The convent in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the game's most memorable early locations, and Echoes of Silenced Bells is the quest that takes you inside it. Zombie nuns patrol every corner, Brencis' soldiers have barricaded themselves in the dormitory wing, and Anca needs to reach the library. Getting her there is more open-ended than it first appears, with two distinct routes and several branching choices that affect what you walk away with.
How does the Echoes of Silenced Bells quest start?
The quest unlocks automatically after finishing the prologue, as long as Anca survived. She asks Coen to meet her at the Crossroads Inn, located on the east side of the map near the swamplands. The building has a shrine you can repair, which is worth doing early since you'll fast-travel here often, especially if you plan to pursue Anca's questline further.
Once you arrive and chat with Anca, tell her you're ready to head to the convent. Traveling there costs one turn. After entering and slipping past the first group of zombie nuns, join Anca upstairs and investigate the balcony area. Interact with all three points of interest to unlock three sub-objectives: investigate the infirmary, the chapel, and the bell tower.
Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Complete Echoes of Silenced Bells Quest
What are the two ways to clear the path to the library?
Your goal is to move the zombie nuns out of the way so Anca can reach the library. The nuns cannot be permanently killed, so fighting through the courtyard isn't an option. Two routes work:
You can pursue both before committing to one. If you want to do both, start with the relic. If you are following the quest on PC, our desktop app for guides gives you another way to consult the route instructions before making your choice.
Route 1: Find St. Tyna's relic
From the balcony, drop left and hug the wall toward the infirmary. Use Focus Mode to spot a window on the left side of the building. Interacting with it introduces a group of Brencis' soldiers who have blocked the passage into the library. They'll open the door for you in exchange for the Relic of St. Tyna, which starts the short sub-quest Most Precious Thing.
Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Complete Echoes of Silenced Bells Quest
To find the relic, head back to the balcony and drop right this time. Sneak through the gallery toward the church, avoiding the nuns who have limited vision and won't spot you if you stay careful. Enter the church through the main door.
Inside, pick up the prayerbook and rosary, then use them to compel the nun's corpse. This works best during the day, when the Compel Soul ability is available. The compelled nun confirms that the relic is in the sacristy. Leave the church and head to the small shed just west of it to find the Monastery Keys on a dead nun inside. Use those keys to unlock the sacristy door next door and collect the Relic of St. Tyna, an epic amulet that boosts maximum human health, Witchcraft ability damage, Witchcraft ability health cost, and activation charge restoration.
Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Complete Echoes of Silenced Bells Quest
Now you have a choice when returning to the soldiers:
- Hand over the relic: The soldiers give you the infirmary key and let you pass, but you lose the amulet.
- Say you changed your mind: The soldiers attack. Defeat all three, loot the infirmary key from their bodies, and keep the relic. This is the better outcome for a Witchcraft-focused build.
Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Complete Echoes of Silenced Bells Quest
Route 2: Use the bell tower signals
This route requires it to be night, since you'll need vampiric planeswalking to scale the outside of the bell tower and enter through a gap in the wall. Without that ability, the bell tower door stays locked unless you already have the Monastery Keys from the sacristy shed.
Before ringing anything, you need the Campana Loquitur book, which explains what each signal means. Find it in the westernmost building across the courtyard. Without it, ringing the bell does nothing.
Once at the top of the bell tower, grab the rope and ring the appropriate number of times:
- 3 tolls (Church signal): Nuns gather in the chapel, leaving the courtyard and library path clear. Best option.
- 4 tolls (Infirmary signal): Nuns swarm the infirmary and kill Brencis' soldiers. Several undead remain near the library, which creates a problem. If you use this signal, follow it immediately with the church signal to clear the rest.
- 5 tolls (Dormitory signal): Nuns move to the dormitory but still partially block the library approach.
The church signal is the cleanest solution. If you've already sent the nuns to the infirmary to deal with the soldiers, ring for the chapel afterward to finish clearing the path.
How to search the catacombs
With the path clear, return to Anca and tell her you're ready. Progressing to the library costs one additional turn. Once inside, check every bookshelf before moving on. The library contains skill manuals for abilities including Dirty Trick, Witchcraft Mastery, Precision, Master Fencer, Mercurial Favor, Potent Blood, and Frugal Witchcraft. Deeper in the catacombs, you'll also find the Potent Blood Manual and the Razor Claw Vial recipe.
Push the bookcase at the end of the library to reveal a tunnel. Follow it through, dealing with the zombie nuns that appear along the path.
How to beat Leonica
At the end of the catacombs, the boss waiting for you is Leonica, Anca's former friend and now the last surviving nun in the convent. She's classified as a Witch archetype and brings two main abilities: Ravenous Flock (a bat swarm attack) and Thornvine Explosion.
After depleting each health segment, Leonica vanishes and spawns weaker clones before reappearing. Here's what to keep in mind during the fight:
- She chains multiple unblockable attacks together. When you see the sequence starting, commit to dodging rather than blocking.
- The bat swarm from Ravenous Flock tracks toward you. Don't dodge too early or the bats will still connect.
- Despite being undead, Leonica is susceptible to Voracious Bite. Drain her blood to recover health during the fight.
- Her minions don't respond to Voracious Bite, but killing them restores action points, so don't ignore them.
For more on managing fights like this one, the Blood of Dawnwalker combat guide covers Perfect Blocks, Activation Charges, and stamina management in detail.
After the fight, Leonica drops:
- Catacombs Key (lets you exit the dungeon)
- Leonica's Ring (epic ring with passive activation charge restoration, Witchcraft ability health cost reduction, and Witchcraft ability damage)
- Unholy Vitality Manual
- Herbal Remedies Manual
Should you throw the notes into the fire?
After defeating Leonica, Anca reveals she wants to lift the curse on the convent. You're given a final choice: throw the notes into the fire, or hand them to Anca.
- Throw the notes into the fire: The zombie nuns remain at the convent. Anca is distraught.
- Give the notes to Anca: She completes the ritual, the nuns disappear, and she's grateful for your trust. This option costs one additional turn.
Giving the notes to Anca is the better outcome for her questline and for anyone pursuing her romance path. The nuns disappearing isn't entirely straightforward, as Anca's own words hint that their fate may be more ambiguous than it appears, but the immediate result is a cleared convent and a stronger relationship.
After the choice, you can return to the Crossroads Inn with Anca immediately or promise to meet her later. Either way, the quest concludes and the short follow-up quest Between the Words begins, where you prepare a warm drink for Anca and help her decipher a book.
For everything else the game has to offer, including haunted sites, ancient circles, and skill manuals scattered across Vale Sangora, browse the full Blood of Dawnwalker strategy guide collection to plan your remaining turns wisely.