Valor Mortis The Deserter Quest Guide – All Beehive Locations and How to Complete It

TL;DR

• The Deserter is Side Quest #8 in Valor Mortis, found in Chapter 5: Crime in the Vale of Wrath region.
• Start it by picking up the Wanted Notice from a shack after crossing the bridge from the Under the Bridge Lantern.
• Defeat the Eternal Guardsman miniboss to get the Beekeeper’s Hut Key, then read the Deserter’s Diary inside.
• Find three Anubis Figurine Parts hidden in beehives across the Vale of Wrath — always pick the hive without a red X.
• Collecting all three parts completes the quest automatically.
• Rewards: Bountiful Harvest Amber and the Hand in the Jar trophy or achievement.
• This quest is not missable and can be completed after the chapter using fast travel.

The Deserter Quest Overview

The Deserter is one of the most involved side quests in Chapter 5 of Valor Mortis. It sends you on a treasure hunt across the Vale of Wrath, piecing together the story of a soldier named Dufour who abandoned his post and tried to sell a valuable artefact to secure safe passage home. The artefact — an Anubis Figurine — was broken into three pieces and hidden inside beehives scattered across the area. Your job is to find them.

The tricky part is knowing which beehives to actually interact with. There are plenty of them, and some are marked with red Xs for a reason. This guide covers every step clearly, including all three beehive locations, so you do not have to guess.

Where to Start The Deserter Quest in Valor Mortis

The quest begins in the Vale of Wrath region during Chapter 5: Crime. From the Under the Bridge Lantern, head forward along the path and cross the bridge on the other side. Shortly after crossing, you will pass through a small shack. On the floor inside the shack, look for a note called the “Wanted Notice.” Pick it up to trigger The Deserter quest.

The Wanted Notice is a warrant for someone named Dufour — a soldier who deserted his regiment and was last seen in this area. That is what sets the whole thing in motion.

Note that the In the Name of Art quest is also active in the same general area around the Under the Bridge Lantern. If you have not done that one yet, it is worth picking up both at the same time since they share the same general stretch of map.

The Deserter Quest Step by Step Walkthrough

the deserter quest in valor mortis

Step 1 – Pick Up the Wanted Notice

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

From the Under the Bridge Lantern, follow the path ahead and cross the bridge. Go through the shack on the other side and pick up the Wanted Notice from the floor. This starts The Deserter quest and gives you context on who Dufour is and why he is being hunted.

Step 2 – Find the Beekeeper’s Hut and Get the Deserter’s Diary

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

Continue forward from the shack along the main path. You will reach a point with two dogs and a fork in the road. Take the right path and keep going uphill. You will find a grapple point — use it to cross the gap, then use a second grapple point to get past the large shrubbery blocking the way.

At the top, you will arrive at the Beekeeper’s Hut. Standing in front of it is an Eternal Guardsman — a tough miniboss that fights like a disciplined fencing duel. He is quick and hits hard. The best approach is to focus on parrying his attacks to build stagger, then punish with a critical hit. If you are struggling, use Stasis to slow him down, or throw an Oil Grenade to set him on fire and create an opening. Do not let him dictate the pace of the fight.

When you beat him, he drops the Beekeeper’s Hut Key. Use it to unlock the hut. Inside on the desk, you will find the Deserter’s Diary — read it. This reveals that Dufour, the deserter, broke the Anubis Figurine into three pieces and hid each piece inside a beehive to keep it safe. There is also a chest in the hut containing the Perfectionism Amber — grab that while you are here.

Step 3 – Read the Beekeeper’s Note Outside the Hut

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

Step back outside the hut and look on the ground near the beehives beside it. You will find the Beekeeper’s Note. Pick it up and read it. This is the key piece of information for the rest of the quest: the beekeeper marked the dangerous hives with a red X because the bees inside have become erratic and will sting you. The hives without an X are safe to interact with — and those are the ones hiding the figurine pieces.

So the rule going forward is simple: always pick the hive without a red X. If you interact with a marked hive by accident, you will get stung and take some damage, but it is not fatal. Just learn from the mistake and move on.

Step 4 – Find Beehive Location 1 (First Anubis Figurine Part)

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

The first beehive is right outside the Beekeeper’s Hut. Look at the group of beehives nearby. Most will have red Xs on them. Find the one square-shaped hive at the far end of the group — the one furthest from the hut — that does not have a red X. Interact with it to collect the first Anubis Figurine Part.

Step 5 – Find Beehive Location 2 (Second Anubis Figurine Part)

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

Head back to the main path and continue in the direction of the camp. As you move forward, past the area where the In the Name of Art painter’s house is located, keep your eyes on the right side of the path. Before you reach the wooden walls of the camp, you will spot another cluster of beehives tucked into a small nook on the right.

Among this group, look for the square hive to the right of the cluster — the one without a red X. Interact with it to collect the second Anubis Figurine Part.

Step 6 – Find Beehive Location 3 (Third and Final Anubis Figurine Part)

Lantern Reference: Vale of Wrath > Under the Bridge

Continue pushing through the area. You will need to cross a long bridge and deal with Remnants of the Iron Regiment on the other side. Once you have cleared them, you will reach an iron gate. Use your Stasis Transmutation to freeze it open and pass through.

Immediately on the other side, look for the first door on your right. Go through it and pass through the house to the back area. There you will find the final group of beehives.

This group of hives can be a little tricky — there appear to be three obvious hives in front of you, but the one you need is slightly off to the left of the main group. It is the square-shaped hive without a red X, sitting a little apart from the others. Interact with it to collect the third and final Anubis Figurine Part.

The moment you collect the third piece, the three parts combine into the complete Anubis Figurine and The Deserter quest completes automatically. No extra steps needed.

The Deserter Quest Rewards

Completing The Deserter gives you two rewards:

• Bountiful Harvest Amber — When equipped, this lets you gain health from Nephtoglobin remnants scattered around the world and dropped by enemies. It is a passive sustain tool that can make a real difference in longer fights or difficult areas. If you already picked up the first copy of Bountiful Harvest from The Scarecrow quest back in Chapter 3, this reward upgrades it to Level 2, making it even more effective.
• Hand in the Jar — A bronze trophy or achievement that unlocks automatically when you complete this quest. It is one of the six named side quest trophies in the game.

You also get the Perfectionism Amber from the chest inside the Beekeeper’s Hut as a freebie during the quest, so the total haul from this one questline is quite good.

Tips for Completing The Deserter Quest

• Always pick the hive without the red X. This is the entire puzzle. Every group of beehives has one safe hive and several marked ones. The safe one holds the figurine piece. Do not overthink it — just look for the odd one out.
• The Eternal Guardsman fights like a fencer. He is one of the tougher minibosses at this point in the game. Parry his attacks carefully, wait for the stagger, then go in for the punish. Stasis Transmutation makes him much easier to deal with. See our Transmutation abilities guide if you want a refresher on how Stasis works.
• Do not miss the Perfectionism Amber. It is sitting in a chest inside the Beekeeper’s Hut. Easy to walk past while you are reading the Deserter’s Diary. Grab it before you leave.
• Read the Beekeeper’s Note before touching any hives. It is on the ground outside the hut. Technically you do not have to read it — you can figure out the red X system on your own — but picking it up updates the quest properly.
• The third beehive group is the most confusing. There are more hives visible in the back area and the correct one sits slightly to the left of the obvious cluster. Take a second to count the hives and identify the one without a mark before clicking.
• Do it alongside In the Name of Art. Both quests use the Under the Bridge Lantern and the same stretch of the Vale of Wrath. If you complete the painter’s house quest first, you will already be near the second beehive location when you exit the basement. Efficient routing saves time.

Other Side Quests in Chapter 5 You Should Not Miss

The Vale of Wrath chapter has several other optional quests happening at the same time. While you are working through this area, it is worth getting all of them done in one pass:

• In the Name of Art – Near the same Under the Bridge Lantern, inside the painter’s house. Rewards the Butcher’s Carnage Amber.
• The Lost Boy – Found further into Vale of Wrath near the Wolfsbane Field Lantern. A separate, self-contained quest.

For everything else going on in Chapter 5 and beyond, check our all chapters list and our full tips and tricks guide to make sure you are not missing anything. If you are looking to level up faster to handle the tougher enemies in this chapter, our Catalyst farming guide walks you through the quickest methods.

You can also revisit earlier quests you may have missed using fast travel, including the Homesick quest from Chapter 4 and the Lullaby quest from Chapter 3.

Valor Mortis is available on PC via Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. Visit the official site at valormortis.game.

Frequently Asked Questions – The Deserter Quest