Short answer
For Esme’s medicine, use three spoonfuls of herbs and hot, not boiling, water. In Smoke and Ashes, find Brencis’s banner near the bodies before returning to the soldier with Compel Soul. These are separate quests; follow your journal to the matching section below.
Withering Away: find Anca and help Esme
- Go to the river behind Anca’s house.The half-watered garden and empty barrel point to where she went.
- Obtain the herbs.If payment is a problem, the walkthrough describes negotiating 50 denarius down to 25, or promising to pay later.
- Prepare the medicine.Choose three spoonfuls and hot water. Boiling water is not the listed recipe.
- Return and give it to Esme.Finish before Sacred Covenant; the source warns that leaving this task unresolved can result in her death.
If the quest has already failed, these preparation steps do not reverse that outcome. Compare an earlier manual save with your current journal before replaying. Medicine source and screenshots.
Smoke and Ashes: the banner, soldier and blocked gate
- Search the family home.Inspect the moved bed in its last room, then report back to Anca. The return conversation costs one time segment.
- Use Compel Soul on the dead soldier.When the exchange needs a catalyst, collect Brencis’s banner near the pile of bodies and return to the soldier.
- Clear the rubble at the gate.This costs seven time segments and finishes the prologue, opening the wider world.
Missing a useful response from the soldier? Check the banner step before repeating the same conversation. Banner location reference and quest screenshots.
Where to go next
After the gate sequence, Anca moves to the inn in St. Tyna. Use the main quest walkthrough for the broader opening order and Court activities, or the trophy save plan before committing to later story choices.
Sources reviewed 12 October 2026. This page summarizes published quest walkthroughs; we have not independently played these routes. It covers the two named blockers, not every prologue dialogue or optional branch.
What is the medicine recipe?
Use three spoonfuls of herbs with hot, not boiling, water, then deliver the medicine to Esme during Withering Away.
Where is the catalyst for the soldier?
The Smoke and Ashes walkthrough identifies Brencis's banner near the pile of bodies. Collect it and return to the soldier.
How much time does the gate take?
Clearing the rubble costs seven time segments. The earlier return conversation with Anca costs one segment.