The best weapon you can realistically grab in the opening hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker is sitting at the bottom of an unmarked ravine near your starting area, and most players walk right past it. Durandal, a Level 15 Legendary Longsword, is locked behind a short optional quest called The Cursed Chasm. The fight to get it is genuinely dangerous at low level, but the sword is worth every bit of the trouble. Here's exactly how to find it, clear it, and walk away with everything the chasm has to offer.
Where is the Cursed Chasm?
The chasm sits in the northwestern part of the Briar Sloughs fiefdom, at a ruined bridge west of the Coward's Path Shrine. Follow the path west from the shrine until the terrain drops into a narrow canyon that runs toward the edge of the playable area. The location is close enough to Laslea Glen (where the story begins) that you can reach it on foot within your first few hours without missing anything important.
The quest triggers automatically when you walk into the canyon. There's also a way to flag it beforehand: visit the tavern near the market in Svartrau City and ask the Innkeeper if he's heard anything interesting. He'll mention Knyaz Skender's men who fell into a chasm with their treasure, which marks the location on your map.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Get the First Legendary Sword
What level should you be before attempting it?
This is the question that trips most players up. Testing the quest at Level 8 results in red skull indicators above the enemies, meaning they can kill Coen in a single hit. At Level 11, those same enemies drop to yellow markers and the fight becomes manageable. Going in earlier isn't impossible, but it's a rough time.
If you're playing an RPG that punishes under-leveled aggression, The Cursed Chasm is a perfect example of the game respecting that design. Come back when you've got a few more levels under your belt and the whole encounter flips from punishing to straightforward.
How to clear the chasm
The Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Get the First Legendary Sword
Step 1: Handle the wolf pack at the entrance
Drop into the canyon from the broken bridge. A loose pack of wolf-like beasts attacks almost immediately. Keep your back against a rock wall to avoid getting surrounded, and clear them before pushing deeper into the ravine.
Here's a useful trick: don't kill every wolf right away. The wolves sometimes aggro the supernatural enemies that appear later and will fight alongside you. They also give you targets for Voracious Bite, which lets you heal mid-fight while the chaos around you works in your favor.
Step 2: Fight the Echo
The Echo is a red spectral wraith and the hardest enemy in the quest. It summons minions during the fight, so deal with the adds first before committing fully to the wraith. This is the encounter that kills players who arrive under-leveled. Stay patient, use the wolf pack to your advantage where possible, and don't overcommit to the wraith while adds are still alive.
Step 3: Finish the Vidmo
Once the Echo is down, Vidmo (grey humanoid enemies) appear. They hit hard but die quickly compared to the wraith. Clearing them ends the combat portion of the quest entirely.
Step 4: Loot the canyon floor
Before heading to the main prize, sweep the loose piles on the canyon floor. These contain crafting ingredients including Vial of Aether, Dust of Anachora, Glob of Likho's Light, and a Minor Keen Eye Potion. Killing the Vidmo also unlocks their glossary entry in the bestiary.
Step 5: Search the scattered skeletons
Along the path you'll find scattered skeleton remains holding the Final Report document, the master-tier Rebel's Sturdy Coat of Plates, the Loop of Vitality ring, Artisanal Bracers, and a stack of denarii. Don't rush past these.
Step 6: Claim Durandal from the golden skeleton
At the far end of the path sits a golden skeleton. This is the container that holds Durandal, along with Treasure Map: Silver Cache, an Inkwell, and the Recipe for Minor Balm of Fortitude. Loot it and the quest registers as complete.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: How to Get the First Legendary Sword
What does the Treasure Map: Silver Cache lead to?
The Treasure Map: Silver Cache starts a follow-up quest called Finders Keepers. The silver stash isn't in the chasm itself. Follow the map to a small cemetery hidden in the forest, then continue to the marked location where you can dig up the cache. The reward is a Silver Cache Letter and several valuable silver items, which is useful given how scarce silver tends to be.
The catch: the dig site is guarded by another wolf pack and a Pack Leader that hits considerably harder than anything inside the chasm. Save this one for when you're stronger.
Given how close the ravine sits to the story's opening area and how little of the calendar it costs, Durandal is one of the few early detours that genuinely pays off across the full game. For everything else you need in Vale Sangora, the full Blood of Dawnwalker strategy guide collection has you covered.