Do you want to keep Vicho alive in The Blood of Dawnwalker? This mysterious shopkeeper has his fair share of secrets. Perhaps the most tragic is the guilt he feels over the crimes that he has unknowingly committed. Our guide–which discusses A Study In Crimson, The Good Samaritan, and Unquenchable Thirst–has all the details that you need.
A Study In Crimson and Vicho story arc guide
You can meet Vicho in The Blood of Dawnwalker by heading to Svartrau City, the capital of the Vale Sangora. His location won’t be marked at the start. However, if you ask around, you’ll learn that there’s an emporium owner who sells curios.
Head to Vicho’s shop, which is halfway between Altenmarkt and the Cathedral Complex. Make sure it’s nighttime since you need to use your Shadowstep and Planeshift powers to reach the second-floor balcony. Once you’re inside the building, investigate the glowing items while Focus Mode is active.
Go to Svartrau City (left) and look for Vicho’s two-storey home (right).
Meeting up with Vicho
For your first meeting with Vicho, respond with the following:
- “Please, I mean no harm.”
- “It’s Coen.”
- “That’s right.”
- “I’m looking for help.”
- “Alright, I’m listening.”
- “Ignorance breeds fear.”
- “Very well. Tell me more.”
Vicho will then ask you to help him investigate the deaths of his friends, Eli and Devora. Oh, and you can also steal various goodies in Vicho’s home. He certainly won’t mind.
Note: By now, you’ll realize that Vicho is a vrakhiri–a vampire. That means you can only proceed with his quest at night. Also, if you plan on revisiting his house later, the first-floor door will remain locked. As such, you can only enter his shop via the aforementioned second-floor balcony while you’re in vampire form.
Investigating the deaths of friends
Initially in The Blood of Dawnwalker Study In Crimson quest, you have to follow Vicho as he moves from rooftop to rooftop. Eventually, you’ll both arrive at the ransacked home of Eli and Devora:
- Go to the second floor and investigate the items. Check Devora’s corpse and read the note.
- Head down to the basement and investigate Eli’s body. Pick up the Jeweller’s Key and unlock the container under the stairs. Doing so nets you a Lump of Silver and a Silver Cross, which you can sell to a special vendor in Svartrau City.
- Upon exiting the house, you’ll be accosted by several guardsmen. Pay them 200 denarii so they give Vicho’s friends a proper burial.
Traverse the rooftops (left) and bribe the guards (right).
The not-so-good doctor
Continue to the next location to discover the whereabouts of Doctor Simeon. In the basement, you’ll discover that Simeon has turned into a vrakhiri himself, which leads to a boss fight:
- Simeon attacks quickly with his claws, and he can even teleport to strike at you.
- He also casts Piercing Shriek in a frontal cone, so you should sidestep to avoid it.
- Vicho will assist you, though Simeon loves to focus his attention on Coen.
Once you’re done with the fight, reply to Vicho with:
- “Immortality–it’s a gift.”
- “That’s a cruel fate.”
- “It does make sense.”
This completes the Study In Crimson quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker. For your efforts, you’ll receive the following:
- Mercenary’s Amulet – This is only a rare-tier amulet. Quite an oddly disappointing reward for this type of quest.
- Murohn Blood – An epic consumable that restores 200% vampiric health segment.
- Simeon’s Key – Used to open a lockbox on the second floor of the building.
- Recipe for Mortal Blood’s Infusion – Found inside the lockbox.
- A Letter Found in the Warehouse – Also inside the lockbox. Read it to learn about a farmer named Ivo.
Note: After this portion, Vicho will tell you about another interesting character, a vrakhiri who’s also residing somewhere in Svartrau City.
Vicho as a legendary items vendor
Before anything else, you might be wondering if there’s more to Vicho? Well, if you return to his shop at night, you’ll realize that he’s a curio vendor who has a bunch of legendary items for sale:
- Relic of St. Dasius – Witchcraft ability damage, Witchcraft ability health cost, Activation Charge restoration (actions), and Activation Charge restoration (passive)
- Corrupted Ring – Maximum vampiric health, vampiric ability health cost, vampiric health segment regeneration, and damage against mortals.
- Ring of Focus – Activation Charge restoration from attacks, blocks, and perfect blocks, and magical damage reduction.
- Mindbrace Amulet – Activation Charge restoration from attacks, blocks, perfect blocks, and actions.
- Ring of the Night – Maximum vampiric health, vampiric health segment regeneration, vampiric ability cooldown, and blood drinking restoration.
The Good Samaritan – More deaths in the farms
Ah, but you’re not done yet. Remember that letter from a farmer named Ivo? Well, if you head to the southeastern part of the city, you’ll see a quest marker in a medic’s shop. Talk to the herbalist to receive a quest called The Good Samaritan.
It might seem like an inconsequential task since you only need to bring medicine to a farm. Soon, though, you’ll notice that something is amiss:
- Investigate the farm and check the corpses.
- During the day, compel the soul of the dead woman inside the hut. Use the farmer’s sword and wedding headband to learn that someone managed to escape.
- Follow the blood trails leading to the field to the southwest and take out the wolves.
- It looks like the person who escaped never made it far. Investigate the corpse and pick up the note. This costs 1x Time Segment.
- Uh oh, it looks like Vicho did something far worse.
Head to the medic’s shop (left) and start The Good Samaritan quest (middle). You’ll discover more upon reaching the farms (right).
Unquenchable Thirst – Vicho’s regrets and attempted suicide
Return to the medic to complete The Good Samaritan quest. Now, it’s time to confront Vicho. Revisit his shop and save the game. Your next replies determine if Vicho survives in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Pick the wrong response and he’ll commit suicide.
- “Vicho, we need to talk.”
- “You don’t remember.”
- “I’m sorry–but I think you’re the killer, Vicho.”
- “What happened to you–it’s terrible.”
- “Your condition–it’s a gift.”
- “But you have me now.”
- “I’ll provide you with blood.”
- “From blood transports.”
- “I don’t think you’re a monster.”
The above responses cause Vicho to change his mind about contemplating suicide. However, if you choose a different answer, Vicho will remain convinced that there’s no hope for him–that he truly is a monster who killed his friends. He’ll ask you to accompany him to see the sunrise–which requires 4x Time Segments. He’ll then burn to ash.
Regardless of what happens, you’ll receive another legendary item: Vicho’s Cross. If Vicho perished, the cross will be on a bench on the second floor. If Vicho didn’t die, he’ll hand it to you directly. The legendary amulet has weapon critical hit damage, damage against supernatural enemies, Activation Charge restoration from perfect block, and physical damage reduction.
That does it for our guide on how to keep Vicho alive in The Blood of Dawnwalker. From this point onward, the Unquenchable Thirst will remain active in your journal. Initially, you have to give Vicho blood that he can drink–i.e. Vial of Human Blood, Tainted Marrow, Murohn Blood, Kobold Blood, and the like.
Every couple of nights, he’ll ask to feed once more. This is a time-sensitive quest. Make sure you have what he needs whenever the quest prompt appears, and do not let things progress from night to day.
