TL;DR
- The Herder’s Lament is a Sealed Abyss Artifact challenge in Crimson Desert
- You need to sell 3 goats to an NPC called Bram at the Howling Hill camp ranch
- First unlock the ranch by completing the “Field of Abundance” mission
- Catch wild goats east of Howling Hill camp — taking them is not stealing
- Walk each goat into Bram’s middle stall and he’ll take it automatically
- Do this 3 times to finish the challenge
What Is The Herder’s Lament?
The Herder’s Lament is one of the Above the Law Sealed Abyss Artifact challenges in Crimson Desert. The challenge description reads: “Guide the horned shadows feeding under the moonlight.” All it asks you to do is sell 3 goats to Bram at the camp ranch.
Simple enough — but the game never tells you who Bram is, where to find him, or how the ranch even works. That’s where most players get stuck.
For a full look at all the Sealed Abyss challenges and where to find every artifact, check out our Crimson Desert hub page.
The Herder’s Lament Sealed Abyss Artifact Location
Before you can attempt the challenge, you need to pick up the Sealed Abyss Artifact that unlocks it.
Location: Northwest of Hernand, on the side of the road. Look directly underneath the second “N” in the word “Hernand” on your map. You’ll find a small pile of rocks — the artifact is right there.
If you’re nearby and struggling to spot it, use Blinding Flash. It highlights nearby Sealed Abyss Artifacts in the overworld. Check our guide on how to use Blinding Flash in Crimson Desert if you haven’t unlocked it yet.
Step 1: Unlock the Ranch at Howling Hill
Bram only shows up at the Howling Hill camp after you unlock the ranch. He doesn’t exist as a vendor before that.
To unlock the ranch, you need to work through the Greymanes faction quests. Specifically, follow the Grounds of the Sunrise quest category in your journal. The 7th quest in the Gathered Will section is called Field of Abundance. Completing this quest builds the ranch at camp and brings Bram in as the livestock vendor.
After the ranch is built, you’ll get a follow-up called Ben’s Request, which walks you through the basics of how the ranch works. During this mission, you’ll be asked to catch goats and bring them to the ranch — which ties directly into this challenge.
Need help building up the camp further? Our guide on how to upgrade the Howling Hill base camp to Level 2 has you covered.
Step 2: Find Wild Goats Near Howling Hill
Once the ranch is unlocked, you need to catch 3 goats.
The easiest spot is right next to your Home base. Head east of the main Howling Hill camp, just above the Dragon’s Stone Chamber pit. There’s a large herd of wild goats that regularly spawns here.
These goats are not owned by anyone. Catching them is not considered stealing and won’t get you in trouble with the crime system. You can grab as many as you need without any penalty.
If you ever need to know how the crime system works, our pickpocketing guide for Crimson Desert explains the basics of staying clean.
Step 3: Catch a Goat and Carry It Back
Catching a goat is straightforward. Just run after it until you can grab it. Once caught, Kliff hoists it onto his shoulders.
With the goat on your back, whistle to summon your horse, then ride back to the Howling Hill camp ranch. Riding is much faster than walking a goat on foot and saves a lot of time, especially if you’re making 3 trips.
If your horse is acting up during the ride, check our fix for the horse not sprinting issue in Crimson Desert.
Step 4: Sell the Goat to Bram
Once you’re at the ranch, walk the goat into the middle stall — that’s Bram’s stall. When you walk in carrying the goat, Bram will automatically take it from you. There’s no menu, no dialogue prompt. Just walk in and it registers.
That counts as one sale. Repeat the whole process two more times — catch a goat, ride back, walk into Bram’s middle stall — and after the third goat, the challenge completes.
Quick tip: If your ranch is already full from earlier animals, sell off some surplus livestock to free up slots before catching new goats.
Already Have Goats Registered? You Can Sell Those Too
If you already registered goats at your ranch from previous quests like Ben’s Request, those count too. You don’t have to catch fresh wild goats every time.
Open the Manage Ranch menu by speaking with Bram, select your registered goat, and choose the sell option. This speeds things up if you already have a few goats sitting in the pen.
Want to know more about how the whole ranch system works? Our guide on how to unlock the ranch and farm in Crimson Desert covers everything.
Completing The Herder’s Lament
Once you’ve sold 3 goats to Bram, the Sealed Abyss Artifact challenge is done and you unlock the artifact reward.
It’s one of the easier Above the Law challenges once you know what to do. The confusion is almost always about who Bram is and the fact that the ranch has to be unlocked first.
More Crimson Desert Guides
Working through more Sealed Abyss challenges or camp content? These guides will help:
- How to Open Sealed Abyss Artifacts in Crimson Desert
- How to Get Camp Funds in Crimson Desert
- How to Get Comrades in Crimson Desert
- How to Level Up Comrades in Crimson Desert
- All Stable Locations in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert Horse Guide
Crimson Desert is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games Store. For more details on the game itself, visit the official Crimson Desert website.
