A Friend Like This Walkthrough

A Friend Like This takes the rogue vrakhir problem in Svartrau and turns it into the thread that leads to Brencis’s maker. The journal files it under The thirty days and records Boar’s Back as its journal region — an NPC band of roughly 10–18. The introduction is deliberately low-key: “Something unusual happened in Svartrau. It might be worth checking out – any trouble in the city could spell trouble for Brencis.”

Where the quest sits

The step list names Lacra, the vrakhir whose offer splits the quest in two: work with her, or refuse and fight her. It also names Nish the uriash, whose interrogation is the quest’s central beat, and Xanthe, who appears in the letter that opens the alternate line of investigation. Several entries describe the two routes through the same events, and the quest ends pointing at the uriash village, which is where Song of the Mountain and then Hive and Seek continue.

Journal objectives

The journal records these 21 entries, in this order:

1. Investigate the rogue vrakhir presence in Svartrau — “I should head to the city and look around for anything that could lead me to the vrakhir.”
2. Learn of Nish’s whereabouts from the guards — “Rumour has it, Nish the uriash might know something about the rogue vrakhir. The guards should be able to tell me where to find him.”
3. Search for Nish by the North-East wall of Svartrau — “According to the guards, Nish was patrolling Svartrau’s North-Eastern wall. He’s been absent for a while; it might be a good idea to check if he’s somewhere around there still.”
4. Investigate the alley using Focus Mode — “Something happened in the alley by the north-east wall of Svartrau. Looks like signs of struggle – might be worth taking a closer look.”
5. See where the damage leads using Focus Mode — “Whoever was fighting in the alley, it looks like they took it somewhere else. I should look around.”
6. Use vrakhiri skills to investigate the roof — “The alley fighters might’ve damaged the nearby roof – a vrakhir could’ve been involved. I have to use my vrakhiri abilities to scale the building.”
7. Use vrakhiri skills to follow the rooftop tracks — “It wasn’t just one roof that suffered – I see others ahead have been damaged. Should be easy enough to follow and see where the vrakhir went – and why the roofs suffered for it.”
8. See where the trail ends — “The rooftop tracks ended, leading to what looks like an abandoned building.”
9. Get inside the building — “The vrakhir might be inside the building. Let’s see.”
10. Defend yourself — “The rumours were true. The rogue vrakhir is here and she’s out to get me!”
11. Interrogate Nish — “Lacra believes the uriashi might have important information about Brencis’s sire, but to get it, we need to access their village. Nish can tell us how – I have to figure out a way to make him talk.”
12. Find a way to learn the location of the uriash village — “The interrogation didn’t go as planned – Nish is dead and we still don’t know where the uriashi live. I have to find out from another source.”
13. Talk to Lacra about the uriash village — “I know where the village is. I should go back and talk to Lacra about our next steps.”
14. Return to Lacra at night — “I’ve refused to work with the vrakhir named Lacra, but she might still be around, in case I need her after all.”
15. Defeat Lacra — “I refused to let the vrakhir torture Nish to extract information from him. She didn’t appreciate it. Only one of us leaves this house alive.”
16. Find the mysterious vrakhir in Svartrau — “I found a letter to Xanthe from an unknown vrakhir who appears to be an enemy of Brencis’s. I might find them in a house southwest of the cathedral.”
17. Investigate the area by the north-east wall of Svartrau using Focus Mode — “I should look around near the north-east wall of the city for anything that could lead me to the vrakhir.”
18. Investigate tracks on ground level — “Investigate tracks on ground level”
19. Check what happened in the house — “I heard a loud noise coming from the house where Lacra stayed with Nish. I should check what the hell happened there.”
20. Speak to Nish’s corpse using Compel Soul — “The uriash who knew the location of their village is dead. If we want to learn about Brencis’s sire’s whereabouts, I might need to speak to his corpse.”
21. Find a source of information about the uriash village — “The uriash Lacra had captured is dead, but he wasn’t the only person who knew where their village is. I’m sure I can find out the location from elsewhere and we can figure out where Brencis’s sire is.”

Before you go

Boar’s Back at 10–18 is friendly ground, and the quest is investigation-first, so a Focus Mode-friendly build pays off before any fight does. The Lacra decision is the one to think about in advance — the journal makes it explicit that refusing her ends in a duel. Her character page covers what the journal records about her, and the mid-game walkthrough places this quest in the chapter.