Ambrus The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to defeat him and should you welcome him? "Bitter Ending" and "A Weathered Golden Gauntlet" quests

Boyar Ambrus collects blood for Brencis in The Blood of Dawnwalker. To bring him down, sabotage his operations north of Val Sangora until you push him into a duel - with the option to poison him so he loses health throughout the fight. Here's the complete walkthrough and the decisive choices.

Provoking Ambrus into a duel

First, carry out several quests and activities north of Svartrau. By destroying Ambrus's dungeons, blood caves, convoys, and leech collector camps, you put him into a rage. There's no need to finish everything: keep an eye on the anger gauge under his portrait. As soon as it's full, head to the village of Maragir, to the east.

Once there, you discover that its lord has been crucified by Ambrus. The crowd disperses as soon as you approach, but a servant calls out to you: her master, Iulian, wants to speak with you about a matter of the utmost importance.

The "Bitter End" quest

Iulian plans to poison Ambrus... by drinking poison himself. Designated as Ambrus's blood cow, he will be devoured by the boyar right before the duel; if he has drunk poison beforehand, Ambrus poisons himself in turn - to your advantage.

Here you find a woman named Vera, who is preparing the concoction. The game guides you toward the items to collect, but a few decisions await you.

Should you add the lizard gland?

After following Vera's blood trail to a cave and gathering the lizard parts, you find a Lizard Gland to add to the brew. The consequences:

• Adding it guarantees Iulian's survival after the fight, fulfilling Vera's wish.
• Ignoring it results in Iulian's death after the fight - which Iulian explicitly asks for.

Warning

Iulian's survival also depends on a later choice (see below). Once the ritual is complete, you're free to do as you please until it's time to face Ambrus: head to the marked location just south of Maragir and ring the bell. Ambrus, Iulian, and an escort of soldiers appear shortly after. Force-feed Iulian poison, even as he begins to beg for death.

Defeating Ambrus ("A Gilt-Edged Gauntlet" quest)

Before the duel, Ambrus offers you Iulian as an appetizer. Four options are available to you:

• « Gladly. A bloody massacre, just what I wanted! »
• « I don't feed on humans. »
• « You'd let a commoner drink before you? What kind of boyar are you? »
• « Nothing you're offering inspires my trust. »

To poison Ambrus, choose the fourth option. The 2nd and 3rd are traps: they confirm his suspicions and push him to kill Iulian; the 1st poisons you both.

The fight is all about dodging and perfect parries. Ambrus chains long uninterruptible combos, including an unblockable chained attack that must be dodged by crossing through it. He remains readable (except in Duelist mode): play slowly and methodically. The real difficulty comes from his Scarlet Shield: when he disengages to buff himself, every hit he blocks heals him. When his health turns grey, wait for the diamond-shaped buff icon under his bar to disappear - otherwise you'll unintentionally heal him back to full health.

Should you drain or kill Ambrus?

Once Ambrus is down, you can kill him or drain his blood:

• Draining unlocks the Scarlet Shield skill and triggers a dialogue scene with him.
• Killing him finishes him off on the spot, but deprives you of a Scarlet Shield level and the exchange that follows.

I strongly recommend draining him: Scarlet Shield is powerful (your perfect parries will heal you). You can still obtain it even by killing him, via vials of Ambrus's blood found elsewhere, but draining him unlocks it immediately (you'll still need to spend a skill point on it). Beware: if Ambrus has been poisoned, draining him will also poison you - you'll keep losing health continuously until the next sunrise.

Should you welcome Ambrus?

If you drained him, you're transported into a kind of Vrakhiri Hell. Ambrus then reveals his past and mentions an entity that wants to devour his soul. He begs you to « welcome » him, letting a fragment of his soul reside within Coen. Effects:

• Part of Ambrus survives as a voice in Coen's head, commenting on your decisions.
• Ambrus will help you during the final fight against Brencis... but could also turn against you.

Ignoring his pleas condemns him to the monster hunting him. It's up to you to judge whether he deserves mercy or that fate - but this choice affects the confrontation against Brencis.