TL;DR
- The burning house rescue is part of The Flames of Greed, Main Quest #26 in Chapter 2 — The End of Greed sub-chapter.
- Starts near the Goldleaf Tradepost in Hernand after completing The Dark Veil.
- Speak to the nun on the road → ride to Windland Heights by Unicorn Cliff → approach the burning house to trigger the timer.
- You have 120 seconds from the moment the cutscene ends.
- Use Nature’s Grasp (green skill tree) to lift and move the large log blocking the front door, then hop over the smaller second log.
- Marten is on the floor in the upper right corner of the house. Interact to pick him up, then carry him straight outside.
- The fire damages you but won’t kill you instantly — move with purpose rather than trying to avoid every flame.
- Carrying Marten reduces your movement speed slightly — move in a straight line directly to the exit.
- Rewards: Coins, x1 Abyss Artifact. The quest leads directly into Kidnapped Healer.
The Flames of Greed is a short but time-sensitive quest in Crimson Desert that puts you inside a burning house with a 120-second clock. The pressure trips players up — especially the Nature’s Grasp mechanic to clear the blocked entrance, which the game introduces here for the first time in an urgent context. This guide walks through every step from finding the nun on the road to carrying Marten safely outside, with timing tips that make the rescue easy even on a first attempt.
For the full main story order, see our All Main Story Quests and Chapters guide. The previous quest in this chapter — involving Boris and a cave memory — is covered in our Secrets Hidden in the Dark walkthrough.
Quest Overview — The Flames of Greed
- Quest number: Main Quest #26
- Chapter: Chapter 2 — Golden Greed
- Sub-chapter: The End of Greed (quest 2 of 5)
- Starting location: Goldleaf Tradepost, Hernand region
- Prerequisite: Complete The Dark Veil
- Next quest: Kidnapped Healer
- Rewards: Coins, x1 Abyss Artifact
The End of Greed sub-chapter contains five quests in total: The Dark Veil, The Flames of Greed, Kidnapped Healer, Rebellion or Revolution, and Cheers Echoing from the Edge. All five lead toward the Kailok the Hornsplitter boss fight that concludes Chapter 2. The Flames of Greed is quest two in that sequence — a short, action-focused mission that also introduces Nature’s Grasp as a practical skill for clearing obstacles.
Step 1 — Speak to the Nun at the Goldleaf Tradepost
After completing The Dark Veil, leave the Goldleaf Tradepost heading southeast from Hernand City following the road marker. As you travel, you’ll encounter a nun standing on the roadside with two strangers, visibly distressed. Approach the group to trigger a cutscene.
The nun explains that a nearby healer’s house has been set on fire and someone is still trapped inside. After the dialogue ends, your quest marker updates to point toward the burning house at Windland Heights, near Unicorn Cliff, southeast of the Goldleaf Tradepost.
If the nun doesn’t appear immediately after The Dark Veil, make sure that quest is fully completed and its rewards have been collected. The trigger for this encounter requires the previous mission to be properly closed out.
Step 2 — Ride to Windland Heights
Mount your horse and follow the quest marker to Windland Heights by Unicorn Cliff, located south of the Nas River near Unicorn Cliff. The journey is short from the Goldleaf Tradepost area — a minute or two of riding. Follow your map marker rather than the road if you want the fastest route.
As you get close to the destination, a cutscene triggers automatically. You’ll see the healer’s house already engulfed in flames, with a group of panicked villagers standing helplessly outside. The scene confirms what the nun told you: someone is still inside. When control returns to you, the 120-second countdown begins immediately.
Use fast travel to get to Hernand area quickly if you’re coming from far away, and make sure you have Palmar Pills and food on hand before approaching — the fire does deal damage, and it’s better to be prepared.
Step 3 — Clear the Blocked Entrance with Nature’s Grasp
When control returns, you’ll be standing in front of the burning house. The front doorway is blocked by large, charred logs — you can’t enter by brute force or by trying to squeeze past them. You must use Nature’s Grasp to move them.
What is Nature’s Grasp?
Nature’s Grasp is a green skill tree ability that lets Kliff grab and throw objects — logs, barrels, boulders, and other environmental items — using a telekinetic pull. If you haven’t used it before, this is the first time the game puts it in an urgent context. The ability is available from early in Chapter 2 and should already be in your skill set by this point in the story.
How to Use Nature’s Grasp on the Logs
- PlayStation: Hold L2 + tap Square (follow the on-screen prompt)
- Xbox: Hold LT + tap X (follow the on-screen prompt)
- PC: Follow the on-screen keybind prompt
Face the large log directly and activate Nature’s Grasp. Kliff will grab the log telekinetically. Move it to the side of the doorway to clear the path — don’t throw it forward into the house or it will clutter the entrance. Once the main large log is moved, there is a second smaller log at the threshold that you hop over automatically as you enter — no additional action needed for that one.
The prompts appear on screen during this interaction, so follow them exactly as they appear. The sequence is a quick-time interaction — there’s no complex timing, just respond to the prompts without hesitating. Any delay here eats into your 120-second window, so act quickly but don’t panic.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nature’s Grasp and how it works for other puzzle interactions throughout the game, see our Axiom Force guide for context on how these telekinetic grab abilities function — Nature’s Grasp and Axiom Force share similar mechanics.
Step 4 — Find Marten Inside the Burning House
Once the entrance is clear, head straight inside. The interior is filled with fire and smoke, but the layout is simple — this is not a large building and there are no maze-like corridors to navigate.
Move directly toward the upper right corner of the house (the back right section when facing in from the entrance). Marten, the trapped man, is lying on the floor there. The fire along the floor will damage you as you move through it — don’t stop to try avoiding every flame, as that wastes time and ultimately doesn’t save you much health. Keep moving with purpose.
If your health is getting low from fire damage on the way to Marten, use food to heal mid-run. A quick consume doesn’t break your momentum significantly. See how to cook the best healing food to make sure you have effective items in your quick slot before starting this quest.
Step 5 — Pick Up Marten and Carry Him Outside
When you reach Marten, an interact prompt will appear. Press the interact button to pick him up:
- PlayStation: Square / X (follow on-screen prompt)
- Xbox: X / A (follow on-screen prompt)
Kliff lifts Marten and carries him over his shoulder. Your movement speed is reduced while carrying him — you can’t sprint at full speed. This is the most time-consuming part of the rescue, so plan your exit route before picking him up: go straight back toward the entrance the same way you came in, in as direct a line as possible.
The 120-second timer is generous enough that completing this rescue on the first attempt is very achievable as long as you don’t get lost inside the house or spend too long fumbling with the Nature’s Grasp inputs. The combination of travel time from the cutscene to picking up Marten typically leaves 60–70 seconds to get out once you’ve reached him.
Walk directly back toward the entrance and out the door. Don’t detour, don’t stop to look around, don’t try to grab any items — just move in a straight line to the exit.
Step 6 — Carry Marten to the Group Outside
Once you exit the burning house with Marten, a short cutscene plays automatically. The villagers rush forward to take Marten from Kliff. The rescue is complete.
The group then reveals what actually happened: their healer, Hubert, didn’t flee — he was kidnapped by the bandits who started the fire. Hubert had refused to hand over a mysterious item, and the bandits took him instead. This sets up the next quest.
You receive your rewards here: Coins and x1 Abyss Artifact. The Abyss Artifact is directly useful — invest it into your skill tree as soon as you can. See our guide on how to get skill points and best skills to level up first to decide where to spend it.
What to Do If the Timer Runs Out
If you fail the rescue — either by letting the timer expire or dying inside the house — the quest resets and you can try again from the beginning of the timed section. You don’t need to replay the earlier dialogue or travel sections.
If you’re struggling, here’s where the time usually goes:
- Slow with the Nature’s Grasp inputs. Practice the prompt sequence once before approaching the door. Hesitating on the log removal eats 5–10 seconds, which matters on a 120-second clock.
- Wrong direction inside the house. Marten is in the upper right corner. Go right immediately after entering — don’t wander toward the left side.
- Trying to dodge every fire patch. Dodging wastes more time than the fire damage costs you in health. Walk through the flames with purpose and heal with food if needed. The fire won’t kill you in the few seconds it takes to reach Marten.
- Slow exit while carrying Marten. Your reduced carry speed while holding Marten is fixed — you can’t sprint through it. Make sure your exit path is direct: straight back to the entrance, no detours.
Having Palmar Pills in your inventory means even if you drop to low health from fire damage, you can revive and continue rather than losing all progress from a death inside the building.
What Happens After the Rescue — Kidnapped Healer
The Flames of Greed ends the moment Marten is safely outside. The next quest, Kidnapped Healer (Main Quest #27), begins immediately. Your new objective is to find and rescue Hubert, the healer who was taken.
Follow the road east from Windland Heights and head south at the fork toward the Hernand Highlands. You’ll pass through some unusual terrain — including an area with hovering vases and aggressive hogs if you go off-road — so stick to the marked path if you want a clean run. Hostile enemies line the route, but you can ride past most of them without engaging.
The bandit camp holding Hubert is roughly 500 meters from Windland Heights. When you arrive, a bandit attacks. Defeat them, then locate Hubert in the camp. Lock onto him and interact to untie him. Completing Kidnapped Healer rewards x1 Standard Inventory Expansion Tool — another inventory upgrade that’s genuinely valuable at this stage of the game. See our full guide on how to increase inventory space for all methods available.
After freeing Hubert, he reveals information about the mysterious item the bandits were after, setting up the escalation toward Kailok the Hornsplitter. The Rebellion or Revolution and Cheers Echoing from the Edge quests follow before the chapter boss fight. When you reach Kailok, our guide on how to beat Kailok the Hornsplitter has the full fight strategy.
About Nature’s Grasp — Uses Beyond This Quest
Nature’s Grasp is introduced in an urgent context here, but it’s a skill you’ll use extensively throughout the rest of the game — not just for clearing logs during quests, but for puzzle mechanics, moving heavy objects in sanctums and ruins, and manipulating environmental elements during combat.
Many Abyss puzzles and strongbox challenges require it to move weighted objects onto pressure plates or reposition pillars and blocks. If you’ve been ignoring it as a combat skill, start paying attention to it now — the game will ask you to use it dozens more times. For sanctum and puzzle contexts where it frequently comes up, see our All Strongbox Puzzle Solutions guide and our coverage of ruins puzzles throughout Pywel.
Quest Rewards Summary
- The Flames of Greed: Coins, x1 Abyss Artifact
- Kidnapped Healer (next quest): x1 Standard Inventory Expansion Tool
Neither reward is flashy, but the Abyss Artifact is always useful — it funds one more skill node or stat boost in your skill tree. At this stage of Chapter 2, every Abyss Artifact matters for keeping your build developing at pace with the story’s escalating difficulty. If you’re not sure where to put it, check our Best Early Build guide for Chapter 2 skill priorities.
The End of Greed Sub-Chapter — Quest Order
For context on where The Flames of Greed fits in the broader arc:
- Quest 1: The Dark Veil
- Quest 2: The Flames of Greed (this quest)
- Quest 3: Kidnapped Healer
- Quest 4: Rebellion or Revolution
- Quest 5: Cheers Echoing from the Edge
- Boss: Kailok the Hornsplitter — Unicorn Cliff
All five quests must be completed before Kailok becomes accessible. The Flames of Greed and Kidnapped Healer are both short — you can complete them back to back in under 15 minutes. Rebellion or Revolution and Cheers Echoing from the Edge take slightly longer and involve more combat. Preparing your build before tackling the Kailok boss fight is recommended — refine your weapons at the Hernand blacksmith and make sure your Abyss Gear sockets are filled. See our Best Weapon Abyss Gears guide and Best Armor Abyss Gears guide for the full setup.
Where to Get Crimson Desert
Available on all major platforms:
Final Thoughts
The Flames of Greed is one of Crimson Desert’s most straightforward main quests, but the 120-second timer makes it feel more stressful than it actually is. Once you know Marten is in the upper right corner, the path is clear: remove the log with Nature’s Grasp, go right inside, pick him up, walk straight out. The timer gives you more than enough room as long as you don’t second-guess your route or try to perfectly dodge every flame on the floor.
The bigger takeaway from this quest is Nature’s Grasp itself — now that you’ve used it under pressure, you’ll recognize when the game is asking for it in every puzzle and obstacle situation that follows. Keep it in your skill quick-access, and the dozens of log-clearing and object-moving moments ahead in the game will all feel effortless by comparison.
For more Chapter 2 context and everything else in Crimson Desert, see the Crimson Desert Guide Hub. For challenge content running in parallel while you complete the story, our All Shield Challenges guide covers several artifacts available in the Hernand region you can pick up between story quests.
