worth collecting both.
Document 1 – Ledger of Prisoners (inside the tent): Head uphill to the tent on the eastern side of the dungeon. On the table inside, you will find the Ledger of Prisoners. It lists what each captive is being held for and what Ambrus’s men plan to do with them. Every prisoner is marked for draining and torture to extract confessions — except Branko. He is listed as exempt from torture.
Document 2 – Interrogation Protocols (on a table near the brazier): This is the stronger piece of evidence. The protocols describe how brutal the interrogation sessions were for the other prisoner, then note that Branko required no torture at all because he cooperated fully. In plain terms: Branko told Ambrus’s soldiers everything they wanted to know without needing to be pressured.
Picking up both documents means you are walking into the conversation at the cell with everything you need to make a clean judgment.
Step 4 – Open The Cell and Hear The Accusation
Walk to the iron gate with the Keeper’s Keys and open it. The two prisoners immediately start arguing. One of them accuses the other — Branko — of being a snitch who fed information to Ambrus’s soldiers. Branko denies it.
At this point Coen can ask for evidence before deciding. You can say “Anything to support these accusations?” and then choose “I need to think about this, look around.” This lets you postpone the decision and explore the camp first if you have not yet collected the documents above. If you have already read both documents, you are ready to make your choice immediately.
The Branko Choice – Should You Free Him or Not?
This is the core decision in Judge and Executioner. Both choices complete the quest and count toward Ambrus’s anger meter. The difference is in what happens afterward — specifically at the woodcutter’s camp.
Choice 1 – “I’m setting both of you free”
Both prisoners walk out of the cell. Branko joins the other prisoner and they head to the woodcutter’s camp. After you wait one in-game day and travel there, you find that Ambrus’s guards have tracked them down. Everyone at the camp has been killed because Branko led the soldiers straight to them. The quest still completes and you can still loot the cabin, but the other prisoner — who was innocent — dies because Branko was given another chance to cause harm.
Choice 2 – “Branko – you’re staying where you are” (Recommended)
Coen tells Branko directly that he read the documents and knows he collaborated with the Vrakhiri. Branko immediately apologizes and begs for his freedom. Coen refuses. The other prisoner — the innocent one — delivers a very satisfying line calling Branko a backstabber as he is released alone.
After you wait a day and travel to the woodcutter’s camp, the freed prisoner is there safely. Ambrus’s guards show up but the camp survives without Branko’s cooperation guiding the soldiers. You can loot the body of a guard outside the cabin, which carries a Military Report confirming everything — it is headed “REPORT: PRISON BREAK” and proves Branko was the informant. Inside the cabin is the chest with the Thank-You Note and the Beastmaster’s Ring.
The short answer: Leave Branko locked up. The evidence in the camp confirms the accusation is true. Freeing him leads directly to more deaths. Leaving him is the better outcome for the innocent survivor and the only path that keeps the woodcutter’s camp intact.
Step 5 – Wait One In-Game Day
After the cell decision, the quest objective becomes “Wait a day.” You do not have to stand around. Go work on other activities, explore the region, or tackle a nearby quest. The game just needs 16 Time Segments to pass before the woodcutter’s camp becomes available.
The St. Tyna’s Grove region has plenty to do while you wait. You can pick up Stronger Than Achilles and work through the Anca questline, or check out Lost Blood, both of which are in this area. If you have not done the Where Old Devils Lie quest yet, this is a good time to work toward it.
Step 6 – Visit The Woodcutter’s Camp
Once a full in-game day has passed, the quest updates and marks a new location — the woodcutter’s camp in northeastern Rockfalls. Travel there and get ready for another fight. Ambrus’s soldiers have moved in and are occupying the site.
Clear every guard in the camp. Once they are down, search the body lying outside the cabin. It carries the Military Report that confirms Branko was informing. Then go inside the cabin and open the chest. Inside you find a Thank-You Note from the freed woodcutters and the Beastmaster’s Ring. Looting the chest completes the quest.
Rewards – What You Get
- Beastmaster’s Ring — the main reward, found in the cabin chest at the woodcutter’s camp
- Skill Points and XP — standard Court Activity reward
- Potent Regenerative Salve and Vitality Balm — can drop from looting the outpost guards
- Ambrus Anger Increase — every completed Court Activity pushes Ambrus’s anger meter higher
You do not need to complete all 14 of Ambrus’s Court Activities. Around 75% is enough to max out his anger and trigger The Gilded Gauntlet. Judge and Executioner is one of the better activities to prioritise since it comes with a named ring reward, which most Court Activities do not. For a full breakdown of what skills and gear to prioritise around this point in the game, see our best skills to level up guide and the ability slots guide.
Other Ambrus Dungeon Activities
Judge and Executioner is part of the Dungeons category within Ambrus’s Court Activities. There are two other dungeon activities alongside it:
- Evil and Convenience — defeat the guards, use Focus Mode to investigate yellow objects, find a key in the barn, and decide whether to spare a guard inside who offers a treasure map. Our dedicated guide on Ambrus’s Dungeons Evil and Convenience covers it in full.
- Twists and Turns — the most straightforward of the three. Defeat the guards, enter the cave, and free the captives from their cell. No major decisions involved.
Each of these three dungeon activities costs 3 Time Segments and counts toward Ambrus’s anger. Completing all three plus the other categories of his Court Activities — Blood Transports, Leech Collectors, Prisoner Transports, Blood Cellars, and the Prisoner Processing Camp — will bring his anger to maximum and unlock The Gilded Gauntlet. For a good overall build going into that boss fight, also check our silver selling guide to make sure you have enough coins for gear and upgrades beforehand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you free Branko in Judge and Executioner?
No. Leave Branko locked up. The two documents in the camp — the Ledger of Prisoners and the Interrogation Protocols — both confirm that Branko willingly cooperated with Ambrus’s soldiers without any coercion. If you free him, he leads soldiers to the woodcutter’s camp and gets the innocent prisoner killed. Leaving him behind leads to a better outcome and the same Beastmaster’s Ring reward.
Where is the Judge and Executioner outpost located?
The outpost is a ruined stone camp in St. Tyna’s Grove, just south of the Woodland Outpost Shrine. It does not appear on your map automatically — you need to walk into the area to discover it. Once discovered, it can be tracked from the journal and followed on your compass.
Where is the woodcutter’s camp in Blood of Dawnwalker?
The woodcutter’s camp is in northeastern Rockfalls. After the prison scene and a full in-game day of waiting, the quest journal marks it on the map. Travel there, clear the guards, loot the body outside the cabin for the Military Report, then open the chest inside for the Beastmaster’s Ring and the Thank-You Note.
Does Judge and Executioner affect the ending?
No. This is a Court Activity tied to Ambrus’s anger meter. The choice between freeing or keeping Branko does not affect any of the game’s seven endings. It affects what happens at the woodcutter’s camp follow-up — specifically whether the innocent prisoner survives — but has no wider story consequences beyond that moment.
