Greed and Ashes: How to Find Tristan’s Loot in Crimson Desert

by Krushna Vasudeva · April 24, 2026

TL;DR

Greed and Ashes is a short follow-up quest that triggers automatically after completing Letter of Silence and beating Tristan the Flame Knight.
Do not leave the castle after the boss fight — both loot pieces are hidden inside the same building.
Spada Sword: On the second floor, on a weapon rack near the training dummies — head up past Lyle the Merchant and take an immediate left.
Drake Shield: On the top floor, northeast corner behind cannonballs and wooden boards near the sandbags.
Defeating Tristan also rewards the Scorchflame Plate Gloves, Seal of Devotion, and an Abyss Artifact automatically.
Tristan does not appear until you have progressed far enough in the main story. If the boss is missing, continue the story first.
Bring fire resistance gear and plenty of healing food — the castle is packed with flamethrower soldiers and Tristan hits extremely hard.

A lot of players beat Tristan, see the rewards pop up, and immediately leave the castle — only to realize the Greed and Ashes quest is still sitting unfinished in their log. The two items you need, the Spada Sword and Drake Shield, are not direct boss drops. They are hidden inside the castle itself and easy to miss if you rush out. This guide covers how to start the quest, how to beat Tristan, and exactly where to find both pieces of loot.

For more quests and guides, head to the full Crimson Desert guide hub.

Table of Contents

What Is the Greed and Ashes Quest?

Greed and Ashes is a short Alliance Quest in Crimson Desert that activates automatically the moment you complete Letter of Silence — the main Flame Knights faction quest in Demeniss. It has one simple objective: find Tristan’s Loot, which counts as two separate item pickups inside the Flame Knight’s Castle. The game does not mark them clearly on the minimap, which is why so many players walk past them or leave the area before grabbing them.

The two items in question are the Spada Sword and the Drake Shield — both of which Tristan himself was wielding during the boss fight. After the battle, instead of dropping them on the spot, the game leaves them stashed elsewhere in the castle for you to find.

How to Start Letter of Silence and Unlock Greed and Ashes

Before Greed and Ashes is available, you need to complete Letter of Silence first. Here is how the whole thing starts:

how to get the sparda sword in crimson desert

Step 1 – Reach Demeniss During the Main Story

The Letter of Silence quest only becomes available after you have reached the central part of Demeniss during the main story — around Chapter 7 or 8. During the Ashen Steps main quest in Chapter 8, you will find a man wearing an orange tunic standing near the Butchery in Demeniss City. Speak to him. He will direct you to a location on the eastern side of the city near Brookfield Manor.

Head there and interact with a window to begin a conversation with a stranger. You will receive a letter. Read it — the letter tasks you with dealing with a band of knights and their leader, Tristan the Flame Knight. This officially starts the Letter of Silence side quest.

Important: If you arrive at the Flame Knight’s Castle and Tristan is not there, the boss has not unlocked yet. Keep progressing the main story and return later. The game requires sufficient story progress before the Flame Knight boss will appear at the castle.

how to get the drake shield in crimson desert location 2

Step 2 – Travel to Flame Knight’s Castle

The Flame Knight’s Castle sits on the western side of Demeniss. It is located just southwest of the Golden Trading Post, and east of the Reventine Monastery — the same area you may already know from the A Rumor Fueled by Greed quest. The castle is hard to miss — it has tall stone walls and smoke rising from within.

The entire area is hostile. Flame Knight soldiers patrol inside and outside the walls. Do not try to run past them — you need to clear the area and lower the liberation bar before the boss arena unlocks.

How to Beat Tristan the Flame Knight

Tristan is an aggressive boss who fights with a one-handed sword and shield combination. Every one of his melee attacks carries fire damage thanks to his Fire Weapon passive. He hits hard, moves fast, and is very difficult to stun. Going into this fight underprepared is one of the fastest ways to get one-shot in mid-game Demeniss.

Preparation Tips

Bring fire resistance gear. The entire castle is fire-themed — soldiers use flamethrowers and Tristan’s own attacks deal fire damage. Equipping armor with fire resistance before entering will reduce the damage you take significantly. Our resistance guide covers how the resistance system works if you need a refresher.
Stock healing food. Bring at least 100 pieces of Grilled Meat or better. The run through the castle before the boss fight drains your health, and you want to enter Tristan’s arena topped up. Check our guide on how to cook the best healing food for the most efficient options.
Clear all soldiers before entering the boss arena. The final chamber triggers the boss fight automatically when you walk in. Make sure you have cleared as many nearby soldiers as possible beforehand so they do not add pressure during the fight.
Do not fight near the courtyard until ready. Once the liberation bar hits zero in the courtyard, a cutscene plays and Tristan appears. Make sure you are healed and ready before clearing that final stretch of soldiers in the courtyard area.

Fighting Tristan

Tristan uses a combination of fast sword strikes, shield bashes, and fire-imbued area attacks. Here is how to handle the fight:

Do not rush. Tristan is very difficult to stun. Trying to brute-force him with aggressive combos will get you killed. Play patiently and wait for openings after his attacks.
Dodge or block his flame projectiles. He will periodically launch fire-based ranged attacks. These are telegraphed clearly — watch for the wind-up and dodge sideways rather than straight back.
Avoid fire pools on the ground. Some of Tristan’s attacks leave lingering fire damage on the floor. Do not stand in them while healing or repositioning.
Use parries when possible. Parrying Tristan’s sword swings interrupts his combo patterns and gives you a clean attack window. Our parry and counter guide covers the timing in detail.
Conserve stamina for dodges. You will need it for his faster multi-hit combos. Avoid spamming attacks when your stamina is low.

After Tristan falls, a short cutscene plays and Letter of Silence completes. You receive the Scorchflame Plate Gloves, Seal of Devotion, and an Abyss Artifact automatically as part of the quest reward. Immediately after this, Greed and Ashes activates and asks you to find Tristan’s Loot.

Where to Find Tristan’s Loot – Spada Sword and Drake Shield Locations

Stay inside the castle. Both items are hidden on different floors of the Flame Knight’s Castle and neither of them are marked on the minimap clearly. Remaining soldiers may still patrol the hallways after the boss dies, so keep your guard up while you search.

Spada Sword Location

The Spada Sword is on the second floor of the Flame Knight’s Castle, inside the building. Here is exactly how to reach it:

From the inner courtyard where the boss fight ended, head into the castle building.
Find the stairs leading up and go to the second floor.
Pass Lyle the Merchant on your way up — he will be standing near the staircase area. He sells useful items if you need to restock before grabbing the loot.
At the top of the stairs, take an immediate left.
You will see a cluster of training dummies in the room ahead.
Face the north wall of this room. The Spada Sword is sitting on a weapon rack on the wall. Interact with it to pick it up.

Drake Shield Location

The Drake Shield is on the top floor of the castle — one more flight of stairs above the Spada Sword. Here is how to get there from the sword location:

From the training dummy room where you found the Spada Sword, continue up the next set of stairs.
Head to the northeast wall of the top floor.
Look for a storage area surrounded by cannonballs, bundled wooden boards, and a cart.
The Drake Shield is sitting on a sandbag in this corner area. Interact with it to claim it.

Once you pick up both items, the Greed and Ashes quest completes. That is all there is to it — no additional boss fight, no puzzle, no extra area to explore.

Spada Sword Stats – Is It Worth Keeping?

The Spada Sword is a one-handed sword with the following base stats:

Base Attack: 19
Bonus: Critical Rate + Attack Speed Lv. 2
Fully Upgraded Attack: 30

The Attack Speed Lv. 2 bonus is the main draw here. In boss fights, attack windows are often short — landing more hits per second inside those windows adds up. The Spada Sword is a solid mid-game one-handed sword, especially useful if you have not found something stronger yet. It is not the best one-handed sword in the game overall, but it is reliable and easy to obtain through normal story progression.

For a full comparison of your one-handed sword options, check our best one-handed swords guide. If you are specifically looking for a stronger sword, the Righteous Verdict Sword and Chillfallen Sword are worth checking out as upgrades.

Drake Shield Stats – Is It Worth Keeping?

The Drake Shield is the more interesting of the two items. Here are its stats:

Defense: Solid mid-game blocking value
Bonus: Movement Speed Lv. 2
Special Ability – Draconic Retribution: After blocking 3 enemy attacks in a row, you gain 1 charge. Expending that charge with L1 + R2 (PlayStation) / LB + RT (Xbox) releases a burst of fire damage outward.

The Movement Speed Lv. 2 bonus is genuinely useful — most shields in the game slow you down, so having one that lets you reposition quickly while blocking is a real advantage. The Draconic Retribution ability rewards a patient, defensive playstyle. If you regularly block multiple hits in a row before retaliating, the fire burst triggers often and adds meaningful extra damage over a fight.

If you like using a shield-heavy build, the Drake Shield pairs naturally with the Scorchflame Plate armor pieces for a full Flame Knight aesthetic. Our Scorchflame armor set locations guide shows you where to find all the pieces.

For other strong shield options to compare, see our guides on the Shield of Conviction, Oath Ring Shield, Rhonid Large Shield, and Lucon Large Shield.

All Rewards from the Letter of Silence and Greed and Ashes Questline

Completing the full Flame Knight questline gives you a strong set of rewards across both quests. Here is the complete breakdown:

Scorchflame Plate Gloves — Awarded automatically upon defeating Tristan. Part of the Flame Knight armor set with bonus fire resistance.
Seal of Devotion — Awarded automatically from Letter of Silence. This permanently unlocks the ability to hire Contribution Workers at your camp, which is a significant camp progression unlock.
Abyss Artifact — Awarded automatically from Letter of Silence. Used for upgrading Abyss Gear slots on your equipment.
Spada Sword — Found in the castle on the second floor. Must be manually picked up to complete Greed and Ashes.
Drake Shield — Found on the top floor of the castle. Must be manually picked up to complete Greed and Ashes.

This makes the Letter of Silence / Greed and Ashes questline one of the more rewarding faction quest chains in the Demeniss region. Five distinct rewards, including a permanent camp unlock and unique weapons, all from a single castle run.

Tips and Common Questions

Tristan is not at the castle. This means you have not progressed far enough in the main story. The boss only unlocks after reaching the appropriate chapter in Demeniss. Keep pushing the main story and check back.
Can you return to the castle after leaving? Yes. The castle does not lock out after the quest. If you left without picking up the Spada Sword or Drake Shield, you can go back and get them. The items will still be in their spots.
Soldiers are still attacking after Tristan died. This is normal. Flamethrower soldiers remain active throughout the castle after the boss fight. Stay alert while searching for the loot.
Do not confuse the quest name. Some sources call this quest “Greed in Ashes” and others call it “Greed and Ashes.” Both refer to the same quest — the slight name variation appears depending on the platform and game version.
Lyle the Merchant is in the castle. While you are in there, do not forget to check Lyle’s stock if you need supplies. He sits near the second-floor stairs, making him a convenient mid-run vendor.

More Crimson Desert Quest and Boss Guides

Finished with Tristan? Here are more guides to keep you moving forward:

Crimson Desert is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. For the latest news, visit the official Crimson Desert website.

Greed and Ashes: How to Find Tristan’s Loot in Crimson Desert

What Is the Greed and Ashes Quest?

How to Start Letter of Silence and Unlock Greed and Ashes