Accept Iulian Codrin's optional plan before duelling Ambrus. Follow the hut investigation, swamp trail, scroll and five pillars. The Tatzelwurm Gland is an additional branch for keeping Iulian alive, not a requirement to find the scroll.

Ritual stuck? Check the current objective

  • Missing the scroll: search the papers in the clearing reached by the blood and slime trail.
  • Want the gland: inspect the extra pages beyond the scroll, then follow slime northeast through the rock gap. Loot the defeated creature.
  • Cannot light a pillar: return in daylight, use Focus and target the highlighted pillar with Astral Communion. Start at one X; proceed counterclockwise.
  • All pillars lit: return to Iulian and finish the brew sequence. Killing him or leaving at this point fails the quest.

Start at the lodge

  1. Track the optional meeting during The Gilded Gauntlet. Agree to Iulian's plan at Codrin's Hunting Lodge and follow him.
  2. Deal with the wolves, inspect the body near the shrine, then investigate Vera's worktable and trapping equipment inside her hut. Speak outside afterwards.

Find the scroll

  1. Follow the waterside traps to the one beside a stump. Use Focus on the muddy tracks and follow them to the ritual altar.
  2. Investigate Vera's surroundings, then follow blood and slime to the clearing. Search the scattered papers for the ritual scroll.
  3. Read the additional pages nearby to reveal the optional gland objective.

For the optional hunt, use the Tatzelwurm Gland route comparison to distinguish the Pale Ravager cave from the general ingredient lair.

Choose the brew

  1. For the survival branch, follow slime to the rock gap, defeat the Pale Ravager and loot the Tatzelwurm Gland.
  2. Return the scroll and finish the mixture at the altar. Decide whether to add the gland; save before committing.

If the mixture objective remains active after delivering the scroll, inspect the cauldron at the altar, rather than trying to light the pillars immediately. ATH identifies salamander skin as the unfinished brew's final ingredient; check your current interaction prompt, as this ingredient step is not independently verified here. Speak to Iulian after preparing it. The optional gland decision is separate.

Complete the daytime ritual

  1. Use Astral Communion in daylight. Begin with the highlighted pillar bearing one X and continue counterclockwise as objectives advance.
  2. Clear the enemies after the third and fifth pillars. Dodge the Fallen Witch's projectiles sideways and leave her close-range area attack backwards.
  3. Return to Iulian and complete the remaining brew and hex. Killing him or abandoning the ritual fails the quest.

Continue to the duel

The poison plan has its own deadline; the duel requires nighttime. Follow the Ambrus guide for timing and dialogue checks.

Does the gland permanently save Iulian? — spoilers

The gland changes his immediate survival: PowerPyx records him surviving the poison and the Ambrus duel when it was added. ATH's later-outcome account says he subsequently dies after returning home. Treat these as two different checkpoints—surviving the duel and his later story fate. The later event has not been verified firsthand here, so preserve a save if you want to compare dialogue after the duel.