How to Read the Memory in the Cave in Crimson Desert (Secrets Hidden in the Dark)

TL;DR

• Secrets Hidden in the Dark is Main Quest #24 in Chapter 2: Golden Greed, Hernand in Chaos sub-chapter. It starts near Springtide Mill.
• Find Boris at Bloomwood Ranch, speak to him, then mount your horse and follow him to Specter’s Hideout at Nas Riverside.
• Clear the bandits outside the cave — including one who uses Dropkick, which you can learn by watching him before killing him.
• Inside the cave, walk to the bottom near the wooden cages. Equip your Lantern (L1/LB / hold left D-pad) and scan for blue ghost figures.
• Face the blue blobs with your Lantern raised and hold still until the “Learning in Progress” bar fills completely. This learns the memory “Lair of the Animal Thieves.”
• After the bar fills, a prompt appears on the right side of the screen. Press Menu/Options to auto-equip the Visione helmet and watch the memory.
• Exit the cave → watch the cutscene → talk to the guards nearby to complete the quest.
• Rewards: x1 Standard Inventory Expansion Tool, x5 Grilled Meat, x5 Grilled Fruit, Dropkick Skill, +100 Hernandian Contribution XP.

Secrets Hidden in the Dark is one of the first quests in Crimson Desert that requires you to use the Lantern and Visione helmet together to read a memory inside a cave. The mechanic is poorly explained by the game, and most players get stuck at the same point — standing in the cave having cleared the bandits, lantern in hand, with no idea what to do next. This guide walks through every step of the quest from start to finish, with extra detail on the memory-reading process that trips most people up.

For the full main story breakdown, see our All Main Story Quests and Chapters guide. To understand the memory fragment system more broadly, also check how to read and replay Memory Fragments in Crimson Desert.

Quest Overview — Secrets Hidden in the Dark

• Quest number: Main Quest #24
• Chapter: Chapter 2 — Golden Greed
• Sub-chapter: Hernand in Chaos
• Starting location: Springtide Mill, Hernand region
• Prerequisite: Complete the previous main quest, “Where Misery Gathers”
• Next quest: The Dark Veil (unlocks after completing all four Where Misery Gathers sub-quests)
• Rewards: x1 Standard Inventory Expansion Tool, x5 Grilled Meat, x5 Grilled Fruit, Dropkick Skill, +100 Hernandian Contribution XP

This quest is one of four that unlock from Where Misery Gathers. You need to complete all four to unlock The Dark Veil and continue the main story. Secrets Hidden in the Dark also introduces the Lantern and Visione memory-reading mechanic in a quest context — understanding how it works here makes every other memory quest in the game much easier.

Step 1 — Pick Up the Quest at Springtide Mill

The quest poster is on the Notice Board at Springtide Mill, south of Hernand Town. If Springtide Mill is still under bandit control when you arrive, liberate it first to access the Notice Board. The poster reads: “Looking for someone to investigate a cave.” Read it to activate the quest, then track it from your Journal.

Your first objective points you toward Bloomwood Ranch at Serkis Estate, southeast of Hernand City. Head there to find the alleged Greymane.

Step 2 — Find Boris at Bloomwood Ranch

When you arrive at Bloomwood Ranch, you’ll find a scene already in progress: two villagers are hassling a clearly drunk man on the roadside. This is Boris — the so-called Greymane you’ve been sent to find. Despite his state, he loudly insists he’s a member of the Greymanes and that he knows where the animal thieves are hiding.

Speak to Boris to trigger a short dialogue. He’ll agree to lead you to the cave. After the conversation ends, a group of bandits will run off from the area. Don’t chase them — your objective now is to follow Boris.

Step 3 — Follow Boris to Specter’s Hideout

After speaking with Boris, call your horse (D-pad down or the horse call button) and mount up. Boris will begin riding, and you need to follow him closely without getting too far behind.

• Stay close to Boris as he rides. If you fall too far back, the follow objective may stall.
• Boris leads you across the Hernand countryside to Nas Riverside, where Specter’s Hideout is located.
• When Boris stops and dismounts, you’ll see the bandit cave in front of you. Walk forward toward the cave entrance to trigger a cutscene.

Step 4 — Clear the Bandits Outside the Cave

After the cutscene, you’ll find a group of bandits guarding the cave entrance and the surrounding area. You need to clear all of them before you can enter and investigate.

• Take out the archers first. Ranged enemies shooting from elevated positions make the melee fight significantly harder. Priority-killing archers lets you focus on the ground fighters without constant interruption from projectiles.
• Watch for the Dropkick bandit. One of the bandits in this group uses the Dropkick skill — a move you can learn by watching him use it. If you want to add Dropkick to your own skill set, hold off on killing this particular bandit until after he performs the move and you observe it. You’ll see a prompt appear indicating you’ve learned it. Our full quest guide mentions this: you can also read more about learning skills from enemies in the Advanced Combat Guide.
• Once all exterior bandits are cleared, head inside. Don’t rush — make sure the area is fully clear before entering or remaining bandits can follow you in and interrupt the memory investigation.

Step 5 — Navigate to the Bottom of the Cave

Enter Specter’s Hideout and move toward the back of the cave, all the way to the bottom. The memory fragment is located near the wooden cages at the deepest part of the interior — not near the entrance or partway through.

As you walk deeper, you’ll notice the environment growing darker and your lantern beginning to pulse with a faint blue glow. This is the game signalling that you’re getting close to the memory location. Don’t equip the Lantern yet — keep moving until you’re at the very back of the cave near the wooden cages.

There’s a Palmar Pill sitting on top of one of the cages inside. Grab it while you’re here — it’s a free revival item that’s useful in any tough fight. See our guide on how to get and use Palmar Pills for more detail on their importance.

Step 6 — How to Read the Memory in the Cave

This is where most players get stuck. The game gives you a vague objective to “investigate the suspicious cave” but doesn’t clearly explain the two-step Lantern and Visione process. Here’s exactly what to do:

Part A: Equip Your Lantern and Find the Blue Ghosts

Equip your Lantern using the radial item menu:

• PlayStation: Hold left on the D-pad to open the item radial, select the Lantern, and press X to equip and turn it on
• Xbox: Hold left on the D-pad, select the Lantern, and press A
• PC: Open the radial menu, select the Lantern, then press CTRL to raise it

With the Lantern active and raised (hold L1/LB/CTRL to keep it up), slowly turn and scan the area. You’re looking for faint blue ghost-like figures — blueish-white blobs or silhouettes drifting through the cave. These are the memory echoes that mark the fragment location.

If you can’t see the blue ghosts immediately, move slightly in different directions while keeping your Lantern raised. The figures become more visible as you get closer to the exact memory location, and the Lantern’s blue glow intensifies the nearer you are to the right spot. The memory in this cave is in front of the wooden cages at the back — if you’re not seeing anything, make sure you’ve walked all the way to the deepest part of the cave.

Part B: Fill the “Learning in Progress” Bar

Once you can see the blue ghost figures, face them directly with your Lantern raised. A “Learning in Progress” bar will appear on the left side of your screen. This bar fills up as long as you’re aiming the Lantern at the memory echoes.

Hold still and keep the Lantern aimed at the blue figures. The most common reason the bar stops filling or resets is movement — any significant adjustment to your aim or position interrupts the learning process. Lock onto the blobs, hold your position, and wait.

When the bar fills completely, you’ll learn the memory “Lair of the Animal Thieves.” A prompt will appear on the right side of the screen.

Part C: View the Memory with the Visione Helmet

After the Learning bar fills, the game prompts you to view the memory. There are two ways to do this:

• Quick method (after Patch 1.00.03): A mirror icon will appear on the right side of your screen when a viewable memory is nearby. Hold the Menu/Options button (Options on PlayStation / Menu on Xbox / ESC on PC) and select the bottom icon labeled “View Fragment.” This auto-equips the Visione and plays the memory immediately.
• Manual method: Press D-pad left (or the corresponding key), then press R1/RB to open the Armor tab. Highlight the Visione helmet in your headgear slot and press X/A to select it, then choose “Play” from the action options. Select “Lair of the Animal Thieves” from the memory list and confirm.

When the Visione is active, Kliff puts on the golden helmet and the world turns blue around you. You’ll see the memory play out as ghostly figures re-enacting past events inside the cave. Watch it through completely.

The memory reveals that Kailok the Hornsplitter is the one behind all the animal theft incidents plaguing Hernand. This is story-critical information that sets up a later encounter. Read more about how to beat Kailok the Hornsplitter when that fight arrives.

What to Do If the Memory Won’t Trigger

A few issues can prevent the memory from working correctly:

• You’re not far enough into the cave. The memory is at the very bottom near the wooden cages — not near the entrance. Walk all the way to the back before trying the Lantern.
• The Lantern isn’t raised properly. Make sure you’ve selected the Lantern in your item radial (not a gathering tool like a pickaxe or shovel) and are actively holding L1/LB/CTRL to keep it raised while scanning. If your equipped tool is something other than the Lantern, reopen the radial and select the Lantern specifically.
• You’re moving while trying to fill the bar. Any movement resets or pauses the “Learning in Progress” bar. Find the blue ghosts, lock your aim directly onto them, and hold completely still until the bar fills.
• The blue ghosts are hard to see. In darker areas, the ghost figures can blend in. Try adjusting your camera and brightness settings if visibility is the issue. Alternatively, use Blinding Flash (LB+RB simultaneously / CTRL+Left Mouse Button on PC) instead of the standard Lantern — Blinding Flash detects memory locations from farther away and can reveal blue glints that the standard Lantern glow misses at close range.
• The prompt appeared but you dismissed it. If you accidentally dismissed the view prompt, check your Journal — the memory may already be recorded. Open your inventory, find the Visione helmet, and manually play the “Lair of the Animal Thieves” memory from its action menu.
• On older unpatched versions: Before Patch 1.00.03, the Visione did not auto-equip after the bar filled. If you’re on an older build, you need to manually equip the Visione through your armor radial and select Play from there.

Step 7 — Exit the Cave

After watching the memory through completely, gather any supplies inside the cave before leaving. The cave resets after a while and respawns its contents, so it’s worth checking for meat and other consumables each time you pass through the area.

When you’re ready, head back toward the cave entrance. A cutscene will trigger automatically as you exit — showing the villagers of Hernand arriving to recover their stolen belongings. You don’t need to interact with anything to trigger it; just walk out.

Step 8 — Talk to the Guards to Complete the Quest

After the cutscene, your quest marker points northeast of the cave exit to a group of Hernandian guards on the road nearby — approximately where you left your horse when you arrived with Boris.

Walk down the hill from the cave entrance and lock onto the guards to initiate the conversation. Kliff reports what he found in the cave. The guards are initially shocked that a Greymane is asking about the Goldleaf Merchant Guild, assuming it’s about borrowing money. They point you toward the guild’s branch in Hernand City.

After this conversation, Secrets Hidden in the Dark is complete. The quest “The Dark Veil” becomes available once all four Where Misery Gathers sub-quests are finished.

Quest Rewards

• x1 Standard Inventory Expansion Tool — increases your inventory capacity. Especially useful this early in the game when your carry weight is limited. See our guide on how to increase inventory space for all the ways to expand it further.
• x5 Grilled Meat — basic healing food. Stock up on better options using our best healing food guide.
• x5 Grilled Fruit — basic consumable.
• Dropkick Skill — if you watched the bandit perform it before killing him, you learn Dropkick automatically. A useful combat move worth adding to your skill rotation.
• +100 Hernandian Contribution XP — contributes to your standing with the Hernand faction, unlocking further faction quests and rewards.

How the Lantern and Visione System Works — Quick Reference

The Secrets Hidden in the Dark memory is a good introduction to a mechanic you’ll use constantly throughout the game. Here’s a quick reference for using it anywhere:

• Signal: Your Lantern pulses with a blue glow when a memory fragment is nearby — you don’t need to manually search everywhere. Watch for the blue pulse as you explore.
• Equip Lantern: Hold left on D-pad → select Lantern → press X/A to equip. Then hold L1/LB/CTRL to raise it.
• Find the echoes: Scan slowly until you see blueish-white ghost figures. The Lantern glows more intensely the closer you are to the right spot.
• Fill the bar: Face the ghosts directly, hold still, and wait for the “Learning in Progress” bar to fill completely. Any movement pauses progress.
• View the memory: After the bar fills, hold Menu/Options and select the “View Fragment” icon — or manually equip the Visione from your armor radial and select Play.
• Alternative detection: Use Blinding Flash (LB+RB / CTRL+Left Mouse) to scan from a greater distance and while mounted. It reveals fragment locations as blue glints across a wider area than the standard Lantern.
• Replay memories: Open inventory → find Visione → hold Use → select Play → choose any memory from your collected list. You can replay any fragment you’ve previously discovered, anywhere in the game.

For a complete breakdown of every memory fragment location in the game and how to use the system in more complex quest situations, see our guide on how to read and replay Memory Fragments.

What Happens After Secrets Hidden in the Dark

Completing this quest finishes the Secrets Hidden in the Dark branch of the Hernand in Chaos questline. Once all four Where Misery Gathers quests are done, The Dark Veil becomes available — the next main story mission in Chapter 2.

The information from this quest — that Kailok the Hornsplitter is behind the animal thefts — becomes directly relevant in a later boss encounter. Knowing what’s coming helps you prepare. See our guide on how to beat Kailok the Hornsplitter for that fight’s strategy and drops.

If you want to keep strengthening Kliff between quests, this is also a good time to visit the Witches you’ve unlocked and start socketing Abyss Gears into your equipment. Our guide on unlocking Witches and Abyss Gears covers where to find them in Hernand, and our Best Early Build guide shows what to prioritize at this stage. For challenge content running in parallel, check our All Shield Challenges guide — several Shield of Unchanging Will artifacts are in Hernand and can be picked up during your time here.

Where to Get Crimson Desert

Available on all major platforms:

• Steam (PC)
• Epic Games Store (PC)
• PlayStation Store (PS5)
• Xbox Store (Xbox Series X|S)

Final Thoughts

Secrets Hidden in the Dark is a short quest, but the Lantern and Visione memory step confuses almost every player who hasn’t used the mechanic before. The solution is always the same two things: get to the very bottom of the cave near the wooden cages, and hold completely still while the Lantern is aimed at the blue ghost figures. Movement is what breaks the Learning bar — once you stop moving and hold your aim steady, the bar fills quickly and the memory plays automatically.

Once you’ve got it, you’ll use this mechanic dozens of times across the rest of the game. Memory fragments reveal lore, quest-critical information, crafting recipes, and hidden locations. Every time your Lantern pulses blue while you’re exploring, there’s something worth finding. Keep it in your quick-access slot and check every time it reacts.

For everything else in the game, the Crimson Desert Guide Hub has the full collection of guides — from main story walkthroughs and boss fights to Abyss Gears, builds, and challenge completions.