TL;DR
- The Highland Grave is a side quest in the Rockfalls region with no prerequisites and no fail state.
- It costs only 1 Time Segment and rewards three high-tier items in a single chest.
- Find the skeleton crushed under a cart near the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine to get the Scholar’s Key — you need it to open the locked door.
- At the ruins, two Uriashi guards can be dealt with peacefully — choose “I just want to look around.”
- Completing Song of the Mountain first gives you a dedicated peaceful dialogue option with the Uriashi.
- Rewards include the Ring of Quick Strikes (Legendary), Ancient Hero’s Talisman (Rare), and the Blasphemous Echo Manual.
The Highland Grave quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the best value side quests in the entire game. It costs almost nothing in time, has zero prerequisites, and hands you three strong items from a single chest inside a mountain ruin. Most players miss it completely because the quest starts at an unmarked skeleton on a road — not a quest giver, not a notice board. This guide covers the exact starting location, how to get the Scholar’s Key, how to handle the Uriashi guards peacefully, and everything inside the locked chamber. If you want to see where this fits among every other quest in the game, check our complete quest list for The Blood of Dawnwalker. If you are working through the Rockfalls region and also tackling Ambrus’s Court Activities nearby, our guide on the Ambrus Dungeons Judge and Executioner quest is worth reading too.
Quest Details – The Highland Grave
- Quest Type: Side Quest
- Starting Location: Rockfalls region — skeleton on the road near the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine
- Quest Giver: Note and items found on a Scholar’s skeleton
- Requirement: None — available any time after the Prologue
- Fail State: None
- Time Cost: 1 Time Segment
- Rewards: Ring of Quick Strikes (Legendary Ring), Ancient Hero’s Talisman (Rare Talisman), Blasphemous Echo Manual (Witchcraft), 250 XP
- Quest Description: The mountains of Rockfalls are among the most unforgiving parts of Vale Sangora. They’re home to the uriashi, and humans hardly go there these days. But it wasn’t always so.
Why Do This Quest Early?
The Ring of Quick Strikes is a Legendary piece of equipment that favours weapon damage, critical hit chance, and critical hit damage. The Ancient Hero’s Talisman adds physical damage reduction and reduced vampiric ability cooldown. The Blasphemous Echo Manual unlocks a Master Character Development Witchcraft ability. Getting three pieces of gear this strong for just 1 Time Segment is an exceptional return on investment compared to most side content. Do this quest as soon as you can reach the Rockfalls region.
For builds that benefit from these rewards, see our best skills to level up in Blood of Dawnwalker and the ability slots guide so you know where to slot the new manual.
How The Quest Can Start – Two Routes
There are two ways to trigger The Highland Grave. You can either walk into the ruins and speak with the Uriashi guards, or inspect the skeleton on the road near the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine. Both start the quest — but only one also gives you the Scholar’s Key.
Always find the skeleton first. If you go to the ruins without the key, you can get inside but the locked door to the reward chamber stays shut. You would then have to backtrack to the skeleton, pick up the key, and return. Finding the skeleton first takes no extra time and saves the round trip entirely.
Step 1 – Find The Skeleton and The Scholar’s Key
Fast travel to the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine. If the shrine is listed as Destroyed on your map, you first need to recover its Shrine’s Heart from the Soldier Camp to the south and restore it before fast travel becomes available there.
From the shrine, follow the road northeast. The skeleton is not hidden off in the wilderness — stick to the road and you will come across it naturally. Look for a wrecked cart that has been half-buried by a landslide, with the remains of a scholar pinned underneath it. Interact with the skeleton to trigger a short scene where Coen searches the satchel.
You will collect three items from the body:
- Scholar’s Map of Vale Sangora — marks the ruin location on your world map and formally starts the quest
- Tattered Journal — explains who the scholar was and what they were looking for in the ruins
- Scholar’s Key — the item you absolutely need to open the locked door inside the ruins
Once the scene ends, the quest appears in your journal with a yellow search area on the world map pointing you toward the ruins.
Step 2 – Travel To The Highland Grave Ruins
From the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine, head northwest into the mountains. The entrance to the Highland Grave ruins is a stone doorway set into the rock face inside the yellow quest area. Follow the road north from where the quest started and the entrance comes up at the end of the path.
The ruins are in highland Uriashi territory. The Uriashi are the horned creatures who inhabit the mountains of Rockfalls. They treat these ruins as sacred and guard the inner chambers from outsiders.
Step 3 – Handle The Uriashi Guards
Walk inside and let the two Uriashi approach you. They will accuse Coen of being a thief and block further entry. At this point you have a choice — fight them or talk your way through.
Peaceful Route (Recommended)
Choose the dialogue option “I just want to look around” and follow up by apologising for sneaking in. The Uriashi accept this and allow Coen to explore the site. This is the clean route — no combat, no wasted time, and the rewards are identical to the fight route.
If you have already completed the Song of the Mountain side quest and became an ally of the Uriashi, a dedicated peaceful dialogue option appears specifically for allied players. This makes the conversation even smoother. Song of the Mountain is part of the Lacra questline in Svartrau City — if you are working through that storyline, see our guide on The Heart Wants What It Wants quest, which connects directly to that questline.
Combat Route
You can fight the two Uriashi guards if you prefer. Defeating them removes all restrictions inside the ruins and lets you freely loot every container including vases and secondary chests without any theft alerts. The downside is the fight itself takes time and resources. The rewards from the main chest are the same either way.
Step 4 – Open The Sturdy Door
After speaking peacefully with the Uriashi, move past them and follow the objective marker deeper into the ruins. The tracker reads “Open the sturdy door” and counts down the distance as you approach. The door is on the right side of the ruins interior.
Interact with the door to use the Scholar’s Key. It opens immediately — no lockpick, no skill check, no puzzle. The key is the only thing required.
Step 5 – Loot The Chest and Complete The Quest
Step through the door into the chamber beyond. Open the chest inside and collect all three items — the Ring of Quick Strikes, the Ancient Hero’s Talisman, and the Blasphemous Echo Manual. The quest closes out the instant you loot the chest and you receive 250 XP.
That is the entire quest done. One skeleton, one conversation, one door, one chest.
Bonus – Looting The Rest Of The Ruins
After completing the quest, vases and secondary chests are scattered around the ruins and their contents sell well. There is a catch though. Items highlighted in red belong to the Uriashi and taking them counts as stealing. Grabbing red items can alert the guards and pull Coen into the combat he just talked his way out of.
You have two options here. Either leave the red items alone and exit cleanly, or kill the Uriashi guards first which removes all ownership restrictions and lets you empty every container freely. If you are running low on coins, fighting them and looting everything may be worth the effort. For tips on selling loot efficiently after this, check our Blood of Dawnwalker silver selling guide.
What The Rewards Do
Ring of Quick Strikes (Legendary Ring)
This is the standout reward for a melee-focused Coen build. It boosts weapon damage, critical hit chance, and critical hit damage. Equip it straight away if you are leaning into swordmastery over vampiric abilities. It pairs well with the builds covered in our best skills guide.
Ancient Hero’s Talisman (Rare Talisman)
This amulet provides physical damage reduction and reduces the cooldown on vampiric abilities. It is useful across most builds since survivability is always valuable, especially heading into the tougher Bakir and Xanthe fights.
Blasphemous Echo Manual (Witchcraft)
This is a Master Character Development Witchcraft manual. Reading it unlocks a new Witchcraft ability or progresses one you already have. If you are building toward a witchcraft-heavy playstyle, this is a meaningful upgrade. Make sure you have an open ability slot before reading it — our ability slots guide explains how to unlock more.
Troubleshooting – Quest Not Progressing?
There are two common reasons this quest can get stuck:
- You reached the ruins without the Scholar’s Key. The locked door cannot be opened without it. Go back to the skeleton on the road near the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine, interact with it, and collect the key. Then return to the ruins and the door will open normally.
- You left an item behind in the chest. The quest does not complete until all three rewards are collected. Reopen the chest and take everything inside.
Other Quests In The Rockfalls Region
While you are in Rockfalls, the area has several other quests worth picking up on the same run:
- A Mother’s Plea — a hidden and time-sensitive Bakir activity connected to the Uriashi and the Lacra questline
- A Pilgrimage for Power: Dark-Thing — one of the Pilgrimage quests in this area
- Two Bandit Treasure Maps — Rockfalls Pond Islet and Rockfalls Split Rock
The Rockfalls Pasture Shrine also puts you close to the St. Tyna’s Grove border, where the Anca questline quests are located. Our guide on Echoes of Silenced Bells — the first quest in Anca’s chain — is worth checking once you are done in Rockfalls. For a full picture of the region’s shrines and fast travel points, see our shrine locations guide which covers fast travel points across the valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Scholar’s Key in The Highland Grave quest?
The Scholar’s Key is found on a skeleton crushed beneath a wrecked cart on the road near the Rockfalls Pasture Shrine. Follow the road northeast from the shrine and you will come across the remains. Interact with the body to collect the Scholar’s Map, Tattered Journal, and Scholar’s Key all at once. Do this before heading to the ruins or the locked door inside will not open.
Can you do The Highland Grave without fighting the Uriashi?
Yes. When the two Uriashi guards approach you inside the ruins, choose the peaceful dialogue option “I just want to look around” and apologise for entering. They will allow Coen to explore. If you have already allied with the Uriashi by completing Song of the Mountain, an even smoother dialogue option becomes available. Fighting is completely optional and gives the same rewards from the main chest.
What is the Ring of Quick Strikes in Blood of Dawnwalker?
The Ring of Quick Strikes is a Legendary Ring found in the locked chest inside the Highland Grave ruins. It is one of the better melee-focused rings in the game, boosting weapon damage, critical hit chance, and critical hit damage. It is particularly strong for players who are building toward a swordmastery-heavy playstyle rather than relying on vampiric abilities.
Does The Highland Grave quest have a time limit?
No. This quest has no fail state and no time pressure. It is available from the moment you finish the Prologue and can be done at any point during the 30-day window. Since it only costs 1 Time Segment and rewards high-tier gear, doing it early in your playthrough gives the best return — but there is no penalty for leaving it until later.
