Dawnwalker Where Loyalty Lies: Join the Manumits
How to reach Notorious infamy, find the Svartrau hideout and complete the faction entry route without wasting court progress.
Complete The Firebrand and Shadows in the Woods, then raise Coen's court infamy to Notorious—the fourth tier. Destroy soldier camps and disrupt a boyar's operations until the meter reaches tier IV, meet Sara in Svartrau and visit the Manumit hideout at night to join Crake's faction.
Quest prerequisites
The intended chain is The Firebrand, Under Watchful Eyes when Mert survives, then Shadows in the Woods and Where Loyalty Lies. Shadows introduces Sara and Crake; Where Loyalty Lies tests whether Coen has become notorious enough to be useful to the Manumits.
A direct hideout route can skip some introductory scenes, but following the chain gives clearer markers and preserves character context. Vlad's survival also allows the short Old Friends, New Friends scene at the hideout.
| Step | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 1 | Complete The Firebrand |
| 2 | Speak with Mert and finish Shadows in the Woods |
| 3 | Raise court infamy to Notorious, tier IV |
| 4 | Meet Sara in Svartrau |
| 5 | Mark and enter the Manumit hideout at night |
Reach Notorious infamy
Open the Court tab and check the infamy track. Notorious is level IV, not merely a full-looking early segment. Soldier camps in a boyar's territory are the safest repeatable targets because clearing them also unlocks regional advantages.
For a faster push, combine camps with operations belonging to the same court member. Provoking and defeating a boyar grants a larger infamy increase, but the encounter is harder than clearing isolated camps. If one region is too dangerous, work against a different boyar and return later.
- Track the meter in the Court tab after every operation
- Clear soldier camps for both infamy and regional abilities
- Concentrate on one boyar to trigger the larger confrontation sooner
- Stop only when the rank label reads Notorious / IV
Find the Manumit hideout
After Sara's Svartrau meeting, the objective points toward the rebel hideout. The location can only be marked and properly approached at night, so change time before assuming the marker is broken.
Enter the hideout and finish the conversation with Crake to join the faction. This opens the later Manumit quest chain and is also required for Crake's romance route.
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Hideout marker will not register | Return at night |
| Sara does not advance the quest | Confirm the Court rank is Notorious / IV |
| Quest never started | Finish Shadows in the Woods after The Firebrand |
| Crake route seems incomplete | Complete the hideout conversation before leaving Svartrau |
What joining changes
Joining the Manumits opens What Hunts the Night and the later faction sequence. It creates another route through the campaign and supplies the quest chain used for Crake's romance and Manumit-related ending material.
Joining is a meaningful narrative commitment, so keep a manual save before the hideout conversation if you want to compare faction outcomes. The infamy earned on the way remains useful even if you reload and delay the final pledge.
Frequently asked questions
How much infamy do you need to join the Manumits?
You need the Notorious rank, which is tier IV on the Court infamy track.
How do you raise infamy quickly?
Clear soldier camps and disrupt operations in one boyar's territory, then defeat that boyar when the confrontation becomes available.
Why can I not mark the Manumit hideout?
The hideout objective must be marked or approached at night after the Svartrau meeting with Sara.
Is Where Loyalty Lies required for Crake romance?
Yes. Joining the Manumits opens the faction quests that lead to Crake's romance checkpoints.
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