In the shadowed corners of Sanctuary, the “Reject the Mother” side quest hides a puzzle that has baffled many adventurers – a riddle steeped in devotion, betrayal, and cryptic clues. Here’s how to piece it together and claim the reward that waits beyond the confusion.
In order to unlock this quest, you’ll need to progress through the main story. If you can’t find the riddle location, beat a few more campaign missions and come back. It’s worth keeping in mind that all side quests, including “Reject the Mother,” are much faster once you’ve unlocked your horse.
In this Diablo 4 guide, we’ll show you how to find the “Reject the Mother” quest and how to solve the note’s riddle.
‘Reject the Mother’ Quest Location
The “Reject the Mother” quest takes place in the northern part of Hawezar, near the Fetid Farmlands. Players can find the quest marker close to a ruined chapel surrounded by corrupted vegetation and lingering zealots. The location is marked by eerie whispers and signs of Lilith’s influence, making it easy to identify once nearby. It’s recommended to clear surrounding enemies before interacting with any objects tied to the riddle to prevent disruption during the puzzle sequence.
East of Ked Bardu, the capital city of the Dry Steppes, you’ll find yourself in the winding area of the Tusmaa Rift. In a sub-region called Abahru Canyon, you’ll see two paths on the map, with a third jutting off to the side. Take the path with the circular opening in the middle and kill all the nearby enemies.
With everything dead around you, you should notice a blue exclamation point on your map, and a small journal resting on a rock. Walk forward and click on the journal to receive the riddle, which reads:
Shout your rejection, ‘no Mother of mine,’ at her towering statue in the rift’s hidden shrine.
Now that we have an objective and a location, let’s go on an adventure. Track the quest and then go to the objective listed on your map. It’s in the Rift of a Thousand Eyes sub-region, right next to the Dark Ravine dungeon.
How to solve the note’s riddle
To solve the note’s riddle, examine the torn page found during the quest and pay attention to the cryptic phrases written on it. They reference a location near a desecrated church where rituals to the Mother once took place. Travel there and interact with the marked spot on the ground to trigger a hidden event. Defeating the summoned enemies will reveal the next clue, completing the riddle and progressing the side quest.
Once at the Rift of a Thousand Eyes and the entrance to the Dark Ravine, you’ll notice that your camera pulls out a little bit from your character. There are two reasons for this as far as we can tell: so you can see the statue and so you can see all the enemies that are going to ambush you. Before you do anything, clear out the beasts and demons that pop out of the ground looking for a fight.
After they’re all dead, you’ll need to “reject the mother,” which, in this case, just means emoting at the statue. The problem here is that you may not have the proper emote on your emote wheel. As you may have guessed, you’re looking for the emote “No” for this quest. But there’s a distinct possibility that “No” isn’t one of the preset emotes on your wheel, and you’ll need to go digging in a menu.
Open up your emote wheel and hit the customize button. This should pull up a menu with your full list of emotes, including more simple ones like “Yes” and “No.” Place “No” somewhere easily accessible on your wheel and hit confirm.
How to emote in Diablo 4
To use an emote in Diablo 4, open the Emote Wheel by pressing the default key for your platform-usually E on PC or the D-Pad Up on consoles. From there, you can choose the gesture or expression you want to use. If the “Reject the Mother” quest requires a specific emote, make sure it’s assigned to your wheel first. You can customize the wheel by selecting Customize at the bottom, then adding or replacing emotes from your list before using them in the quest area.
Now that you’ve got the proper emote ready to go, here’s how to use it and finish this quest:
- Open your emote wheel
- Change pages with your mouse wheel or the bumpers on your controller until you’re on the page where you placed your “No” emote
- Select “No” on the emote wheel and hit confirm
As long as you’re in front of the statue of Lilith when you hit no, your character will do the emote and a little treasure chest will just appear next to the statue. Open the statue to get some decent gold and XP. Much more useful than both of those resources, however, is the 20 Renown for the Dry Steppes that you’ll also receive for finishing “Reject the Mother.”
There are a few of these tricky emote quests in Diablo 4. And while they initially might give you some trouble, they’re actually a very quick way to pick up some Renown if you know what you’re doing. If you’re looking for more, you can check out our guide to the “Keeping the Old Traditions” side quest (also in the Dry Steppes) and the “Secret of the Spring” side quest all the way in Fractured Peaks.
Where exactly is the Tusmaa Rift torn note located
The Torn Note for the “Reject the Mother” side quest in Diablo 4 is located in the central area of Abahru Canyon within the Tusmaa Rift subregion of Dry Steppes, just east of Ked Bardu.
Precise Spot
It sits on the ground next to a rocky cliff, directly east of the only Altar of Lilith in Abahru Canyon-look for a blue exclamation mark on your map after progressing through Act 3’s “Whittling Sanity” quest. Clear nearby enemies first, as the note appears on a rock or trampled in the dirt amid cliffs and valleys.
Access Tips
Travel east from the Ked Bardu waypoint via narrow paths; the area unlocks post-Act 3, avoiding any red sealed walls. Once picked up, it marks the Lilith statue shrine north near Dark Ravine dungeon.
Show a map marker for the torn note in Abahru Canyon
The Torn Note in Abahru Canyon, part of Tusmaa Rift in Diablo 4’s Dry Steppes, appears as a blue exclamation mark on your map after completing Act 3’s “Whittling Sanity” quest. It sits on the ground next to a rocky cliff, just east of the area’s only Altar of Lilith and east of the Ked Bardu waypoint.
Map Marker Details
Guides mark it centrally in Abahru Canyon: from Ked Bardu, head east through narrow paths into Tusmaa Rift, then look for the note trampled in dirt amid cliffs-often shown with a red pin on maps near a small rock outcrop. No direct in-game screenshot embed is available here, but interactive Diablo 4 map sites like diablo4map.com pinpoint it precisely at coordinates around the canyon’s midpoint.
Navigation Steps
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Fast travel to Ked Bardu waypoint.
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Exit east, follow the winding road past a stone bridge into Abahru Canyon.
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Spot the blue marker or Altar of Lilith nearby; the note is on a flat rock by the cliff base.
