In What Moves the Dead, you and Crake search for the origin of Brencis’s gargoyles. The trail first leads to Mevasser and then to Altenmarkt, where you need to find Silas’s house and a hidden laboratory beneath the city. The quest starts after What Hunts the Night and is part of Crake’s questline surrounding the Manumits.
Starting What Moves the Dead and Examining Mevasser’s Woodcut
What Moves the Dead picks up right after the events of What Hunts the Night. Meet Crake in Neustadt and then follow him and Mevasser. Mevasser can help you track down the origin of the gargoyles.
Mevasser shows you an old woodcut of Silas and his workshop. Examine all four marked spots on the image. Only once you’ve looked at every clue does the quest continue, sending your search on to Altenmarkt.
Finding Silas’s House in Altenmarkt
In Altenmarkt, you only get a search area at first and are told to ask the residents about Silas. The key information comes from an old woman sitting with her dog toward the back of the search area.
With her, you can choose between a detailed or a short explanation. If you want to save time, pick the short answer. You’ll still learn where Silas’s house is and save a time segment. Then head toward the large stone archway. Silas’s former house is on the left side of the street, just before the archway.
Entering Silas’s House and Finding the Hidden Cellar
The front door is locked. You don’t need to hunt for a key or find another way into the building, though. Just wait by the door for a moment until Crake picks the lock. Examine the highlighted spots in the first room, then move into the adjoining room. There, you need to take a closer look at the fireplace. After that, you can examine the unusual floorboards right next to it and discover a hidden trapdoor.
While you’re searching the house, the current resident shows up with an axe. You can either threaten him or give him 50 Denarii. Both options let you keep searching afterward. Open the trapdoor and climb down into the cellar. Down there, you’ll find an alchemical note, among other things. Then examine the large bookcase against the wall and slide it aside. Behind it lies a secret passage into the ruins beneath Altenmarkt.
Finding Silas’s Secret Laboratory
Behind the bookcase, your path leads through old underground ruins. From this point on, the route is largely linear and eventually brings you to Silas’s secret laboratory. Once in the lab, don’t just move straight on. There’s a note on the left side that’s easy to miss. Then activate Focus and examine the tracks on the floor leading deeper into the complex.
There are also further records about Silas’s work on the gargoyles lying by a fallen stone pillar. So before you follow the tracks, it’s worth searching the laboratory thoroughly.
Finding the Key for the Locked Door in the Laboratory
In the laboratory, you’ll find a locked door. Check the tables nearby—the matching key is lying there. In the room behind it, you can pick up several useful items:
- Mercurial Fervour Manual
- Recipe for Minor Revitalizing Tonic
- Keen Narrow Cleaver
- Ruby Brooch
It’s best to grab these items right away, before following the tracks further through the ruins.
Following the Trail and Rescuing Crake
Activate Focus again and follow the tracks through the ruins. Along the way, you can examine a body protruding from the wall. Eventually, you’ll reach a larger chamber with several coffins. Examine the corpse next to the lantern there and pick up the document lying near it.
While Coen is examining the corpse, Crake is suddenly dragged deeper into the ruins. Turn around and activate Focus to reveal the blood trail on the floor.
Don’t Miss Crake’s Sword
Follow the blood trail, but watch the floor: Crake’s Sword is lying there shortly before you have to squeeze through a narrow gap in the wall. The weapon is easy to miss if you’re just following the quest marker.
Beyond the gap, two dogs and The Crypt Dweller are waiting for you. Try to take the enemies down one at a time and don’t let yourself get surrounded from multiple sides. After the fight, you’ll find Crake wounded on the ground and can lead him out of the ruins.
Should You Escort Crake Back to the Hideout?
After escaping, you can either let Crake return on his own or escort him to the Manumits’ hideout. Escorting him costs an additional time segment, but it is the safer choice if you want to continue all of Crake’s optional content.
Walking Crake back leads to another personal conversation at the hideout and can unlock the optional Distant Shadows quest. If you’re pursuing Crake’s full questline or romance, we therefore recommend spending the extra time segment and escorting him.
What Happens After What Moves the Dead?
In the final part of the quest, you learn that the mage Aurelius plays an important role in Silas’s research. By this point, the book you’re after is no longer in the laboratory.
Once you complete What Moves the Dead, the Manumit storyline continues with Who Pulls the Strings. There, your search for Silas’s book leads you to Aurelius.
Normally, it’s Who Pulls the Strings that leads you to Silas’s book and Life Lock. If you already retrieved Aurelius’s book from the tower in The Silts beforehand, Life Lock can be unlocked in connection with this quest instead.
You can find more tips and walkthroughs for The Blood of Dawnwalker in our guide overview. The vampire RPG from Rebel Wolves has been available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S since September 3, 2026.
